Jackson DK1

USA DINKY MADE IN 1988, 22 FRETS, 25-1/2" SCALE, MAPLE BOLT-ON NECK WITH ROSEWOOD FINGER BOARD, POPULAR BODY WITH BLACK/BLUE CRINKLE PRINT, JACKSON FLOYD-ROSE TYPE TREMOLO WITH BEHIND THE NECK LOCK.

I have been using this guitar since 1990, however, I have done some modification on the pickups system. Originally, this guitar came with a Jackson single coil and a big Jackson humbucker in the bridge position (the word "big" I mean this old Jackson pickups was comparatively a bit bigger than the standard size humbucker). Ok, back to the guitar performence, the neck was very easy to adjust and nearly no dead spots, the tremolo works fine but the coating on this tremolo got off easily. For the tone, I have installed SD cool-rails in the neck, and Dimarzio MegaDrive in the bridge. The strange thing about this guitar was that, although it was not neck-through body, its sustain was so good that you can hold a notes for a day. I have owned four Jackson guitar, this one was the cheapest one amoung them, but the best. So, don't always take price as a huge factor when you look on musical instrument.

Aside from the tremolo and the behind the nut lock, everything is OK

As I have been playing it for 12 years, this guitar was very reliable.

Customer Support, ha ha, this was the reason why I contribute this review. Recently, I have another Dinky with problem on the neck, as I am living in Japan, I would like to contact Jackson by e-mail at service@jacksonguitars.com. But this e-mail address always have problem, every single message I have sent, e-mail back to me saying that my mail cannot reach this e-mail. I do not know why this happen.

I always think that Jackson guitars were very reliable, so that was the reason why I have owned four U.S. made Jackson. But I am very disappointed by their Customer Services, I cannot understand why I cannot contact them by e-mail, do they only interested in phone inquiry ? Do anyone out there think that you can explain a problem on guitar by phone without diagram, photos, details description ????????

2002 USA Jackson DK1 with yellow bengal paint graphic. Dinky super-strat body (Alder) with a quarter-sawn bolt-on 24-fret unfinished maple neck. Frets are jumbo, neck is standard Jackson size (not super thin, but not thick either). Bound ebony fretboard and Sharkfin inlays. Neck dimensions are .750 at the 3rd and .810 at the 12th. The scale is 25.5 with an Original Floyd Rose bridge. The pickups (active) are an EMG 81 at the nridge and an EMG 85 at the neck. Controls include a 3-way toggle, one volume and one tone. Standard Jackson tuners. All black hardware. Hardshell case included.

I play pretty much everything except country, although the recording I do is more on the progressive rock side. I needed a fast player with hot pickups, and the DK1 with the EMG pickups are perfect for this style of play. My main amp is a Marshall TSL head and Marshall 1960AV (Vintage 30) 4x12 cab. The EMG's drive this amp beautifully, and I get a surprisingly nice clean sound on the clean channel. I hear people say you CAN'T get a decent clean tone out of the EMGs - perhaps they're just not using the right amp. My other rack gear include a Pod Pro and some older Rockman stuff - the DK1 sounds great all-around. The EMGs are totally quiet. If you're looking for pristine clean Strat sounds, this guitar with the EMGs will not cut it for you - look elsewhere.

I rate the action and fit a solid 10, but have to give the finish a 8. The action from the factory was perfect - low and buzz-free. I didn't have to make any adjustments to the neck or Floyd bridge. The fit is also perfect - all the components, including the neck and neck pocket, are perfectly mated to each other. The pickups appear to be promptly adjusted, height-wise. I removed the back plate cavities to take a peek at the floyd and the electronics - everything looked nice and tidy. Unfortunately, I was just a little disappointed with the overall finish. Around the neck pocket and the Floyd recess, the guitar could use a little bit more paint. And the white neck binding looks dirty - I'm not sure if it's actually dirt or glue remnants. Anyway, I tried cleaning it, but the "dirt" won't come off. Oh well - although I can see it, I can't feel it. Finally, there is what appears to be a paint chip on the top of one of the Floyd mounting posts. I talked to the QA guy at Jackson about this, and he immediately sent me a new post at no charge to me. He also said the black hardware is not painted, but wasn't really sure how the black color is applied. Powder coated perhaps? Anyway, I'll install the new post when I'm ready to change the strings for the first time.

