Who makes good quality LEFTY jackson style guitars these days?

I'm tired of trying to do metal on a Les Paul as old as I am. I'm looking for something inexpensive, access to the higher frets, smooth playing, tremelo (not necessarily a floyd), preferably with rosewood fingerboard. I've played a couple maples, and hated them.

I've looked at guitars by ESP, Jackson, Ibanez, Carvin, and many more, but finding a LEFTY is pretty damned hard. Usually when I do, it's some crap model they don't even have a right handed version of in stock.

I remember being a impressed by one of Gunface's LTD leftys, but I didn't actually get to play the guitar.

You guys got any experience with left handed guitars?

BTW, my #1 pet peeve with lefty guitars is the nut. Even some of the top companies don't seem to know how the fuck to cut one, and forget about finding a luthier to make a new one. If you don't know what I mean, go to a store and strum a few left handed guitars, see how many of them buzz like fuck at the nut.

BTW, when I say "inexpensive", I'd probably be willing to save as much as $500 for a guitar. I'm not against buying something used, but again since lefty guitars are less common there's more chance of getting one that has been abused or kept in a state of disrepair. If a guitar is going to be abused, I prefer the be the one doing it.

Dude, thats a crappy predicament.
I would say, and only going by what Ive seen out and about, Ibanez may be your best choice for an inexpensive, but decently built lefty.

What about an SG?

SG is about the same as my own guitar as far as frets/access. I want to go "wheedly wheedly wheedly doo" up on the top 20+ frets.

Ibanez has me very curious. I had an old late 70's early 80's strat style Ibanez Roadstar (RoadstEr?) that was probably the worst piece of crap I have ever played.

However, from what I understand they are a completely different company now. Instead of making crappy Fender rippoffs, they now make crappy Jackson ripoffs.

My buddy is a huge jackson fan. He's got a few $1000+ jacksons that sound and seem to play absolutely sweet. However every lefty jackson I've ever seen/played has been poop.

I should just learn to play a righty upside down, and take lessons from the dude in Powerglove.

I'm pretty sure LTD makes MH250s in a lefthanded version right around your price range, you wouldn't be able to try it out before buying it, but every place will have a return policy. These may be your bet since they are a direct spin off of jackson soloists.

Schecter has a lefty hellraiser with floyd, but that's probably going to be at least 100 bucks out of your price range.

finding a good lefty guitar is hard, finding a good left guitar with floyd rose is even harder.

Niccolai said:


I could probably swing $600, if it were truly worth it.

If you don't mind signature guitars, carlino guitars north of boston has a lefty KH202:

uhh, no way. Kirk Hammett touches children, I swear.

That hellraiser looks interesting, but it's $600+ just for the right handed. I haven't found a price on a lefty yet.

I agree on hammet.


If you're not set on having a trem, you have alot more left options with string-thru lefties.

DCGL has a list of lefties they have in stock.


http://drumcityguitarland.com/inventory/DetailsLefties.cfm#Electric

They actually have a schecter c5x lefty 5string. I've never seen a righty in person, so to see a lefty is pretty rare. I wish I were left handed so I could snag it.

Nice link. Brought me right to "Girl's Guitars". You saying something?

Oh come on, you know you'd play it.

OOH!!!

How are the Diamond Series?

ArrowHead likes Pie said:

Two friends of mine swear by them. They play in The Rectangle Club. It's not metal, by any stretch of the imagination, but they both tear up the fretboards on those things. Check'em out here:

http://www.rectangleclub.com/

Or here:

http://www.myspace.com/therectangleclub

You'll have to get past the writing on the site - Shane goes out of his way to be as nerdy as possible with this band; with Shane, that's pretty nerdy.

my choices for NEW lefties would be either some of the current LTD lefties or the jackson dk2. if youre looking on the super cheap but still awesome for your money go on rondomusic.net.

The DK2 looks very nice.

"The JT580 Double Locking 2-Point Tremolo"

How are these? I know very little about tremelos, I've been playing a les paul for 13 years.

