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tjon901 « Classy Soloist »
Published on 08/17/11 at 09:15The SL2H-MAH puts out a strong Gibson like vibe with its finish and wood combination. The Soloist is a traditional shred guitar so most of them usually come with alder bodies and maple necks. This one puts out a beefier tone due to its selection of wood. This guitar has a mahogany body with a flame maple top. The neck through neck is mahogany with an ebony fretboard. The fretboard has 24 jumbo frets with Jacksons shark fin inlays. The neck has Jacksons compound radius design which makes playing it a dream. The pickups are a traditional set of Seymour Duncans with a JB in the bridge and a 59 in the neck. The bridge is an Original Floyd Rose with a locking nut. The controls are pretty basic with a master volume and master tone with a 3 way toggle.
UTILIZATION
This guitar has top shelf playability. Being a USA made Jackson the fit and finish is top of the line and the playability is great. Having a neck through design means that there is very little neck joint to get in the way when you are playing on the high frets. The neck is wide and thin with an ebony fretboard. The ebony is smooth under your fingers and this combined with the compound radius neck means this guitar is very easy to play. The compound radius allows the for great playability on both ends of the neck. Near the headstock on the low end the radius is 12 inches which means the fretboard is slightly more curved up there to make playing chord shapes more comfortable. Near the high end the radius is 16 inches which makes shredding and lead playing comfortable as well as playing chords.
SOUNDS
I love the one of this guitar. Most shred guitars are very 80s in design and therefore tone. Most guitars like this come with alder bodies and maple necks. This comes from 80s when you needed a really bright guitar to cut through the mix with tons of effects running and whatnot. This guitar has a thick mahogany tone like that of a Les Paul due to the mahogany body and neck. The maple top adds a bit of top end clarity which prevents the tone from getting too muddy. The JB in the bridge and 59 in the neck is a classic set. In a guitar like this you get a lovely warm sound. This set of pickups really brings out the natural tone of the guitar without overpowering it. The warm tone of this guitar means it will sound smooth in just about every position. The 59 is already super smooth. Sometimes the neck position 59 can be too smooth in this guitar. It can get muddy at times. If you find the 59 too muddy you can swap it out with a Jazz and your tone will be similar but with a bit more high end cut to keep it from sounding muddy.
OVERALL OPINION
I wish more shred guitars were made like this. I am a fan of the design of shred guitars but being a modern guitar player I dont have much use for a super bright tone. This guitar brings the 80s super fast playability with the warm thick tone of a Les Paul. I find this to be the best of both worlds. The warm smooth tone also works well even in shred music because you do not have such a harsh cutting sound. If you are looking for a shred guitar with a more traditional Les Paul like sound this is the guitar for you.
UTILIZATION
This guitar has top shelf playability. Being a USA made Jackson the fit and finish is top of the line and the playability is great. Having a neck through design means that there is very little neck joint to get in the way when you are playing on the high frets. The neck is wide and thin with an ebony fretboard. The ebony is smooth under your fingers and this combined with the compound radius neck means this guitar is very easy to play. The compound radius allows the for great playability on both ends of the neck. Near the headstock on the low end the radius is 12 inches which means the fretboard is slightly more curved up there to make playing chord shapes more comfortable. Near the high end the radius is 16 inches which makes shredding and lead playing comfortable as well as playing chords.
SOUNDS
I love the one of this guitar. Most shred guitars are very 80s in design and therefore tone. Most guitars like this come with alder bodies and maple necks. This comes from 80s when you needed a really bright guitar to cut through the mix with tons of effects running and whatnot. This guitar has a thick mahogany tone like that of a Les Paul due to the mahogany body and neck. The maple top adds a bit of top end clarity which prevents the tone from getting too muddy. The JB in the bridge and 59 in the neck is a classic set. In a guitar like this you get a lovely warm sound. This set of pickups really brings out the natural tone of the guitar without overpowering it. The warm tone of this guitar means it will sound smooth in just about every position. The 59 is already super smooth. Sometimes the neck position 59 can be too smooth in this guitar. It can get muddy at times. If you find the 59 too muddy you can swap it out with a Jazz and your tone will be similar but with a bit more high end cut to keep it from sounding muddy.
OVERALL OPINION
I wish more shred guitars were made like this. I am a fan of the design of shred guitars but being a modern guitar player I dont have much use for a super bright tone. This guitar brings the 80s super fast playability with the warm thick tone of a Les Paul. I find this to be the best of both worlds. The warm smooth tone also works well even in shred music because you do not have such a harsh cutting sound. If you are looking for a shred guitar with a more traditional Les Paul like sound this is the guitar for you.