Jackson Guitars

Jackson is a guitar manufacturer originally owned and operated by Grover Jackson, a partner of Wayne Charvel of Charvel Guitar Repair. It is probably best-known for its "Rhoads" V model guitar, originally designed and used by guitarist Randy Rhoads.This model inspired Grover to start the Jackson guitar company. Jacksons today are most notable for their outstanding quality and fast playability.

Wayne Charvel sold his interest in the Charvel name to Grover Jackson on November 10, 1978. The shop was located in Glendora, California (while using a PO Box in neighboring San Dimas) and manufactured guitars in this location from 1979 to 1986, when the Company merged with IMC (International Music Corporation), a Texas based importer of musical instruments. The factory then moved to Ontario, California.

In the Fall of 2002, Fender Guitar Company purchased Jackson/Charvel, and operations were moved to the Fender factory in Corona, CA. Fender is now manufacturing guitars that are almost exactly like the original San Dimas Charvels, save for a few details. Both Jackson and Charvel models are being produced at Corona.

Jackson Guitars has become most famous for its slender and elegant models, often with an aggressive look popular with harder rock and metal music and are known for their fast playing necks. These features made them particuarly popular among extreme metal guitarists in the 80's and early 90's). Jacksons are known for their excellent quality and relatively low prices.

Almost all Jackson (and many Charvel) guitars share the typical pointed, roughly triangular headstock, originally designed by Randy Rhoads and subsequently copied by many guitar companies. Various models (especially a good number of Dinkys) feature a reversed pointy headstock with the tip pointing upwards. Charvel/Jackson was the target of many copyright lawsuits from Fender which ended the use of Stratocaster styled headstocks for Jackson and Charvel guitars until recently.

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