Jackson Kelly JS32T - Best Budget Explorer - Quick Review/Demo
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- Here's a quick review and demo of one of my favorite budget Explorer shaped guitars, The @jacksonguitarsusa Jackson Kelly JS32T. If you have any questions, by all means, leave them in the comments and as always, thanks for watching!
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Jackson Kelly JS32T Viola Burst
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Jackson Kelly JS32T Satin Black
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@@Dimefield Hey thanks man! Appreciate it! 🤘🎸
I just ordered mine a few minutes ago ago. Can’t wait
I love mine… Since doing this video, I’ve put Activr pickups in it from GFS, I have a full vid in the channel if you’re interested…
What is really killer about this guitar is the compound radius neck. It’s really killer 🤘🎸
I flipped a coin to decide wether i buy it or not. I will get this guitar next month.
Right on man! You won’t be disappointed 🤘🎸
Sounds good, watch that indoor lightning 🌩️ down there in Florida pal 😮
Haha sorcery bro ⚡️ 😂 😂… I’ve been spending too much time helping my kids with effects 🤦♂️
I'm getting one for Christmas!
Me probably too! 🤗🤗
Probably getting one for christmas from my brother 🤩
Love mine! Not my first jackson but one of my favorites for sure. Btw I dropped a sd hot rodded humbucker set in it right after I got it
These guitars have great bones and even better necks 🔥 I love the speed of these necks and those Duncans are a great choice btw 🤘🎸
Just bought this exact model today, love it so far, the paint seems to be the biggest issue, but thats no big deal for me, i was planning on giving it a custom paint job anyway lol
Custom paint… 🤔 🧐 🤨 Now you got me thinking… 🤘🎸…
But yeah, awesome guitar for the price for sure… I just put GFS RedActive pickups in this guitar and they scream!
@@FretboardDiarieswould this be good for a beginner to pick up I absolutely love the look but I'm clueless when it comes to guitar knowledge
What's the issue with the paint ??
@@martyrmedia nothing WRONG with it, just not my style.
I bought a black Kelly KEX a while back. Had my guy dye the fretboard black for a cheap ebony look, gold EMGs, better switch (gold with gold tip like the old custom ones), black rings, screws etc. It's absolutely gorgeous. The stock pickups I actually liked, but was going for a Les Paul Black Beauty look. Smudge magnet for sure, but plays and looks awesome. My other metal guitar is an Epiphone Extura that I'm going to sell now. The neck on the Kelly is sooo much easier to play.
The KEX is gorgeous… I’ve since dropped some Active GFS GuitarFetish pickups in this guitar and it absolutely rips!
I’ve got locking tuners going in next week, and it’s really becoming one of my favorite guitars…
Jackson necks are indeed second to none for Metal 🤘🎸
Love this guitar
Just went to my local music store try one of these out, its the floyd rose version in white and I gotta say it plays pretty good for the price and I will buy it next week since I've always wanted an explorer style guitar.
Right on man, this guitar was set up really good outta the box. The neck is super fast and the action was low… Since I’m more of a rhythm player, I’d rather have the Tune-a-Matic, but the Floyd is a nice option too if you’re into trem and locking systems. The guitar looks great in white too! Thanks for the comment 🤘🎸
I have this guitar quite for a while and I agree. Quality is very good, even the pickups are ok. Weakest point imho are the tuners. I would upgrade them first. Can´t say any negative things about the paint but I´m really cautious with my guitars. ;-)
You know, it’s funny, I switched to a lighter gauge string on this guitar, and the tuners seem to be a bit looser now (maybe it’s just in my head 🤦♂️) but I’m definitely going to replace them…
I actually just put a set of GFS RedActive pickups with a solderless kit in this guitar (vid coming soon) and so far I love it… Gonna do a full demo vid in a few months after I can get some serious playing time on this guitar…
Overall though, love the guitar although I’m really cautious too, and most of my guitars never leave the studio, this guitar just seems prone to clear coat scratches… Perhaps I’m being overly picky (pun intended)
@@FretboardDiaries Nice! I will definetely looking forward to a new video with the new pickups.
