DKMGT Review

The DKMGT Dinky is one of Jackson's guitars that comes with their exclusive TurboCharger. This Turbocharger provides upto +20dB of boost to the already powerful EMG HZ pickups.

Features:	8.9
Sound:	9.6
Action:	9.7
Reliability:	9.1
Impression:	9.2
Overall rating:	9.3
Users rating:	8.8
Comments:	29

Featured review by: unregistered, on may 09, 2006

Purchased from: musicians friend

Features: This guitar is really nice. It was made in Japan and made well. It has 24 frets. It has the piranha tooth fret inlays and a rosewood fretboard. They said it was a cobalt blue but it looks more of a midnight blue. It is made from basswood I believe for good resonance. This is the non-tremelo model with a string through body and Tune-O-Matic bridge. It has a bolt-on neck and EMG H-Z pickups with the exclusive turbocharger (active gain boost). Strings were included but that's it. // 10

Sound: I play metal so I need the dirt and the tone. This guitar delivers. It hits all of the highs and lows that I need, and with the turbocharger it shoots the gain into outer space. I've never heard so much distortion in my life. I just use a Boss distortion pedal with my Rogue 120R amp. I hardly use the reverb on the amp. And with the EMG's there's no signal noise. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: When I recieved it I saw no flaws or any funny business and I still have only found one but it was fixable. The nobs for the volume and tone were loose so I took them off and applied some super glue and haven't had a problem yet. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've done three shows with this guitar and it stood up where my B.C. Rich had failed. No string breaks, no tune outs or shorts. Every thing should last many years because it was very well made. I didn't need a backup for all of my shows. The finish is well put on fore I play it everyday and there's no chips or wear. // 10

Impression: I think for the price range this is an excellent guitar. Better than anything else you can find for $350. I've had it for several months and it kills all of my other guitars. I have had a squire Strat, B.C. Rich Wave and an Ibanez RG350. I wish it had a floyd rose whammy but it would be a lot more in price. Overall, it's the best thing to get for $350. I mean what's better than a Jackson. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on august 18, 2004

Price paid: $ 730.17

Purchased from: machinehead guitars, hitchin

Features: Just got it today and wow. I have a Les Paul and Strat (american) and this beast of a guitar combines what I wanted from both of them. I think it's mainly jap made, 24 jumbo frets, in black carved top that looks great, made from basswood, very thin and extremely fast maple neck (perfect shredding ground), rosewood fret board with little shark type inlays, your basic kick ass super Strat body with the very 80's reverse headstock, thru strung body - the sustain will blow you away, seriously, the volume/tone pots were easy to get to grips with and use the variety of tones from the guitar, and it has what I like to call a fxcking sick boost feature which you activate with the pulling up of the lowest pot, and hey - the Emg's just do it all (I think its quite rare you can play authentic blues on a metal guitar), two hard hitting hummers (Emg hz's) and they even threw in some strings and a hard case! // 10

Sound: I bought this guitar as I'm steering more towards the whole thrash/shred metal genre (and loving it) so I wanted a balls out metal guitar but with some sort of style/elegance to it but Substituting no tone what-so-ever. And now I have it any way the main thing of this guitar that attracted it to me was the turbo charged emg's, which are the best. (Period) I found myself with my mouth open in amazement waiting for the notes to finish if you want a metal tone with stupidly long smoth, harmonising sustain, then this is perfect, I found the right guitar for the right genre makes all the difference, the pick-up selections are good and I found all of them to be useful, I played it through my 30 watt Marshall Avt and Korg AX1500G and it didn't take me very long to set up the tone I wanted. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The way I got it set up was fine, the action was low but with just enough tension for that tiny bit more accuracy for bends, I can't hear or see anything wrong with the pickups setup, all blends well together, the frets were rolled veeeery nicely and everything seems fine. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Well I only got it today so I cant say much apart fromt eh fact I've played and seen a load of guitars and the build quality on this example is comfortably above average. // 8

Impression: For a metal guitarist, without spending 600+ I'm not sure I could have done much better, I've been playing for about three and a half years now and guitar is my life, I have a Les Paul, American Strat, Fender acoustic, and 900quid spanish, this guitar is a welcome addition and with me just joining a metal band, this will be used in confidence, I will probably be using it through my 1960's selmer stack for that extra roundness on the tone. I usualy play thru a Ax1500g effects box and it suits this fine, the turbo charger was the main sell point for me as it opens up a whole gate of possibilities that put it in front of such contenders like Ibanez (which are also nice) but I just like the overall edge to the appearence of the guitar. // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: Rizzo!, on february 09, 2008

