Jackson DKMGT

Im not sure about the year.
Made in Japan of course.
24 nice polsished to a shine frets.
1 tone 1 volume. The tone knob really goes from high treble to really bassy. None of my other guitars actually have this much of a spectrum with the tone knob.
its got 2 emg's, 81-bridge and a 85-neck
Neck is rock maple with rosewood fretboard and the body is alder.
The bridge is the jackson jt(something) tune-o-matic bridge. Dont worry the hardware is works perfectly fine as do the jackson tuners which are actually gotoh but specially made for jackson with the jackson logo on it. It holds tune very well..and upon recieving it the intonation was way off and now I got it perfectly intonated.
TO ME this guitar has all the features I want. If youre looking for a tone of volume and tone knobs for each pickup and coil splitting and blah blah blah then this isnt the guitar for you. But I like things simple and I like more output. So for what this guitar is (a metal guitar) it has ALL the features you need.

it suits my musical style perfectly. I love metal and I love players like yngwie marty paul just about any shredder you can think of.
Dont buy into the whole "emgs cant play cleans" cuz as long as you know what youre doing with the tone/volume and eq settings on your amp youll be perfectly fine. infact I like the cleans since they feel so responsive. The bridge sounds super bright but heavy. The bridge sounds a bit too bassy but is fine for cleans. This guitar has me double-thinking guitars with floyds. This guitar is so easy to maintian and stays in tune so well that I see no purpose in ever going back to floyds. I see floyds as a distraction from actually learning the real things you gotta learn. As long as you learn your scales then you dont need a whammy to sound cool.
Its EMG's, kinda wish it had seymours or something more characterized. But for what it is, its got a damned good sound for metal.

Idk how the guitar came factory wise, but everyone that ever gets a guitar will always end up setting it up to their likes so factory set up doesnt really matter to me.
As for defects I found none except a scratchy volume pot, but I have no idea how old this guitar is so it could be because of age. other than that everything is perfect and the action is super low. EVERYTHING is solid and feels solid. nothing about this guitar feels cheap.
The finish is the black forest and it looks amazing. It looks black until light hits it then it gleams these tiny little sparkles and shines in a brilliant dark green. and the binding it PERFECT unlike what Ive seen on other brands like dean and schecter who often butcher the paintjobs on these over decorated korean-made guitars.

This guitar can handle anything as I see it so far.
The hardware still looks great and will last a longgg time.
The strap buttons are HUGEE and are solid so u dont need strap locks unless youre yngwie and want to flip it around your body.
its a very dependable guitar.
Not that its ever good to play without a backup but if I HAD to play without a backup I would play wit complete confidence that this guitar would not let me down.

warranty? pfft as if I wanna mail my guitar away for repairs to only get it back weeks later. I never dealt with them and dont plan to.

Ive been playing for 2 1/2 years and Ive made a ton of progress in my playing. Ive tried many guitars and played tons of different brands and its come down to this:(just a few brands to name)
Dean: most expensive brand for mid-ranged guitars that offer cheap-o parts
Ibanez: they pretty much NEVER have official unlicensed hardware but make good low-cost guitars because of that. although their necks arent my fav. and the edge 3 trem which is equiped on most mid models suck.
schecter: lure beginners in with quilt-toped guitars with official hardware at cheap prices but lack heavily on the build(and especially paintjob) quality.
jackson: makes great mid-range guitars but are very pricey, but the build quality are amazing.
Stick with jackson and they will do you no wrong. Their instruements will last and are built solid! the only real competitor here is ibanez. between these 2 it comes down to feel. and to me jackson got the upper hand. Also if you play straight on metal jackson definietly beats ibanez in that department.
if it was stolen I would buy another one.
It has everything I want.
It was very lucrative on my part to get this jackson for only 250. great guitar I love it.

I can't believe no one has reviewed this model in the last two years. It's still going strong. Others have covered the features although I noticed some of the specs say middle pickup and there is no middle pickup. It is an H-H. But it's a pretty simple guitar, esp the hardtail version. I have the trans-black and it looks nice.

It's got active EMG's so basically it sounds like every other guitar with active EMG's. It rocks.

This is where the MIJ Jacksons shine. They are always solid, well made, nice finish, nice setup, quality parts, etc. 10 stars. I took some 1000 grit sandpaper to the back of the neck and wow. Smooooth. No other mods needed. Maybe a graphite nut at some point.

Rock solid rocker!

It's probably OK, dunno.

I just got mince but I've had a DK2 for about a year. I love the neck and that's why I bought another Jackson. Once it's set right it plays great, looks great, sounds great, and it very durable. I'm not sure what more you could ask for. Maybe a lower price? At $800 new it seems a little pricey for such a simple guitar. I think Ibanez, ESP, or Shecter make pretty similar guitars for less money but they're Korean not Japanese. My advice, pick up a used one and you will be very very happy.

