After years of speculation, Jackson has unveiled the Pro Series Wes Borland King V (available here), a production-model version of the V-style guitar that has become synonymous with the Limp Bizkit guitarist.
The Pro Series Wes Borland King V traces its roots back to one of Borland’s longtime stage guitars: a modified left-handed Jackson Randy Rhoads model. The signature model features a Nyatoh body paired with a neck-through Maple neck reinforced with graphite rods for maximum stability.
An Ebony fingerboard houses 24 jumbo frets across a 25.5″ scale length, while a black finish accented by thick white binding, pearloid sharkfin inlays, black hardware, and an aggressively pointed King V body shape creates an unmistakable silhouette. Y’know, like everything Wes Borland has ever worn on stage.
In keeping with the growing trend among modern metal signature guitars, Borland opted for radical simplicity. The guitar features a single bridge-position Seymour Duncan Invader SH-8 humbucker — one of the highest-output passive pickups on the market.
Control-wise, there’s only a master volume knob. According to Borland, even that was carefully positioned far away from the bridge to prevent accidental adjustments during bouts of tremolo abuse and overall frenetic stage performances.
Borland’s playing style places significant demands on tuning stability. To meet those demands, Jackson equipped the King V with a Floyd Rose 1500 Series double-locking tremolo, while die-cast tuners round out the hardware package.
I mean really, this is exactly what you want it to be – a Wes Borland signature model that doesn’t try to get all fancy about things. This is what the dude uses, and that’s what you’re getting.
“It’s taking me a long time to figure out what I need as a guitar player. For me, you just need volume, pickups, locking tremolo system and 24 frets, that’s it,” said Wes Borland.
“Live, it just needs to be as bulletproof as possible. You know, I’ve been very rough with guitars over the years. I’ve come to realize that the more streamlined our guitars are, the less problems we have on stage…
“You know Jackson is fun, the over the top, shred-a-copter shapes and my outrageous stage costumes pushing the boundaries, this fits in more with that. The way people dress, it affects how you behave, and I think it also changes how I play guitar.”
“Wes Borland is unlike anyone else in nu-metal — nobody looks or sounds like him,” said Peter Wichers, Product Development Manager, Jackson Guitars.
“When our artist rep Mike Tempesta introduced Wes to some Jackson Custom Shop guitars, he picked a left-handed King V and modded it for his right-hand playing, which left the headstock logo upside down. He loved it, so we kept it.
“That happy accident became one of the most iconic details of the whole build. Being involved in the development of his Signature King V has been an incredibly cool project, and I think that shows in every inch of this guitar.”
Get the Jackson Pro Series Signature Wes Borland King V here for $1,299.99, and keep up with all our Jackson coverage right here!
