Jackson and Suicide Silence’s Mark Heylmun reimagine the Rhoads as a brutal 7-string metal machine

Jackson has partnered with Mark Heylmun, guitarist for deathcore heavyweights Suicide Silence, for a radical new take on the Rhoads V electric guitar format.

The Pro Series Signature Mark Heylmun Rhoads RR24-7 is a seven-string designed for punishing down-tuned contemporary metal playing, and Heylmun has spec’d it accordingly.

For starters, the nyatoh body is sculpted to provide a belly cutaway and a shredder’s heel, while the through-body maple neck features a scarf joint and graphite reinforcement for enhanced stability.

Crucially, the compound-radius 12-16” ebony fingerboard features a 26.5” scale length, primed for down-tuning.

Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers offer a choice between high or medium output – switched via a single push/pull volume control – while a Floyd Rose 1000 Series seven-string double-locking tremolo is there for those all-important squealies.

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There are some neat visual touches, too: the Gloss Black finish pops with those white pinstripes, and the gold hardware and reverse Jackson headstock cap the whole guitar off nicely.

“We thought about it and I knew I wanted to play a Rhoads,” said Heylmun. “There is a lot of power in the Rhoads. It’s a legacy piece. I wanted something that was going to be an homage to the classic but also modern, and looking sleek and new. I knew that the black and gold would give that classic Rhoads look.”

The Pro Series Signature Mark Heylmun Rhoads RR24-7 is available now for $1,699 – head over to Jackson Guitars for more info.