JS30DK Dinky Review

It's designed in the USA and come loaded with some of the same features as the professional models. Select tone wood bodies, twin Jackson humbuckers, fast necks and 24 jumbo frets for that famous "Jackson feel."

Features:	8.7
Sound:	8.3
Action:	8.4
Reliability:	8.4
Impression:	8.7
Overall rating:	8.5
Users rating:	8.5
Comments:	21

overall: 9.4

Featured review by: Shredder XXX, on august 16, 2006

Price paid: $ 478.04

Purchased from: The Music Spot

Features: This model was made in 2005 in Japan. It has 22 frets with a super thin rosewood neck and jumbo frets. It has a dark metallic blue finnish on a solid indian cedro body, I guess you could say it has a Strat shaped body. It has a floyd rose double locking tremolo system. Comes with 1 tone and 1 control knob and a 3 way blade switch for the Jackson CVR pickups. // 8

Sound: This guitar suits me perfectly, I play in a metalcore band so this guitar was pretty much made for me. I'm playing it through a Crate GT65 with a 4X12 Crate cab. The sound overall is on the deeper side, but it can still give some killer highs, so far I haven't hade any problems with buzzing or humming. This guitar can pretty much do anything, the cleans are awesome it does get a little dirty once you start to crank it up but apart from that this guitar would pretty much handle any style. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: Jackson is a pretty sweet company so you know your gettin somethin good, and this guitar was no exception the only change I had to make wa sthe tuning, but that only took about half an hour and I wa soff and shredding. Probably the worst thing abpout the guitar was a tiny spot of pait on the back of the neck, but that doesn't bother me to much. All of the controls are solid and the bridge was perfectly set up when I got it. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've played live 4-5 times with this axe and so far I haven't had to resort to my backup, the hardware has handled everything I've thrown at it and same goes for the finish, even though I've dropped it a couple of times, the paintwork is still perfect. I can definitly depend of this guitar but I always gig with a backup, just incase I break a string cause the locking trem makes quick string changes impossible. // 9

Impression: I play metalcore, as well as some pantera and Slayer, and some punkish stuff just for good measure and this guiatr suits me perfectly, almost anything with distortion this axe will be perfect. I've been playing for about 2 years now and I own 2 other budget crappy guitars. If someone stole this guitar I'd probably buy andother one or save a lil more cash and get a DKMG (just 'cause eits tooks cooler). // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: GuitarSacrifice, on december 08, 2005

Purchased from: Allans Music

Features: The guitar was made in India. The neck is thin and has 22 jumbo frets. The body is alder with flame maple veneer on transparent colors and the neck is a bolt-on maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. The JS30DK contains 2 Jackson CVR2 humbucking pickup (bridge and neck pickups). Guitar comes with a floyd rose floating bridge as well as locking tuners. // 10

Sound: I play mainly metal and metalcore and suits my style of music perfectly. I use a Fender M80 amp with a MT2 metal zone. Guitar has a nice clean and distorted tone and I think it would suit most music styles. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: Upon taking the guitar home, it stays in tune reasonably well, action is nice and most importantly, guitar does not appear to have any problems at all! // 10

Reliability & Durability: As I don't play live, I personally wouldnt know. But I would think that the guitar would be able to play live without having a backup. I think the guitar is sturdy to survive anything. // 10

Impression: I've been playing for about a year and a half, owned 2 other guitars (some cheap Strat knock off and a Samick) and the Jackson absolutely kicks their arses! If it were stolen, I definately would buy another one. Their is nothing I dislike about the Jackson and my favourite feature would have to be the FR (never had one before). // 10

overall: 9.4

Reviewed by: Charming|Serb, on march 05, 2007

Price paid: $ 252

Purchased from: Newspaper add

Features: This model was made in Japan, which is indicated by a little sticker on the bottom of the neck. Production year was sometime in between 2000/2004. This is my second Js30 dinky, the first one I bought was a Brand New 2004. India model, so I'm gonna compare these two a little bit. The neck on both of the guitars is a maple bolt-on with a rosewood fingerboard, they have an identical black finish with chrome hardware, and include two CRV2 humbuckers, a three way switching, and two tone and volume control knobs. The bridge is a Floyd Rose licensed tremolo, witch is combined with a top-lock to ensure that the strings stay in tune. // 9

