The Guitar Player's Resource
Custom Shop Artistry Meets Shred Machine Engineering. Some guitars are built. Others are forged in the fires of pure creative obsession. This 2010 Jackson USA Custom Shop Kelly represents what happens when Mike Learn's Tribal Dragon artistry collides with neck-through construction that would make a Formula One engineer weep with envy.
You've seen plenty of graphic finishes that look like temporary tattoos slapped onto plywood, but Learn's Tribal Dragon work transforms this Kelly into legitimate art that happens to have strings attached. Every curve and flame in that polyurethane finish tells a story, while the graphic-matched headstock proves Jackson's Custom Shop doesn't do anything halfway.
Here's where serious engineering meets serious shredding: that quartersawn maple neck-through construction doesn't just look impressive on spec sheets - it delivers sustain that seems to violate basic physics. When your note finally fades, you'll swear the silence sounds different. Combined with that compound 12-16" radius and speed neck profile measuring .800" at the first fret, complex passages feel effortless under your fingers.
Those "Fire Breath" abalone inlays by Ron Thorn aren't just fingerboard jewelry - they're navigational aids during the kind of lightning-fast runs this instrument was born to handle. Twenty-four jumbo frets on bound ebony provide smooth, snag-free travel from lowest lows to screaming highs.
The pickup combination tells you everything about this guitar's personality: that Seymour Duncan SH-2N Jazz in the neck position delivers crystalline clarity for complex chord work and melodic passages, while the SH-14B Custom 5 bridge pickup provides enough output to drive any amp into singing sustain without sacrificing note definition.
That Floyd Rose Original double-locking tremolo system keeps everything in tune through the most aggressive dive-bombing, because when you're channeling dragon fire through six strings, mechanical reliability isn't optional.
Make: Jackson
Model: USA Custom Shop Kelly
Year: 2010
Finish: Tribal Dragon By Mike Learn
Finish Type: Polyurethane
Country: USA
Serial #: J7479
Condition: Excellent
Weight: 8lbs 7.8oz
Body Type: Solid
Body Wood: Alder
Scale Length: 25.5"
Neck Joint: Neck-through
Neck Wood: Quartersawn Maple
Neck Finish: Matching
Finger Board: Ebony
Neck Binding: Ivoroid
Neck Radius: Compound 12"-16"
Neck Profile: Speed Neck
Neck Thickness at 1st: .800"
Neck Thickness at 12th: .891"
Inlays: Fire Breath Abalone By Ron Thorn
Nut Width: 1.6875"
Nut: Floyd Rose Locking
Frets: 24 Jumbo SBB215
Headstock: Bound Graphic/Color Matched
Pickup Config: HH
Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan SH-2N Jazz
Bridge Pickup: Seymour Duncan SH-14B Custom 5
Pots: One Master Volume
Switch: 3-Way Toggle Switch
Hardware: Chrome
Tuning Machines: Jackson Sealed Diecast with Cloche Heads
Strap Buttons: Standard 17mm Oversized
Bridge: Floyd Rose Original Double Locking Tremolo
Knobs: Knurled Chrome Dome
