# NGD: Jackson Custom Shop



## drgordonfreeman

Matt at Matt's Music worked with me to get this done. Two years later, and here it is. Finally. Matt was great, and if you're thinking of going custom shop Jackson, he's the first guy you should hit up.



*Pics*




























*Specifications*


KE2 (ahem... KE1T) style 
Alder body
Quilted maple top
3-ply Maple neck
Ebony fretboard
Neck-through construction
Jumbo frets
Mother of pearl inlays and logo
Schaller locking tuners
Seymour Duncan JB bridge pickup
Tune-o-matic bridge
Trans black finish on front
Glossy black finish on back

There's only one thing missing from this guitar. I'll let the astute Jackson guys here figure it out (hint in first bullet point above).


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## bouVIP

That Quilt is killer  I am seriously GASing for a Jackson now!

Congrats on the lovely guitar man!


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## darren

Wow, that looks killer. Congrats!


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## Erockomania

awesome guitar! cracks me up when they leave the plastic on the various parts, lol


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## oracles

Stunning! HNGD dude!


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## Dawn of the Shred

Congrats and hngd! Killer man


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## sly

drgordonfreeman said:


> *Specifications*
> 
> 
> KE2 (ahem... KE1T) style
> There's only one thing missing from this guitar. I'll let the astute Jackson guys here figure it out (hint in first bullet point above).


 
Would if be a signature from an ex MegadetH guitarist?

Awesome guitar! Congrats!


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## jeleopard

drgordonfreeman said:


> [*]KE2 (ahem... KE1T) style
> 
> 
> There's only one thing missing from this guitar. I'll let the astute Jackson guys here figure it out (hint in first bullet point above).



A Kahler. Got it. We can go home now.

(Never seen a Kahler KE1T in trans black, only KE1s with the Kahler)


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## rg401

Awesome guitar man! Im a Ke1 whore


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## DanakinSkywalker

Oh... My... Sweet baby Jesus. I need that in my life. Congrats man!! HNKD!!! (Happy New Kelly Day)


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## maliciousteve

SO MUCH WANT!

I've wanted one just like that since I was a kid


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## Cowboyfromhell

Daaaaaamn thats a beast right here congrats!


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## Valnob

Wow two years to get it done !! Does is means that guys like bulb wait the same time (he received 2 custom earlier this autumn) ?

Anyway, congrats, that top is just stunning.
HNGD !!!


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## Stijnson

Happy NGD man, looking good. But I'm thinking people like Bulb are the reason he had to wait so long  Understandable from Jacksons point of view though. 

Enjoy it man, love me a custom shop Jackson!


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## BigBaldIan

Simple and classy.


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## heregoesnothing

HNGD! Now play Tornado of Souls on that thing


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## technomancer

Awesome Jackson


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## revlover

Awesome guitar! Why has the letters on the headstock logo different shades of White? Is your name Jack perhaps?


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## Degz

looks so great!! congrats


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## drgordonfreeman

Thanks everyone! Funny story, I have two others on order, one of which I ordered six months before this one. Sort of interesting how Jackson schedules its builds. 




sly said:


> Would if be a signature from an ex MegadetH guitarist?



Haha. Ding ding ding ding!! 




jeleopard said:


> A Kahler. Got it. We can go home now.
> 
> (Never seen a Kahler KE1T in trans black, only KE1s with the Kahler)



See the quote above. 



Valnob said:


> Wow two years to get it done !! Does is means that guys like bulb wait the same time (he received 2 custom earlier this autumn) ?



I'm pretty sure he doesn't wait two years. I've heard artist wait times are as low as 6 weeks.




revlover said:


> Awesome guitar! Why has the letters on the headstock logo different shades of White? Is your name Jack perhaps?



It's mother of pearl, so it looks different at different angles, depending on the light.


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## Possessed

so beautiful! congrats!


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## StevenC

HNGD! One of these and a KV1 are on my list to order from Jackson, eventually.

Play all of Rust In Peace.


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## Blue1970Cutlass

Love it! The Kelly doesn't seem to get enough attention imho


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## Meemat

Am I going insane or are there only 23 frets?


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## Floppystrings

Simple, but effective in being awesome.

You should be proud.


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## drgordonfreeman

Meemat said:


> Am I going insane or are there only 23 frets?




Nope, you're not crazy. This was a real sore point for me when it came in. I had to make the decision, do I accept it, or do I send it back to be rebuilt? It's a neck-through, so there would be some major work involved in redoing this. I had to decide, did I want to wait another 90203420340923x10^10000000 years for Jackson to rebuild this and get it back to me? Was one fret worth it? Ultimately, I decided it wasn't.

To those of you considering Jackson CS builds, I'll let the following pictures speak for themselves...


First, there is this...








Then, this is what I got...






But supposedly, it went through this...










LOLwut


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## straymond

awesome quilt and axe overall, but:


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## BIG ND SWEATY

i'd be be fu_c_king pissed if i was you dude, that is unacceptable on even the cheapest of imports but to have it on a custom shop is absurd.


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## maliciousteve

That's really bizarre. I'd be pissed too but I couldn't send it back or get it rebuilt considering their wait times. At least it's still playable and looks awesome


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## Possessed

Sorry man, i am amazed about the QC of jackson. I am luck that my CS jackson has zero mistakes. Anyhow, this guitar will become really one-off with 23 frets though


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## Nag

HNGD ! but I have to ask about one thing : how is the neckdive ?


