# Jackson Stars Custom (picstory-NO dialup-originally posted at JCF)



## nedheftyfunk (Sep 14, 2007)

Hello everyone,  Maybe I should first introduce myself?  Ah, who am I kidding, I'm sure you'd prefer the picstory.

This was ordered at the end of February from Jackson Stars in Japan, delivered to Ireland this week and then held by Customs for a pound of flesh. Now, what do we have here?







We'll be needing tools for this:






That's just not right. Ah, better:






But something is still missing:






Still not right. Ah, I know what I need. Perfect:






Now that's sorted, let's get down to business:






Great packing, with lots of bubble-wrap:






The case is sweet. I hope the guitar is:






We'll know soon:






Wow, I can't believe how accurately the custom shop interpreted my sketches:






It sounds so sweet through my VOX:







Okay, okay. What could it really be?






That's more like it:






Oh yes:












There wasn't much daylight by the time I collected it, so this will have to do as a body-shot:






SHAPE : Kelly, 7-string
BODY : Alder with Quilt Maple Veneer
COLOUR: Transparent Black Sunburst
NECK : Maple Thru-Neck
FINGERBOARD : Bound Ebony with Reverse Mother of Pearl Sharkfin Inlays
HEADSTOCK : Quilt Veneer (matching body) with Mother of Pearl Jackson Stars inlay
BRIDGE : Tunamatic.Strings Thru-Body
PICKUPS : Seymour Duncan Jazz SH-2-7(Front) Seymour Duncan Custom TB-5-7 (Rear)

Now can someone tell me what I do with that seventh string?  

 

PS Just to answer Noodles' question in the other thread. Ikebe's three prices are list, street in japan, and street without consumption tax. Consumption tax is a Japanese domestic market 5% tax, which you wouldn't have to pay it if the guitar is getting shipped internationally. That is, you pay the lowest price. Not that I ordered through Ikebe Gakki. I don't think they were willing to ship to Ireland!


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## zimbloth (Sep 14, 2007)

Awesome dude! I didn't know you could custom order Jackson Stars models. Do you mind telling me how much you paid for that? (you could PM if you don't want to make it public). That's sweet.

As for what you do with the seventh string: anything and everything. It's just a string. Assuming you have a ear for music you should have no problem writing songs w/ it easily 

Congrats


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## GazPots (Sep 14, 2007)

Loving the quilt under that black dude.


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## Dylan S (Sep 14, 2007)

That guitar looks amazing man!

Congrats! 

Enjoy it.


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## nedheftyfunk (Sep 14, 2007)

I'll send you a P.M. re: price.

Jackson Stars have a Custom Shop and a Semi-Custom system. With the semi-custom options, you can pick a standard guitar and then have it built with certain "minor" differences. Where minor can include: only one pickup, different pickups, different bridges,... A whole lot of things really. There's a lot of information on it over at the JCF in the import section.  



zimbloth said:


> As for what you do with the seventh string: anything and everything. It's just a string. Assuming you have a ear for music you should have no problem writing songs w/ it easily



An ear for music?  

 I'm doomed.


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## Jason (Sep 14, 2007)

first post and its a beauty..


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## zimbloth (Sep 14, 2007)

Definitely the most metal 1st post in history


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## Alpo (Sep 14, 2007)

Looks great!


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## amonb (Sep 14, 2007)

Listen to Z... he is in love with that Kelly. 

I don't blame him!


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## eaeolian (Sep 14, 2007)

Man, the picstories are going above and beyond lately. 

Nice guitar - and I definitely approve of the color.  I think the Stars CS is going to start seeing a lot more orders since the USA CS pricing is getting out of control...


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## gurugow (Sep 14, 2007)

I tried to find their custom shop, but the website was in japanese. Can you send me a PM with a general price too?  thanks


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## yevetz (Sep 14, 2007)

what is the scale?


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## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 14, 2007)

What was the wait time like?

PS - Can I also get a PM about price?


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## IrfaanSE801 (Sep 14, 2007)

That's a killer guitar, congrats! I love the Kelly shape, and a 7 string = winner in my book


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## kmanick (Sep 14, 2007)

beautiful guitar
my SL2H soloist is trans black 
nice choice 

can you pm me the price and how you wnet about ordering it too?
thanks!


