Jackson Rhoads
| Manufacturer | Jackson Guitars |
|---|---|
| Period | 1981 - present |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Neck-thru and bolt-on |
| Body | Different, often alder |
| Neck | Different, often maple |
| Fretboard | Different, often ebony |
| Bridge | Fixed, Floyd Rose tremolo or tune-o-matic |
| Pickup(s) | 1 or 2 humbuckers |
| Various, including custom finish graphics | |
The Jackson Rhoads is a model of electric guitar, originally commissioned by guitarist Randy Rhoads and produced by Jackson Guitars.
Randy Rhoads' first Jackson prototype was the white, pinstriped, asymmetrical Flying V built by Grover Jackson, Tim Wilson, and Mike Shannon of Charvel Guitars.
The guitar featured a maple neck and body (neck through body), ebony fretboard, medium frets, style tremolo, and Seymour Duncan pickups. The prototype was the first from the Charvel works to be labeled with Jackson's name.
The guitar was originally slated to be called The Original SIN, but Randy nicknamed it Concorde after the sleek, white supersonic aircraft.
Randy re-designed the next prototype because he felt the shape of the 'Concorde' was not distinctive enough from the traditional Flying V. His solution was to elongate the top 'horn' of the instrument such that the body bore more resemblance to a shark's fin.
The second prototype featured the revised body shape, was black with a gold pickguard, and fixed tailpiece with strings anchored in the body. This guitar featured Grover locking tuners and Seymour Duncan humbucking pickups (TB-4 bridge and a SH-2 neck).
Two more prototypes were commissioned (which makes them four in total), another string through body example (later accidentally sold at NAMM) and another black and brass tremolo model with reversed shark fin inlays. Rhoads died in a plane crash in March 1982, before these two guitars were completed, and before he could give Grover any feedback. These revised prototypes would become the first guitars sold to the public under the Jackson Guitars brand name.
The ensuing popularity of Randy Rhoads and the Rhoads model helped put Jackson's name on the map.
Vinnie Vincent, formerly of Kiss, was the first professional guitarist to be offered an early Rhoads guitar by Jackson after Rhoads' death, which Vincent used on the Kiss Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up tours from 1982 until 1984. Following Vincent's departure from Kiss, he modified the Rhoads V design by adding a second V at a slight rotation to the first such that it mimics a shadow. Jackson made at least 3 of these Vincent modified Rhoads Vs from 1985 to 1988 for Vincent, and about 25 others were custom ordered and sold. The design would later be copied by Carvin, Ibanez, Washburn Guitars, as well as to numerous boutique brands, all with Vinnie Vincent's cooperation.
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