Help with Year and origin

[DMac]

I recently bought a used Jackson guitar and was told it was an SL1 soloist import but I have read online info that has made me doubt that. This guitar has a neck through build, 3 true Seymour Duncan pickups, Humbucker at bridge, single coil in mid and neck positions. It has a chrome Floyd Rose unit and the serial number on the 24th fret is 021133. The case and warranty card inside say "Jackson/Charvel" but I'm not sure if they originally came with the guitar or just ended up with it. Any help on year or origin of this guitar would be hugely appreciated!

[rjohnstone]

Serial number makes it a 1990 Soloist made in Japan.
Does it say "Professional" on the headstock?
Also, does the truss rod cover have any markings?

[pianoguyy]

The SL1 is not made outside of America.
But there is a difference between your salesman saying it is an imported SL1 and the import version of an SL1.


If the 1990 date holds true, the SL1 didn't even exist. It was called a Soloist.
But again, not that big of a deal. Plenty of people list things as SL1 or RR1, because people know those terms in the modern era, even though back then there was only one choice of Soloist and Rhoads, therefore no need to name them by number.

[Mudlark]

I'll guess 2002 SL3, made in Japan.

[rjohnstone]

I'll guess 2002 SL3, made in Japan.

Not enough digits in the serial number.
Sounds like a modded early Soloist Professional.

[Mudlark]

All Japanese neck thru's had a 6 digit serial on the board same as the early Pro's. The later models, say 2000 and onward, have numbers in which the first 2 digits indicate the year.

Models such as the RR5, SL3, RR24 etc. used this format.

[rjohnstone]

All Japanese neck thru's had a 6 digit serial on the board same as the early Pro's. The later models, say 2000 and onward, have numbers in which the first 2 digits indicate the year.

Models such as the RR5, SL3, RR24 etc. used this format.

Yep... it's been so long since I've seen an early Professional series that I forgot the neckthru serials started with a Jxxxxxx.
It was the early bolt-on Professionals that were just six digit.
So you are correct, this would be a newer model Soloist.

[Newc]

As well, a lot of people either ignore or don't see the "U" or "J", much like they leave off the leading letters of modern Indonesian models.

If the serial has a J in front of it, it's a 1990 Soloist Pro. If it has a U in front of it, it's a 1990 Soloist USA. If there's no letter in front of the serial, it's a 2002 SL3 as Mudlark said.