Metallers: Jackson or Ibanez

[MIDNIGHT]

well.. i know that neither are supposedly exclusive in catering to the metal-heads out there.. i just noticed that i often see jackson and ibanez guitars in the hands of the hardcore metallers more often tha others..

so whatcha think?

[Caretaker]

Both will get you there. In my metal/shred days, I played both, as well as Charvel, Hamer,Kramer and Carvin.

[WildeStarr]

I am a metal guy, but I stay away from those guitars. Especially the pointy ones, eveybody and there grandmother plays them. If I want a V, I will get the real thing... A Gibson. I am mostly a Les Paul old school guy.

[MIDNIGHT]

Originally Posted by WildeStarr

I am a metal guy, but I stay away from those guitars. Especially the pointy ones, eveybody and there grandmother plays them. If I want a V, I will get the real thing... A Gibson. I am mostly a Les Paul old school guy.

does the Explorer fair good as well?

[Shawn Fate]

Jackson USA, you can't go wrong.

[Pushead]

Neither Jackson nor Ibanez. ESP all the way.

I have as many ESPs as I do Gibsons.


The family, if you're interested.

[terence_tez]

+1 fer thee ESPs...

[coldsteal2]

Charvel,

I have a Warmoth/Fender Shred guitar with floyd rose
and Duncan Invader, i love that guitar, there are rifs i can
do on it i cant on a Les Paul because the neck is so thin and
flat, and the wammy of course.
I love my Les Pauls, and Strats, but also love my metal guitar
for its purposes

[lexluthier]

I dig older Charvels and Jacksons and own a bunch still. San Dimas era ones are killer. They are the original hot rod heavy metal guitar. Even the early Japanese Charvels and Jacksons are really well built guitars. The Chushin factory did a great job with them. I do dig the old Ibanez Roadstar guitars, they were great. I don't like the RG's, Vai's and such, the necks feel like popsicle sticks to me. Older ESPs were great, but I haven't played many new ones that I like.

If you can find one, the old (usa) BC Rich Gunslingers were SMOKING good guitars if you like bolt ons. The necks actually had some chunk to them. The one I have is as good as any San Dimas Charvel. The early neck thrus like the Mockingbird and Bich are really becoming collectable, too.

[rockinlespaul]

Back in my metal days it was Jackson/Charvel for me....

[MIDNIGHT]

shoot! sorry guys.. forgot about ESP and Charvel.. .. shoulda included 'em on the poll..

any of you guys know if i can edit the poll, and if so, how?

[Shawn Fate]

I would pick a USA jackson over any ESP that i have played.
Matter of fact I did.

[Pushead]

Originally Posted by Shawn Fate

I would pick a USA jackson over any ESP that i have played.
Matter of fact I did.

The funny thing is that I've never met a Jackson (USA or otherwise) that I liked.

[WildeStarr]

Originally Posted by midnightdreamer

does the Explorer fair good as well?

Gibson Explorers are very cool, I would play one.

[MIDNIGHT]

well at least i found out what i set out to find out (got that? )

[WildeStarr]

Originally Posted by midnightdreamer

well at least i found out what i set out to find out (got that? )

Does that mean you are buying me an Explorer for Christmas?

[MIDNIGHT]

Originally Posted by WildeStarr

Does that mean you are buying me an Explorer for Christmas?

it's hard enough buying myself a guitar lol

i just meant that i found out what i set out to find out such that i got a consensus on which was better between Jackson and Ibanez..

[WildeStarr]

Originally Posted by midnightdreamer

it's hard enough buying myself a guitar lol

i just meant that i found out what i set out to find out such that i got a consensus on which was better between Jackson and Ibanez..

They are both nice guitars IMO. I have an Ibanez RG 570 or one of those higher end RG models with a Floyd Rose... I can't recall what it is, but its a good guitar. I don't play it much though.

[ArchEtech]

Having had both.

Id say Ibanez is a better buy for the money. The Jackson USA and imports are made better IMO. I don't there there is a better starter guitar than Ibanez, I've just never been impressed with their high end stuff. Jem's are butt ugly I don't care how good they are.

