Marty Friedman Signature Guitar

Jackson And The Marty Friedman Signature Guitar

Jackson Guitars is a musical instrument company started in 1980.

Grover Jackson was part owner in Charvel Guitar Repair of Glendora, California, in the 1970s and took over the total interest of Charvel in November of 1978.

The brand originated when former frontman Ozzy Osbourne’s new guitarist Randy Rhoads approached Grover for a concept guitar.

Jackson collaborated with Rhoads and his Charvel Team to create the now-iconic “Concorde.”

Because of the vast departure of design from the Charvels “Stratocaster- style” models, Jackson opted to label this new guitar under his name.

The designs which sparked the now-iconic company have evolved from the initial Rhoads Models to models like the…

• Dinky
• Soloist 
• King V and
• Kelly.

Over Four Decades

The Jackson brand is now associated with high-quality guitars that are American-made and popular with many artists worldwide but also creating less expensive Asian versions (Indonesian and China) to bring their products to a lower-end market.

One such Guitar and Artist is The Jackson Pro Series Signature Marty Friedman MF-1.

Marty Friedman

Martin Adam Friedman is an American guitarist-composer who started with the guitar at 13.

Early years

At 14, he was on stage playing Punk and Hard Rock with his band “Deuce” in his native state of Washington DC.

This momentum continued by moving to Hawaii, where he put together a band of the same name.

After touring the west coast of the states, Hawaii disbanded, and Friedman stayed in San Francisco, creating Cacophony, playing with Jason Becker from 1986-89.

But ultimately, from 1900-2000, he was best known for his ten years as lead guitarist for The Heavy Metal Group Megadeth.

Friedman has been living in Tokyo, Japan, since 2003, where he has appeared in over 700 Japanese television shows, released 13 solo albums with various labels and continues to tour presently.

The Blending of East and West

Friedman’s Technique and playing are not limited to the traditional Minor Pentatonic or 7 Major Modes we often see in the West.

Even though he grew up in the “Guitar Hero” culture of the ’80s, his influences in music and instruments from Asia allowed him to draw from various exotic scales/ arpeggios and chord progressions, giving him a different voice than what was around him in the music scene at the time.

Fusing styles from the East and West, Friedman created his own identifiable  Neoclassical Thrash Metal and Progressive rock sound.

Also identifiable are the Artists…

Unorthodox Technique

Friedman has a unique right-hand picking technique.

He utilizes a technique known as “Circle picking” as opposed to the conventional elbow or wrist movement, along with attacking the higher B and E strings with upstrokes as opposed to downstrokes because of the angle of his wrist. (You can check this out in the video below)

A Guitar As Original As Its Artist

The Artist has always been a fan of the “Jackson” brand, so when an opportunity to collaborate on a signature instrument with the renowned company presented itself, the result was…

The Jackson X Series MF-1 Guitar

 

This solid-body Electric signature guitar has a…

• “Classic” single-cut mahogany body, with Friedman’s own EMG MF Signature pickups, one-piece mahogany set-neck with graphite reinforcement rods and scarf joint,  neck-through-body construction, top-tier hardware and much more. (Read on)

Specifications

Body

• Body Material-Resonant mahogany body with 3/4” maple top – for a rich, warm sound & added sustain.
• Electric Guitar Body Style – Solid Body “Classic” Single Cut-Monarkh
• Body Construction – Set Neck 
• Colour -Black
• Binding – 3-ply white abalone body binding
• Finish Type -Gloss
• Series – Artist Signature

Headstock & Neck

• Neck Material -A comfortable Mahogany for excellent sustain, strength and rich warm tone. 
• Neck Construction – Set-Neck w/Graphite Reinforcement Rod and Scarf Joint to protect against environmental depredations. 
• Neck Binding – White
• Neck Finish – Gloss/painted
• Nut Material – Plastic/Black
• Nut Width – 1.6875″ (42.86 mm)
• Tuners – Jackson Sealed Die-cast locking tuners for improved intonation and sustain.
• Scale Length –  24.75″ (629 mm)

A 24.75” scale length offers less string tension to reach the concert pitch of a 25.5” scale, loosening the guitar’s feel to make bending and vibrato more fluid.