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## djpharoah

Wow nice guitar but someone at Jackson is asleep while they were inspecting that.


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## Eclipse

Looks sweet!


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## Valennic

23 frets? .

How on EARTH can you .... that one up . Either way, it's a gorgeous instrument, and I'd talk to Matt and Jackson about a partial refund for waiting two years to lose a fret.


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## jahosy

I'm a jackson fan and love their cs but to wait two years for them to stuff it up, they shld make it a priority to fix it up not wait another two yrs. 

Otherwise hngd mate!


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## CrushingAnvil

Congrats.

I'm like..._angry_...about not having a sweet ....ing Kelly like that.


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## CrushingAnvil

straymond said:


> awesome quilt and axe overall, but:



This.

WHAT THE F*UCK. 

That is _such_ bullshit. Now I'm a different kind of angry. Can Jackson pull their god-damned fingers out? Jesus....ingchrist.jpg


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## drgordonfreeman

djpharoah said:


> Wow nice guitar but someone at Jackson is asleep while they were inspecting that.



Someone was asleep when they built it _and_ when they inspected it.

I keep wondering what the thought process was of the guy who fretted this? "23 frets... yep, seems right to me."

Like I said, it was either accept that it's 23 frets, rather than 24, or go through the painful process of trying to get this fixed. I figured, screw it. Lesson learned. 

And this is only half of what I put up with when dealing with the Jackson CS. You guys don't want to hear the full story...


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## Epstein

Kind of reminds me how old Fenders had 21 frets...

21 Fret Fenders & 23 Fret Jacksons... Coincidence?



Still can't deny though, that is a sweet axe. And don't forget, you can always just bend up.


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## Jackley

My god man! So beautiful! HNGD!


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## rg401

drgordonfreeman said:


> Someone was asleep when they built it _and_ when they inspected it.
> 
> I keep wondering what the thought process was of the guy who fretted this? "23 frets... yep, seems right to me."
> 
> Like I said, it was either accept that it's 23 frets, rather than 24, or go through the painful process of trying to get this fixed. I figured, screw it. Lesson learned.
> 
> And this is only half of what I put up with when dealing with the Jackson CS. You guys don't want to hear the full story...



I bet one the the main dealing problems with the Jack CS was the 1 hum thing, they don't like to reproduce old signatures guitars with little changes.


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## Forrest_H

That quilt is sickkk. HNGD man. 

EDIT: Just saw the 23 fret thing, that's very strange...


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## Ironbird

23 frets! What the hell is up with that! 

Beautiful Kelly though, congrats to you. I play a WRMG Warrior myself!


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## drgordonfreeman

rg401 said:


> I bet one the the main dealing problems with the Jack CS was the 1 hum thing, they don't like to reproduce old signatures guitars with little changes.


 
Interesting. I didn't even think of that. Maybe they figured it was too close to the KE1-T, and to avoid any potential "conflicts" they made it with 23 frets instead of 24. That's a plausible scenario, I guess. If that's the case, though, I wish they would have at least given me a heads up.




Nagash said:


> HNGD ! but I have to ask about one thing : how is the neckdive ?


 
The neck dive is horrible. Ha. Sort of par for the course with Kellys.


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## G333

Nigel Tuffnel - "Most guitars have 22 frets but this has one more in case you need to take it to the next level, ya know, you can get that note on the 23rd fret nobody can else can get to".

Rob Reiner: "Aren't 24 fret guitars pretty standard these days?"

Nigel: "Yeah, but this has 23"

Rob:

Beautiful guitar, I'd take it with 23 no problem


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## Carnage

that quilt is awesome! love jacksons


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## Rev2010

Wait, so did you reach out to Matt and ask about some form of discount??? I mean they should be able to offer a price cut with such a ridiculous f*u*ckup. I would be beyond pissed, matter of fact I myself couldn't have kept it cause I like often doing riffs that go from open to the 24th fret - and before someone tries to tell me to play the note one string up the tone is different between the notes.

I have a custom 7-string Kelly in the works estimated to be completed in March and all this talk about neck dive is worrying me as mine is going to be 26.5" scale. I used to always play 25.5" 6-string Kelly's though and never had any neck dive issues though I used leather straps.


Rev.


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## Possessed

rg401 said:


> I bet one the the main dealing problems with the Jack CS was the 1 hum thing, they don't like to reproduce old signatures guitars with little changes.


 
It can not be true. My CS is based on mustaine's KV1. If you check ebay, there is silver KV1 which is the exact replica of Mustaine's silver V. No mistakes in building!


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## Possessed

drgordonfreeman said:


> Interesting. I didn't even think of that. Maybe they figured it was too close to the KE1-T, and to avoid any potential "conflicts" they made it with 23 frets instead of 24. That's a plausible scenario, I guess. If that's the case, though, I wish they would have at least given me a heads up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The neck dive is horrible. Ha. Sort of par for the course with Kellys.


 
Have you checked neck scale length? is it 25.5 or 24.75?


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## jacksonplayer

Possessed said:


> Have you checked neck scale length? is it 25.5 or 24.75?



