Scott Ian has played Jackson guitars for decades – as far back as 1982 – so, accordingly, he's amassed quite the collection. And in the latest episode of the guitar giant's Thrashed YouTube series, the Anthrax man offers a glimpse of a few of his favorite electric guitars in his collection.
Perhaps no surprise to anybody familiar with Ian's collection already, he singles out a selection of ultra-pointy six-strings for examination, starting with a Randy Rhoads Concorde.
The guitar – developed by Jackson founder Grover Jackson in partnership with the Ozzy Osbourne guitarist in the early '80s – went on to inspire Jackson's Rhoads series, a cornerstone of its product offering to this day.
“Such a big part of thrash metal was pointy headstock guitars, and Jackson certainly led the way with that,” Ian says. “Everyone saw [this guitar] and was like, ‘Holy shit, what is that thing.”
Next up, Ian picks up one of his NOT guitars, a 1982 Custom Shop Rhoads model sporting a variety of decals, including Sgt. D, the guitarist's cigar-smoking alter-ego from his mid-'80s crossover thrash project, Stormtroopers of Death.
As he explains, the guitar was originally sent to him with a yellow-and-black leopard print finish, but he sent it back and requested it be refinished with the decals we see today.
“I paid for this guitar,” Ian says. “And even in 1982, a Custom Shop Rhoads cost a lot of money. I'm thinking probably in the high twos – $2,700, $2,800. I worked my ass off. I used this on all the touring for Spreading the Disease [and] Among the Living. It's kind of iconic. I still use it. I bust it out on every album.”
Other highlights from the collection include Ian's single-pickup NOT Soloist model – which features the New York Yankees' logo and is notably fretless beyond the 14th fret – and a killswitch-equipped Soloist adorned with the name of his Ian's son, Revel Young – with whom he's recently been posting adorably hard-rocking covers on Instagram – on the fretboard.
There's also a triple-pickup Adrian Smith San Dimas model Ian used on the Big Four tour in 2010 – signed by all members of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax – as well as a guitar inspired by Anthrax's 2011 track, In The End.
Like the track, the latter guitar pays tribute to the late Dimebag Darrell and Ronnie James Dio, with custom artwork depicting the pair by Colorado-based artist Mike Learn. As Ian explains, the guitar is now retired.
“I always get that way with certain guitars – I get to a point where I start getting paranoid that something's gonna happen to them and it's just time for them to stay home,” he says.
“What's so great about the Jackson Custom Shop,” Ian continues, “[is that] they really love when you come in with ridiculous ideas and then they actually get to make them real.”