Price paid: $ 350

Purchased from: Lee Road Guitar Center

Features: No idea where this was made or when, but probably China, 2006. It has 24 frets, a string-through bridge, two EMG HZs, a very light sparkle black finish, vol/tone knobs, and a 3 way Switch. The back of the neck is maple, the fretboard is rosewood, and the body is probably alder. The bolt-neck is compensated for by a bevel in the back, and apart from that is just your Standard dinky flat-top. The headstock is shaped in the unusual Jackson 3+3 headstock. Overall, I can't really complain. // 9

Sound: The EMGs are remarkably quiet for passives, and still maintain output. However, the cleans are pretty bad, rolling down the knob doesn't affect the output much until you're in the 2-3 zone. The guitar is mostly for harder styles and shred, the neck pickup will make random notes sound like shredding if they're just played cleanly. I use it with various Peavey and Line 6 solid state amps, with a 12AX7 tube pre-amp in front for a warmer sound, and it rips. Holds up on low tones as well. I tuned down to B for a while with 13s and did not even have to knock the knob down 2. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The action out of the factory was amazing. The pickups were too low, but I guess that was just personal preference. However, for some reason there's this weird pipe on top of the truss rod that has no openings, so I can't adjust it further. Apart from that, the guitar had no real flaws. Another problem is it's headstock weight, the guitar's neck will dip if you just let it go to about a 30 degree angle. I put a few lead weights in the control panel, which was really easy because apparently the panel was routed in the factory large enough to take an a // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is very durable, it's also quite hard to make marks on the exposed wood. Unfortunately, the volume knob will get loose if you use it too much. This may just be because I use it too much or are too hard on it. I'd play without a backup. The finish is nice too, the sparkle on it makes sure that it will not look very messy when it's all wiped up into oblivion. // 8

Impression: Overall, for the price, I'd say this is a really good metal guitar. While it isn't that versatile, it can sure rip up for rock or metal. Any farther and it will hiccup and die. The thick finish won't give you a good blues or jazz tone, the high gain pickups won't last for the funk and alt rock, but industrial, shred, metal, and all else will be just fine. // 8

overall: 9.4

Reviewed by: lukeuh36azabc, on july 14, 2008

Price paid: £ 500

Purchased from: Curly Music

Features: This guitar was made in 2007 in Japan, all Japanese made guitars are of a good quality. It has 24 frets, a thin shaped neck and jumbo frets which are all good for me because I play mostly metal which requires lots of speed and the neck is perfect for that. The fret board is made out of rosewood which looks really nice with the glossy black finish of the body how ever I would of prefered a transparent fiish. It is a bolt on neck; I would of prefered a neck through but they are much more expensive. The body is made of alder with a carved top and flame maple veneer which gives me reanablly good tone. The body is sort of a 'super Strat' shape with nice contours and it fits nicly to the shape of my body. The guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge which I like because it's really quick and easy to chage the strings and the action. The guitar came with the EMG 81/85 active pick up set which is used by many great metal legends like Zakk Wylde, Kerry King and many many others. The black pick up covers also looks great with the black gloss finish of the body. This guitar has a 3 way pick up selector which is fine for me, it also has a master volume and master tone which are fine, however I would of liked a pick up tap function. It had sealed die-cast tuners which seem to work well and it also has a graphite nut which also works well. // 9

Sound: I play mostly metal put I play other stuff as well such as blues classic rock and funk. The neck is very suitable for metal and the pick ups are very versitile and can be used for pritty much any style. I am using it with a Marshall MG15CD (don't laugh) and a Zoom multi effects pedal, the tone I get out of the Marshall isn't very good but I have used it with a Randall and it sounds amazing, when I use the guitar with my pedal it sounds great I can create a bone crushing metal sound, a sparkling clean tone, or when I use it with an acoustic sim I can get an amazing acoustic sound out of it. I can get very bassy low pitched tone with the EMG's and great Treble for soloing. The EMG's are very loud but that's how they are meant to be played you have to play them loud to get the best possable tone out of them however they still sound great playing quietly. The pick ups on this guitar are completly silent no fuzz and no buzzing. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: When I first got the guitar it was set up almost perfectly I just had to tune it up, the action was still slightly high for me but it is very easy to change that. The bridge pick up was a little high but very easy to change it. The bridge was very stable and was routed well. There was only on problem with the set up, the volume control was loose and kept on falling off but it was soved by just super gluing it back on and I havn't had a prolem with it since. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will easily stand up to giging, however I am yet to gig with it. All the hard ware seems very stable and it will last a long time. it has massive strap buttons I would gig with it without using a strap lock. This guitar is very dependable I havn't had any real problems with it yet and I would gig with it without using a back up. I have droped this guitar a lot and there is a couple of small dents but nothing too noticable and it was my fault and not the guitars. The finish of the body is very tough no matter how many times I drop it the paint will not come off. // 10

