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Jackson’s all-new signature guitar for Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland is finally here, and it’s a recreation of his iconic King V that began life as a factory floor reject.
Built on a foundation of Borland’s “boundary-pushing approach to performance and tone” and promising “uncompromising power and raw sonic intensity”, the Pro Series Signature Wes Borland King V has been a long time coming.
Borland's affection for weird and wonderful guitars is well-known. Some of his past hits include a custom four-string guitar-bass hybrid from PRS, and the model that inspired this new signature – which started out as a left-handed factory reject.
Borland recalled the guitar's origin in a 2013 interview with Total Guitar, recalling how he stumbled across the oddball V while perusing a range of faulty builds. After coming across an unwanted southpaw model, he converted it to a right-handed configuration, and it became one of his Number One instruments.
So, yes, this new signature is a left-handed V flipped the other way around – exactly like Borland's original – and the Jackson logo on its pointed headstock remains upside down in honor of that.
Other key features include Seymour Duncan Invader SH8 humbuckers to deliver high-output tones and “razor-sharp clarity,” and a recessed Floyd Rose 1500 Series bridge, which can handle screaming dive bombs until the cows come home. The volume knob has also been kept well out of the way.
Built with a neck-through construction, which in turn gets graphite reinforcement, it can withstand whatever insanity Borland puts it through.
“It’s taking me a long time to figure out what I need as a guitar player,” Borland confesses. And who knew a simple error would lead him to such a unique trademark six-string.
“For me, you just need volume, pickups, a locking tremolo system, and 24 frets, that’s it,” he adds. “Live, it just needs to be as bulletproof as possible. I’ve come to realize that the more streamlined our guitars are, the fewer problems we have on stage.
“Jackson is fun, the over-the-top, shred-a-copter shapes, and my outrageous stage costumes pushing the boundaries, this fits in more with that. It’s fricking crazy; it’s about time!”
It was while recording Bizkit’s trash-tinged record, The Unquestionable Truth, in 2004, that Borland got his first Jackson, grabbing a used Rhoads V from a local guitar shop. That became “a big part of the album”, before producer Ross Robinson gave him his 1981 Jackson Rhoads, and his love affair with Jackson Vs has remained red-hot since.
“Wes Borland is unlike anyone else in nu-metal,” says Peter Wichers, Product Development Manager at Jackson Guitars. “Being involved in the development of his Signature King V has been an incredibly cool project, and I think that shows in every inch of this guitar.”
The Jackson Pro Series Signature Wes Borland King V KV is available now for $1,299.99 / £1,199 / €1,399.
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For those chasing every inch of Borland’s sound, the guitar will pair well with his signature STL plugin suite.