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## Drew (Sep 14, 2007)

1.) Your picstory is fuckin' epic, dude. For a first post? Brilliant! [/guinness]

2.) If you wouldn't mind, I actually wouldn't mind a PM on what you paid for it as well. I've been having more and more Jackson gas of late, and if they do semi-custom, then a Soloist with some kind of a quilt top and an OFR, hopefully with a maple board but wiith whatever I can get may be in my future...


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## Chris (Sep 14, 2007)

That's awesome. 

Welcome dude, great looking axe.


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## playstopause (Sep 14, 2007)

With all the pm's about price, it might be better to go public about the price  This might interest a LOT of people here.

Freakin' nice guitar AND picstory. Epic.


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## eelblack2 (Sep 14, 2007)

Excellent first post. Welcome aboard and excellent taste on that custom job.


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## the.godfather (Sep 14, 2007)

That's a pretty good looking guitar you have there, Congrats!  

Welcome aboard sir.


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## HighGain510 (Sep 14, 2007)

playstopause said:


> With all the pm's about price, it might be better to go public about the price  This might interest a LOT of people here.
> 
> Freakin' nice guitar AND picstory. Epic.



+1 Everyone is asking, can you just post up the price publicly so you don't have to send 20 PMs about it please?  Welcome, great picstory dude!!!


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## JMP2203 (Sep 14, 2007)

HighGain510 said:


> +1 Everyone is asking, can you just post up the price publicly so you don't have to send 20 PMs about it please?  Welcome, great picstory dude!!!



+1


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## jacksonplayer (Sep 14, 2007)

That's just freakin' awesome!!! Congrats.

If I hadn't already ordered a KXK, I'd be thinking seriously about a Stars custom. Though with the bad (for me) exchange rate + shipping, it might not be that much less expensive than a USA custom.

Have you played USA Jacksons before, and if so, how would you compare the quality?


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## technomancer (Sep 14, 2007)

EPIC 

I'm with everybody else on just posting the price, as I'd like to know as well  I'd also be very interested in what the process is like for ordering one.

Beautiful guitar


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## noodles (Sep 14, 2007)

nedheftyfunk said:


>



I used to have one of those, but I could never get pickups that worked well with the body plastic.


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## FortePenance (Sep 14, 2007)

i heard Evolutions really compliment the midrangey plastic body tone.

Fucking hot Jackson... everytime I think Jacko gas is over... argh...

Could you please PM with price as well please? Or post it. Megacuriousity over here.


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## B Lopez (Sep 14, 2007)

Dude,


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## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 14, 2007)

Only a few posts in and he's already got 2 rep bars


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## Nats (Sep 14, 2007)

i like the finish. the shape not so much. that other guitar is metal as hell though


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## SnowfaLL (Sep 14, 2007)

Its been awhile since I literally said "HOLY FUCK" after seeing pics of a guitar.. But that did it. Thanks~

Also curious on the price.. I know a guy from another forum who got a White flamed top KE7 but he wasnt an over generious guy, and didnt share the price with anyone..


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## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 14, 2007)

Was it a Jackson Stars CS or USA Jackson CS?


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## SnowfaLL (Sep 14, 2007)

Stars. came from japannnn

From what I believe, they are significantly lower than USA cs, but still not like.. to kxk prices (obviously)


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## FortePenance (Sep 14, 2007)

JJ Rodriguez said:


> Only a few posts in and he's already got 2 rep bars



I had 2 rep bars, 10 posts in. Shame they were both red.


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## D-EJ915 (Sep 14, 2007)

looks pretty nice dude.


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## sakeido (Sep 14, 2007)

I too would be interested in knowing what kind of price that has. Although I should warn everyone the Jackson Stars custom shop is not a full custom shop... they still CNC everything. You can't order a SLSMG 7 string from them because they don't have the programming to do the SLS headstock with 7 tuners and so on...


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## nedheftyfunk (Sep 14, 2007)

Thanks for great welcome everyone!  

It's a Jackson Stars Custom, i.e. made in Japan. 

There aren't enough hours in the day to PM everyone the price!  

