| Anthony from New Jersey |
| Overall Ranking: |
| Overall:
|  |
| Reliability:
| |
| Action:
| |
| Finish:
| |
| Playability:
| |
| Quality:
| |
| Tone:
| |
| Subject: | 1 year of thrashing |
| Quality:
| After a year I have played about 40 shows with this guitar. I have dropped it, spilled beer on it, left it in the trunk of a car for nights on end in the cold and after all that it is still straight as an arrow. |
| Reliability:
| In all the different situations I have had this guitar in I have no negatives to say. Although unlike the other review I read here I check my intonation every string change no matter what. I have not had any big adjustments ever. |
| Overall:
| When I was looking for a new axe I also checked out the ESP M2. To me the only big difference was the price. The Jackson was cheaper and felt just as good. The neck is thin enough for speed and thick enough so your hand doesn't cramp right up while moving on stage. This guitar plays itself as long as you know where your hands should be. |
| Playability and Feel:
| The hardest thing for me to get used to was the tap switch position. At first I was unhappy with it but now I am used to it and like it better than any other. Common would be a side to side switch this one is almost vertical. |
| Tone:
| With years of experience behind me I know off the bat I will not like the sound. I ordered pickups the same day I ordered the guitar. I use high output passives only......the duncans just dont have it. Not a negative in my book though, I cant expect a guitar to come with an X2N in it.......or should I? |
| Finish:
| Glossy Black.....Cant mess that up |
| Action:
| Another thing I dont care about when I buy a guitar. I care about how adjustable it is. My advice to anyone looking for a guitar of this caliper is to find something that feels great...not good - great. All guitars for this price you can count on them using good wood for so really the sound and action is all adjustable. The neck you are stuck with though. |
| Skill Level:
| Pro-Rock Star |
| Do you own this product?:
| Yes |
| Date submitted:
| 5-27-09 |
|
|
| Totaltoneage from Anchorage, AK |
| Overall Ranking: |
| Overall:
| |
| Reliability:
| |
| Action:
| |
| Finish:
| |
| Playability:
| |
| Quality:
| |
| Tone:
| |
| Subject: | USA Jacksons Truly the best 5 star all the way |
| Quality:
| The USA Jackson Soloist is hand crafted and the quality shows, this has been hands down the best guitar I have owned, from the tuners to the knobs everything is the quality you would expect from a high-end guitar. |
| Reliability:
| This axe has stood up to my test and standards, I play 4-8 hours a day and haven't had any issues with any electronics or selector switch, I do have to reset up the neck every 4-6 months due to living in Alaska and the very dry climate seems to throw off the neck but thats not anything different from any other guitar I own. |
| Overall:
| This is by far the best axe I own, I have owned various other brands from ESP, Fender, Ibanez, and Gibson. None of the other guitars come close to this one. I am now an exclusive Jackson guy. In fact I bought the soloist SL1 as well. Thanks Jackson for manufacturing the best guitars. |
| Playability and Feel:
| This guitar fits like a glove and plays extremely well. The neck is lightning fast and easy to fret for soloing. |
| Tone:
| I play mostly metal, but like to play blues and jazz as well, was very pleased that the seymour duncun JB4 and JB-59 pickups are very versital and will accomidate any style you wish to play. |
| Finish:
| Mine was the USA custom select Transparent Blue and it looks insanely beautiful. The paint has been very durable. I take extreme care of my instruments. |
| Action:
| The Action was perfectly set straight from the factory, very low action with no buzz anywhere. Again I do have to reset the action every 4-6 months due to my area. But haven't had any problems with getting the action back to factory settings. |
| Skill Level:
| Semi-Pro |
| Do you own this product?:
| yes |
| Date submitted:
| 04/03/2009 |
|
|
| Lonzenator from Pensacola, Fl, USA |
| lonzenator@cox.net |
| Overall Ranking: |
| Overall:
|  |
| Reliability:
| |
| Action:
| |
| Finish:
| |
| Playability:
| |
| Quality:
| |
| Tone:
| |
| Subject: | killer axe (check it out) |
| Quality:
| The guitar is absolutely top-notch. I marked it a 4 only because of some issues to be mentioned in another section. |
| Reliability:
| The guitar has been great. I use it daily to practice (1 hour) and then play 3x a week with band. Only problems have been with the 3 way selector switch (mine and a friend's both had problems w/ bad switches after about a year and a half). Took it ti a local shop and now it works great. |
| Overall:
| I have played Jacksons and Charvells since 1987 and have tried many other brands (high dollar Ibanez, ESPs, Fenders, Gibsons, Andersons). The only guitar that even felt close was the Anderson, but it costs almost 2x more $$. |
| Playability and Feel:
| This guitar plays like butter. The neck is lightning fast and easy to fret for soloing and for my big finger (thick) it is great. The only proble is with the 5th fret on the high E string. I use 9s and at times the string will catch on the edge of the fret (a little clear nail polish on the fret at the binding fixed that though. |
| Tone:
| I have played this guitar through a Mesa Boogie Roadster stack, a marshall TSL100 stack, a Fender pro jr. and currently a Vox AC-50 as well as a couple of vintage tube amps. This guitar shines with the amp on 10 and full blown distortion (mine has the Seymours). IF you put it on the neck pickup and roll the volume back it will give a convincing Santanaish sound. If you want death metal it is in there. If you want Jazz (probably too), but this guitar is a shredder. Do yourself a favor. Open up the tremelo cavity and fill it with toilet paper to deaden any noise when playing at high volumes. |
| Finish:
| Mine was the USA custom select Hotrod paintjob (circa 2003) and it looks insanely beautiful. When the stage lights hit it, it almost takes on a life of it's own. The paint has been very durable. I take care of my instrument, but it has gained 1 little scratch (a string change mishap) and this guitar has been bumped a few times and no other marks. |
| Action:
| Action out of the box, was dead on and insanely low. Could not ask for any better. |
| Skill Level:
| Semi-Pro |
| Do you own this product?:
| Yes (and absolutely would never give it up, no, not even for an Anderson) |
| Date submitted:
| 03/12/2009 |