Jackson Rhoads RRX24 - Red with Black Bevels Reviews

Super light and comfortable to play. The pups sound awesome AND it has a reverse headstock. Absolutely my favorite guitar, no question. Excellent build quality too, honestly impressive. When I play it I feel like Randy even though Im terrible but that's was really matters! Definitely get strap locks though because the neck wants to dive down a little.

Preface (skip ahead to next paragraph for review): I haven't played guitar in about a decade aside from an old acoustic I have. Before that I was a touring punk/ metal musician for a decade. I payed a 60's Gibson Les Paul Classic, my favorite guitar I ever touched, and a B.C. Rich Warlock (don't remember the exact model but had EMG 81/85), loved the way it sounded, hated how it played. I also had owned a Gibson Les Paul studio at one time as well, hated the neck. Unfortunately after not making it as a professional musician I had to sell a lot of gear to pay bills. I use this just to give a reference point to my review. It's been a decade since I shredded, time flies and life gets busy. Anyways, I recently decided to pick the ole axe back up. First I was shocked at prices now, which I shouldn't it's been a decade, but second, I noticed quality of some companies have decreased and others have increased. I always wanted a Jackson and a Rhoads. I saw this guitar and it made me want to play again, that's honestly why I bought it. It gave me the fire to want to shred for the first time in a decade. I slept on it for a month before and legit would have dreams about it. After a lot of research I realized Jackson is a solid company for price vs value in todays market but again, I was already kinda sold at love at first sight. I like to dive like Dimebag so this fit all the check marks especially those blackouts! What a great value for a neck through with premium pickups! Hey I can upgrade the Floyd later! I never had experience with a compound radius neck but I was excited to try. My Les Paul Classic had a 60's slim taper d, which was my favorite just for comparison. Anyways, about the actual guitar now!

So I was worried to buy an axe I never played, that disappointed was quickly diminished when I picked this bad lady up!

She far exceeds my expectations. The neck is so comfortable. It's a thin u/d compound and has a 12"to 16" radius. Making it easy to chord up top and shred down low. Super easy pinched harmonics. It's very thin and I really love this guitar. It plays itself. The whammy bar is so much fun! Played all day yesterday til I broke strings already, they were sitting in a box so I kind of expected that anyways.

Neck: I'm use to playing a 60's slim taper d on a Gibson les Paul classic. I have to say I like this a little better for what I do. I'm not playing any rock and roll anymore I've upgraded solely to metal and this neck gives fantastic chording while making runs easy! Like I said it's a thin u/d with a 12"-16" radius. It makes it super easy to get pinched harmonics too. The compound neck is just really sweet! I love how easy this thing is to play! I have smaller hands too, for reference a size s/m glove. So if you have small hands this neck is a dream!

Pickups: I love these blackouts! Super hot, very clear, and I honestly like them better then the emgs I had in years pass. These seem to give me more control then they did. They are a little lead focused but I like that. But they play some heavy a$$ chugs! I love them. The clarity is just awesome. Some say they are muddy, but not as muddy as emgs. So I don't know, I don't see it. Don't sleep on these! I'm running a blackout I'd core 100 for reference. (Awesome amp, review to follow)

Body: I love the shape and weight of this guitar. The poplar is fine, don't get caught up by tone snobs who can't actually tell the difference since pickups and amps dictated sound in an electric guitar. Coming from a LP to a Rhoads I was worried but I have no issue with sitting or standing with the Rhoads in fact this guitar is more comfortable standing due to weight and the ability to access the frets due to the v design. Sitting I have zero issues, but I've played in a lot of compromised positions in life. I don't have a problem with the design effecting comfort sitting or standing. Unless you're extremely particular, the shape shouldn't effect anything.

Floyd rose: it's a special, but it's honestly holding tune extremely well! I was going to change it but as of now I'm very satisfied for the week of abuse I put on it! We'll see how it holds up. But I have little concerns at this point.

And finally like all guitars make sure to have a tech/ luthier set it up if you aren't inclined to do so yourself. The action was a little high on arrival but bit terrible. If you do it yourself block the bridge, save yourself a headache! I had this bad lady set up perfectly to d standard! I love my Shredorita! I can't stop shredding. Don't hesitate to by this axe and as always, Shred on!

My only regret is that this guitar is not very comfortable to play sitting down, but I do not care. I love this guitar and I bought it without trying it out first.
Sounds great to me and very happy with my selection.

For the money, I've not yet seen a better guitar. I am really enjoying this one. I didn't really care about the setup when I received it because I immediately changed the string gauges and did my own setup for drop-D tuning. However I will say that the truss was perfect for the original tuning and kept its shape once I moved to a similar string gauge setup for drop-D. It was easy to get the action precisely how I like it, and this guitar is surprisingly easy to play. I actually got the black one with toxic green colored bevels, I love that color and I can't stop looking at the guitar. It takes some adjusting to playing a V body style compared to my other guitars but boy it is fun and good-looking. The tone coming out of the humbuckers is great for the style of music I am playing, which is mainly grunge/punk/thrash/hair. The tone options aren't anywhere near as extensive as a couple of my other guitars, but are more than adequate for what I plan to do with this guitar. Sounds great! Amazing sustain on the higher notes. High-quality double-locking tremolo. Can't lose with this one.

This thing plays like a dream. It was set up perfectly right out of the box. Just needed to be tuned. The action was super low but not buzzy. Perfect. The pickups sound awesome. I play heavy music so this gem fit my style perfectly. Not only does it look awesome. But it plays and sounds awesome,

This is a great guitar, awesome pickups,went cheap on the Floyd Rose though. My Jackson Demmelition King V came with an Original Floyd Rose. I will be replacing the Floyd Rose Special with the GOTOH GE1996T Floyd Rose which is said to be superior to the Original Floyd Rose for longevity. I've done some research on the Floyd Rose Special and its subpar for such a kick *** guitar.