Jackson Pro Series Mark Heylmun RR24-7

Sound-wise, this Jackson Mark Heylmun signature is fantastic. It sounds exactly how a Pro Series guitar should – aggressive and clear. However, the build quality and attention to detail leave a lot to be desired, especially for an instrument in this price range (approx. 5000 PLN / €1100).

There were several issues right out of the box:

Loose Hardware: After only a few hours of playing, both the volume knob nut and the output jack became completely loose and had to be tightened.

Poor Craftsmanship: The plate for the string locking screws has very messy and uneven drill holes. Because of this, one screw sits deep in the body while the other one sticks out noticeably.

Useless Tools: While the guitar comes with a set of Allen keys, none of them actually fit the most crucial parts of the guitar – specifically the locking nut and the string lock screws at the bridge. I had to use my own tools to make any adjustments.

Overall, it’s a very cool guitar with a great sound, but the sloppy execution makes it feel more like a toy than a professional instrument. At this price point, I expected much better quality control.

The Jackson Pro Series Mark Heylmun RR24-7 plays as good as it looks. None of the photos does this guitar justice. The gold hardware and the guitars shape gives it both a beautiful and menacing presence.

Sound:
The Fishman Fluence modern pick-ups gives you a pro sound straight out of the box. I was so surprised by the lack of noise that I thought a had a noise gate in my chain. They thump on the transient notes and stay quite on the pauses creating a insane punch. Sustain is however not a issue as you can boost the gain on your amp and still keep all your clarity.

Features:
Having played various V shapes over the years this is the first V that I have played that has perfect access to the 24th fret. You can comfortably sweep from the 24th fret without any obstruction. This is due to the fact that the guitar has a shredders cutaway behind the neck.
The guitar also features a belly cut away that furthers the comfort in playing the guitar. The neck plays incredibly smooth and fast.
The Floyd Rose stays in tune and I have not had any issues.

Quality:

The guitar came all the way to South Africa and was still perfectly setup straight out of the box. The frets are worked of as smooth as butter. And the finish feels extremely high end. Only thing that detracts from the quality is the volume knob moves a bit to easy so you have to check every now and then that you did not knock the volume down.

Conclusion:
If you are looking for a seven string I would highly suggest you go for this guitar. I was fortunate enough to get the Ibanez XPTB 720- bkf a month before this guitar and I can honestly say this guitar blows it out of the water in all aspects. The combination of the looks, playabillty and the pick-ups makes this a must have.

As soon as I saw that Jackson made a 7 string Rhoads I knew I had to get it. I've seen some of the bad press Jackson's QC has been getting online but the guitar I got is flawless and easily feels on par with other high quality guitars in the same range or even higher. I could not spot any noticeable QC issues and the guitar feels really smooth to play. It has no neck dive, the neck is thin and the Floyd is stable. I always associated Fishmans with a proggy djent tone but they can dial in pretty much any metal tone and give a high output active tone with a lot of clarity

I feel its lacking in some minor features like stainless steel frets, flush mount straplocks, stainless steel hardware on the Floyd, locking tuners, and satin back on the neck that many brands like Schecter, LTD and Solar have in a similar guitars. But given the price I got it for on Thomann was around 1100 USD, which is significantly lower than the standard 1600 USD price tag, I was okay with losing some small features since it beat out most competitors in price. Another downside is that the Rhoads shape is not the most comfortable to play while sitting down

Overall, I think if you want a pointy shaped 7 string with a Floyd this is one of the best options on the market (options are pretty limited) and it's Thomann price beats out most other similar guitars like Schecter SLS Elite, Dave Davidson Warrior and Ibanez Xiphos, so losing some minor features isn't a big deal

I was very impressed with this guitar!

I’ve been avoiding 7-strings for the past 10 years due to their necks and playability issues (especially for tech death and shredding). However, this one changed my mind.

The neck is amazing for shredding, thanks to its low action. While I generally prefer EMG pickups, the Fishmans are alright.
Additionally, the guitar's weight is balanced, making it easy to play while standing.

All in all at €1200 its a steal!