Jackson KV1 Dave Mustaine signature
The Jackson KV1 was the US-made successor to the King V Pro. The KV1 was in production from 1996 to 2001, making it the longest running Mustaine signature series. Specifications changed a little during the five years: Early KV1s were offered in either black pearl or natural korina finishes. Poplar was used as the body wood for solid colour guitars, and these instruments came with LSR tuners. According to the catalogues, pickups were a Duncan TB-5 and an SH-4, but I personally think they used TB-4. In 1999, alder replaced poplar as the body wood and Jackson also added two more finish options – black and transparent black. In 2000 LSR tuners were replaced by regular Jackson tuners and a Duncan TB-4 was used as the bridge pickup. I have seen both jumbo and thin frets on KV1s and the neck shapes have also varied, with the earlier examples having thinner necks.
Although the KV1 was Dave’s signature model, he didn’t seem to use them that much. However, he has been pictured with both a korina and a black KV1 and he also had at least one built with a Floyd Rose bridge.