Need to take a closer look if it has some scratches.
Cool guitar. I've got mine for like 75$ on used marked 😄
I’ve got an older Kelly I got from Goodwill for $88… Indeed there are some good deals on these guitars if you have a little patience… 🤘🎸
Very nice Video Sir,I am thinking of buying one on my Birthday.
Go for it man! It’s a pretty awesome guitar for the money! And Happy Birthday! 🤘🎸
Hello friend, I also saw the video in which you reviewed the Schecter c6 pro, I am undecided between js32 and c6 pro, which one has a harder and tighter sound in riffs.
So the Schecter is an absolutely beautiful guitar… The Kelly’s finish wasn’t great, as I mentioned in the video.
The Schecter has more of a DiMarzio sound, ideal for leads, but lower end rhythms can be a tad muddy. The Kelly is definitely better suited for Rhythm style, very hot and tighter tone. I did ultimately replace the Kelly pickups with GuitarFetish active pickups and it absolutely SCREAMS now…
Lastly, the Schecter needed a full setup out of the box… I would call the way it was setup “Embarrassing” and it was borderline unplayable, whereas the Jackson was setup up flawlessly, with really low action out of the box.
So out of the box, the Kelly would probably be a better option for what you’re looking for. Hope that helps 🤘🎸
Do you find it neck dives a lot?
Trying to find a new guitar, but my favourites (Vs and SGs) are absolute buggers for it and i can't stand bad neck dive.
I found this guitar to be very comfortable overall…. Everything is pretty balanced right down to the cable input… I ultimately dropped GFS Active pickups in this guitar and it’s become one of my favorites for metal. The neck is really the best part of this guitar, super fast. Neck dive really wasn’t an issue 🤘🎸
Do you have any lock on tuners you reccomend? Budget.. I'm thinking of buying the guitar.
Love Guyker Locking Tuners for a multitude of reasons… They’re a solid locking tuner at a budget price. In the spirit of full disclosure, they do sponsor content on my channel but they only found me because I was already making videos on how good their products were for the money.
You’ll also likely need a reamer to make most locking tuners fit, as Jackson tuner holes often need to be opened up just a bit, at least that’s been my experience depending on the model... It’s super easy to do, although I don’t think I have a video on it. Lastly, use the coupon code “FretboardDiaries” to get 15% off on Guyker.com … I appreciate the comment and thanks for watching 🤘🎸
I have a silly question and no one is obligated to answer it but....
I have a Kelly from late 90s, made in Japan KE3.
I'm thinking of getting another Kelly, I may need a guitar in two different locations.
When it comes to playability, might this guitar be anything like a late 90s Kelly?
I think my old Kelly fits my playing the best so why not have something very similar in two places.
So from memory there are a few differences… I believe those guitars are a bit heavier. I don’t know why, they both have poplar bodies but I feel like I remember the KE3 having more weight… That said, the JS32 has a compound radius neck, which I don’t think the KE3 had (I believe it’s an 12” radius)… I REALLY like the compound radius neck… That said, the KE3’s had a bit better construction and paint…
I think it will certainly feel similar and familiar, but not the same… 🤘🎸
@@FretboardDiaries
Nothing can feel the same as your first love, right? =)
It wasn't my first guitar but it was the one I used mostly when learning new stuff other than basic chords. Maybe it fits my playing the best because I basically learned to play with it, at least the more difficult stuff, who knows.
That said, there's still things left to learn....
Also, about the materials, my notes say this KE3 Kelly Pro has alder body with flame maple but I'm not really sure.
@@Dimefield ahh yes depending on the exact year, it may be alder… Something about those models felt better to me, just felt more like a quality instrument. Nothing against the JS32, I definitely prefer the compound radius neck. Super fast!
And I too still have a fondness for my first guitar, 93 Samick Strat with a maple board, still have her in the collection and always feels like home..:
@@FretboardDiaries
One more thing about the year, I got my Kelly in 1998 or 1999 but serial number starts with 96, so maybe it was made back then.
