Jackson/Charvel Owners Club

[Thorerges]

Question for all Jackson owners

I tried my first ever Jackson USA about a year ago. It was a used SL1 Soloist at my local Guitar Center. I absolutely fell in love with the playability and feel of the guitar, it was built for shredding and had a ridiculously thin neck profile that suited my every need.

Only one tradeoff for this beauty, she was cosmetically in shambles, and the price tag was $1.6k. If it was in top condition, I would've splashed my cash on this thing in a second, but I looked up the neck profile online and found that all Jacksons use almost exactly the same neck profile (12 - 16 compound radius, bla bla).

Anyway, thinking I could buy a similar guitar in better condition, I bought a new Custom Shop Jackson USA Soloist SL2H for about $2k. Guitar arrived, in perfect condition and sounded great, except the neck was much, much thicker and beefier. It plays very well, but I still don't get that shred-friendly feeling that I got from the SL1.

Is this a common occurrence with Jackson? Online, the neck profile descriptions of the SL1 and SL2H are identical, but they feel radically different. Does anyone else have experience similar to mine? I am keeping the SL2H because of how good it sounds, but I just wished I didn't pass the opportunity buy something I truly enjoyed playing, if it was in beat up condition.

 

[feraledge]

Question for all Jackson owners

I tried my first ever Jackson USA about a year ago. It was a used Dinky SL1 Soloist at my local Guitar Center. I absolutely fell in love with the playability and feel of the guitar, it was build for shredding and had a ridiculously thin neck profile that suited my every need.

Only one tradeoff for this beauty, she was cosmetically in shambles, and the price tag was $1.6k. If it was in top condition, I would've splashed my cash on this thing in a second, but I looked up the neck profile online and found that all Jacksons use almost exactly the same neck profile (12 - 16 compound radius, bla bla).

Anyway, thinking I could buy a similar guitar in better condition, I bought a new Custom Shop Jackson USA Soloist SL2H for about $2k. Guitar arrived, in perfect condition and sounded great, except the neck was much, much thicker and beefier. It plays very well, but I still don't get that shred-friendly feeling that I got from the SL1.

Is this a common occurrence with Jackson? Online, the neck profile descriptions of the SL1 and SL2H are identical, but they feel radically different. Does anyone else have experience similar to mine? I am keeping the SL2H because of how good it sounds, but I just wished I didn't pass the opportunity buy something I truly enjoyed playing, if it was in beat up condition.

12-16 is the radius, which is relative to the fretboard meaning it flattens out towards the heel. It has nothing to do with neck profiles.
USA Jacksons are hand finished, so there is quite a bit of variation. My SL1 is thinner than most SL2Hs that I have played, but thicker than my DK1. It's a bit beefier than the DK1, but pretty flat. Very shredworthy. I've seen far more SL2Hs than any other USA Jackson and have seen a good deal of variation from like my SL2H to fairly thick.
If you find a SL that you love, you should jump on it. DKs are seemingly always thinner.

 

[Thorerges]

12-16 is the radius, which is relative to the fretboard meaning it flattens out towards the heel. It has nothing to do with neck profiles.
USA Jacksons are hand finished, so there is quite a bit of variation. My SL1 is thinner than most SL2Hs that I have played, but thicker than my DK1. It's a bit beefier than the DK1, but pretty flat. Very shredworthy. I've seen far more SL2Hs than any other USA Jackson and have seen a good deal of variation from like my SL2H to fairly thick.
If you find a SL that you love, you should jump on it. DKs are seemingly always thinner.

I have never tried a DK, maybe I should give that model a shot as well. Thanks so much for your response.

 

[TurnTheAirBlue]

Hey guys, I am looking for RR1s and other special Jackson guitars on the US ebay atm, I am from Europe.

Just found this pretty nice looking Jackson RR1, just some rust, but it wouldn't be the first guitar I bought with some rust on it, I am pretty good at cleaning guitars I guess.
Shipping cost to Europe 225$ USPS Priority, a bit high or what do you guys think? Some import fees will come on top.

