Jackson DK2 S

Mine is a 2002 model with the original Sustaniac (not the Stealth or the Stealth Pro). Amazing Japanese quality. It had the Duncan Design pickups stock, which were the HB-102 and the SC-101. The pickups were supposed to emulate the Duncan JB (HB-102) and the SSL-6 Custom (SC-101). The stock pickups were awful, but to be fair I did replace them originally with real Duncan JB and SSL-6 pickups, which were equally awful. The Floyd-licensed trem was also awful. My guitar was used when I bought it, and the trem knife edges were apparently worn down, so it "popped" and "creaked" and "cracked" on the posts when I tried to use it. Like what has been said already, it has an alder body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard and Gotoh-Jackson tuners, all of which were really good and still on the guitar today.

Once the pickups and trem were replaced, the guitar sounded amazing. Like the guy below me said, very "trippy" to get infinite-sustaining notes and harmonic-feedback. I changed the pickups to a DiMarzio PAF Pro (also a Super 3 at first) and an Area '61. After I did that, the guitar sounded like it always should have. It definitely can rock with a top-of-the-line USA Jackson Dinky now.

The guitar was set up professionally by Guitar Center in Lake Forest, California (where I bought it). It plays perfect. It has big jumbo frets and a flat fingerboard. The finish on the guitar is the reason I think the original owner sold it: It's called "black cherry", and it looks exactly like black cherry soda, but it definitely can be described as purple. The finish doesn't bother me at all. I've had girls tell me it was the prettiest guitar they've ever seen (LOL). The finish itself is well done. The neck is satin, probably urethane. The headstock face is gloss black.

Once I changed the tremolo to an Original Floyd Rose (it dropped right in - a direct replacement), the guitar has worked and lasted for 3 straight years with heavy use, without a single problem. I have to tighten the neck trussrod once every Summer, but that's all. The finish is completely clean and has been since I got it. It seems tough and resists wear very well.

I gave it all 10's because it's not a big deal to switch the trem to a real Floyd and switch the pickups to DiMarzio's. I only paid $300 for the guitar in the first place. So there you have it: switch the trem to a real Floyd Rose, switch the pickups (keep the sustainer of course), get titanium locknut screws, and it's a great guitar to have.

I've been playing guitar and bass about 13 years I've playing this guitar for a couple months now. this guitar is very tripy. you can hold a note for as long as you like. you can get crazy feedback, awesome pic harmonics. there is to toggle switches one is for on and off and the other is for normal, mix, harmonic and it will only work if it is on. the harmonic option is good for getting crazy feedback. the first week that I was playing it, all I would get was crazy feedback. I put it back to the store and said I don't want this, "There's too much feedback" the guy told me that I shouldn't be playing in the on position all the current, this was true. when the guitar is turned off I could control the feedback and when it is on total madness, (cool).
the look, is beautiful. I don't know what you'd call it, maybe Blue. I nicknamed my guitar Jackson blue. there is three Seymour Duncan pickups. I mainly use the bridge pickup it gives me a sense of power and when ripping it up. excellent pic harmonics

well I must say this guitar sounds pretty wild and crazy. I like it. I play metal. It took me a couple days to learn how to control the feedback which was all in the on and off toggle switch.
on the negative side, this guitar is not too versatile but that's okay because I have other guitars. and it's lacking in a bit of tone which sucks. and if you're thinking about buying this guitar think about investing in into some rechargeable nine volt batteries because this guitar is a battery hog. I will go through a 9 V battery in about a week (playing 3-4 hours a day) easy. I'm giving it an eight out of 10 because of the bit of lacking of tone. you know it could just be my amplifier so, 8 1/2 than.