Jackson is known for building solid guitars. Being that I treat all my gear like I would a baby, this guitar will last me a lifetime. As I do with all my guitars, I replaced the stock strap buttons with Schaller strap locks. This step alone has saved me from many accidental drops. The paint appears to be applied thickly, so hopefully it will last a long time. I always wipe down my guitars after playing, so that should help. Being that I have always gigged with multiple guitars, gigging w/out a backup is a moot point. Nevertheless, other than breaking a string or the battery powering the EMGs dying, I don't think this guitar would ever let me down.

As mentioned, a quick call to fix the Floyd post defect resulted in a new post arriving a few days later from Jackson. Thanks guys! That, and the Jackson/Charvel Forum at their web site, makes for great customer support.

I've been playing now for almost 20 years. I have a Gibson Les Paul Classic Premium Plus, 2 Fender Strats, Ernie Ball/Music Man Axis and an '88 Charvel Model 6. Overall, my DK1 plays easier than all the others, with the Model 6 coming a very close 2nd. The low action, jumbo frets, ebony fretboard and unfinished maple neck make this guitar an absolute pleasure to play. If it were stolen, I would buy another one. If the police found the cretin who stole it, I'd buy a Jackson/Charvel neck off eBay, give it to the cops, and tell them to gouge the guys eyes out with the pointy head. I love everything about this guitar - it was meant to rock (or shred), and performs its duty accordingly.

1998 model. Made in Ontario, CA USA I believe it's a poplar body with a maple neck. Satin black body, ebony fretboard, ivoroid sharkfin inlays & binding. Original Floyd Rose, Seymour Duncan JB-4 humbucker and two Seymour Duncan (STK-1, I think) single coils. One volume, one tone control. Five way switch Came in Jackson/SKB case. Beautful guitar. Here's a url w/an identical to mine: http://www.collenguitarworld.com/gmw/dinky.html

I play original punk/country type stuff. Anywhere between straight clean electric, to slightly fuzzy overdrive, to all out God of Hellfire metal tones. This guitar fits everything perfect. Good balance when switching between pickups. You can get a Strat quack, Tele twang & Slayer type distortion. What would I change??? A coil tap switch would be nice. I would rather have a neck-thru/string-thru but I wouldn't give up this guitar for one though. I think the only way I'm gonna find that kinda Jackson is to order one from their custom shop. A Soloist is neck-thru but they come w/a Floyd Rose too, I don't use a tremelo & never plan to.

Not sure how well it was set up at the factory. I bought it from the owner of music store who had bought it for his personal use, set it up, played it for a few days then decided to sell it for some reason. I lowered the action. I've got it set low, low, low & there is absolutely no string buzz.

Solid piece of equipment. This thing is heavy too, like Les Paul heavy. The only thing that would stop this guitar is an Act of God or war.

Never have dealt with 'em.

I had a USA HM Strat when I ran across this guitar. The price was just too good to pass up. I intended on keeping both guitars but I'm too poor to be a collector & I hardly touched the Strat after laying my hands on the Jackson so I sold it after a couple of years (and still regret getting rid of it).

The only other electric guitar I've ever owned was the HM Strat & it is a fairly comparable guitar. (The Strat had a flatter, wider neck & extra frets though) They're both excellent guitars, the Strat required fiddling around w/the controls too much when switching music styles but that could have something to do w/the really hot humbucker it had. The Jackson is very well balanced, it will really crank but doesn't come on too strong when you switch of the distortion.

If it were stolen I'd be lost. I would replace it with another Jackson but it'd be a Soloist w/a hardtail or string-thru bridge & a coil-tap switch. (I've thought about adding one to mine but I kinda wanna leave it stock)

I play & record at home. I have a Alavarez-Yairi DY-56 acoustic/electric, the DK-1, and and Ibanez GSR200 bass. For effects I use a BOSS ME-30 processor, a DOD 7-band EQ & a BBE 264 Sonic Maximizer. I also run a Zoom RhythmTrack 123, some V-Tech & Shure mics & everything goes into a Yamaha MT-400 4-track then mixdown to the cd burner in on my home pc.

This guitar is fucking great!! its cool to look at and great to play. The model I bought was finished in translucent black on a quilted maple top which is stunning. The seymour duncans are wicked and you can really shred with this baby. The maple neck is faster than most guitars I've played and the ebony fretboard is so smooth. Finished off with a gold Floyd Rose that never goes out of tune (This thing takes some shit!)and gold hardware, this was a guitar I had to buy.

I play metal and lead and although the gold stuff may make it a bit cheesy to some you have to hear this beast play. I play through a marshall TSL stack and the sound is too cool. On the bridge pickup at loud volumes you can cut through steel and it's great for waking the neighbours at 3 in the morning! The clean tones are pretty cool but this thing is built to ROOOOOOCCCCKKKKK!

