Jackson Guitars

Jackson Guitars
Type Private
Industry Musical instruments
Founded 1980
Headquarters Scottsdale, Arizona, United States of America
Area served Global
Owner(s) Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Website www.jacksonguitars.com

Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.

Contents

Early years

Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business. Wayne Charvel eventually sold his interest to Grover Jackson on November 10, 1978, which gave Jackson control of the business and the Charvel brand.[1]

Jackson Guitars originated in 1980 when guitarist Randy Rhoads approached Charvel with an idea for an individualized guitar. The collaborative design effort between Rhoads, Grover Jackson, Tim Wilson, and Mike Shannon resulted in the creation of the Concorde, an innovative revamp of the traditional Flying V.[2] The Rhoads designs were such a departure from Charvel's Stratocaster based models that Grover elected to label them with his own name.

Throughout the heavy metal heyday of the 1980s, the Jackson brand was associated with high-quality, American-made, custom instruments, and was endorsed by many popular guitarists of the period. In addition to the original Randy Rhoads models, the 1980s spawned distinctively designed Jackson models such as the Soloist, King V, and Kelly, all of which remain icons of the brand.

1990s - Present

The 1990s brought changes in musical trends, and brands like Jackson began producing inexpensive, Asian-made versions of their staple designs in an effort to make their products more attractive and accessible to lower end buyers.

In the Fall of 2002, Fender Musical Instrument Corporation purchased Jackson/Charvel, and U.S. operations were moved to the Fender factory in Corona, CA. Present day Fender era Jacksons (and Charvels) are being produced at the Corona works.

Design hallmarks

From the early beginnings until the present day, Jackson Guitars is known for its slender, elegant designs, and feature aggressive motifs that are popular with hard rock and metal musicians.

Traditionally, Jackson (and many Charvel) guitars share the typical pointed headstock that first appeared on the Rhoads prototype in 1980. This likely arose from trade dress infringement issues as a result of Charvel's use of Fender Stratocaster shaped headstocks until the early 1980s. Fender's 2002 acquisition of both the Jackson and Charvel brands has enabled the Strat-style headstock to be reintroduced (under license).

Another Jackson trademark is the 'shark fin' inlays, which inspired other famous guitar companies such as Ibanez to follow suit with similar designs.

Jackson guitars currently in production:

Jackson guitars available only through the custom shop:

Discontinued models:

Jackson Professional Series:

Jackson players and endorsers, past and present

  1. ^ http://www.jacksonguitars.com/company/
  2. ^ http://www.guitarworld.com/article/randy_rhoads_flight_of_the_concordes
  3. ^ Note: also the product manager at Jackson Guitars, Charvel Guitars, and EVH Guitars
  4. ^ "Biography - Infernus, Skyggen", Jackson Guitars, http://jacksonguitars.com/artists/index.php?id=476, retrieved 2010-04-05 
  5. ^ "Artistas Jackson" (in Brazilian Portuguese), Jackson Brasil, http://www.jackson.com.br/padrao/padrao.php?link=artistas, retrieved 2010-04-05 
  6. ^ "Biography - BELPHEGOR", Jackson Guitars, http://jacksonguitars.com/artists/index.php?id=202, retrieved 2010-04-05 
  7. ^ "D'Priest - A Night of Rock'N'Terror". SugarBuzzMagazine.Com. October 30, 2007. http://www.sugarbuzzmagazine.com/bands/dpriest/dpriest.html. Retrieved August 6, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Biography - Xaphan * Michael Sweet of Stryper and Michael Sweet * Oz Fox of Stryper and Bloodgood Matt Tuck of BFMV", Jackson Guitars, http://jacksonguitars.com/artists/index.php?id=398, retrieved 2010-04-05 

External links