Jackson® continues its longstanding relationship with guitarist Marty Friedman by honouring the virtuoso with the all-new Pro Series Signature Marty Friedman MF-1.
One of the most influential and respected players in the world, Marty Friedman’s impactful and game-changing contributions to heavy metal and guitar in general continue to inspire generations of musicians and music fans to this day. He defined modern guitar playing with Jason Becker in Cacophony, was a key element in the wildly successful rise of thrash pioneers Megadeth, and with his “Marty-esque” improvisations and exotic fusion of Eastern and Western music, has achieved global success as a solo artist.
Metal magnificent, the all-new signature Pro MF-1 features a mahogany body with a cracked Purple Mirror top finish, complete with 3-ply white/abalone/white body binding, all-black hardware and reverse Jackson 3×3 (3 over, 3 under) AT-1 black headstock.
“It’s just a gorgeous guitar,” said Friedman. “The people at Jackson came up with a way to develop this – it’s actually really a custom type of job but they managed to do it in such a way to put it out to the public at a reasonable price point.
“I used this model in the photo session for my Tokyo Jukebox 3 album, and you really can’t take a bad picture with this guitar. Depending on how the light hits it, it really changes its personality and image a lot.”
The 24.75”-scale signature model is loaded with premium features to match the demanding needs of an elite and intricate player like Friedman, including a graphite-reinforced mahogany set-neck with scarf scarf joint and bound 12” radius ebony fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets and pearloid block inlays. Passive EMG® MF signature humbucking pickups deliver a sound that sings and screams, with a three-way toggle switch to wrangle all of the subtle nuances out of the instrument. This axe is also equipped with a pair of tone controls and a pair of volume controls, situated further down on the body.
“No matter how hard, and crazy, and aggressive you hit the strings, you’re not going to suddenly turn your volume down to 6 and wonder why you have such a quiet sound,” said Friedman.
The instrument is complete with a Jackson TOM-style adjustable bridge with anchored tailpiece for improved intonation and enhanced sustain.
Watch Friedman play and discuss his new signature specs in the video here: