Tone of the Mahogany soloist VS. the standard Alder body soloist????

[tonemonster]

OK, so who has heard the mahogany body soloists VS. the Alder body soloist??? I am curious to know what the tonal differences are???? I have only played alder soloists, never mahogany.

I am thinking of maybe trying a mahogany soloist.

I would appreciate any info anyone can provide.

[Grim]

The differences are the differences you'd expect from switching from Alder to Mahogany.

The mahogany one is obviously much warmer, I also find that I like the JB MUCH more in the Mahogany soloist than I do in the Alder ones.

Also, if you get a trans finish, Jackson actually puts a 1/8" maple top on the Mahogany ones.

[tonemonster]

Well, I was thinking of trying one. But I dont know. I have had a dealer offer me a good deal on a new SL2H MAH. but I am really trying to keep this on MY budget.... but I really dont want to spend that much chang now. I am really tyring to find a nice used SL2H. I am such a fickle bitch.

[Chad]

Haven't played a mahogany Soloist, but have owned/played several mahogany guitars. Playing alone at home, I really like mahogany over alder or ash because of the warmer/bigger/bassier tone. But playing with other instruments, I like the cut and presence of alder better. I'd probably go with alder personally.

Grim: interesting on the JB. I've heard lots of people say that a JB is terrible in mahogany, but awesome with brighter woods. I've never played a JB with mahogany, but the closest I've played is Korina and can say that I don't care for it in that. Almost like it brings out and pumps up the worst frequencies in the pickup. I have a JB in my SL1T and also an ash ESP and it sounds great in those guitars. I personally love a Duncan Custom in a mahogany guitar. But it's all so finicky because some mahogany is brighter and some alder and ash are darker.

Edit: forgot that I used to own a 1996 Hamer Standard Custom that had a JB in the bridge. That's an Explorer style with a mahogany body/neck and a maple cap. So I have played/owned a mahogany guitar with a JB. Anyway, didn't like the JB in that guitar either. As a matter of fact, I sold that guitar because I never bonded with it. Looking back, I wonder if a simple bridge pickup change would have been the ticket.

[P I K A]

Yea I think the tone wizard at the seymour duncan website recommends the jb in alder and custom in mahogany.

[Grim]

Haven't played a mahogany Soloist, but have owned/played several mahogany guitars. Playing alone at home, I really like mahogany over alder or ash because of the warmer/bigger/bassier tone. But playing with other instruments, I like the cut and presence of alder better. I'd probably go with alder personally.

Grim: interesting on the JB. I've heard lots of people say that a JB is terrible in mahogany, but awesome with brighter woods. I've never played a JB with mahogany, but the closest I've played is Korina and can say that I don't care for it in that. Almost like it brings out and pumps up the worst frequencies in the pickup. I have a JB in my SL1T and also an ash ESP and it sounds great in those guitars. I personally love a Duncan Custom in a mahogany guitar. But it's all so finicky because some mahogany is brighter and some alder and ash are darker.

Interestingly, I found the Custom to be too dark in Mahogany...

[MetalHeadMat]

The differences are the differences you'd expect from switching from Alder to Mahogany.

The mahogany one is obviously much warmer, I also find that I like the JB MUCH more in the Mahogany soloist than I do in the Alder ones.

Also, if you get a trans finish, Jackson actually puts a 1/8" maple top on the Mahogany ones.

Out of curiosity, how thick is the maple top on the alder trans soloist?

[Grim]

Out of curiosity, how thick is the maple top on the alder trans soloist?

It's a veneer.

[Gibsonmac]

Most ALL of my soloists are mahogany, every custom shop I get now is mahogany, It is so much warmer/fuller/thicker, so much more tone. If you are getting a slamming deal, anything south of 1900, you'd be stupid not to jump... hell even 2k isn't bad for new.

[RyTard]

It makes me wish for a Maple Neck trough mahogany... I haven't had a chance to bring home a Mahogany Soloist yet, but back to back over at my local charvel/jackson supplier, it seemed like the Mahogany Soloist had almost a Nasaly quality that the Alder didn't have. Kinda like an "aaaaaaaaaaah" compared to an "eeeeeeeeh". But this was also through a high powered JMC stack that the salesman plugged me into, so i could just be hearing a difference in pickups lol.

[Skizzwizz]

Personally I prefer alder axes, hence my love of Jacksons and Strats over LPs...
Hate the JB and don't know why they slap 'em in the bridge at Jackson...but no doubt for rhythm they sound beefy.