Disclaimer: Shortly after this video came out the price of the JS22 Monarkhs went up around 50 dollars. This is also my first serious gear review, so it is riddled with mistakes and amateurisms. If you have any feedback please feel free to speak it. (Edit: after spending more time with this instrument, I no longer recommend it in the same capacity as I did in this review, and plan on selling it. I also don't plan on doing the mod showcase video like originally intended. Check my replies in this comment section for more context. I also may provide a follow up / rebuttal video, depending on my ability to take on said project.)
I was gonna put an 81 60 set in it but I wasn't gonna be able to fit the quick connect and the 9 volt battery, so I researched some passives. I bought a Dimebucker and a 59. I haven't installed them yet, but once I do I'll make a video. It is a good guitar, but the tuners drive me crazy. Replacing those too. This was my first gear review, so I don't think I did that good, but if you could give me any feedback for future efforts, I would appreciate it.
@@TrickyPickins use lights when filmng, makes everything sharp bright. even if its a couple of flood lights and a reflector $15, use em while filming. good video bro. if your narrating / reading use a mic and use photos to show us ur guitar instead of just video of you reading and holding the guitar. you can make a video of just photos and narration and u video of you testing the pick ups. this can make producing a video easier and faster. I see you put a lot of effort into the narritive. good job. got me looking at this guitar!
Hi, could you tell me if the guitar is well balanced or does the neck tend to fall forward and you constantly have to balance it? Since I play standing for a long time it would be decidedly uncomfortable and not very useful.. Thanks! 🤘
I don't own it anymore, and don't recommend it anymore. But from memory, it was a super light guitar, and neck or body dive really depended upon the force that was placed upon it.
It has a compound radius. It's 12 inches at the first fret, and 16 and the 12th fret. This makes lower fret chording and metal riffing comfortable, while making shredding and lead playing easier on the high frets (in my opinion). So basically it's more narrow closer to the nut, and more wide closer to the bridge. It's a good compromise between whether you want a flat shreddy neck, or a more round feel. It has both. I prefer this. If you have ever played another Jackson, you will have an idea of how the fingerboard radius feels. Hope this helps.
@@TrickyPickins yeah, i was hoping to try that kind of guitar. I already bought an Ibanez S521 last January, and after several hours of playing it, I feel the fretboard is to wide for me. With that guitar, do you experience a hard time playing chords from the first to 3rd fret? Is it comfortable enough for you? I guess what I'm trying to say is that, is the string spacing on a narrow fretboard too close to each other?
@@jasonism123 I don't think chording would be too uncomfortable for you, because the 12 inch radius on the lower frets is the same as most other brands guitars, and it only gets wider near the higher frets. I would say it should be fine. Ibanez typically have very wide full 16 inch or higher fretboards, so it makes sense that that may be too flat for you. If you can, I would tell you to go to a physical store and try out some guitars. Nearly all Jackson guitars have the same radius and neck profile, so I would try playing one to see if you like it.
@@TrickyPickins yeah, the reason I ask, is because I tried that guitar in our local store here last week, and I thought the width on the nut/1st fret was a little bit too narrow. On paper it's 41.3mm, and I'm used to 42mm until I bought this Ibanez which is 43mm. They're only about a millimeter difference between them, and playing on a narrower first fret was kinda new to me. At this point, I'm not really concerned about fretboard radius. The lower the radius, the easier for playing open chords. But you might have issues on fretting out when playing leads on a vintage radius (7.25). I got 2 guitars here, 9.5 and my new Ibanez 15.75 radius, which I think is too flat and too wide for my small hands. I may try buying that Jackson monarkh as my 3rd guitar. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it. Rock on!
@@jasonism123 the nut width is definitely skinnier on the Jackson, but that is because of the Tune-o-matic bridge style bridge it has. I don't think it impacts playability that much and my other guitars have a 42mm nut width.
It is a very thin neck. The neck could be classified as a C shape but is much flatter on the back than a Fender style C shape. If you like fat necks, you probably wouldn't like this one, but if you like thin necks it would be right up your alley.
@@TrickyPickins thanks! i think i’ll buy it, i really want to try a guitar with a thinner and more narrow neck than the ones i ve played, i think this one will be perfect for shredding🤘🏻
@@reddrmxzz things to keep in mind are that this guitar only has 22 frets. Another thing to keep in mind is that the tuners are actually way worse than I made them out to be in this review, they do suck. I didn't mean for this review to be entirely positive, but I accidentally overlooked the tuners. A replacement if the tuners and nut would make the guitar 100% better than from factory.
The price literally changed less than a week after I put up this review 😅 Another thing is, in hindsight I think I went wayyyyy too easy on this guitar for the review, partially because of the click bait, and partially because of me still being in my honeymoon period with this guitar. After spending some time with higher quality instruments, spending hundreds of dollars modding this guitar, and experiencing it's terrible setup stability just sitting at home in my room, I've decided my best bet is to cut my losses and sell it with all of its mods, original parts, and hardshell case, and buy a Contemporary Squier instead. That bring said, I do believe the JS series in general is good in it's price point, and has very moddable specs, and it is big possiblity that I just happened to get a lemon, as many people have complained about Jackson's QC in recent years. In hindsight I do not recommend this guitar, especially if you don't plan to pay for any setup or modding out for the box. Instead I recommend looking for used deals of guitars that would normally be in the 300-500 price range on reverb.