Model Name: MG Series DKMGT Dinky???
Series: Pro Series MG 2006-2007 (Japan)
Transparent Finish Group:Satin Black (STB)
Body: Alder with Carved Top and Flame Maple Veneer
Neck: Bolt-On Rock Maple with Scarf Joint Head Stock
Neck Dimensions: 1st Fret: .735???, 12th Fret: .810???
Tuning Machines : Sealed Die-Cast Tuners
Fingerboard: Rosewood with Compound 14??? to 16??? Radius
No. of Frets: 24 Jumbo Frets
Bridge Pickup: EMG?? 81 Active
Middle Pickup: N/A
Neck Pickup: EMG?? 85 Active
Controls: Master Volume,
Master Tone
Bridge : JT390 Adjustable Bridge with Strings-Through-Body
Pickup Switching 3-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Middle Pickup
Position 3. Neck Pickup
Hardware: Black
Strings: NPS, Gauges:.009, .011, .016, .024, .032, .042
Pickguard: None
Scale Length: 25.5??? (648mm)
Width at Nut: 1-11/16??? (43mm)
Unique Features:
- Reverse Jackson 6-In-Line Pointed Headstock,
- Compound (14??? to 16???) Fingerboard Radius,
- MOTO Piranha Tooth Position Inlays,
- Ivoroid Binding on Neck and Headstock
- Strings-Through-Body with Tunamatic Bridge

I play hardrock and all kinds of metal...(Metallica, Maiden, Amon Amarth,Tortured by Schizophrenia...)
This guitar is perfect for the heavy stuff, you can be sure of that.
The EMG active set is just great. With them you have the opportunity to play damn hard styles of music but their warm clean sound ( when in middle pick up) makes it so fantastic!
I play the guitar on my Laney GH 100 Tony Iommi signature amp with
ECC 83's and Premium EL 34B. Just like the guitar also the amp is perfect for my kind of music and combined together you'll have some aggressive tone's and beautiful screeming solo's coming out the cabinet.

The sound is just awesome!

The guitar was set up good at the factory but I took to a guitar tech
and adjusted the pickups myself so I could create my own sound.
The neck is just like the better Jacksons increddibly fast! The strings are close to the pickups and harmonics are (when you have the skills) easy to make.
So besides I had to adjust the guitar myself a little bit, it was set up
pretty good.

I played a couple of gigs with it and so far it has never let me down.
The bridge stays in tune very well. Not like with a Floyd Rose but it's damn good. Definitely a guitar you can depend on it!

Never had problems with it...

I own: ESP Eclipse, Jackson DKMGT, and I owned Ibanez RG42 or something like that. A Laney GH 100 Ti and Laney LXD 120 (amps), some effects,...
What I love about this guitar:
- price
- sound
- coolness all the way
-...

If it were stolen, I would track the mother****** down and brake his legs and retrieve my guitar!!! I dunno what I would do maybe by another one ESP or another Jackson... or the same...
I like a lot of guitars...

Lots of great features...

Mine has a sweet transparent blue finish that changes slightly depending on the lighting. 24 frets with great response near the top. It has three control knobs - one volume and one for each pickup. The third knob controls the 'Active Control' feature; which is absolutely kick ass. Any time I need an extra boost or some sweet sustain, I just pop that little baby out and BAM! there it is. Especially great since the pickups are EMG 81 + 85.

Man, this guitar is great for everything - although it sounds it best when used for melodic rock and metal. Use it with vintage Peavy amps, a digitech OD pedal, and a ZOOM 505II. I havent gotten a bad sound out of it yet, although if I messed around with both pickups on I probably could. It just doesnt quite suit my ear when both EMGs are blazin.

Guitar was set up practically perfect when I bought it. Love the action on the neck, it's BA. It has a 'compound radius' fretboard. Great for shredding and stuff.

Yes, Yes, Yes, oh yes, definitely, without question.

Never had problems

I've been playing for about two and a half years. I consider myself a fairly established player. I have some vintage equipment, and a studio in my basement.

"If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?"

First, I would kill whoever was responsible for Stealing it or losing it - and if it ws the latter, then i would buy two more of them.

It has 24 frets, emg Hz H-4 pickups, a turbocharge, mine is metallic blue and the color of it changes when it is in the light it looks really good but when it isnt it looks bad

This guitar is great for all styles of rock. It can have almost any tone you want and style.

Whoever put my guitar together did a really crappy job. the volume and the turbocharger nobs where both put on crooked and i had to take them off and adjust them and i had to adjust the pickup placement

i've never had any problems with it other than when i first got it now i would use it anywhere the only bad part is it doesn't have a tremolo but i dont like them anyways

This is the best guitar i could find for the price and i would pick it over any new guitar

BODY Alder with Carved Top and Flame Maple Veneer on Transparent Colors
NECK Bolt-On Rock Maple
NECK DIMENSIONS 1st Fret: .735?, 12th Fret: .810?
TUNING MACHINES Die-Cast Tuners
FINGERBOARD Rosewood
NO. OF FRETS 24 Jumbo Frets
BRIDGE PICKUP EMG? HZ
MIDDLE PICKUP N/A
NECK PICKUP EMG? HZ
CONTROLS Master Volume,
Master Tone,
Active EMG? TurboCharger? (0-20dB Gain Control)
BRIDGE JT390 Adjustable Bridge with Strings-Through-Body
PICKUP SWITCHING 3-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Middle Pickup
Position 3. Neck Pickup
HARDWARE Black
STRINGS NPS, Gauges:
I use 10s
CASE Optional Deluxe Molded Case
PICKGUARD None
SCALE LENGTH 25.5?
WIDTH AT NUT 1-11/16?
UNIQUE FEATURES Reverse Headstock,
MOTO Piranha Position Inlays,
Bound Fingerboard and Headstock,
Active EMG? TurboCharger? (0-20dB Gain Control),
Strings-Through-Body with Tunamatic Bridge

I play hard rock to thrash metal. This guitar plays them and everything in between very nicely. Very smooth, no rough sounding tones. Not TOO bright, but definetly not dull. The turbocharger can get very noisy if you pump it up too much, but at minimal boosting (like 4-8db) it's a very nice gain booster. It has a middle-sounding tone; it really can play almost all sorts of music without sounding too off. Obviously it's better for the harder stuff out there but it can easily hold its own for stuff like classic rock.

