Collen Killer
Feast your eyes on Jackson’s refined signature model of Def Leppard’s versatile and instantly recognisable guitarist.
As we reiterated a couple of issues ago, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is an integral part of that great English rock band. Apart from a black, three-pickup Ibanez Destroyer he became associated with during the Pyromania cycle, he’s used Jackson guitars for the majority of his time with Leppard. Jackson remains a byword for high-end, hot-rodded instruments, and it confirms the size of Leppard’s standing in the US during the mid-80s that amiable Londoner Collen became one of the Californian company’s first European endorsees. The prototype Collen Signature, hand-built by Grover Jackson and unveiled on the Love Bites video, had 29 frets and a highly unusual body shape that boasted a carved arched top.
Things have changed quite a bit since then, though. Pictured here is the latest incarnation of a glitzy signature model originally launched in 1996, and it’s an absolute doozy. The mahogany body boasts a highly figured maple top, and the maple neck is augmented with a striking 24-fret flamed maple fingerboard that has a compound radius for additional comfort. The neck and body basewoods have also been baked, or ‘caramelized’, as Jackson describe the process, to remove any lingering moisture, thus enhancing the tone.
An instantly recognisable facet of
Collen’s tone comes from the Sustainer pickup in the neck position, nestling alongside conventional DiMarzio pickups. It’s controlled by two mini-switches and incorporates circuitry that emits a magnetic field that artificially agitates the strings. Cool, eh? This provides infinite sustain of single notes, and is something Collen utilises a great deal, especially on stage.
The hand-rubbed neck – gorgeously silky to the touch – is huge, and it can take some getting used to. That said, the guitar sounds similarly massive and, at around £2,700, its sound and beautiful appearance will surely compensate for an aching wrist.
More info at jacksonguitars.com