Diamond Rowe - Tetrarch 'Making Headlines as Jackson Guitars' First-Ever Female Signature Artist'
Huge news from the Jackson Guitars camp this week as they unveiled a new signature model for Diamond Rowe, the lead guitarist of metal/hard rock band Tetrarch. This stunning, high-specced Monarkh model also marks the very first female artist signature model in Jackson history.
Crafted in partnership with Diamond, this model boasts a 25.5“ scale, Monarkh-styled nyatoh body draped with a gorgeous poplar burl top, three-piece nyatoh set-neck with graphite reinforcement, and 12˝ radius bound ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets. The black chrome-covered active EMG® 81/85 humbucking bridge and neck pickups, three-way toggle switch, single volume control, and tone control provide a range of tonal options. The Evertune® bridge ensures excellent tuning stability, while the Dark Rose finish with a new 3+3 colour-matched Jackson headstock and black hardware looks stunning.
We were very fortunate to link up for a chat with Diamond to chat about the players that have inspired her, working with Jackson on her new signature model and the importance of representation as a both a woman and a person of colour in the heavy music world.
When did you start playing guitar and who were the players that inspired you?
My first ever guitar lesson was my 12th birthday, which makes it easy to remember when I started. I had a friend in school who was a little older than me, and she was constantly talking about Kurt Cobain and Nirvana as they were her favourite band. That inspired me to pick up a Nirvana album. I ended up picking Nirvana’s Greatest Hits and I picked up Toxicity by System Of A Down because I had heard a lot about that band.
I feel like I made a decision at that point that this was my next venture. When I get into something, I never want to be a bystander, I always wanna figure out how I can do it myself. So, I was in the car with my mum one day and I told her I wanted to play guitar. She bought me a $120 Telecaster knockoff that I played into the ground for 10 hours a day.
I took it to the bathroom, I took it to the dinner table, I just didn’t put it down. Long story short, that’s how my guitar journey started.
How has your playing and musical style evolved since then?
I would say bands like Korn, Linkin Park and Slipknot have been my favourite bands from the start all the way up till now. I started out with the two albums I already mentioned, but then Metallica quickly became my all time favourite band. So, I learned to play to Master Of Puppets. I bought the tab book and it was way beyond my skill level, but every day I would come home, watch Live Shit: Binge & Purge and I would learn through Metallica.
As I started getting comfortable with heavy music and really loving it, it just took over my life. I went through a thrash phase where all I listened to was Metallica, Kreator and Testament, then I went through a metalcore phase where I listened to lots of Killswitch Engage, Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine. At the same time, I was still obsessed with players like Slash, Zakk Wylde and Dimebag.
Josh and I started Tetrarch when we were 14 years old and in middle school. We started off because Metallica was our mutual love. We started off playing thrashy 5-6 minute songs with 2 minute solo sections and 3-4 verses. Over the years, we have evolved into what we are now. I think that comes back to the bands that gave us a foundation in music and the ones we love the most like Korn, Slipknot, Disturbed and all that. For me, those were the bands that were still heavy, but they were gateway bands that had catchy choruses and I’m such a sucker for that.
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What was the most important spec or design aspect for you when it came to developing your signature model?
I’ve played the singlecut kind of shape for a long time. It’s what’s I’m most comfortable with, so the Monarkh shape was a natural choice for me when we started working on this model. I’m a big girl. I can’t play a tiny guitar on stage and that’s just not gonna work for me. When it came to making a signature model, it was about doing what was comfortable for me and actually being what I would play.
Most of the specs are simply things that are the most comfortable for me and what I’ve been playing for so long. The Evertune bridge was a no brainer for me as I’ve been them 6 or 7 years now. EMG’s was another no brainer. I’m a ‘don’t fix what ain’t broken’ kind of person and the EMG 81/85 set is a classic and I’ve been rocking them for so long. I couldn’t have a guitar without those as they’re so important for me.
You are officially the first female artist to ever have a Jackson Signature guitar. How does that feel and what does that mean to you?
I mean, it’s awesome. I think one of the coolest things about it is having done it by just being completely genuine to myself. When I was younger, we used to play these clubs in Georgia on the weekends when I was in high school. Crowds would just flock in the room and look at me on stage like I was a zoo animal. It was flattering, but I didn’t get it. All I wanted was to get up there and rip like Wes Borland.
I didn’t understand what the big deal was about until I got a bit older, which was when I started to understand the relevance of being both a woman and person of colour in the heavy music space.
It means a lot to me, because it’s cool that someone else can see me and feel that it was achievable or that they feel comfortable to do it themselves. Being able to that from something that I love is awesome.
All I ever wanted was to be good, to play metal and tour the world. To get to do that and to join such an elite club of Jackson signature artists is just super cool. I feel super proud.
Interview by Nick Simonsen @blackechomusic
Follow Diamond Rowe via Instagram
Listen to Tetrarch online and via their website
Suss the Jackson Pro Series Signature Diamond Rowe DR12MG EVTN6 here
Features:
- Arched top Nyatoh body
- Maple cap and Poplar burl veneer
- 3-piece nyatoh neck with graphite reinforcement
- 12" radius ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets
- 25.5" scale length
- Evertune® Bridge
- 24 Jumbo frets
- Luminlay side-dots
- 2 Volume controls
- 3-way toggle
- Jackson® branded locking style tuners
- Gig-bag included