1992 Jackson USA RR1 Black Wcustom Factory Pinstripes Real No Reserve Auction | eBay

Would really love to hear some opinions, hope its okay to post links here.

You can also post other RR1s you would suggest that are reasonably priced.

I'm selling a KV2 with no hardware or pickups. Price negotiable.

Jackson KV2 USA Select King V Brand NEW Defect | eBay

 

[Pav]

Question for all Jackson owners

I tried my first ever Jackson USA about a year ago. It was a used Dinky SL1 Soloist at my local Guitar Center. I absolutely fell in love with the playability and feel of the guitar, it was built for shredding and had a ridiculously thin neck profile that suited my every need.

Only one tradeoff for this beauty, she was cosmetically in shambles, and the price tag was $1.6k. If it was in top condition, I would've splashed my cash on this thing in a second, but I looked up the neck profile online and found that all Jacksons use almost exactly the same neck profile (12 - 16 compound radius, bla bla).

Anyway, thinking I could buy a similar guitar in better condition, I bought a new Custom Shop Jackson USA Soloist SL2H for about $2k. Guitar arrived, in perfect condition and sounded great, except the neck was much, much thicker and beefier. It plays very well, but I still don't get that shred-friendly feeling that I got from the SL1.

Is this a common occurrence with Jackson? Online, the neck profile descriptions of the SL1 and SL2H are identical, but they feel radically different. Does anyone else have experience similar to mine? I am keeping the SL2H because of how good it sounds, but I just wished I didn't pass the opportunity buy something I truly enjoyed playing, if it was in beat up condition.

Are you sure you remember the model name correctly? If so, it's possible that Guitar Center mislabeled it, since they're known to do that. There is no "Dinky SL1 Soloist." The SL1 is a Soloist model and the Dinky is its own thing, different from the Soloist. I'd be willing to bet you played a Dinky in the store that they mislabeled. Dinkys always have slimmer necks than Soloists but all Jacksons will have the compound radius.

 

[Thorerges]

Are you sure you remember the model name correctly? If so, it's possible that Guitar Center mislabeled it, since they're known to do that. There is no "Dinky SL1 Soloist." The SL1 is a Soloist model and the Dinky is its own thing, different from the Soloist. I'd be willing to bet you played a Dinky in the store that they mislabeled. Dinkys always have slimmer necks than Soloists but all Jacksons will have the compound radius.

Thank you so much for pointing that out. Yes it was an SL1, not a dinky.

However in regards to your slimmer neck statement, looks like i have to check out the Dinky models.

A second question, why is it all these GC don't have an Jackson USA models? I thought Jackson USA was the go to brand for high end production guitars.

 

[Force]

I'm selling a KV2 with no hardware or pickups. Price negotiable.

Jackson KV2 USA Select King V Brand NEW Defect | eBay

Not here you're not, read the rules.

 

[s4tch]

Thank you so much for pointing that out. Yes it was an SL1, not a dinky.

However in regards to your slimmer neck statement, looks like i have to check out the Dinky models.

Dinky: bolt-on superstrat. Soloist: neckthru superstrat. First, I'd decide on which construction I want, then I'd try to hunt down either a USA model or an old Professional.

Professional series were all made in Japan, with very strict quality control, wood selection, and also fine hardware and electronics. You may find some Schaller-made bridges on these. Also, as far as I know Japanese Soloists were not hand made, so the neck profile should be the same on all of these. This must be a ridiculously good guitar:
Jackson Professional Soloist XL Electric Guitar Neck Thru | eBay

This is a fairly objective comparison between an USA RR1 and a MIJ Rhoads Professional:
Jackson Rhoads guitars, In-depth comparison of the Rhoads Pro and the RR1
See the differences for yourself. Also note that later Pro series were not as good as in the '90-95 (maybe '96-97) era. Those are real gems.

I'd also add that ALL Professionals had thin necks, built for shredding. No exception. If a Professional has been taken care of, you can't go wrong with it.