DestroyYouAlot said:


Ack! Why would you do that to my ears?

ArrowHead likes Pie said:

ive got a 2006 dk2m, and the trem is great. excellent guitar for the money.

Hmm, the plot thickens. The jacksons look real nice, but a lot of reviews I'm reading are saying that you get more guitar for your money with the schecters. I just sort of had my heart set on a tremelo.

and schecters are butt ugly

schecters are solid for the money, but i find their neck 9 times out of 10 to be too thick for my tastes (except for the bolt ons).

blue said:

already checked there for a lefty interceptor, agile hardly has any lefties anymore.

I'm really interested in that DK2.

I'd spend a little extra and try to grab a lefty Ibanez prestige RG, I'm sort of a fanboy of them but I haven't played many guitars that are better.

anything with a mahogany body and a set neck

ArrowHead likes Pie said:

ArrowHead likes Pie said:


Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

i may pick up a cheap lefty and learn how to play it.

what about a toni iommi?

ArrowHead likes Pie said:

a DK2 would be nice. I didn't know they currently made leftys though.

Edit: I stand corrected. The DK2L




the trans red and blue finnishes look good, but they are a bit more money:





I think these are kindof expensive (almost 700 bucks on musicians friend) for what they are... bolt on, licensed floyd, and generic tuners. but it might be your best shot if you didn't want a left MH250.

So what would the consensus be? Price aside, would the MH250 be a better guitar than the jackson?

I like the neck through on the ESP. Also, the fininsh looks good, and I like the way the knobs are recessed a little. However, the pickups look a little sketchy.

However, I like the look of the jackson a little more, the pickup configuration looks nice, (although not sure about the pickups themselves), and the body is all alder (as opposed to the agathis wings on the ESP)

The big gap in price leaves me wondering why the jackson is so much more expensive.

the mh-250 is made of agathis, which is a cheapo production wood (also called chesswood i believe) where the dk2 is maple with a flame maple top.

you will have to change the pickups on the LTD where as the jacko youll be fine keeping it stock (i did and it sounds great), theyre real duncans.

but in the long run the LTD might just be a better deal with a pickup swap, youll still be a couple hundred under the jackson.

If I went with the ESP I'd probably end up putting Duncans in it anyway. However, aren't duncan designs just a license? Is it comparable to a pickup made by semore duncan, or is it a cheaper clone like the tremelo on the DK2?

The ESP definitely looks like the better value, but the agathis has me a little nervous. I'd never even heard of it until I looked up that guitar. Value aside, the jackson just seems like the better guitar right now.

It blows looking at guitars I can't play unless I order one. Music stores suck balls and never stock shit for lefties.

Jacksons always kindof been an expensive for the money company.

The jacksons got the more expensive alder body (which doesn't matter tons considering the 250 is neck through), and the more expensive pickups.

There's nothing wrong with the pickups on the MH250 though, and the LTDs got a much better floyd IMO. I fucking hate jacksons liscensed floyds.

duncan designeds are overseas made versions of the real thing, but ive never met a DD that i liked. the dk2 trem is a better quality product than the duncan designeds though.

you nailed it on the head there. the LTD is the better value, but the jackson youll be able to order at your local GC and return it if need be.

you could ask a dealer if MH400s are currently available lefty..

They blow DK2s out of the water in features, tone, and playability, and they are still cheaper.

mmmm..

Niccolai said:

this coming from someone who prefers stoptails and EMGs.

i would find a floyded guitar with passive pickups and a thinner neck to have more features, tone and playability IMO.

The stoptail preference doesn't matter since the MH400 is a floyded guitar.

And I don't prefer EMGs over duncans, I love the JB/59 combo (actually prefer x2ns to any other pickup) I just never had the dough to swap the pickups out on al my gutiars.

The tone comes from the horizon being setneck, and the features come from the upgraded hardware and pickups(which could be traded out for actual SDs free of charge from practically any dealer) and when I say playability, I'm refering to the shaved heel and 6515 frets.