Sound: When I bought the first one, there were 2 years of playing behind me. I went to the music store and after trying number of low-priced Ibanez (like holding a plastic sexual device 40 inches long), and there was the Jackson; Massive, "Hard as iron, sharp as steel" and well worth the money! The Indian model stood besides me all the way from playing good ol' HM (Saxon, Judas Priest, Manowar), across grim and frostbidden fields of Black metal, to blues. I fell in love with the basic feel and sound (just enough treble, just enough bas), so the purchase of the Japanese one was just a step forward, it has far more sustain, a nicer and brighter tone and is easier to play. I own a small Peavey Blazer 158 amp on witch I use a DigiTech Metal Master pedal and a Behringer Hellbabe wah-wah. I use the Japanese for my heavy/folk metal band, hard rock, blues, punk, Indie rock, all kinds of metal, funk, and a little jazz. I recorded much stuff using my PC, and they all sound damn good given the fact that the mic is an ordinary piece of junk and the pickups are still stock. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: On the first look, they appear identical, the Japanese has a yellowish tint to the "Jackson" on the head, while the Indian has it in white-as-ghost letters, with a "Crafted in India" on the other side. When you take them in your hands you will notice that the Indian is about a few kilos heavier, the reason is the Indian cedro body it was made of. The Japanese sports an alder body, it seems more compact, with better contoured edges and leaves an impression of much better craftsmanship. The Japanese neck is much nicer by feel and look, and due to better quality of the wood used, allows faster action. The Hindu neck has a quite poor finish, they missed to lacquer the sides where neck meets fingerboard so it looks like a real horror show, with two filth lines stretching along the neck. The Floyd Rose is of similar quality, one thing you will have to do is change the screws witch mount it to the body, they wear off quickly and cause the guitar to detune when you monkey around with the tremolo. // 9

Reliability & Durability: These guitars are very reliable, I remember once or twice breaking a string (both times the lower "E"), besides that nothing larger than a loose jack input or loose tone/volume knobs (I already mentioned the FR issues). All of that is nothing compared to years of heavy playing they both have suffered. I gigged with the Indian in front of half of my high school without any backup and free of any thought that something could go wrong. The paint on both on the guitars is great! Not a scratch on the body, not even where there should be scratches. // 10

Impression: Sadly, it's quite hard to find any of the Japanese Js series (last time I saw one was on a Norwegian music-dealers site, about 120 Eur more expensive than the Indian ones). The same concept as a Soviet tractor: equip it with fuel/strings, and plow the hell out of it until it you die. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a cheap, reliable and most of all, versatile instrument. // 9

overall: 7.4

Reviewed by: Ridddle, on april 05, 2007

Price paid: $ 311.1

Purchased from: Thomann.de

Features: Not sure when it was made but was made in India. Has 22 jumbo frets and has a Wizard II neck on for some reason. Rosewood Fngerboard with white dot inlay. Reverse Hedstock. Has 2 Jackson CVR humbuckers with a 3 way selector and 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Licensed Floyd Rose. Locking tuners. All in all pretty great, just wish it had different pickups but that's it. Also the body is really heavy but the neck is really light. It just doesn't feel right. And the join where the neck meets the body is about 2½ inches. Makes playing the top frets impossible. // 9

Sound: I mainly play punk, hardcore, bit of metal and clasic rock. Suits the styles pretty well actually. I goes through a pretty crappy 30W Aslin Dane amp and a terrible DigiTech RP50 pedal. But I have played this through a friend's Hughes And Kettner and it sounded pretty good. I also have played acoustic sounding stuff and it coped alright. It s pretty restricted with the sound. Should really stick with heavier stuff and a lot of distortion. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: Ok well the factory set up was disastrous. The action was ridiculously high, pickups were too low, the floyd rose needed professionally set up which I expected. Even afte the set up, the guitar never stayed in tune. But lookswise, it was flawless. No damage at all. // 5

Reliability & Durability: I've played this live a few times and no matter what, it doesn't stay in tune. But if the tuning problem, then yeah I would play it with out backup. I don't know how the strap buttons hold up as I never used them because I replaced them with straplocks. The finih however is very good. It still looks Brand New after a year (well apart from the dust). // 8

