Jackson DK2 Dinky

24 fret, Sharkfin inlays, 5-position pickup switch, one volume, one tone. Rose-licensed tremolo, Duncan design pickups.

Makes all the different sounds I'd want it to! Came with a lousy set of strings on it, but otherwise it does everything from sing to scream. Tone and volume pots are very clean (no noise), pickup switch is acceptably clean. I'm playing it through a Marshall VS30R most of the time, and any limitations in sound are caused by the amp, not the axe. I've played it from crystal clean, to death-metal dirty, and it sounds great all the time!

Amazing look to this guitar. The finish is Transparent Amber, and shows off a beautiful flame-maple top. Even the rest of the body (poplar) has fantastic grain and look. The hardware is a flat stainless steel, and has a nice look to it. The finish seems to be pretty durable, though I've had it only a week and haven't put it through live-performance abuse yet. I really like the neck on this guitar. Not quite as fast-feeling as an Ibanez Wizard neck, but close. The tremolo can be bent to hell and back, and always comes back in tune. The factory set-up was pretty good, with no immediate adjustments needed.

Couple of VERY minor complaints here, but nothing like the other review I read prior to writing this one. The cavity plates on the back could be a bit beefier. They're fine now, but we'll see if they stand up over the years. The strings it was delivered with kinda sucked, but then again, by the time I bought it, the strings were almost 1.5 years old. Like the guy in the other review, I bought mine from Musicians Friend, but didn't have the problems with the guitar that he had. I think he got the lemon (sorry dude!). The finish, again, seems pretty durable, but only time will tell. I'd have no hesitation gigging with no backup. The guitar is well built!

I did have one question for Jackson, and they replied to my email within a couple of hours. They had several excellent suggestions, and provided me a direct-line phone number to the tech who answered by email. I couldn't ask for much more.

I've been playing, off and on, for about 20 years. This was my first venture into a floyd rose tremolo, having owned a 1980 Les Paul Deluxe, and the question I sent to Jackson related to the Rose. So far, I really like the guitar. It's one of Jackson's Japanese made models, but the build, fit and finish, hardware, and set-up were all top-notch. I shopped around quite a bit before deciding on the Jackson, and would definately buy the same guitar again. For the money, you can't beat the sound, action, finish and look of this guitar. Hell, a lot of times you can't beat it for double the money.