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Re: How did it all start?
The first electric I had (in 1985) was a Montoya Les Paul Standard/Custom copy (rosewood board, block inlays) it was a bolt-on Tobacco Sunburst job that I bought from a friend of mine for $50.
He had guitars left and right.
He would buy/trade guitars like one every week or so, and he had some nice ones, though they were always lesser-brands/imports (Aria, Arbor, Washburn, etc). He was also a killer guitarist at only 15, able to play any Rhoads solo and a whole bunch of other stuff. He had a Washburn Rhoads (LTD-style, black with blue pins), an Arbor neckthrough B&Y Bengal Explorer, and all kinds of other cool graphic'd 80's guitars (no C/J AFAIR).
I always like Rhoads' Jackson, and the Charvels were ok to look at, but I liked pointies!
Anyway, when my mom took me to a music store to buy a case for the LP, they had set a new USA Jackson Dinky/Strat in the door on a stand (you had to watch that you didn't walk over it, that's how close to the door it was). It was in the most awful safety/nuclear orange/yellow with black crackle, ebony board, and black painted neck back. They had a sign on it that said "Sacrifice $600" [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
I begged my mom to buy it for me, but she didn't. I had played a Jackson in the same store a few months later, and marveled at how low the action was. That one, I believe, was a purpleburst Soloist with ebony board.
So anyway, the first "real" guitar I had in 1987 was a Kramer Focus 1000 in Salmon Pink. Bought it from a Pawn Shop for $175 with the big G&G-style hard case. It was a one-hum/one-knob/OFR'd wonder. That's also when I bought my infamous Hot Pink DiMarzio ClipLock [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I took it over to my friend's house and he offered to trade me a 1976 Gibson SG Standard with case AND a Kramer Striker ST300 with the ORIGINAL Original Floyd (single locking in the bridge, no fine tuners, no locking nut) for the Focus (so let's see, I get 2 for 1 - is this a good deal?)
I sold the Striker later that year (after experimenting with swapping pickups - Dr Newcenstein's birth [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ) for $100.
Being a huge Zeppelin fan, I wanted an electric 12 string, so I asked around about how to turn my SG into a 12 string, and was told that because of the shorter neck tenon for 6-strings, the tension of 12 strings would rip the neck out, so I became somewhat disenchanted with the SG (though it did get Iommi's tone a lot better than the Montoya did), and traded it to another pawn shop for a no-name Strat in a cool greyburst with black pickguard and rosewood Strathead neck and v-trem.
Also at that time, I bought an Aria Pro II XR from another friend (white Strat style, Kramer-style pointy head and Sharkfin inlays), but it was merely "ok". I put the Strat neck on the Aria body, but since it didn't have a Floyd nut, the trem was useless (actually, the trem was a POS to begin with), so I drilled 6 screw holes and mounted the v-trem from the Strat - even then I wanted a Charvel (Strat without the big gay pickguard [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )
Sooooo anyway I farted around with crap like that until I decided to spring for a new guitar - an Ibanez EX350 with 24 fret bound maple/rosewood neck, big gay pickguard ( [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ) sharkTEETH inlays, and H-s-H pickup layout. The store did have a Jackson Rhoads, but they wanted $900 for it, and it was used. Funny thing, it had a thick neck like a Les Paul, but was comfy to play.
5 years pass and in that time I pick up a near mint used LP Standard for $1050 with case, and those two guitars get played daily for quite some time (1992-1997). Somewhere in there I saw the Jackson Custom Shop ad in a magazine - the one with the Warbird Warrior - and fell in lust for every guitar in the picture.
But, since no one around here had any, and they were still selling for over $1500 when you did find em new, I didn't get one. When the trem on my Ibenhad crapped out, I went to the store I bought it from and ordered a new one. 3 months after I ordered it, it came in, but the day before it came in, I traded the Ibenhad to another store for a used import Kelly (KE3? I think it had satin chrome hardware and a neckplate) anyhoo, that thing kicked all ass, and the store thought I was kidding when I offered to trade both my EX350 AND Ibanez acoustic (PF10) for the Kelly, so they jumped and I jumped and we were all happy.
That was my first ever Jackson.
I traded it to my bassist along with a Fender Mexi-P-bass and a Neo Geo system with 21 games (bought that for like $130 from a video store). For a Pedulla Pentabuzz he had picked up for $150, in the hopes that I could sell it on Ebay and get a nice NEW USA Jackson [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Sold it for $950 to a guy in Japan [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
It was at that time I bought my second-ever Jackson - a 1990 Warrior Pro in Red Pearl (from WarriorX7).