This is where the guitar shines, IMO. The action is set up nicely from the beginning, but if you don't like it it's VERY easy to adjust. Literally takes a few seconds to go from very high to very low action, and all it takes is a medium sized flat screwdriver. The guitar was nicely polished when I bought it, no blemishes or anything. All the different parts of the guitar were nicely assembled also. No complaints here.

Seems reliable, I've hit it against my ceiling several times (don't ask), and it there have been no markings or anything. I wouldn't hesitate one bit to play this without backup.

Overall a solid guitar, the only things I feel could be improved would be the turbocharger, as it's pretty noisey (although I never use it), and maybe the pickups could be changed for a bit warmer sounding tone. But still a fantastic guitar.

BODY Alder with Carved Top and Flame Maple Veneer on Transparent Colors
NECK Bolt-On Rock Maple
NECK DIMENSIONS 1st Fret: .735?, 12th Fret: .810?
TUNING MACHINES Die-Cast Tuners
FINGERBOARD Rosewood
NO. OF FRETS 24 Jumbo Frets
BRIDGE PICKUP EMG? HZ
MIDDLE PICKUP N/A
NECK PICKUP EMG? HZ
CONTROLS Master Volume,
Master Tone,
Active EMG? TurboCharger? (0-20dB Gain Control)
BRIDGE JT390 Adjustable Bridge with Strings-Through-Body
PICKUP SWITCHING 3-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Middle Pickup
Position 3. Neck Pickup
HARDWARE Black
STRINGS NPS, Gauges:
.009, .011, .016, .024, .032, .042
CASE Optional Deluxe Molded Case
PICKGUARD None
SCALE LENGTH 25.5?
WIDTH AT NUT 1-11/16?
UNIQUE FEATURES Reverse Headstock,
MOTO Piranha Position Inlays,
Bound Fingerboard and Headstock,
Active EMG? TurboCharger? (0-20dB Gain Control),
Strings-Through-Body with Tunamatic Bridge

i play all sorts of styles but i bought this guitar to play heavier styles on it. i use a 5150 II head and a marshall jcm 900 cabinet...
i liked this guitar when i first bought it but then i realized it was just me being excited about a new guitar. the sound was awfull... it sounded pretty heavy, but ... not a good heavy... just a dead sound with no nice tone.

the action is terrible. it was okay when i bought it but then it started buzzing A LOT on the first 3 frets. you couldn't play an open low E... i had it professionally set up. that lasted about a week, then it buzzed again. not as much.. but still.
also, the neck moved easily. so when i'd play like and move the guitar around it would bend the notes while i was playing.

finish was nice... and the guitar felt nice. but that doesn't matter since it played terribly

terrible...
i actually made this guitar my backup buitar at live shows and started using my epiphone as my lead guitar again because this was just such a piece of crap.
it was pretty durable (except for the some what wobbly neck... had to stand still when i played so the notes wouldn't bend)

didnt have to deal with them

i've been playing for about 10 years.
i sold this guitar after owning it for 2 months. i probably used it for a total of 20 hours over tose 2 months. now i own some gibsons, ltd, fender... i moved on from the jackson. i would use my eiphone again over this thing.

in coclusion... looked really slick. loved how it looked. i hated how it played and i hated the sound. i'd go out and but a cheaper guitar rather than the jackson. if it was stolen or lost i wouldn't even think about replacing it with the same model.

2004 Japanese model. Transparent Black paint.
BODY Alder with Carved Top and Flame Maple Veneer on Transparent
NECK Bolt-On Rock Maple
TUNING MACHINES Die-Cast Tuners
FINGERBOARD Rosewood
NO. OF FRETS 24 Jumbo Frets

Go here to see more: http://www.jacksonguitars.com/gear/gear.php?partno=DKMGT_Dinkyv

The DKMGT works very well for pretty much all types of music. I play rock/metal/some classical, and it does a very good job at each. I use a Traynor YCV40 all tube amp. Cleans are great (anything is good with distortion). The jumbo frets make it easier to fret the strings, and fret buzz isn't very common.
Having an alder body with maple top, it's a fairly bright guitar, however the stock pickups (EMG HZs) would make you think otherwise. I do recommend getting better pickups. The stock pickups are quite muddy, but will do until you get new ones. If you're worried about spending more money for better pickups, I suggest you go to www.guitarxpress.com to get a good deal on this guitar.

The 20db boost is worthless. It just makes everything more noisy, which might be good for death metal or something. The good thing about having that knob is that you can use it's hole for something more useful, like a humbucker splitter, or another volume knob, etc.

The guitar was set up pretty well, although I had to get rid of some fret buzz at the cost of a higher action. I can probably get it lower if I fooled around with it a little more. The guitar came with no flaws, and the hardware is pretty good quality. My guitar did get a chip in it, but since I have no idea how it happened (possibly roommates) I couldn't tell you if it took a lot of force.

I think this guitar will withstand live playing well. I haven't done so yet, but I don't imagine throwing it around. I do recommend strap locks, since even the oversized strap buttons don't work that great. The tuners seem very sturdy, however the black finish on the bridge may wear because of strings or using tools to raise/lower strings, but nothing very noticable so far.

