JACKSON DINKY JS24 DKAM DX

A budget speed machine for tomorrow’s shredder

-  Jonathan Horsley

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 caramelised 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 JS24’s extends its go-faster feel 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.