The Jackson Marty Friedman Kelly KE-1T

The Jackson Marty Friedman Signature Kelly KE-1T

Jackson Guitars is an instrument manufacturer founded by Grover Jackson, creating Electric and Bass Guitars.

Acquired by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in 2002, Fender manufactures US Jackson Models in Corona, California and the “budget models” in Indonesia and China, making their instruments more accessible to lower-end buyers.

The company would go on to develop more designs, such as the…

• Soloist
• King V
• Dinky and the 
• Kelly 

All of which remain icons of the brand.

From its earliest beginnings until today, Jackson guitars are known for their slender, angled designs and are still popular with hard rock or metal musicians.

Along with distinctive headstocks, other design features like the “Inverted Shark Fin” inlays would inspire other famous guitar companies like Ibanez to follow suit with similar designs. (See Image)

The History Of The Kelly

1982 To Present

Designed and named after Bradford Kelly (Guitarist for the Australian heavy metal band Heaven)

The Jackson Kelly, or KE, is a modified version of the Gibson Explorer. It has been in production since the early 1980s and is available in different hardware configurations and finishes.

The Kelly sports a classic Jackson Pointed headstock, a Thin Neck Profile, Standard 24 Jumbo Frets, Inverted Shark Fin Inlays, a Rosewood or Ebony Fingerboard, and a Maple Neck-Thru Design extended through the body, allowing for a high level of playability.

It also has an Alder or Basswood Solid body with a Locking Tremolo or Fixed Bridge and an H-H Pickup configuration.

The Kelly Powerstation

Both Active EMG & Passive Seymour Duncan Pickup Configurations

The Jackson KEXMG of the X Series is the only model to feature an active EMG 81 in the bridge position and an active EMG 85 in the neck position.

All other models contain passive Seymour Duncan pickups.

The Jackson Guitar features a Volume Knob, a Tone Knob and a Toggle switch.

Megadeth Guitarist Marty Friedman popularized the Kelly with a KE-1 signature model, which has since been removed from production.

Marty Friedman is an American composer, producer, arranger and guitarist alongside Jason Becker in his project Cacophony from 1986 to 1989. (More on this later)

Friedman is among the most influential metal guitarists of today.

He gained popularity in the late 1980s with his solo albums. Still, He cemented his position as one of the most respected lead guitar players throughout the 1990s  with the thrash metal giants Megadeth from 1990 to 2000.

Early Years

After attending a KISS concert at 14 in Washington, DC, Friedman took up the guitar and is self-taught for the most part.

Instead of ‘Woodshedding” like most young guitarists, Friedman started playing live quickly, doing easy covers from bands like KISS and The Ramones alongside their original tunes.

According to the Artist, playing live will force you to up your chops game.

He states in an interview…

“To get inspired and stay inspired and get out of a rut and playing the same things all the time, you must create opportunities to play your guitar in front of other people.” 

Moving To Hawaii

After moving to Hawaii with his parents in his late teens, Friedman formed several other music projects, including Duece and Hawaii (previously called Vixen) and Cacophony with Jason Becker, another up-and-coming young virtuoso who together featured a mixture of styles and sounds, including…

• Neoclassical metal elements 
• Twin guitar synchronized harmonies and counterpoints

When Cacophony disbanded in 1989, Friedman auditioned for the thrash metal band Megadeth and joined in February 1990, Integrating his exotic style of playing from the Cacophony era into the music of Megadeth.

Megadeth

The album recording Rust in Peace, released in September of 1990, got certified platinum in 1994 and was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 33rd Grammy Awards.

In July 1992, Megadeth released a more commercial album, Countdown to Extinction, aimed at a wider audience, going on to sell Double Platinum.

Friedman released three solo albums between 1992 and 1996, featuring Megadeth bandmate Nick Menza on drums.

In December 1999, after a total of five studio albums and a 10-year tenure with the group, Friedman departed, playing his last show on January 14, 2000. He cited a lack of growth as a musician and wanted to move the band toward a more aggressive sound than what the group was playing at the time.

However, during Friedman’s time in the band, the project sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

After Megadeth, Friedman appeared on several projects from 2003-2009 while simultaneously moving to the Shinjuku neighbourhood of Tokyo.

Learning & Living In Japan

In the late 90s and early 2000, Friedman focused on Japanese music exclusively wanting to inject his musicality into the local Japanese music scene.

He did not encounter a language barrier, for he spoke, read, and wrote Japanese as a hobby while on the state-side tour buses with his bandmates.

When he went to Japan on tour with Cacophony for the first time, he was impressed by their attention to detail regarding music and business. This inspired him to move there in 2003 after the Megadeth project.

Friedman has lived in Tokyo, Japan, since then.