The greatest thing about this guitar is that it DOESN'T HAVE A TREMOLO! It will stay tuned for weeks, and has great sustain. You can drop D on the fly, and return without worrying about the rest of your strings. Unless you use a tremolo a lot, I definitely recommend going without.

I seem to be wearing through some of the upper frets pretty quick, but it could be my strings, or just pressing too hard.

I tried to find out whether my guitar had an alder or basswood body (the site I bought it from said basswood, while www.jacksonguitar.com said alder). I didn't get an answer through emailing Jackson, but the site I asked said to trust Jackson's site. If you need them, I'd suggest calling.

I've had a guitar for about 6 years, but actual playing time would probably be around 3 years. I have a Traynor YCV40 112 as mentioned above, and a Line 6 Spider 112. No pedals yet, but play on a Zoom Tri-metal if I can find one.
I don't feel the bolt-on neck hinders sustain or resonance, but I'm not a Tone Nazi. All Fenders are bolt-on, and some of the best guitar players (Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Clapton, etc) use them.

If it were stolen, I'd be pissed that I lost $425. I'd probably buy the same since it's pretty cheap for what you get (24 frets is hard to come by with standard bridge). However, if I had the money, I'd buy the $1k SLSMG Soloist, USA Soloist or maybe Gibson SG. Love the bridge, fret size and number (makes the higher frets easier to reach, very good for soloing). I like the width of the neck (wider than a Squier) which gives your fingers more room without accidentally muting other strings. Decent weight makes it bearable for long periods. For the price, there's not much to dislike.

I was looking at Gibson SG, Schecter Elite/C-1/006, various LTD/ESPs. Gibson didn't have 24 frets, but still was pretty kick-ass. I didn't like the feel of Schecter's glossed necks. Felt like the laquer of the neck and body would just ooze off eventually. Price and features of the Jackson won me over.

I wish the guitar came with better pickups. Quality can always be better, but it's good for the price.

Overall I'm happy with this guitar, and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for standard bridge, 24 frets, and a great price.

2002 same as all dkmgt's on this page. Boost is a waste of time. neck is the best part of this whole guitar. i like the way this plays over my les paul. but thats just my style not dissing gibson, this guitars neck is just.. faster

Does very well with heavy music, and has a pretty nice clean tone. EMG-HZ' aren't all the great, but for passive pickups they are awesome. Throw in 81's are you are set for life.

This guitar is seriously one of the best i have ever played. It has such a sweet feel to it, the neck is extremely fast and feels good to just play guitar on. Volume pot on mine went out due to crappy positioning and repetive hitting with my hand during shows. but i swapped my volume and tone knobs spots, so know i just the tone knob, eh its better than turning the volume off.

Awesome for shows, (minus the volume pots) the finish chips easily, but hey makes it look cool i think, gives it some character. stays in tune extremely awesome. thats including running into the other members of the bands a lot and lots of hard picking and jamming with my fingers etc..

guitar itself is awesome. Get new pickups, new volume pots, and throw on some straplocks and the guitar is perfect (minus the poor volume pot positioning). For those of you who play guitar and don't move onstage like most death metal bands, get he guitar, shreds for death metal/black metal. awesome neck, made for it and doesnt have a retarded paint job like all the other dk's.

it was a 2004 japanese made dkmgt. 24 fret, carved top, glossy black finish, tone, volume, gain boost push pull switch. 2 emg hz h humbuckers which look cool cos theres no exposed pole pieces. active preamp, basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, superstrat body with crved heel and horn, tuneomatic bridge with string thru body, 25.5" neck scale

i play most styles of metal, mostly old school shred and thrash and wow, this is one fast guitar! its like u can glide up and down it with no problem, and the neck is so thin and gorgeous with those pirahna inlays. it has a lovely punchy sound and years of sustain. i tried a dxmg next to this and the abscence of a floyd rose on this guitar is a true blessing. the gain boost is a lot of fun on its own but its great how it can boost a mellow overdrive into a distortion, or haw on a clean channel you can have instant bluesy, gritty overdrive.

love- mostly everything, except when i buy it there will be emg 81-60 going in it fairly quick (my preference)

Not so hot about- the guitar i tried was strung with a set of 9's, and i hate to use n e thin less than 10-52, so when i buy it i will have 10-56 on it or thicker!

action was flawless and no annoying intonation or gauge adjustments needed cos this has a tuneomatic bridge. pickups were mounted perfectly, the carved top looks fantastic, nice new shiny frets, though i was worried a little by the tone knob, which seemed a little flimsy (a 10 minute soldering job max!)

i think this guitar will be great when i buy it, i could prob use without a backup cos i dont have to worry abou the bridge fartin on me f i push this guitar too far. Heres the great thing, u canno push this guitar too far, it has such a dimension to it its as f it likes you to push and push how far it can go. the finish sems very tough and has oversize strapo locks. just a great guitar and will be my number 1 6 string!

the shop im goin to buy it from are adament of its quality they will give a 3 yr parts warranty on it, need i say more!

my gear list is embarassing
i am goin 2 get
marshall mg100hdfx
behringer ultrastack cabs
boss me50
skb cases
boss metal zone
ibanez rg7321 (from smae shop!)

ive been playin just over a year, i would kill the fucker if it was ever stolen, i love the gain boost and the look of it as well as that fast neck

ive been shopping around for a jackson for a long time. when i bought my first guitar (ibanez grx20) i knew it was right for me even b4 i picked her up, i felt the same about this guitar and playing it only confirmed my premenitions

i was thinkin of esp m200, but this guitar is the right one, im completly sold on it!

