Jackson DK2LE 2004

good features. got it off of ebay for a bargain. transparent blue finish, fr bridge(not for long), duncan designed pickups.h-s-s config. replaced stock p/ups with active emgs, result; mind blowing. 24 frets. etc etc. crappy floyd isnt staying in tune so im gonna replace it with a kahler fixed bridge, whammy gets in way the anyway.

with emgs(81 in bridge and sa in neck no middle.) the tone and sustain is enormous, this guitar is fit for any style of heavy rock or metal. stock pickups were crap so they were replaced. and if you would believe it the winding on the (original)pickups were instead simply a loosely fitting copper strip. note that the jackson site says that this guitar is fitted with setmour duncans, some are, some arent. replacements are a must.

guitar contained some action and tuning problems that even my local guitar shop didnt fix when the set it up. i sort of fixed it. action is still too high but i dont wanna mess up what i spent hours fixing. remember i bought it used. also goes out of tune when you use the trem. idont so no prob.

finish is average. it chips rather easily but looks great. hard ware is iron clad if its not abused, very solid except for the fr which is a bitch to maintain. should with stand live. bring 2nd guitar in case of problems. strap buttons i replaced with schaller lockers so its very solid. just be careful with what screws you use. stays in tune for 2weeks then you retune it. never broken a single string and have had the m on for about 6 months.

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ive been playing for almost 2 years and this is my 3rd guitar. easily my best in most categories except fit and finish(that goes to my epi lp standard. its a brick but is not very comfortabe or versatile. and looks gay if you wanna be in a metal band). headstock looks evil and sinister(important). terrific metal guitar. watch where you buy it from and get better pickups. plays well and is fully customisable( im going on three modifications; straplocks, emgs and next up is kahler fixed bridge to eliminate the problems of high action and tuning as well as restringing easily) great guitar(usually)

A Limited Edition Japanese DK2 made in a batch of 24 total guitars. However, If I remember correctly, only 22 actually made it from Japan in one piece. The DK2LE has a maple neck/fretboard with black dots and is a 24 fret bolt on. This is one of the best necks I have ever played and is my current favorite out of 15+ Jackson, Charvels, and Gibsons I own. It has an EMG81 with Volume control and a Jackson JT580LP locking trem. I was a little worried about the setup having only 1 pickup and I had no previous experience with EMG's before this guitar. Let me tell you, this thing screams. This is the only EMG equipped guitar that I have "fallen in love with". They were all Snow White in color with black hardware. The frets are typical Jackson frets.... Huge! Also, the guitar came with a certificate of Authenticity. We cut costs by having only 1 pickup which is all you really need for this guitar. It is quite easy to achieve a clean tone for those types of passages or a bluesy tone when needed, also. I give it a 9 in this category.

Soundwise, this guitar is killer. I am amazed at how versatile the sound is only having an EMG81 in the bridge. Great for Metal of course. However, I have used it for both electric acoustic and blues recordings and eberything has turned out fantastic. Huse Chunky low end not like the other guitars with EMG81's that I have played. Virtually every type of tone except the quack of a strat can be achieved. Considering what I am working with here, I give it a 10 for sound.

Set up perfect...... I'll say it again. Set up frickin perfect. Kevin Easton at Easton's Guitar in Fort Worth set this guitar up better than any guitar I have ever played right out of the box and off the truck. The ONLY issue I had was the battery being loose in the control cavity due to the ride over to my house. 0 Flaws, pickups adjusted fantastic, action superb, and guitar plays beautiful. 10 Here!

Being that this is a floyded guitar, I would always suggest having a back up. It will withstand playing live all night long. I have yet to break a string on mine and I tend to hit the bar hard. Strap buttons are solid and I can depend on consistency night in night out with this DK2LE. The finish is typical of Jackson. 0 Flaws and as thick as 100 coats of paint and clear coat.
10 Here, also.

Typcial Jackson warranty. No need for repairs..... on any of my Jacksons, ever. I have heard stories about the Customer Service at Jackson but everyone I have met has been able to answer my question quickly and accurately. So, 10.

A bare bones Metal guitar that is suprisingly very versatile in all types of tones and music. Solid build, typical Jackson quality, and beautiful to look at. Like I said, only 22 or so actually made it to the US so if you ever get a chance to grab one used, definitely do. For such a bare bones guitar, it has become my favorite. I own many other Jackson/Charvel, Gibson, Martins, Taylors, etc. and this DK2LE is equal to those in construction and overall quality. If it were stolen, I guess I would be ass out of luck because finding another is gonna be tough.

2004 limited run model.
Solid alder body finished in white.
One EMG 81 humbucker.
One volume control.
JT580LP trem.
Maple neck and 24 jumbo fret maple board. The profile of this neck reminds me of a flat C shape alot like that of the Mexican made Fender Strats. I am totaly familiar with that neck so I was glad to see this on this guitar.
Standard pointy non reversed Jackson headstock color matched in white with black "Jackson" logo.
All hardware is black.

How does it rate? For me it's a solid 10 and thats because it has everything I need on it. I won't rate this one as the features may not be what everybody else thinks is a "10". I love it and that's all that matters here because it doesn't look like there are anymore of these left for sale.

The EMG took me a while to get used to, but now that everything is set up like I want it............this axe smokes big time! I am running it through an all solidstate rig with several FX units such as a BOSS Metal Zone, DOD EQ, DOD FX9 Delay, DOD Icebox and a Morely Wah. You could archweld with this mutha! At first I wasn't too impressed and I expected alot more from the EMG 81 as it has a legendary reputation. After getting to know it better and adjusting my rig to actualy handle it I am now certifiably in love with it. I play alot of 80's metal and shred so it suits that genere just fine. It has a slightly compressed and synthetic tone to it, but in a good way. I prefer a Seymour Duncan Distortion bucker or a JB, but this is just another option to play with. Down tuned it sounds good, but I've noticed medium output pickups do a better job here and don't get too muddy or fuzzy. Maybe it's me or maybe my rig, I don't know. I love it, but it's not my favorite pickup............but it is one of my favorites.

This was all poor at first, but I got it all worked out. I almost lost faith in Jackson there for a little while, but I found it again. This guitar needed alot of work to get it set up right. In the end it was all worth it period! Now it's ready to go out on tour. I have owned 7 Jackson/Charvel guitars and they are worth every cent I paid for em.

Like I said above............this guitar like most other Jackson guitars are built tough and to last. I couldn't gig with enough guitars as backups. I wish I had bought 3 of these so I could have some consistency, but oh well. This is my main guitar now and I back it up with my 02 DK2.

At this point I have tried and or owned just about everything out there. I bought my first Jackson in 1995. It was a Dinky Reverse in solid black. I abused that guitar for over 5 years. I sold it to get into a 7 string and in retrospect I shouldnt have, but you know how that goes. I bought a brand new 2002 DK2 in March of 02. I have yet to be let down by that guitar and plan to hold onto it for life. Out of the 20 some odd guitars I have owned over the past 3 years my DK2 is the one I always go to. Now that I have my DK2LE I'm having trouble staying true to my DK2. They both give me alot of variety of sounds and tones. I'm so glad to have them both. Jackson guitars just plain kick ass! I can't wait to get into a USA model SL2H, but until then my DK's will handle all my needs.