Impression: For my type of music it's ok, nothing more. I'm selling this in about 2 months and buying a les paul instead. it's only because of the tuning problem which no one can sort out. If it was stolen I probably wouldn't buy another 1 just because of the fact that I hate floyd roses with a passion now. However the neck on this is fantastic if you like thin necks. All I wish for thos guitar is for it to have a lghter body, better pickups and a decent floyd rose. // 8

overall: 4.8

Reviewed by: toyboxmonster, on march 18, 2009

Price paid: C$ 360

Purchased from: Bobby Lalonde Music

Features: Indian-made. The Dinky features 22 jumbo frets on a maple neck. The body is indian cedro. It has a gorgeous see-through black flame finish and chrome hardware. The slightly more aggressive superstrat-style shape and reverse headstock make it clear that this guitar is made to play metal. It features a (licensed) Floyd Rose tremolo system. The controls are about as simple as they get: one tone knob, one volume knob, and a three-way pickup selector switch similar to a Telecaster's. The JS30 sports Jackson's own humbuckers encased in dull black plastic. This is a very comfortable guitar to play, but the licensed rose and the humbuckers aren't really up to par. // 7

Sound: For all of the comfort this guitar has to offer, it's sound makes it completely useless. They sound dull and lifeless. Of course, it's not made to play clean; this is a shred guitar and is meant to handle tons of distortion, but even then, they lack personality. I play noisy ambient music, and even when hidden behind layers of fuzz, the pickups sound anemic and uninspiring. After buying this guitar Brand New, I found myself using my brother's ravaged old Epiphone SG Special (a beginner pack guitar) because of how alive it sounded compared to the Dinky. The JS30DK makes sound, but that's about where the good points end. // 3

Action, Fit & Finish: The set-up was decent, as far as I could tell. The strings had stretched while it was on display at the store, so it was locked into the rose while slighly out of tune, but the people there fixed it up before I took it home. The strap buttons were poorly fitted into the body and were the cause of much grief during my ownership of this guitar. // 7

Reliability & Durability: I sold this guitar only four months after buying it, and for very cheap, because I was afraid I'd run into trouble in a Live situation. The licensed rose was a bad idea. After only a few months of using it for general whammy stuff (no abusing it and divebombing), it began to feel shaky, and the bar began jiggling in it's hole. Before long, I was afraid the rose would fall apart. The finish is extremely thin and cracks off with the slightest neglect of the guitar. As stated above, the buttons were poorly fitted and would constantly come loose. I found myself having to screw them in on a weekly basis to keep my guitar from ending up on the floor. // 3

Impression: I bought this guitar essentially for the rose, but it soon became unuseable. The sheer dullness of the Jackson pickups made it a terrible match for the tyle of music I play; tone is key in ambient music, and this guitar simply didn't cut it. I sold the Dinky, at the time having nothing to compare it to but a ravaged old SG and a similarly beat-up MIM Telecaster. I found myself completely neglecting the Dinky in favour of the other two (much cheaper) guitars. I now own a Fender Jaguar Special and an Vintage Yamaha surf guitar, both of which suit my purposes much better. I really wish I hadn't bought it on impulse; everything sounds good when you're excited about it. Thanks to the jumbo frets, this is one of the most comfortable guitars you'll play in this price range, but after you try it out, you realise that you can get a better tone out of a Squier or a beginner's Epiphone. // 4

