Jackson Pro Jeff Loomis Kelly Ash BK

Me ha sorprendido bastante la series Pro de Jeff Loomis.

Para empezar es una guitarra ciertamente original con ese acabado de chorro de arena que sin duda la hace destacar. El mástil es finísimo, quizás demasiado para mi gusto, incluso, pero es una guitarra que se toca de maravilla debido a su fácil acceso a todo el diapasón. Binding blanco alrededor de toda la guitarra, le da un aspecto más "clásico" dentro de la agresiva estética Kelly.

Las pastillas me han sorprendido mucho. Quien se espere un sonido tipo EMG se va a llevar una sorpresa: suenan tremendamente cálidas y a la vez muy potentes (quizás demasiado, se acoplan bastante). La pastilla del mastil me ha sorprendido especialmente.

La guitarra venía des (afinada) en MI, pero le puse un calibre mayor para afinarla más baja y no me llevó mucho tiempo ajustar los muelles de atrás y el puente. No tuve que tocar la altura del mismo, estando con una acción muy baja pero sin apenas cerdeos u otros ruidos.

Ahora viene la parte mala de la review, que no se aplica necesariamente a la guitarra en sí, si no al control de calidad y a los accesorios. La guitarra venía con el diapasón, tan desnutrido que parecía palorosa... me dieron ganas de volverla a meter en la caja y devolverla nada más verlo. Afortunadamente no lo hice y después de nutrirlo con los productos adecuados luce como debe ser. Además mi modelo tiene una veta que abarca varios trastes que queda especialmente bonita. los microafinadores del puente estaba atascados de suciedad y tuve de nuevo que lubricarlos. Al igual que la tuerca de ajuste del alma (que por cierto es un punto que esté en esa posición y no debajo de una tapa en el clavijero).

Otro punto negativo a destacar: no viene ni con una triste gig-bag. En una gama de precios por encima de 1000€ creo que es "imperativo" y más en una guitarra tan "picuda" que no le sirve cualquier estuche. Dean por ejemplo entrega estuches rigidos de alta calidad por menos de lo que vale esta Jackson y con una calidad de construcción similar.

Pickups are noisy as hell—not necessarily in a good way. Without a noise gate, do not get close. But they do sound good.

The balance of this guitar is perfect for me. I play in the classical position when sitting down, and when I stand up, the bridge stays in the same position—right between the legs. I’ve never understood why this is the only guitar I’ve found that stays in the same position when standing. But now I know - the balance!

The Floyd 1500 is great; it stays in tune better than any other guitar I currently own.

The neck and its radius are perfect! It’s definitely different from an Ibanez Wizard or a Solar. This neck wants you to play fast—I love it!

The biggest downside: I tried two FR models and one with a Hipshot bridge. Each of them had fret buzz on the lower strings in tunings below E. For some strange reason, Standard B/C on every model I tried buzzed the same way. I’ve already taken them to two luthiers to fix the issue, but it’s still buzzing…

Another important downside is the lack of stainless-steel frets, which really should be standard at this price point.

Not very important, but maybe useful for potential buyers: the white binding will turn yellow within a year, though the fret “sharks” stay white.

Overall, there are a lot of negative points here, but it’s still the best guitar I’ve ever owned. This guitar just wants you to play it.

Dear Jackson Guitars, I need more Kellys!

I received an instrument with great build quality but the nightmare began when I opened the electronics cavity to investigate a grounding noise. The ground wire to the switch was not soldered and it looked like it had a serious fight with a cat, and it features small cheap Chinese pots. Also the instrument was not setup properly with the pickups touching the strings. I expected a lot from a high end instrument.

I started eyeing this model as soon as it was announced 5 years ago. I never played kelly models before, so I was worried about how comfortable it would be. there is a little bit of a neck dive, but it is still very comfortable play. Classical position - perfect. regular sitting - great. I watched many people say that pickups too hot and noisy, but with good noise gate they are just perfect for me, both rhythm and lead. Cleans are okay, but you are not buying this guitar for some funky/bluesy tones. It feels and plays as good as mine Ibanez prestige and ESP e2. Neck could have been thinner, but it's my personal preference(like american series soloist, new ones are perfect in that department). It's not the best guitar that I own(that would go either to prs custom 24 20th anniv or EBMM JR6 cutlass), but it's great metal machine. HIghly recommend. Everyone who've seen it said it looks mean and cool, and that what is all about.