Hatsubai « Hardtail'd Soloist »
Published on 06/30/11 at 17:05The Soloist is probably the most popular Jackson out there, so it's only natural that the Japanese shop would make a version of it. This guitar is pretty much exactly like that of the American counterpart. The guitar features a mahogany body with a figured maple top, a maple neck-thru design with an ebony fretboard, reverse sharkfin inlays, 24 extra jumbo frets, binding, two humbuckers, a tune-o-matic bridge with an overall archtop design, a volume pot, a tone pot and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are seriously as close to the USA models as you can get. They're made with basically the same woods as the actual USA counterparts, and that's a huge plus. On top of that, this is a neck-thru guitar. You don't have those neck joint issues that some of the bolt-on models have. Also, this is a hard tail model. While I'm not a huge fan of hard tails, the guitar itself doesn't have issues with the trashy floyd that so many of the Pro models used. While you could probably replace the hard tail bridge with something better, it won't change too much. The frets on this were top notch, and everything felt awesome.
SOUNDS
This guitar sounds phenomenal. The pickups in this were replaced with the JB and the 59 in the neck, and they were the perfect combination for this thing. The JB in the bridge is awesome for everything from blues to metal. It has just enough output to do extreme metal, but it's also able to calm down enough for the lighter stuff without any problem at all. The 59 in the neck is perfect for nearly everything. It does cleans amazingly well, and the lead tones are awesome. They're smooth, but it has just enough bite to remain clear under high gain.
OVERALL OPINION
This is easily as good as the American counterpart. It sounded huge and played like butter. If you ever come across one of these, jump at it. I firmly believe these are just as good, if not better, than the USA Jacksons out there. Just be sure to watch out for some potential fretwork and nut problems that might occur with age.
UTILIZATION
These guitars are seriously as close to the USA models as you can get. They're made with basically the same woods as the actual USA counterparts, and that's a huge plus. On top of that, this is a neck-thru guitar. You don't have those neck joint issues that some of the bolt-on models have. Also, this is a hard tail model. While I'm not a huge fan of hard tails, the guitar itself doesn't have issues with the trashy floyd that so many of the Pro models used. While you could probably replace the hard tail bridge with something better, it won't change too much. The frets on this were top notch, and everything felt awesome.
SOUNDS
This guitar sounds phenomenal. The pickups in this were replaced with the JB and the 59 in the neck, and they were the perfect combination for this thing. The JB in the bridge is awesome for everything from blues to metal. It has just enough output to do extreme metal, but it's also able to calm down enough for the lighter stuff without any problem at all. The 59 in the neck is perfect for nearly everything. It does cleans amazingly well, and the lead tones are awesome. They're smooth, but it has just enough bite to remain clear under high gain.
OVERALL OPINION
This is easily as good as the American counterpart. It sounded huge and played like butter. If you ever come across one of these, jump at it. I firmly believe these are just as good, if not better, than the USA Jacksons out there. Just be sure to watch out for some potential fretwork and nut problems that might occur with age.