Jackson is putting on a shred competition with the final to be hosted at a Wargasm gig at The Black Heart in London on Tuesday 8 November, where the fretboard champion on the night will take home one of the high-performance electric guitar brand’s new American Series Soloist SL3s.
Tickets for the gig are free, but limited and by application only. How do you enter the shred competition?
Well, assuming you have spent the necessary hours woodshedding, up all night with Michael Angelo Batio’s Speed Kills and methodically working through the Perpetual Burn tab book, head over to the Wargasm x Jackson website where there is an open call for auditions that will take place on 11 October between 5pm and 6.30pm at The Black Heart in Camden.
There, you can avail yourself of the speedy Soloist SL3, and will be asked to perform for a panel of judges including BBC Radio 1 and Kerrang! Radio presenter Alyx Holcombe, Jackson Artist Marketing Manager Tim Hillier-Brook, and some of the team from the The Black Heart.
The two finalists will then duke it out – sweeps vs taps, alternate picking vs legato, Marquis of Malmsteen rules – onstage with Wargasm for a live audience.
And of course, for the chance to win a high-end electric guitar made in Corona, California, and the first model to be announced in a Jackson series that brings the brand’s its production line models back home to US soil.
Wargasm promise to turn The Black Heart into their “own personal thunderdome” so it won't be a night for the faint-hearted.
Offered in Slime Green, Riviera Blue, Platinum Pearl and Gloss Black, the Soloist SL3 is a classic of the Superstrat genre, featuring a neck-through build, with a maple Speed Neck and solid alder body carefully sculpted to stay out of your way.
It has 24 stainless steel frets – jumbo, of course – and has a Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 humbucker at the bridge, with a pair of Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 single-coils at the middle and neck positions to cover all manner of tones.
Should your competition study piece include some Cory Wong-style funk rhythms, those single-coils have you covered. Just remember to switch it to the ‘bucker when it’s time to burn.
There’s no mention of guitar amps, but Jackson being a Fender-owned brand we are sure they’ll mosey on over to the EVH Gear stock room and find a tube amp head that’s suitably fire-breathing.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the launch of Jackson’s American Series Soloist SL3 than with this unique Wargasm gig at the iconic Black Heart,” said Jackson's Tim Hillier-Brook. “We have built Jackson’s fastest-ever guitar and we can’t wait to see what it can do in the hands of the metal scene’s best players. Put Wargasm on top and it’s going to be a night to remember.”
Once more, head over to Wargasm x Jackson to enter the competition. And over to Seetickets to order tickets. And for more on the Soloist SL3, head to Jackson.
