One of Marty Friedman’s main guitars during Megadeth’s Rust in peace Era, a Jackson Kelly from the USA from 1985, has gone on sale at Reverb.
The $125,000 price tag will put many off—you could get 545 Squier Affinity Stratocasters and a bit of change for that—but it’s a real piece of thrash metal history.
The all-black, USA-built guitar is nicknamed #2 and has a matching sticker on the side. It was also used on Rust in peace‘s twice platinum certified follow-up album, Countdown to extinctionand has over 1,000 Megadeth shows under his belt.
Many guitars would break under such intense use, but the listing on Reverb underscores how well it has been cared for over the past five decades by some of the world’s finest guitar makers, most notably Gary Brawer.
The guitar was decommissioned when Friedman left Megadeth in 2000 and has been kept in climate-controlled storage ever since to ensure it remains in top condition.
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In addition to Megadeth, the guitar was also used frequently on his two albums with Cacophony, his band with Jason Becker, and on his first two solo albums.
The listing also states that it is one of the first 500 Jackson guitars ever made, “making it a true San Dimas masterpiece.”
“The guitar was the first USA Jackson I ever owned and the first quality guitar I purchased,” says a statement from Friedman on the guitar’s certificate of authenticity. “I bought it in Hawaii around 1985 when I was in the band Hawaii.”
“Originally it had a black and white tiger stripe graphic and two humbuckers and two tone controls. When I joined Megadeth, it was repainted black and converted to a single humbucker with a volume control.”
It also features Jackson’s famous shark fin inlays and pointed headstock, and there are numerous scratches on the back of the guitar, indicating its role as Friedman’s primary touring guitar during his time with Megadeth.
Friedman inscribed “Speed Metal Symphony” on the back of the guitar, and the hard case features the old label with Friedman’s home address.
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“This is not just any guitar, but a legendary instrument that shaped the sound of metal and shred. Marty Friedman recorded several groundbreaking albums with this exact guitar,” the list continues.
Since its purchase in an eBay auction on May 15, 2011, the instrument has been in the possession of Friedman’s long-time manager.
Proceeds from the sale went to the Jason Becker Special Needs Trust & ALS Therapy Development Institute, “making this instrument not only a piece of metal history, but also part of an important cause.”
Go to Reverb to see the list.
