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tjon901 « The real Alexi signature model »
Published on 06/14/11 at 21:12Jackson does okay in listening to its customers but sometimes they are really late with their models. People were asking for this model for years when Children of Bodom where one of the biggest metal bands around. When the band was becoming huge their frontman Alexi Laiho used a Black 24 fret Jackson RR with a single EMG in the bridge and paint on the bevels. Everyone wanted a guitar like that but you could only order one through the infamous Jackson Custom shop, and if you did that you would probably end up waiting 50 years to get it. Finally Jackson deicded to put out the guitar but only after Alexi Laihos personal guitar got stolen and he switched to ESP guitars. Laiho stated that he went to Jackson to get a replacement but they could not make him one in time. Now Jackson has it as a regular model and it is pretty reasonably priced. You get the Classic RR shape with a 24 fret ebony fretboard with the sharkfin inlays. The electronics are dead simple. It has an 81 in the bridge and a volume knob. Floyd Rose with a locking nut finishes the guitar off.
UTILIZATION
With the RR shape the upper frets are not as easy to reach as they are on most Jacksons but overall the playability is good. The ebony fretboard feels good under your fingers. The neck through design means there is no heel so that is good too. Jacksons at these levels come with compound radius necks. The neck radius moves from 12 to 16 as you go further up the neck. This means that on the higher frets the radius is flatter making it easy to bend but on the low frets its more curved making chords more comfortable. The Floyd Rose on this guitar is of a good quality and will stay in tune when properly setup.
SOUNDS
With the 81 in the bridge this guitar is a metal only machine. EMG makes some of the best pickups for metal. Many players around the world have used these pickups for years. They are active so they need a battery to run. They have a built in preamp which boosts the signal from the strings. The 81 gives you a nice high end gain. You can get an awesome metal tone for modern metal music with this pickup. The sound is tight and punchy. With just the 81 in the bridge the guitar is not that great for clean tones. If you want to make the guitar sound even better with the EMG pickup you can do the 18v mod. With the 18v mod you run the pickup on two 9v batteries instead of one. This gives the guitar a more natural sound overall. It increases the pickups headroom and gives you a more organic tone.
OVERALL OPINION
A few years ago these guitars would be flying off the shelf. Since Alexi switched to ESP new fans of the band have no idea of their history with the classic Jackson guitars. Old school fans of the band will love these guitars. Metal players in general will like these guitars. The shape is metal and they come with metal pickups. What else do you want?
UTILIZATION
With the RR shape the upper frets are not as easy to reach as they are on most Jacksons but overall the playability is good. The ebony fretboard feels good under your fingers. The neck through design means there is no heel so that is good too. Jacksons at these levels come with compound radius necks. The neck radius moves from 12 to 16 as you go further up the neck. This means that on the higher frets the radius is flatter making it easy to bend but on the low frets its more curved making chords more comfortable. The Floyd Rose on this guitar is of a good quality and will stay in tune when properly setup.
SOUNDS
With the 81 in the bridge this guitar is a metal only machine. EMG makes some of the best pickups for metal. Many players around the world have used these pickups for years. They are active so they need a battery to run. They have a built in preamp which boosts the signal from the strings. The 81 gives you a nice high end gain. You can get an awesome metal tone for modern metal music with this pickup. The sound is tight and punchy. With just the 81 in the bridge the guitar is not that great for clean tones. If you want to make the guitar sound even better with the EMG pickup you can do the 18v mod. With the 18v mod you run the pickup on two 9v batteries instead of one. This gives the guitar a more natural sound overall. It increases the pickups headroom and gives you a more organic tone.
OVERALL OPINION
A few years ago these guitars would be flying off the shelf. Since Alexi switched to ESP new fans of the band have no idea of their history with the classic Jackson guitars. Old school fans of the band will love these guitars. Metal players in general will like these guitars. The shape is metal and they come with metal pickups. What else do you want?