Jackson and David Davidson have teamed up once again for a new signature guitar that looks kind of dangerous, like the sort of thing you might need a permit from the local authorities to play it in public.
If you’re familiar with the Revocation guitarist’s taste in instruments, you’ll know what to expect. The Pro Series David Davidson Warrior WR7 is all sharp edges, a hyper-aggressive X-style seven-string guitar with a hot Ferrari-inspired paintjob – yellow or red.
Take your pick, the Ferrari Red model features a reverse headstock and an ebony fingerboard, the Ferrari Yellow has a more typical seven-in-line headstock and a maple fingerboard. Both are ridiculous in all the right ways.
As metal guitars go, this is the ne plus ultra, ticking all the boxes. Yes, we have a high-performance neck profile, and the 12” to 16” compound radius fingerboard. The 26.5” scale length will accommodate low-end tunings.
Davidson has chosen a pair of his signature DiMarzio Occult Classic humbuckers at the neck and bridge position, and these are controlled by a three-way toggle switch, volume and tone knobs.
There is – of course – the Floyd Rose 1000 Series seven-string double-locking vibrato unit for hitting harmonics and making them squeal. The hellish sound of mewling livestock is but a natural harmonic and a distortion pedal away… And yes, you’ll have to find a bespoke guitar case to fit this thing (Jackson supplies a gig bag, so that’s a start).
Everything is built towards performance. Jackson and Davidson make no secret of – and no apologies for – this being an electric guitar that’s built, nay, engineered for speed. Based on his Custom Shop model, Davidson says popular demand motivated them to do a more affordable Pro Series run. And these are affordable, priced at £/$1,399 street.
“What made me want to do a Pro Series version of the WR7s here was, I mean, I just got such a response from fans. Once the custom shops came out, everyone was talking about them,” says Davidson. “I'm just really stoked that they finally arrived. Jackson really hit the sweet spot with these. How can you not want to play fast?”
Well, quite. It might be difficult not to. As for the fundamentals, you have a neck-through build, with the one-piece maple neck sandwiched in a nyatoh body and reinforced with graphite rods. The neck might be skinny but it’s strong A.F. An oil finish has been applied to it to ease your fretting hand’s passage.
There are 24 jumbo frets. Jackson has gone with the minimalistic Piranha Tooth inlay (aka Small Sharkfin) fingerboard inlays. The hardware is black. There are locking buttons for your guitar strap. But pity the fool who accidentally bumps into you onstage when you’re playing this. Cue, grotesque impalement.
Hey, that would make a pretty good title for a death metal song. Oh, it already is. And the Pro Series David Davidson Warrior WR7 would make a pretty good death metal guitar. Check it out at Jackson.
