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Caparison Dillenger Or J Custom 7570Z - which should i get?

6K views 26 replies 10 participants last post by  eightsixboy 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I'll try keep it short and sweet.

Basically sick of selling guitars left right and centre due to not liking the really thin wizard HP and super wizard necks (keep convincing myself to keep trying). After playing my old early 2000's RG170 I have decided to try and get a high end Jap guitar with a similarly shaped neck.

So the only high end Ibanez I can see that has a neck remotely close to the wizard II is the J Custom RG7570Z. It has a Custom "U" shape which I can only assume is a lot more round (hopefully like my RG170's neck).

I was pretty set to buy the J Custom but after some words from a mate he suggested looking into Caparison guitars. I have never really thought about them until last night, and luck would have it there is 2 Caparison Dellinger II's left in my country (apparently know one is stocking them now).

By the specs the Caparison neck isn't as wide as the J Custom and looks to be thicker. And well I love the clock inlays as well :)

So please throw some advise my way and help me choose. As both would be sight unseen and both would be pretty expensive I can only choose one. The J Custom is on sale in Japan and would cost around $2000USD to get here after shipping and taxes. The Caparison would be around $1500 USD, heavily discounted due clearing out remaining stock.

I'm leaning more towards the Caparison due to the neck profile BUT I still love the look of the J Custom more and don't want to dismiss it yet.

J Custom:
http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/ec/pro/disp/1/416900

Caparison:
http://www.dwmusic.com.au/caparison-dellinger-ii-wm-natural-ef
 
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#2 ·
J Custom for me. I'll keep it short and sweet. Ibby has way superior build
quality. Caparison's have thin finishes and their stock pickups suck. Neck
profile on Caparisons whilst good for me was always better for rhythm
the JC always excelled at lead. Caparisons depreciate like a mofo as well
whilst a good J Custom will hold it's value. I'd look into some of the older
JC's like the RG1880 etc if you're looking for something with a thicker neck
without the big outlay for a new one.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply.

I have been looking for months on ebay etc for a J Custom here in oz, but they just never ever come up for sale. And all the second hand ones for sale in Japan/US are pretty $$$ due to the terrible exchange rate at the moment.

Talking about finishes, that's one thing that worries me about the J Custom to be honest. I know recently I tried a jcrg20136 and it sounded very muddy and unclear, in comparison to prestige 2550z I tried back to back with it. I could only assume it was either the thick finish on the body and/or the mahogany body.
 
#11 ·
I definitely agree, its more just down to the neck size really. Ikebe were kind enough to send pics of the neck from the 7570Z but it doesn't really look like much of a U shape, from the pics its hard to tell though.

The issue is its such a massive outlay without being able to try it out, would suck to go through the import process only to not like the guitar.

i'd go with J custom. I am guilty of making the same mistake of going with more expensive guitars to realize I still like Ibanez more (wiz ii)

ymmv
Its just a pity that ALL the current Ibanez RG line have the wider necks now, the earlier ones that were around 56mm instead of 58mm feel perfect to me.

I'd also look at Ishibashi gakki's English webpage. You can find some stuff here that is Japan market only and if it's used, it can be shipped overseas. They sometimes get some nice J customs and some nice older Ibanezes as well.
I'm inclined not to deal with them, nothing personal but from previous experience they got super paranoid about me ordering something awhile ago, I understand their not meant to sell certain things overseas but it was a bit over the top.

And I would rather not buy second hand tbh, if local that's a different story, can at least check it out in person.
 
#9 ·
The J custom is the higher grade instrument,i have a couple and adore them.

Caparisons are great,especially pre Fender take over....and i have that exact model Dellinger for sale if your're intrested,pre Fender 2007 in Adelaide.
Only selling due to having too many guitars and home renovations.
 
#12 ·
Thanks, feel free to PM me about the guitar :)

I did have a early 2000's J custom earlier this year, probably shouldn't have sold it. But I hated the colour and a few other things about it, but the neck was pretty much perfect. I have since been told its similar to the JPM necks so I am "hoping" another one "in a better color" comes up locally sometime soon.