Hi what amp do u use? i tried bought this guitar a few days ago and in the shop it sounded beautiful but with my blackstar debut 15 it sounds awful and the amp seems to be very noise in itself when i connect it to the guitar. do u have any idea what can be the problem or what amp should i use with this guitar?
So for the demos here I just ran line-in to my computer and used BiasFX… The guitar sounds even better when ran through my Rivera head, but acoustics in my room are poor so I use line in. With that said, if it sounded great in the shop, but poor on your amp, the issue likely isn’t the guitar (if you were getting noise out different amps, if could have been a faulty ground wire in the guitar) Do you have a different cable you can try? A lot of times, excess noise can be traced to a bad cable.
Another thing to consider is volume level, if you’re cranking up that little 15 to max volume, it’s not going to sound good either. Do you have a different guitar you can try on your amp to see if you get the same noise?
Lastly, what amp did you try it on in the store for comparison? Hope this helps…
Thank you for your answer if i remember correctly i used a peavey amp with heat pipes it was much more professional than the one i have right now@@FretboardDiaries
@@benedeksari1069 yeah sounds like a Peavy tube amp. Definitely a major upgrade over a 15 watt Blackstar. That said, you shouldn’t be getting excess noise/hum from your Blackstar. As mentioned, start with the cable, I’ve had this happen from Cables that have gone bad. Another issue could simply be if you have the Blackstar cranked all the way up at max, and gain at max, that you could be getting noise. Obviously, It’s tough to diagnose over the internet but those could be a few of the issues.
@@FretboardDiaries Thank you so much for your help
Thanks for your very good video. Exactly my taste 👌🏻
Right on, Thanks for watching and for the comment… 🤘🎸
What pedals did u use here? Btw nice video!
I ran line-in and used the BiasFX2 plugin… To be fair to this guitar, it sounds even better through my half stack, but the acoustics in my room are horrible 🤦♂️…
I ultimately ended up putting GuitarFetish RedActive pickups in this guitar (gonna have a Demo vid on those soon) and now it absolutely screams, but the stock pickups in this video sound great too…
Thanks for the kind words and appreciate the comment 🤘🎸
@@FretboardDiaries I got js kelly 32, think about bias, should be ok to use?
@@speedfreak4131 If you do any type of recording, Bias FX is FANTASTIC! If anything because it’s simple. I don’t have to spend time dialing in tone, just select a patch and I’m off and running… Pretty much all the shorts I’ve recorded on this channel, were done with BiasFX… and while I still think my half stack amp sounds a tad better, modeling software is so close now that it’s worth it for the savings of time and effort. Definitely recommend it 👍
@@FretboardDiaries So i just need guitar, pc and Bias?
@@speedfreak4131 to play through a computer, you’ll need an interface… I use Focusrite, but you can find cheaper sub-$100 options… If you want to record too, You’ll need a DAW (digital audio workstation)… If you have a Mac, GarageBand is fantastic and is available on all Macs for free… If you have a PC, I believe there are some free versions you can get, search TH-cam as I remember seeing a vids on this in the past…
If you just want to play through your computer, BiasFX will work as a standalone program to simply play, but if you want to record, you’ll need a DAW…
Hey, is that neck similar to the Ibanez wizard type neck shape?
Oddly enough, I don’t own any Ibanez Electrics to base a fair comparison off of, but from what I’ve read it sounds very similar… Best answer I can give you man, maybe someone can respond in-line here that has both. 🤘🎸
Frets were POLISHED? Sparkly?
Thanx
They weren’t polished to the level that I polish frets… 😂 😂 😂… but they also weren’t scratchy either if that makes sense…
I guess a better way to put it would be that I polished them for visual appearance but they didn’t need it for playability…
Neck diving? How bad?
Nah not that I recall… I ended up putting locking tuners that were really heavy on and they caused some neck dive. They didn’t function properly, so I’m replacing them with some lighter Guyker tuners anyway, so problem solved.