Jackson has launched its latest Made in Japan model – the MJ Series RR24MG, which once again pays tribute to the legacy of the late electric guitar legend, Randy Rhoads.
Joining the brand’s existing collection of Rhoads V models, this latest entry arrives in two new finishes, and ushers in a handful of appointments that won’t be found on the two existing Japanese-made Rhoads models.
The key differences are in the hardware and pickup departments. The previously released flagship Rhoads RRT – which was treated to a Snow White finish earlier this year – came equipped with Seymour Duncan pickups and an anchored tailpiece.
Here, though, the souped up RR24MG swaps out those Seymours for a set of EMGs – 81 bridge and 85 neck – and drops the tailpiece in favor of a more metal Gotoh GE1996T Series double-locking tremolo.
It goes without saying that these new specs will open up a whole array of sounds and playing styles previously unavailable to the MJ Rhoads range – ones that are closely associated with the late guitar hero.
A word on those new finishes, too, because they also seek to channel authentic Rhoads aesthetics. The first is a Gloss Black with Yellow Pinstripes variant – a classy combo of colors indeed – but Jackson has also paid homage to Rhoad's iconic Concorde model by way of an additional Snow White with Black Pinstripes iteration.
Indeed, the latter has turned out looking remarkably similar to Rhoads’ first-generation Jackson Concorde – which too featured a white with black pinstripe finish and a tremolo system – minus the pinstripes that ran inline with the neck.
Electronics, hardware and appearances aside, the RR24MG features an alder offset V body, a through-body three-piece maple neck with graphite reinforcement, and a 12”-16” compound radius ebony fingerboard.
24 jumbo frets, pearloid sharkfin inlays and Luminlay side dots can also be found, as can Gotoh die-cast tuners and Dunlop dual-locking strap buttons. As for controls, master volume and tone parameters are joined by a standard three-way selector switch.
The RR24MG is available now for $2,999.
Head over to Jackson for more information.
The Rhoads model received its most radical makeover earlier this year, when Suicide Silence’s Mark Heylmun partnered with Jackson to create a brutal seven-string metal machine.
