Jackson JS Series Kelly JS32T Amaranth Fingerboard (Viola Burst)

I've had this guitar for a month and overall it is not bad for the price. Some things to note: The fretboard was very dry upon arrival, the hardware will eventually need an upgrade and the frets are kind of scratchy feeling and sounding when performing bends and vibrato. Also this guitar has some terrible neck dive, but that seems to be inescapable when it comes to budget guitars. It needs some parts and some love, but it isn't too bad for the price

Great Intermediate Shredder

I've had this guitar for a few weeks now, and I'm really loving it. The body style is agressive and it has the sound to back it up. I'd recommend it as a step up for intermediate players, but not this is not a beginner's guitar.Pretty much standard here, the string-through design makes for nice sustain, the tuners are ok, and the pickups are comparable to Ibanez Powersounds, maybe a little better, but they still sound good, heavy distortion and somewhat flat cleans. The neck is fast, but not as fast as an Ibanez Wizard. Its just slightly broader so the jump wasn't too bad to make, but I still prefer wizard necks.This guitar came set up all wrong. I had to adjust the truss rod quite a bit and intonation required some effort. After a bridge adjustment and pickup ... MoreI've had this guitar for a few weeks now, and I'm really loving it. The body style is agressive and it has the sound to back it up. I'd recommend it as a step up for intermediate players, but not this is not a beginner's guitar.Pretty much standard here, the string-through design makes for nice sustain, the tuners are ok, and the pickups are comparable to Ibanez Powersounds, maybe a little better, but they still sound good, heavy distortion and somewhat flat cleans. The neck is fast, but not as fast as an Ibanez Wizard. Its just slightly broader so the jump wasn't too bad to make, but I still prefer wizard necks.This guitar came set up all wrong. I had to adjust the truss rod quite a bit and intonation required some effort. After a bridge adjustment and pickup positioning, I got it playing great.It's a great sounding guitar for a fair price. I love the explorer style.

Great guitar

I recently upgraded from a Rogue Rocketeer and all I have to say is this guitar plays and sounds great for the price. Ive had issues with it sliding on my leg a little bit in the beginning but after getting used to the right placement it doesn't move. I play thrash metal from bands such as exodus, Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica and testament and this guitar is honestly great for this genre. Only complaint is that since its black you can see all the dust but that's easily fixable by wiping it down every other day.

Great if you're looking for something different...

These JS series guitars are great value for the money, I had no serious issues upon receiving it and setting it up to my preferences wasn't difficult. I love the classic white finish color on it and chrome hardware.The only things I can see someone upgrading is perhaps the pickups, nut, bridge and machine tuners to their preference. Those are things any guitar could change though for this price range however.Overall, I think it's a great instrument once you get it where you want it. I've been waiting for a company like Jackson to put these out forever before they were announced under Gus Gs signature models.

Highly recommended especially for beginners.

I can't say enough good about most of the many Jacksons I own and this is honestly no exception. The build quality is always top notch and the neck always feels smooth and fast.This guitar probably wouldn't be anything more than a fantastic practicing and jamming guitar, but it would make a decent guitar to record with if you changed the pickups. There is some fretbuzz, but nothing too annoying or even noticeable with distortion which I figure most people buying this would be using.There really isn't a whole lot of features and that's completely fine, the tuners stay in tune, the guitars feels good and it looks great. If you're into rock or metal and want to learn on or just want something to add to your collection like me then you can't go wrong here and you'll ... MoreI can't say enough good about most of the many Jacksons I own and this is honestly no exception. The build quality is always top notch and the neck always feels smooth and fast.This guitar probably wouldn't be anything more than a fantastic practicing and jamming guitar, but it would make a decent guitar to record with if you changed the pickups. There is some fretbuzz, but nothing too annoying or even noticeable with distortion which I figure most people buying this would be using.There really isn't a whole lot of features and that's completely fine, the tuners stay in tune, the guitars feels good and it looks great. If you're into rock or metal and want to learn on or just want something to add to your collection like me then you can't go wrong here and you'll be hard pressed to find a better option at this price.

I would not buy this for a beginner

I really love this guitar but without a doubt it has both pros and cons. The main con is that due to its satin finish and unbalanced body shape it slides around sitting down a lot. When you put a strap on it and stand up it's almost impossible to play due to neck dive(easily moddable). Now for the pros the neck is amazing, the js series all share the same neck and Jesus it's a surprisingly fun and fast neck(probably the most comfortable cheap guitar neck I've played). The pickups are chunky and if you want to push them they will PUSH HARD. Oh I almost forgot one last con the tuners on mine personally are really really bad. I bought this guitar for a project so I don't mind much but if you want a js series for your first guitar buy a strat style or something more ... MoreI really love this guitar but without a doubt it has both pros and cons. The main con is that due to its satin finish and unbalanced body shape it slides around sitting down a lot. When you put a strap on it and stand up it's almost impossible to play due to neck dive(easily moddable). Now for the pros the neck is amazing, the js series all share the same neck and Jesus it's a surprisingly fun and fast neck(probably the most comfortable cheap guitar neck I've played). The pickups are chunky and if you want to push them they will PUSH HARD. Oh I almost forgot one last con the tuners on mine personally are really really bad. I bought this guitar for a project so I don't mind much but if you want a js series for your first guitar buy a strat style or something more comfortable.