I'm guessing it's 25.5" on a neck that was originally built for 24.75" w/24 frets. Jackson uses templates for these things, so it's not like a fretboard of this length would just accidentally happen. It *is* disturbing that the Custom Shop would deem it acceptable to just slap 23 frets on there and pretend everything was fine. That's incredibly unprofessional.


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## brett8388

Nice guitar but I would send it back. 23 frets is ridiculous. Take your business elsewhere if they won't make it right and quickly.


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## rg401

Possessed said:


> It can not be true. My CS is based on mustaine's KV1. If you check ebay, there is silver KV1 which is the exact replica of Mustaine's silver V. No mistakes in building!



awesome KV btw.


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## UltraParanoia

Very Marty Friedman esque! I love it


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## UltraParanoia

Just noticed whats wrong....WTF!


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## Danukenator

You know what, I'd actually really like to hear the whole story. It's good to get this info out there so people that are considering making the leap, know what they are getting into. People see Bulbs guitars and his fast build times and equate that to how they think they should be treated as a customer.


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## Rev2010

Danukenator said:


> You know what, I'd actually really like to hear the whole story. It's good to get this info out there so people that are considering making the leap, know what they are getting into. People see Bulbs guitars and his fast build times and equate that to how they think they should be treated as a customer.



When I get my custom Jackson and do an NGD I was planning on addressing some of those points. I definitely would never go through it again. 25 months is when I'm expected to get mine and for the price I don't care how good it is it's just not worth it. When I called Matts Music he quoted a 12-16 months, but after the order it was 2 years. I did know that already though reading posts and such so I don't feel misled. And I understand Misha is an endorsee, but I really just wish they'd get a separate team to handle endorsee builds so it wouldn't delay all the paying customer's orders, I mean that would make some sense no? 


Rev.


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## patsanger

I know this is totally your call, but you really need to talk to Jackson about this. It's just not right.


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## Danukenator

I mean, I hate to shit on your NGD. That guitar is objectively nice as are most USA and especially the CS Jacksons. You just need to talk to someone about it and make it right. 

Wasn't it Grover Jackson that sawed up a guitar in front of a team for messed up inlays? (May have been Wayne Charvel) Shit, He'd saw up an employee if he saw a whole fret missing.


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## arasys

I really rarely post here, most of the time I am a reader but this time I really couldn't stop myself from posting.. 
I've been a big fan of Jackson guitars for years and still I personally think this is unacceptable. 
It's not just the amount of money or the length of time you waited, this is more than that (it's almost disrespectful they sent it to you like this). If I were you I would send it back, and if they're going to keep you waiting for another 2 years then f**** them, ask for refund. I know it is so easy for me to say knowing you just got yourself a CS Jackson but what makes you think those flaws won't bother you even more in the future? 

I've been planning to order a custom jackson, now I have second thoughts about it. You know the thing is; this is not some 2-3 dudes running a custom shop and trying to offer an exceptional instrument. This is jackson and they've been building these for decades.. you're paying extra $ for their brand name, and quality etc.

Again, you are the person who will decide but if I were you I would also think about how I'd feel in the long run.


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## RevelGTR

How does a builder just forget a fret? It seems like there would have been many measurements that didn't make sense (fretboard length, binding) and would have caught there attention.


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## drgordonfreeman

After thinking about it, I think I'm going to reach out to Matt today to see what can be done. I'll keep you guys posted.


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## Rev2010

drgordonfreeman said:


> After thinking about it, I think I'm going to reach out to Matt today to see what can be done. I'll keep you guys posted.



Definitely do, I'm curious as hell to see what they say. You really should at the very least be due some form of partial refund no matter how small. Btw, can I ask... did Matt send you pics before he shipped it to you? I know I'd like to see pics first before I charge the remaining balance. I'll be sure to count all the frets 


Rev.


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## Mr Richard

Also I would like to hear the full story with your experience with the Jackson CS. Good or bad, it could help others in the future, plus it's interesting to hear.


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## DanakinSkywalker

Dude. There's no way you should have to wait 2 years and spend a whole bunch of money on a CUSTOM SHOP guitar with 23 frets when you said 24. Don't be a pushover about it, you need some compensation for sure.


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## MikeyLHolm

Cheer up guise. Its perfect ....ing guitar for Harmonic E Minor shreddage.


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## Ironbird

> It can not be true. My CS is based on mustaine's KV1. If you check ebay, there is silver KV1 which is the exact replica of Mustaine's silver V. No mistakes in building!


How did the CS allow you to build that?

Based on what I've read at the JCF, Jackson CS won't even think about doing anything close to 'artist spec' ie a King V with a Kahler fixed bridge (even a trem, for that matter as the bridges can be swapped easily).


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## drgordonfreeman

Rev2010 said:


> Definitely do, I'm curious as hell to see what they say. You really should at the very least be due some form of partial refund no matter how small. Btw, can I ask... did Matt send you pics before he shipped it to you? I know I'd like to see pics first before I charge the remaining balance. I'll be sure to count all the frets
> 
> 
> Rev.




