Gear

The Weigh-Up: Jackson Guitars Pro Series Dave Davidson Signature Warrior 7 (Gear Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Apr 28, 2025

7 min read

In the pantheon of wild guitar shapes, the Jackson Warrior absolutely must be at the top of the list of weird and wonderful shapes. It’s not for the faint hearted and it’s incredibly eye-catching. Apparently, Dave Davidson didn’t think that the shape itself was eye-catching enough, so he decided to roll out an updated version of his signature model in two very loud colourways: Ferrari Red and Yellow. Bold finishes for fast cars and guitars, it would seem.

The team at Jackson sent one of the Ferrari Yellow models over for me to peruse, and to call this thing bright is an understatement. I genuinely gasped when I pulled it out of the box and saw how beautifully yellow it was, with the black hardware complimenting the brightness perfectly to balance out the aesthetic. This is a guitar built for ripping the gnarliest of riffs and the most soaring leads possible, which makes sense when you listen to anything Mr Davidson has released with Revocation.

Choose Your Fighter: Pro Series Dave Davidson Signature in Ferrari Yellow and Red

So, let’s start from the top. The Warrior features a Nyatoh body, Maple neck with a matching Maple fretboard on the Yellow model and an Ebony board on the Red, a matching set of Dimarzio Occult Classic Pickups, Floyd Rose 1000 series trem and 24 jumbo frets. The most important update to the 2025 model however, is the extension of the scale length to 26.5”, which is perfect for anyone wanting to tune a little lower and have optimal string tension across the board.

I’ve never spent much time with the Warrior shape at all. I’m not in any form of musical project that would call for any semblance of extreme guitar shape and largely, I’m more of an offset or traditional body shape guy. With that said, I couldn’t believe how immediately comfortable the Warrior shape was when I first sat down with the guitar. I’ve spent decades playing in the classical position when practicing and this shape lends itself to that perfectly. The bottom horn sits nicely between the legs and operates as a nice anchor point, offering a really comfortable playing position effortlessly.

Now, how does it sound? Mean as hell. The Dimarzio Occult Classic pickups have a really grindy snarl to them and a rich mid-range that lends themselves perfectly to thrashy riffs with a tight low end. They also offer a really articulate sound when playing leads and the neck pickup has a wonderfully round and full clean sound. I found myself jumping between pickups a lot when noodling around with lead parts to make the most of the bite of the bridge pickup and the smoothness of the neck.

While this thing looks and sounds aggressive in so many ways, it’s certainly more dynamic and versatile than appearances would tell you.

I’ve got to be very honest and say that I was a bit sceptical when I saw that these were an Indonesian build, but with that said, I was pleasantly surprised across the board at the build quality. I’ve seen a lot of import models in my years playing guitar and seen a tonne of nightmare factory faults, but this guitar was clean as a whistle. It was also setup perfectly straight out of the box, which I never really expect but always appreciate.

I’ve never been much of a trem guy, but I’ll always happily put one through its paces when presented with one. The Floyd Rose 1000 series can take a hammering and it was a tonne of fun to divebomb to my hearts content only to return to zero and find the strings were still spot on tuning wise. Floyd Rose know exactly what they’re doing, so I can’t say I’m surprised.

I do have one bone to pick here and that’s the gig bag that comes with the guitar. As I’ve said above, the Warrior is a really wild shape and that makes it hard to get any form of case besides the designated Jackson hard case. You can’t just go into a music store and buy a generic case for a guitar of this shape like you could for any old super strat or Les Paul type model. In the interest of preserving this guitar, the bag that comes with it is something you would immediately discard and you’d just have to commit to the aftermarket purchase of the fitted case for a few reasons: the bag itself is not a good fit for the shape so it moves around a fair, but it’s also incredible thin and doesn’t offer a great deal of security for the guitar.

I get it though, with the premium specs of the guitar and all the things that go into producing it, you’re not going to add a form fit hardcase in with the lot. But for anyone wanting to keep their guitar safe from harm or wanting this Warrior to be a road warrior, you’d need to get your hands on a case quick smart.

That gripe aside, I can’t say enough about how damn cool this guitar is. Most extreme guitar shapes have always come in black, a dark grey that is pretty much black or with some insane graphic that should be long forgotten about. To see a seven string Warrior in the market in bright Ferrari Yellow or Red is epic to see and Jackson should be commended for being so gracious in making production models of Dave’s epic custom shop guitars. It’s almost a good thing that I have zero practical use for a hyper bright and pointy 7 string, because I’d just be telling Jackson to invoice me immediately.

Review by Nicholas Simonsen @blackechomusic