I see what you mean though, there's a preference margin between the two guitars.

my bad, i thought you were talking about an NT.

setneck though means a generous loss of high end, bolt on produces a brighter overall guitar (much like neck through).

and ive never seen a dealer that will gut a EMG equipped guitar to replace with an all passive setup for free.

The brightness is kindof up in the air since the 400 is set-thru, although the alder body on the dk2 will be brighter anyway.

Carlino and mattsmusic do free pickup swaps emgs to SD or dimarzio when you buy the guitar new I believe (which are pretty much the only LTD dealers around anyway).

and jason from drumcityguitarland will do it also.

it costs money to have them throw actives in a passive equipped guitar though.

mahogany body and emg pickups turn me off a little. I want something tonally different than what I have now, which is a big hunk of wood with an 81 and an 85 in it.

Also, the big turnon for the LTD would be the neck through. The 400 is a set neck.

That jackson is pretty interesting, but the neck through on that ltd is attractive. If I could, I'd probably buy both.

Only Gibson is real.

ArrowHead likes Pie said:

it's sortof both.

DJ DEATH said:

You missed the initial post? I already have a '76 leftie les paul deluxe. I've fulfilled my Gibson quota. I'm seeking a guitar that is the exact opposite of a Gibson, unless they started making superstrat style guitars when I wasn't looking.



Niccolablue, or blucolai, I think I got my heart set on the DK2. What should I do to get the best price on one of these? Wait for a big sale at GC, rub Blue's weiner a little, go online?

GC wont put them on sale, nor will they carry them more than likely. you could wait 4 months until you finally see one on ebay, or just order one online.

Most online retailers have lowest price policies, free shipping, and you don't haveto pay sales tax outside of the state.

So what i usually do is search froogle.com and a couple online retailers (mattsmusic.com, americanmusical.com, music123.com, musician.com, worldmusicsupply.com, zzounds.com, samedaymusic.com, musiciansfriend.com, drumcityguitarland.com, etc.) I find the lowest price, and then submit it to a retailer that has a higher price. they will beat the lwoest price by usually 10-50 dollars.

This is how I got both of my MH400nts for $550 each (they go for 650ish, plus it would have cost 20$ for shipping, and 35$ for sales tax, totaling $705)

You could also try haggling at guitar center. If you talk to the right person it's not to hard to get $25, $50, or more off a guitar who knows how long it will take to get though.

if you order online, certain places will hook you up. DGCL gives out free syhirts and picks and straps and shit with some guitars, worldmusicsup gives free hardshell cases sometimes.

So far the prices at zzounds, musicians friend, ams, etc... all seem right around the $650 mark. If you see anything cheaper let me know.

Another thing is shipping. Should I buy a case and have them ship it in the case, or is it safe just to order the guitar?

You guys should have your own advice website, seriously.

http://www.fretstore.com/detail.aspx?ID=759 - 600 bucks even.

It's safe to just order the guitar, they are usually packeged well and I've never had a problem. companies pack well because they hate dealing with damage claims.

The bigger online retailers won't even throw a guitar in a case and ship it. they'll sell both seperately.

also, I'm not sure if they carry the dk2l, but americanmusical.com offers stretch pay with no interest. It's pretty handy if you decide to buy from them.

Oh shit, thank you! That's a nice deal.

Should I buy it there, or take that price to one of the big stores?

id take that shit to GC and hope that they think that its 600 for the trans red. regardless, theyll match that.

Can I just print a copy and bring it in?

yup

see if you can photoshop it to say trans red too while youre at it.

Blue's right. I'd print out the page (make sure the page has the URL on it) and take it to GC.

If you haggle, I wouldn't be suprized if they have it to you for 600 after taxes.