Yea, Matt sent me pictures before hand. Matt's not really at fault here. He's been pretty good through this whole thing. Since I'm at work ~20 hours per day (I'm a Senior Manager in Core Assurance at a Big Four), I do most correspondence through my iPhone, and on my phone, the guitar looked fine. I never even thought to count the frets in the pictures, honestly, because it never occurred to me that Jackson would do something like that. It wasn't until I actually had the guitar in my hands that I realized it wasn't right. You live, you learn I guess.




DanakinSkywalker said:


> Dude. There's no way you should have to wait 2 years and spend a whole bunch of money on a CUSTOM SHOP guitar with 23 frets when you said 24. Don't be a pushover about it, you need some compensation for sure.



Thanks for the words of encouragement!

The problem is I just don't have the time or energy to screw with this sort of crap. As I said above, I'm an auditor at a Big Four firm. With 168 hours in a week, my schedule is usually booked at around 200% of that. No joke. There's just not enough hours in the day for me to worry about these sorts of things. That's why I pay money to theoretically trust worthy sources, such as a big name custom guitar shop, to deliver.

I've reached out to Matt, and he got back to me pretty quickly. I think the guys over at Jackson are pretty floored this incident happened. I'll be interested to see if they propose any sort of remediation plan here.

What scares me is that I have two more custom shop guitars on order with them.


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## Rev2010

drgordonfreeman said:


> Yea, Matt sent me pictures before hand. Matt's not really at fault here. He's been pretty good through this whole thing.



Wasn't implying in any way shape or form that Matt's accountable for this, not at all. This is Jackson's mess up plain and simple. Was just saying since he's the dealer, and you don't have a direct contact at Jackson, to see if they can give you a partial refund. It would make more sense for Jackson anyhow to offer a partial refund. A rebuild will cost them much more, and if I were you I wouldn't wait for a rebuild unless they can promise it in 6-8 weeks max and let you hang on to this one in the interim.


Rev.


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## eaeolian

I would be surprised if they didn't rush a replacement.

That said, WTF, Jackson?


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## jayelnyc

Awesome guitar bro. Makes me think of Marty Friedman.


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## AhsanU

Ow, my penis.

Congrats man, she's absolutely beautiful! And if you're honestly okay with 23 frets, then it's whatever. As long as *you're* okay with it. And if anything, tell Jackson that you'd like a price reduction or something on another build because of this cock up.

But I saw a Jackson KE1 very similar to this on eBay, except it had a Kahler tremolo. It sold for about 2 grand or so.. I regret not pulling the trigger on it. Damn, major GAS now.


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## drgordonfreeman

Rev2010 said:


> Wasn't implying in any way shape or form that Matt's accountable for this, not at all. This is Jackson's mess up plain and simple. Was just saying since he's the dealer, and you don't have a direct contact at Jackson, to see if they can give you a partial refund. It would make more sense for Jackson anyhow to offer a partial refund. A rebuild will cost them much more, and if I were you I wouldn't wait for a rebuild unless they can promise it in 6-8 weeks max and let you hang on to this one in the interim.
> 
> 
> Rev.



Yea, sorry about that, I wasn't implying that you implied it was Matt's fault.  







No worries! I doubt they'll promise it in 6 - 8 weeks, but strangers thing have happened... like 23 fret guitars.



eaeolian said:


> I would be surprised if they didn't rush a replacement.
> 
> That said, WTF, Jackson?



Well, Matt reached out to them yesterday morning, and I didn't hear anything back on it today at all. I'd think they'd be a little more hurried than that to get a resolution, but maybe they just don't care? Who knows.


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## jacksonplayer

I was wrong in my earlier post. It can't have originally been built for 24 frets on a 24.75" neck. You couldn't fit 23 frets at 25.5" on a fretboard designed for 24 @ 24.75". The guitar HAS to have been specifically built for 23 frets--there was nothing accidental about it. Someone at Jackson must have read your spec sheet wrong, and then it wasn't caught in QC. That's just really weird. BC Rich used to make 25-fret guitars, but I've *never* seen a 23-fret guitar. It should have set off alarm bells.


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## Overtone

Sell it to Michael Jordan... problem solved.


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## Dooky

Seriously, I would be asking for a 50% discount. They would likely give you something close to a 50% discount because as has already been said, it would cost them a lot more to do a complete rebuild. Plus, expecting you to pay full price or anywhere close to full price is just bad rep for their business.


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## Rev2010

drgordonfreeman said:


> But supposedly, it went through this...



OK, I'm really not trying to make matters worse, but is it just the photo angles or are those side dots also misaligned? Looking at the high end of the fretboard they look like they're getting lower and lower in the binding and the second pic up at the top of the neck still looks like the dots are all out of alignment - first fret dot really low and the 3rd fret dot correctly in the middle.


Rev.


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## eaeolian

jacksonplayer said:


> I was wrong in my earlier post. It can't have originally been built for 24 frets on a 24.75" neck. You couldn't fit 23 frets at 25.5" on a fretboard designed for 24 @ 24.75". The guitar HAS to have been specifically built for 23 frets--there was nothing accidental about it. Someone at Jackson must have read your spec sheet wrong, and then it wasn't caught in QC. That's just really weird. BC Rich used to make 25-fret guitars, but I've *never* seen a 23-fret guitar. It should have set off alarm bells.



Maybe they thought it was Zappa ordering from beyond the grave?


