also had the Firebird[-style] stuff. We had
Jake E. Lee and Jeff Beck, as well.
What came after the Rhoads model?
Back when metal was exploding, the
Rhoads was so appealing. It started out
with the Rhoads, then the Soloist, the
Kelly, and then the King V. After that, the
Warrior came along.
Why did the company change the name
and logo from Charvel to Jackson?
Jackson didn’t want to call these guitars
Charvel because they were nothing like a
Charvel. Charvels are basically bolt-ons and
are more similar to Fenders, so Jackson only
made sense.
What distinguishes Jackson from other
custom builders?
The guitar player will get what he wants
instead of what the store will sell him. You
have the choice of pickups, fretwire, binding, colors, and odd-shaped necks.
Tell me more about the “odd-shaped necks.”
The earliest Charvel necks were pretty thick
and round. Later on, they just started getting thinner and thinner—in some necks,
Right: The original Concorde V next to Shannon’s copious notes and a studded leather strap
that very well may outweight the guitar itself.
Below: Although Rhoads was often photographed with his first Concorde V, some players
may be surprised to learn it has a 3-way pickup
selector that was usually out of view in concert
photos. Shannon isn’t certain whether Rhoads
made specific electronics requests, but the
Tribute Relic features Duncan SH4 (bridge) and
SH-2N humbuckers and Les Paul-style controls.