Japan made Cobalt blue DKMGT
24 frets
h-h
active pickups
tune o matic i think bridge
thin thin neck!
bought hardshell case too

it is very versatile(blues to slayer)
use it with a fender 25r frontman and a boss ds1 and morley wah
it is loud but that how it was meant to be played!
bright sound on clean
lots of variety

action is great
pickups perfectly adjusted
flaws-loose tone knob(not a big problem)

will withstand anything and everything!
finish very good but too early to tell if its quality
strap buttons oversized to dont have to get locking ones immediately
very dependable
use it with out a backup

i dont know

it is my first elctric and i own one other acoustic
id kill if it got stolen
great value

2002 japanese made,24,archtop,gloss black finish-gets dirty easy,1 voume 1 tone 1-20db gain boost,3-way selector. 2 emg hz just found out they're active duh! me,would have bought this beautiful american made jackson with emg 81&85 in it had i known mine were active also.body & neck woods seem solid.tune-0-matic bridge;wouldn't have it any other way!.tuners say jackson and feel rugged and precise.neck has jumbo frets which i love,my old sg frets get pretty skinny high up the neck&this jackson has better control higher than the twelth fret.fanaglled the jackson road case&had 2 be altered

suits my style good,from mellow clean acoustic sounding stuff to balls out wallpaper peeling stuff. i have only tried it through the roland cube 30 i bought at the same time as guitar.i eagerly await my other amp combos.very noisy in bridge pickup with boost cranked on metal channel thru roland.good variety of sounds.i don't like having to mute the strings so much with boost on,but tweaking might solve that problem

factory set-up is superb,great strings,great intonation on tune-o-matic bridge,perfect action.good pickup height adjustment from new.bookmatched? can't tell,solid black with gloss clearcoat.bridge routing seems fine,never really inspected it.no flaws noted as of yet,except the pots and switches are absolute junk!. rating would be a 10 if not for the electronics problems

live playing it will withstand after pot and switch replacements.i don't know if the hardware will last;everything is shit nowadays.the finish seems rugged due to the heavy clearcoat layers.strap buttons will be in the garbage pronto,replaced with proper lockers.depend on it? too early in its life to tell,though japan craftsmanship has come a long way and seems durable. don't really gig but my sg would be right behind me,due to uncertainty with batteries,pots,etc...

haven't dealt with jackson directly. they're website could use a major overhaul. *more t-shirts and crap than good info*

20 years,lots of amps,effects,8-track analog.gibson sg firebrand deluxe standard.yamaha acoustics.if it were stolen lookout!.i would buy an american made jackson nextime.the neck is the best i've played,only some vintage les pauls even come close.isn't the neck really the key to a decent guitar!.i hate the pots,jet black finish kinda boring,headstock looks cool but quick adjustments while playing might be difficult.i chose it because it plays like a dream!

Purchased in 2002, Japan made Jackson DKMGT, 24 Fret Archtop, EMG-HZ pickups w/Boost knob. Slightly metallic blue finish (actually the guitar's nicest feature besides the neck) Reverse headstock and the thinnest, fastest neck I've ever played on (gotta love the natural finish). Tune-o-matic bridge. Decent features except the boost, which is basically useless. I'd also like to slap around the engineer at Jackson who designed the volume knob placement (see below for detail)

I play melodic metal in my band and by myself pretty much whatever. As far as the band sound goes, playing with 9's and in Eb thru a Marshall JCM800 2210 with the gain and volume dimed it does alright. It holds it's own for rhythm while I think the leads are a bit weak (due to pickups). I'm almost absolutely certain the EMG-HZ pickups are complete crap... I seem to get the desired sustain when turning the boost knob on... but I think running hotter pickups like EMG 81/85s would fulfill that without the noise from the boost. Nice thing is the battery cavity is already routed. Boost knob is like hitting a distortion pedal without the shrill high note shreiking... I tried a rat pedal instead of the boost knob and I thought it sounded much more unnatural. But, the boost knob is almost useless unless you are playing/sustaining a note as I find it makes a crapload of noise. But who knows, I'm sure every tube amp reacts differently. Body is of decent weight and that plus the rosewood fretboard give it a well rounded sound. I play light gauge for shred purposes, I bet it could sound really fat with some heavy gauges on it tuned down a step or two. But again, the pickups are pretty weak. (and is it me or are they buzzy too?) But for a 400-500 dollar guitar it's decent.

The blue finish is actually really nice for a guitar in the lower-mid price range. I've read a few reviews and most seem to say the same thing about all the finishes. I have also seen a few in the store and they do all look good. The little "pirhana" inlays do look pretty cool although on a dark stage they don't help much. Binding is ok, the reverse pointy headstock is kindof cool (although I dropped mine and it chipped a little off the end). I wish paint didn't scratch so easily but hey a lot of gigs and a lot of beer can cause those sorts of pains. Jackson probably varies the color schemes so I doubt you can get tubes of touch up paint. I believe a Jackson dealer told me the same thing as well. Nail polish maybe? I really love the maple finish neck as it is quite fast after a good polish with regular guitar wood polish. Again I think for the price the guitar itself is the best part and is what you pay for with this one. (the electronics blow). And would someone please tell me who the hell at Jackson decided on the abosolutely retarded volume knob placement? Personally I anchor my right pinky on the bottom of the bridge pickup and this stupid knob gets in the way of my fingers when I'm speed picking. Also plan on getting a really tiny flathead screwdriver for tightening your knobs constantly. The pots are also nonstandard shaft size so if you replace them with a decent brand pot plan on making the hole slightly larger. And you'll have to raise the knob slightly for it to clear the larger nut. Who would've thought guitar maintainance had to be such a pain in the ass? Like I said the wood is beautiful but the electronics are where they skimp.