overall: 8.4

Reviewed by: bartdevil_metal, on june 22, 2007

Price paid: $ 329.4

Purchased from: Music Warehouse, Colchester

Features: // 8

Sound: I play a very diverse collection of music, from metal to funk, and this guitar does them all reasonably well. It's made for metal; the pickups tend to add gain to my sound, but that's the way I like it. I'm using this guitar through a Roland Cube 30, and it matches up nicely with the sounds on the amp. The Pickups provide warm round cleans with high output, high gain distortion. I am surprised by how good the pickups are - I've never been a fan of stock pickups, but TBH, I prefer these EMG knock-offs to the actual EMGs I have installed in my other guitar. Unlike other guitars I've played, the tone knob actually does something and The volume pot is a gradual change; it doesn't suddenly jump to nothing at about 3 quarters of the way round. I give it an 8 because it doesn't seem to handle twangy cleans very well (But then they are humbuckers so I'm just being picky). Remember though - 80% of your sound is the amp you play through. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: When I ripped it out of the box on Christmas morning it was tuned, set up and ready to go. I had to lower the action a bit, I like it lower than average, and much later I heightened the pickups but that's my preference. The Floyd Rose was dead level with the body, which I wasn't happy with. In fairness to the people at Jackson Guitars, that's how it's meant to be set up, but I prefer it leaning back a little so that I've got more diving room. There was nothing wrong with this guitar when I opened it. That said, after having it a while I noticed that the wood really is quite soft, as well as the finish. This a guitar you'll have to be very careful about bumping. It dents easily. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will last a few years without any serious work needing to be done on it. Be careful when you change the strings! Not for the new guitarist to attempt. You must keep to the same gauge with a floating bridge like on this guitar. The Floyd Rose is built to last, I don't feel scared as I dive. The hardware may need a bit of extra shielding (it buzzed slightly when I got it), but that's a small job. The fretboard just needs the odd clean when changing strings, or some of that fretboard polish that smells like oranges! // 9

Impression: Overall I am happy with this guitar. It looks good, plays well and feels nice to play. Metal is in this guitar's soul. Play metal with it! Strangely enough, it plays jazz and light funk well too. If this guitar were stolen or lost I would definitely buy another one. My favourite feature is the rhythm pickup. It sounds great! I wish it had a harder body, because I am a bit clumsy with it. Before buying this product, I wish I had asked how to change the strings. Make sure you do! // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 26, 2006

Purchased from: Steve's Music

Features: I purchased the gloss black model. It features an alder, Strat style body with a bolt on maple neck, a rosewood, 24 fret fingerboard, reverse headstock, and chrome hardware from top to bottom. One of the reasons I chose this model was its simplicity; volume and tone knobs, 3 way selector, string-through-body adjustable bridge, 2 Jackson CRV2 humbuckers, and non-locking strings. Nothing to complain about here. // 10

Sound: I am not the worlds most technical guitarist; I am very rhythm and ambiance oriented. I spend most of my time writing and playing in dropped D (both E's are tuned down), and make a lot of use out of delay and feedback, playing anything from heavy, stoner Metal to dirty rock to experimental. Out of all the guitars I have owned in my life, the JS30DK is the only one that has stood up to what I have asked it to do. It plays a mean crunch. For distortion I rely on the ever faithful Boss DS-1, and I can't believe the distortion this instrument pushes through the amp from low and stomach churning to clean and bright. Feedback: I have always had a problem with past guitars (Ibanez, Yamaha, Aria) not being able to properly handle feedback. My technique is simple enough; swelling tapped notes through a Boss DD-2, while holding the guitar near the amp. With others, this would either sound dirty (like, AM radio static), or the sound would feedback TOO much making it impossible to control, I don't know how Jackson sets up the CRV2 pickups on the JS30DK, but they are near perfect. I can fully control clean and distorted feedback without even thinking about it. Stellar for non-active pickups. Clean sound is nice, especially when using the neck pickup. I have no complaints here, the tone is wonderful for a guitar in this price range (which is rare). If I had one complaint it is that the guitar displays a little bit of feedback when there is a pause in playing (and I'm not making use of said feedback), but this only occurs when the amp is set to a very high volume. Not a big complaint though, and something a Noise Gate pedal would take care of I think. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The finish on the JS30DK is beautiful. Off the rack it was set up near perfect. The action was a little low causing buzz between the 1st and 3rd frets, so I did have to tweak the bridge a tad over the first week or so of playing. One other little thing is that it appears to go out of tune rather quickly every so often. This may have to do with the fact that the neck doesn't lock (don't want this anyway) and that my playing style includes a large amount of string bending. In the end, for a guitar in this price range, there is precious little to complain about. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Haven't played live with it yet, but it certainly puts up with my abuse when jamming. I'm not going to rate very high here as I haven't really had the chance to put the JS30DK through it's paces on stage. Although, if it plays live like it does in the jam space, I should have no worries (I would play Live with a backup though simply because I break stings like a mofo). The finish itself is a wonder. Now if I can only find a way to keep it free and clear of smudges. // 7

