Jackson DR2 Dinky Reverse

1997 model, Ontario, CA made.
The body might be poplar, or alder, i dont know. Not too heavy and good sustain though. Gloss black finish.
22 frets,maple neck (unfinshed, great feeling!), ebony fretboard, no inlays. Reverse headstock.
1 volume pot, 1 tone pot, 3 way toggle switch, Jackson JT580 tremolo (Floyd Rose) and Jackson/Scaller locking nut, Dunlop Straplok. Chrome hardware, including the pups rings.

The neck is rather thin, not as thin as Ibanez Wizards or Jackson Pro necks, which is quite cool, it feels like some French Lag guitars necks, and they are excellent.

The puckups were replaced by DiMarzios when i bought it, Evolution in bridge, Fred in neck. I just love DiMarzios pups, they are sharp, loads of low ends, sustain forever, dont sound as muddy as Duncan pups in my opinion.

Jackson/SKB flightcase included.

This guitar is just made for metal!
I just love the sound she has, i use a Mesa Triaxis, TC G Major and Boss or Alesis 20+ band graphic EQ.
She just barks and bites!
Good sustain, loads of bass frequencies, all notes as well defined, tons of harmonics!

Clean sound are ok too, but its definitely not what i play.

The only thing i dont like is the extensive use of tone pots from any manufacturer. Its just a waste of space to me.

I padded the Floyd springs too, like on all my guitars, to avoid hearing them ringing in resonance with the strings.

The action is pretty low, the guitar is just too easy to play!
Even an absolute beginner could thing hes a shredder with her!

It was a used guitar bought on Ebay, but apart from 2 small dings on the finish that are barely noticeable, she looks new.

Pity palm sweat and dirt are really too easy to see on black guitars!

Apart from that, all is ok, no oxidation, nothing loose.

This guitars was built to last! Apart from the nuisance when changing strings (Floyd...) she can be used in any situation!
The previous owner and I have just added a couple of stuff on here (padded springs, DiMarzio, Straplok, volume pot replaced, Floyd was greased, fretboard was oiled, etc).
So shes 100% to my taste, and 100% reliable!

Never contacted Jackson.

I ve been playing for more than 10 years now.
I already got 3 other guitars, 2 custom made LAG guitars (French company) and a HAMER Diablo.
I have had 10ish over guitars, coming, going, and just kept the ones that i really loved.

And now, this devilish girl is my main guitar! I only wish she had 24 frets, bound headstock and fretboard. Thats about it.

The neck is a dream, she sounds great, she is the corner stone of my musical live!

1997 Jackson DR2, USA made, 22 frets, solid top, 1 volume 1 tone and a 3 way toggle, H/H pickups configuration. Duncan Screamin Demon in bridge, Duncan Jazz in neck. Body wood is either alder or ash. Rare Purpleburst finish, Dinky body. Jackson Floyd Rose licensed low profile tremelo. Relatively thin, flat neck. Ebony board with no inlays. Reverse headstock.

Sounds awesome, easily handles many styles of music, really well suited for metal. I use a Marshall AVT 150h, full stack AVT cabs. A mackie 1400i Power amp. Boss Metalzone. I really like both the neck and bridge pickups. They sound really good together, but apart they have a very different sound, making the guitar a little more versatile. I usually play with just the Demon on though, got a real nice sound, slightly too much high end on this pickup though. The Jazz in the neck sounds really bright, not the perfect sound for me, but still a great pickup.

The guitar was set up flawlessly, with nice low action and no string buzz. The pickups were set at the perfect height. No flaws in finish, wood, hardware, or overall playability. Love the unfinished neck, the most comfortable neck I've ever played on. The finish is absolutely gorgeous. I was lucky enough to find one in purpleburst, it looked amazing in pics on the internet, but in person it is hands down one of the most spectacular finishes I have ever seen.

This guitar will withstand anything that any other quality guitar could withstand. With reasonably careful treatment there should be no reason it won't last a lifetime. It is built to last. Wouldn't go on stage without a backup for any guitar with a Floyd Rose trem.

