The Steel Guitar Forum

I must say that I really don't have a desire for this look. Im sure that a lot of you have great things to say of this guitar, and thats something I would like to hear in this post. Im sure its a great sounding guitar and plays beautifully. But...I can't dig on the tuning machine end of it as it reminds me of an ashtray maverick. and to be honest it lacks a certain character overall. And I know this is just my opinion but, I believe that they should have stuck to the old " If it aint broke don't fix it" Mentality with this one. The rounded cabinet. No inlay, At what is said to be a 2,000.00 plus guitar Im sticking with the oldies. Whats your opinion? Im sure I made some ignorant remarks but Thats what I see. Let me know how ya feel.
-Jeff

You know, there's a lot of different styles of cars on the market. Some of them I can't imagine myself driving, but there are people who like them. Style is a funny thing that way. What appeals to one person does not appeal to another.

One of the things I like about Williams is that you can see the changer moving. It's dynamic to watch. I understand that the same is true of the Jackson head - the lowers move the tuning keys. I think that's pretty cool. It might not rock your boat, but I like seeing some movement of the machine when I play.

(I'm not sure if that feature is on the Black Jack model or not. Maybe someone can clarify that for me.)

Jeff

I believe that you are selling the Blackjack short. Whilenyou might not like the appearance of the tuners, there are several nice innovations on the guitar and the Jackson clan continues to try new things on their guitars. As B0b mentioned, the lowers on the early Jacksons were done at the key head and it was hypnotizing to watch the keys move as you lowered the strings.

On the Blackjacks we saw in Dallas (and some of these were prototypes), we saw these concepts.

1. A changer with no axle. The fingers for each string are set independently and can be removed separately.

2. A Blackjack with a steel frame with the wood body inserted into the frame.

3. Another guitar with a cutout in the wood to accentuate some of the acoustics of the guitar.

4. A pickup mounting system where you can position the pickup close or further away from the bridge and pivot it as well to really tweak the sound. David Jackson showed this to me while I was playing the guitar and the difference in the sound was quite noticeable.

While some of these things will come to market and perhaps some will not, it was interesting to see a company doing some out of the box concepts. Of course if you don't like the the key head design, none of is will make any difference to you. Just thought you would be interested in the concepts.

Regards

I certainly applaud the innovations this guitar includes and may have in the future, as explained by mtulbert. Those who have played them claim there are many other plusses which include clear harmonics all the way up the neck, levers and pedals which are very responsive, etc.
The question I have is why more eye catching tuners could not be added to the guitar and some type of inlay used?

Obviously Blackjacks are being purchased, so they appeal to some players, as b0b says. Yet, from my point of view, I agree with Jeff as to the guitar being cosmetically in need of a serious face-lift. This might win the equivalent of the "best personality" award in a beauty contest. Just my opinion. stevet

I agree about the looks. Even a black mica covered guitar would have been a better choice, but that is only my opinion. The features on Jackson guitars are fantastic. I especially like the separate fingers in the changer with no axel.

I also agree about the cosmetic appearance or lack of it, especially the homage to the old Fender-style "ashtray" keyhead. IMO, it looks cheap on an otherwise great guitar. Who knows what they were thinking? In a world of over six billion people now, some are bound to like it, just not me.

No, no, no! Keep the bling off the Blackjack! Less actually is more.
It's a fine looking steel; with the exception of the keyhead and tuners. Besides looking VERY cheap (I bet they aren't), don't they make it a major hassle to install the strings?

I think the guitar has some cool qualities. For me personally, I like a more traditional look. In particular, the low profile neck would be a deal breaker. Maybe they could drop their ideas into a reasonably priced traditional steel. I would find that pretty hard to resist as I agree that the Jacksons have some attractive innovations happening with their steels.

I don't like the looks of them, but then again I love the looks of my Kline. To each his own...

I play a Jackson Blackjack Custom, and I love everything about it! I think the Jackson Blackjack looks and sounds awesome! I've got several friends who play Blackjacks and they say they are awesome guitars. I love how the tuners look on the Blackjack. Jackson Blackjacks and Blackjack Customs are wonderful guitars, just like any Jackson Steel.

Brett

The more I check out the Blackjack the more I like it. The form follows the function and therefore it looks perfect to me. A Camry is a great car on its own. You could put Cadillac tail fins on it to make a couple guys happy but it would look silly. If you want a beautiful classic looking steel the Shot Jackson Commemorative model is a work of art on many levels.

Bob Hoffnar wrote:The more I check out the Blackjack the more I like it. The form follows the function and therefore it looks perfect to me. A Camry is a great car on its own. You could put Cadillac tail fins on it to make a couple guys happy but it would look silly. If you want a beautiful classic looking steel the Shot Jackson Commemorative model is a work of art on many levels.

The Blackjack and Blackjack Custom are both wonderful guitars to see, hear, and play. I play a BlackJack Custom and it's got beautiful sound and tone. There's somethin' special in all Jackson Steels!

Brett

I don't much like the looks of a Blackjack, but I love the way the other Jackson model guitars look, play and sound

.......... especially the Madison 63

I like the look of them, and I'm pretty sure the recessed tuning pan is to allow for more down pressure on the roller nut, which is a good thing to have.

I'll admit I'm not too turned on by the BlackJack, but I'll agree that the Madison is one of the coolest gtrs to come down the pike in a long time.
Here's the nicest BlackJack I've seen.

I'll tell you one thing about the recessed tuning pan on a Blackjack...it makes it real easy to slide right off the strings and nail an "A" chord (stepping on the a + b pedals of course).
You don't bang into the nut when sliding the bar off of the strings.

I personally think they look cool too.
To each his/her own, I guess.

Rick

Here's my guitar-a BlackJack Custom.

Brett

I got to take that sunburst custom for a spin in Phoenix and it was the beez knees!

Here is another vote for the looks of the Blackjack .
I am a traditionalist , have a P/P and a ZB but I would love to buy that one for sale right now . Don't want new tuners , don't want any inlays either I'll take it just as it comes .
BTW I did not like it when I first saw it ! It has grown on me , and not like a rash does .

I like the design and looks of the Blackjack. Looking forward to hearing one some day.

Great words Guys, I got to hear one on youtube and boy did she sound pretty.
I'm guessing the looks will probably grow on me in time, for now though <Looks like I've kept ya's busy.

I want to thank Skip for complimenting my Blackjack Custom pictured in this thread. This instrument sounds fantastic and is the easiest, and most exact, pedal steel I have played in 40 years of playing. It took some getting used to the look of the tuning pan at first, but it now reminds me of a Fender 400, which is OK by me, since I like a steel to sound like an instrument and not a machine!

John, Your Black Jack Custom is a great looking and playing guitar. It is one of the nicest Black Jacks I've seen too.

Here is a picture of Stu playing my Black Jack Custom in the Jackson Room at the 2011 Phoenix Show.

"I dont think it's fair that My sale is getting shunned because of certain reviews"

Jeff - you are most amusing. Two weeks ago you were protesting at people expressing a negative opinion on mavericks, because you were selling one. Now you're doing the exact same thing to two people recently selling Blackjacks.

"I can't dig on the tuning machine end of it as it reminds me of an ashtray maverick"

And it sounds like you really hate 'ashtray mavericks'. It's funny that you were keen to accentuate the positives of the maverick only a short time ago.

Sorry, I don't like negative posts, but your hypocrisy is too unashamed to pass without comment.