MusicRadar Verdict
Just when you thought the entire Jackson catalogue was already “Pure Metal,” the Californian high-performance specialist goes and makes something like this – a pro-quality limited run beast with speed, with firepower, with everything you could want from a metal guitar – just as long as you don’t need a neck pickup.
Pros
- +
Top-quality Bare Knuckle humbucker.
- +
Good weight and super-quick neck.
- +
Reverse headstock gets extra metal points.
Cons
- -
Matte finish attracts fingerprints.
- -
You'd want to upgrade the gig bag.
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What is it?
The Kelly is one of those Jackson guitars that looks like the sort of instrument Conan the Barbarian might play at an open-mic night, its headstock and lower horn serving as examples of how electric guitar anatomy could be used as a means of impalement.
Popularised by Marty Friedman in his early ‘90s Megadeth days, with signature guitar variants in today’s lineup for Brandon Ellis and Jeff Loomis, the Kelly is unapologetically a metal guitar.
But clearly not metal enough. And so, for the second year running, Jackson has given it the Pure Metal treatment, stripping it down to a single pickup, giving it a stealth black finish and a Floyd, grey binding on the body, neck and headstock, grey Jackson logo to make it dark and brutal.
This year’s version swaps out the Fishman Fluence for a Bare Knuckle Holy Diver humbucker, and swaps nickel/chrome hardware for black, and Jackson has performed a Linda Blair move on this Kelly and reversed the headstock for extra heavy points.
Specs
- Launch price: $1,599 | £1,449 | €1,699
- Made: Indonesia
- Type: Six-string electric guitar
- Body: Poplar
- Neck: Maple / three-piece through-neck
- Fingerboard: Ebony with sharfkin inlay, 12”-16” compound radius
- Scale length: 25.5”/658mm
- Nut/width: Floyd Rose 1000 Series locking nut / 42.86mm
- Frets: 24, jumbo stainless steel
- Hardware: Jackson sealed die-cast tuners, Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking vibrato, black
- String spacing at bridge: 55mm
- Electrics: Bare Knuckle Holy Diver humbucker (bridge), volume
- Weight: 8.07lb/3.66kg
- Options: The Pro Plus Pure Metal RR1 Rhoads ($1,649) and SLA1 Soloist ($1,499) are included in this limited edition run; the Pro Series Brandon Ellis Kelly ($1,779) is offered in Green Crackle, the Jeff Loomis Kelly ($1,699) is offered in Black with a basswood body and sandblasted ash top.
- Left-handed options: No
- Finishes: Satin Black
- Cases: Gig bag included
- Contact: Jackson
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★½
This Kelly has an all-over shell matte finish that makes it feel like it was turned out of a mold, or is of extra-terrestrial provenance like the Monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
We are assured there is is wood under it, and that wood comprises poplar wings glued to a three-piece maple neck that runs through it.
While Jackson necks such as this are super-thin, they’re tough as old boots, with graphite rods reinforcing them. The jumbo stainless steel frets are immaculately installed.
The Pro Plus range is Jackson’s premium Indonesian line, and its meticulous when it comes to the fit and finish, even if that Satin Black is murder for attracting fingerprints.
There is no heel-mounted truss rod wheel as found on the American Series and some other Pro Plus models (i.e. Christian Andreu’s Rhoads). Adjustments need to be made the old-fashioned way, at the headstock.
The Floyd Rose 1000 Series is largely similar to the 1500 Series vibratos found on US Jacksons, only the latter has the push-in tremolo arm and stainless steel screws. The Floyd Rose website sells these parts if you wished to upgrade it yourself. They share the same smooth action.
Now, yes, this is a common complaint we have for Pro and Pro Plus series Jacksons, but the gig bag really is a little on the flimsy side. These are serious guitars, and this is not one of those super-padded gig bags that are really soft cases in name. Talk to your local music store. They might cut you a deal.
