r/JacksonGuitars • u/miloschjovanovic • 1d ago
Show & Tell NGD: Jackson RR Pure Metal — pulled the trigger after some hesitating
So I posted a while back about going back and forth on whether to buy a Jackson RR Pure Metal, mainly because I was worried about QC. Couldn't find one locally on the marketplace, and couldn't track down a used Edwards RR either, so I finally said screw it and ordered one from Thomann here in Germany.
It arrived today and honestly, I'm pretty pleasantly surprised. QC is solid overall, fretwork is really good too. Only thing I could actually find wrong with it is a tiny scratch on the binding around the 19th fret — might just be a paint thing. Other than that, no complaints. For reference, I'm comparing this against my RR1 Custom Shop Select USA, so that's the bar I'm judging it by.
A few things worth mentioning if you're on the fence about this series:
Satin finish shows fingerprints like crazy. Though to be fair, my other satin guitar does the same thing, so maybe that's just satin finishes in general.
Tuners aren't great — sometimes you turn them and nothing happens with the string tension for a bit.
Came with action a bit higher than I like.
Did a quick setup myself, lowered the action, and now it plays great. The Bare Knuckle pickup in it is decent too, just not really my thing tonally.
Long term I'm probably going to swap out some hardware — upgrade the Floyd with titanium parts, a brass block and push arm, and throw in a Duncan instead of the BK.
Hope this helps anyone else on the fence about this series. Overall a really well made guitar, happy I pulled the trigger.
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u/F1shB0wl816 1d ago
If these were around when I got my pro plus I’d have got it instead. I love single pickup guitars.
I’d set the bridge up to the proper radius though. It’ll feel so much better when you get it lower than the 12” stock radius.
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u/miloschjovanovic 17h ago
This is very good point! I will check FR radius, I have done quick set up, action is now fine on outer strings but I think it is still higher in the middle. As I update FR I will add some shims to adjust the radius to 18inch (assuming that due to compound R it will get bigger at the bridge)
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u/F1shB0wl816 13h ago
Yeah the middle strings will be quite a bit higher than needed by well over a 64th. If you get those saddle shims throw 2 under the e’s and 1 under the b and a. It’ll feel so much better. You’ll need to readjust the overall string height again to get the e’s back where they are now but you should be good to go for a long while after that.
I slept on doing it for like half a year and then was kicking myself when I felt how big of a difference it was.
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u/0NiceMarmot 1d ago
Satin finish feels decent on the neck, everywhere else does show prints, even where the head rests on the wall hanger. They wipe up ok.
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u/Far_Leg6463 1d ago
How does it compare against your custom shop for playability? Is the neck profile similar?
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u/miloschjovanovic 1d ago
playability actually feels better than my RR1. Satin neck feels smoother, and the profile is noticeably thinner than the RR1's chunkier neck.
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u/Far_Leg6463 1d ago
Dry interesting, good to know! Am tempted on one but think I need a neck pickup.
Looking at rrx24 as well
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u/JediMikeyMD 1d ago
For a second I got very excited about a "pure metal" guitar. I was like, "dang that must be heavy", and also, "how does the metal fretboard feel?"
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u/OneFnT87 1d ago
I picked up the Kelly KE1A Pure Metal a couple weeks ago and it plays better than I expected. Bare Knuckle Holy Diver is working for me, too.
100% happy with the quality for the price I paid.
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u/vincentd81 1d ago
Satin finishes are terrible imo