He has appeared on over 700 Japanese Television programs, regularly contributed to music magazines and newspapers, launched a record label under Avex Group called Gokukara Records (2010-2013), and continued to tour and make guest appearances on multiple other music projects, allowing the Artist to not settle on his musical creativity.

In 2014 Friedman released his new album Inferno and moved his touring out of Japan to Europe.

Guitar Individuality

In his late teens, he discovered that learning foreign music would be his path to becoming an individual regarding his guitar voice.

He started by learning the sounds of instruments from different countries, such as the Indian Sitar, traditional Japanese music, and string instruments from China. These forced him to think and act differently than what was being done in the Rock scene at the time.

He is best known for his fusion of Eastern/Western Music, Neoclassical, and Thrash Metal.

He likes to use Arpeggiated chords and Middle Eastern and Exotic Asian scales with Chinese or Japanese origins. These differ from the Minor/Major pentatonic or Mode-based playing; he was surrounded by in the Western world of Heavy Metal.

“I was always more attracted to note choices and the chords under the note choices that I did not hear in traditional rock.”

Marty Friedman

Unorthodox Guitar Picking Techniques

Friedman has learned to create an unorthodox picking technique based on the angle at which his wrist is positioned.

He utilizes upstrokes instead of downstrokes, especially on the high B and E strings.

Also…

Rather than strictly picking from his elbow or wrist, Friedman moves his fingers in a circular pattern, a technique known as “circle picking.”

This technique goes against the conventional hand position frequently used by Western players.

The USA Jackson KE1 Marty Friedman Signature Model

Playing almost exclusively Jacksons, the company has created a signature line of Marty Friedman Kellies.

Three models within Marty’s signature series ranks are the…

Made from a solid single-cut flat top Poplar/Alder body w/Mahogany wings, a Maple neck running through the body’s center, a 24-fret bound ebony fingerboard, one volume knob, and a Seymour Duncan humbucker in the bridge position. (Read on)

The Tech Specs

Body

• Body Materials – A Poplar body w/quilt Maple top option from 1996-1999  and an Alder body w/quilt Maple top option from 2000-2001.
• Body Type –Solid 
• Body Style – Double cutaway/Explorer shape
• Body “Wing” Wood – Mahogany
• Neck & Body Binding – Yes
• Manufactured in the USA
• Years in production – 1996-2001 worldwide
• Catalogue price – 1996: $1,645 (solid finishes) / $1,745 (trans finishes)
• Gloss Finishes in various colours- BLK(Black), SWP(Snow White Pearl), TBK(Transparent Black), TB(Transparent Blue)

Neck

• Neck Material- Quarter Sawn Maple
• Neck Finish–Gloss
• Neck Shape–Series Standard
• Fingerboard Material – Ebony (with binding)
• Inlays- Pearl MOTO Sharkfin “inverted.”
• Frets- 24 Jumbo Size
• Nut Width-1.6875″ (1-11/16″)
• Nut Material –Bone
• Scale Length–25-1/2″
• Tuners–Die-cast, locking
• Neck Joint- Neck-through

Neck Through Construction Pros & Cons

As seen on high-end instruments and made from one continuous piece of wood, there is no separation in the junction between the neck and the body. This design is optimum for maximum sustain, resonance, and tonal quality. (See image)

Pros

• Look and Feel Slick and Clean
• Maximum Tonal Resonance and Sustain
• Easily played in the higher fret registers

Cons

• If the neck is damaged, it cannot be replaced, so you would need to purchase an entirely new instrument.
• It is the most expensive of the 3 types of neck construction and takes significant experience and skill to manufacture.
• Unlike the bolt-on, you cannot mix and match fretboards.

Hardware

• Bridge – A  Kahler AMP3310, Floyd Rose or String-through option.

• Hardware – Black

Final Thoughts

Friedman’s impactful and game-changing contributions cannot be overstated.

His musical influence and ability to play very melodically over chord progressions are appealing.

He cites that key modulations are a key factor in his songwriting approach.

I never followed him during the Megadeth run but became a fan of his abilities later in his solo work.

As a guitarist, I am very attracted to the ability to play strong melodies rather than just playing quickly, and Friedman has established a sound and technique that is truly his own.

Should You Add This To Your Collection

His brand is established with Friedman playing almost exclusively Jackson’s for nearly 3 decades.

Finding one might take some time.

The US Models will still be pricey, but you will get a perfect American-made Jackson guitar that can be used precisely as intended.

Also…

I would have liked to seen a 12”-16” compound radius fingerboard on this battle axe.

Did You Like This Article?

Check out my review of the Zakk Wylde Gibson Les Paul Custom

Also…

Leave your comments below if you want me to review a favourite guitar.

As always, stay the course and keep playing.

Feature image of Marty Friedman Jackson KE-1T courtesy of chorder.com

Feature image of Marty Freidman playing the Jackson live courtesy of whatgear.com

Image of Marty Friedman in the CTA courtesy of ebay.com