Re: Compound radius boards getting popular!!
The compound radius doesn't work for the "traditional Strat/Tele/LP" playing style. It was developed largely to accommodate those who change their hand/fingering style in different areas of the neck more than to keep up with the spread of the radius from the nut to the bridge.
If you hang your thumb over the top of the neck when soloing up high, Jackson's compound radius will eat you alive (unless you've got way huge hands and spidery fingers).
By the same token, if you try "Classical" fingering on a Gibson baseball bat when soloing up high, you'll get crampy (if you've got smallish hands).
There are exceptions of course - Yngwie does it just find on his Fender cue stick necks, though they are scalloped, and Rhoads could tear up a Les Paul that had the neck profile of a '57 BelAir's front bumper.
But it's really no surprise to see Jackson yet again influencing Ibenhad and ESPee. Those two were always chasing Jackson back in the 80s. Ibby changed their RG models to the Dinky body style, put out a Rhoads knockoff, and a few years back came out with a Warrior derivative. ESPee even used the Jackson 6 inline head for years. Their early double-cutaway neckthrough 7/8 Strat-styles were Soloist clones.
Their Lynch guitars are all derived from the Charvels he started out with.
I've yet to see a Jackson Iceman or 3-hum Destroyer, though. Bet they could do it better.
