Jackson has launched a new limited edition trio of electric guitars that it is calling the Pro Plus Pure Metal range and it comprises Soloist, Kelly and Rhoads – all in gloss black – with a stripped-down single-pickup configuration and some serious premium specs.
We’re talking 24 jumbo stainless steel frets as standard, ebony fingerboards, sharkfin pearloid inlays, classic Jackson style – with six-in-line pointy headstocks across the board. Jackson logo in Creme, matching the binding on the body, and that’s really the only decorative flourish in what is otherwise gloss black, no messing.
Oh, and there are chrome knurled metal control knobs too to match the chrome Floyd Rose 1000 Series vibrato. Well, knobs, plural across the series, but these just have a single master volume knob with a push/pull function for the alternative pickup voicing – no messing with a tone pot here.
Aesthetically, the vibe here is kind of Countdown To Extinction-era Megadeth. We could see Marty Friedman playing that Kelly back in the day. Though this is quite a different take on the model.
Like the others in the range, we have a single Fishman Fluence Modern humbucker at the bridge. All have the same three-piece maple neck, with the neck-through build that we’ve come to know and love.
The bodies are solid poplar. The fingerboards conform to Jackson’s current dimensions, with that 12” to 16” compound radius a very playable platform for chord-work and ripping leads alike. The fundamentals are not that radical; we have a 25.5” scale length as standard. These are not build for shrinking violets. The invitation to overplay is implied.
Glow-in-the-dark Luminlay side dot markers aid fingerboard navigation – and with all that stainless steel fretwork the ride should be super smooth and slinky.
Jackson offers a gig bag with these but they are typically not that great, so you’ll probably going to want to sweet-talk your local guitar store into throwing a hard-shell guitar case into the deal – especially with all those pointy edges on the Rhoads and Kelly.
The Pro Plus Pure Metal range is priced £1,349/$1,299 for the Soloist, £1,399/$1,399 for the Kelly, and £1,399/$1,499 for the Rhoads. See Jackson Guitars for more details. Jackson has made a busy start to 2025, unveiling a fleet of signature guitars in April.
Jackson gave Misha Mansoor of Periphery's Juggernaut a fresh lick of paint and the option of a six-saddle hardtail or an EverTune bridge. And it might well have just dropped the metal guitar of the year in Dave Davidson's new signature WR7 Warrior, which is now offered in Ferrari-inspired red and yellow finishes.
Last but not least, it finally unveiled – arguably – the most anticipated signature model of 2025, the Pro Series LM-87 Lee Malia [pictured above], which resurrected and reimagined the Surfcaster offset guitar for the Bring Me The Horizon guitarist.
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