MusicRadar Verdict
This is a quality guitar that outshines many similarly priced starters - if you'd handed this to us when we were first learning, we'd have been thrilled.
Pros
- +
Construction is of a higher quality than price would suggest. Performs admirably for a starter guitar. Superb value for money.
Cons
- -
Pickup selector and tuners feel a little flimsy.
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
The JS series represents Jackson's most affordable models ever - you can bag any of them on the street for under £300 - thanks to Chinese construction, but they don't skimp on quality.
"Plugging in is where cost-cutting can reveal itself, but the JS12's high-output humbuckers chug along nicely"
With two own-brand humbuckers and a two-point non-locking vibrato, we're deep in starter territory here, but while the pickup selector and tuners feel a little flimsy, everything else about the JS12's construction points towards a much more expensive guitar. And crucially, it retains tuning well, even with plenty of vibrato abuse.
When you're first learning, a low action can really speed up your progression, and judging from our review model's slinky playability, the JS12 won't give you any problems in that department.
But while it doesn't feature the compound radius of our other review models, the 305mm (12-inch) fingerboard camber has stood Gibson in good stead since the 50s, so you won't find any complaints from us here.
Plugging in is where cost-cutting can reveal itself, but the JS12's high-output humbuckers chug along nicely, although the bridge's proud saddle screws make palm-muting a tad uncomfortable.
While the pickups have plenty of low-end, the highs are a little lacking, and individual chord notes can struggle to cut through.
That rolled-off treble pays off for clean tones, however, doing away with the thin, ice-picky nature of some lower-end axes, instead offering clear, punchy tones.
“Each toy is designed in house and rigorously tested by our dogs on staff”: Schecter has a treat for the player who doesn’t mind a squeak or two and some bark in the mix
“They haven’t agreed on anything for 20 years”: How Ice-T got Roger Waters and David Gilmour’s go ahead for Body Count’s Comfortably Numb cover
“Beyoncé does not make mistakes. She does, however, make some counterintuitive choices - and this song includes a few of them”: The flawed genius of pop's biggest anthems, from Hey Jude to Hey Ya!
