Help with Jackson RR1 history.

[sarlucic]

Hi there, I got a Jackson RR1 with a serial number between RR2745-RR2756. On the webpage it say "1. All Randy Rhoads neck-through-body guitars were given “RR****” serial numbers from 1983 to spring 1990. After that, only custom Rhoads guitars bore “RR****” serial numbers; production Rhoads guitars were considered “USA” models and given “U0****” serial numbers."

I have a hard time to decode this with my terrible english, what do custom vs production rhoads mean in this case?

The guitar is equipped with a floyd rose, emg 81 and 85s which is non standard? and pile of skull graphics, are this a standard production guitar? Were any made with emg pickups or have they been changed?

Thank you for answers.

[Gartron]

my understanding is that all the guitars Jackson made from 83-89/90 are considered custom as they were spec'ed out by who ever ordered them
Jackson started making production off the shelf models in 90 (basically churning out guitars with the same spec), however you could still order the guitar how you wanted it, so for example if you wanted a "off the shelf" Rhoads then that would be Uo number , but if you wanted one with a different layout (say one humbucker, reversed head stock etc) then that would be considered a custom and given the RR number.

[lefty]

Regardless of provenance, sounds like ya got a great axe there. Love to see a pic of that
Pile of Skulls graphic!

[Mudlark]

That should be a 1995 Custom Shop serial. A 1990-2017 production Rhoads would have a Uxxxxx serial.

Is there no 'Custom Shop' headstock logo? A pic would be nice.

[Mudlark]

No logo wouldn't be unusual.
You need to post pics on a site such as photobucket and then copy the link here.

As for the EMG's, a Custom model would allow whichever pickups the customer specified...including EMG's.

[sarlucic]

There is no 'custom shop' headstock, just a standard made in usa headstock i think

[Catharpin]

Nice!!

[lefty]

Beauty!

[sarlucic]

Thank you guys . I never loved the "cartooony" skulls, but the moon between the mics and the trees are absolutely stunning. Anyhow, I'm gonna sell the guitar, so I'm trying to find out if it is a custom shop or not, since I suppose that would be interesting info for the buyer and might effect the price somewhat.

[Mudlark]

That's a Custom Shop number, but why it's a Custom is anyone's guess. Would the EMG's make it a Custom? Perhaps the wood is a custom species? Neck profile?
The graphic wasn't a Custom only graphic, so it wouldn't be that.

Hell, maybe someone stamped the wrong serial on it?

[Nightbat]

That's a Custom Shop number, but why it's a Custom is anyone's guess. Would the EMG's make it a Custom? Perhaps the wood is a custom species? Neck profile?
The graphic wasn't a Custom only graphic, so it wouldn't be that.

This graphic doesn't seem to resemble the "Mass Production" Pile of Skulls
Methinks this is a freehand finish, and not the stencil-type finishes normally found on the USA Select versions

[sarlucic]

This graphic doesn't seem to resemble the "Mass Production" Pile of Skulls
Methinks this is a freehand finish, and not the stencil-type finishes normally found on the USA Select versions

You might be on to something! If you google "Jackson RR1 pile o skull" most versions seem to have the moon and skulls reversed, mine is more of the kelly version, but slightly different, there are no bats flying around the moon, also the moon is not as bright. I found one design that was close to the same, but the trees between the mics are different and the position of the skulls also. One of the skulls lack a crack in the head, the shading is different etc. My oh my! https://reverb.com/ca/item/2696338-j...escription-tab

[Mudlark]

The only 2 Rhoads I can find with the POS graphic look similar to the Rhoads in this thread. They were all hand painted, so they will be different.
I'm not disagreeing, though.

Perhaps a NAMM guitar? 1996 was the first year the model name 'RR1' was used...maybe this guitar somehow tied into that? Built in 1995 to be displayed at Winter NAMM in early '96?

[sarlucic]

The only 2 Rhoads I can find with the POS graphic look similar to the Rhoads in this thread. They were all hand painted, so they will be different.
I'm not disagreeing, though.

Perhaps a NAMM guitar? 1996 was the first year the model name 'RR1' was used...maybe this guitar somehow tied into that? Built in 1995 to be displayed at Winter NAMM in early '96?

I don't know, I will try to find pictures from NAMM. But would a NAMM guitar make its way all the way to Sweden? I don't know if this helps, but the hard case is printed with both Jackson/charvel? not Jackson only as ive seen on some cases.

Can you link me to the similar ones? The only really similar one i found is the one in the link, the other ones all have this layout, with the skulls being on the right side of the guitar https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...01b01e5268.jpg

[Mudlark]

They're almost impossible to find online, but the first one pictured here is similar to yours. If you can't find it I'll post the pic later. It's from an old ebay ad.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=1995+rr1+usa+rhoads+pile+of+skulls&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2lv6po83SAhUm2oMKHb6xBtAQ_AUIBigB&biw=1093&bih=521#imgrc=s8elRGgqZUsa4M: