Jackson Custom Shop Soloist

I own a 1987 Left Handed Soloist. It is a USA make. There are 24 frets neck through. The paint scheme is my own custom on a gun metal gray background with a trasparent covering. Controls consists of master volume and a active gain boost switch. pickups are a H/S/S using the original custom wound jackson pickups. Selection is by micro switch. The H has a coil tap that allows a simulated single coil sound. Body/neck wood is Alder. The fret board is ebony with abalone sharkfin inlays. The neck is a 25.5 scale, very fast with jumbo frets. The unit sports a Jackson Licensed Tremelo that until recently was working find, knife edge trouble. I rated this section a 10 since I ordered what I wanted

The sound of this instrument has been great since the day I received it from the shop. It is at home playing Dave Mustain or Steve Howe. Joe Pass and Buddy Guy can be heard in this thing. It has been a great pleasure playing with this guitar. I currently (2004) use a Tri-axis / JMP-1 / MP-1 / Voodu Valve with a G-Force and a BBE 882 and it only becomes noisy when the gain is on 10 and the volume is on 9. But this is in part due to noise in the electrical power line. The guitar can access many different sound variations by using the gain boost and the volume setting. One of my current dislikes with this unit is the Jackson Trem as it now has a problem with the knife edges and a direct replacment is not the same fit. The current Floyds use a 2.1" E to E spacing and my old trem uses a 2.0 E to E.
Time creates change.

Factory setup was OK. I needed to redo the intonation and action but otherwise good. Pickups needed to be changed a little to suit my taste. The fit and finish of this guitar was perfect, I still get goose bumps looking at it, especially when the light hits the metal flaks just right.

This guitar was made to take the road. It has been dropped, banged and spilled on and only took minor scuffs. Its been 17 years and this guitar still looks good and wants to be played.

This is a tough one. When the guitar was first purchased I was able to talk to Jackson much akin to calling my best friend. With the purchase by Fender recently things have changed and even music stores are having trouble, this includes quotations for new guitars, at least in my experience while trying to order a new guitar. It seems that if your store does not generate the proper amount of orders things fall off.

I ahve been playing for about 31 years and I am a gear junkie. If this guitar were lost I would be placing another order (on top of my newest order) tomorrow. It has been a friend and not to sound like everyone else, I have not found another guitar that could replace my Jackson, some come close but not quite.

This is a custom version of the 2002 made SL2MAH. I had a few upgrades to make it my own. This guitar was made in the U.S.A. It has 24 frets and the top is AAAAA bookmatched flame maple. The controls are 1 volume, 1 tone and a gibson style 3 way toggle switch and a coil splitter for the neck PU. The Pickup config is H/H. The Pickups are high end Duncan TB4/pearly gates. The electronics are passive. The body and neck are Mahogany, the fret board is ebony with abalone shark fin inlays and abalone body/neck binding. The finish is a perfectly bookmatched black dyed flamed maple top. The body style is a strat soloist. The Bridge is a Heavy duty Shaller floyd. The tuners are shaller. The neck is a custom thin, comparable to a les paul neck. The guitar came with a Jackson case, strap, cable, picks and strings.

This guitar suits my musical styles to a T, I play malmsteen, old metallica, megadeth, FearFactory "with my 7 strings" symphony X, Satch, Vai, Alan Holdsworth, exodus, slayer, ect. I am a studio musician by trade. I record with Vegas Pro 3.0, Soundforge 6.0, Acid 4.0 and surround mix to dvd. I also record to Pro tools on a Mac g4. For live playing "if I ever play live again" I have a line 6 vetta full stack. The guitar is not noisy and it better not be, since it can be plugged into a 40k studio rig or a $3.000 stack! The sound is perfect, not too high or too low, it's what I call studio perfect. As for variety of sounds, I can get it to sound like any guitar tone within my style.

This guitar did not need to be adjusted at all, the strobe tuner was right on!! I won't answer the Pickup question, waste of time. The top was matched perfectly, the bridge was routed perfectly. This guitar did not contain any flaws, In my opinion Jackson is the Rolex of the guitar world!

Will this guitar withstand live playing? Absolutely!!
Does the hardware seem like it will last? Yes, this guitar was built with the professional musician in mind.
Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? The finish is mirror thick, the guitar looks like it is covered in a thin coat of glass.
Are the strap buttons solid? Another question I won't answer.
Can you depend on it? Yes, I have recorded a few songs already, hours at a time and did not have any weirdness.
Would you use it on a gig without a backup? Another question I won't answer.

I have spoken to Jackson on my custom orders, they were very professional. I never had a problem with any of my Jacksons after delivery. The reason is because they have the sense to use parts that can be replaced easily. For instance, the "floyd rose tremolo" and the traditional floyd rose tremolo route. The warranty is a lifetime warranty and I don't think Jackson will be busy with returned guitars. uhmmm.... Like, let's say ESP!!!

