1985 Rising Sun Soloist
The guitar in 1988
Normally this guitar would only be interesting for what it is, a low number, Soloist Custom with a Rising Sun Graphic. This guitar started life unique and the story of its life has also become unique. Here we will briefly follow the life of this guitar from its completion April 28, 1985 to date.
The year was 1985. Metal was king and Jackson guitars were the Cadillac of the era (actually, Lamborghini is more appropriate). They were hand-built in small quantities, many appeared in Metal Edge magazine or in music videos. Any serious metal player had at least one Jackson. That year the Melody Shop in Dallas Texas ordered this guitar. It was work order # 4252 and the details were a Soloist Custom, 1 Humbucker, two single coils, Seymour Duncan JB bridge and staggered single coils, one volume, one tone, and three mini on/off switches, Rising Sun with letters finish, Kahler tremolo unit, and black hardware. The guitar was completed 4-28-85. It has an odd and distinctive serial number. Rather than be stamped with the appropriate J series serial number prefix, this guitar received a Rhoads RR prefix stamp. Though the guitar is stamped RR0632 (which exists on a 1984 Ferrari Red Rhoads Student), it is logged as J0632. The next part of the story is best told by Dallas native Greg Brin.
The factory log entry
"I knew I had to have
a Jackson when I saw a RATT video (actually a Charvel - but the pointy headstock
was the clincher). I worked all
summer (just turned 16) and decided that I'd get more chicks with a Jackson than
a Camaro. I remember a really cool subtle, light purple Soloist in the catalog
from that era - it also showed a rising sun Charvel. I wanted the soloist shape
and pickup configuration with that graphic. Couldn't believe that I ran into one
locally! I decided to not get a car that summer (I was 15) and bought the guitar
instead. I paid $1450 with a case. It was purchased at the Melody Shop in Dallas
(no longer in business). That purple one was really great looking,
though. I played the hell out of that guitar in those first few
years and I think that the frets were replaced in 1990 by a guy in Austin who
said he worked for Jackson. Name was Kinscherff or Ross. Don't remember which -
I think that they, or one of the 2 anyway, make acoustics these days. I seem to
recall that the fret job cost me $200 at a time where $200 was HARD to come by
(surviving on gig and pizza delivery money)."
The guitar as it appeared just before Greg sent it to me.
"I removed the finish about 8 years ago (1995) and put a very thin clear coat on it so that it could be easily sanded off when the time came to repaint it - which never came, obviously. I knew it was a bad idea to strip it, but Nuno was cool back then with his natural guitar and I had been covering the graphic for several years with contact paper! (white or snakeskin) - which was kind of cool because you could cover pickup holes and really change the look with little effort. I always had the middle pickup out of the guitar because I didn't like the sound and it got in the way."
In May 2003 Greg decided to let go of his Soloist as he rarely played it anymore. When I purchased the guitar, it was evident that Greg was a true player. The guitar was modified to suit his playing style. The Kahler tremolo was replaced with a Kahler 3310 fixed bridge, the strap buttons were replaced with straplocks, one knob was lost while gigging, and the JB was removed from the rear and replaced with a Dimarzio. Upon arrival I sent it off to GMW Guitarworks for a complete restoration. Lee Garver assured me they could replicate the original finish. This was important to me as each Rising Sun graphic is unique and I wanted this one put back to its original state. Dan Lawrence actually found the original Rising Sun template in his archive, so the very same template was used originally. She came back like a brand new guitar. Greg commented "It looks exactly as I remember it. Just too cool".
Other than the refinish, I also obtained and installed a period correct Kahler 3200 Pro tremolo, period correct Duncan JB, and strap buttons. The final product is an awesome playing and looking Soloist with a cool history. The 80's are gone, but the guitars are still here to remind us of a cool era.
A final word from Greg after I sent him a rough draft of the page for his
approval: "That
is it – I can’t really think of anything to add to the website except that I
would like to thank you for taking on the project and getting it back to where
it belongs. It was a great guitar to me for many years and I always regretted
that I strayed from it – but it couldn’t be helped. Playing styles change
and with that usually comes interest in different vehicles for ones creativity.
Having it sitting around the house unused for the last five was a shame. I am
really glad to see it restored – and it stirs the same emotions now that it
did for me back then – “Rock On!”. One final request – play this
guitar. It was made to be played. You are off to a good start with the
restoration, but I want to know when you put your first scratch on it and truly
make it your own."
Thanks to Greg for selling me the guitar and sharing his story and to GMW for the flawless restoration!
UPDATE! This guitar went back home to Greg Spring 2005. It was an honor to spend some time with the guitar, but in the end it was always Greg's guitar.
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