Here’s another Jackson rave review—two, actually—this time from this side of the pond. The editors of Guitar World, in the “Soundcheck” section of the magazine’s July 2010 issue (the one with Stevie Ray Vaughan on the cover), have seen fit to bestow the publication’s Gold Award for overall value on both the Mark Morton Dominion D2 and PDX Demmelition King V models—a monstrous pair if there ever was.
Both axes are affordable versions of their high-end signature siblings, the Mark Morton Dominion and the Demmelition King V. GW’s Eric Kirkland lavished praise on both guitars for their quality, playability, sound and affordability, noting that “Their low price aside, the stimulating performance aspect of these guitars may make them preferable to their high-end counterparts for certain types of player.”
“Jackson’s X-Series Phil Demmel PDX Demmelition King V and Mark Morton Dominion D2 are affordable options for fans of the original Dominion and Demmelition guitars,” Kirkland penned. “More importantly, they each capture old-school vibes in their own way, which are enjoyably different from their high-end brethren.”
In taking the PDX Demmelition for a spin, GW noted that, “There were no blurred notes … even on the lowest registers. Chords came through with defined authority, and the guitar’s innate ability to produce certain odd-order harmonics translated into an angry personality.”
GW called the Mark Morton Dominion D2 “a true performance ax,” noting that its “surging string energy produces explosive harmonics, dynamics and sustain,” and that “like the mids, the highs are particularly responsive to attack and therefore capable of being razor sharp or round and smooth.”