Jackson Soloist
Encyclopedia
The Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar
model by Jackson Guitars
officially produced since 1984 (prototypes were available in early 1980s). Jackson was essentially the pioneer of the "Superstrat" design. Overall design started as a superstrat with differences from the Stratocaster
such as a neck-thru
design and often a Floyd Rose
double-locking tremolo bridge, as well as premium woods that made the Soloist a high-end guitar.
As the 1980s brought up a shredding guitarist phenomenon, the Soloist was widely acclaimed in rock and metal music, especially by lead guitarists.
. Early examples have set necks, Stratocaster
-shaped bodies, Explorer
style headstocks, and often Charvel appointments like vintage tremolos. In the earliest days of the official Jackson company, the general Soloist style was not quite official. These models often have variations in items that later became standard like size and shape and controls placements.
The first official Soloist was serial #J0158 completed August 28, 1984 (though later serial numbered guitars were completed a week and a half earlier). Before that the Soloist styled guitars were named "Custom Strat" or "Neck-Through Body Strat" guitars. The earlier models were typically true custom guitars that follow no real standard. By the time J0158 came around the factory had a basic spec outline used as a default on all guitars ordered and only changed when specified by the customer.
The intended meanings of the model designations was to be similar to Gibson
Les Paul
Standard (Student in this case) and Les Paul Custom. The designations do not make one a lower quality instrument and the two are made in exactly the same fashion.
Pickup options were vast. A customer could get any configuration and any brand. The standard pickup brand was Seymour Duncan
until very early 1985 when the company began using in-house wound pickups standard.
Finishes were practically unlimited. While the standard colors were Platinum Pink, Ferrari Red, Ivory and Black, any custom color or airbrushed graphic was available for an upcharge.
Some items changed to help cut costs and speed up production. An example of such a change was in the mid-1980s, when the hand-shaped nibs in the binding beside the frets were discontinued to save time hand-shaving the binding between each fret. In-house manufactured pickups also became standard. Necks were also changed from a laminated style early in the year to a single piece of wood to prevent wood wastage.
1986 was the year the company moved from Glendora
aka San Dimas
and over to Ontario
. 1987 they began using a Floyd Rose-styled tremolo made in Asia with their name on the top plate. It was still possible to purchase a Floyd Rose or Kahler tremolo bridge, but the JT-6 Jackson unit was the default. A quick way to differentiate the different bridges was to look at the nut at the furthest end of the fretboard. If the nut was the primary nut with screws that go through the neck to the back, it was a Floyd Rose tremolo equipped from the factory. If the clamp was behind the nut and mounted to the surface, it was equipped with a JT6.
Also, the archtop Soloists were introduced. The initial runs were made with Brazilian rosewood fretboards, flamed maple tops and mahogany necks and backs.
Graphic finishes were very popular in this era. The list of common styles is long and unique styles even longer. In-house manufactured pickups became standard in the beginning of 1985, and mid-boost controls were introduced in many guitars.
Pickups were handwound by ex-Fender employee Abigail Ybarra, as discovered by Fender Custom Shop founder John Page who visited Jackson in the early 1990s to purchase their then-unused pickup winding machines and found her working there. She was hired by Jackson in 1985 when the Fender factory closed down and when Fender was sold by CBS
to FMIC. The expensive Masterwound pickups were wound by her and possibly the same machine since the mid-late 1980s.
Many different models were unveiled through the 1990s. It also saw the introduction of the imported Jackson Soloists at this time. The JT6 tremolos were dropped in favor of the Schaller
Floyd Rose style, which are recessed into the face of the body. Later in the decade, genuine Floyd Rose models returned.
For the 1980s custom era, the two standard classifications are the Student and Custom model. Student models feature rosewood fretboards and dot inlays. Custom models feature ebony boards, sharkfin inlays, and binding on the headstock and neck. There are many examples which blur the line. Often one can find examples with alternate fretboard material, or Students can have binding. Remember, any option was available for the asking.
Soloist models always are neck-thru
the body construction. Jackson guitars manufactures lower end guitars with the Soloist body shape mated with bolt on necks. These are known as Dinky
models.
neck. The bound fingerboard is made from ebony and has 24 jumbo frets and triangular "shark tooth" inlays made from mother of pearl (all SL1 and SL2H models use real mother of pearl for their inlays). The SL1 uses a Floyd Rose
original double-locking tremolo. It also has an HSS pickup array of Seymour Duncan
s, with the neck and middle pickups being single-slot overlapping Classic Stack humbuckers, while the bridge pickup is a TB-4 [Jazz/Blues] "Trembucker" humbucking pickup. The SL1T is the same guitar, except for the addition of a fixed bridge. All SL1s are made in the US.
pickups at neck and bridge positions. In addition, the SL2H uses a 3 way toggle selector switch rather than the 5-way selector blade found on the SL1 and SL3. The SL2H features an "Original" Floyd Rose
locking vibrato, while the SL2HT uses a fixed bridge. The SL2H-MAH is made of mahogany (neck and body "wings"), with a transparent paint finish on both body and headstock
. All SL2Hs are made in the US.