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## drgordonfreeman

*UPDATE:*

*I wanted to give you guys an update. Jackson has agreed to rebuild the guitar; however, it'll take 3 to 4 months. After waiting 2 years, honestly, what's 3 to 4 months at this point, I guess...* * At least they've agreed to rebuild it and make this right.* * There are a lot of guitar companies out there that would have told me "tough shit". I'm glad Jackson isn't one of them.*

All I can is I'm glad Matt's the cool guy that he is. He's been on top of this for me.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.





Rev2010 said:


> OK, I'm really not trying to make matters worse, but is it just the photo angles or are those side dots also misaligned? Looking at the high end of the fretboard they look like they're getting lower and lower in the binding and the second pic up at the top of the neck still looks like the dots are all out of alignment - first fret dot really low and the 3rd fret dot correctly in the middle.
> 
> 
> Rev.



Man, I didn't even notice that, but you're absolutely right.

Considering what you just identified about, conbined with this knowledge:



jacksonplayer said:


> I was wrong in my earlier post. It can't have originally been built for 24 frets on a 24.75" neck. You couldn't fit 23 frets at 25.5" on a fretboard designed for 24 @ 24.75". The guitar HAS to have been specifically built for 23 frets--there was nothing accidental about it. Someone at Jackson must have read your spec sheet wrong, and then it wasn't caught in QC. That's just really weird. BC Rich used to make 25-fret guitars, but I've *never* seen a 23-fret guitar. It should have set off alarm bells.




I've gone from upset to seriously pissed. Jackson didn't even attempt to build this thing. Sweat shop labor in Burma could have built this better.

I just don't even know what to think after this whole situation. I mean, my jaw is sort of on the floor now that everything is starting to sink in.


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## Possessed

Ironbird said:


> How did the CS allow you to build that?
> 
> Based on what I've read at the JCF, Jackson CS won't even think about doing anything close to 'artist spec' ie a King V with a Kahler fixed bridge (even a trem, for that matter as the bridges can be swapped easily).



If you ask for a KV1, the answer is no!
If you ask for a KV with 2 hum and kahler, the answer is yes!


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## toiletstand

have they given you an explanation as to why it happened? what are the chances someone else actually ordered a 23 fret guitar?


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## smfcbow

Meemat said:


> Am I going insane or are there only 23 frets?



I also see this.... And it confuses me.


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## Rev2010

drgordonfreeman said:


> Man, I didn't even notice that, but you're absolutely right.



Thanks for confirming the dots are misaligned and sorry to have pointed it out, again... wasn't trying to upset you further. I seriously think the CS guys must've been hitting up too many pints at lunch or some shit, or maybe the glue fumes are getting to them. For a custom shop guitar that is simply unacceptable from them. Now I'm scared quite shitless about my build. My build cost total is 4.6k and I put a thousand downpayment. If it comes in any way less than perfect I'm going to ask for a refund. If they refuse I'll contest the charge with my card. Can I ask, did you at least talk about a partial refund/discount. Was that discussed at all or was it not an option? Also, do you know if a full refund is something they would've done for you or is the whole answer, "We'll rebuild it... take it or leave it"? Cause I really want to know.



drgordonfreeman said:


> I've gone from upset to seriously pissed. Jackson didn't even attempt to build this thing. Sweat shop labor in Burma could have built this better.



I didn't want to say it but after seeing the dots as well I couldn't help but think to myself, "My Indonesian Slatxmg3-8 doesn't have any of these issues"... 

Best of luck with the whole situation man. And please do keep us updated.


Rev.


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## Jlang

This whole situation is just absolutely absurd. That being said the quilt on that top is just dirty nice.


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## 1b4n3z

drgordonfreeman said:


> *UPDATE:*
> 
> *There are a lot of guitar companies out there that would have told me "tough shit". I'm glad Jackson isn't one of them.*
> 
> All I can is I'm glad Matt's the cool guy that he is. He's been on top of this for me.
> 
> I've gone from upset to seriously pissed. Jackson didn't even attempt to build this thing. Sweat shop labor in Burma could have built this better.
> 
> I just don't even know what to think after this whole situation. I mean, my jaw is sort of on the floor now that everything is starting to sink in.



It could have been worse - here's Jackson telling someone "tough shit": Custom shop flawed guitar, looking for help!!!!!!

It's great you have a really helpful dealer to back you up - give 'em hell 

Here's hoping the next one will be just perfect!


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## Sithman55

yes just yes


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## gibson5413

Someone needs to shoot this thread to someone at Jackson and let them read what this kind of product can do to their business. I know they have been around for a while but this isn't the 80s any more (where word of mouth can die out). Forums and social media will spread the fire. I know they are going to make it right but this should never happen with a custom shop product. I know Jackson has a great rep for the most part but I am blown away. I have purchased four custom spec'ed guitars from Tom Anderson over the past three years. Each of them came out perfect. The man himself checks in to see how I am doing and they have made this small time player feel like a paid endorsee. 

Good luck getting this back quick!


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## xzyryabx

Dude, with all due respect, I can't understand how you would accept anything but a refund. Dunno what to say, I read your reasoning, and it's your money, but think carefully about this before you agree to a rebuild. A rebuilt guitar will not be the same as one freshly made.....
4.6K, 2 years wait, hassles along the way, then you get 1 missing fret, neck binding when you specifically asked for no binding, crooked side dots, and the disrespect of Jackson all along the way (NO WAY they didn't notice any of that....they ....ed up, figured you're a kid metalhead buying it with your rich dads money who won't complain and tried to pull it off on ya). Wouldn't be surprised if they half assed other things along the way which you haven't noticed yet.


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## Rev2010

Have you guys seen this one on the JCFonline forums?:

Custom shop flawed guitar, looking for help!!!


Rev.


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## xzyryabx

Rev2010 said:


> Have you guys seen this one on the JFConline forums?:
> 
> Custom shop flawed guitar, looking for help!!!
> 
> 
> Rev.



Jackson CS is on a roll!!


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## themike

Can anyone chime in to why Jackson's CS wait is so long? My guitarist waited 3 years for his CS Jackson and come to think of it, his had a few issues too. Do they have that much more order volume than other companies becuase I know they aren't spending extra time in the QC department 




drgordonfreeman said:


> *I wanted to give you guys an update. Jackson has agreed to rebuild the guitar *


 

No, no, no - you agreed to give Jackson the privledge and honor of building you another guitar. They are in no way, shape, or form doing you a favor since the guitar you recieved is NOT the guitar you spec'd. 

I'm glad you're taking a rebuild though and not just dealing with it!


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## whosdealin

Unbelievable ...... Honestly man, you said that you are happy that Jackson is doing something for you and not just telling you to bug off ? They should be going over and beyond to make you happy considering the situation. 

Seriously...I don't understand why guitar builders even the biggest names in the biz can send out custom ordered pieces like this. I have had similar situations with several high end companies. Its just insane and then on top of that they treat you like you are a peeon while they rush to build endorsee guitars. 

For what its worth I purchased a brand new Jackson USA soloist from a online dealer without having a chance to play it first . When the guitar arrived it had issues that I felt were unacceptable especially at the price point. I was able to send it back for a refund thankfully. After that I had a chance to try a bunch of high end Jacksons at the music zoo recently and in my experience they are very hit or miss.


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## whosdealin

Also just a little advice.... If this guitar that you have in your possession now , looks, plays and sounds the way you want then I would ask for partial refund and keep it. I would try and get as much money back as possible but if you love the guitar the way it is then you are risking the chance of them building you another one that you don't like as much. 

If this one you find to be just ok... Maybe the tone is just ok or it doesnt set up as great as you would like , etc then I would go for a full refund or the rebuild option. If you love it, keep it because the next one wont be the same. If you have any doubts about it at all then I would send it back for sure.


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## Forkface

Wow that was a tough read after that awesome guitar pr0n. Glad to see this ordeal is "finally" over and you reached a solution you're happy with.

On a side note, what saddens me the most is that, after looking at Bulb's Jacksons, I come to the conclusion that it's not that the CS is incapable of building something flawless, but they clearly stopped caring about their customers and spending most of their resources towards "endorsees"... When they clearly should pay the same attention to every single guitar no matter the owner. You are the paying customer, thanks to people that trust the brand the company still exists, i feel it is inexcusable to be THIS careless when building something for ANYBODY.

Anyway, 4 months is a breeze man, you won't even feel them


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## F1Filter

Forkface said:


> On a side note, what saddens me the most is that, after looking at Bulb's Jacksons, *I come to the conclusion that it's not that the CS is incapable of building something flawless, but they clearly stopped caring about their customers and spending most of their resources towards "endorsees"... When they clearly should pay the same attention to every single guitar no matter the owner.* You are the paying customer, thanks to people that trust the brand the company still exists, i feel it is inexcusable to be THIS careless when building something for ANYBODY.



This is what's beginning to concern me as well. I'm slowly approaching a 3 year wait on a 7 string Soloist from their CS. Which had it's order placed around the same time that the SS.org run was submitted. It'd better be absolutely perfect in build quality -and- to the letter of it's specs that were on the work order. In fact, I actually made my specs a bit more simplified than that of the usual Soloist build. Figuring that the CS would be able to bang it out a lot easier & quicker. I really hope this isn't going to backfire.


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## Rev2010

F1Filter said:


> I'm slowly approaching a 3 year wait on 7 string Soloist from their CS.





F1Filter said:


> In fact, I actually made my specs a bit more simplified than that of the usual Soloist build. Figuring that the CS would be able to bang it out a lot easier & quicker.



Whoa hold on a second... you're *nearing 3 years* wait time!!??? I placed my custom 7-string Kelly order in February of 2012 and recently followed up with Matt from Matt's Music and he contacted Jackson for an estimated completion date in August. They responded that it was on slate to begin production the end of that month with an estimated completion of March 2014 (25 months). How you can you be close to 3 years? Also, my custom Jackson 7-string flat-top Kelly is to be 26.5" scale, spalted maple top and headstock, with full body/neck/headstock black binding and Broderick style reversed AT1 headstock.

Honestly, this thread and the one I linked to with that other CS with misaligned bridge and pickup routings has me extremely concerned. And if my wait time gets pushed several months past March I'm going to outright demand a refund of my $1000 deposit... I am not going to sit around and wait close to 3 years, that is plainly absurd.

