Members atmu Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Ok so I've had a Jackson Kelly KE-3 for many years now. Not a very nice guitar by any stretch, but it's still decent. It plays great, awesomely fast neck, and sounds decent. It's got an Air Norton in the neck and a Bill Lawrence XL500 in the bridge. About 6 months ago, I bought an Agile AL2000. I stuck in some GFS P90's. This was supposed to be my learn-how-to-do-my-own-setups guitar. It was my {censored}-it-up-doesn't-matter-cus-it-was-only-$199 guitar. But {censored}, it sounds 3x better than my Jackson. After playing the Agile and then playing the Jackson, the Jackson sounds soooooo COLD. So very very cold, brittle, and lifeless that I can't help but unplug in disgust. And then when I realize I'd rather play my supposedly crap guitar, I get more disgusted. Don't flame me because I hate on a guitar just because it's cheaper. I'm hating on the principle of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JimAnsell Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by atmu Ok so I've had a Jackson Kelly KE-3 ..... .... and a Bill Lawrence XL500 in the bridge. Jackson sounds soooooo COLD. So very very cold, brittle, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigmac1417 Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 If it's better, enjoy playing it. Don't be disgusted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Replace the pickups in your Jackson:Problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atmu Posted December 21, 2006 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 whats a good medium/high output bridge pickup that'll warm up the jackson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkstorm Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Exactly as Hudman said. Replace the pups on the Jackson. Of course picking pups that give you the type of sound your loving in the Agile. Making allowance for the tone tweak body & neck wood if diff, will give too. Then of course you'll have a jackson that sounds at least as good as the Agile & that plays better then it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flannery Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by atmu whats a good medium/high output bridge pickup that'll warm up the jackson? I'm a big fan of the Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck humbucker. It's a great sounding pickup that's reasonably hot, but still warm sounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xlrocks Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 I have experience with this, Don't let anyone tell you it's your pickups. I got rid of my jackson because of the sound you describ, the agile has alot more life and a more up front raunchy sound I would explain ? go to a store and play any jackson with the wider string spacing, and you'll notice they all to some extent have that sound that you're saying you hate, side by side your other guitar. get those pickups outta your jackson and put em in a guitar you like. sell your jackson, trade it, something. it's the jackson, not you. and I love jackson with a passion. and even i say that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members p4vl Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Aren't they kinda different animals, though? Does the Kelly have a Floyd and an Alder body? A hot humbucker with a natural scoop in an Alder body is going to sound less warm than a slab of Mahogany with a tune-o-matic and soapbars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HELSTRUME Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Sell the Jackson. I've had nice guitars that sounded lifeless even with good pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 There there, my boy... that's okay!Nothing wrong or even unusual about an inexpensive guitar sounding or playing better than a more expensive counterpart.It's just part of the new conundrum. Just open yourself up to the possibilities and the world is a much richer place!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members numbthumb Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by Flannery I'm a big fan of the Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck humbucker. It's a great sounding pickup that's reasonably hot, but still warm sounding. Every two weeks, people here get together to slag the JB. I like it fine. (It also sound great with the coils split.) I tend to like fairly bright pick-ups though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lowbrow Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Almost everything sounds better with P-90s..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mdintx Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Here's an inexpensive low risk experiment: buy a couple of GFS Mean 90's and put them in the Jackson. If the guitar still sounds lifeless, then you've likely got a lifeless guitar. You can put the old pickups in and sell/trade it towards a higher end replacement that sings. You can sell off the Mean 90's at a minimal loss. If the guitar sounds great with the Mean 90's, you can sell the Air Norton and XL500 and probably come out ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AshboneWish Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by Frets99 There there, my boy... that's okay! Nothing wrong or even unusual about an inexpensive guitar sounding or playing better than a more expensive counterpart. It's just part of the new conundrum. Just open yourself up to the possibilities and the world is a much richer place!! ROFL...you crack me up Frets! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members almightycrunch Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 "It was my {censored}-it-up-doesn't-matter-cus-it-was-only-$199 guitar. But {censored}, it sounds 3x better than my Jackson." Hmmmm, no kidding??? yours must have been one of those that they made withOUT the "MAGIC" wood, strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 When I got my SL-1 I mainly played it when I was trying to work on my chops because I knew that if my chops were at all sloppy there was no way I could blame the guitar. The sound of the axe though left a lot to be desired and I could just as well play it unplugged. So I pulled the Duncan Stacks and put in a Lil' '59 for the neck and a Duckbucker in the middle. Added a little trick wiring and along with the original JB in the bridge the axe now sounds as good as it plays.Sounds like you have about the same scenario, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angus_old Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Jackson = I'd crack one eye open for the Agile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gibsgstd1999 Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 This is an interesting phenomena- my $99 OLP Music Man Axis copy sounds as good, or better than all of my other guitars (doesn't necessarily play better though). My other guitars are: Gibson SG Std, Ibanez RG 570 (with Breed in bridge) and Jackson DK2M. Its funny how a guitar can sound as good as other guitars that cost over 5 times the price. What's really amazing is that the pickups are stock in the OLP! I can only imagine what would happen if I changed em out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted December 21, 2006 Members Share Posted December 21, 2006 Originally posted by gibsgstd1999 This is an interesting phenomena- my $99 OLP Music Man Axis copy sounds as good, or better than all of my other guitars (doesn't necessarily play better though).My other guitars are: Gibson SG Std, Ibanez RG 570 (with Breed in bridge) and Jackson DK2M.Its funny how a guitar can sound as good as other guitars that cost over 5 times the price.What's really amazing is that the pickups are stock in the OLP! I can only imagine what would happen if I changed em out. Those OLP's are really good guitars and the pickups sound great, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atmu Posted December 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 I'm tempted to try out a JB and a 59 in the Jackson, but the other side of me just says, "{censored} it. I'm done trying to make it sound good" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members danbomb Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 I think you are a LP man. The reason you like the Agile better is because you like the complex sound of a big fat set neck guitar. I have a lot of high end guitars and have A/B'd with a top of the line USA Jackson and my LP Classic with '59's wins everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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