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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Seriously........I'm baffled, and highly impressed with this limited run that Fender/Jackson is offering, and the quality that is immediately obvious with these guitars. As well, do not be deceived by the price...rather, consider this to be an opportunity. So literally, just a few weeks ago, I purchased the stop tailpiece Fender Special Run variant (which I am upgrading w/EMG 57/66, brushed gold, Tonepros bridge, gold, Earvana compensated nut, Gotoh Magnum SG381 locking tuner, gold, EMG Satin Gold knobs) of this guitar, so therefore, as I am thoroughly impressed, I was compelled to await the arrival of this version (tremolo) through zZounds, yet it became available via Amazon, and I made my purchase just 10 days ago. Okay, so in no particular order, I'm going to start with the Amaranth (of the Purpleheart family/species......yes, that beautiful purple wood seen on many high end guitars)....these are the first two guitars that I now own with this species of wood utilized for the fretboards, and I absolutely love it. At first glance, your eye tends to see it as Ebony, as the wood has quite the dark appearance, which I totally dig (and quite fitting as the guitar is in nat mahogany finish), and it sounds bright, snappy, percussive, and present. As well, I dig the feel, as it has a nice, tight grain pattern.The fretwire- .....ummm, well, ....all level, and comfortable frets. I've not found any dead/high spots, and if so, it's so minimal that it's within a tolerance that allows you to keep low, low action, if you prefer (and the fretwire is just the right jumbo size to allow for the feel of the wire, along with the wood).The tuning machines- ....as I normally upgrade all of my tuning machines to Gotoh SG 381 Magnum locking, I must say, I like these tuners so much, that I'm torn and considering not upgrading, as they are visually stunning, and work quite well. The body of the tuners (where the mechanisms/gears are located) are not thin, and are actually quite robust in size, which provides confidence they'll maintain.The graphite reinforced neck- 5 stars +. Period. You immediately feel it, as soon as you grasp the neck..but also when playing, you can sense a bit more resonance and volume from the notes.The natural mahogany finish- Just...beautiful. Period. (and the feel is quite satisfying, indeed).The Jackson-branded Floyd- .....okay, ......I'm impressed...once again. This is a genuine Floyd Rose licensed unit, as the tremolo block is a genuine Floyd Rose 32mm/nickel-plated block. Look, the gold Fender/Jackson has chosen for these units, is absolutely beautiful....it's a dense, kinda lustrous gold that has a bit more depth than, for instance, an Original Floyd....it's really beautiful (as the colors match via the tuners, locking nut, and tremolo unit). Key feature.....the matching/gold-colored fine tuners via the baseplate. however, my only complaint w/this/these units, is that the very bottoms of the fine tuning screws do not have a flat surface (at the bottom/point of contact) for the string lock screws to make contact with/move smoothly up and down when tuning...rather, it causes the string lock screws/tuning to "skip", and kinda clank, as you feel the bottom of the fine tuning screws jumping/skipping as you fine tune....so you may jump a half-step during turning due to this. It's not a difficult fix, however, as the bottoms of the tuning screws simply need filed/sanded a bit....no biggie (however, if one prefers not to do so, the Original Floyd brass fine tuning screws are an optimal substitute, as they are easy to remove/change. The action of the tremolo is smooth, no noise, and the bar fits snug without those weird unpredictable ..."hmmm, i wonder if the bar that comes with the unit will actually fit as it should?" kinda anomalies/moments. (key note- the locking nut is an actual Floyd Rose Special R3, and the neck nut shelf is filed/seated at the proper height...therefore preventing an unplayable kinda high string-to-fret height when fretting....once again, the attention to detail will have you asking...."really?, just $400??".....it's that good.)The pickups- ...not bad. ..not bad at all. I dig 'em. Although, I'm full-on EMG, and I'm goin' with the Het Set, or 57/66 in brushed gold (or, possibly the 81X, 85X in brushed gold). As I am hearing the characteristics of these wood combinations on this guitar, my immediate choices are any of the 3 EMG options listed above, but the Jackson pickups sound great...they really do. Well-balanced and fitting.The 3-way switch- ....nice, solid, and "tight" feeling. The gold-mirrored pickguard- ........just ...sick. The knobs- Very, very nice (and, once again, all the gold selected for this instrument....are an exact match across all components........impressive).Overall- As I tend to often make purchases based off of my instincts, and relying on them, I'm so pleased I own both the stop tail and tremolo versions of this guitar. Do not hesitate, as you will, once again, see for yourselves, why I refer to this as an "opportunity."If you wanted to use this as a "mod platform"...truly, you'll have difficulty finding parts you're willing to replace, as the visual element, and quality is exceptional. Otherwise, mods will only accentuate the quality of the mahogany, maple, and purpleheart. Just do it..............these guitars are great.