NGD Jackson KE2 Lightning Sky

[Edika]

Hi all let's get to the visual gratification everyone is expecting before the wall of text I'm going to post. As a first note the serial that I was provided with dates to about 2004 so it may explain some of the things on the guitar. So before I bore you photos first and it seems it'll go in two posts:


Brass L shaped block I installed but it's coming out as it's too big and the Floyd vibrates while playing it starts hitting the Floyd cavity walls.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

That's freaking badass!

Congrats!

 

[Edika]

Sharkfins not super well done but I'll get to that later.
Refret was successful, story further down.

What the Fuck nut which has been replaced.

Stinky case that I haven't been able to destink and probably headed for the dump. Managed to turn it into vintage by trying to remove the odor.

So after a wall of photos comes the wall of text. I had been looking for an explorer type guitar with an Ebony fretboard for a while. Nothing against rosewood but Gibsons aesthetic choices for the rosewood guitar is not my cup of tea. I've been searching for either a Voodoo Explore or a Gothic Explorer but they're either beat to death and overpriced or just overpriced for my standards. Schecter was a good option but I like Jacksons and I thought that if I can find a Kelly USA for a good price I could shift a few things to get it. That is when I saw Manu's add for this Kelly which was in a really good price. I contacted him for a part exchange as I had a LTD BS-7 I had been bitching about not getting along with (great guitar by the way and one of the better example of WMI instruments but it just wasn't for me).

So we come to an arrangement for a 3 way exchange where I'd sent the guitar to a friend of his, he'd sent me the Jackson and I'd sent him the remaining cash. Turns out I new Manu's friend and I had sold him a guitar before so no suspicious activity there. Manu was upfront about the dings and dongs as well as that the guitar had been refretted at some point. The serial number was missing as a result of the fretboard being sanded and he did provide the original serial number. He did warn me about the stinky case but he also provided a padded Jackson Kelly case so I'd have something to put the guitar in while trying to clean it. The two things I would have preferred he had mentioned more was the quality of the fretwork and the fucked up nut. Because while the guitar sounded great there was a horrible buzz on the first fret of the low E (or D in this case). I tried raising the action and nut but to no avail. I was honestly kind of shocked when I tool the locking pads off and saw the nut. While I had asked him about the fretwork before getting it and he told me it was fine the first fret issue and checking the frets on the side didn't paint the same picture. A few of the first frets were cooked and while there were no dead spots and buzzing wasn't that bad everywhere else it obviously required a fret level at least. The other issue was the fact that the shark fin inlays in some parts of the fretboard were shorter and quite visibly so. I'm not sure if it's due to the fact of the guitar leaving the factory like that or the "luthier" that changed the frets damaged them when sanding the fretboard but it didn't seem to have been sanded that much to make such a damage to the inlays, so I'm guessing they were never that great from the factory. He also managed to chip the fretboard in some places when he "refretted" the guitar. Judging by the serial number provided it and dating it to 2004, it seems it was a period were Jackson USA's weren't that perfectly made. I might be wrong so Jackson buff's can correct me.

I spoke with Manu about these issues and he assured me he didn't notice them and didn't find the issues that horrible. He did sell quite quickly after he got it and he does have a lot of guitars. He seems like a legit guy in general so I decided to take his word for it and not think that he deliberately tried to conceal these issues. He had be really upfront of the cosmetic condition of the guitar and it actually didn't seem as bad in person as his photos showed. Still I prefer the guitar being functional than pristine when buying second hand and I traded the LTD for a good price. I sold my LTD EC407BFM (which I really liked) to cover the rest of the amount. That is how much I liked the guitar regardless of the issues. I found a good luthier here to see what the deal was and if there were any other issues with the guitar. He said that the fretwork was horrible but he could level the frets and take care of the rough fret edges. He also mentioned that the frets were hammered in and not that well. Aside from that he said the guitar was fine. His prices were good for a refret and as I liked the guitar a lot I decided to go for that. He put on Stew mac jumbo frets and fixed the fretboard chips and set up the guitar with an 11-54 set in D. He told me that the guy that did the refret superglued and hammered the frets. I'd say the guy before Manu should not be allowed to own guitars by the state of the case (where the hell was he storing it for crying out loud) and the choice of guy he used to refret the guitar, if he didn't do it himself.