Playability
Playability rating: ★★★★★
In profile, the Kelly is a lot of guitar; you’ve got to be mindful of what’s behind you. But at a hair over 8lbs this is a good weight
In profile, the Kelly is a lot of guitar; you’ve got to be mindful of what’s behind you. But at a hair over 8lbs this is a good weight.
Minimalism is the order of the day. The electronics are super simple. That Holy Diver humbucker is wired to a single volume control. Just turn it up and play.
You get full access to the fingerboard. The neck is the lowest of lower-case C profiles, barely there, flat behind the thumb, reminding me how Jackson guitars can take a bit of getting used to when you’ve been playing a thicker vintage-style neck.
The tendency is to rush, to overplay, to speed ahead of the beat, and it's remarkable what those slinky stainless steel frets can do for adding an extra bit of zip, and a greasiness for string-bending.
Like the Rhoads, the Kelly is an odd shape that balances perfectly on a guitar strap. Unlike the Rhoads, you can sit on your backside and work through the Tomb of the Mutilated tab book in comfort.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★☆
Bare Knuckle describes the Holy Diver as “a celebration of the original ‘80s hot-rodded humbuckers” and with its Alnico V design, it strikes me as more in the style of a Seymour Duncan JB than the DiMarzio X2N that Vivian Campbell preferred when performing Holy Diver with Dio.
There might be some progressive metal players who are disappointed that we don’t have an active humbucker, or who miss the Fishman, but this does not lack muscle, and with the stripped down controls, this dynamic, slightly mid-forward electric guitar pickup might be the perfect choice. It cleans up better than you might expect.
I don’t miss a neck pickup but a tone control would be useful for rolling some top-end off on busy lead passages. Sweep-pickers might well agree
Still, the Kelly is for those who park themselves at the bridge position and run everything on 10. Through a Blackstar tube amp, with extra juice from a Fulltone OCD overdrive pedal and a little squeeze from the compressor pedal, it eats the gain up.
Personally, I don’t miss a neck pickup but a tone control would be useful for rolling some top-end off on busy lead passages. Sweep-pickers might well agree.
Verdict
Like the best Jackson designs, the KE1A stays out of your way. The 12” to 16” radius fingerboard feels like the platonic ideal for high-performance electrics.
Speed isn’t everything, of course. The Pure Metal Kelly works because its Bare Knuckle humbucker is a pickup with depth
You’ll find it across most Jacksons, and its Fender-owned high-performance sibling brands, EVH and Charvel. And yet on this Kelly, with that neck – with its awesome reversed six-in-line headstock offering some weird psychosomatic aerodynamics – it just feels faster.
Speed isn’t everything, of course. The Pure Metal Kelly works because its Bare Knuckle humbucker is a pickup with depth. It can be percussive when you’re palm-muting. It breathes when playing open chords, those black metal open Emin to Cmin chord progressions sound on point.
Together with that neck-through build boosting sustain, you can hit a natural harmonic, pull down on that Floyd, and you’ve got a squeal that sounds… Well, like the lamentations of your enemies? Maybe. But a few hours throwing riffs around with this and perhaps the answer to the riddle of the steel will become clearer in the mind's eye.
Guitar World verdict: Just when you thought the entire Jackson catalog was already “Pure Metal,” the Californian high-performance specialist goes and makes something like this – a pro-quality limited run beast with speed, with firepower, with everything you could want from a metal guitar – just as long as you don’t need a neck pickup.
Test | Results | Score |
|---|---|---|
Build quality | We've got some top-class specs on a super tidy build. The finish will attract fingerprints, but the only real complaint is the gig bag. | ★★★★½ |
Playability | Another Jackson, another ridiculously quick instrument. | ★★★★★ |
Sounds | It's the Pure Metal Kelly, it has one pickup; it is built for one job only. But that Bare Knuckle is a superb choice for high-gain styles – such a good choice some players might wish there was a second one. | ★★★★☆ |
Overall | A hesher's delight, the Pro Plus Pure Metal Kelly is a real fun time and a serious tool for those serious about the dark arts. | ★★★★½ |
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