The only reason I don't like posting prices is that the dealer can get into trouble with the manufacturer. Will it suffice if I say that including shipping and insurance it was about Jackson USA Select pricing? Somewhere in the 1600-2000 USD range. That's with current exchange rates, which are - of course - appalling if you're buying in USD. 

Incidentally, OFRs are an expensive option. I didn't want one for this guitar anyway, but just so you know.



jacksonplayer said:


> Have you played USA Jacksons before, and if so, how would you compare the quality?



Yep, I own a KV2 and a SLATQH.  Well, maybe not  for the SLATQH, which is cherry sunburst. 

I've hardly played the KE7 at all, so I'll have to reserve judgement. First impressions were that it compares well with the USAs in terms of fit, finish & quality of the materials used. I'll post a fuller opinion after I've spent time playing it over the weekend.


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## FortePenance (Sep 14, 2007)

Wow! Great price especially compared to the US ones. How were the Jackson Stars reps?


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## Shawn (Sep 14, 2007)

Very nice! Great picstory. Welcome too by the way.


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## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 14, 2007)

nedheftyfunk said:


> Thanks for great welcome everyone!
> 
> It's a Jackson Stars Custom, i.e. made in Japan.
> 
> ...




What was the wait time like?


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## FortePenance (Sep 14, 2007)

Says he ordered end of February.


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## nedheftyfunk (Sep 14, 2007)

yevetz said:


> what is the scale?



Sorry, I missed this earlier. It's 25.5".


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## darren (Sep 14, 2007)

Great picstory and gorgeous guitar! How does one go about ordering from the Jackson Stars Custom Shop? 

(Though somehow i doubt they'd be able to build my Collen Archtop 7 dream guitar.  )


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## Splinterhead (Sep 14, 2007)

Beautiful!
Man I'd love to check one of those out.


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## sakeido (Sep 14, 2007)

darren said:


> Great picstory and gorgeous guitar! How does one go about ordering from the Jackson Stars Custom Shop?
> 
> (Though somehow i doubt they'd be able to build my Collen Archtop 7 dream guitar.  )



From the e-mail I sent them before, only the Soloist, Kelly and Rhoads are available as 7 strings, and only with the big Jackson headstock


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## SnowfaLL (Sep 14, 2007)

archtop collens 7 does sound pretty badass lol too bad it wouldnt be made =[


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## noodles (Sep 14, 2007)

darren said:


> (Though somehow i doubt they'd be able to build my Collen Archtop 7 dream guitar.  )



I was totally going to get Mike to order me one, right up until Fender jacked their prices up higher than an oil company after a hurricane.


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## Drew (Sep 14, 2007)

nedheftyfunk said:


> Thanks for great welcome everyone!
> 
> It's a Jackson Stars Custom, i.e. made in Japan.
> 
> ...



That'll suffice nicely, thanks for the ballparkk fiigure.  It's tough to tell without actually playing it, but visually I'd say you probably got your money's worth. That thing's hot.


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## D-EJ915 (Sep 14, 2007)

noodles said:


> I was totally going to get Mike to order me one, right up until Fender jacked their prices up higher than an oil company after a hurricane.


it'd be cheaper to buy Jackson than get one of those


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## Apophis (Sep 14, 2007)

Amazing Guitar, I love the finish


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## noodles (Sep 14, 2007)

D-EJ915 said:


> it'd be cheaper to buy Jackson than get one of those



"Someone ordered a PC Archtop 7? Awesome, now we can buy another guitar manufacturer!"


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## xwmucradiox (Sep 14, 2007)

Can you post a photo of the back/neck joint? Im think about getting the regular black one but Id like to know what the upper fret access is like.


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## TomAwesome (Sep 14, 2007)

Nice! My other guitarist would wet himself over that, except that he's afraid of extra strings


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## skinhead (Sep 14, 2007)

Guinness, Red Bull and 7 string Kelly. You're a happy man.

Congrats


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## kherman (Sep 14, 2007)

She's a real beauty.
congrats.


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## nedheftyfunk (Sep 15, 2007)

xwmucradiox said:


> Can you post a photo of the back/neck joint? Im think about getting the regular black one but Id like to know what the upper fret access is like.



