All user reviews for the Jackson Stars SL-j2be

If you wanted a hard tail bridge on your Soloist, you usually had to look at the much more expensive American version. However, Japan has a fairly affordable Japanese version that's really just about as good, although there are some slight differences. The guitar has the following features:

Alder Body
Maple Thru-Neck Design
Bound Ebony Fretboard with Sharkfin Inlays
Hard Tail Bridge
Seymour Duncan Custom in the Bridge and 59 in the Neck
One Volume
One Tone
Three Way Switch

UTILIZATION

I'll be frank. I never really liked hard tail bridges, and this is no real exception. I always felt more at home with a floyd rose than a regular hard tail, and the angle was just something I could never get used to. That said, I'm trying not to fault the guitar itself for my own preferences. The guitar has some very good fretwork. The ends were properly cut, and they didn't cut up your hand when you moved up and down the neck. The frets were also properly leveled, so I was able to get some very nice action on this guitar. I especially liked the ebony on this as it had some character to it.

SOUNDS

The guitar had my favorite Seymour Duncan pickup configuration installed in it: the Custom in the bridge and the 59 in the neck. The Custom in the bridge is great for that thicker rhythm sound while still having enough treble to cut through the mix without an issue. Granted, it had a bit too much treble in this particular guitar, it was still a solid pickup. The 59 in the neck also had a bit too much treble for my liking, and this normally isn't the case. It was mainly thanks to the alder body and neck-thru design, along with the ebony that brought about this extra treble that I was hearing.

OVERALL OPINION

The guitar is the perfect guitar for those who are wanting a hard tail version of the Soloist. It's not nearly as expensive as the regular American version, but the quality is really just as good. There are a few details that I'd like to change about this, but for the most part, it's a guitar worth checking out, and you'll definitely get your money's worth on this.