Looking back at it all I wish I could get into a time machine, go back, smack myself in the face, and say, "FORGET IT!". It still might turn out awesome for all I know, but 2+ years wait time and now this worry simply isn't worth it IMO.


Rev.


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## F1Filter

Rev2010 said:


> Whoa hold on a second... you're *nearing 3 years* wait time!!???



Yep, it'll be exactly 3 years this upcoming January. 

I hate to sound pessimistic. But I wouldn't take their ETA seriously. I also had an order back in 2011 through the Music Zoo for a 6 string Soloist with a top mounted floyd and reverse headstock/inlays (dealer run). It took a lot of cajoling from Mark over there to even get a status update from the CS (beginning to think I should have Matt do the same). Eventually it showed up 27 months after the WO was submitted.


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## narad

Rev2010 said:


> Looking back at it all I wish I could get into a time machine, go back, smack myself in the face, and say, "FORGET IT!". It still might turn out awesome for all I know, but 2+ years wait time and now this worry simply isn't worth it IMO.



Legally change name to Misha Mansoor. 
Order CS Jackson. 
Wait six weeks. 
Collect flawless CS Jackson.


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## MetalDaze

I've got one on order since March 2011. Mine did fail inspection at Jackson before being shipped and needed to be rebuilt. I'm not excited about the extra wait, but it did make me feel good that they caught it.

My issue is that I ordered an Extreme Warrior and every time they go to buff it they burn through the paint due to the odd shape. However, it's not like they haven't done one of those before.

I own 3 other Jackson CS guitars and they are all perfect.


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## NextInLine

Jackson should do something else to make you happy other than fixing your guitar. This is totally unacceptable. You have waited as long as they told you so, and now if they want you to wait for another 3-4 months they should make it up to you.


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## rg401

Rev2010 said:


> my custom Jackson 7-string flat-top Kelly is to be 26.5" scale, spalted maple top and headstock, with full body/neck/headstock black binding and Broderick style reversed AT1 headstock.




Man your Kelly CS is very close to what I would Order if I get the money! forgetting all the CS crap and wait time. Waiting for that NGD for sure.


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## Rev2010

rg401 said:


> Man your Kelly CS is very close to what I would Order if I get the money! forgetting all the CS crap and wait time. Waiting for that NGD for sure.



Certainly keeping my fingers crossed!! One other thing I'm worrying about as well is neck dive. I've never had a problem with it on all the KE3's I've owned in the past (several) but I typically used a leather strap, which I will use again. But being 26.5" scale I'm starting to wonder. At least the headstock won't be so damn big being I'm going Broderick AT1 style, maybe that will help. I originally wanted to go with an oversized Kelly body but there was no option anywhere and often simple questions on things would appear to confuse Jackson or result in crazy upcharges so I kept my mouth shut and just figured I'd let them do it as they see fit. Now I'm thinking I should've probably asked for an oversized body and it's likely too late in the game to change that now anyhow.


Rev.


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## MetalDaze

Rev2010 said:


> Certainly keeping my fingers crossed!! One other thing I'm worrying about as well is neck dive. I've never had a problem with it on all the KE3's I've owned in the past (several) but I typically used a leather strap, which I will use again. But being 26.5" scale I'm starting to wonder. At least the headstock won't be so damn big being I'm going Broderick AT1 style, maybe that will help. I originally wanted to go with an oversized Kelly body but there was no option anywhere and often simple questions on things would appear to confuse Jackson or result in crazy upcharges so I kept my mouth shut and just figured I'd let them do it as they see fit. Now I'm thinking I should've probably asked for an oversized body and it's likely too late in the game to change that now anyhow.
> 
> 
> Rev.


 
I wouldn't sweat the quality issues too much. Most likely it will be fine and if it isn't, you'll be able to get a refund and put the money towards something else. 

The neck dive will be the wild card factor. I had a KE2 and it was neck heavy. That extra scale length and the extra string isn't going to help. Hopefully, the smaller headstock will make a difference.

I haven't had that problem on my RR1 or KV2....just the Kelly. Fingers crossed


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## Grand Moff Tim

MetalDaze said:


> Most likely it will be fine and if it isn't, you'll be able to get a refund and put the money towards something else.



Unless you end up in a situation like that other CS disaster linked in this thread and Jackson just tells you tough shit .


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## HeHasTheJazzHands

I know this is old, but I think Alexi Laiho was onto something when he switched from Jackson to ESP when they switched ownership.


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## MetalDaze

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Unless you end up in a situation like that other CS disaster linked in this thread and Jackson just tells you tough shit .


 
Was that the one with the misaligned routes? He did get a "tough shit" at first, but in the end they offered a refund.

I think if you make enough of a stink, they'll give you the refund. That's at least one semi-decent reason to go with a big company versus some of the smaller luthiers, where you are lucky to get a rebuild if anything.


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## vm27

Nice guitar!


Any updates?


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## ddk

Dear lord it is awesome


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## groverj3

ddk said:


> Dear lord it is awesome



I mean, aside from the completely unacceptable missing fret...


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## drgordonfreeman

vm27 said:


> Nice guitar!
> 
> 
> Any updates?


 

Well, as they say, it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings, and she hasn't sung yet.