Well I've used this guitar for a year of regular gigs involving rowdy crowds, lots of beer, and drunk roadies (including myself). Like I said above I think the actual guitar is rather sturdy. It comes with oversized strap buttons which of course have to be replaced with locking ones. It's been dropped it's fair share but has only seen one full setup with neck adjustments and it still plays rather well. I do cleanings, intonation, fretboard oil, pretty much every other string change, about every 2-3 weeks and I believe regular maintainance like this will keep this guitar performing. However the stock bridge saddles would repeatedly break my low A string (at the time I was using 10's) which struck me as really strange. Turns out the metal saddle wear grooves really easily so I replaced them with graphite ones (don't remember if it's a schaller bridge or not but I do remember it had to be special ordered, it wasn't a jackson bridge or gibson-style). It's been about a year and just recently I've been breaking strings again (although a lot less). I'm sure filing the grooves in the saddles will help. The ELECTRONICS are complete crap. I've had to replace the battery connector, the volume pot, the connector on the boost pot. The EMG pickups use these cheap little plastic 5-pin connections on the pickups and the boost knob, looks like those crappy little motherboard-LED connectors you see inside computers. Plastic and don't hold up very well. The wiring is thin and extremely crappy. This is the guitars weak point, I've resoldiered almost all the connections on this guitar. If you play live I'd just take a load off your mind and re-do all the electronics. The day I can afford EMGs will be a big relief.

Haven't dealt with Jackson directly although the Jackson dealer I got it from has no problem selling me replacement pots. You'd think that when they go they'd replace em for free but hell a couple bucks is easier than waiting forever for the company to replace them. I have no idea what the warrantee is as I do most repairs myself. Jackson's website blows, they basically list the models, their features, and might have PDFs of the manuals (if there are any). It'd be nice to see something a bit more in depth but whatever, they aren't obligated to educate their customers, only sell them product. I bet if I emailed or called I'd get a response in a decent timeframe. Jackson doesn't seem to be super-corporate that they'd blow people off, but who knows since Fender just bought em.

I have been playing for 9 years now, and over the past 4 years in bands have progressed from playing small (30-100 person) gigs to larger (200-600 person) gigs, so I know the progression from basic gear to reliable, good sounding, professional stage setups. I've owned a few other lower priced guitars (Washburn something or other, Gibson Hawk) and I purchased this guitar because I needed a good sounding and reliable stage instrument. I have found this guitar to be a pleasure to play, as I think the neck is really well shaped, the craftmanship seems to be really good for a guitar this cheap. I love the archtop, it really adds flavor to the look and the guitar looks great onstage. Like I said it's got its fair share of problems, most of them stemming from cost-cutting in the electronics and hardware department. Plan on replacing pickups and saddles if you're a real player. For the beginner or bedroom player this guitar would probably work fine forever out of the box. But the crappy wiring and knobs will fall apart on you. I really wish they'd put the volume knob in a different spot, and as soon as I put EMG 81/85 in it I will relocate the volume and tone knobs over one space, get rid of the useless boost knob, and fill in the volume hole with wood filler. As a temporary solution I've simply removed the knob, sure it looks ghetto onstage but it solved my problem with my fingers hitting it. All in all, for under 500 bucks this is a really decent guitar. If it was lost I'd miss the archtop and the neck most, but there's probably about a billion of these guitars around so getting another would be easy. I'd just save the money and get something better like a Soloist or Caparison Horus... I'm at the point where I will need a more "professional" guitar within the next year. You get what you pay for... ever see a pro onstage with a Fender bullet or an Epiphone LP special? Didn't think so. But this is a great middle of the line guitar for the working musican without a couple thousand in his pocket to get a super-solid axe. Anyone with any thoughts on this guitar please email me I'm always up for swapping ideas.

2002, Made in Japan, 24 frets, 2 EMG HZ active pickups.
http://www.jacksonguitars.com/ for more info

I mostly play rhythm. The sound is very good w/ the active boost turned on, and OK without it.

Great action, great finish, no complaints.

I bought it used, and one of the solder points broke loose in shipping (according to the seller, it was fine before it was shipped.) That worries me a bit, but we'll see if it happens again.

I called Fender (new owners of Jackson) to request a schematic for the guitar. They were very friendly, and e-mailed me a PDF of the hand drawn schematics for the DXMG which uses the same electronic setup.

I've been playing on and off for over 10 years. My main (and only before this) electric guitar is a Gibson Explorer. I love the tune-o-matic bridge on the DKMGT. If I were to add another guitar to my collection, I would definitely look at another DKMGT, or a DKMG if I had a need/desire for a tremolo.

It is a 2002 model made in Japan. Basswood body, bolt-on maple neck, H/H EMG-HZ pickups, string-thru body, tune-o-matic bridge.

This guitar suits my style perfect! I play heavy/thrash metal. I play through a DOD milk box, DOD Death Metal Pedal, Morley Wah, Zoom 707-GFX, and a DOD 7-bank EQ. My amp set up is a Peavey Bandit 112 with a single 12" extension cabinet. This guitar has an excellent clean tone, as well as a brutal crunch.

Set-up was perfect right out of the box. I have made no adjustments what so ever. The finsih is flawless. It has a transparent amber finish, with a flame maple top and all black hardware. It is a very beautiful guitar!

