Jackson Soloist
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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 important improvements 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 virtuoso phenomenon, the Soloist was widely acclaimed in rock and metal music, especially by lead guitarists.
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[edit] History
[edit] 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 Charvel. 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.
![This Soloist Student Model was completed on the same day as the first officially logged Soloist on August 28 1984[citation needed]](../../../upload/thumb/d/d9/J0191.jpg/180px-J0191.jpg)
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.
[edit] Original platforms
- The Soloist Custom: standard neck-thru the body, 24 frets, ebony fretboard, "Sharkfin" genuine pearl inlays, binding on the fretboard and headstock.
- The Soloist Student: standard neck-thru the body, 24 frets, rosewood fretboard, genuine pearl dot inlays.
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 the exact same fashion.
[edit] Original options
Originally the customer had the choice of 3 different bridges:
- Floyd Rose tremolo;
- Kahler 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 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.
[edit] Soloist takes off
In 1985, the Soloist became extremely popular and production went through the roof.[citation needed] 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 done away with 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. Inhouse 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 Yabarra, 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.
[edit] 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 Floyd Rose style, which are recessed into the face of the body. Later in the decade, genuine Floyd Rose models returned.
[edit] 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 neckthrough the body construction. Soloist shapes with bolt on necks are known as Dinky models.
[edit] The Legacy
The Soloist is perhaps the most underappreciated 1980's 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.
[edit] The 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.
[edit] The SL1
The SL1 has an Alder body intersected by a quartersawn maple neck-thru neck. The fingerboard is made from Ebony and has 24 frets. The SL1 has three pickups, all of which are Seymour Duncans , however, contrary to the appearance of the pickups, the neck and middle pickups are single-slot overlapping humbuckers, while the bridge pickup is a traditional humbucker. The bridge is a Floyd Rose original 2 point locking tremolo. The SL1T offers the SL1 with a fixed bridge. All SL1s are made in the US.
[edit] The SL2
The SL2H (the 'SL2' does not exist) shares many characteristics with the SL1. It is made of the same woods, has the same amount of frets and the neck-thru that is so commonly associated with Soloists. However, it has different arrangement of humbuckers to the SL1. The SL2H only has 2 Seymour Duncan pickups at Neck and Bridge positions. In addition, the SL2H uses a 3 way selector switch rather than the 5-way selector blade found on the SL1 and SL3. The SL2HT offers the SL2H with 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.
[edit] The SL3
The SL3 is the second least expensive of the Soloist series. Despite this, it still has one humbucker and two single coil pickups, and a neck-thru body-neck design. It has a licensed Floyd Rose tremolo and 24 frets. The SL3 is made in Japan.
Current SL3 models have three humbuckers, the neck and middle pickups being Seymour Duncan "Hot-Rails" that fit into the single-coil slots, and the bridge pickup being a Seymour Duncan JB.
Some differences between the SL3 and the SL1/1H include the fact that the headstock nor the fingerboard are bound, and the Jackson logo is not a dedicated inlay. The SL3 is also not available in custom paint schemes.
[edit] The SLSMG
The SLSMG, or, to give its full name, SLSMG Super Lightweight Soloist, is the only Soloist not to have the traditional Jackson headstock, instead it sports a headstock that is more reminiscent of the Peavey headstock. The SLSMG is the most inexpensive of the Soloist series. It still has the neck-thru design that is obligatory for any Soloist but compromises its pickups, opting for two EMG pickups. The SLSMG is made from mahogany and also has a mahogany neck. The SLSMG is string-thru, making it one of the few soloists without a Floyd Rose. All SLSMGs are made in Japan.
