i would get a jackson monarkh...

Part of the reason I'm thinking of getting a Telecaster again is because it's a guitar that agrees with me. I can work with a Tele even if it has really ratty sounding pickups in it.

But then there's the Jackson Monarkh. I actually have played one of these and do genuinely like the guitar, but can't get one. Why?

It's the pickups. I can deal with ratty sounding single-coils easily, but with humbuckers, yeah, they have to be good for me to get along with the guitar. My favorite of the lot are covered alnico 2 magnet type. An example of that is the Seymour Duncan '78 model. Tons of options for that including open coil, covered (nickel or gold), all black or zebra, and so on. Good stuff. The magic comes from the alnico 2 magnets used. That's a "vintage" spec lower-output pickup (like a real-deal vintage Les Paul would have) that just sings. Instead of sounding like hot-output muddy trash, alnico 2 brings out the highs and mids that sounds much nicer to my ear. You could put those pickups in a guitar made of plywood and it would make it sound amazing. I'm not kidding.

Would it be worth it to mod a Monarkh?

Maybe.

Said very honestly, the Monarkh is a good player, even for the cheap JS22 version (which amazingly does come with a bound neck).

Also, the headstock that's on the Monarkh is the best design Jackson has ever had. It's pointy but distinctive. And while I wish it existed on a Dinky body, it doesn't. To get that headstock design on a 6-string model, it's Monarkh or nothing as far as I'm aware.

And yeah, I know, some people hate the look of the Monarkh, because players would rather see the "open book" Gibson headstock shape. Well, Jackson obviously can't do that, but what's there honestly grows on you over time. It has for me...

...but I can't get past the stock pickups the Monarkh has. I'd have to junk those for a good set of alnico 2 magnet humbuckers.

Monarkh is another one of those "maybe" guitars on my list, especially in JS22 form because you actually get a lot of guitar for the money at that price point.

Published 2024 Nov 21