Revered American luthier Grover Jackson is working an an all-new range of electric guitars, it has emerged. The news was shared on instagram by Morgan Amps founder Joe Morgan, and the new guitars will sell as Morgan Electrics.
Why do you care? Well, alongside Wayne Charvel, Jackson took the concept of a customised, hot-rodded rock axe and made it a reality, first with Charvel and subsequently with Jackson guitars.
Such was the impact of the instruments that were being produced under his watch at the time, that his work was deployed by the storied likes of Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Alex Lifeson, Warren DeMartini and even Gary Moore.
Along the way he established Charvel as a major player, and founded Jackson Guitars before cashing out in the late '80s, selling the brands into Japanese ownership.
He continued to work at Charvel/Jackson before a '90s stint at Washburn which, amongst many other things, saw the birth of the Washburn Dime series of Dimebag Darrell signature models.
Now, Morgan says his latest collaboration was triggered when Grover moved to Tennessee, where Morgan Amps is based.
“When I found out that Grover had moved to Tennessee and was building guitars again, I just jumped at the chance," remarks Morgan. "So I called up Grover and said, ‘Can you build me some guitars that do this?’'’
“I know a lot about guitar amplifiers and I love building guitar amplifiers. The thing I don't know how to do is build a guitar,” he continues.
“But I do know what I like in a guitar. I know I want vintage radius up at the nut, but I want playability by the time I get to the 12th fret. So I can say things like ‘compound radius’, but do I know how to do that? Absolutely not."
And it seems he's happy with the resulting range of Strat- and Tele-style guitars, which are all priced at $2,899 and inspired by vintage specs and classic materials, with ash and alder bodies, plus rosewood and maple fretboards.
“Grover’s knocked it out of the park,” confirms Morgan. “He’s made a truly vintage-feeling guitar for me that doesn’t cost $20,000. Hell, it doesn’t even cost as much as the Fender Custom Shop stuff, but I would put it up against any of the Custom Shop stuff I own. It is just an absolutely beautiful guitar that plays like a dream.”
For more info head to Morgan Electrics.
