Jackson launches feature-packed, Mexican made Superstrat for Phil Collen

The partnership between Jackson and Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen has been running for almost 40 years, and their latest collaboration is the release of the pre-relic’d Pro Series PC1-E signature guitar.

Collen’s first signature model arrived in 1989, in the wake of breakout success with their albums Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987). Here, his namesake electric is welcomed into Jackson’s Pro Series range for the first time and comes in cheaper than previous iterations, thanks to Mexican origin.

With a Strat body and reverse headstock, it stays aesthetically true to the guitars Collen has been whipping into shape these past four decades, albeit with the addition of the heavy relic finish. This places it in-line with Mexican models from elsewhere in the Fender family, like the Fender Mike McCready Stratocaster.

However, while it might look like a Super Strat, the PC1’s recipe is a little left field in that regard. As such, the Pro Series PC1-E pairs a mahogany body with a caramelized maple neck and 24-fret, 12-16 ebony fretboard. It also features a dual-action truss rod adjustment wheel at the heel, which is gladly becoming the new industry standard, and Luminlay side dots.

A golden Floyd Rose 1000 sits at the heart of the guitar, given Collen’s penchant for a dive bomb or 6,000. It’s aided by Jackson-branded die-cast tuners and a locking nut.

Electronics see Collen doubling down on his DiMarzio loyalty. There’s a high-powered X2N DP102 humbucker in the bridge, with Sugar Chakra DP427BK and PC1 Sustainer Driver single coils in the middle and neck positions.

As such, a five-way pickup blade is in place to get the very most out of the trio of pups, alongside some other gizmos. Its Volume control features a push-pull coil split, there’s an Intensity control, an Active Sustainer – “it’s like an E-bow,” Collen enthuses – on/off switch and a Fundamental/Harmonic/Blend switch.

“It’s got all the bells and whistles,” Collen says. “You can rule the universe with one of these.”

There are nods to his biggest heroes across the guitar, from Jimi Hendrix via the reverse headstock, to Eddie Van Halen via its tonewoods, tonal goodies, and the abuse he puts it through.

“Honestly, if you’ve got a PC1, you don’t need anything else at all,” Collen believes. “I’ve done recordings and you go ‘That’s a Strat’ or, ‘That’s a Les Paul,’ and no, it’s all here. I’ve had people pick it up and never want to put it down. That’s what you want in a guitar.”

For those curious, the ‘E’ in the guitar’s name nods to the Ensenada, Mexico factory from which it was forged. It’ll set players back $2,199.99 apiece.

See Jackson for more.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He’s also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.