Impression: I play mainly metal it is a perfect match for it but it is also very versitile. I have been playing about 4 years I own a Marshall MG15CD and a Zoom multi effects pedal, the guitar works very well with the pedal but not so good with my amp but thats the amps fault and not the guitars. I am about to buy a Randall RG50TC and it seems to work really well with the Randall. If it was lost or stolen I would buy a new one or one very similar. I love all of this guitar however i wish it was a neck thourgh body construction but that would cost alot more money, my favorite feature of this guitar is the pick ups thay are awesome and you can get any tone you want with them. Overall this is a great guitar, it's worth the money and I definitely don't regret buying it. // 9

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: Horror-Punk77, on august 24, 2007

Purchased from: Long & McQuade

Features: This beauty was made in Japan in I think 2006, or '07. It has a very playable semi-thin 24 fret maple neck with rosewood fingerboard (extraordinary fretwork), with the Jackson compound radius technology. The body wood is alder archtop, and sounds great 54with better-than-average sustain, a nice flame maple veneer on trans finishes only. It has a Jackson Adjustable String Thru Body bridge, active EMG 81 & 85 Pickups, a 3-way selector, Master Volume, And Master Tone. Non-Locking Jackson tuners which do actually stay in tune really well. Nothing was included. // 8

Sound: I play anything from Black Sabbath to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to Children Of Bodom, and the pickyps definetly cover all of those styles. The 85 can give you a rich and warm clean, and pretty good overdrive, and the 81 gives killer distortion, and average cleans. I Drive it through a Marshall MG 250dfx, with or without effects, to me it's "that sound". Every guitarist has a sound in his/her head, and this pretty much covers it. The EMG's give Barely any IF ANY noise. It has amazing quality sound for leads and rhythm. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was set up perfectly, directly from the shop, but even if it wasn't, is has an adjustable bridge so you could do it yourself. The pickups sounded great, and were adjusted very well. The only flaw with this guitar is the fact that the knobs get loose easily, but it doesn't effect the way you play, so it shouldn't matter all that much. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar feels, and looks like a truck could run over it and it could still be playable. The hardware seems pretty solid, will last a while. Now the strap buttons will last FOREVER... Dude, you don't need strap-loks even if you want to put them for extra security, you don't need them. I would definetely depend on it at a gig, but I would bring a backcup just in case, even though this thing probably wouldn't break anyway. The finish seems like it will last a lifetime. // 10

Impression: I play almost all kinds of rock/metal. It is a perfect match, isn't that what Jacksons are for anyway? I've been playing for about 4 years now, I own a cheap-o Squier which the finish is Totally chipping off, and the sound is dirt-cheap, and an Ovation acoustic. My dad has a Gibson Les Paul Supreme, and this guitar could probably match up to it. If this was stolen, I would hunt down the guy who stole it. I love this guitar. I love the playability of the neck, and I hate the fact that it doesn't even have a locking nut but, it does stay in tune. My favorite feature is probably the pickups. I would compare it to ESP guitars, and say this could equal, or beat them easily. Still, I wish it had a locking nut, and a Floyd. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 14, 2006

Price paid: $ 350

Purchased from: musicians friend

Features: 24 fret/ Rosewood fretboard, flamed maple top. EMG humbuckers. Dark blue paint. Black Hardware. Mainly I play metal and this was my second guitar. Came with nothing but the guitar, a couple tools, and strung. comes with a gain amplifier. String thru body style. // 8

Sound: I play metal with Marshall mini and a Boss distortion. The H/H setup with EMG's is pretty incredible, with my Boss metal pedal you can go from a light bluesy distortion to classic rock crunch to full out metal distortion and pretty much anywhere in between. I rarely use the gain booster in combo with my pedal because it's a bit of overkill and unwanted artifical harmonics and sting noise will pop up all the time unless your a palm and fret hand mute nazi. In my opinion the DKMGT and a solid pedal combo can pretty much do anything. It even has a great clean tone for rythmn and lead. Pinch harmonics and Artifical harmonics sound great. Amazing sound out of either pickup. I played many guitars before and after I bought this guitar and for the price you'd be insane not to buy this guitar, even if the heavy look doesnt't suit you. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: I pulled this thing out of the box tuned and began playing right away. No srting buzz, low action, thin neck, sounded amazing and still does. I play every single day and besides me dropping or my dog gnawing on the edge, it is perfect. This thing is a tank. Besides extreme temperature change, it stays in tune. And besides my 2nd day string change I have never broken a string (even with detuning, fast plam mutes, crazy bends, etc.) // 9