 

[Thorerges]

Dinky: bolt-on superstrat. Soloist: neckthru superstrat. First, I'd decide on which construction I want, then I'd try to hunt down either a USA model or an old Professional.

Professional series were all made in Japan, with very strict quality control, wood selection, and also fine hardware and electronics. You may find some Schaller-made bridges on these. Also, as far as I know Japanese Soloists were not hand made, so the neck profile should be the same on all of these. This must be a ridiculously good guitar:
Jackson Professional Soloist XL Electric Guitar Neck Thru | eBay

This is a fairly objective comparison between an USA RR1 and a MIJ Rhoads Professional:
Jackson Rhoads guitars, In-depth comparison of the Rhoads Pro and the RR1
See the differences for yourself. Also note that later Pro series were not as good as in the '90-95 (maybe '96-97) era. Those are real gems.

I'd also add that ALL Professionals had thin necks, built for shredding. No exception. If a Professional has been taken care of, you can't go wrong with it.

Thanks a lot. I never actually tried the Pro series. I've tried a few of the USA ones and I was blown away so never really looked towards eastern made ones.

 

[s4tch]

Just look for guitars with "Professional" on the headstock. Later, the Professional series was replaced by the "Pro" models, and although they are still good bang for the buck, they lack something compared to the old Professionals.

That's the real thing:

I've had a DR5 from '96, and compared to the older ones, that wasn't anything special. It was still better than any MIJ Dinky I've seen from the '00s.

 

[Kobalt]

A second question, why is it all these GC don't have an Jackson USA models? I thought Jackson USA was the go to brand for high end production guitars.

Goes with demand and supply. The USA Select Series is built on orders, which means unless Jackson has it, they have to build it for you...and that's up to six months of the waiting game, usually.

 

[Samark]

Some awesome early/mid 90's Jacksons

The green Dinky is beautiful

 

[maliciousteve]

I love the look of that Koa Soloist

 

[manu80]

Well looks like a KV Pro will join my KE-1 soon
Kv pro were japanese, right ? good choice ?

 

[maliciousteve]

The old Pro series guitars rivaled the USA guitars for a while. A lot of people who owned them thought that they were pretty much the same guitar at one point which I why they stopped building them as people weren't buying the USA models.

 

[feraledge]

The old Pro series guitars rivaled the USA guitars for a while. A lot of people who owned them thought that they were pretty much the same guitar at one point which I why they stopped building them as people weren't buying the USA models.

Pro here is short for "Professional Series". They have Professional on the headstock. The Pro Series was made in Japan, though more budget, the DK2M is a force to.be reckoned with.
The new Pro Series is made in Indonesia for neck thru and Mexico for bolt ons. The Dinkys are great, the RR I have is really nice, so I trust the KVs are as solid. Early Pro KVs are notably hard to come by. All of the SL2s I tried have significant issues though. The MIJ SL3s were killer.

 

[HollowmanPL]

Any opinions about the new Jackson soloists compared to the SL1/SL2?

 

[Desolate1]

Some awesome early/mid 90's Jacksons

The green Dinky is beautiful

That green Dinky is what I used as my starting point for my Custom Shop Soloist I ordered back in 94 (see pic. a couple of pages back). Back then I was quoted 6 months build time and it took just over 9. I could not imagine waiting over 2 years it takes to get a guitar out of their Custom Shop now and the price tag they have.

 

[feraledge]

Any opinions about the new Jackson soloists compared to the SL1/SL2?

The necks are worlds apart. SL1/2H is a bit fatter, but flatter. The SL2 is an unfinished back with speed neck profile. Very fast.
But the quality on the USA Jacksons are far superior. I think the new Pro Series has some really amazing options and great guitars, but for some reason every SL2 I've seen has had quality issues. Primarily with sprouting frets.

 

[TurnTheAirBlue]

That koa soloist is really nice, wonder if it's still with the original owner.

Here is another nice SLATQH

http://s15.postimg.org/75cv8mbaj/Jackson_P90.jpg