Christ, I don't even have the cash for this in my hand yet, and I'm bouncing in my chair like a kid that just got told he's going to disney world in a week. I'm so frigging excited to get a guitar I can actually PLAY the stuff I'm writing on.

blue said:

haha, that's how i got my PMX3000 for 150 bucks off

see, there ya go.

I'm getting the solid black one. You think they'd go lower on that if they thought the trans finish was $600?

nah, theyd want to see the print out for the black one that has the price on it. unless you can make it appear accordingly.

How long does it take to order something like this through GC? Assuming that there are some in Jackson's inventory, of course.

it shouldnt take no longer than a week or two for the most part, unless your GC is dicking you around on a special order which might happen. make sure you have the money ready to throw down on it, they might not do it for you otherwise.

I think you guys should all just bust out the old bolt-on Squire strat and let it rip! It'sh gonna be a Shhuper Shhweeet time guyshh!

I played a leftie strat once in my life, and it was the second gayest experience of my life.

The first gayest experience was an hour later, when I shoved the guitar's whammy bar up my ass in the bathroom.

Why not?

There is no known guitar worse than a strat.

A Tele?

If Jari Mäenpäa plays one, it's good enough for me.

Impaled Northern Telecaster

why not find one you like and special order if you have to...

SO...

I fell for the ESP F-2E



I contacted Matts music to see if it was available lefty. It's not. In fact, the only F series available lefty is the shitty basswood model with the fixed bridge that goes for $200 righty. IN FACT, every single guitar matt listed that ESP has lefty was a shit basswood model. Over $600 for a basswood alexi 200?

Then, he tells me I can order a guitar to the F-2E specs (mahogany body, neck thru, ebony fretboard, etc...) for a mere 3 grand.

Sorry, Niccolai, but FUCK ESP. Those fuckers obviously don't want my business.

I'm very sad.

So as a second option, I decided to check out the new BC Rich WMD Warbeast.



Unfortunately, it's also not available lefty.

Now, I'm back to square one, looking at the Jackson DK-2 pro. However, All these neck-thru guitars got me excited. Would I be better off going through the Carvin custom shop and spending more money? Or would the Jackson be worth my money? Half of me wants to drop $1000 at Carvin on a nice guitar, the other half of me wants to use the money to just buy 2 guitars instead. ;)


Anyone got any opinions on the BC Rich Warlock NT's? I know for the most part they're all Korean guitars, but are they in anyway worthwhile? Mahogany body, neck thru, ebony fretboard, floyd licensed trem, etc...

Okay, so here are my current options:






Jackson DK2Pro:


http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemID=60279







Warlock NT:


http://www.bcrich.com/warlock_nt_lefty.html






Custom Carvin 135:


https://www.carvinguitars.com/catalog/guitars/index.php?model=dc135



The Carvin will end up costing me about double what those other two guitars cost, so it'd damn well need to be WORTH double. Otherwise I'd rather spend the extra money on something else.

The Warlock LOOKS cool, but not nearly as cool as those ESP F-2Es do. It's also most likely made in korea.

The Jackson has already been discussed greatly in this thread.





And for hells sake, some $2300 guitar porn: Here's my dream. Isn't this the guitar that Jeff Waters had in the early days of Annihilator?




Someday I intend to own one of these.

Would you be willing to buy used? my buddy pauls selling a lefty jackson with floyd, I think its a dk2.

He needs to sell it so he can buy a new drumset I guess.

If it is in great condition, yes. Problem is, I'm too retarded to know how to check the neck, etc...

and that BC Rich is definately Korean, if not chinese.

There's nothing wrong with alot of Korean imports, it just depends on what factory it was built in. The samick factory that makes alot of ESP and Jackson's imports is pretty good, but there's about 6 different factories and some of them have garbage quality controll.

How ever, pretty much all of BCrich's guitars short of the NJ line are pretty crappy. Even the NJ line is overpriced for what you get IMO.