I got the blue Jackson DK2 S. looks beautiful I love it. I would play it at a heavy metal show or take it to church. you can take a flying "V" to church (well not my church)

well it's holding up very well I have had no problems with it I've only owned it for a couple months. I'm afraid that the toggle switches will be the first to go because I play with a lot of aggressiveness!!!! I'll give it a nine and a half out of 10, so I'll put ten because I rounded down last time.

overall I'm pretty happy with the price they paid ($640 cad) I live in Canada. one of my concerns is that the resale value on it will not be so good, o'well.
the things I don't like about it is that it's lacking in tone, it's not very versatile and is a battery hog
on the positive side, plays good action is very good looks beautiful and you can get some crazy sounds of this thing, and wicked pic harmonics!!!

alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard
Transparent blue finish on flamed maple top
jackson jt-580 lp lisenced floyd rose
duncan designed pickups in bridge and middle poisition (hum, single), the sustainiac in the neck
5 way pickup selector, 1 volume, 1 tone and 1 gain knob (for the sustainiac), one on-off toggle and the 3 way switches for the sustainiac again
chrome hardware

mine is a pre-2006 model so it doesn't have the original duncans

the sound is just brilliant. i was worried about the duncan designed picks but the sound great anyway. i play it on a randall 15 watts practise amp. the alder makes it sound really clear and sharp at the same time. the cleans are clean enough with the single coil. the sustainiac works great as a regular neck picup but when you turn it on it makes a really weird feeling at the first time =) it kinda makes a magnet-field over the strings to let'em ring. you have get used to it a bit cause it feels a bit noisy at the beginning. the feedback feature works great too. you turn it on and it feels like a rockstar feedbacking his guitar on stage to his full stack (not kidding).
the floyd is pretty fun to play and it works flawlessly. i tried some hi-pitched dime screams, did some extreme diving stuff etc. and it stayed fine tuned.
the floyd and the sustainiac works great together by the way.

when i first got it (a few hours ago), the bridge was kinda wierd. i had to open the nut locks, loose the screws at the back and tune it again and it came out well. it was really easy to tune it tough the floyd anyway. not any other flaws. the action and the pickup height is ok.

i just had it for a few hours but i gigged very mad on it and it just stayed fine. no problem with the tuning etc. i'm sure it'll be reliable on stage.

never dealt with 'em.

it was the best deal. i'm playing for about 2 years or so and this is my first hot guitar. i think i'll be pretty happy with it.
try to get the new 2006 models, they have improved bridges and pickups.

2006 model made in Japan
Transparent blue over flame maple veneer
Super strat body style (alder), with a bolt on maple neck and rosewood fretboard
1 Seymour Duncan JB (TB4), 1 Seymour Duncan stacked single coil, 1 Sustaniac driver/pickup in the neck
1 volume, 1 tone, 1 gain knob for the Sustainac
1 five-way lever switch for pickup selector, 1 on/off toggle for the Sustainiac, and 1 three-way mode selector for Sustainiac
Jackson licensed Floyd Rose and locking nut
Jackson branded tuners
25.5" 24 fret scale, 14" to 16" radius

This guitar is exceptional for its feature set, feel and sound while set at an appropriate price point. The alder body does give accentuation to the midrange which really brings the single coils to life (the Sustainiac has a high quality active single coil sound to it and matches nicely with the Duncan stacked suggle coil in the middle). The stock JB is a great pup. I changed mine out for a Duncan PATB-1, as a preference vs. any issues with JB. The 2006 models do not have the Duncan Designed pups.

While this is not an American made Jackson (it also doesn't carry the U.S. made price tag), the action was tolerable but a little too high and the neck had a bit too much relief. With a little TLC, and some filing under the locking nut to bring it down just bit, it now plays as well as any high quality guitar should (it is really nice). The adjustments took about an hour, and are kind of standard for any new guitar. So I can't see this as a fault. The Jackosn licensed Floyd is of good quality, the fine tuners on the bridge could be a little smoother but they work fine and the system stays in tune as well as any other Floyd/Schaller locking trem. The tuners on the headstock are decent and have no issues that I can detect. The top is a veneer, but it looks very nice with no issues at all withe finich as a whole. The binding on the neck and headstock is very well done, the neck has a great feel and finish. The only difference I can differece I can see between the US DK1 and the Japanese DK2 are the veneer vs. solid top, the quartersawn maple for the neck on the DK1, the ebony vs. rosewood fretboard, and the Original FLoyd Rose vs. the licensed Floyd. The DK2S also has the Sustainiac, but I did not see a US model with a Sustainiac. Overall it is a great guitar.