Jackson Guitars

Fingerboard

• Fingerboard Material -Laurel 
• Fingerboard Radius – Compound 12” (305 mm)-for effortless bends
• Neck shape – Slim
• Position Inlays – Traditional Pearloid block fingerboard inlays
• Number of Frets – 22 Jumbo frets make bending strings easier
• Dual Action Truss Rod – Adjustment at the nut
• Neck Joint – Neck-Through-Body construction yields out-of-this-world sustain

Electronics & Controls

Friedman wanted a new brand of passive EMG pickups where he would not need to concern himself with batteries but still get the dynamic EMG Response Punch and Clarity that is only EMG.

And they delivered…

“When I heard this pickup, I knew it was ‘the one because it made me want to keep playing and never stop. This is my sound — I’m glad EMG took the time to get it right.”

Marty Friedman

Added Features

• Alnico 5 magnets
• New design for custom-made windings and bobbins (custom-made) 
• Brushed black chrome finish

EMG MF Signature Pickups

Churn Out Classic Passive Humbucker Tones With A Modern Kick – No Batteries Needed

• Brand- EMG Pickups
• Number of Pickups – 2
• Pickup configuration-HH
• Bridge Pickup – EMG MF Signature
• Neck Pickup -EMG MF Signature
• Active or passive pickups– Passive
• Coil tapping-No

Controls

• Control Knobs-Two volume /Two-tone White Speed controls-Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
• 3-Position Toggle – Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
• Control layout- Volume 1, volume 2, tone 1, tone 2
• Pickup switch –3-way
• 3-way Switch Tip -Black

Hardware

• Bridge Type & Style – Fixed, Jackson TOM (Tune-o-Matic)- The TOM-style adjustable bridge and anchored stop bar tailpiece provide excellent vibration transfer between the guitar’s strings and body.
• Hardware Finish  -Aggressive-looking black hardware

Video

Final Thoughts

My first exposure to Friedman’s playing was after his work with Megadeth, and I found him to be a refreshing change.

He has a solid connection to melody, chord progression, and key modulations to create nice tensions and resolutions in his compositions.

Now, for me as a player, playing melodic instead of shred guitar but still chasing mastery as a technician for what I compose resonates stronger, so I can see why he is so influential.

It is nice to see  Jackson revert to the “Classic” shape, for even though I am a fan of the brand, not all of us can appreciate the aggressive looks of some of the designs.

Also, I am not a Floyd Rose guy; I prefer hardtails, so this guitar fits the bill.

I would have liked to see this guitar’s neck be more like other Jacksons neck designs of 12″-16″ Compound Radius.

Lastly, the EMG Pickups are a no-brainer. They say pickups find YOU and not the other way around, which I find true.

I had my first experience with a similar style guitar, the Washburn single-cut carbon black Parallaxe, which has an EMG 85N/81B pickup configuration. Indeed that sound has found its way into my DNA.

My X Series Model

Even though it’s not the top model, it still is a very nice signature instrument for the cost and is done with quality and care.

Friedman explains using the X Series and his high-level USA-made models.

“For the price, you absolutely cannot beat the quality of this guitar.

I used this just as much as the USA-made guitars for recording and playing live.

They have a slightly different character sonically but are equally as good.

They all go through Jacksons’ quality control, and they are both very high-quality instruments.

So if you can afford the X series, you going to have a guitar that is up to a very close standard to a guitar that is much more expensive.

So when we developed these guitars together, I wanted to make damn sure that the X series was something I would be proud to put my name on and so it’s not just a piece of junk.

It is a very, very high-quality instrument, especially for the price. 

And if i am going to play it live in front of people, I don’t want it to be something that will stab me in the back and let me down. 

At home, I have my X series and use it for all my videos, and they sound great. 

And thanks to Jackson for really making something that I am really proud to put my name on; it means a lot.”

Marty Friedman

Should You Add This Guitar To Your Collection?

This made-in Indonesia guitar is chock full of great features that can meet the demands of a player like Marty Friedman. You get an instrument that will take you into many playing areas at an affordable price.

Did You Like This Article?

Check out my review on the Jackson Randy Rhoads RR1 USA Select

Also…

Leave your comments in the section below, and if you would like me to review a favourite guitar, shout out.

As always, stay the course and keep playing.

Full image of guitar courtesy of jacksonguitars.com

Front image of Guitar courtesy of musiciansfriend.com

Back Guitar image courtesy of zzounds.com

Image of Marty Friedman courtesy of Wikimedia photo submission – Author Hiroshi Yamazaki – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Image for CTA courtesy of Amazon.ca