Lee Malia LM-87 | Jackson Guitars | RRP $1799
Lee Malia is an incredibly versatile guitar player, and as such requires an incredible versatile guitar. Having access to just about every brand and model, Malia has played a slew of guitars throughout his career; though seems to settle on more robust and uniquely shaped electrics. A great example of this is his new Lee Malia LM-87 from Jackson Guitars, using the lesser known Surfcaster shape for his signature.
The LM-87 is part of the Pro Series of Jackson electrics, featuring an Okoume body and a unique open pore black finish, custom-wound Jackson LM-87 and a tune-o-matic style bridge with fine tuners. Lee Malia and Bring Me The Horizon have been pushing the boundaries of metal, emo and hardocre for decades, shifting through smaller underground venues to all-out stadium rock, and their live shows are a sight to behold. Bigger production often means artists are more reliant on their instruments to ensure the thousands of fans get the show they’ve paid for, and reliable is the name of the game when we’re looking at this new signature guitar.
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The Jackson LM-87 is reasonably well-weighted, the neck being of set-neck construction with an Okoume neck to match the body. The neck feels modern and sleek, but retains enough heft to really grab a hold of big chords. The neck’s radius is a 12″ to 16″ compound radius, and increasingly common specification and a welcome one; the flatness for solos really helps while sliding across a comfortable neck shape to fret rhythms is something you won’t realise you’ve been missing.
The headstock is three-a-side design, slightly offset for good looks and a big fat Jackson script logo, the tuners being Jackson branded die-cast locking tuners. The opposite end of the spectrum is an equally interesting affair, being a hardtail design, an anchored tailpiece and tune-o-matic design. The tune-o-matic design bridge allows for really focused intonation adjustment, while the tailpiece itself offers fine tuning you’d usually find on a Floyd Rose design. The machine heads still work of course, but you can choose to use either end of the guitar for tuning.
Playability wise, The LM-87 is noticeably comfortable, ergonomic and easy, the offset body offering a nice cutaway to the higher frets, while the body carve nestles comfortably against you. The sign of a well-designed guitar is less the addition of ergonomics and more the absence of barriers or hindrances, and that’s exactly what the Jackson LM-87 did; I was focused on my playing and the great sound of the LM-87 pickups. The LM-87 offers a humbucker in the bridge and a P90 in the neck, a three-way switch between them and a push/pull split for the humbucker on the volume pot.
Sonically the LM-87 humbucker is cleaner than you’d expect from a metal player like Lee Malia, though with the band’s deviation into the world of industrial, electronic, rock and pop, it makes sense for Lee to require such a balanced, clear and concise sounding pickup. A wide swathe of tones is available easily, either pushed harder into a pedal and amp for grit, or used clean and left that way, or further processed with otherworldly effects and ambience; Malia needs to do both.
The P90 pickup again, isn’t as gritty and heated as some other, more vintage style pickups, yet it retains the heft and warmth of a P90, perfectly balanced for cleans and provides great string attack as well as controlled low end, even being great for solo guitar. Splitting the coil gives the Jackson LM-87 some jangle, again expanding the sonic palette that the guitar offers.
While Bring Me The Horizon have come from a metal background, their music has transcended genre and expanding into other worlds, so it makes sense that their tools need to as well, and here we are at the Lee Malia Jackson LM-87.
A unique look introduces the guitar as its own beast, pulling the best design and hardware elements into one incredibly cohesive and eye-catching design. The set neck design provides a snappier and more controlled tone, while the matching Oukume body and neck help the entire guitar to sing. The open pore design is beautiful and a reminder of the natural elements that the six strings are resonating through, all perfectly in tune thanks to both the locking tuner design and the fine tuners at the bridge. Well weighted, beautifully crafted and a guitar that offers incredible sound, the Jackson LM-87 is absolutely a keeper.
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