The SL2 is again a USA made Soloist with neck-thru construction (all Soloists have neck-thru constructions). The SL2 can be considered a more modest version of the SL2H, made up of maple thru-body neck and poplar wings, with an ebony board and "optional" sharktooth inlays. Most of them had a plain fingerboard without inlaid markers on it. The bridge is Jackson's Floyd Rose
-licensed double locking tremolo JT-580 which is widely used on Japanese-made Jacksons. The Jackson logo is not "mother of pearl" on SL2s while it is on SL2Hs.
Also there was a very high quality Japanese made that came to the market from the year 2000 till 2002 - the SL4 and it was from the high models of the Jackson guitars as they were made from alder or mahogany for the body-maple or mahogany for the neck's but with two deferences from the SL1 or the SL3 of Japan that were build late 90s early 2000-the SL4 comes with 22 comfortable frets-humbucker pickups and tekuchi JT 580 lp bridge units.as the model was coming in solid-trans-quilted maple finishes.
as along side by the American lines of Jackson guitars there was other economic line-in prices-from 1987 till nowadays that called Pro lines for all Jackson models.and the top of these models in Soloist model were the 90s models till 1996.
design that is obligatory for any Soloist. Along with the discontinued U.S. made SLS, the SLSMG is one of the few Soloist models not to feature the traditional pointed Jackson headstock with six inline tuners. Instead the headstock is fitted with a three tuners per side setup. Models released prior to July 2006 featured passive EMG HZ-H3 pickups while models released after this date are equipped with active EMG 85s and 81s in the bridge in the neck positions. The SLSMG's carved body is made from mahogany. The string-thru design makes the SLSMG one of the few Soloists without a Floyd Rose tremolo. All SLSMGs are made in Japan.
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
model by Jackson Guitars
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
officially produced since 1984 (prototypes were available in early 1980s). Jackson was essentially the pioneer of the "Superstrat" design. Overall design started as a superstrat with differences from the Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
such as a neck-thru
Neck-thru
Neck-through or neck-thru is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this...
design and often a Floyd Rose
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
double-locking tremolo bridge, as well as premium woods that made the Soloist a high-end guitar.
As the 1980s brought up a shredding guitarist phenomenon, the Soloist was widely acclaimed in rock and metal music, especially by lead guitarists.
Early years
There are examples of the Soloist idea going back to the days before Jackson was an official company and just a side project of Grover's while he was running CharvelCharvel
Charvel is a brand of guitar originally founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and then later, Glendora, California. Charvel guitars became popular in the 1980s due to their association with famous rock guitarists such as Edward Van Halen , Richie Sambora , Warren DeMartini ,...
. Early examples have set necks, Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
-shaped bodies, Explorer
Gibson Explorer
The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar that made its debut in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its sibling, the Flying V. The Explorer was the final development of a prototype design which years later Gibson marketed under the name Futura.The...
style headstocks, and often Charvel appointments like vintage tremolos. In the earliest days of the official Jackson company, the general Soloist style was not quite official. These models often have variations in items that later became standard like size and shape and controls placements.
The first official Soloist was serial #J0158 completed August 28, 1984 (though later serial numbered guitars were completed a week and a half earlier). Before that the Soloist styled guitars were named "Custom Strat" or "Neck-Through Body Strat" guitars. The earlier models were typically true custom guitars that follow no real standard. By the time J0158 came around the factory had a basic spec outline used as a default on all guitars ordered and only changed when specified by the customer.
Original platforms
- The Soloist Custom: standard neck-thruNeck-thruNeck-through or neck-thru is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this...
the body, 24 frets, ebonyEbonyEbony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
fretboard, "Sharkfin" genuine pearl inlays, binding on the fretboard and headstock. - The Soloist Student: standard neck-thruNeck-thruNeck-through or neck-thru is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this...
the body, 24 frets, rosewoodRosewoodRosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
fretboard, genuine pearl dot inlays.
The intended meanings of the model designations was to be similar to Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
Standard (Student in this case) and Les Paul Custom. The designations do not make one a lower quality instrument and the two are made in exactly the same fashion.