Concerning the guitar itself and after my wall of text listing the issues, now it plays great. The refret went great, everything is levelled and polished to do the guitar justice. The Floyd nut has been replaced too. It does sound great even with the classic JB/59 combo in D that everyone seems to hate. It is different than my Jackson Soloists as the neck seems to be somewhat thicker. It's still a D shape from what I gather and it's nowhere near a Gibson profile but it still plays great and fast. I changed the trem block to a Floyd Rose L shape brass block but the L part impacts the use of the Floyd itself and when playing a bit harder and vibrates it creates a rambling sound as it hits on the guitar body. I have a regular brass block to put in so easy fix. I also changed the intonation screws and locking nut screws to stainless steel. I'm planning of getting the string locking screws changed but I can't find them in any shop in the UK so I'll have to order them from the US. However with shipping and import tax they seem to come at about £40-45 and I'm not super convinced I want to pay that kind of money yet. The access to the neck is decent. I can get up to the 24th fret on the high strings but it is a struggle to reach the lower strings. I don't usually solo that much over the 19th fret on the lower string so no harm done. I just wasn't expecting that. It's not impossible just difficult. It seemed a bit lighter than my soloists which is surprising seeing the size of it. Still that's notbad for playing standing up and the guitar is really resonant.

I'm planning to get a new Jackson case as the padded case is a bit awkward. I tried my best to destink the case it came in but to no avail. I'll change the pickups at some point just to have a different sound. I have the JB/59 in another guitar and really like them, as I do in this guitar but the tone is quite similar. I'm lusting over some Creamery pickups as he winds a set with a bridge pickup with an AlNiCo8 magnet and ceramic flanks. That sounds interesting tonally and he can wind them to specific sound requirements while still being quite a bit cheaper than Bareknuckle or some popular SD or Dimarzio sets. Not a necessity though. Or I might try the Omega Basislisk as I have their Cerberus pickup in another guitar and I'm really happy with it.

In total if I knew about the underlying issues I might not have gotten the guitar but now after resolving the issues in not so expensive manner I'm not regretting my choice at all. I still believe Manu is a solid dude to trade with but he should pay a bit more attention to functional things next time.

 

[Edika]

That's freaking badass!

Congrats!

Thanks Max and sorry for the diatribe on my second post lol. It is and hopefully is not going anywhere any time soon. I know a lot of us are really prone to GAS here and tend to sell stuff he are adamant about not selling, but this feels like a keeper.

EDIT: Also this is the stinky case I was going on about.

 

[M3CHK1LLA]

congrats...always dug kellys.

maybe i missed it, but where was the s/n located on this guitar?

 

[Edika]

The S/N is always located after the last fret for Jacksons but due to the previous refret it was sanded out. I have a photo provided by Manu from the previous owner with the S/N and I'm going to imprint again so it's back to it's original glory. Mostly for insurance reasons as I have my guitars insured and they do ask for a serial number. I don't think that the insurance company is going to accept any convoluted explanation why the S/N is not on the guitar.

 

[Mwoit]

Nice! I was eyeing this up as I think Kelly's are bad ass, but couldn't justify the condition against the cost, and I'm not a huge fan of the lightning sky.

I have a Kelly custom (not Jackson) so I've got my Kelly fill coming soon.

 

[khm]

Looks awesome man!

 

[Edika]

Nice! I was eyeing this up as I think Kelly's are bad ass, but couldn't justify the condition against the cost, and I'm not a huge fan of the lightning sky.

I have a Kelly custom (not Jackson) so I've got my Kelly fill coming soon.

In retrospect it makes sense what you're saying about the cost but I've seen Kelly's in similar condition, if you can find any, for more in this side of the Atlantic. I was actually considering one from the US as the starting bid was low in ebay but there was already a bidder and I could see it escalating quickly. It didn't but if I engaged in that it would have. Still with import taxes and shipping it would have come about £400-500 more than this and I'd have to sell two guitars instead of trading one and selling the other. Still after fixing the functional issues and playing it I'm not regretting it. The Floyd is in a decent condition and knife edges are not damaged.

 

[xzacx]

If the serial number was sanded off, it was definitely sanded enough that the inlays were impacted too. Super cool regardless, sorry you had to deal with the issues though. I’m pretty against graphics usually, but lightning sky looks really cool sometimes and I think this is one of them.