I'd avoid BCrich, you'll probably end up with a better quality guitar from jackson for the same money. Even Korean.

haha. I'll get some pictures of it and check it out for you, I haven't seen it yet so I'm not completely sure what kindof shape it's in. I think he only wants 200 bucks for it. and at that price, it should be good enough to at least carry you over till you can get something nasty and then you can probably sell it for what you paid for it.

I figured that, from everything I've read. I just wanted a cool looking guitar after my F-2E letdown. lol

I still want that fucking F-2E. I wish there was a way to get that body shape/style without shelling out 3 grand.

Pics would be nice, but if you check it out and it's in great shape I'll but it for $200 even if it has pink fucking fairies painted on it.

P.S. - Great shape means no neck problems, massive gouges, etc...

I can easily live with some belt marks on the back, or scratches, etc...

I think he blocked the floyd, but that can easily be undone.

Yea, it's a pain in the ass that ESP doesn't do much for their lefty market. There's one or two guitars in the MH line that come in lefty, but they don't have shit.

Holy shit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-1974-GIBSON-Les-Paul-GOLDTOP-LEFTY-LEFT-HANDED

That's my guitar, except a '74 instead of a '76. And the reserve hasn't even been met yet. Maybe I should just sell this tree trunk and buy that Jackson Rhodes?

I'm kidding. I could never ever sell my guitar.

The lefty MH series are all 200 series crap made in Korea. I kid you not, they have nothing that isn't a basswood body for lefties. I think my DESK is made out of that. I think those guitars you buy at WALMART are made of basswood.

Fuck ESP. Twats.

The 200 series non sigs are all made of agathis 'indonesian mahogany' lol.

Not the ones they have lefty. The Alexi 200 is basswood, at least. The F-50 is basswood.

Here's the list I got from Matt's

Model Color List
AX50 BLKS $369.00
EX50 BLK $369.00
F50 BLK $369.00
M50 BLKS $299.00
M100FM STBLK $459.00
MH50 BLKS $406.00
MH100QM STB $479.00
V200 BLK $619.00
ALEXI200 WH $665.00
KH202 BLK $665.00
B50 BLK $335.00
F104 BLK $479.00

http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?numRecordPosition=12&P_ID=13254&PT_ID=31

MH250nt. Agathis body, neckthrough, etc.


I bought one.

It's a fixed bridge. But, WHY wasn't it on the list Matt sent me.

What a douche.

Because he kisses boys.

How hard would it be to unblock your buddies bridge?

Is his guitar pink?

Depending on how it's blocked, you just pull out whatever he used to block it with. people usually use bottle caps or blocks of wood.

It's not pink. But it should be.


If you want the block out I could probably pull it out before you buy it. I'd obviously set it up for you and crap.

Yeah, definitely check that out. It's something I'd be interested in. At that price, I could afford it right now. You still got my #?

is it still 317 6683?

I'm going up to priority now to grab some shit. I'll take some pictures of it. I have a shitty camera phone so I don't know how good they are gonna be.

yup same#

nicc, thanks for typing all of that shit out. i'm far too lazy to be that helpful.

Haha. Pete I went and looked at the guitar but its actually an ibanez rg. Its high end and made in japan. Pretty similar to the dk2. Maybe a little better. Let me know if you still wana check it out. Ps. Its black.

Do you know what model it is?

it didn't have a hame on it, just said RG.

Gimme a call. If it's $200, I'll take it.

bump, because I'm stuck at work thinking about how much I want that geeetar.

lol
When would you be free to come and look at it? my picture taking endevors were fruitless.

There weren't any serious dings that had any paint missing. one oor two tiny ones that I could probably repair. No blet rash at all, the only real cosmetic ouch are these three scratches on the front of the guitar that I'm hoping I can buff out.

Other then that, I unblocked it and set it up and shit... it's hard for me to set it up perfectly because I can't tell how the guitar feels, since I'm not a lefty.

I talked to him about the price, he really wants 300 for it, but I'm working him down to 2 bills, trying to point out little things.

it looks like this guitar, but less new and with chrome hardware if memory serves.