I have been playing Guitar, Piano and Violin for 28 years. I also own a yngwie malmsteen strat, Ibanez RG 420QS, Ibanez 7620, Ibanez USA Custom, ESP Mirage custom, ESP MII, ESP M307, ESP MH300, Vetta stack, studio gear, Kurtzweil K2600, Emu XL-7, blah blah. If this guitar were stolen I would definatly sign the insurance check over to jackson for another one.
The thing I love about this guitar is, there are no surprises, like the tremolo moving around, bad pots, or the locknut shifting all over the place "Like my ESPs" My favorite features are the way this guitar plays and looks "it's perfect" I can't compare this guitar to other guitars because there is no comparision, Jackson is the best metal guitar period! Here's another good thing.. Even my japanese
PC-3 plays fine, I may have replaced the pickups but that's it! Thank You for giving a damn about your customers Jackson!! TS...

This is a standard SL2H with all the fixins'. Neck through, Ebony board, MOP inlays ( sharkfins and the logo ). There are a few exceptions though...First is, I ditched the Floyd Rose in favor of a Kahler system. Much better feel "on the bar" and holds its' tuning a little better. The second is: I ditched the tone knob, moved the volume back half an inch and went with a 3 way toggle instead of the standard "knife switch". The third major change is I got her loaded with a DiMarzio Steve's Special at the bridge and an Air Norton at the neck. Remember...this is a custom guitar. I think it turned out perfect. Therefore, it gets a 10.

This guitar can do just about anything. Jazz, rock, metal - no problemo. The Steve's Special gives this guitar a tough, yet harmonic sound. Sustain is second to none. The Air Norton makes for full, rich leads but can be a bit much on the low E string, so I stay away from it, or if unavoidable, pick the string gingerly.

I haven't had the oppurtunity to plug it into a solid state amp yet, so I'll reserve judgement on how it does on country for another time. My guess is that it will do well, but not sound as convincing as a good Strat or Tele. Oh well...can't have everything.

I have not had to touch the action since it was delivered. The setup was dead-nuts from the custom shop for 009-042 D'Addarios. The neck is as straight and true as they come, and the compound radius does nothing to upset the delicate balance from one end of the fretboard to the other. The binding on the neck and fret ends are as smooth as a babys' butt. Jackson knows how to do necks and fretboards better than anybody else in the business.

All joints, edges and sculpting are amazing. I have carefully inspected this guitar several times and have yet to find even the smallest blemish in the paint, cracking or evidence of glue anywhere.

This guitar is beautiful. An absolute work of art. So is my other Soloist ( an SL1 ). Everyone who sees it is stunned by its looks and awed by its playability. I have only, in my 22 years of playing, seen 3 other guitars that can match a Jackson custom shop guitar in the area of action, fit and finish....

Both neck-though Soloists that I have are solid as blocks of granite. That having been said, I would probably puke if I dropped one. So, I put strap locks on them. Another thing is: A neck through guitar is stuck with the neck it comes with for life. Replacement cost would be ridiculous...So a little extra care might be in order.

Nevertheless, this guitar is built tough and countless pros have been using them on the road for decades. They stay in tune, don't chafe the strings to the breaking point ( like Strats ), and hold up under ham-fisted playing, countless string changes and body sweat very well.

I dropped the score a bit because of the neck-thru thing and the fact that it would be a sacrilige to mar the finish by dropping it on a hardwood floor.

They have always been good to me, and most Q&A stuff is available on thier website. I have heard that Jackson can be a rough company to deal with, but the Custom Shop is different. As it should be considering what you pay for one of these guitars.

A guitar like this is meant for accomplished players, professional musicians and collectors. Not for teenagers who want to play covers of Nine Inch Nails or Type O Negative in the basement with a 30 watt combo and a stomp box. The price of admission is high ( $ 3400 and up ), and rightfully so. These guitars a vastly superior to the low and midrange stuff found in most music stores around the country. The overall package eclipses any Fender or Gibbie that I have ever seen or played in my 22 years of playing. Both of my Custom Shop guitars are exceptionally fine musical instruments. I couldn't be happier.

Neck though body...custom paint...

Sound to Thin.....

Good Action Finsh has flaws! I sent them a picture of the color I wanted the guitar to be painted and they got wrong,way off, and even then the there was flaws in the paint.

Below Average.

No Support from jackson,they will not help. You are on your own!

To Much money for No Support and help

my guitar is custom shop soloist made in the 80's.it is the made in america kind. in great shape when I bought it. By far the best guitar I've ever owned. came with a floyd-rose pro II double-locking trem. a 24 fret thru-body neck with an ebony fretboard and shark-fin inlays. It is an older model with only one pickup(I actually prefer it)I put in a seymour duncan screamin'demon. it has a tone and a volume knob.
it has jumbo frets and a custom paintjob of a volcano erupting with all kinds of smoke and shit.

I play heavy-metal. stuff like mudvayne, slipknot, soulfly, pantera.
this guitar is perfect. it has great range. nice sharp hi's and crunchy low's. I use a line 6 flextone head thru a marshall 1960 cab.
I also use a morley alligator wah. This shit sounds great. With the gear I got I can play anything from stevie ray vaughn to cannibal corpse.I have no complaints.

It was set up very-well, great action. I really cant complain.