I have had no problems with this guitar, nor my other Jackson (PS-4), therefore I feel it will be a very dependable guitar.

I have never had a problem to contact Jackson about.

I have played for 15 years on and off, but the past 3 years consistently. I will never put my guitar down again! I would love to have a high-end Jackson some day, but for the money this guitar is a perfect 10!

2002 Japan made DKMGT in Black Forest, 24 fret, reverse headstock, tunamatic string thru, bolt on, and pirhana inlays. Arch top, 1 vol 1 tone and 1 push/pull active 20db variable gain boost(useless). Two EMG HZ humbuckers, basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 25.5" scale. www.jacksonguitars.com has everything I've left out.

Sound is pretty decent, I can't stand the pickups and have ordered and am awaiting a Seymour Duncan Dimebucker for bridge and Jazz for neck. This will make it sound a lot better. Sound is pretty full and not very trebly.

Set up was pretty good. Had one problem though, this being a reversed headstock non floyd guitar - the low E string would consistently pop out of the nut. However, I believe that my using a .052 guage was the reason. I now have .046 and it is fine. Action was low, frets were okay. No cosmetic flaws whatsoever. The neck and headstock binding was pretty pathetic, almost looks like the wood. The finish is real cool. The Black Forest finish is a very dark metallic forest green that looks black ten feet away. Fingerprint magnet.

Definitely durable, you obviously would want strap locks on anything. Hardware is black and looks solid. Always have a backup, but not being a floyd I don't have to worry about breaking a string and not being able to finish the song. Too many times in front of too many people with floyds. The string thru is the reason I bought this, and guitarxpress.com had it for $470 w/ case & shipping.

Never dealt with company, emailed them before purchase to ask a ? about the pickups and never got a message. However, many people say their phone service is excellent, so definitely phone first.

Been playing 9 years, definitely fav guitar I've owned. The turbocharger is a waste of time, but everything else is great. For the money I couldn't have done any better.

Same features as the other DKMGT's. This one has a sweet transparent amber finish with 24 frets and, the best feature of all, tune-o-matic bridge. Came with a crappy owner's manual and a tool for adjusting the tremelo bridge which I don't have. Came equipped with 9s, so you may want to have some fatter gauge strings handy if you get this guitar. For more info: www.jacksonguitars.com

I run this baby through a Fender Deluxe 112 amp with a Cry baby 535Q and a Boss Overdrive/Distortion. Guitar sounds excellent. I play straight up Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and this guitar performs very well. Has nice, full sound when cranked. The turbocharger provides a nice punch for hard playing. I use it pretty often, but if you have a good amp with a solid gain channel you probably would not use it much. Be sure to push it down when you're finished or your 9V battery will drain. One thing I truly love about this axe, besides no Floyd Rose, is that is has a super fast neck. If you like to play up and down the neck, then here's your axe.

This guitar came to me with all the usual minor problems, neck needed adjustment, intonation was off, had the volume knob fall off but a small flat-head screwdriver fixed that. When it came in I was expecting the worse cause I didn't have the cash for a case, but Musicians Friend packaged this thing very well and there wasn't a scratch or a fingerprint on my guitar. The only real problem I had with this guitar was that with the 3 way selector, the guitar in the bridge position didn't produce any sound. Each wire that connects to the selector switch is soldered onto two terminals, and the wire going to the bridge position was soldered onto only one. Simple job you repairman can fix in 2 seconds.

I don't gig or anything, but I would be confident that this guitar could withstand live playing. It's a Jackson, nuff said.

I emailed Jackson about my selector switch problem and never got a response, so I called them up and they were very helpful and knowledgeable so if you ever have problems with your Jackson, however unlikely, call em! All the DKMGT's come with a lifetime warranty.

I've been playing now for 4 years and I absolutely love this guitar. After having it serviced at a local shop, this guitar is perfect. The main reason to buy this guitar is for all of us who got sick and tired of futilly trying to tune those crap Floyd Rose tremelos. Get this thing and all your tuning woes will disappear. This thing stays in tune, period. I do a lot of bends in my playing style and after an hour of playing, this guitar is still in tune. Tuners are high quality. Neck is insanely fast. 24 frets is very sweet too if you haven't owned a guitar with 2 full octaves. Turbocharger is cool for giving you more kick to your sound. If it were stolen, then you better flee the country cause I'm coming after your sorry ass! I would definitely buy another DKMGT. I really can't think of anything I hate about this guitar, other than I wish I bought one sooner. This is my first Jackson and I am truly impressed with the overall quality of this guitar. Get it!

same features as everyone else's. www.jacksonguitars.com if you need to know more. NO FLOYD ROSE!! YAY

i run dkmgt << boss flange << dod ice box chorus <<dod death metal distortion << some cheap guyatone noise supressor << crate gfx120t. sounds real good. with the death metal pedal i dont really use the turbo charger 20db boost much. i do alot of palm mutes, and it puts out a real heavy crunch. i mainly play stuff like machine head and deftones, and its real good at putting out sounds like that. it does get noisy when you active the gain boost real high, but thats also thru a pedal, never tried it without the pedal.

the guitar came from the factory set up great. it required a little bit of tuning, but every guitar does when you mail order it. the action was fine, and the pickups were fine. the neck one had to be lowered like 2mm or something like that, if you hit the string too hard it would hit the pickup, but other than that it came fine. no blems in the finish, all nice and shiny like.

