“Apparently I love Jacksons now?”: Mike Stringer shows off two Jackson Custom Shop seven-strings that reimagine the lost Surfcaster offset as a metal guitar – and it’s got big name players in a hot mess
Spiritbox guitarist Mike Stringer has taken to Instagram to show off two unique Jackson Custom Shop builds that take the firm’s classic Surfcaster model and reimagine it as a modern metal guitar.
“I’ve always been obsessed with classic vintage looking guitars, (offsets specifically) and wanted to do a modern take based on [Jackson's] classic Surfcaster model,” says Stringer on Instagram.
“The team at Jackson were super down with the idea, and I got the opportunity to spec out two offset customs. The end result is mind blowing!”
Aside from the finishes, the two seven-string instruments are identical in spec and each features an alder body, three-piece maple neck, and ebony fingerboard with a 26.5” scale-length.
Hardware includes an Evertune bridge and Gotoh locking tuners, and then there’s a set of Fishman’s Fluence Open Core Modern humbuckers, which offer three different voicing settings (selectable by the toggleswitch).
Otherwise, the controls are limited to a simple pickup selector and volume knob.
Stringer has gone for two different finishes, with a relic'd Fiesta Red with matching headstock on one guitar and a cream finish on the other. Both are complimented with tortoiseshell pickguards.
The original Surfcaster was a six-string Charvel/Jackson model, with semi-hollow variants and lipstick pickups, that was originally issued in the early-’90s. As such, Stringer’s build is a total reimagining – and a really successful one at that.
Sadly, as one-off builds, they’re not currently available in Jackson’s wider Custom Shop or Standard lines – the closest thing being Jackson’s Rob Caggiano Shadowcaster offset, which took things in a darker direction – but we very much hope that might change in the near future.
The firm’s recent American Series Virtuoso model nailed the brief when it came to designing a metal guitar with more universal appeal – one that suits the increasing trend of heavy players who don’t want a spiky, black satin model.
Stringer’s stunning take on the Surfcaster would seem to follow that pattern, too. As one (recently converted) commenter puts it: “Apparently I love Jacksons now?"
What’s more, Misha Mansoor, plus members of Architects, Papa Roach, Tetrarch, Northlane, and Ryan “Fluff” Bruce of Dragged Under/Riffs, Beards & Gear have all left enthusiastic reactions to the model on Instagram.
We’d take that as convincing evidence of legitimate demand among players for a signature guitar, or at least an updated, metal-friendly Surfcaster/offset.
Though perhaps Mansoor puts it best: “Gimme gimme gimme!”
It feels like Jackson is tapping into something when it comes to the demand for metal crossover instruments at present. That sense was encapsulated in its star-studded five-solo Virtuoso Mega Shred clip – a guitar promo video that has somehow become essential viewing...
