Jackson Soloist Archtop JSLATMBKX-P Sam Ash Exclusive

This is another Sam Ash exclusive that I was able to obtain and sell in my store thanks to some string pulling. The guitar has the following specs:

Alder body with a flame maple top
Maple neck-thru neck with a rosewood fretboard
24 jumbo frets with sharkfin inlays
Licensed floyd rose
EMG 81 and EMG 85
One volume knob
One tone knob
Three way switch

UTILIZATION

This guitar presented itself with an interesting issue that sometimes occurs with neck-thru guitars. In able to achieve super low action, you have to have the floyd inside the cavity quite a bit. This can hinder the pull-up for those crazy Dimebag-esque squeals. You don't see this happen often, but I've seen it from time to time. If you're someone who likes low action, you pretty much have to live with the fact that there's not quite as much of a pull-up as a Soloist normally has. You can still go up two or three semitones, but I tend to aim more towards four to five before the strings start hitting the pickups. Aside from that, it's a fairly standard Jackson.

SOUNDS

The guitar had EMGs installed in it, and it was really a metal machine. The EMG 81 in the bridge was very bitey, and it could cut through even the densest mix out there. The EMG 85 in the bridge was great for those fatter sounding lead lines, and legato riffing came with ease. The pickups are very compressed and fairly linear in their dynamics, so keep that in mind. They're not the best for those looking to play something like jazz. Clean tones are also pretty sterile sounding, but they can be somewhat decent with the 85 in the neck and some effects thrown into the mix.

OVERALL OPINION

The EMGs are going to be the main deal breaker in this guitar. Some people love them and some people hate them. I think they work awesome in recording situations, and I always try to keep a few EMG guitars around, despite them not being my main pickups. It's a solid guitar that can compete with the higher end Jacksons without much of an issue.