BESPOKE SINCE THE BEGINNING
The Jackson Custom Shop has turned out world-class custom guitars ranging from the fine to the fantastic ever since the Jackson name was first affixed to a headstock in 1980. The reason for this impressive longevity is simple: Jackson was a custom shop since the very beginning. Every Jackson guitar was an original, high-performing custom instrument.
Whereas some production guitar-makers open their own custom shops after reaching a certain age or level of success, Jackson existed from its early days as nothing but a custom shop, building distinctive and meticulously crafted instruments for a very exacting clientele. No design was too crazy, and no idea too far-fetched—if someone conceived it, Jackson’s talented, imaginative and occasionally demented craftsmen built it. This early emphasis on originality and even outlandish one-off instruments proved enormously influential for Jackson’s most famous and oft-copied body shapes.
It’s a longstanding tradition of U.S.-made greatness and devotion to craftsmanship that flourishes to this day.
Custom Select Series
Custom Select instruments recall the time-honored tradition of the ’80s-era Jackson Custom Shop, when every instrument was a special-order. Pick and choose from our massive menu to create your ultimate tool of self-expression, brought to life by the best builders in the business.
How to Place Your Jackson Custom Select Order:
- Download the Jackson Custom Select Options Menu.
- Make your custom selections for each category (Neck, Hardware, Controls, Set-Up, Pickups, Finish Options, Color Options, Custom Paint & Graphics).
- Take your completed design guide to your Jackson Custom Shop Showcase Dealer for a quote and estimated build time.
PAT CAMPOLATTANO
Jackson Principal Master Builder
Originally from the east coast, Pasquale “Pat” Campolattano was born 1st generation to an Italian family with a long history of working with their hands. His first exposure to machining and woodworking came at a young age by spending summers in his grandfather’s gunsmithing workshop. In his early teens he fell in love with guitars, and the two worlds collided. Music and tinkering on guitars became his entire focus.
After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved west to Los Angeles to test his skills as a craftsman, as well as a player. He enrolled in the Musicians Institute Guitar Craft Academy where he would go on to meet then guest instructor Ron Thorn. Two weeks after finishing the course he got a job with a well-known boutique builder after showing him his builds. One had a nice pearl Fleur De Lis inlay with scraps Ron had given him to practice with!
He was recruited to be the Principal Master Builder for Jackson and Charvel after earning his stripes over nearly a decade of Research and Development as well as building wildly custom instruments for other major manufacturers. He has produced custom-made instruments for a variety of artists including guitarists for The Smashing Pumpkins, Megadeth, Exodus, Neil Young, Rival Sons, Scott Ian, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Skid Row, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Tony Kanal, Billy Sheehan, John Patitucci, Nathan East, Abe Laboriel Sr, and much more!
"RED" DAVE NICHOLS
Jackson Master Builder
Dave Nichols—nicknamed “Red Dave” for his long red hair and beard—joined the Jackson® Custom Shop in 2005 after a 16-year stint at the Fender® Custom Shop, and became a master builder in 2006.
An avid woodworker since high school, Nichols has always been into “messing with stuff with my hands.” He’d never built a guitar before, though, until a friend’s suggestion led to his arrival at the Fender Custom Shop in 1989, where his love for music, natural talent and practiced woodworking expertise served him well.
Nichols rose through the ranks steadily as an apprentice instrument builder with a particular gift for inlay work, and when “an opportunity to build something new” arose at Jackson in 2005, “Red” was ready. “I love being the guy who makes dreams come true,” he said. “That’s our motto—making dreams come true. It’s awesome when people come through here and I can watch them turn into kids in a candy store.
JOE WILLIAMS
Jackson Master Builder
Promoted to a Master Builder in 2018, Joe Williams first came to Jackson in 2005 from a vintage guitar shop, where he repaired and set up used guitars.
His passion for tinkering with guitars started much earlier. Williams began playing guitar at age 13, when his parents—assuming it was only a phase—got him an inexpensive Squier beginner instrument. An enterprising teen, Williams quickly taught himself to modify and improve his $100 guitar to sound and feel like his friend’s high-performance Charvel.
Williams was well versed in guitar craft by the time he arrived at Jackson, where he did wiring and setup work. His attention to detail drew the attention of acclaimed Master Builder Mike Shannon, and Williams was subsequently given sole responsibility for custom assembly work. Under Shannon’s expert wing, Williams slowly worked his way backward through the production process—from final assembly to buffing and polishing to mill work.
“The most rewarding aspect of my position is being a player and the builder,” Williams said. “Getting to feel and hear the difference of each build; knowing what went into it having done each step and learning from each variance of the process is a privilege.”
At Jackson, Williams has contributed to many high-profile Custom Shop projects, including management of the relic process, assembly and setup for the Randy Rhoads Tribute Concorde Replica models, and initial conception and design of the B7 and B8 models.
Williams also built the first Jackson “multi-scale” instrument. In what he good-naturedly referred to as “a beast of a build,” he created an eight-string Soloist model with an innovative 27.75”-25” scale length and asymmetrical five-piece neck.
“BIG” ROB KNOWLES
Jackson Master Builder
Knowles’ experience with musical instruments dates to his early childhood years, when he became enthralled by an electric guitar he took apart and re-assembled under the guidance and supervision of Senior Master Builder, Louis Salgado. At the age 9, Knowles was not only playing guitars; he was building them. It is then he discovered his calling.
During his teenage years, the art of guitar-building continued to follow him, as he was introduced to one of the original Fender Custom Shop Master Builders, John Page, during Knowles’ studies in a guitar program.
He entered the big leagues as an adult, joining Fender in 2004, and holding several roles across multiple functions in the FMIC production line. He eventually developed an interest in mastering the intricacies of complex high-performance builds in Specialty brands, and proudly earned the title of Master Builder in 2021.
Jackson Custom Select Dealers
GAK
76-82 North Road,
Brighton, East Sussex,
BN1 1YD, England.
01273 665400
Andertons
58 & 59 Woodbridge Road
Guildford, Surrey,
GU1 4RF, England,
01483 456 777
Peach Guitars
3 Crown Gate Wyncolls Road Severalls Industrial Park,
Colchester
CO4 9HZ, United Kingdom
01206 765 777
Gear 4 Music
Kettlestring Lane,
Clifton Moor, York,
YO30 4XF,
United Kingdom
0330 365 4444
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Project Music
16 Bartholomew Street East
Exeter
EX4 3BG
United Kingdom
01392 425 125
Guitar Shop Reggio Emilia
Via Premuda, 28/G,
42123 Reggio Emilia RE, Italy
0522 305916
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Sergio Tomassone
Via Pier De' Crescenzi, 12,
40131 Bologna BO,
Italy
051 6490868
Merula
Via San Rocco, 20,
12062 Roreto CN,
Italy
0172.495591