Reliability & Durability: Definitely withstand Live playing. Hardware is great. Never had a problem with the strap buttons. I would gig without a backup. The finish is strong but the only place I worry is the fretboard, for which I have recently begun to use fast fret. The paint is chipping in some areas where I have dropped it, but nothing major. // 8

Impression: My price range was >400 and I knew I wanted an HH setup. Epiphones were a bit expensive for what I wanted and I liked the look of DKMGT so I went for it. Never looked back. I pity the people that overpay for strats/teles/etc. DKMGT has amazing tone, and durability. This guitar has grown with me and I love it. The one thing that I miss is a tremolo bridge, but I only miss that maybe once a month. If I lost it today I would replace it tomorrow with the exact same guitar. If I lost it in a couple years I might replace it with a Jackson Soloist, but until I have that much disposable cash, the DKMGT is perfect. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 22, 2004

Price paid: $ 1215.9

Purchased from: john cumiskey and sons

Features: the DKMGT has a basswood body with a carved top and a maple veneer. It has two EMG HZ pick ups with a boost activated by pulling out the control knob nearest the jack input. The neck is bolted on and has a rosewood fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets. It has a tune o matic bridge with a string through body. It came with a Jackson hardcase included in the price. // 8

Sound: The through body stringing gives the guitar a lot of sustain. In order to really appreciate this guitar you have to play hard loud and as distorted as possible. The two pick ups combined gives a relly warm tone whan played clean. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar played brilliantly straight away but the intonation was slightly out. The turbo chrger pick ups give a lot of boost to the guitar particularlly when playing clean. The guitar is a dream to play with a really fast neck and ideal action for rapid scale progressions. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar can take a great deal of punishment and really comes to life in a live environment. The only reason to have another guitar with you would be if you wanted to play solos that require whammy bar action. // 10

Impression: I would play anything from Nirvana to Slayer and find that this guitar suits me very well though the lack of a floyd rose bridge limits solo playing. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on may 22, 2004

Price paid: $ 823.5

Purchased from: The Guitar, Amp & Keyboard Centre

Features: - Made in Japan
- 24 Frets
- Arch-top body
- EMG-Turbo-charger
- EMG Hz pickups // 8

Sound: This Guitar has the nicest sound! Its provides anything from a raw-tinny tone to a warm soft tone for clean. When distorted the pickups increase the range of the tone, amplifying the treble and bass' this sounds really nice for rythm and lead. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The factory set up was perfect. Usually I play with heavy strings, sometimes 11's but i found that the 9's on the Jackson simply never rattle and they never fret-out. The feel of the guitar has dramatically improoved my playing. The feel of the neck is comfortable. However the 24th fret is out of key with the 12th and the open string. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I always have a backup simply incase a string breaks. However I would not be too worried if I only had my Jackson to depend on. I have not yet tried to thrash it around too much, im still in the protective stage. But it had emerged unscathed from several drops and knocks. Again, the un-reliable electronics drag this guitar down a mark. // 8

Impression: I Play anything from the white Stripes to Metallica. This guitar has the Metal, lead guitarist appearance but its an all-rounder. If you buy from GAK ensure they have the correct item in stock before you order, otherwise who knows what you'll get! My favourite feature has to be the feel of the fretboard, followed closely by the incredible tone. I find it nicer to play then my Friends £2000 custom Les Paul. For the Price, this is a truely exquisite guitar. Except for the bloody electronics! // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 20, 2007

Purchased from: eBay

Features: // 10

Sound: I play metal and this guitar IS metal. Pinch harmonics come out amazing, excellent sounds on both the high and low ends. This guitar is able to make any sound from jazzy clean to screaming metal leads. I play this guitar through a Carvin XB100 halfstack beefed up by an Electro-Harmonix MetalMuff and it sounds great on the leads and clean breakdowns. The EMG pickups give off little to no noise. Notes are very distinctive. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: I got this guitar in an unopened box and the action was the best I have felt in quite sometime, definitely comparable to very high-end guitars. I still haven't found any need to adjust the pickups from their original position. Bookmatch is perfectly centered between G and D strings. I've had this guitar for a month and have yet to find any flaws in it. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will definitely withstand Live playing. The hardware is all tightly fit and feels quite durable. Good, solid strap buttons. I would probably use this guitar during a gig without backup. The finish is quite thick and I doubt it would ever wear off without taking a chisel to it. // 10

