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Gear Reviews
Monster
of Rock
The GJ2 Arete 5-Star
G
rover Jackson is a name forever associated with classic metal and
custom “superstrats,” thanks to Randy
Rhoads and iconic bands like Iron
Maiden, Megadeth, Def Leppard, and
Anthrax. Grover has moved on from
the original Jackson brand (now owned
by Fender), and is producing his own
solidbodies under the GJ2 moniker, all
from a small shop located in Orange
County, California. These axes sport
meticulous builds and premium materials, and the first to roll our way is
the Arete. So let’s crank up the gain
and see what the noise is all about.
The Arete speaks to a specific
lineage in guitar design, starting
over 30 years ago when luthiers and
hot-rodders in southern California
started modding Stratocasters with
humbuckers, flatter fingerboards, and
the then-revolutionary Floyd Rose
locking tremolo system. These may
seem like common, everyday guitar
features today, but back then, this was
cutting-edge innovation. Now fastforward to today’s GJ2 Arete 5-Star.
The test model we looked at came with
a basswood neck and body, rosewood
fingerboard, 251/2" neck scale, two Habanero humbuckers, master Volume
and Tone, and the company’s Infinity
fret markers. For hardware, there’s
the all-important Floyd and locking
nut, Gotoh tuners, three-way toggle,
and aluminum pickup surrounds.
Other decorative nuances include an
unusual (but interesting) border on
the headstock and cool, modern knobs
right out of the sci-fi age. On the back,
look for two covers over the electronics cavity and tremolo system. FYI,
the company is also coming out with
a hardtail version and offers various
tonewood options for the body, such
as korina, walnut and rosewood. There
VINTAGE GUITAR
are even non-locking tremolo versions,
for guitarists who don’t like the bother
or perceived tone-sucking properties
of locking nuts.
A few other notes: GJ2 makes their
own pickups. These Habaneros are
mid-output, meaning they let more of
the body tone through, but they also
offer high-output ones for those who
want that ’80s metal scream. Also look
for three-piece neck-through contruction, which offers a lot of rigidity and
sustain, since this center section runs
the length of the instrument. Picking
up the Arete, one immediately notices
its beefy neck profile, especially above
the 12th fret, where the fingerboard
gets expansive. This would be an issue
on a blues-bending axe, but for a metal
machine, it’s perfect for fretboard
acrobatics, from tapping to shredding
to sweeping. More than that, it’s a
highly comfortable neck, despite the
size. We became acclimated to it after
just a few minutes of playing time, but
if you’re looking for a skinny PRS or
Fender-style neck, this isn’t it.
Plugged in, the Arete is clearly a
high-performance guitar, allowing
for the kind of daredevil stunt playing
that put the shred generation on the
map. One might expect an ’80s-style
guitar to have a 24-fret neck, but actually many of them back in the day
were 22-fretters and that works for
this guitar, too. Moreover, with the
big double cutaway, smooth heel, and
wide, flat fingerboard you can unleash
fast, legato runs all the way up the neck
without any hindrance. Also note that
the body is very comfortable to hold;
even with its Jackson-styled squared
edges, there’s a big contour cut in the
back that makes the guitar easy on
your midriff.
Tonally, the Arete 5-Star sounds
S e p t em b er 2012
stellar. Even going through a
1x12 digital-modeling amp, the
guitar just roared to life with big,
chunky riffs and screaming solos.
From your best George Lynch or
Yngwie shreddage, the guitar was
right on the mark with a bright tone
full of fire. We particularly liked the
middle setting with both pickups
on, which was balanced and had a
little dash of out-of-phase quack.
Even with heavy gain ladled on, the
tone was crisp and clear, even for
chords. You could imagine leaving
it on this setting for the bulk of a
live set and getting the best of both
worlds: crunchy chords and liquid,
supple leads. The Floyd, of course,
performed like a charm, adding to
the stunt-guitar magic.
GJ2 ARETE 5-STAR
Price: $3,999
Contact: Gj2guitars.
com
A big surprise was how
great the Arete sounded clean,
especially when apply classic
’80s effects like chorus, reverb,
and echo. With those settings
applied, the guitar delivered
massive, shimmering chords and
sparkling arpeggios. Kudos to
Grover Jackson for these excellent Habanero pickups – they’re
perfectly balanced for all kinds
of rock, clean to dirty, and all
colors in between. Add to that
a custom leather guitar strap, a
signed certificate of authenticity from Grover himself, and a
knock-out hardshell case (the
Tolex on our review model’s
case matched the guitar’s skyblue finish), and you have a
pretty luxorious metal machine. Granted, the Arete 5-Star
is priced as a high-end guitar,
but for the classic metal-era
rocker who wants nothing but
the best, GJ2 is a cut far above its
mass-produced counterparts. –
Pete Prown
VintageGuitar.com