Also, I think the body wood is alder.

its an ibby, what makes you think it isnt going to be basswood?

You're right. Since they make fucking everything out of basswod you can never tell off the bat.

I can't be 100% possative on the wood, all I could do was compare how it looked with other guitars I have kicking around. It's way lighter and the grain is different then a broken basswood warlock body I have kicking around, and it's lighter then the mahogany on my ESP.

it looks closest to a poplar body blank that I made, and I don't think Ibanez ever used poplar, so it makes me think the body is maple or alder.

Maybe I'll shoot ibanez an email with the serial.


Either way it's at least a few years old and was made in japan, so it's gotta be decent quality.

japanese ibanez = solid

could be worse could a a fucking korean made prestige or even INDONESIAN.

niccolai, call me when you can. If he goes for $200 I can come by tonight, tomorrow or tuesday night (after 5), or anytime wed.

wednesday after 5 would be best. The lowest he really wants to go is 250 He bought it for 350 a few months ago off craigslist but needs new drum shit.

I have yet to post in this thread

id go for 250 depending on the condition. to find a lefty jap ibby for that price isnt bad at all.

I have yet to post in your ass.



Do you see what i did there?

I only find 2 lefty RGs that Ibanez has made for the past few years, the 1570 and the 370. The 370 (bolt on) sells for $350 NEW. The 1570s (neck thru) sell for $900. Ironically, both are basswood bodies. The 1570 doesn't have those inlays, so it's most likely the 370DX. If so I think $200 is fair. I'm not sure if I can afford the other $50 right now.

Here's the link to the 370:
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-IBA-RG370DX-BKL-LIST

*looks at asshole using elaborate system of mirrors*


No!...I have no idea what you're talking about

*worries*

It's older then the past few years, I'm pretty sure it's from the nineties (maybe early nineties) since it was built in japan.

yeah, my tax check just came in... tell your friend i'll do the $250. I'm still free the same times this week.

By the way, what kind of drum stuff is he looking for?

He wants a new shell pack. Tama i think. He's selling his current drumset too to finance it

Niccolai, I'm headed over Robs to do some recording. Give me a call when you see this so we can arrange something. I have $$, and would love to pick up this guitar tonight. I have the same #.

Okay, for anyone who has actually followed this whole damned thread:

I went to Niccolai's tonight for gay sex, and while I was there I bought that Ibanez. It played AWESOMELY, but physically it was a little shittied up. (minor scratches, missing fine tuner, etc.) However, while on my way there I stopped at Priority music and saw a like-new Jackson leftie. It was missing a knob and the trem bar.

I played the two side by side for a while. Ironically, the stock Ibanez pickups sound a lot better than the duncan designed. However, the Jackson trem is a lot nicer than the Ibanez edge. (although the righty tremelo arm I got off luke feels weird). Also, the neck on the ibanez has a smoother heel, so I could get about 2 frets higher. However the Jackson had pretty fret inlays.

Basically, it came down to new and pretty vs. old and scuffy. Both guitars played great, but I traded the Ibanez half an hour after I bought it. For the ibanez + $75 I got the Jackson, new knobs, tremelo arm, and a used hardshell case with some queer NIN stickers all over it.

I'll eventually take some pics and post them, but for now I'm busy playing it. I actually lost a lot of speed at first, because the way I play my arm was knocking the trem out of tune. Now I'm getting used to it.


Meanwhile, since I saved so much on this, and since the electronic drums I'm wanting don't come out til June, my other tax check will most likely be getting the following toys:

Raven West RG6900 lefty guitar.



Is it me, or is the top of that guitar made from one of the tables from an old Bickford's restaurant?


Also:

Electric Violin



and one of these:





Then hopefully I can save enough to get one of these when they come out in June/July:
Alesis USB Pro Drumkit



I love tax time.

probably off-topic but whatever, i'm a terrible person.

putting a deposit on a pristine mesa mark iv rackmount head tomorrow.

... furious sonic masturbations