Original options
Originally the customer had the choice of 3 different bridges:- Floyd RoseFloyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
tremolo; - KahlerKahler Tremolo SystemThe Kahler Tremolo System is an electric guitar bridge with a cam operated vibrato arm system. It was invented in 1979 by Gary Kahler and Dave Storey...
cam tremolo; - String through the body (Rhoads style)
Pickup options were vast. A customer could get any configuration and any brand. The standard pickup brand was Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
until very early 1985 when the company began using in-house wound pickups standard.
Finishes were practically unlimited. While the standard colors were Platinum Pink, Ferrari Red, Ivory and Black, any custom color or airbrushed graphic was available for an upcharge.
Some items changed to help cut costs and speed up production. An example of such a change was in the mid-1980s, when the hand-shaped nibs in the binding beside the frets were discontinued to save time hand-shaving the binding between each fret. In-house manufactured pickups also became standard. Necks were also changed from a laminated style early in the year to a single piece of wood to prevent wood wastage.
1986 was the year the company moved from Glendora
Glendora, California
Glendora is a municipality in Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2010 census, the population of Glendora was 50,073....
aka San Dimas
San Dimas, California
San Dimas is a city located in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 33,371. The city historically took its name from San Dismas Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains above the northern section of present day San Dimas...
and over to Ontario
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...
. 1987 they began using a Floyd Rose-styled tremolo made in Asia with their name on the top plate. It was still possible to purchase a Floyd Rose or Kahler tremolo bridge, but the JT-6 Jackson unit was the default. A quick way to differentiate the different bridges was to look at the nut at the furthest end of the fretboard. If the nut was the primary nut with screws that go through the neck to the back, it was a Floyd Rose tremolo equipped from the factory. If the clamp was behind the nut and mounted to the surface, it was equipped with a JT6.
Also, the archtop Soloists were introduced. The initial runs were made with Brazilian rosewood fretboards, flamed maple tops and mahogany necks and backs.
Graphic finishes were very popular in this era. The list of common styles is long and unique styles even longer. In-house manufactured pickups became standard in the beginning of 1985, and mid-boost controls were introduced in many guitars.
Pickups were handwound by ex-Fender employee Abigail Ybarra, as discovered by Fender Custom Shop founder John Page who visited Jackson in the early 1990s to purchase their then-unused pickup winding machines and found her working there. She was hired by Jackson in 1985 when the Fender factory closed down and when Fender was sold by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
to FMIC. The expensive Masterwound pickups were wound by her and possibly the same machine since the mid-late 1980s.
Production era
Up to this point these guitars were each made to order and each was given a serial number that matched a detailed work order. The next big change occurred in 1990. At this time the company decided to offer Soloists in production runs rather than make them to order. These are marked by the UO serial number code. The J+4 digit number continued on only through the Custom Shop.Many different models were unveiled through the 1990s. It also saw the introduction of the imported Jackson Soloists at this time. The JT6 tremolos were dropped in favor of the Schaller
Schaller Guitarenparts
Schaller Electronic GmbH, generally known as Schaller, is a high-end German manufacturer of components for musical instruments, most famous for their fully enclosed machine heads which are standard on many top-of-the-line guitars and available as an extra cost option on many others.The company was...
Floyd Rose style, which are recessed into the face of the body. Later in the decade, genuine Floyd Rose models returned.
Basic ID
Domestic headstock logos will have "Made in USA" below or beside the logo. Guitars with the "Professional" and "Performer" logos are always imported. A USA J series serial number will always have 4 or 5 digits later, but any more means that it is an imported guitar. Archtop Soloist models have a JA + 4 digit number serial number.For the 1980s custom era, the two standard classifications are the Student and Custom model. Student models feature rosewood fretboards and dot inlays. Custom models feature ebony boards, sharkfin inlays, and binding on the headstock and neck. There are many examples which blur the line. Often one can find examples with alternate fretboard material, or Students can have binding. Remember, any option was available for the asking.
Soloist models always are neck-thru
Neck-thru
Neck-through or neck-thru is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this...
the body construction. Jackson guitars manufactures lower end guitars with the Soloist body shape mated with bolt on necks. These are known as Dinky
Jackson Dinky
The Jackson Dinky is a Superstrat-style double-cutaway electric guitar built by Jackson Guitars. The "Dinky" is aptly named for its slightly smaller than normal body size. Usually fitted with a two humbucker pickup configuration, some models also include single-coil pickups or just one bridge...
models.