Jackson is hard to contact and when you do get a response it is usually not the information you requested, usually just the make and model, and production date(year and month). Don't even waste your time trying to get specifics on your guitar, they won't give you what you want.

I've been playing for 7 years now, and this is my 7th guitar. I also currently own an Ibanez 540s replaced stock pickups with Duncan Dimebuckers and a Hot rails. The Ibanez doesn't even come close to the quality that Jackson offers, Jackson USA models blow away even Ibanez Custom shop guitars. If it were lost or stolen and I were lucky enough to come across this guitar in the same finish I would no doubt but it. If i couldn't find one I would have the Jackson Custom Shop build one damn near the specs of this guitar, same finish for sure.

*** This is an update to my earlier review. ***

I have now had this DR2 for going on two years, and have since purchased several other Jackson guitars. In comparing the DR2 neck to other models, I have found it to be considerably thicker. Combined with a larger neck joint and only 22 frets, it hasn't worked for me as a lead guitar -- it is harder to access the upper frets. I'm not sure if the other USA bolt-on necks of this particular year were the same, but the imports all have thinner necks, whether bolt-on or neck-thru. It could be that this is typical of reverse-headstock models, because the DR3 Dinky Reverse seems to have a slightly thicker neck than the DK2 Dinky, although both are imports.

Because my needs have changed from primarily rhythm playing to more of a lead role, I am knocking a couple of points off my original score. The DR2 still has excellent features, but they don't suit my playing style as well as before.

At the time that I first got this guitar, I still hadn't found what I consider to be my "perfect" tone. Over time, having experimented with different woods and pickups, I now find the Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon to be a bit harsh on the high end, maybe due in part to the ash body. The mids and highs are good for lead as they can stand out from the rest of the mix, but the bottom end just isn't there when the time comes for some serious riffing.

After installing a Duncan Full Shred in another Jackson with favorable results, I am going to try the same in the DR2. The Full Shred is more versatile for metal. That isn't to say that the Screamin' Demon is not versatile, but it doesn't have the tight low end that I'm looking for. Maybe part of it has to do with the body too, but we'll see what happens.

Still no problems. Blocking the trem makes restringing a little easier. A couple of dings on the front that might not have been visible if this had a clearcoat finish, but I'm still happy with the way it looks.

Hasn't seen a lot of use since this is my only USA Jackson and I tend to baby it a little. No problems so far.

No need to contact them. I take all of my guitars to a Jackson-authorized warranty center for any work, and always have good results.

I've been playing for 10+ years, and overall, Jacksons are my favorite guitars. At the time that I got this DR2, I hadn't experimented much with pickup replacement, and honestly wasn't what I would consider a "lead guitarist" yet. Since then, I've purchased several new guitars, including a couple of other Jackson bolt-on models, a neck-thru Soloist Pro, and a set-neck Dean LP copy. In comparison to all the others, the DR2 weighs more, has a thicker neck, and has a brighter sound that I'm told is a tonal quality of ash. The body weight and neck make this guitar better suited for rhythm use I think, but the bridge pickup does not. If money were no object, I might consider having the neck lacquer removed and get it shaved down a bit, but I'd rather not doing anything irreversible to a discontinued USA model.

I think a pickup change will end up making this my main rhythm axe, and I'm sure that in it's current state it would be a good all-around guitar for most players.

This is a USA made top of the line Dinky Reverse. Look at Ryan's previous sumbmission for the specs. It's essentially a Dinky body (mines black, and I think its an alder body) with 2 seymour duncan humbuckers, and a reverse headstock. The maple neck is great, the back's feel to it is awesome, like Ryan said "you can *feel* the woodgrain", and has an ebony fretboard. The fretboard is great in comparison to maple or rosewood. If you like speed, and a nice comfortable neck this is the one. It's a heavy guitar, but that's what improves the sound, sustain, and feel. This I believe is the cheaper USA model, since the DK1 (dinky usa), has an Original Floyd Rose, this DR2, has a licensed one made by Jackson. This guitar was made from 1997-98 and is no longer made, the DK1 is no longer made too. My guess is Jackson had the Soloist series, 2 models, one that resembles the DK1, and one that resembled the DR2 (as far as body, pickups, and neck go, except that soloist are neck through and not reverse headstock). So now their Dinkys are only made in Japan, no need to make one in the USA because of the Soloist. I really like this guitar except for the licensed tremolo which isn't as great as an original, and the fact that my volume knob is too loose, and the 3 way switch makes noise when I change pickups. The screw top on the switch also never stays tight, I have to tighten up all the time, but these are minor things, all I have to do is replace the volume, and 3 way switch. All chrome hardware, and chrome tuners, and floyd.

