The Story behind Doug Aldrich's Signature Jackson Guitar

Hello friends Johnny here. I finally got around to discussing this guitar. I was in the right place at the right time when i got this from a certain really good guitarist years ago :-) . Enjoy the read.

Theres is information out there about these guitars on forums and such that interjects much hearsay and speculation. I will only give you the facts. Thats why people started calling me Johnny The Sensei of vintage 1980s guitars 先生.

I will explain in below reading why this signature Jackson was a Japan Only guitar. The serial numbers for Doug’s personal signature DA guitar Flame are all DAXXXX and all other internet sources state incorrect information about these serial numbers. This is a 1992 guitar and first production guitar manufactured in the run of DA Signature guitars.

Grover Jackson DA Flame

I owned this guitar for years and sold it recently. This guitar was virtually custom made in 1992 by the same shop in Japan that produced The Model Series Charvels. You may view our sale pictures of this guitar at the following link.

http://alienxnation.com/guitars/jackson-charvel-doug-aldrich-signature-guitar-da-professional-flamere more photos at this link>>

One thing to understand about Doug Aldrich and both the bands Lion and Hurricane is that they both had limited success in the USA. Doug was really young and new on the larger music scene. Yet, in Japan all Doug’s bands including Hurricane, which initially featured Rudy Sarzo’s brother Robert Sarzo on guitar, were very very popular.

In the year 1990 the Sunset Strip bands were many. Lion and Hurricane were contenders in a saturated market. Funnier thing is that Lion didn’t do many gigs on the Sunset Strip that i knew of. Of course as a face on the Sunset Strip during those years I would have known about such shows.

Neither Hurricane nor Lion garnered a large following on the streets of Hollywood USA by doing a lot of shows in small clubs as did many Glam bands. Although Hurricane did do some shows in LA. KNAC Radio in California was playing their tunes just a little, and not very much, in the KNAC radio rotation of songs. Then there was a video for Hurricane on MTV featuring Doug Aldrich..

Those years were just too saturated with Glam Bands. So Both of those groups had mediocre success at best in the USA. I was at one original Hurricane shows at the Waters Club located at 1331 S. Pacific Ave. in San Pedro California and there a photo of a flyer attached to this post.

I can also remember In a window of the Roxy Theater on Sunset Blvd. there was a long standing poster of Hurricane. Hurricane was one of those highly promoted bands that basically skipped the small clubs and went strait to opening for larger rock bands. Rudy Sarzo pulled some music industry strings for his bother as a good sibling should…

Now Lion, in the mid 80s I had heard some gossip. A local band called Roxanne was on the same label as Doug’s band Lion and also had licensing problems in the USA. They were signed to Scotti Bros Records. Again, all Dougs bands became a very “big deal” in Japan because of the love for great guitar playing by the Japanese people. The band Bad Mood Rising is another topic on its own but needless to say BMR was much more popular in Japan than the USA. In 1991 Grunge music killed Glam metal in the USA while Doug was working on this band project. But LA Glam Metal lived on in Japan and inspired Visual Kei (ヴィジュアル系; Vijuaru Kei).

This is all relevant to set the stage for why Dougs Signature Jackson was a Japan Only guitar. It was released in Japan for the domestic Japanese market. Some guitars made it to insiders of which a couple orr so went to Doug Aldrich here in the USA like the one in my below photos. Grover Jackson also became a personal guitar luthier for Doug while Doug was being courted by Jackson guitars. Several Jacksons were refinished and repaired for Doug at the Ontario California Jackson headquarters.

As I mentioned in my story about The Sunset Strip Era in the mid 1980s Doug lived in LA and I would see him at The Troubadour once i a while. For a short time in 1985-1986-ish The Troubadour was the place to hang out if you were a Sunset Strip partier because Guns and Roses were basically the house band at the Troubadour way before GNR ever had a record contract. You’d see the same faces at the Troubadour then and Doug was part of those faces as was myself. He became a rock star. I did not … LOL

On to the Jackson thing. Grover Jackson had a common statement that he would tell people that i heard him say many times and that was that “Jackson Guitars didn’t really do endorsements”. Grover Jackson was truthful with that statement to some extent with a few exceptions. Mr. Jackson could recognize a great talent and early on supplied Doug Aldrich with “some guitars”. The following advertisement exposes some inkling of that.

Notice that the advertisement is for Charvel Fort Worth Texas. Which was the import wing of Jackson Charvel Guitars!

doug-aldrich-jackson-004.jpg

So here we go. Without getting away from the subject matter of the DA guitar, Mr. Grover Jackson was losing financial control of Jackson Guitars to investors by 1990. The import line of Charvels Jacksons were selling many units worldwide. Doug was enrolled in a marketing program that was meant to boost sales of Japanese Jackson guitars sold in Japan which was proving to be very profitable for the overall brand of Jackson Charvel and profitable for Chushin Gakki Aka The Charvel Japan Group.

