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tjon901 « Long running Def Leppard Jackson »
Published on 08/17/11 at 09:38Phil Collen of Def Leppard has been playing these unique Jacksons for a very long time and they have pretty much become a staple in the Jackson line up. They have a bunch of cool features that give them a unique feel and tone compared to the typical Jackson. This guitar has a mahogany body with a quilted maple top. The neck is a super fat bolt on neck made from maple. The fretboard is maple as well and has Jacksons compound radius design. The neck has 24 jumbo frets as well. The pickups are Dimarzio in 2 positions with a Super 3 in the bridge and an HS2 in the middle position. The neck pickup is a Sustainer pickup that can also serve as a normal humbucker. The bridge is a double locking Original Floyd Rose. There are a bit more controls than usual. There is a 5 position blade switch. There is a master volume and a master tone and an intensity control for the sustainer. The mini switches turn on the sustainer and switch it from normal mode to harmonic mode.
UTILIZATION
This guitar may look like a typical 80s shred guitar but it sure doesnt feel like one. Phil Collen like super thick necks and this guitar has a super thick neck. Even though the neck is super thick it is not as thick as Phil's personal models which is crazy. The maple neck and fretboard feel pretty smooth. The compound radius helps with playability. 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 lets you get a nice smooth action on the strings where you would most likely be soloing. The fretboard has no inlays so it has a very clean look. This may be a problem for some players but there are always sidedots to look at.
SOUNDS
This guitar has a very 80s tone. Anyone who has heard Def Leppard will recognize the tone. The Super 3 is a modified Dimarzio Super Distortion but with more mid range. With this midrange you can really cut through the 80s effects and have a good tone. The sustainer pickup is pretty cool. It has an active design. You can make notes sustain forever with this pickup. The sustain has two modes. It has a normal sustain mode and the 2nd mode is like a harmonic sustain mode which gives you cool feedback sounds. The 3rd knob on the guitar controls the intensity of the sustain effect. The pickup also sounds pretty decent as a normal humbucker. It has more of a strat sound even though it is a humbucker. The mahogany body on the guitar gives it a thick tone overall. The huge neck also helps with the tone. The guitar comes setup with very heavy strings. Collen personally uses 13s. This guitar is all about getting a heavy tone.
OVERALL OPINION
Although this guitar looks like a normal shred guitar it is very different. It is more built for tone than easy playing. The huge neck makes it a bit hard to play but the mass helps with tone. If you are a fan of Phil Collen you might like this guitar but you must play it first. It has a very deceptive look to it. It does not play like a normal shred guitar. It feels more like a 50s Les Paul than a Jackson.
UTILIZATION
This guitar may look like a typical 80s shred guitar but it sure doesnt feel like one. Phil Collen like super thick necks and this guitar has a super thick neck. Even though the neck is super thick it is not as thick as Phil's personal models which is crazy. The maple neck and fretboard feel pretty smooth. The compound radius helps with playability. 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 lets you get a nice smooth action on the strings where you would most likely be soloing. The fretboard has no inlays so it has a very clean look. This may be a problem for some players but there are always sidedots to look at.
SOUNDS
This guitar has a very 80s tone. Anyone who has heard Def Leppard will recognize the tone. The Super 3 is a modified Dimarzio Super Distortion but with more mid range. With this midrange you can really cut through the 80s effects and have a good tone. The sustainer pickup is pretty cool. It has an active design. You can make notes sustain forever with this pickup. The sustain has two modes. It has a normal sustain mode and the 2nd mode is like a harmonic sustain mode which gives you cool feedback sounds. The 3rd knob on the guitar controls the intensity of the sustain effect. The pickup also sounds pretty decent as a normal humbucker. It has more of a strat sound even though it is a humbucker. The mahogany body on the guitar gives it a thick tone overall. The huge neck also helps with the tone. The guitar comes setup with very heavy strings. Collen personally uses 13s. This guitar is all about getting a heavy tone.
OVERALL OPINION
Although this guitar looks like a normal shred guitar it is very different. It is more built for tone than easy playing. The huge neck makes it a bit hard to play but the mass helps with tone. If you are a fan of Phil Collen you might like this guitar but you must play it first. It has a very deceptive look to it. It does not play like a normal shred guitar. It feels more like a 50s Les Paul than a Jackson.