Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor has taken to social media to show off his latest electric guitar – and it's a beauty.
A custom shop build that merges a Charvel Surfcaster body and a Fender headstock with the kind of appointments found on his brutal Jackson signature guitars, this particular axe looks strikingly similar to Mike Stringer’s very own recent Jackson Custom Shop acquisitions.
Both Stringer and Mansoor's builds marry ultra-desirable retro aesthetics and relic’d finishes with modern-minded metal-ready hardware, continuing a trend that sees metal guitars increasingly embraced by the mainstream and metal guitarists turning to vintage guitars.
With both high-profile players now using variations of these classic-silhouetted metal machines – and having their fanbases drool over them – could a full production run be next?
As the djent guitarist details, his new guitar sports an extended 30” scale to cater for its hellishly low tuning, with a roasted ash body paired with a roasted maple bolt-on neck and a flame maple fretboard.
Its fretboard has been curated with a 20” radius, delivering 22 Jumbo stainless steel frets, while its electronics are headlined by a pair of Misha’s signature Bare Knuckle Ragnarock humbuckers.
Other appointments include Gotoh locking tuners and his go-to Hipshot fixed bridge. There are also Dunlop Dual Design strap locks and Luminlay side dots, while it’s strung with a Horizon Devices eight-string set of strings, tuned to drop E.
“Jesus Christ, this is so sick,” Mansoor says as he opens up its hardshell case in a video posted to Instagram. “I've been waiting a year and a half for this. I've never ordered anything like this before.
“This is my version of a Jazzmaster using a Charvel Surfcaster body with a modified pickguard shape so that Fender would be happy me having the Jackson logo on the headstock,” he continues.
“I don't know exactly what kind of music I'm gonna make with this but I'm excited. It's gonna be heavy.”
He later returned to Instagram to showcase how the guitar sounds, and you won't be surprised to hear just how gnarly this build gets, its low-end tight and aggressive but gleaming with clarity.
Mike Stringer was equally as impressed with his builds, which also paired a Surfcaster body with a Fender headstock and a raft of modern fittings, such as an Evertune bridge.
“I’ve always been obsessed with classic vintage looking guitars, (offsets specifically) and wanted to do a modern take based on [Jackson's] classic Surfcaster model,” he said at the time.
“The team at Jackson were super down with the idea, and I got the opportunity to spec out two offset customs. The end result is mind blowing!”
Although it must be reiterated that both guitarists custom-ordered their axes, the commonality between their specs points to a wider growing desire for heavy offsets that we hope Jackson capitalizes on.
With Jackson and Charvel both standing as part of the Fender family brand, there’s a freedom to meld headstocks and body shapes together without falling foul of lawsuits. And when the results are this good, a production run would surely be an open goal.
In their current states, like-for-like reproductions of Mansoor and Stringer’s guitars won’t come cheap, but there is clearly an appetite for these instruments. Watch this space.