Considered the Japanese wing of Jackson Charvel. Chushin Gakki was also the manufacturer and distributer of all import Charvel Jackson Guitars in Japan in the 1980s. Later Chushin Gakki would become Caparison Guitars. The Charvel Japan Group had several Japanese artists as endorsees with their own Charvel Jackson made in Japan signature guitars. Basically because of the popularity of Bad Mood Rising and Doug Aldrich he became a Charvel Jackson Japan Endorsee.

Also the production line Fort Worth Charvels and Japanese Jacksons ( Grover Jackson, Jackson Professional, and other Jackson branded guitars ) proved to be profitable for the overall Jackaon Charvel Corporation. It was all in the numbers. Remember Jackson guitars made in Ontario California were marketed as “custom” guitars. In many respects USA Jacksons were custom and short runs of certain unique guitars. Yet, what did the financial numbers say for Jackson Guitars USA in the 1990s? Its simple business profit and loss. It was very costly to produce guitars in the USA. Today guitars are mostly crap made oversees and the 1980s is when USA manufacturing started to shift offshore.

Here is Doug with his custom made Jackson USA guitar.

doug-aldrich-jackson-005.jpg

HERE ARE SOME DETAILED PHOTO OF THIS DA FLAME BEFORE IT SHIPPED TO MY CUSTOMER.

Enjoy the pics, Johnny - Owner AXN™Guitars ( The SENSEI OF VINTAGE 1980'S GUITARS 先生 )

doug-aldrich-prototype-signature-flame.jpg

This is one of a few Jackson USA guitar Grover Jackson gave to Doug and has a flame finish. It has a Duncan in the bridge and a LP style selector switch. It was manufactured at the 4452 Airport Drive Ontario California 91761 within miles of my childhood home. I have photos of the Jackson Ontario California facility I will post in another thread. It was a small manufacturing facility in an industrial area close to the Ontario International Airport. Doug visited there to get the details worked out for every guitar that Grover gave to him. Grover invited many rockers to that place and it was an awesome guitar shop in every respect.

Doug Aldrich Quote 1994:
"During the time I was deciding on what to use on my signature guitars, I had this prototype made. When I received it, it had an orange painted body with blue flames. I didn't like that, so I refinished the orange part black. This guitar sounds awesome for rhythm tones. I used this a lot on the new album Highcentered.”

The Four Official Doug Aldrich Jackson Guitars

Doug Aldrich - Flame

doug-aldrich-signature-jackson-guitar_flame.jpg

  • Body - Ash

  • Neck - Quartersawn maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock

  • Neck - scale25 1/2 inch, 24F

  • Fingerboard - Ebony (12F - 24F shallow scallop)

  • Inlays - Reverse sharkfin, pearl

  • Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06

  • Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171

  • Fret size - .118 x .114 x .051 x .037

  • Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood

  • Pickup bridge - Seymour Duncan Custom

  • Pickup neck - Grover Jackson J-100S

  • Controls - 1 vol, 2-Way push switch

  • Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessedFinishFlame

Doug Aldrich - Psycho

doug-aldrich-signature-jackson-guitar_psycho.jpg

  • Body - Ash

  • Neck - Quartersawn maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock

  • Neck - scale 25 1/2 inch, 24F

  • Fingerboard - Ebony (12F - 24F shallow scallop)

  • Inlays - Reverse sharkfin, pearl

  • Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06

  • Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171Fret size.118 x .114 x .051 x .037

  • Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood

  • Pickup bridge - Seymour Duncan Custom

  • Pickup neck - Grover Jackson J-100S

  • Controls - 1 vol, 2-Way push switch

  • Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessed

  • Finish - Flame

Doug Aldrich - Psycho Y-O

doug-aldrich-signature-jackson-guitar_custom_psychoyo.jpg

  • Body - Mahogany

  • Neck - Maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock

  • Neck - scale 25 1/2 inch, 24F

  • FingerboardR - osewood (12F - 24F shallow scallop)

  • InlaysReverse sharkfin, pearl

  • Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06

  • Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171Fret size.118 x .114 x .051 x .037

  • Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood

  • Pickup bridge - Grover Jackson J-DA

  • Pickup neck - Grover Jackson S-6F

  • Controls - 1 vol, 3-way toggle switch

  • Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessed

  • Finish - Psycho Y-O (Yellow-Orange)

Doug Aldrich - Psycho G-B

doug-aldrich-signature-jackson-guitar_custom_psychogb.jpg

  • Body - Mahogany

  • Neck - Maple, bolt-on, reverse headstock

  • Neck scale - 2 5 1/2 inch, 24F

  • Fingerboard - Rosewood (12F - 24F shallow scallop)

  • Inlays - Reverse sharkfin, pearl

  • Machineheads - Grover Jackson SG38-06

  • Fret wire - Rockwell C6/Brinell 171Fret size.118 x .114 x .051 x .037

  • Pickup mount - Both direct mounted into the wood

  • Pickup bridge - Grover Jackson J-DA

  • Pickup neck - Grover Jackson S-6F

  • Controls - 1 vol, 3-way toggle switch

  • Bridge - Schaller JT-590 Grover Jackson, non-recessed

  • Finish - Psycho G-B (Green-Blue)

Info
Written by AlienXnation On