The Legacy
The Soloist is perhaps the most underappreciated 1980s designed guitar. Unlike many guitars which were subtle variations of old Gibson and Fender guitars, the Soloist took the neck through construction, paired it with the comfortable and familiar Fender shape with Gibson neck specs, frets, and electronics. It was the perfect melding of old and new making a final product unique in tone and feel from anything else. Fender, Gibson, and Martin (AKA the big 3) have all offered a fairly direct Soloist copy in the past. Countless import and domestic companies have thrived making Soloist copy guitars. Guitars that have become more famous than the Soloist, such as the Ibanez RG series and the ESP M series guitars would probably not exist today if it were not for the innovations the Soloist put into practice.Later Models
There are many variations on the Soloist's basic design in production, but they can be split into four basic groups: SL1, SL2, SL3 and SLSMG.The SL1
The SL1 is the flagship Soloist model. It has an alder body intersected by a quartersawn maple neck-thruNeck-thru
Neck-through or neck-thru is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this...
neck. The bound fingerboard is made from ebony and has 24 jumbo frets and triangular "shark tooth" inlays made from mother of pearl (all SL1 and SL2H models use real mother of pearl for their inlays). The SL1 uses a Floyd Rose
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
original double-locking tremolo. It also has an HSS pickup array of Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
s, with the neck and middle pickups being single-slot overlapping Classic Stack humbuckers, while the bridge pickup is a TB-4 [Jazz/Blues] "Trembucker" humbucking pickup. The SL1T is the same guitar, except for the addition of a fixed bridge. All SL1s are made in the US.
The SL2H
The SL2H (the 'SL2' is a different model which was produced in the years 1996-1997) shares the same characteristics with the SL1 except the pickup configuration. The guitar is made up of the same wood, 24 frets, neck-thru construction, same bridge, etc. Contrary to the SL1 the SL2H only has 2 Seymour DuncanSeymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
pickups at neck and bridge positions. In addition, the SL2H uses a 3 way toggle selector switch rather than the 5-way selector blade found on the SL1 and SL3. The SL2H features an "Original" Floyd Rose
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
locking vibrato, while the SL2HT uses a fixed bridge. The SL2H-MAH is made of mahogany (neck and body "wings"), with a transparent paint finish on both body and headstock
Headstock
Headstock or peghead is a part of guitar or similar stringed instrument. The main function of a headstock is holding the instrument's strings. Strings go from the bridge past the nut and are usually fixed on machine heads on headstock...
. All SL2Hs are made in the US.
The SL2 is again a USA made Soloist with neck-thru construction (all Soloists have neck-thru constructions). The SL2 can be considered a more modest version of the SL2H, made up of maple thru-body neck and poplar wings, with an ebony board and "optional" sharktooth inlays. Most of them had a plain fingerboard without inlaid markers on it. The bridge is Jackson's Floyd Rose
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
-licensed double locking tremolo JT-580 which is widely used on Japanese-made Jacksons. The Jackson logo is not "mother of pearl" on SL2s while it is on SL2Hs.
The SL3
The SL3 belongs to Jackson's Pro Series guitars. The body is made of alder and includes a flamed maple veneer on transparent finish models. The SL3 features the traditional Soloist setup of two single-coil slots for the neck and middle positions and a hot humbucker in the bridge position. Seymour Duncan Hot Rails are fitted in the single-coil slots and a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker occupies the bridge position. Additional features include an FRT-02000 double-locking tremolo, 24 frets, a compound radius Rosewood fretboard, sharktooth inlays and matching headstocks on transparent finish models. Jackson SL3s are manufactured in Japan. There is also a newer MG-version of it, SL3MG, which has the same features but with EMG 81/85 set.Also there was a very high quality Japanese made that came to the market from the year 2000 till 2002 - the SL4 and it was from the high models of the Jackson guitars as they were made from alder or mahogany for the body-maple or mahogany for the neck's but with two deferences from the SL1 or the SL3 of Japan that were build late 90s early 2000-the SL4 comes with 22 comfortable frets-humbucker pickups and tekuchi JT 580 lp bridge units.as the model was coming in solid-trans-quilted maple finishes.
as along side by the American lines of Jackson guitars there was other economic line-in prices-from 1987 till nowadays that called Pro lines for all Jackson models.and the top of these models in Soloist model were the 90s models till 1996.
The SLSMG
The SLSMG (Super Lightweight Soloist MG) is the entry level Soloist model and belongs to Jackon's MG series guitars. It features the neck-thruNeck-thru
Neck-through or neck-thru is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this...
design that is obligatory for any Soloist. Along with the discontinued U.S. made SLS, the SLSMG is one of the few Soloist models not to feature the traditional pointed Jackson headstock with six inline tuners. Instead the headstock is fitted with a three tuners per side setup. Models released prior to July 2006 featured passive EMG HZ-H3 pickups while models released after this date are equipped with active EMG 85s and 81s in the bridge in the neck positions. The SLSMG's carved body is made from mahogany. The string-thru design makes the SLSMG one of the few Soloists without a Floyd Rose tremolo. All SLSMGs are made in Japan.