I'm looking at other brands like Carvin as well now, but of course its worst timing ever to be looking at buying from the U.S, makes getting something like that very expensive. But some of the Kiesel guitars look awesome, especially with the zebrawood fingerboards.
 
#17 ·
The company was created well before Fender ever purchased Jackson, there is no Fender connection at all.

To be fair, I would even argue if there were Fender involvement, the quality may even improve, but really that is needless speculation as they would most likely never purchase the company, as long as they own Jackson.
 
#22 ·
The company was created well before Fender ever purchased Jackson, there is no Fender connection at all.

To be fair, I would even argue if there were Fender involvement, the quality may even improve, but really that is needless speculation as they would most likely never purchase the company, as long as they own Jackson.
Just in case you did not know,Caparison was Jackson japan for quite a while.....but they were too high in quality,even matching USA in many regards for the price point. So eventually a new company was found for the lower level Jackson range. That is the connection i am referring to.
 
#20 ·
Having played a J-custom extensively (a JCRG20126BGA) while having superior aethetics, the Caparison TAT I own sounds, and plays quite a bit better. They seem to have some sort of comfort to them, in such a way that it truly brings out the snappiness, and nature of the materials used in the best of ways.

If they're evenly priced, and you're looking purely for sound, I'd say go capa
 
#23 ·
Having played a J-custom extensively (a JCRG20126BGA) while having superior aethetics, the Caparison TAT I own sounds, and plays quite a bit better. They seem to have some sort of comfort to them, in such a way that it truly brings out the snappiness, and nature of the materials used in the best of ways.

If they're evenly priced, and you're looking purely for sound, I'd say go capa
I had a chance to seriously look at a JCRG20136, and while nice it just wasn't worth the price, I think the aesthetics were good but to me it looked like you were paying double or more then for a similar prestige just for fancy fret ends and a nice maple top. I played the FR uppercut straight after and it actually felt better to play in some regards, only difference was aesthetics, both necks were as easy to play as each other, both sounded just as good as well.

I think I will get a J Custom but it will be second hand.
 
#24 ·
Do you prefer a compound radius fretboard or do you like them to be flat? That's the biggest thing really. I have a J-Custom RG and a Caparison TAT and everytime I play the TAT I can't help but wish my J-Custom had compound radius as well. It just has a real nice curve to it. Playing chords low on the neck is way easier too.

And to whoever said Caparison pickups suck... they don't. If you don't like them that's fine, but they certainly do not suck.
 
#25 ·
Much bigger differences than compound or not are neck angle to the body, for example, in my opinion.

What makes you right in that the pickups don't suck and the guy(s) that think they do are wrong? Strange "my opinion are the right one" way of expressing yourself.
For me is it not if I like the type of pickup or not, it is that the lack many of the things that separates a good pickup from a bad one. I really don't like Duncan's JB4, but it is still easy to hear that it is a good pickup, just not to my taste.

I know loads of people that plays Caparison, both pros and others, and all of them have asked for help (or changed them selfs) with getting better pickups for them. For the same reason I just wrote, lack of many of the qualities a good pickup should have.
That and my own ears are all the evidence I need.

It is fine that you think they don't suck, but that isn't that you are more right than the guys (like me) who think they do suck. Considering the price range of the guitars is it almost amazing.

/Magnus
 
#27 ·
I ended up giving the Caparison a miss due to not really seeing the value, it looked pretty boring as well as it was just a plain wood finish, kinda reminded me of the old Nuno Washburn model he had.

I ended up getting the new 2550Z which comes with Dimarzio's in the 2015 version and thankfully no neck binding as well, and at half the price of the J custom I can't really complain.

Not saying J Customs are not worth it but I really don't see where the value is on some of the models. The 7570Z that I was looking at is basically the cheapest current J Custom but is so similar to the 2550Z except that is has a maple top and ebony board, but same body wood and pickups. Its looks "nicer" and obviously your paying for the extra attention to detail on a J Custom but I honestly can't fault the Prestige anyway, completely blows away any of my similarly priced premiums as well.
 
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