Impression: Bought the JS30DK off the rack. I spent nearly three hours in the store trying out three guitars: the JS30DK, a Jackson WRMG Warrior, and an ESP MH-50NT. In the end the JS30DK stood out for these reasons. Overall look: I don't really like weird shaped guitars (which is why I didn't like the Warrior in the end) and am a sucker for mirror Shine black, chrome hardware and covered, dual coil pickups. Simplicity: since floating tremolos, locked strings, and a pile knobs do little but annoy me, I love the setup on the JS30DK. It's exactly what I need, nothing more. Sound: I have never found a guitar in the $300 price range that sounds this good no matter what you throw at it. From low fuzz to ear splicing feedback to nicely toned clean, the JS30DK can do it all, and quite nicely. I would recommend the JS30DK to anyone looking for an inexpensive guitar that would look, and sound, very decent no matter what style they played. This instrument would fit in to a Jazz group just as well as it would Metal band, and everything in between. // 9

overall: 9.2

Reviewed by: Unclezippy, on november 27, 2006

Purchased from: Dawsons Music (Liverpool)

Features: The model I have is one of the ones made in India, it is possible to get Japanese made ones which cost a few £100 extra having never tried one I couldn't say whether the difference is worth it. With a 22 fret rosewood neck packled with jumbo frets it is considerable perfect to pull of most sounds effortlessly. It's two controls are a master volume and master tone which quite limits it to most sounds being controlled by amp settings but the two sets of Jackson humbuckers (using a 3-way selector) compliment the perfect amp settings of most major makes like Marshall or Line 6. The body itself is Strat style and comes in black (like mine), dark metallic-red or blue. It has a floyd rose bridge system with tremelo and locking on the top of the neck to keep it in perfect tune with little need to re-tune for months. // 10

Sound: The Jackson guitars are typical metal guitars and the JS30DK is of course no exception giving Precision sound for older metal such as Metallica, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. The unfortunate thing about this model is the Floyd-Rose, although great for my style, it means the guitar cannot be down tuned as the floating bridge drops which means it is impractical for those into more modern music played in Drop D/C tunnings. however the model is available with a fixed bridge and these type are ideal for playing styles like Bullet for my Valentine, Children Of Bodom and Still Remains. I use a Line 6 Spider II with mine and find it allows the guitar to produce a HUGE range of sounds it can effortlessly change from The Beatles to The Sex Pistols to Metallica. I rate it 8 out of 10 purely because there it can't be down tuned which slightly limits the range of sounds from a full swing of all styles. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was seemingly perfect off the assembly line, the humbuckers were both set level to pick up similar levels of sound from each but guitarists who predominantly play metal it may be advised to raise the bridge end humbucker slightly to catch a fuller sound. As with most guitars it is also advised to change the set of strings the bridge was set to accept Ernie Ball regular slinky (or similar gauged) strings, If you wish (like I did) to place a heavier or lighter gauge set of strings, I suggest that before proceeding you should consult a website, book or guitar expert about the change over as there is a lot of messing about with the inner springs and bridge level to make the guitar perfect again. I didn't find any of these as flaws jus personal decisions that I though would be useful to other potential buyers. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Although in a band we have never played Live as of yet so I cannot comment on how it withstand Live playing. The strap buttons stay solid and the only problem will b with straps themselves I use Levi's straps and reccomend them or similar as there is a fair bit of weight within the guitar and begginners straps like those in a Stratocaster pack would be unsuitable and unrealiable to play with. The entire guitar is built to last after an unfortunately collision with my knee in practice the guitar took no damage but left my knee bruisd throughout so I would imagine it would survive a drop or two. The only problem I could find with the finnish is that the black finnish picks up a lot of dust and fingerprints, not too sure bout the other colour models, but with a simple dust cloth it is easily cleand again. // 9