It is far too soon to tell, I have only had it for a week.

I have never contacted Jackson, so I have no opinion here either.

I wrote this review due the previous reviews regarding poor hardware, etc. The 2006 model is done very well and a is a different guitar than earlier models. The new ones come with Seymour Duncan pups vs. the Duncan Designed and the hardware is the standard high quality fare. I bought it for the Sustainiac and I am very happy with this guitar on every level.

See any other review here. It's a pretty basic metal guitar with a kick-ass effect built in for almost nothing. What a bargain!

Like some of the reviews below, I have to admit that this is a $400 guitar and I never expected anything more when I went looking for a guitar with a sustainer system. The 'Duncan Designed' pickups are pretty dull sounding overall - muddy and the just sound pretty low grade. I never bought it for full on metal so I'm not bummed about that too much although I'm probably going to throw some Dimebuckers into it(based on the reviews here). I picked it up for the sustainer only. I didn't want to retrofit any of my other guitars with a sustainer system (not that I could reasonably get one into my Jazzmaster or my Tele), so I thought I would give it a try. I wasn't disappointed at all. It's a $400 guitar with a crazy-cool effect built on. That's about it.

I bought the guitar from Musician's Friend and it came perfectly set up. The guitar itself is beautiful - The jumbo frets are perfect, the satin neck rules, and the overall finish is right on. The guitar is a looker. The hardware, though, sucks. I broke one of the cheap locking nut clamps within 6 months and had to replace them and I had to replace the tremlo bar because it wore through so much that it wouldn't stay in place for anything. I haven't had too much trouble with the imitation Floyd Rose, but I plan on replacing that soon. The tuners seem okay, but I will probably replace them, too. They seem to keep the thing in tune so I'm not in that much of a hurry.

It's a pretty guitar. The Japanese Jacksons seem to be in line with the USA's. Sweet little thing (factoring the Sustainiac).

Once I get everything in tune (which is a bitch with any Floyd Rose), just stays that way. Nice.

I use this in the studio only and it's never let me down (if I approach everything ready to do what I need it to). I won't ever gig with this, but I won't ever use it as my main guitar anyway. Seems solid.

Never had to deal with anyone at Jackson, but I have heard great things about the support for the Sustainiac.

I've been playing for maybe 10 years as a home recording hobbyist and maybe 5 years really seriously. My main writing guitars are a '96 CIJ Jazzmaster and a late nineties American Standard Telecaster. The stuff I have been recording lately is Fripp-y ambient with a sort of big sounding MBV-like atmosphere. I go for more of the 'fluff-on-the-needle" sort of indie than chugga chugga metal. That's why this guitar really has made itself part of my 10+ guitar family. With the Sustainiac and huge amounts of reverb, chorus, and delay, I can generate a nice backing feedback sheen. I'll go to an Ebow if I want to do any single string stuff, but the Sustainiac just kills with the chorded stuff. Before I picked this up, I used to really annoy the neighbors with my Fender Deluxe Reverb feeding back in the middle of the night. The Sustainiac brings it down to a workable level and for that alone, I really appreciate this guitar.

I played a Fernandes Native a long time ago and I think that the Sustainiac beats it. With the Floyd Rose, I can generate the most solid, atmospheric feedback that I could hope for. Very controllable even though it took a bit of practice to control the whole thing. The guitar feels like just wants to pull away from you with the Sustainiac running. Cool feeling that has helped me get some really interesting textures.