Long story short: I been hooked by the fins big time and have 13 Jacksons and 3 Charvels (two Model 2s, and a 375) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Newc
The first electric I had (in 1985) was a Montoya Les Paul Standard/Custom copy (rosewood board, block inlays) it was a bolt-on Tobacco Sunburst job that I bought from a friend of mine for $50.
He had guitars left and right.
He would buy/trade guitars like one every week or so, and he had some nice ones, though they were always lesser-brands/imports (Aria, Arbor, Washburn, etc). He was also a killer guitarist at only 15, able to play any Rhoads solo and a whole bunch of other stuff. He had a Washburn Rhoads (LTD-style, black with blue pins), an Arbor neckthrough B&Y Bengal Explorer, and all kinds of other cool graphic'd 80's guitars (no C/J AFAIR).
I always like Rhoads' Jackson, and the Charvels were ok to look at, but I liked pointies!
Anyway, when my mom took me to a music store to buy a case for the LP, they had set a new USA Jackson Dinky/Strat in the door on a stand (you had to watch that you didn't walk over it, that's how close to the door it was). It was in the most awful safety/nuclear orange/yellow with black crackle, ebony board, and black painted neck back. They had a sign on it that said "Sacrifice $600" [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
I begged my mom to buy it for me, but she didn't. I had played a Jackson in the same store a few months later, and marveled at how low the action was. That one, I believe, was a purpleburst Soloist with ebony board.
So anyway, the first "real" guitar I had in 1987 was a Kramer Focus 1000 in Salmon Pink. Bought it from a Pawn Shop for $175 with the big G&G-style hard case. It was a one-hum/one-knob/OFR'd wonder. That's also when I bought my infamous Hot Pink DiMarzio ClipLock [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
I took it over to my friend's house and he offered to trade me a 1976 Gibson SG Standard with case AND a Kramer Striker ST300 with the ORIGINAL Original Floyd (single locking in the bridge, no fine tuners, no locking nut) for the Focus (so let's see, I get 2 for 1 - is this a good deal?)
I sold the Striker later that year (after experimenting with swapping pickups - Dr Newcenstein's birth [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ) for $100.
Being a huge Zeppelin fan, I wanted an electric 12 string, so I asked around about how to turn my SG into a 12 string, and was told that because of the shorter neck tenon for 6-strings, the tension of 12 strings would rip the neck out, so I became somewhat disenchanted with the SG (though it did get Iommi's tone a lot better than the Montoya did), and traded it to another pawn shop for a no-name Strat in a cool greyburst with black pickguard and rosewood Strathead neck and v-trem.
Also at that time, I bought an Aria Pro II XR from another friend (white Strat style, Kramer-style pointy head and Sharkfin inlays), but it was merely "ok". I put the Strat neck on the Aria body, but since it didn't have a Floyd nut, the trem was useless (actually, the trem was a POS to begin with), so I drilled 6 screw holes and mounted the v-trem from the Strat - even then I wanted a Charvel (Strat without the big gay pickguard [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )
Sooooo anyway I farted around with crap like that until I decided to spring for a new guitar - an Ibanez EX350 with 24 fret bound maple/rosewood neck, big gay pickguard ( [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ) sharkTEETH inlays, and H-s-H pickup layout. The store did have a Jackson Rhoads, but they wanted $900 for it, and it was used. Funny thing, it had a thick neck like a Les Paul, but was comfy to play.
5 years pass and in that time I pick up a near mint used LP Standard for $1050 with case, and those two guitars get played daily for quite some time (1992-1997). Somewhere in there I saw the Jackson Custom Shop ad in a magazine - the one with the Warbird Warrior - and fell in lust for every guitar in the picture.
But, since no one around here had any, and they were still selling for over $1500 when you did find em new, I didn't get one. When the trem on my Ibenhad crapped out, I went to the store I bought it from and ordered a new one. 3 months after I ordered it, it came in, but the day before it came in, I traded the Ibenhad to another store for a used import Kelly (KE3? I think it had satin chrome hardware and a neckplate) anyhoo, that thing kicked all ass, and the store thought I was kidding when I offered to trade both my EX350 AND Ibanez acoustic (PF10) for the Kelly, so they jumped and I jumped and we were all happy.
That was my first ever Jackson.
I traded it to my bassist along with a Fender Mexi-P-bass and a Neo Geo system with 21 games (bought that for like $130 from a video store). For a Pedulla Pentabuzz he had picked up for $150, in the hopes that I could sell it on Ebay and get a nice NEW USA Jackson [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Sold it for $950 to a guy in Japan [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
It was at that time I bought my second-ever Jackson - a 1990 Warrior Pro in Red Pearl (from WarriorX7).
Long story short: I been hooked by the fins big time and have 13 Jacksons and 3 Charvels (two Model 2s, and a 375) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Newc
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