made in japan jackson imports vs made in korea ibanez RG's

[VOLTAGE]

Which is the better bang for the buck? a made in japan DK-2 jackson goes for $400 and the RG 350dx goes for $360 and is made in korea?
are the jacksons a better sounding,built guitar?

[JimmyW]

its all personal pref...go play both and choose for yourself

[jim777]

Funny, one of my brothers just bought one of each (and an Ibanez ProLine). The Jackson had a reverse headstock, cost him about 200 on evilbay and is a fairly nice instrument, given the price. The Ibanez is a J470, has a really nice case, but a broken truss rod. If we could have fixed the neck warp in the Ibanez it would have been close. given the circumstances, the Jackson is the keeper. The Ibanez was made by Cort in Korea, the Jackson in Japan.
If you are looking for the best available for the cash, I'd go with an old Proline, or an RG-550 myself. You could get a nice one of either and maybe two pedals for $400.

jim

[dex]

Originally Posted by randyvanmalmsteen

Which is the better bang for the buck? a made in japan DK-2 jackson goes for $400 and the RG 350dx goes for $360 and is made in korea?
are the jacksons a better sounding,built guitar?

The DK2 is the better guitar of the 2 without a doubt.
The Duncan Designed pickup in the Jackson are way beter than the PSND pickups in the Ibanez.

ilia

[Ibanez Junkie]

Jackson Suck!
Ibanez are batter!

[Jem7RB MK]

My advice is to try out every make in your price range,I've played some lovely guitars,And they all have one thing in common...Not 1 was an Ibanez,don't slag me off just yet,i have 3 great ibanez axe's,I also have 1 fantastic gibson,1extremly sweet Charvel and the most amazing sounding patrick eggle.

Don't limit yourself to 1 singular make,in an ideal world,1 guitar would do everything,But it doesnt,hence the differant brands available

Rob

[athlon]

Originally Posted by dex

The DK2 is the better guitar of the 2 without a doubt.
The Duncan Designed pickup in the Jackson are way beter than the PSND pickups in the Ibanez.

ilia

Its true that the Powersound pickups are not spectacular, but the "Duncan designed" Jackson pickups are pretty uninspiring also. I tried a DK2 last week, and i quite liked it, although the neck was completley alien to me.

i would say they are both pretty similar. Although after owning to Korean made Ibanez guitars, i wouldnt get another. Japanese all the way

[DirtyBird31]

For that price range I would probably get the Jackson. The pickups on both are unspectacular, as are the floyds. And what it comes down to is which is easiest to upgrade the trems on, and which you like better feel wise. Remember, Ibanez has the All Access Neck Joint. While I believe the jackson has the hideous brick. I really wish more companies would come up with something better than the block heel. But I digress.

Do you like the Wizard and AANJ enough to justify getting the Ibanez over the Jackson? Do you like the Duncans and the JT5?? Floyd enough to justify getting the Jackson over the Ibanez?

Your decision. Ibanez doesnt get a very clear lead until maybe the 4xx series, and definitely the 5xx. But the 3xx you might as well toss a coin.

[NextInLine]

I've used both korean Ibanez's and japanese Jacksons. I'd say Jacksons beat Korean Ibanezs if you think long term. Japanese Jacksons are 10 times better built instruments and 10 times more durable

Moreover if I'm going to play a long gig (I mean 15+ songs) I simply won't trust a Korean made Ibanez but A Dk-2, Dkmg, Dxmg or a higher Japanese Jackson will be a good choice..

[Dee]

Originally Posted by jim777

Funny, one of my brothers just bought one of each (and an Ibanez ProLine). The Jackson had a reverse headstock, cost him about 200 on evilbay and is a fairly nice instrument, given the price. The Ibanez is a J470, has a really nice case, but a broken truss rod. If we could have fixed the neck warp in the Ibanez it would have been close. given the circumstances, the Jackson is the keeper. The Ibanez was made by Cort in Korea, the Jackson in Japan.
If you are looking for the best available for the cash, I'd go with an old Proline, or an RG-550 myself. You could get a nice one of either and maybe two pedals for $400.

jim

ProLine rules. I love those things, especially the PL2550. YUM.

As for the original question, sorry Ibanez, but I'd go for the Jackson. I agree with Jimbo, though -- get a used RG550 or (if you can find one) a ProLine or something.

[vaughn]

btw the current jackson dk-2 come with real duncan pickups now

[gpenguins]

I preferred my Jap Jacksons to the Korean Ibanez's I've had, but all are gone now, only Jap Ibanez's. Which makes me say that Jimm777 is right, for the cash, get a used Jap Ibanez, it's well worth it.

[Hellraizer]

I say just get a MIJ Ibanez

[King Knall]

Originally Posted by Hellraizer

I say just get a MIJ Ibanez

Yeah, you can find a lot of good 550/570s on e-bay around the $400 mark.

[MadRyan]

I have both and my DKMG is by far a nicer guitar than my Ibanez. I threw some real Duncans in it and to be honest, I can't tell the difference between it and the USA jacksons I've played, aside from the rosewood fretboard. The neck is much nicer and the fit and function are amazing.

That being said, I've pretty much swapped out everything on my Ibanez S-series guitar... I put in duncans and took out the center SC. I bought an original Floyd rose to swap for the TRS, and I'm actually going to build a new body, as the one it has sucks. All the little screws strip out like it's made of particle board not mahogany, and the finish blows. I'm going to scrap everything but the neck from the original guitar and make a new body.