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## groverj3

drgordonfreeman said:


> Well, as they say, it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings, and she hasn't sung yet.



I don't know, man. They should be offering you a super expedited rebuild (I'm talking right to the front of the line, start on it same day, shit) or a complete refund.

Those are the only two acceptable options.


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## drgordonfreeman

groverj3 said:


> I don't know, man. They should be offering you a super expedited rebuild (I'm talking right to the front of the line, start on it same day, shit) or a complete refund.
> 
> Those are the only two acceptable options.



They offered a 90 day turnaround on a rebuild. That was back in October, but I don't have anything yet.


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## ihave27frets

Nice!


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## Seventhwave

drgordonfreeman said:


> They offered a 90 day turnaround on a rebuild. That was back in October, but I don't have anything yet.



Sounds like Jackson....


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## electriceye

drgordonfreeman said:


> They offered a 90 day turnaround on a rebuild. That was back in October, but I don't have anything yet.



I think the JS doesn't operate according to Earth days. They are more in line with Mars, in which 90 days on Mars = 180 Earth days. Inexcusable either way.


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## Broken

What...no reverse headstock?

HNGD!


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## ShredWizard

Alexi left Jackson when he had his guitars stolen in the middle of a tour. Even as a Jackson endorser they gave him some absurd ETA on new guitars when ESP told him 2 weeks or something like that. 

Mustaine left after trying to buy the company 3 times, they sold it to Fender under his nose. 

I'm shocked at the problems with this guitar, I thought after Fender bought them (who's USA guitars have nearly flawless QC in my opinion) this would have stopped. Unbelievable, they better rebuild it AND give you a discount.


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## groverj3

^ Lead times have always been terrible from what I know. It's just a fact of life, since the custom shop is a pretty small operation and always has been. Although, if you're willing to compromise on specs custom selects have a much shorter wait.

This flaw should have been obviously caught in QC if not well before that stage. I wonder who the primary builder on it was. I've never heard exactly why Pablo Santana left, but there were a couple of lemons that came out of the custom shop around the same time and if he was in charge of any of them it isn't inconceivable that the two things are related.


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## Drusas

Wow, that is awesome!


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## tastehbacon

That quilt...


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## Pav

Well, my CS is now finished after 22 months, so here's hoping they got the fret count correct.


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## drgordonfreeman

ShredWizard said:


> I'm shocked at the problems with this guitar, I thought after Fender bought them (who's USA guitars have nearly flawless QC in my opinion) this would have stopped. Unbelievable, they better rebuild it AND give you a discount.




No such luck here. I was offered either a $300 discount to take the guitar as-is, or a 90 day turn around on a rebuild (which has actually taken twice as long, and I still don't have the guitar)




Pav said:


> Well, my CS is now finished after 22 months, so here's hoping they got the fret count correct.



Best of luck!


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## F1Filter

drgordonfreeman said:


> No such luck here. I was offered either a $300 discount to take the guitar as-is, or a 90 day turn around on a rebuild (which has actually taken twice as long, and I still don't have the guitar)



Ugh! And here I am waiting now for more than 3 years on my build, which recently (Feb) was given a completion timeline of April. Confidence not very high here.


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## littledoc

Wow. Well, thank you guys for reinforcing my belief that customs from the bigger brands are mostly a waste of money. Ridiculous cost, ridiculous wait time, and in the end.... well, even if this guitar passed QC with all the frets it was supposed to have, while it's a fine guitar it's basically just a Kelly with a single pickup and a fairly average quilt top. It doesn't strike me as a "custom" the way Vik, Skervesen, or Blackat's guitars do. To each their own, I suppose.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands

FWIW, Jackson is the only big brand where I heard of problems with the CS for non-artists. Vik has had some communication problems from what I've seen.


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## Pav

drgordonfreeman said:


> Best of luck!



Thank you!

So you weren't charged for the rebuild at all were you? Just tasked with waiting even longer?


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## Sleazy_D

good god thats tits.


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## Eclipse

Oh boy thats awesome!


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## vm27

drgordonfreeman said:


> They offered a 90 day turnaround on a rebuild. That was back in October, but I don't have anything yet.


Did you send the guitar back? Or they haven't decided what to do yet?


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## ZeroTolerance94

My friend and I were just talking about this dilemma jokingly... and neither of us could remember the actual outcome so I came to re-read the pages...

What actually did happen? You got the guitar back, I presume... how is it?


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## dimitrio

Just saw this thread.. That is a crazy story, would never expected that from CS of a well-known guitar brand. So how did it end?


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## Dawn of the Shred

Lord what a mess.... I really hope Jackson makes it right but damn after that long of a wait and at that price then to have to go through all this bs! Man i feel for you.


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## Adieu

...what WAS the eventual outcome (if any)??


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## Zado

Adieu said:


> ...what WAS the eventual outcome (if any)??


The builder went to school and learned to count


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## narad

Zado said:


> The builder went to school and learned to count



They taught him order of operations with the mnemonic: Please Excuse My Dumb Ass Scale-length.


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## Dumple Stilzkin

So did the use the wrong scale length and then try to put frets on it like it was the usual 25.5? I’m just trying to understand how that could happen?


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## Sleazy_D

Oh HELLLLLLL NO.


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