Impressive value!

Overall:I had to wait for this guitar on backorder for a little while in the matte black finish, but after I finally received it, I feel that the wait was well worth it. The neck on this guitar is absolutely wonderful. The level of detail in it's craftsmanship is beyond what you'd expect from a lower budget guitar. Frets are in great condition. Neck has binding all the way around it that you normally would not see on a lower budget instrument. Although the fret board itself is touched off with the shark fin inlays, the wood itself could've been cleaned better. There's still that whitish waxy finish compound on the wood that wasn't cleaned off, but no worries, I can easily clean it off myself. I don't have any issues with fret buzzing that I can detect, but the ... MoreOverall:I had to wait for this guitar on backorder for a little while in the matte black finish, but after I finally received it, I feel that the wait was well worth it. The neck on this guitar is absolutely wonderful. The level of detail in it's craftsmanship is beyond what you'd expect from a lower budget guitar. Frets are in great condition. Neck has binding all the way around it that you normally would not see on a lower budget instrument. Although the fret board itself is touched off with the shark fin inlays, the wood itself could've been cleaned better. There's still that whitish waxy finish compound on the wood that wasn't cleaned off, but no worries, I can easily clean it off myself. I don't have any issues with fret buzzing that I can detect, but the frets could use a slight bit more crowning and polishing. I have the tools to do that kind of thing, and to most beginners or even intermediate players, they wouldn't even notice. The tuners leave a bit to be desired. They were lose feeling to turn, but I honestly didn't give them much of a chance to give an honest review of them, because I immediately swapped on a set of Hipshot locking tuners that dropped in without ANY extra drilling or modifications. I think all guitars should have locking tuners from the start lol. I also did not give the stock pickups a test. I immediately swapped in a set of active EMG 81, and 85 pickups. There was just enough room in the back cavity to install all the necessary hardware and battery. I very partial to active pickups and these make this guitar scream greatness. Even though I didn't test the stock pickups out, the pots used were definitely budget friendly. They were small and cheap of course. Expected from a budget friendly guitar. Again that didn't matter to much to me since I changed out all the electronics, except for the 3 way switch. I did use it. My only real complaint is the location of the strap button on the neck end of the body. It is NOT located very well. Issues with neck dive with it. I also installed a locking strap button on the back by the neck plate. Neck dive problem solved. It's just a shame that Jackson guitars does do this at the factory in they do with there other Kelly guitars and V shaped guitars. Doesn't really make any sense to me, but oh well. I'm sure they're fully aware of the issue to. All in all, I love the guitar. The weight is practically non existant as it is light and a feather. It's an extreme pleasure to play.

Pickups are meh.

The pickups are noisy. When using a moderate crunch there is a crackling in signal that has been tested and confirmed to be the pickups in this Kelly and not the amp or cable used. The tone and volume pots as well as the pickup selector switch are cheap. Overall the natural finished neck is perfect for my tastes, for shredding or rhythm does not matter. The body is classic and the finish was decent, however it looked like the guitar had been on display somewhere with dust settled on the tops of the pickups and some kind of white paint on the black volume knob. Over all if you do not mind dropping some money on new pickups and some new electronics this is a good playing guitar...with the upgrades you might even be able to gig with it.

Unique Looks, Great Feel and Sound

I originally purchased this guitar off of Guitar Center, but I'd thought I share my review here as well. I've waited many years for Jackson to provide this body style again. The construction of this instrument is what you'd come to expect for a guitar in this price range. It's well finished and the neck feels great. This may be a "signature guitar" but it's really just a standard Jackson guitar from the JS series lineup. The real signature models start with the pro version and up. Those have even better quality, different wood material, different parts and hardware. However, what we have here with the JS32 and JS32T models are great guitars for novices and experienced guitar players on a budget. Would I recommend this? Yes.

You get what you pay for

This came very hard to play. I have to admit, I only bought this guitar to practice with, so I spent short money as to just have a knock around. It won't stay in tune until the strings are ready to be replaced. The factory setup was junk. I had to file down the frets that hung out past the fingerboard, and re-bevel the fret top angles. It was beating up my hands pretty good. The pickups at each pole are very inconsistent, and each string has a different loudness from the rest, and it's extremely top heavy. Like I said, I bought this as a knock around and that's why I gave it 3 stars instead of 2. I imagine once I finish my mods and add new pickups, it will make a somewhat decent practice guitar. I have my King V custom made for me in '86 for $1700 and I use that for ... MoreThis came very hard to play. I have to admit, I only bought this guitar to practice with, so I spent short money as to just have a knock around. It won't stay in tune until the strings are ready to be replaced. The factory setup was junk. I had to file down the frets that hung out past the fingerboard, and re-bevel the fret top angles. It was beating up my hands pretty good. The pickups at each pole are very inconsistent, and each string has a different loudness from the rest, and it's extremely top heavy. Like I said, I bought this as a knock around and that's why I gave it 3 stars instead of 2. I imagine once I finish my mods and add new pickups, it will make a somewhat decent practice guitar. I have my King V custom made for me in '86 for $1700 and I use that for any serious things I have to do. I didn't expect much from this guitar, but I am brand loyal, so I will make this work for me when I finish the customization. Even if it is for practice.