Impression: As most of this review suggests I'm a metal guitarist and for me it is perfect both for metal and for the more rock style playings like Guns N' Roses and Led Zeppelin. My only problem being that it lacks compatibility to play more modern Drop-Tuned styles like Bullet for my Valentine or Children Of Bodom. I own a B.C. Rich Ironbird aswell which does help with these styles but not reccomended over the Jacksons as jagged shape means a lot of chippd paintwork and hard time trying to take it to practices or gigs etc. without sustaining damage. The only thing I would reccomend is to those guitarists Who would prefer to play the more modern styles of metal, aswell as older, that they should get one with a fixed bridge (but still two humbuckers) so they can achieve these styles. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 03, 2006

Price paid: $ 378

Purchased from: ebay

Features: This one should be from 02/03, don't know where it was made. It has 22 jumbo frets and a maple neck with rosewood fretboard and a black finish. Don't know what the body style is called but it has got a licensed floyd locking trem and 2 passive humbucker pickups. There's one tone, a volume knob and a 3-way blade Switch. The locking tuners should be Jackson. A second volume knob would've been nice. // 6

Sound: Definately a rock or metal guitar. Sounds pretty rough with my 15W Marshall amp. The sound isn't really perfect if you wanna play distorted leads (not bad at all, just a little bit noisy and dirty). But with some effects it works quite well. The neck pickup can produce quite clean sounds so there's a certain bandwith of sounds this guitar provides. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: I like playing the drop-tunings so I had to adjust the floyd rose, so that it works without buzzing, which took some hours, but now it works. For the thrash-metal sound I had to adjust the pickups a lil bit higher, what took bout 5 mins. The Jackson-typical superfast and thin neck fits my quite fast playing style very well. The overall condition was quite perfect, no rust, finish cracks, etc. // 6

Reliability & Durability: Hey it's a Jackson. It will definately withstand live playing for some years. I didn't play it live yet, but I would play a concert without a backup. The hardware should also last for a while and the strap locks won't pull out that fast. The floyd trem is let's say not that reliable, 'cause my fine-tuners clamp after a half year of playing now, but I guess that's my fault cause I play in my cellar. I can't tell much bout the finish, 'cause I made some mods on my guitar. // 8

Impression: For this cheap price its a real good rock and metal guitar with a killer sound and a real good playabilty. The only weakness is the floyd rose trem which is difficult to adjust. I play for about one year now and this guitar is really beginner-friendly. More advanced players may choose a DXMG or another "better" Dinky, but it's really worth the money. If it was stolen I'd buy another more professional Jackson, maybe DXMG or KE3. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 23, 2006

Price paid: $ 316

Purchased from: Long and Mcquade

Features: // 10

Sound: There is some fret buzz, but other then that it's a metal guitar. You can easily get that fret buzz out by bringing it in to your local music store and get a setup. It has a full pure clean sound which I love, and a distored pure raw enegery sound when you are in distortion. I really like the humbuckers in it. You can play anything with this guitar - blues, rock n roll, jazz, metal, there's a wide viraty. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: Well I have had nothing wrong with it. Like when I got it, it was perfect, no controls were loose nothing. I think Jackson is a good company to go through when you want your moneys worth. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is great for gigging because of the floyd rose and the locks. So it always stays in tune. The only problem it you cant downtune instantly like you could with other guitars, unless you took off the lockers. This guitar will last for sure, Jackson is a trustworthy company, they wouldn't send out crap, they will send you a sick axe to ripp on. I love the neck it is thin, so for all the metal lovers out there, this is your guitar to ripp on. I love the black finish, but what really caught my eye was the gun metal finsish. It was crazy, but I didn't want to wait that long to get the guitar just for that colour, so I got black. // 9

Impression: I love this guitar. It is the perfect match for me because I play metal. I think I will now always have a Jackson in my set of guitars I use on stage. If it was ever stolen of course I would replace it, I love these guitars. I love the humbuckers, the floyd rose, the lock tuners, the thin neck basically everything. // 10

overall: 8.2

Reviewed by: Mulletseb, on march 04, 2006

Price paid: $ 316

Purchased from: Archambault

Features: Mine was built in Japan, can't tell when. 22 jumbo frets. Alder body with flame maple top. Transparent blue finish. Bolt-on maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. Floyd rose bridge, 1 tone and 1 volume Switch. Standard Jackson humbucker pickup. Pretty cool stuff for the price paid. // 8

