Shredders-in-training will find few better alternatives for getting their stripes than this tastefully appointed Dinky – it's well put together, super-slinky, and presents a more than respectful platform for tearing it up in hard rock, metal, prog, fusion and all other high-performance styles.
Pros
+
Whip-quick neck makes for a lot of fun to play.
+
Can't argue with the price.
+
It looks the part.
+
Great candidate for modding.
Cons
-
Heel is a little clunkier than some, but no big deal.
You can trust Guitar World
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Speed is a quality often sneered at as though public displays of Roman candle lead guitar were somehow immoral or lacking emotional complexity. But speed can be essential. Where would heavy metal be without an uptempo rhythm figure, or a helter-skelter solo?
The Jackson brand was built for speed, and its high-performance ideals have matured to the point that its entry-level JS series includes guitars such as this. This is classic Jackson. The Dinky body is a familiar arch-topped take on the S-style, sporting more aggressive cutaways with chamfered edges, opening up the full fingerboard.
The JS24 comes with a solid mahogany body and a caramelized maple neck and fingerboard – materials we don’t always see at this price. The neck profile is described as a “speed neck” and it’s a slip of a thing, satin-smooth and bolted to the body.
The go-faster feel is extended via a 12”-to-16” compound-radius fingerboard, as found on all contemporary Jackson six-strings. The black Shark Fin inlay is another signature move, reprising the sharp angles of Jackson’s classic six-in-line headstock.
(Image credit: Future / Olly Curtis)
There are two high-output ceramic humbuckers at the neck and bridge positions, with a three-way blade selector switch and control knobs for volume and tone.
Jackson has equipped the JS24 with a two-point Fulcrum vibrato, and while we might imagine a little disappointment that it’s not a double-locking Floyd Rose, this stable and tidily engineered vibrato is nonetheless perfect for learning whammy bar techniques without the faff of balancing the unit. That’s just what you need when learning: more time playing.
High-output ceramic pickups can be a little shrill, but when mounted in the JS24’s mahogany body, these Jackson-branded humbuckers reveal some character, enough muscle and teeth when played through a high-gain amplifier to cover most metal styles. The neck pickup rolls off the high-end sting, offering a smoother voicing for legato arpeggios, while teasing pinched harmonics out of the bridge pickup is child’s play.
(Image credit: Jackson)
Tight and articulate, the clean tones are not bad either. Like the best Jackson guitars, the JS24 has an automatic quality, as though the guitar were guiding your hand. This instrument is aimed at beginners but it’s great fun for all, and it makes a great candidate for modding. Fit a Seymour Duncan JB at the bridge, a Jazz at the neck, and perhaps some low-friction pots and you’ve got a serious instrument. Some might find the neck joint clunky, but that’s splitting hairs.
It’s easy to overplay on this. Wait – overplay? Hey, didn’t we agree that some songs call for spectacular styles? Well, this little Dinky is just the thing to get your chops up, to express yourself at any tempo, to be spectacular.
Specs
PRICE: $299 / £275
ORIGIN: China
TYPE: 24-fret electric guitar
BODY: Mahogany
NECK: Caramelised maple (bolt-on)
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
FRETBOARD: Caramelised maple, 10”-12” radius
FRETS: 24, jumbo
NUT: 42.86mm, black plastic
PICKUPS: 2x Jackson High-Output Ceramic humbuckers
CONTROLS: 1 x volume and 1 x tone, 3-way blade selector switch
HARDWARE: 2-Point Fulcrum Tremolo, Jackson Sealed Die-Cast tuners,
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