Once I get some real pickups into it, this thing will absolutely rule. A lot of fun. If someone is looking for an inexpensive way to generate simulated Frippertronics, this is a great guitar. For someone looking for a metal beast, I'd look elsewhere. The Sustainiac alone is worth the cheap price.

The features on this guitar are astounding and for what your paying for this guitar with such a great feature is fanominal. The sustainiac feature is great for solos. Although it is a hassel to change the 9v battery used to power the sustainiac.this guitar has a great feel and an amazing features. The shark fins on the neck make this guitar look even better!!!There are many more great things about this guitar but it would take me a long time to explain!

This guitar is perfect and is underrated from what i've seen on the overall grade. THIS GUITAR HAS AMAZING SOUND.i f u no how to use it...so get out there and buy one of these sweet babys. This guitar takes rock and roll and shoves it in peoples faces. Overall kick ass sound.

The finish of this guitar is amazing. Resembling a fender guitar but it has a great paint job and amazing curves and edges to make it look bad asssss!!!The pickus are duncan designed and are great. I was reading a comment someone submitted and he says " yea when i wanted to go clean i heard some distortion blah blah" my friend your equipment has to suck then becuase i have a line 6 spyder 2(which is an amazing amp you ppl should check out and i don't hear any distortion on clean. the action fit and finish is amazing.

This guitar can withstand live playing. I played in a gig downtown toronto with my jackson(then swithed to my zack wylde) but it sounded amazing. If you plan on getting a new guitar i recommend this baby.i play rhythm guitar and the odd fill like izzy in guns and roses but this guitar has never failed me.

I bought my jackson at long and mcquade in oshawa canada. When i saw it at first oe of the locks were missing and they replaced it right away and a few knobs. If you need a music store that suits you find a long and mcquade near you. go to www.long-mcquade.com to find out locations and more.

AMAZING!!!KILLER!!!!OUSTOUNDING!!!! ETC!!!!!WORTH IT TOO!!!!!

2002 model made in Japan.24 jumbo frets,shark-fin inlays,2 single coils and one humbucker,Sustainiac pick-up,3 modes:harmonics,normal,blend,Liscensed floyd rose bridge,1 volune,1 tone,1 knob for the sustainiac,Maple body,Rosewood neck,...

I play mostly metal and this guitar has a good potential but needs a little bit more chunck and clarity, so i replace the bridge pickup for a EMG-81 so now this guitar is a Metal machine, screaming Harmonic and heavy clear palm-mute sound...I love it!If the EMG was feature on this guitar I'll give it 10 but I give a good 8.

This guitar looks really good,and has no scratch and stuff like this.

I have some problem with the sustainiac and the volunme knob but it's ok.

I hate fender!!!!!Since jackson was bought by fender It sucks!I have A problem with my sustainiac pickup and they don't want send a new one to my music store so it takes 7 weeks and the store was obligated to pay 400-500$ for that.My warranty was still go so...fiuuuu

I've tried a lot of guitar but it seems that this one is perfect for me.I Love It...amazing neck,GOod sound with the add-on of an EMG-81 and I think jackson beats the ESP.

Japan, 24 Jumbo Fret, solid alder, black cherry (metallic).
H-S-S. Floyd Rose liscensed trem, etc. Neck sustainer/active single coil.

Note: this guitar did not include the flame maple top, so don't be sad if you paid more and got the transparent colored flame tops.

