NGD! Well I went down to the Crossroads....

[Rollin Hand]

I'll start with the story.

When I was 16 years old, I went to my Friend Cory's place to watch a movie. We both dug guitars, and this reputedly was about guitars, so great!

We sat on the floor in his living room, watching this movie on VHS through his family's 21-inch TV.
The movie was king of OK.

Then one of the characters saidh"Ohh, I can get us there real quick. Jack ;utler's gonna like you...." and my world changed.

This move was "Crossroads." No,B4itney Spears wasn't in it, but Ralph Macchio was, and in that movie, he faced off against Steve Vai, aka Jack Butler, for the souls of him and his friend.

I walked home after seeing that movie a changed man....er, 16 year old. I had heard exactly how I wanted to play the guitar.

I was playing on an old Harmony H802 that I bought from a friend for $50. That would no longer do. I need a locking trem, humbuckers, and to practice, practice, PRACTICE!

That summer, I had my first summer job. The next fall, I went to Winnipeg with my Dad on one of his supply trips. We went to a few stores, and I settled on my RG410. It was notably red, with an original Edge, and while I loved it, it still wasn't that guitar.

Over the years, I never forgot that red guitar. I looked for necks on eBay, I looked at candy-apple red paint, I tried to find a source for a body, but nothing was right. I knew Jackson made some that looked right, but we made of ash, and had Duncans, and cost US$3500.

Then, this summer, after literally 32 years, I saw that Jackson was going to introduce the JB22. I was dumbfounded that it was finally going to be possible to get the Jack Butler guitar.

So I preordered. And waited, and wondered if I had made the right decision. Then, on November 15......

[Rollin Hand]

Yeah, it was a lot of money: more than I have ever spent on a guitar. But it is the Jack Butler model. The teenage dream (at least the one I can share here) has come true.

2020 has been a disaster. I needed this.

[slowhand84]

I'll start with the story.

When I was 16 years old, I went to my Friend Cory's place to watch a movie. We both dug guitars, and this reputedly was about guitars, so great!

We sat on the floor in his living room, watching this movie on VHS through his family's 21-inch TV.
The movie was king of OK.

Then one of the characters saidh"Ohh, I can get us there real quick. Jack ;utler's gonna like you...." and my world changed.

This move was "Crossroads." No,B4itney Spears wasn't in it, but Ralph Macchio was, and in that movie, he faced off against Steve Vai, aka Jack Butler, for the souls of him and his friend.

I walked home after seeing that movie a changed man....er, 16 year old. I had heard exactly how I wanted to play the guitar.

I was playing on an old Harmony H802 that I bought from a friend for $50. That would no longer do. I need a locking trem, humbuckers, and to practice, practice, PRACTICE!

That summer, I had my first summer job. The next fall, I went to Winnipeg with my Dad on one of his supply trips. We went to a few stores, and I settled on my RG410. It was notably red, with an original Edge, and while I loved it, it still wasn't that guitar.

Over the years, I never forgot that red guitar. I looked for necks on eBay, I looked at candy-apple red paint, I tried to find a source for a body, but nothing was right. I knew Jackson made some that looked right, but we made of ash, and had Duncans, and cost US$3500.

Then, this summer, after literally 32 years, I saw that Jackson was going to introduce the JB22. I was dumbfounded that it was finally going to be possible to get the Jack Butler guitar.

So I preordered. And waited, and wondered if I had made the right decision. Then, on November 15......

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This model is actually the "SD22 JB", to be precise . Looks great, enjoy it! Can never go wrong with a Jackson, I have two killer older Japanese models and I will never let 'em go.

[nomadh]

[

[uwmcscott]

The waiting is the hardest part.... glad you were able to finally secure the dream guitar! And I hope it lives up to your expectations, it's certainly an eye grabbing guitar. Congrats and enjoy it in health and happiness!

[Rollin Hand]

The waiting is the hardest part.... glad you were able to finally secure the dream guitar! And I hope it lives up to your expectations, it's certainly an eye grabbing guitar. Congrats and enjoy it in health and happiness!

In person, it's stunning. The funny part is that I never realised the movie guitar had a sparkle paintjob until an argument on Jemsite, which, one could imagine, has a significant Vai fanatic contingent.

I tried to capture how the sparkles reflect on the side of the bridge on the last pic. That really threw me at first.

And it might be rare: I have read an ubsubstantiated report that only 10 were alotted to Canada. The store I bought it through, the biggest chain in Canada, says they got 5.

[fullonshred]

Congrats on a Lifetime Guitar grab! Very very nice. I wonder why they waited so long? And I STILL love Crossroads, just a super movie I can watch almost anytime. I walked out of that movie changed as well - I knew I had to have Jami Gertz. 34 years later I am still waiting.

Body, paint and headstock remind me very much of my Charvel by Jackson 5fx that @Raindog badgered me into trading him out of. My neck is Rosewood, and my trem is a black Jackson/Floyd . Has a neck SC and a bridge bucker. It's a great playing axe, too.

[fatjack]

As long you don't start wearing ruby slippers to match it you're good.

[golem]

For context:

[Rollin Hand]

Congrats on a Lifetime Guitar grab! Very very nice. I wonder why they waited so long? And I STILL love Crossroads, just a super movie I can watch almost anytime. I walked out of that movie changed as well - I knew I had to have Jami Gertz. 34 years later I am still waiting.

Body, paint and headstock remind me very much of my Charvel by Jackson 5fx that @Raindog badgered me into trading him out of. My neck is Rosewood, and my trem is a black Jackson/Floyd . Has a neck SC and a bridge bucker. It's a great playing axe, too.

She is married to a billionaire, who is part owner of the Atlanta Hawks. You might be waiting a while longer than I waited for the guitar. Just sayin'...

[Rollin Hand]

As long you don't start wearing ruby slippers to match it you're good.

Or slippers that match my basement carpet.

[Raindog]

Most fans of the movie know this but, just in case, (from IMDB): "Steve Vai played both sides of the guitar duel while acting as Jack Butler, the devil's guitarist. Ry Cooder recorded the slide parts and produced the soundtrack." "Though the blues guitar sounds aren't truly coming from Ralph Macchio's fingers, he plays the music of Steve Vai and Ry Cooder note for note. His fingering, slides and bends are precise until the "main" solo, which incorporates Niccolò Paganini's "5th Caprice", where he does not finger the correct locations on the guitar. He mostly uses the same pattern (scale on the top frets, then another one in the bottom frets). The scales shift and change sound, but his patterns remain the same."

Oh, and at the time of the movie, Juilliard did not offer a classical guitar course.

"Eugene's Trick Bag" was fully transcribed in "Guitar World" magazine in 1987.

[Houblues]

The older I get, the more important I find it to get closure on childhood wants and dreams.

As possible, of course. Congratulations!