Jackson has officially launched Roman Ibramkhalilov’s Pro Series MDK HT6 Baritone signature model and top-to-tail it is purpose built for high-gain metal guitar, offering a fuss-free drive for maximum impact.
And when we say “fuss-free,” we mean there’s no Floyd Rose, no complicated control setup with split-coils or alternate voicings, no multi-scale to get to grips with; this is plug-in-and-play, 100 per cent pragmatism. It is also unique.
Jackson and the Jinjer guitarist have been working on a signature guitar for some years. Ibramkhalilov says the start of the process was sometime in 2018 or ’19, when the Fender-owned high-performance electric guitar brand sent him one of their Dinky Modern multi-scale models. The first prototype for this model was finished in 2020. Ibramkhalilov sent it back with his amendments and another followed in 2021.
“From that time it has changed a bit, because now have a unique shape,” he says. “You will never find exactly this shape. Never. It is unique.”
While his Pro Series MDK HT6 Baritone dropped yesterday afternoon, it should be more than familiar to fans of the Ukrainian metal band. Ibramkhalilov has had it for over three months now, playing it on tour. So many you undoubtedly recognise its aggressive S-style body shape and Emerald Green finish.
A bolt-on neck helps you sound articulate, with more attack
Roman Ibramkhalilov
The body is solid ash. It has a bolt-on three-piece neck comprising maple and wenge, with the characteristic skunk stripe of the latter running up the full length of the neck, from heel to headstock. For Ibramkhalilov, a bolt-on neck is a non-negotiable. “A bolt-on neck helps you sound articulate, with more attack,” he says. “For me, for metal and progressive [styles] it is important to have a bolt-on neck. It’s like the main feature for me, bolt-on neck, and edge body.”
We have a pair of custom-voiced RI1 humbucking electric guitar pickups at the neck and bridge positions, a three-way pickup selector is mounted where you might ordinarily find a tone pot, while a single volume control serves both pickups.
The guitar has a straight 27” scale length across the board, while the ebony fingerboard has a 12” to 16” compound radius and seats 24 jumbo stainless steel frets.
As for the hardtail, we have a Gotoh 510FX-6 – and that is a quality piece of hardware, complemented by a set of Jackson-branded locking tuners should keep things stable on the tuning front. They are arranged in a 3x3 configuration on that arrow-head headstock style. Hardware is black.
Note the generous sculpting on the body, and a typically discrete heel to aid upper-fret access – this might be built for riffing but there’s an invitation to shred here, too. The oiled neck finish should ease your passage.
You can watch Ibramkhalilov put it through its paces at the top of the page. You can see more details over at Jackson. Priced £/$1,499, it is available now.