I gig with it quite often, although I have a Jackson king V to back me up, Ive never had to use it on a gig. good finidh, as good as can be expected. I still polish it after every play. big strap buttons I thrash around on stage alot and HAVE NEVER LOST THE STRAP. very dependable. I still probably wouldn't gig without a back-up but thats just the way I am.

I dealt with them once but they wont talk to you personally , just the store you bought it from but I ended up just repairing it myself.
so I couldn't really say for sure.

I've been playing for about 4 years and this is he best guitar I've ever played. It definately has a different feel than say a les paul, or an sg but I definatley like it better.if it were stolen I would cry because this is a one of a kind guitar and I think I would be lucky to find another guitar I liked as much.

Nice guitar Plays good there are better guitars out there

Sound good But there pickups are toneless

Action Great. Finish Great but jackson does not do the custom painting on there guitars.

Reliability good. Not the best

Customer support POOR They will not deal with the customer only the store. How am I to get my idea across to the middle man and then to Jackson.

For the Money don't waste it or your time. Go to one of the many Guitar companys out there that would be happy to help and get all of your ideas on the way you want your guitar built, after all its your money. For what they cost PLEASE DON'T BE A SUCKER!!!!

My guitar is Left-handed Jackson Soloist custom. It was Custom made in July-August 95 (if I remember correctly) at Jackson Custom Shop USA. It's a strat styled 24(jumbo)fret, maple neck-through body (with poplar wings attached to it) ebony fretboard with creme bindings and solid black color. Two (active) humbuckers EMG-81 (in the bridge pos.) and EMG-85 (in the neck pos.) 2 x vol. and 1 x tone controls with L.P. 3-way toggle gives it a wide variety of tones. At the time Jackson told me that they have only Schaller Floyd Rose for left-handed guitars. Let's see what ESP says about it (I've just ordered my second Custom guitar from ESP) Also Schaller tuners and some tools to adjust the trussrod and other hardware (which were chrome) and nice hardshell case came with the guitar.

This guitar is built for rockin' hard n' heavy but it can also be used to play all kinds of music (due the Evergreat EMGs) I've jammed with blues and jazz bands but mainly it's used to play heavy metal. I'm currently using following setup: Tech21 Trademark 60 or Peavey Renoun 120, DOD FX-40B graphic equalizer, Rocktron Intellifex-LTD, Rocktron Guitar Silencer. The guitar ain't noisy even at highest volume settings but the DOD EQ is (and therefore I need the HUSH) I'm currently searching new better (->quieter) EQ with at least +/-18dB of boost or cut. If you have/know one that works well, please mail me!! To me the guitar sounds great and fuller and brighter than my two ordinary strats. There's nothing I don't like about the guitar, but if I'd known I'd taken even bigger (extra Jumbo) frets or maybe a scalloped fretboard.

The guitar came well setted from the factory. The action was very low and buzz free. Finish is still as good as new after countles of hours of use and abuse. The only reason I gave it nine is that they had forgotten to install one of the two springs in the bridge pickup, but it was installed for free as soon as I noticed it. Nice service... (but I guess it was kind of embarassing to have forgotten it, but they too are only human)

This guitar would propably withstand Jimi Hendrix kinda abuse (well I'm not quite sure about the fire "treatment"). The finish is good for shaving even now, after four years of use. This guitar will be taken to gigs till the day I die. It has never let me down -not once!!! The strap buttons were originally very big but I decided to replace them with DiMarzio Clip-lock strap (the absolute best) It's also wise to take a backup guitar to gigs (if you can afford one) cause you'll never know what happens... Generallly this one is very dependable!!!

Never dealt with the company. I got the impression that it has a lifetime warranty and so far repairs have been free.

I've been playing hmm.... is it eight or nine years and this is the best purchase of my life so far. The only thing I wish it had is either bigger frets or scalloped fretboard. Othervise it is easily the best guitar I've ever laid my hands on. I also have really nice Tokai strat which has pleased me few years but my Jackson is thousand times better. At the time of purchasing this guitar I tried several different guitars and didn't seem to find good enough. I decided to get Jackson cause quite a lot of my frends and relatives played one and there's always a number of celebrityes who play them also. However my only complain is that it took about 8 months to get this guitar. It's a long (too long) time to wait your guitar. But it's defenitely worth waiting for.

I had it built in 95'. It's a Soloist body style, neck trough with 24 frets. I ordered it with EMGs. an 89 in the neck and 81 in the bridge. It's black with gold hardware and a gold floyd(use to be big on floyds now I doubt I'll ever buy another one).

It sounds great. I think it's more well suited for rock and metal though. The bridge sound is tight and the neck sound is fat-great for leads. I tend to use the neck pickup a lot for leads unless I'm doing harmonics. The 89 in the neck can be coil tapped for more of a single coil sound. I do that for clean sounds and for more of a straty tone. I get all my guitars with 89's in the neck for that reason.

Great neck! The action is incredible! They make one of the best playing best feeling necks in the business. The finish looked fine but it's hard to mess up a plain black finish. I had it ordered with ash so it's just a little bit brighter than the average Jackson. Great for playing jazzy chords with distortion-let's all the notes come throuh clearly.

Other than the floyd everything seems to be holding up well.

Never dealt with them directly.