The action was set up to my liking so I haven't had to make any adjustments. The finish is fantastic and looks cool the only flaw is the gold finish on the hardware which corodes easily and on my guitar bits are starting to peel off which sucks!!

If this doensn't survive the road then I don't know what will. This is rock guitar and its built to take a beating I can't find anything wrong with it so I expect it should last a long time.

I haven't had to deal them but Jackson are a reputable company so i doubt they would screw anyone aound.

I've been playing for five years anfd this is one of the best guitars I have played. If it were stolen I wound hunt down the sucker who nicked it and reclaim it coz these things aren't easy to come by where I live and especially not at the same price I paid.

We'll if your looking to be tom Morello and have a guitar with 3 thousand useless nobs, look somewhere else because this guitar is simple an to the point, not to mention KICK ASS. I swear the minute i walked into the store, and i saw this beauty, i knew i had to play it. Its got everything ANY player could want. Floyd rose which will never no matter how much i dive, go out of tune. Also GREAT sounding seymour duncans, which can give you a great biting distortion in the bridge humbucker, or an amazing clean tone in the two singles. Also a BEAUTIFUL amazing quilted top, which is just.....breathtaking isn't even the world, i mean this is the stuff dreams are made of. Great low action and DOESN'T buzz at all, and also the fastest neck i have ever played in my life.

I play metal, and classic rok, and this baby delivers with every power chord i let out. I use a mesa dual rec. which help delivers to my sound, but i have tried out other guitars through it, and this guitar delivers the sound i had been looking for, can get great lead tones. Super low action, and NO noise, i absolutely love this guitar. My teacher plays jazz, and he says that he can get sounds that mimic a es-335. Also on the single coils, the sound is nicely matched with the humbucker, so that when you switch pikcups the humbuckers don't kill the singles level.

BABY!!!! Man flawless finish, i can't even tell you how comfortable this thing is to play, you have to play, and see it yourself. I can't put it into words, its THAT good.

We'll this is the only thing that i didn't like. The back of the guitar got some scratches and there were one or 2 bad frets when i bought it, but i treat my guitars like shit, so i saw the scratches coming, but the frets kinda bothered me so im replacing them really soon.

Never had to deal with them

I've been playing since i can remeber, and though i've only owned about 5 guitars, from going to guitar shops i can tell you that this is one of the nicest guitars i've ever played. Everything from the killer sound, to the beautiful finish, its practically flawless.

Jackson USA DK-1, 1996, 22 frets(beautifully polished), poplar body with a killer (AAA maybe higher) sunburst quilt top, H/S/S pickup configuration--all seymour duncan( i replaced the neck pickup with a hot rails for more bite in the neck, original floyd rose tremolo(never goes out of tune,,,never!)wide thin maple neck with ebony fretboard--its a scorcher very cool guitar

One thing, shred! this thing does the 80's shred very well, not suited for jazz or clean tones i gave it a eight because this guitar is not suited for everything. Clean tones in the area of 80's clean is done well, the bridge pickup is a scorcher(duncan M something)

Here is the awesome part of the guitar. Now i hate jackson's phillipian made guitars with a passion, but my USA is near flawless.
action was perfect( i usually adjust my action on all my guitars) but amazingly it was perfect for me. Pickups set hot and close the string. i lowered them just a tad to reduce string pull. The finish was superb and the sunburst accented a gorgeous(much higher than any jackson i have seen)AAA+ quilt maple top. 5 way pickup selector is quiet but i glued the pickup top thingy on becuase it came off...all strats have same prob with the little selectors. inlays superb(not the crappy lespaul toiletseat inlays) 10! way to go jackson

had it for 2 years, looks like i got it yesterday with the exception of 1 buckle wear area on the back...i play very often...i am tough on my guitars...its holding out awesome, cant gig w/o backup because of the floyd(we all know it takes an hour to get strings on those things:-) 9 because of possible string breakage on stage

not really talked w/jackson but this guitar is built like a truck

i have been playing for 9 years and this guitar is added asernal to my stash of 6 guitars. The only guitars i love more is my GMP elite(which i might add is a beautiful and tone monster), and my musicman axis(killer amber top). if stolen i would try to find another of its kind...PEOPLE--USA JACKSON IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET A GOOD JACKSON--FOREIGN MADE JACKSONS SUCK!-FACT OF LIFE. but foreign jacksons are cheap so thats why