This guitar sounds good overall, not like other metal guitars that are only suited for distortion and leads. I played a DK1 by the way, and it sucked compared to this one, the only position I liked was the bridge, in which the DR2, and DK1 sound similar. Plus the hum-hum pickup config is better. I'm using a Marshall GR30cd (small solid state practice amp) and a gx-700 guitar processor ( the best Boss unit, better than the gt-5, but its a rack). Clean: the guitar sounds very nice, especially the middle position where the 2 pickups are on, imagine these humbuckers are like 2 single coils together as one, in the middle position of the 3-way switch the 2 closest single pickups to the center (one from each humbucker) are on. This sounds very nice, a classical tone, doesn't sound to electric, more acoustic. Plus with loud distortion the middle position, because of the 2 single, makes a hum canceling effect, almost no hum at all, without your hands on the strings grounding them. The neck position clean sounds great, you can get a nice jazzy sound out of it. The bridge is nice and bright and you can get some crunchy sounds out of it. The neck when overdriven slightly gives you a nice bluesy crunch. With loud distortion: the neck, and bridge only postions tend to get a little noisy, for leads the neck is great, and the bridge gives you that nice riff jamming distortion. PLus the middle position compared to the other 2 single hum at a time, is lower in output, so when you kick in the neck position and solo, you dont have to somehow increase the volume in your setup. This guitar is best suited for melodic metal, gives some great classical tones, and you can play jazz on it too. I'm giving it an eight, because on clean the extreme, hum only positions feel to thick, the middle position gives a great tone. Also, an 8 because the volume knob...imagine this a knob with a range from 1-10, 10 being the max, this volume knob compresses the 1-10 normal range in its 7-10 range, so you just roll back the volume a bit and nothing, need to replace it!

The action on the guitar is great, a little lower, and the string would have little tension, which I don't like. I bought the guitar new without a case, and everything is fine. The finish, tremolo, neck, body, all brand new.

This guitar is well built. However before I use this one in the studio I have to replace the switch, can't have it crackling when i switch pickups. Looks like it will withstand playing live, but I wouldn't gig with out a backup. The strap buttons are very solid, and the finish will last.

I might wan't to deal with them, see if I can get them to replace the volume knob, and switch.

I also own a Fender Telecaster Deluxe custom, to get other tones out of my music, but its neck isn't as comfortable as the Jackson's, I will be talking to fender because the nut is to low on the 1st string, sometimes when I play I detach the string from the nut. I'm giving the guitar an 8 because of the volume and switch, Otherwise I think it's a great guitar, I wouldn't sell it. It's one of few and I mean few guitars, with ebony fretboard, and such a comfortable neck and great sounds for under a 1000 dollars.

This is a Jackson USA DR2 Dinky Reverse, made in Ontario, California in 1997-98. The body is ash, in "cobalt blue" with a flat finish; you can *feel* the woodgrain! The bolt-on neck is maple, with ebony fingerboard, 22 frets and no inlays. (That's right, no clearcoat/polyurethane finish and no inlays.) Duncan Jazz Model SH-2 humbucker at the neck, George Lynch Screamin' Demon SH-12 in the bridge position, with a 3-way switch, tone and volume control. The tremolo system is Jackson's recessed Floyd Rose clone, with all chrome hardware.
I prefer 24 frets, and the cutaways aren't scalloped as on some Jacksons. For some reason, Jackson doesn't bind the necks on their reverse-headstock models either. One point off since their other USA models have these features.

