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Why Jackson, and why now?
Being an old fart from the glory days of the late 70’s and 80’s, I remember well the birth of the Jackson guitar(s). My dream guitars of childhood fantasy were all the classic Gibson designs, so when I was old enough to afford an electric guitar in ’77 (age 16) I choose a ’68 SG in near mint condition. I mowed many a lawn to pay for it. I loved that thing so much I slept with it (no sex involved). No amp yet…just a Distortion + or two through the stereo. Eventually I got a Fender blackface Bassman, and then traded up to a ’76 50W Marshall JMP and got some Celestian speakers. I was playing over 8 hours a day, and was ready to rock. A number of us tried to start a band, but conflicts always got in the way until I joined a serious band in ’82. I needed a backup guitar and a reissue of the ’58 Flying V became my next guitar. Looked great, sounded pretty good, but it had a log neck I could not get used to. I traded it for a black Guild X88 with a Kahler trem, and later found out how much the V was worth…and cried (DOH!). We did well locally for a couple of years, but broke up as I was driving everyone crazy with my perfectionist personality.
The next serious band I joined lasted a long time and did very well. My Jersey drummer (a wiseguy) laughed at my guitars and taunted me to "get a real guitar". By ’86 I was ready to get something "cool" and went looking. Local stores in and around Poughkeepsie, NY did not have the good stuff, so in ’87 I went to 48th Street in NYC and tried everything. High-end guitars were there, and I was determined to get a neck-through design. It was either going to be a Jackson Soloist, a Kramer version, or maybe an ESP since many good sounding players were wailing with them just about that time. Kramer and Robin sucked in wood quality and build quality, so they were out. I played many a Jackson, and tried to like them, but the really flat & wide feeling necks with the stiff shoulders (not my cup of tea even though thin necks are my favorite), and wood tone were not up to the price tag at the time. The wood was dull sounding. They looked killer, and build quality was nice, but I needed something more than looks and a big name on the headstock. I tried some ESP guitars and fell in love. Perfect necks, even better build quality, and the most resonant wood tone of any guitar I had heard. All under $1K too! The pickups sucked, but I could (and did) fix that. I got a cool looking seafoam green ESP Mirage Custom. Killer axe, and the only one I still have from my "glory days". Incredible quality! Sorry, but Jackson guitars didn’t do it for me. I tried several times in 88, 89, 90, and 91 to dig a Jackson. No go! I even did a mockup on the old computer of black bevels on a white King V & RR in 2000 wishing I could have a "quality" version of that guitar in my possession someday. I posted the pictures on some forums, and they went over well at that time. When would my Jackson guitar dream come true? I starting collecting every classic Gibson guitar made, and even a Strat and a Tele! I couldn’t find a really white Gibson to add to my collection. I needed a white guitar with black hardware in the worst way (just gotta have that flash factor), but not unless it added some good tone to my diverse collection (and great tone at that!).
Here it is some twenty-someodd years later, and I have been checking out the new USA Jackson guitars just for the hell of it. I noticed a few things I never experienced on the older Jacksons. What do we have here? Looking better than the old days. Superb build quality. Necks feel great now, but the wood is different. This is not the usual cardboard sounding wood I remember. This is great tone wood! And what the heck is that I see them offering? SNOW WHITE WITH BLACK BEVELS?! Did the day come when I could have that killer looking Jackson in my favorite color scheme with a neck I could enjoy playing on…with great tone? YES it did! I took a chance and purchased this "monster" from an online dealer (risky, but none were in any stores near me):
OMG! What a great playing, sounding, and looking axe. No regrets at all. The Duncan JB in the bridge is a bit thin sounding, and I had that pickup in two other guitars and had the same experience, but I can fix that easy enough. I am really loving this guitar. And the look is just as killer as you can get IMO. It is toneful, tight, crunchy as hell, and comfy to play, as it is not too heavy and easy to manage. The tone is much better than expected. Sounds somewhat like a great Flying V I sold (and miss very much) to fund my Robot Flying V, which has a huskier sound. This RR1 is a total shred and crunch machine…and I can fly on the neck. I love this thing!
I don’t know what happened over the years, but I think they really have something good going, now that Fender is involved. The quality is extremely good. Better than Fender! I have many quality guitars (no two alike) with different tone and neck profiles, and this is a great addition to my collection.
I wonder what my next Jackson will be? The Jackson door is finally open for me! I’m thinking a silver metal flake HSH Charvel SoCal with an ebony fretboard, extra jumbo frets, and chrome hardware & Floyd might be in the mix soon. I could do some custom electronic switching to give me tons of pickup sound options. That would be cool! But for now I’m very happy with my first Jackson, and glad to finally own a Jackson in my guitar family.
Phil
Being an old fart from the glory days of the late 70’s and 80’s, I remember well the birth of the Jackson guitar(s). My dream guitars of childhood fantasy were all the classic Gibson designs, so when I was old enough to afford an electric guitar in ’77 (age 16) I choose a ’68 SG in near mint condition. I mowed many a lawn to pay for it. I loved that thing so much I slept with it (no sex involved). No amp yet…just a Distortion + or two through the stereo. Eventually I got a Fender blackface Bassman, and then traded up to a ’76 50W Marshall JMP and got some Celestian speakers. I was playing over 8 hours a day, and was ready to rock. A number of us tried to start a band, but conflicts always got in the way until I joined a serious band in ’82. I needed a backup guitar and a reissue of the ’58 Flying V became my next guitar. Looked great, sounded pretty good, but it had a log neck I could not get used to. I traded it for a black Guild X88 with a Kahler trem, and later found out how much the V was worth…and cried (DOH!). We did well locally for a couple of years, but broke up as I was driving everyone crazy with my perfectionist personality.
The next serious band I joined lasted a long time and did very well. My Jersey drummer (a wiseguy) laughed at my guitars and taunted me to "get a real guitar". By ’86 I was ready to get something "cool" and went looking. Local stores in and around Poughkeepsie, NY did not have the good stuff, so in ’87 I went to 48th Street in NYC and tried everything. High-end guitars were there, and I was determined to get a neck-through design. It was either going to be a Jackson Soloist, a Kramer version, or maybe an ESP since many good sounding players were wailing with them just about that time. Kramer and Robin sucked in wood quality and build quality, so they were out. I played many a Jackson, and tried to like them, but the really flat & wide feeling necks with the stiff shoulders (not my cup of tea even though thin necks are my favorite), and wood tone were not up to the price tag at the time. The wood was dull sounding. They looked killer, and build quality was nice, but I needed something more than looks and a big name on the headstock. I tried some ESP guitars and fell in love. Perfect necks, even better build quality, and the most resonant wood tone of any guitar I had heard. All under $1K too! The pickups sucked, but I could (and did) fix that. I got a cool looking seafoam green ESP Mirage Custom. Killer axe, and the only one I still have from my "glory days". Incredible quality! Sorry, but Jackson guitars didn’t do it for me. I tried several times in 88, 89, 90, and 91 to dig a Jackson. No go! I even did a mockup on the old computer of black bevels on a white King V & RR in 2000 wishing I could have a "quality" version of that guitar in my possession someday. I posted the pictures on some forums, and they went over well at that time. When would my Jackson guitar dream come true? I starting collecting every classic Gibson guitar made, and even a Strat and a Tele! I couldn’t find a really white Gibson to add to my collection. I needed a white guitar with black hardware in the worst way (just gotta have that flash factor), but not unless it added some good tone to my diverse collection (and great tone at that!).
Here it is some twenty-someodd years later, and I have been checking out the new USA Jackson guitars just for the hell of it. I noticed a few things I never experienced on the older Jacksons. What do we have here? Looking better than the old days. Superb build quality. Necks feel great now, but the wood is different. This is not the usual cardboard sounding wood I remember. This is great tone wood! And what the heck is that I see them offering? SNOW WHITE WITH BLACK BEVELS?! Did the day come when I could have that killer looking Jackson in my favorite color scheme with a neck I could enjoy playing on…with great tone? YES it did! I took a chance and purchased this "monster" from an online dealer (risky, but none were in any stores near me):
OMG! What a great playing, sounding, and looking axe. No regrets at all. The Duncan JB in the bridge is a bit thin sounding, and I had that pickup in two other guitars and had the same experience, but I can fix that easy enough. I am really loving this guitar. And the look is just as killer as you can get IMO. It is toneful, tight, crunchy as hell, and comfy to play, as it is not too heavy and easy to manage. The tone is much better than expected. Sounds somewhat like a great Flying V I sold (and miss very much) to fund my Robot Flying V, which has a huskier sound. This RR1 is a total shred and crunch machine…and I can fly on the neck. I love this thing!
I don’t know what happened over the years, but I think they really have something good going, now that Fender is involved. The quality is extremely good. Better than Fender! I have many quality guitars (no two alike) with different tone and neck profiles, and this is a great addition to my collection.
I wonder what my next Jackson will be? The Jackson door is finally open for me! I’m thinking a silver metal flake HSH Charvel SoCal with an ebony fretboard, extra jumbo frets, and chrome hardware & Floyd might be in the mix soon. I could do some custom electronic switching to give me tons of pickup sound options. That would be cool! But for now I’m very happy with my first Jackson, and glad to finally own a Jackson in my guitar family.
Phil
I'm about to put the only strings that last up to a year for me without going flat dull (most other brands crapout in about 3 weeks with my acid fingers). On go the Elixirs! 
New tone report to follow.
Thanks for the welcome. How do you like that Warior? I almost got one of those in white with black bevels, but the Rhoads is more my thing...being a V guy and all. I like the King V too. It was a tough choice. And I could see a Kelly in my future. I have a black Gibson Explorer that is kinda thick sounding. Thought about doing some EMG's in that one. Maybe...we shall see. :think:
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