At the time of writing, the best guitar in my small collection of guitars is my Jackson RR3. It’s my most expensive guitar and it’s the guitar I planned for more than any other. Why? Randy Rhoads. Ever since seeing footage of Randy Rhoads playing his Jackson I wanted one. The GJ2 Concorde looks very similar to the Jackson Randy Rhoads models. It should too. It’s designed and built by Grover Jackson (Hence the GJ name). Grover Jackson designed this guitar shape with Randy Rhoads. How could you not want a piece of that action?!
The GJ2 Concorde gets its name from the aircraft of the same name. It was apparently the inspiration for the guitar’s design from headstock to body shape. You’ll notice in the image below that the headstock is slightly different in the GJ2 Concorde when compared to the Jackson models. Well, you’ll notice the difference if you’re familiar with the Jackson headstock. I really like the GJ2 headstock design. It just seems to fit perfectly with the soft curve that sits at the other end of the guitar.
Seeing as how I said sits just then, I feel I should mention I find this guitar style incredibly comfortable to sit and play with while practicing/jamming. The GJ2 Concorde looks to me like it might even be easier to play as that curve is more natural than the straight edge finish on my Jackson RR3. This also looks to be a closer match to the original design Grover Jackson and Randy Rhoads created when building Randy’s prototypes.
Let’s look at the specs for the 5-Star Series.
- 3-piece maple through neck construction
- Basswood wings (lighter wood with strong resonance)
- Ebony fingerboard
- Floyd Rose or hardtail bridge
- Pearl Concorde fingerboard inlays
- Habanero humbucker pickups in the bridge and neck positions
I believe the controls are for master volume and master tone with a standard three-way pickup selector switch. I mentioned the Habanero humbucker pickups in that list. If you haven’t clicked the link already, make sure you do. These pickups are also custom made by Grover Jackson and feature in all of the new top-quality GJ2 guitars.
As mentioned before the list, these are the features for the 5-Star Series guitars. There are also 4-Star options for you to choose from. The 4-Star Series feature Rosewood fingerboards, but still include the majority of the other 5-Star Series features.
I’d love to see the hardtail version in the 4-Star or 5-Star Series. I imagine they’re awesome. I can dream.
Disclaimer: I’ve not played this guitar. I have not experienced the sound or feel of this guitar. That doesn’t matter. It looks awesome, it’s obviously played by winners and I want one.
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