Impression: Great match for any type of guitarist, especially metal. I've been playing for 2 years, 3 hours daily. I also own an Ibanez RG320FM and a Fender Starcaster. There is absolutely no regret in this guitar. If it were stolen, I would buy a gun. I would definitely buy this guitar again. I love the metal look of this guitar, the action, and the pickups. There is nothing I hate about this guitar. My favorite feature is the headstock because it makes the guitar stand out from a lot of other guitars out there. I compared it to many other dinky models as well as a Gibson Flying V and this guitar definitely felt the best. All my wishes are in this guitar except maybe an ebony fretboard. // 10

Comments

[595Metallica595]

sounds nice and looks awesome! may think bout getting it

[Ac/dc_Zeppelin]

Meh

[axed]

jackson lists this guitar on their website with a pair of emg81/emg85 pairing however every reviewer here states that it came with emg hz pickups. whats the deal here?

[RandomHeroJr]

the one on the website is the DKMGT dinky, this is just the DKMGT, I have it and I love it it, it cost me in total $400 after buying gig bag to get it back to england, so to me it cost £220 which is so cheap it is unbelievable, a cheap place sells it for £440!

[Kain_Doom01]

I mean what's better than a Jackson

A Peavey Rotor Exp, Same price, 2x the sound quality

[Cyberjim]

axed wrote:

jackson lists this guitar on their website with a pair of emg81/emg85 pairing however every reviewer here states that it came with emg hz pickups. whats the deal here?

The new model (2006) comes with EMG 81/85 instead of EMG-HZ

[Chupar]

This guitar seems to be nice!

[peever]

A Peavey Rotor Exp, Same price, 2x the sound quality

LOL
where the hell did you get this information from?

[Jay_From_NZ]

Im getting this guitar soon but with 81/85 PUPs i cant wait

[lukeuh36azabc]

thats what i am planing to get

[lukeuh36azabc]

and with out the turbo charge thing

[lukeuh36azabc]

hey i hav just bought 1 of these but the volime knob has just fell off and i can't get it back on some 1 help me

[J.Priest]

Actually, the DKMGT Dinky only has 2 knobs, a volume and tone. And it has EMG 81/85's in it, not HZ. Dont believe me? Look at the Jackson website.

[Mind Kill]

Well the older MG series Jackson had HZ's.

[Rizzo!]

J.Priest wrote:

Actually, the DKMGT Dinky only has 2 knobs, a volume and tone. And it has EMG 81/85's in it, not HZ. Dont believe me? Look at the Jackson website.

This was already explained, that is the DKMGT DINKY. This is only the DKMGT - it was discontinued in 2006 for the Dinky version, which has active EMGs. And this guitar only has two knobs too.

[In-Jeenyus]

i don't know what to get this with the 81/85's the schecter hellraiser tempest, or gibson sg special faded yellow, i like to play alot of lamb of god, and killswitch engage.

[The JesterHead]

In-Jeenyus wrote:

i don't know what to get this with the 81/85's the schecter hellraiser tempest, or gibson sg special faded yellow, i like to play alot of lamb of god, and killswitch engage.

Yep - go for the Jackson... This guitar's perfect for Metalcore. Besides, Morton (Lamb Of God) already plays a Jackson, so here's a reason more...

[In-Jeenyus]

Ya i got the jackson about a a month and a half ago it's pretty wicked.

[The JesterHead]

I'm also going for this baby, I used to think it was more expensive but seeing the prices - I was relieved... I used to aim for the DK2T, but seeing the price is barely higher - I'm going for this one. Not sure whether to take the transparent red or transparent black model though ^_^

[ksmash5]

Which are better the Hz's or the 85 n 81's? I was told that the Hz's were the cheaper of the two.

[Fender Usa]

85&81s slay the HZ's

[guitargod...not]

it doesnt have a basswood body...

[guitargod...not]

and which colour does everyone think i should get?

[metalonastrat]

does any jackson guitar come with 81&85s?

[Dhmking]

nice guitar

[xxjacobxx44]

where can i get it the cheapest.

[The JesterHead]

metalonastrat wrote:

does any jackson guitar come with 81&85s?

This very model since 2006. This is a review of the discontinued old version with EMG-HZs, every DKMGT since 2006 has 81s and 85s, and only 2 knobs instead of 3.

[The JesterHead]

Btw, Jackson guitars have the MG series for every model, and they all come packed with EMGs.

[Lr-Mtb]

Can't wait to get ths, im saving up