Jackson | CME Exclusive Custom Shop Models
Celebrate Jackson’s Made-to-Order Heritage with CME Exclusive Jackson Custom Shop 1982 Dinky Electric Guitars — Now @ CME!
Begun in 1980, for over 40 years now, Jackson Guitars has revolutionized the craft of building the world’s leading high-performance shred machines. Made by some of the same craftsmen who’ve been there since the beginning, the Jackson Custom Shop continues its tradition of building made-to-order guitars which harken back to its roots in the early ‘80s hard rock scene.
As part of our longstanding relationship with Jackson’s U.S.-based Custom Shop, CME is proud to offer one of Jackson’s most beloved electric guitar designs with the new CME Exclusive Jackson Custom Shop 1982 Dinky models, paying homage to the Custom Shop’s fledgling days!
Jackson Custom Shop CME Exclusive 1982 Dinky Electric Guitars
Named for its slightly smaller than normal (7/8) body size, the Dinky model was Jackson’s first bolt-on “Super Strat”–style guitar, and it has remained in continuous production since the brand’s early days as a custom shop. Designed as a tribute to the first Jackson Dinky electric guitars, our CME Exclusive Jackson CS 1982 Dinky models throw it all the way back to the Dinky’s beginnings, before it went on to become Jackson’s highest-selling production model!
Featuring bolt-on quartersawn maple necks, 22 jumbo stainless steel frets, and Floyd Rose original locking tremolo systems, our CME Exclusive Jackson Custom Shop 1982 Dinky electric guitars offer all the magic of the originals—with custom-ordered finishes and Bare Knuckle pickup configurations you won’t find anywhere but CME!
Jackson’s Custom Shop Legacy
The Jackson Guitars brand name has long been a mainstay on the walls of guitar retailers like Chicago Music Exchange. But, did you know that the Jackson Custom Shop now remains the longest-operating electric guitar custom shop in the United States? Or, that none other than Randy Rhoads himself gave Grover Jackson the idea to build his aggressively V-shape Concorde design—now known as the Jackson Rhoads model—with Jackson’s own name on his new line of aggressive-looking, pointy-headstock electric guitar designs?
By the time Wayne Charvel hired Grover Jackson as the office manager at Charvel’s Guitar Repair in San Dimas, California, in the late 1970s, Charvel had already made a name on the L.A. music scene with his made-to-order guitars and basses built for musicians in big-name bands like Deep Purple, ZZ Top, and Van Halen (including bassist Michael Anthony and, of course, Eddie himself).
Having previously worked as a gear transporter for touring acts like The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Eric Clapton—followed by a brief stint in sales at an L.A.-based music retailer—Grover Jackson hadn’t been Charvel’s office manager very long when he bought Wayne Charvel’s interest in the business in 1978 and took control of the Charvel brand. Knowing firsthand that there was, indeed, a market for made-to-order instruments, Grover Jackson debuted his Charvel “Super Strat” guitars in the summer of 1979, and these guitars became the weapons of choice for a flamboyant new breed of Sunset Strip guitar heroes.
Not long after, Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads came to Jackson’s shop in December 1980, for a fateful meeting where he presented Jackson with his rough sketch of a radical new neck-thru-body guitar design—originally named the Concorde, after the supersonic jet that inspired Rhoads’ design—for which Jackson created a new, pointy-looking headstock. Due to Jackson’s concern that these aggressive new guitar designs might negatively affect the already successful guitar brand he purchased from Wayne Charvel, Randy Rhoads suggested that Grover Jackson put his own name on the pointy-headstock guitar designs. Thus, the Jackson Guitars brand was born!
Now among the top electric guitar brands preferred by today’s top-performing guitar virtuosos, Jackson Custom Shop’s made-to-order instruments continue to be crafted by many of the original builders who started back in the early days. (For interviews with some of the previous master builders, check out the documentary feature, “The Original Charvel Gang,” directed by Paul Gervasi, now streaming on Prime Video.)
To make one of these CME Exclusive Jackson Custom Shop 1982 Dinkys yours—or, to custom-order your very own Jackson instrument from America’s longest-running guitar custom shop—call CME today or chat with us online. Then stop into our showroom, where you can plug one in and let it rip!
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