QUESTION: Why don't people wait until putting new strings on a guitar before trying to judge the sound quality? I brought this home, plugged it in and the sound was dull. The next day, I put on some new D'Addario XL Super Lights (.009) and was blown away. Of course the original strings will be mangled!!!
I use an ART Xtreme pedal for distortion and chorus, Digitech XP-100 Whammy/Way, Boss DD-3 delay, and a number of Peavey amps, sometimes with an ART FX-1 in the effects loop. I play melodic metal along the lines of In Flames and Dark Tranquility, plus some thrashier stuff now and then, so I throw in some clean parts with the high gain distortion once in awhile. In any case, the sound of this guitar is amazing, especially if you play with lots of distortion. The Jazz Model in the neck has a smooth, mellow distortion and a passible clean sound for a humbucker. The Demon, on the other hand, is made to shred. It has that signature Jackson scooped-mid sound, and it takes no effort to coax harmonics out of it. Not much noise either, even close to the amp.
The downside? Even the neck pickup has too much bite to produce that sparkling single-coil clean tone. The bridge pickup sounds great with high gain, but either the pickup itself or the guitar's body seem to lack much in the way of low end. Still, the sound is perfect for the style of metal I play.

I think there was some confusion at Guitar Center; this guitar was marked down, supposedly used, but doesn't show any signs that it was ever played for any length of time. Other than a couple tiny nicks in it, the overall condition of this guitar was the same as the brand new DR2 on the rack next to it. I'm betting the strings were still factory, because they were really clamped down. Maybe a display model, but what guitar at a chain store ISN'T test-driven anyway?
New or used, the setup on this guitar was 100% flawless. The recessed Floyd Rose was perfectly parallel to the body, with low action and no string buzz. The frets initially seemed really high to me, but then again, all my other guitars were bought with several years of use already behind them. Like I said, there were a couple of nicks in the wood, but it was marked used after all. Can't imagine finding a better setup, especially coming from a "superstore" full of obnoxious kids who give every whammy bar in sight the ol' jerk-off routine.

As much as I love the look of this guitar, the flat finish could be its downfall. After years of garage bands and bedroom practice, I'm now doing studio session playing and also just joined a gigging metal band, so it will be a true test of reliability. The hardware seems good, although not great, but chrome usually holds up better than black or gold finish. The Jackson trem is no competition to the Schaller on my Hamer, but I don't do any diving anyway.
All of my Jacksons (3) are sturdy and should hold up to the rigors of the road, but I'll have to keep an eye on the finish. Wear and tear aside, I have no doubts about the quality. No need to gig without a backup, but I would if I had to. Gotta drop a few points, just because the body could sustain serious damage if smacked around, and the hardware could be better for an American Jackson.

Jackson always has answered my questions and helped me get service, even on out-of-warranty instruments. The DR2 (and non-reverse DK1) has been discontinued, so getting accurate info was tough. Luckily, between Jackson's email responses and a number of Jackson/Charvel-oriented websites, I never have to wait long for help.
In addition, the salesman at Guitar Center (Roseville, MN) was very helpful. The case and tremolo bar were missing, so he found another bar that fit and gave me a pretty nice Kaces gig bag for free. Throw in a half-price strap and $100 markdown, and I was impressed. Despite some other people's criticism of Jackson's support and inconsistent service at GC, this turned out to be a walk in the park.

I've been playin for nine years, and this is my fourth Jackson in addition to the many other guitars I have owned. The fact that I was able to track one down after being discontinued last year was cool, and the overall quality of this guitar made the hunt worthwhile. It also doesn't hurt that I paid less than half the $1400 list price, with $100 taken off for a bare minimum of previous use...or more likely time spent hanging on the wall.
While there are better guitars out there, this is the best bolt-on guitar Jackson has made in recent years. I considered the imported DK2, DR3 and even the KV3 King V, but they just didn't stack up in terms of sound and workmanship. It's a pity that this model isn't made anymore, because Jackson no long offers a USA-made Dinky model. The only guitar which compares to the DR2 is the Hamer Californian, which also has a scaled-down body and Seymour Duncan pickups. The Hamer has some added features (see my review -- I own one!), but now has also been cut from American production too! Nothing else I've played has the look, feel and sound of this instrument.