 

[Edika]

If the serial number was sanded off, it was definitely sanded enough that the inlays were impacted too. Super cool regardless, sorry you had to deal with the issues though. I’m pretty against graphics usually, but lightning sky looks really cool sometimes and I think this is one of them.

It might be the case and the photos on the original add didn't show how the inlays were affected. However I have seen other guitars with dot inlays having their fretboards scalloped and the inlays were still there. Plus seeing my other Jackson S/N they don't seem to be super deep. It might be the case though. If the guitar had functional issues or I didn't like it as much as I do then I'd have sent it back but it is really nice and it sounds great!

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

Hi all let's get to the visual gratification everyone is expecting before the wall of text I'm going to post. As a first note the serial that I was provided with dates to about 2004 so it may explain some of the things on the guitar. So before I bore you photos first and it seems it'll go in two posts:
View attachment 60927 View attachment 60928 View attachment 60929 View attachment 60930 View attachment 60931 View attachment 60932 View attachment 60933

Brass L shaped block I installed but it's coming out as it's too big and the Floyd vibrates while playing it starts hitting the Floyd cavity walls. View attachment 60934 View attachment 60935 View attachment 60936

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THAT IS MY WET DREAM MAN! EITHER A KELLY OR A RHOADS IN THE LIGHTNING FINISH! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET IT!!!!!!

 

[Edika]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THAT IS MY WET DREAM MAN! EITHER A KELLY OR A RHOADS IN THE LIGHTNING FINISH! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET IT!!!!!!

Dude I love your enthusiasm lol! I would say it might be easier for you guys in the US to get a hold of these but there was a member here selling it. Not sure if it would make any financial sense to buy it from Europe though, having it shipped to the US and pay import taxes. I have seen in the Jackson USA facebook page a Warrior with the Lightning Sky graphic.

Truth be told I'm not really fond of graphics and I do find some of the Jackson graphic from the 80's-90's-00's rather tacky. I do like the ghost flames I have in my SL2H and I did like the Lightning Sky in this guitar though.

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

Dude I love your enthusiasm lol! I would say it might be easier for you guys in the US to get a hold of these but there was a member here selling it. Not sure if it would make any financial sense to buy it from Europe though, having it shipped to the US and pay import taxes. I have seen in the Jackson USA facebook page a Warrior with the Lightning Sky graphic.

Truth be told I'm not really fond of graphics and I do find some of the Jackson graphic from the 80's-90's-00's rather tacky. I do like the ghost flames I have in my SL2H and I did like the Lightning Sky in this guitar though.

I can agree with you there. Some of the graphics are tacky. For me I like Lightning Sky, Graveyard, and Pile o Skulls. Other than that it is really either a solid black color or a nice flame or quilt top on a USA is what I like. I won't settle for anything else

 

[Mathemagician]

I <3 80’s

 

[Edika]

I honestly see myself on a quest to get the basic Jackson shapes in the USA format if possible. I need to get a Warrior, a King V, a Rhoads and a Dinky in that order if possible. I'd like an SL1 just for the two single coils but it is no way a priority.

 

[NickS]

I neeeeeeeedddddddd a Kelly in my life. Definitely my favorite Explorer-type shape, and probably my overall favorite guitar shape

Nice score, hope it treats you well!!

 

[Edika]

I do really like the Kelly shape but truth be told I haven't given up on a bit more classic shape Explorer. The Schecter E-1 seems like a good choice with slightly more modern appointments in terms of aesthetics. I'm really enjoying playing this so far after I got it back from the refret though. It played nice even before but that first fret buzz was super annoying.

 

[Vhyle]

Gorgeous Jackson! Nice score, despite the issues with it.

For the record - that Jackson BH43 nut is the equivalent to an R8 size Floyd Rose nut, if I recall. Don't get an R3 replacement like a dummy, like I did, because then your strings will sit about 2mm higher, lol.

 

[Edika]

Gorgeous Jackson! Nice score, despite the issues with it.

For the record - that Jackson BH43 nut is the equivalent to an R8 size Floyd Rose nut, if I recall. Don't get an R3 replacement like a dummy, like I did, because then your strings will sit about 2mm higher, lol.

I don't know what to tell you but the old nut said R3 at the bottom so I got an R3 nut. I have an R2 which would be comparable in height in another guitar but I don't see a reason to put it in for the time being.