I bought mine in 1989 there is a major difference from today. Grover built mine it was a professional white. Cost me over $3000 back then. Here's the difference from today. The professionals were supposed to be better than the USA customs they were extremely heavy in weight the neck was more solid. Today's Rhoads are light as a feather. The neck is more slick and in Ebony with binding. I had it more than 20yrs before I sold it and everyone that played it said they don't make them like that anymore.

I think the entry level are the JS series

@Keith Nowak Even though Japan frequently makes better guitars than USA. That's a bit silly

Thanks! The RR's are awesome!

Jackson is sacred you heathen

Valid point, Levi! Poor choice of words on our part...the guitar absolutely screams! Thanks for checking out the video!

Switching Gear I’d love to see you do this with an rr2 or rr3. The USA and japan bolt on versions. That’d be a good comparison!

Those MIJ RR5's weren't entry level, they were the pro series, which was in the $1000 USD range

That’s correct, back in ‘89 ALL Jackson’s were USA Customs. In fact they didn’t even say ‘Custom Shop’, they were just Jackson’s. At the time (late 80’s) the Charvel’s were the lower priced import models, also way before the current Charvel Custom Shop. Those guitars were the pinnacle of craftsmanship in those days and they’re still amazing!! It’s hard to beat a USA Custom Jackson!!!

JACKSON AXE I guess the words ‘entry level’ can be used loosely. Compared to a Jackson USA Custom the RR5 is closer to an entry level instrument than the Custom Shop. The RR5 is still a nice guitar but the Jackson USA Customs are simply amazing instruments!

@@switchinggear6031 Yes, they were essentially all Customs until the production models began in '90, same year as the Jackson imports. The Custom Shop logo Is still in debate about the first year it appeared. Early-mid-'90s somewhere.

@@switchinggear6031 I wasn't live in the USA ever and I was just 3 years old in '89. But Jacksons had a 'student' option back in the days which means rosewood fingerboard without binding and dot fret markers for lower price and 'custom' option with ebony board with binding and sharkfin inlays. And yes, all of them were custom shop guitars. So I think a lot of people called yours as a Rhoads custom and the other version as the Rhoads student.

Thank you! For this episode we're playing through an Orange Micro Dark amp into a Marshall JCM800 4x12 cabinet. In front of the amp is a Wampler Dual Fusion overdrive set for some extra gain!

@@switchinggear6031 Very nice 80s metal and hard rock tone with that setup :D

James Reeves Hi James, good point. It could be said that compared to a Jackson USA Select or Custom Shop instrument which are around 3-4K+ the RR5 is closer to an entry level instrument than the top of the line models. That said, compared to the lower priced models the RR5 can be considered a mid-level instrument. Thanks for checking out our channel!

Hey Cris! We love your description..."that arrrg arrrrg"! You will probably get a warmer, somewhat darker tone from the mahogany. In our experiences, while sometimes adding weight to the guitar, mahogany does tend to add some depth (warmth and darkness) to the sound. If you get that guitar, please come back and comment on how it turns out. We'd love to hear back. Good luck with you quest for an RR3 Pro!

yep ! ;)

Cris Vighen RR3’s are bolt on necks. If you want a neck through, it’s an RR5 or RR1 you’re looking for. They also make modern neck throughs, but I don’t know what they call them these days.

@@Duncan8er RR3s are bolt on yes, but RR3 Pros are set necks and he said he was getting a pro

Hi, thanks for watching! The Randy V wouldn’t need to be setup very often. Maybe a few times per year at most. The neck on that guitar is very stable and only when the seasonal temperature changes is it ever a concern, and even then any setup adjustments would be minor. How about your RR1, do you find it to be stable as well?

Angel Metal There’s a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge position and a DiMarzio Evolution in the Neck position.