Are these the sort of pictures you're looking for?















Ignore the reflection of my SO.  

The access is okay, but not great. It's difficult to reach the top few frets on the middle strings. The heel, like the body, is quite thick. Also the lower horn restricts access to the top of the register. Even on the high E, you'd need small hands to readily use the 24th fret. But then you need big hands because the neck is wide, but flat. 

 It would best if you had both small and big hands.


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## Emperoff (Oct 6, 2007)

How is the neck shaped? Is in the line of regular japanese Jacksons, or thicker like the USA neck-tru ones?


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## tie my rope (Oct 6, 2007)

very nice quilt man.


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## nedheftyfunk (Oct 7, 2007)

Emperoff said:


> How is the neck shaped? Is in the line of regular japanese Jacksons, or thicker like the USA neck-tru ones?



It's like a wide version of a Jackson speed-neck. Like a broad version of the neck you'd find on a KV2 or KE2. It has a shallower profile than on a USA soloist. 



tie my rope said:


> very nice quilt man.



Thanks man!


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## Pablo (Oct 7, 2007)

Though not a huge Kelly fan, I have to say that your's is one amazing specimen... Congrats on one amazing guitar... and an even better picstory!


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## skinhead (Oct 7, 2007)

A thing i want to know, do you mixed Guinness beer with Red Bull?


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## noodles (Oct 8, 2007)

nedheftyfunk said:


> The access is okay, but not great. It's difficult to reach the top few frets on the middle strings. The heel, like the body, is quite thick. Also the lower horn restricts access to the top of the register. Even on the high E, you'd need small hands to readily use the 24th fret. But then you need big hands because the neck is wide, but flat.



Sadly, this is one of the reasons I never really liked playing my KE1, eventually leading me to selling it. This is the result of shrinking the body profile down for Marty Friedman. The larger Kelly shapes of the eighties had enough clearance to keep you from banging the back of your hand on the horn.



nedheftyfunk said:


> It's like a wide version of a Jackson speed-neck. Like a broad version of the neck you'd find on a KV2 or KE2. It has a shallower profile than on a USA soloist.



This sounds completely different from my Stars Soloist. The neck on it is like a wider version of my sixer Soloist.


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## nedheftyfunk (Oct 8, 2007)

noodles said:


> Sadly, this is one of the reasons I never really liked playing my KE1, eventually leading me to selling it. This is the result of shrinking the body profile down for Marty Friedman. The larger Kelly shapes of the eighties had enough clearance to keep you from banging the back of your hand on the horn.



I knew about the high-fret access issue with the modern Kelly before I ordered it, but always liked the shape and thought it would suit the gigantic headstock. The KE7 is certainly as imperfect as any Kelly, but I really like it. 

I've never seen an original big-bodied Kelly. They must have been massive, as it is still a big, heavy guitar. I always wondered if Marty picked it or if Dave and/or Jackson "encouraged" him? It's certainly more associated with Marty than with the (late) Bradford Kelly, after whom it's named.



noodles said:


> This sounds completely different from my Stars Soloist. The neck on it is like a wider version of my sixer Soloist.



That's odd. I've just played it back-to-back with a KV and an SL; I'd swear it's more like the KV. Maybe they've changed the profile? 

I've oggled pictures of your white Stars Soloist. I still have GAS for an SL7. I was wondering, does yours suffer from much nose-dive?



skinhead said:


> A thing i want to know, do you mixed Guinness beer with Red Bull?



Only indirectly: in my stomach, not in the glass.


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## noodles (Oct 8, 2007)

nedheftyfunk said:


> I've never seen an original big-bodied Kelly. They must have been massive, as it is still a big, heavy guitar. I always wondered if Marty picked it or if Dave and/or Jackson "encouraged" him? It's certainly more associated with Marty than with the (late) Bradford Kelly, after whom it's named.









That is the original "King" Kelly, which is slightly bigger than a Gibson Explorer. They were absolutely massive. The "standard" Kelly sat somewhere between the modern Kelly and the King Kelly. The smaller Marty shape became standard shortly after the Friedman signature model (KE1) came out.



> That's odd. I've just played it back-to-back with a KV and an SL; I'd swear it's more like the KV. Maybe they've changed the profile?



I don't think it's odd at all. My old KE1 had the speed neck, which was a a thinner, flatter version of the standard Jackson profile. The KV1 had the same neck. It sounds like they simply widened this neck for the Kelly, while they simply widened the standard profile for my Soloist. FWIW Mike's Jackson CS Soloist 7 has the same profile, and predates my Stars by a few years.



> I've oggled pictures of your white Stars Soloist. I still have GAS for an SL7. I was wondering, does yours suffer from much nose-dive?



A bit, which is a side effect of the larger neck and massive headstock. A good leather strap--I use the Levy's straps with the garment leather backing--takes care of this problem. Mike's has the SLS headstock and two less frets, which makes it balance perfectly.


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## Rick (Oct 8, 2007)

Wow, that thing is beautiful.


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## cybersavior (Oct 8, 2007)

Awesome post and I have to say that you acquired a devastating guitar. I'm jealous!

Give the boys at JCF my love!


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## 7slinger (Oct 8, 2007)

awesome guitar, I love the kelly shape, me jealous


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## newamerikangospel (Oct 9, 2007)

If you look, you actually have a higher reach on the new one. The horn depth reaches about 22 1/2 frets, where the old one is around 21 3/4. Why did they put two extra, almost unusable frets on it?


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## Tombinator (Oct 9, 2007)

Fucking hell!!! That's the one I want as well (without the quilt maple top), I've been drooling over it for months on end. Congrats!


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## FYP666 (Oct 9, 2007)

Ahhahaa! Fuck man, me and my mate laughed so much when we saw your baby guitar  GAAASSSS


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## nedheftyfunk (Oct 9, 2007)

Thanks for the lengthy response Noodles.  



noodles said:


> I don't think it's odd at all. My old KE1 had the speed neck, which was a a thinner, flatter version of the standard Jackson profile. The KV1 had the same neck. It sounds like they simply widened this neck for the Kelly, while they simply widened the standard profile for my Soloist. FWIW Mike's Jackson CS Soloist 7 has the same profile, and predates my Stars by a few years.



I hadn't thought of it that way: that they could have extended the soloist-profile for the SL and the speed-profile for the KE & KV. I just figured they'd have a single 7-string neck profile. Personally, I prefer the speed profile.

Edit: I asked Charlz about the profiles on his USA CS 7s, as he has both a soloist and a KV. As you suggested, they're different on each. More like a speed-neck on the KV and thicker on the Soloist.

I'll ask Jackson Stars about it on their 7s and will report back whatever they tell me.



noodles said:


> A bit, which is a side effect of the larger neck and massive headstock. A good leather strap--I use the Levy's straps with the garment leather backing--takes care of this problem. Mike's has the SLS headstock and two less frets, which makes it balance perfectly.



There's some dive on the KE7 too, but a thick strap fixes it. Mike's 7-string looks awesome. I always liked the SLS, but there's no hope of getting one through Jackson Stars and I don't have the finances/patience for a USA CS Jackson.




newamerikangospel said:


> If you look, you actually have a higher reach on the new one. The horn depth reaches about 22 1/2 frets, where the old one is around 21 3/4. Why did they put two extra, almost unusable frets on it?



I see what you mean about access not being great on the original, eh, originally. Somehow Marty managed to make use of those additional couple of frets on the newer model. You have to stretch a little, which isn't ideal, but they are somewhat accessible. 



FYP666 said:


> Ahhahaa! Fuck man, me and my mate laughed so much when we saw your baby guitar  GAAASSSS



You should hear the damn plastic thing; in fact, if you listen closely, your probably can. Man it makes an awful racket.  

It's now gone to the States with my nephew.  

Thanks for the compliments on the guitar everyone.


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## noodles (Oct 9, 2007)

newamerikangospel said:


> If you look, you actually have a higher reach on the new one. The horn depth reaches about 22 1/2 frets, where the old one is around 21 3/4. Why did they put two extra, almost unusable frets on it?



The larger size actually keeps you from banging the back of your hand on the lower horn. Because of this, the access is better on the larger guitar.


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