Sound: I'm playing mainly metal and hard rock. This guitar seems to be built for that type of music. Can't tell if it matches other style of music because I'm not a very versatile player right now, but it seems to handle pretty much anything. I got a boss metal zone and a 15w Marshall amp. The guitar is a bit noisy though. First I thought it was the amp but I tried other guitars and they weren't that bad. Then I bought other cables. It helped but wasn't that much of an improvement. Copper shielding it would probably help. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: I bought the demo guitar so it was pretty much all set up. Didn't had to adjust anything. Just got problems with the floyd rose the first time I changed the strings but that's normal. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I haven't played live with this guitar but I am confident that it can withsand live playing. I have never had any technical problems with it so far and don't think I'll have any. The hardware is reliable and hold on pretty good. I even dropped it a few times and the only thing that happenned is a litte paint stripping off. Otherwise the paint job is still flawless. // 9

Impression: This guitar is pretty well suited for anything that has distortion. However, it stills have its limitations. The pickups could certainly be better and it could also be a bit less noisy but overall it's not that bad. It's the first electric guitar (I also have a takamine acoustic) I bought and I'm satisfied with it. If it was stolen or lost though, I'd probably look for something else. At the time I bought it, my knowledge was limited and I picked this one because it sound great at the store and looked cool, but for that price there is surely something better. // 8

overall: 9.4

Reviewed by: hylian_231, on november 28, 2006

Price paid: $ 437

Purchased from: Haworth Guitars

Features: This guitar was made in 2005 in China I think, but I'm not 100% sure. It has 22 jumbo frets with a rosewood fretboard which feels great to fret on. Mine's got a dark metallic blue finish, but I reccomend you get the transperent black finish, if your stockist has it. It's a Strat syle body with an amazing double locking Licensed Floyd Rose on it. It's two Jackson humbucking pickups will blow you away with amazment, it features a Volume and Tone knob as well as a 3way selector. I reccomend you ask your dealer to make sure they include the tools for the bridge, because unfortunately mine didn't come with any. // 9

Sound: This guitar suited my style perfectly, I play stuff from AC/DC right through to Trivium, however the bridge is a bit annoying if your going to be changing tunings all the time. I'm playing it through a cruddy practice amp, but I have plugged it into my mates Vox and it was absolutely amazing. The Neck pickup produces a lovely rich sound, and the bridge pickup produces a grungy sound, a distortion pedal will still give more though. The bridge is great for using a whammy on, which produces some really nice sounds. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The store which I bought mine from claims someone set it up, which was obvious when it arrived, because this guitar was set up perfectly, the pickups were perfectly adjusted, the strings were nice and bright, not dull at all. The only problem I have had with it was that the Tone control was a little loose. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Would this guitar withstand Live playing? Hell yes! Other than the loose tone control, everything was securely installed on the guitar, everything was solid as, the strap buttons especially. I have gigged with it once and used it without a backup, but because of the bridge, if your setlist includes a song in an alternate tuning, your going to need a second. The finish has been applied magnificantly, I certain that it will last for many years of hard playing! // 10

Impression: Overall, this is a fantastic guitar, it suits my style great. I've been playing for about a year and a bit now, and previously I was using a Ashton guitar which was absolutely terrible, so was the amp, so the next thing on the list is a new amplifier. I now wish I had made sure the store had included the tools for the bridge because I went out and bought the wrong set today. If this guitar was stolen, lost, or burst into flames, I would run quickly back to the store to purchase another, this is an amazing guitar, and I'm sure it will serve me well in the years to come. I compared it to a couple of Epiphone's and Ibanez but this one stood out above all. The only thing I really wish for is the bloody tools for the bridge, other than that, this guitar is great, I reccomend anyone looking for a second or third guitar to get one, the Jackson will not let you down! // 10

Comments

[Gibson_Rocker13]

i got this guitar used and it played pertty good.the only problem i had with it hough was the floyd rose.whenever i do divebombs the guitar goes 1/2 a step down in tune and then you gotta do a bit of a reverse divebomb to get it in tune.the same thing if ur doing reverse divebombs but itll go 1/2 up in tuning.this is coomon though in the lisenced floyd rose systems i heard.its because the blades on the locking system wear quiker.other than that i love the guitar and it doesnt go lower than half step tuning if you use the whammy bar.

