Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

[stevie_bees]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

You have a long association with Seymour Duncan pickups. Which SD pickups have you/do you use/d in your guitars?

 

[elscorcho]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Thanks for taking your time to be here! Its a HUGE deal & we appereciate it!

....Most of the questions i'd have asked have already been asked so:

Do you have a favorite guitar that would surprise us to know really enjoy?
:thanks:

 

[Grover Jackson]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

this is somewhat mentioned in KeeperOS's post, so you may answer it in your response to that, but here it is anyway-

what is your personal favorite guitar, your go-to guitar that you own and play/enjoy the most?

thanks, and welcome.

Well...actually I have two guitars that have been my favs for about a year and a half. As part of the short term deal I did with Fender, they owed me a couple of guitars. I had several real light weight ash body blanks I had been carrying around for years so I had Chris Fleming make me two Esquires. One Surf Green and one Fiesta Red. Chris is my broheem and he kicked the can hard down the street. They are just fabulous and I've played more since I got them than I have in years.

 

[jmh151]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Who came up with the idea of the compound radius?

I'm a proud owner of a Jackson Soloist and Charvel Pro Mod, and I notice for some reason they make me want to play better and faster, maybe the compund radius is the reason?

 

[jmh151]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Also, what involvement did you have with Ed Roman? For a while he claimed you were making the necks for his Quicksilver guitars

 

[Grover Jackson]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Welcome! You were clearly influential in the popularity of the neck-through guitars. Can you describe how the neck-through construction influenced your choice of wood types for the side wings? Was it different than a bolt-on or set-neck, or did you pretty much just go by the same guidelines? Do you have a favorite wood combination for a neck through?

I have real mixed feelings about neck through. I'm really in a bolt on state of mind right now.

 

[Grover Jackson]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Also, what involvement did you have with Ed Roman? For a while he claimed you were making the necks for his Quicksilver guitars

I like pirates and Ed's a pirate. Having said that, I did talk to Ed abaout some work a while ago but nothing ever came of it.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Thanks for the previous response! Im sorry the thread was so vast. :eyecrazy:

I thought this hadnt been asked and is appropriate. Jacksons and the Washburns during your time there featured Duncan pickups. (The ones in my Washies are special labeled) Aside from them being the best, (wink wink)
What was the decision to use Duncans over other avail brands? The JB is very common in Jacksons.

 

[Grover Jackson]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

You have a long association with Seymour Duncan pickups. Which SD pickups have you/do you use/d in your guitars?

What can you say about Seymour other than he's the genesis...the original. The guy who cared enough to figure out what a great guitar pickup ought to be and then acted on it. Cathy, Seymour and I go WAY back.

For years the JB was the one and I still love it but maybe it's my advanced age but the more vintage vibe does it for me now. I had a Tele pickup that he made for me that was magic...but it's disappeared in the sands of time...damn.

btw, that is one of the great bonds between Seymour and I...Tele's

 

[Grover Jackson]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Thanks for the previous response! Im sorry the thread was so vast. :eyecrazy:

I thought this hadnt been asked and is appropriate. Jacksons and the Washburns during your time there featured Duncan pickups. (The ones in my Washies are special labeled) Aside from them being the best, (wink wink)
What was the decision to use Duncans over other avail brands? The JB is very common in Jacksons.

It was the quality factor but also the image factor. We were trying to establish the Washburn USA guitars as a premium brand and honestly having the premium pickup made sense.

Somewhere back up the foodchain there was a question about Washburn and I didn't take the opportunity to elaborate. What I feel like I discovered was that consumers....that's you guys...alsready had an image in your head about what a Washburn was. I mean that generally obviously. But that image did not include high end well made USA electrics. so our pricing was very affordable given the quality and retail prining of the time but we couldn't give the guitars away. It was all perception....you know eating the menu not the steak.

 

[Bandaner]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Hi! I really appreciate your guitars!
My question is this, probably you know that the Steve Vai's Jem model started from his Jackson guitar, how do you feel about this?

 

[Vincent Vespa]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Who was responsible for making the Jackson pickups and what was the mind set that went in to making them?

 

[BloodRose]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

It was the quality factor but also the image factor. We were trying to establish the Washburn USA guitars as a premium brand and honestly having the premium pickup made sense.

Somewhere back up the foodchain there was a question about Washburn and I didn't take the opportunity to elaborate. What I feel like I discovered was that consumers....that's you guys...alsready had an image in your head about what a Washburn was. I mean that generally obviously. But that image did not include high end well made USA electrics. so our pricing was very affordable given the quality and retail prining of the time but we couldn't give the guitars away. It was all perception....you know eating the menu not the steak.

Sadly, Washburn still seems to hold this stigma. I have one of the WM526 models and it's stellar! But their other models such as th HM24 are on ebay at a fraction of the orig price and they are incredible guitars for the money.

The MG and mercury series are as good as any Ive played and are very reasonable.


One last thing. Good luck with the daughters!! I have 4 daughters and a son. And now, grey hair...

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

In all fairness they don't seem to be doing much to change that.
Back in January I asked them among other about a custom guitar and they more or less blew me off...

So, what was that made the Mercury series end up so different than your Jackson Guitars designs?
Or was it just the times?

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Hey Grover, I thought I'd chime in with a quick personal question. Do you remember walking around the Ikebukuro section of Tokyo with me in the mid-90s during one of those guitars shows in Sunshine City? That was my first trip to Japan and you pretty much showed me the ropes like how to order in a restaurant by taking the waiter outside and pointing to the plastic food.

That was a great time. I just wanted to say -- very belatedly -- thanks!

 

[Jessie Sammler]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Thank you for making the time to be with us today, Grover. I know your work best by way of the company that bears your name, and I'd just like to say "Thanks!" for making these possible:

 

[Captain Tightpants]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Thanks for doing this chat with us, Mr. Jackson. I don't have any intelligent questions for you, but I wanted to say you guys did some awesome work back then in San Dimas!! I wasn't a huge fan of the Rhoads body shape, but I acquired an '84 Rhoads Student a little while back, and I'm a convert. NOW I understand why people love those older Jackson guitars so much!!!

Actually, I do have a question. That '84's neck feels a lot like the neck on my '77 Les Paul Deluxe, was that something Randy wanted, a neck that felt similar to his Les Paul?

And since pics are being posted, thanks for making this now battered old gem as well !!!

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Back in January I asked them among other about a custom guitar and they more or less blew me off...

FYI, Washburn has totally new owners and a new management team.

 

[Grover Jackson]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Hi! I really appreciate your guitars!
My question is this, probably you know that the Steve Vai's Jem model started from his Jackson guitar, how do you feel about this?

Steve and I go back to when he first left Frank Zappas band and joined Alkatraz. Jimmy Waldo, the keyboard player, was a friend of mine from Vinnie Vincent (Cusano). It's an involved story but I loaned Steve a guitar of mine that became the 'Green Meanie'. From there I made several more gutiars for Steve. But...those were the days when guitar companies began paying for or compensating artists for endorsements. We didn't believe in that and as a result a lot guys went where they could get paid. I don't blame them and I understand the rationale I just didn't want to play the game that way.

As far as the JEM being based on a Jackson...they didn't call them SuperStrats for nothing.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

Re: LIVE - Guest Luthier Series - Grover Jackson

FYI, Washburn has totally new owners and a new management team.

Oh I knew that already, I simply meant that they seem to be comfortable filling that mid-level niche than going the high-end custom shop level stuff like those 90's Mercury series guitars.

Again, amazing quality and mojo oozing out of them (especially the MG-122)