Flat Jackson neck with sharkfins is hard to beat for that type of music.

ESP - not LTD - but the older M-I and M-II are fantastic guitars.

[coldsteal2]

I remember when Charvels were just kits,
you get a body and a neck, then buy what
ever parts you wanted to put on it. Now they
cost alot to buy those old frankenstein guitars.
Edies guitar probably cost around $250, plus
the price of PAF, floyd rose and parts to build
they sell for 14k now

[lexluthier]

Remember Wayne Charvel's first product? It was aluminum replacement jack plates for Gibsons.

[coldsteal2]

boy he has really come up in the world since then!!

Flyod Rose kind of started out like that to, and Taylor
Guitars. They have great stories

Wayne Charvel lives a mere 10 miles from me up the hill
in Paradise CA

[Shawn Fate]

My buddy has a Wayne Charvel model Gibson.

[alpinestudio]

I've owned at least 1 or 5 of what was listed for brand name guitars..here are my experiences...

Ibanez-Great guitar for the money. I owned a few prestige line guitars. Rg1570, RG 2550, Rg 2570, RGA 121. Excellent build quality..but somehow felt fragile to me..maybe the body is way pointy and the neck is very very thin? Tone wise..I swapped pickups on there..and for metal..it still sounded a bit thin..

Jackson-Owned only the mid to higher end Japanese models. (SL-3 Soloist, DKMG series, SLSMG series. Quality was decent..but the fretjob on the soloist was horrible. My DKMG was perfect except for a paint bubble on the finish in the back. Bought 2 SLSMG's (returned 1), because 1 of them had a centering problem with the neck..and its a neck through...The sound is amazing..much better than Ibanez in my opinion. Sounded fuller and had more sustain. The SL-3 stayed in tune quite well more so than all of my other Ibanez's.

ESP- Owned an early 90's M-I or was it an M-III? Quality was top notch and the sound was amazing. I shouldn't had sold that guitar. That was my grail! lol I also owned a korean made KH-503 Kirk Hammett signature. Sound was great and the quality was very decent. Bought an Alexi-600 model..sound was great but the fretwork was crap. Returned it.

Verdict. I still would go for ESP especially the higher end models if you can afford it. Excels in both quality and sound vs..

Ibanez had great quality but did not match sound.

Jackson had great sound but didn't match the quality.

Mind you folks, I play hard heavy metal on these babies and what I look for is a well distorted guitar yet still retains that great tone.

My vote..ESP with the exception of the crappy Alexi model I got. It's probably a fluke.

[lexluthier]

I agree with the older ESPs, they made some killer guitars then. I just don't think the newer ones are quite as nice as the older ones, but that's just my opinion.

[Pushead]

Originally Posted by lexluthier

I agree with the older ESPs, they made some killer guitars then. I just don't think the newer ones are quite as nice as the older ones, but that's just my opinion.

Brand new (as of last month) Horizon NT-II. Less than $1300, neck through, maple/mahogany/ebony. The thing is awesome. This particular one was imported for me after getting a large dealer to convince ESP to send one in this color over (the states only get a brown sunburst, other countries get nicer colors imo). To me, it slays any Jackson I've ever played, even ones that cost $600 more.

I have a bunch of ESP custom shop guitars too, but they typically cost a few hundred dollars more.

[coldsteal2]

now theres a shred guitar for you
I love String Through body guitars to for sustain
my Jazz basses are string through bodys
Thats the first "Realy Nice" ESP i have ever seen!

[alpinestudio]

That's a lovely one. I do like the USA Jackson's a lot, but I'd pick a higher end Japanese ESP over it.

[MIDNIGHT]

Originally Posted by Pushead

Brand new (as of last month) Horizon NT-II. Less than $1300, neck through, maple/mahogany/ebony. The thing is awesome. This particular one was imported for me after getting a large dealer to convince ESP to send one in this color over (the states only get a brown sunburst, other countries get nicer colors imo). To me, it slays any Jackson I've ever played, even ones that cost $600 more.

I have a bunch of ESP custom shop guitars too, but they typically cost a few hundred dollars more.

very nice

[Pushead]

Thanks. Here is the top (before I added the chrome rings)