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tjon901 « One of the few Left handed USA Jacksons »
Published on 08/16/11 at 19:53Just about every left handed USA Jackson you will see will be a Custom Shop order. They do not make many of these and the prices for them reflect that. Other than that these are just left handed versions of the guitars. The specs are pretty much identical in most cases and the fit and finish is just as good if not better because of their lower production numbers. This guitar is the famous Randy Rhodes Jackson. It features the famous offset Randy Rhodes V shape. This design helps with the guitars balance. The guitar has a neck through body with a maple neck. The body is made from alder. The neck has a 22 fret ebony fretboard with Jacksons signature shark fin inlays. The neck and headstock are fully bound. It has a Floyd Rose double locking tremolo which is something the original didnt have. It has two Seymour Duncan humbuckers. It has an SH2 in the neck and a TB4 in the bridge with one volume and two tone knobs with a 3 way switch.
UTILIZATION
Being such a broad V shape the upper frets are not that easy to reach. Being only 22 frets helps this. The guitar has Jacksons famous compound radius neck which greatly improves playability. This combined with the neck through construction give the guitar a great feel. The radius of the fretboard changes as you go up the neck. Near the headstock on the low end the radius is 12 inches which means the fretboard is slightly more curved up there to make playing chord shapes more comfortable. Near the high end the radius is 16 inches which makes shredding and lead playing effortless. The Floyd Rose stays in tune very well no matter how hard you divebomb on it.
SOUNDS
The JB and the Jazz combination in this guitar give it awesome tone and it is very versatile as well. The JB in the bridge is the benchmark for all hot rodded PAF pickups. It has a great sound that can be used in just about every type of music. The pickup has a tighter low end but still has a but if sag in it so it can still be used for classic rock. With the alder body and maple neck on this guitar you get more of a brighter tone that really cuts through the mix. This bright tone helps the Jazz in the neck get a super clear but still smooth sound. The Jazz is a slightly hotter version of the 59. It has a bit more high end bite so it does not get as muddy when you are playing with high gain in the neck position.
OVERALL OPINION
This is now a classic Jackson shape. With this guitar you can rock out with your Jackson even if you are left handed. Be prepared to pay a price with these left handed USA Jacksons. They are more expensive than the right handed models and those models are already not cheap. If you are able to afford one of these lefty USA models you might as well order a fully custom model if you are willing to wait for it to be made.
UTILIZATION
Being such a broad V shape the upper frets are not that easy to reach. Being only 22 frets helps this. The guitar has Jacksons famous compound radius neck which greatly improves playability. This combined with the neck through construction give the guitar a great feel. The radius of the fretboard changes as you go up the neck. Near the headstock on the low end the radius is 12 inches which means the fretboard is slightly more curved up there to make playing chord shapes more comfortable. Near the high end the radius is 16 inches which makes shredding and lead playing effortless. The Floyd Rose stays in tune very well no matter how hard you divebomb on it.
SOUNDS
The JB and the Jazz combination in this guitar give it awesome tone and it is very versatile as well. The JB in the bridge is the benchmark for all hot rodded PAF pickups. It has a great sound that can be used in just about every type of music. The pickup has a tighter low end but still has a but if sag in it so it can still be used for classic rock. With the alder body and maple neck on this guitar you get more of a brighter tone that really cuts through the mix. This bright tone helps the Jazz in the neck get a super clear but still smooth sound. The Jazz is a slightly hotter version of the 59. It has a bit more high end bite so it does not get as muddy when you are playing with high gain in the neck position.
OVERALL OPINION
This is now a classic Jackson shape. With this guitar you can rock out with your Jackson even if you are left handed. Be prepared to pay a price with these left handed USA Jacksons. They are more expensive than the right handed models and those models are already not cheap. If you are able to afford one of these lefty USA models you might as well order a fully custom model if you are willing to wait for it to be made.