Jackson Guitars

Beginnings and history

Jackson Guitars was created when Grover Jackson took over the well-known company Charvel's Guitar Repair in 1978. The collaboration with the then Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads in 1980 resulted in the Rhoads body shape, which is still available today, and also marked the start of Jackson Guitars. The timing was just right because heavy metal was experiencing a heyday in the 1980s and the trend (started by Eddie Van Halen) was so-called super or power strats. These are guitars that are visually more or less based on the classic ST form , but are equipped with more modern and stylistically more suitable components such as humbuckers or Floyd Rose tremolos. Jackson soon earned a reputation as a forger of premium, American-built, high-end custom instruments that could be seen in the hands of many well-known guitarists of the time. With the musical changes of the 1990s, Jackson Guitars began opening factories in the Far East in order to be able to offer their instruments in cheaper areas. Since 2002, both Jackson and Charvel have been part of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Jackson models

An absolute Jackson classic is certainly the Dinky: an ST body shape optimized for playability with a narrow body and screwed neck. With a continuous neck, the model is called Soloist. In addition to the more comfortable playability of the high frets, this design results in improved vibration behavior, which means the guitar resonates more strongly and delivers slightly more low frequencies.

As already mentioned, Jackson is known for heavy guitars, which is also reflected in the appearance of the guitars. As already mentioned, the company-founding Rhoads form is still a real Jackson favorite today. It is based on a Flying V, but with a sharper, more aggressive design and a noticeably shortened lower horn. The symmetrical version with horns of the same size is called King V. Under the name Kelly you can find their version of the famous Explorer form in the Jackson catalog. We recommend that all fans of unusual instruments take a look at the Warrior, whose body is reminiscent of a distorted X.

Jackson Guitars are known for their close collaboration with their artists and so there are always artist or signature models, for example from Misha Mansoor (Periphery), Mick Thompson (Slipknot) or Chris Broderick (Megadeth, Nevermore), whose design and equipment sometimes more, sometimes less different from the standard models.

Almost all models are available in a wide variety of equipment and color / finish, many also as a 7-string version.

Jackson series

Jackson 's series are kept very clear. The JS series represents entry into the Jackson world. Here, newcomers will find inexpensive but well-made and good-sounding instruments with the typical Jackson DNA. If you place a little more value on higher-quality components such as branded pickup or hardware , you should take a look at the X series .

The Pro or Professional series stands for high-quality components, great workmanship and absolutely reliable workhorses, the perfect tool for the metal guitarist.

Under the USA custom shop label, Jackson produces the instruments with which they achieved world fame 40 years ago: high-end instruments handcrafted in the USA or the realization of completely individual customer requests. The Jackson USA Custom guitars are certainly among the absolute crème de la crème of heavy guitars.