Jackson Guitars

Jackson guitars are known the world over for high style and performance. They may have seen their biggest heyday in the 1980s-90s, but they're still crowd pleasers in the new millennium.

Phil Collen Signature Jackson Guitar

If you're into analogies, Jackson guitars are the hot rods of the electric guitar industry. They're known for their sleek and savage rock and roll looks with signature shark fin fret inlays and pointed head stocks. The company evolved out of the Charvel brand, a favorite of rockers like Richi Sambora, Jake E. Lee and and Eddie Van Halen.

Charvel was eventually purchased by Grover Jackson who continued to do business under the Charvel brand name, but a collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads would soon change that. The model that would become known world-wide as "the Rhoads" was so drastically different from anything produced in the Charvel line that Grover had misgivings about putting the Charvel label on it. The body was a sharp looking asymmetrical V, with an unusual neck-through design that Grover thought would be too far out for his customers. Still, the design was too tempting to forget about, so Grover put his own name on the label, and the rest is history. Today, Jackson is still best known for its Randy Rhoads guitars, even though Rhoads perished in a plane crash before they went into full production.

The company grew, expanded the Charvel and Jackson guitars product lines and was eventually sold to Fender in 2002. However, as the brand name was added to a line of lower-priced and lower quality guitars for the general public, it lost some of its prestige and favor with serious guitar enthusiasts. Fender returned to manufacturing Charvel style guitars and the line regained some of its status.

Today, Jackson guitars are mainly made in the USA, although some models are manufactured in Japan.

The Jackson line is home to many distinctive models. Here are a few of the most famous.

• Dinky™: From the JS1 entry level model to the Pro Series DK2S, this model is designed to deliver hard rocking sound and style.
• King V™: One of the stars of this model line is the X Series KVX10 King V™. Features include a basswood body with Duncan Designed™ humbucking pickups, flashy chrome hardware and double-locking tremolo.
• Kelly™: Now here's an ax that really looks like one. The Pro Series KE3 Kelly™ is available in a variety of colors and finishes, including a great skull motif. The instrument comes with low-profile double-locking tremolo, Seymour Duncan® humbucking pickups on an alder body with matching black hardware.
• Rhoads™: Designed for Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads just before his untimely death, the Pro Series RR3 in particular features a modified V-body with translucent finish, Seymour Duncan® humbucking pickups and a compound radius fingerboard made of rosewood.
• PC1 Phil Collen: If you're a Def Leppard fan, you've got to check this out. The Collen has a solid mahogany body and maple neck topped off with a Fender Stratocaster® head stock. Additional features include DiMarzio® pickups and Floyd Rose® tremolo.

The Chris Beattie Signature C20 Concert Bass guitar is the premier bass in the Jackson collection. The design was a collaboration with Hatebreed bassist Chris Beattie, and according to the website, the sound is "massively thunderous".

Kevin Bond Signature Rhoads electric guitar

The list of Jackson's celebrity clients is long, with more being added all the time.

Some names you may recognize include:

• Kirk Hammett of power house Metallica
• Phil Collen and Rick Savage of Def Leppard
• Adrian Smith of metal rockers Iron Maiden
• Dan Spitz, of heavy-metal band Megadeath
• Johnie Helms, band mate of country superstar Toby Keith
• Zakk Wylde, who has played with Ozzy Osbourne and Black Label Society
• John Fogerty, solo artist formerly with Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Angus Clark of the Trans Siberian Orchestra

You can download a catalog or find your nearest dealer from the Jackson website, but you can also purchase Jackson guitars from the following online dealers.

• ZZounds
• Music Zoo
• Same Day Music
• V Wall Guitars

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• Famous Bass Guitar Players
• Ibanez Electric Guitars

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