[eddiehimself]

Wow, u never need to use the tuning keys to change to flat tuning!

[Cryp]

I have this Guitar and its really Great. Only Thing i didt was blocking the tremelo to it cant go down.I started to really learn guitar with the JS30. Good Beginner Guitar.

[Mastol]

I have exactly the same guitar and its perfect for me.
I'm playing different styles of metal and the sound is great in the distortion and in the clean mode.
Very comfortable too...
Great guitar in my opinion.

[High_o]

to the second guy: to tune down you have to adjust the springs on the back to even out the bridge

[cados121]

I would recommend getting the Dkmg or the dkmgt if you are looking for a good jackson. The Dkmgt has a fixed bridge and the dkmg has the floyd rose licensed tremolo, but it is impossible to keep it in tune unless you get the actual original floyd rose tremolo. I just got the Dkmg from ebay for 470 and saved about 300 dollars. I would choose that guitar over the js30dk anyday.

[Y00p]

High_o wrote:

to the second guy: to tune down you have to adjust the springs on the back to even out the bridge

I'm pretty sure he meant that you can just use the whammy to tune down half a step...

[Jersey_Rokr]

looks nice. personally, I would save a little bit more to get an ibanez but this sounds like it'd be awesome.

[DMguitar1]

this comment is to the author of the first review... i dont know if you actually been told this, but samick is a shithouse brand of guitar... of course tha jackson will kick its ass... its a jackson versus a samick and a shitty strat... get to knowe your brands buddy [i wrote this assuming your strat and samick ere all stock]

[jacksonDK]

i have this guitar and my only problem is the cheap ass neck! it has warped over time. my advice: save up for a higher end DK!

[Charming|Serb]

The only Jacksons worth the difference in money are models of the pre-Fender era. If you're considering of buying an EMG dinky just because it looks cool - better stop planning the wallet rape.

[sueycide]

I love this ****ing guitar.

[HELLSHREDD]

I never knew that snake-charmers built metal axes , thats so funny & i would suggest that you dont spill water on this guitar cuz anything made in india , if ya get it wet the color will run....lmao

[ironwolg]

mine isn't that bad about going out of tune, of course if you overuse it it will go out of tune. i replaced the pickups with Steve Vai Evos, the sound is great, they only other thing i would replace is the floyd rose system, mainly because i abuse it like crazy and i need a tougher one, it'd probably be easier to buy another one hahaha

[rafa7008]

[Scathing]

I have this one , it's a very nice guitar.
I like it.

[psionideguitar]

I think you are making a mistake about the model, my js30DK dinky only has 22 frets

[Owen J. Flynn]

great guitar
very strong- it broke the wall

[henryfp]

I think your problems with the tuning are just bad luck, 'cause I've got one of those jacksons js30dk and the tuning hasn't got any kind of problem...

[Xx aLi N 123 xX]

i'm thinkin of gettin the hardtail version can someone reccommend it i like rock and metal and ive been playin 2 years

[CanadianRocker!]

I've been playing about 6 years now, I have the Indian version of the JS30 and I love it, the quality is really good, so much bang for the buck, it's quite bassy in the low end (can even sound like a bass if you want) and the highs are sweet and they scream, perfect for the heaviest metal, rock and even some blues, some clean or acoustic as well, all sound great, the stock pickups are pretty good too, no need to change them, save your money for a good amp instead, no problems with it going out of tune and I bend the shit out of the strings constantly, only problem was just after I bought it I discovered the input jack was loose, easy fix if your handy, that's it, the black paint job is sweet, shiny and flawless, the bolt on neck is fast, the body as compared to the neck is a bit on the heavy side but you get used to it anyway, probably gives better sustain with a heavier wood anyhow, the reverse headstock makes it stand out more and is on the evil looking side which is cool, I highly recommend this inexpensive bad boy if your looking to purchase a new Jackson for around $300 if you can find a used one for around $150-200 it's definteley worth checkin out, no plans on selling mine for a good long while!!