never gig'd with it but it seems like it would hold up. alot of death metal bands play jacksons, so it must be able to hold up. everything feels solid on. i try to take care of my guitars, but no matter what i always seem to drop it or hit it on the wall or a door or something, and this one has held up fine. would never gig without a back up, but if i had to, id use this one over otherone ive played.

never had to deal with them support wise, but i emailed jackson to see if i would have to get the body drilled out a little bit to fit in something like emg 81's and they email back in like a day.

the overall rating is great. ive been playing like 4 years. my last guitar was an esp m-100, and that broke after 2 years of my abuse, and i was gonna get another esp, like a vb-300 or something, but in the month it took me to save up the money i went to guitar center and was playing this one so i decided to buy this one instead. this guitar blows the esp's out of the water. the esp viper 300 which has the same pickups doesnt sound halfway as good, and this one looks slicker. if this were stolen or lost, i think id cry, becuase it would take me forever to save up another 500 for a guitar. the only bad thing about this guitar is that if you hit the low e string too hard pulling up, it can pop out at the top. just take a hack saw and make the notch a little wider and deeper and its all set. really with it had nuts on the top to hold the strings in. but its a great value. plays like a $1000 guitar for half the price. the tunamatic bridge isnt too high up on the body like it is on a few ibanez's that make it feel wierd to palm mute. great guitar.

I had to update this post because I finally figured out how to operated the "gain boost". I didn't mean to call it a "mid boost" on my last post. If you pull up on the knob located the farthest from the bridge, you activate the gain boost. I must say that it is a pretty good lift when you activate it. If you have your amp set to play an ACDC type distortion, you can pull the knob and instantly have more of a Metallica type. I don't know if it is true, but someone told me that the guitar will still operate as long as a battery is plugged in, even if it is dead. I don't know if that is true or not. Obviously if the battery dies the boost won't work, but it would be cool if the pickups still did. I am trying to find out from EMG or Jackson.

This is my first good Jackson guitar. Back in 1992 I bought a Jackson, but during shipping it was chipped so I sent it back. Finally after all these years I am back to owning one. I am going to be as descriptive as I can because I know people like to have good info. This is a brand new Black Jackson DKMGT (string-thru) with a reverse headstock, 25 frets, Piranha inlays, two EMG-HZ pickups and a 20 decibal mid boost built in. Guitar operates on a 9 volt battery.

This guitar was made in Japan and has a basswood body, rosewood fretboard and maple neck. Also has three control knobs and a
3-position pickup selector. Really great features, but I don't like the fact that without a 9 volt battery the guitar won't work. I was under the impression that unlike active pickups the mid boost could be used or not used. I was wrong because when I took out the 9 volt, the guitar died. They must have everything running through the mid boost somehow. Not a real big deal. It is cool that the guitar actually came with a 9-volt in it. I am sure I will find a way to disengage the mid boost if I am short a battery, etc.

I like playing a variety of things, but mostly hard rock and metal. I have this guitar plugged into my TECH 21 PSA-1 and it sounds great! The guitar is really only noisy when I play next to my computer monitor. Other than that, it is pretty quiet. Like with anything, tons of gain will probably add some noise. At first I didn't like the pickups, but I noticed that the strings were almost sitting on top of the pickups and I was also getting fret buzzing. So I raised the bridge a bit and that is all it took. The sound is really good coming from the pickups now. Pickups are great for metal, hard rock, etc. and I am sure can handle most styles. The guitar has good palm muting chunk to it. A good example would be Dave Mustaine's sound. It has a bit of that extra "mid" in there. I can nail some of the riffing in Metallica's "Damage Inc." with the Jackson into the PSA-1. They are not the best pickups in the world obviously, but I was pleasantly surprised. Guitar has great harmonics and sounds great all the way up and down the neck. Some people might want warmer pickups or EMG's with a bit more "balls".

Coming from Musician's Friend via Fed Ex, I expected the worst. Especially because I foolishly ordered the guitar without a case. I was expecting fire wood to arrive. But I was in for a surprise. The guitar came in a cardboard box "form-fitted" to the guitar. It did not have a lot of protection around it, but it had some foam supports, etc. Then, this box was put inside a Musician's Friend box packed with paper. Crude, but it worked. This guitar came out of the box in perfect form. There was not a scratch, smudge, fingerprint, etc. I was blown away. I cannot find a ding or other problem anywhere on this guitar, which is shocking. The pearloid piranha inlays look very cool. The tuners feel really sturdy and are not loose at all. This guitar stays in tune very well. The glossy jet black finish is great. The guitar to me looks a lot like Kirk Hammett's guitar. It has that shape and the pickups are the boxy EMG's. Very impressed. Japan did very good work on this one. I am by no means an electrician, but I opened up the back to put a fresh battery in, and the wires, soldering, etc. looked solid.

Guitar seems very solid. I have only heard good things from the Japan Jacksons and now I have to echo that sentiment. If you have the money (only $499) you can own a guitar that feels like a $1000 one. Finish, hardware and everything else seem real solid. I think I could depend on this guitar. Once I figure out the mid boost thing I'll feel a lot better.

There are so many Jackson boards, forums, etc. that you really don't need the company. You could find out more from a player. I was not impressed with the manual that came with the guitar. It is not updated with the guitar I am playing! So, I can't find out how to disable the battery, etc.

Nothing beats a Jackson if you want to race up and down the neck. Guitar is great. I love this thing and I really feel like I got a great deal. I am glad I have returned to Jackson after all these years.