Wanted to contribute my 2 cents worth. I'm a home hobbyist type of musician, but been at it for over 20 years and have a 20+ guitar collection, so possibly some value to my opinion. I'm not going to say great things about the tone. I like the neck pickup through my little Vox Pathfinder (very round toned amp). The neck SC has the best tone through that amp, but I can't really get a great tone clean out of any of the pickups on my Fender Super 112 or Marshall VS 80. But I'm relatively happy with the neck, which is a good thing since that the reason to buy this particular guitar. But I find the bridge and middle pups to be a bit dull, flat, lifeless, lacking definition, character, etc. So I am definitely searching for suggestions for replacements for the middle SC and the bridge HB. Probably the SD cool rail and a JB is about as good an idea as any (I'm more into classic rock tone). After that, I think I'll be a happy camper. I already have enough guitars, but I wanted to be able to play with this sustainer. I think it may not be as controllable as the Fernandez system, but is is also a pickup. Its hard to prevent the sustained note from howling out of control like a guitar place next to a powered up amp. But with some skill or practice, it will possibly be useful. In any case, it's fun and has three modes, Sustain, Harmonics and Mixed. This was a bargain priced guitar, and with another $200 in replacement pups (parts n labor), I think I will be pleased to have this guitar join my family

Everything seemed fine EXCEPT for the edge fretwork. It's going to need some buffing to keep it from gnawing at my paw. The action seems rather good, it's easy to play with the JUMBO FRETS!, looks like a decent attempt at factory intonation. The HB was not properly positioned, so I had to raise it. The neck and middle SC pups appear to be screwed directly into the body, so (unless I'm mistaken) no adjustment there unless a replacement is installed. One hard to see but easy to feel nick on the back of the neck I will have to smooth out. But overall, the feel of the guitar and action is sweet. Feels good in your hand even if the fret edges will remove some skin cells.

Haven't had it long enough.

Possibly being slightly generous at 7, but I don't want to to think I'm saying it's crap, but most of my guitars sound better, PRS, Gibsons and Fenders. But I do like the feel of the neck and the action and the sustainer is fun. For the price, how could I resist?

This previous poster is Correct on the hardware and pickups:CRAPPY

I too had the locking nut problem.. the clamp nuts are PLASTIC coated with a thin metal! They snap off real easy! The chrome hardware is extremely cheap. You can see bubbles in it.. So its molded on some inferior metal. BEWARE OF THE INSIDE!!!! The soldering job is piss poor aka slapped together and burnt pots.
If something goes wrong it will be a BITCH to fix on your own. I too swapped out the stock pickups for a dimebucker. GOD does that sustainer scream with REAL pickups! The stocks are too weak to get the demo sounds on the sustainiac sites. I sent mine back.

stocks are ok, but seriously hurt the reputation of the sustainer. It just doesn't perform well with them. Like I said a dimebucker brought the sustainer to life!

Superb craftsmenship. No flaws. Set up pefectly. LOW ASS Action!!!!! Fast neck(satin)

The hardware WILL fall apart! Even a freaking Kramer's hardware is better than this!

After you play with the sustainer it's not all it's cracked up to be in my decision. Also, the guitar is NOT black cherry. It's goddamn metallic purple. Blind Bastards!

Good features: satin finish on neck=super fast playing. Inlays and frets were immaculate. Right up there with USA Gibson Fret work.
Sustainiac installed. This sustainer hardware costs $200 alone! I paid $360 for a brand new DK2S with the sustainer!!!!! THE SUSTAINER LIMITS YOUR PICKUP SELECTION. When the sustainer is on you can only play on the bridge humbucker. When sustainer is off the neck driver becomes an active pickup. 5-way switch for standard stuff. The pickups are weak compared to seymour duncans. I put a dimebucker in.

The sound is nice, kicks ass with real pickups. Easy to replace stocks.

Ok,

first I'll praise Jackson. This is a Japanese imported guitar and is 2nd best to a USA model. The finish was flawless HOWEVER their black cherry looks like a dark metallic purple!??????? The part where this guitar really lacks is the hardware(tremolo, nut). It is CRAP!
Had the guitar for a few hours and the stupid ass string clamp screw broke off!? By looking at the floyd rose copy you feel sick because it's the crappy ass chrome on top of sub-par hardware. I'd sooner take a ESP or Ibanez floyd rose copy!

replace the floyd rose. it works, but for how long. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

Super once you put aside the cheap hardware and stock pickups