Charvel Socal, San Dimas 1, or Jackson SL2H?

[Sheddingskin]

Alright, I finally decided to go ahead and get a good MIA guitar. I like to play all kinds of music from light hippy stuff here and there to stuff like Necrophagist (well I can't play that stuff yet but I'd like too haha), but I'd say that my favorite style to play would be the heavy thrash of Pantera (so harmonic squeals with the Floyd will be important too).

The SL2H would be amazing for sure and would probably nail Children of Bodom tones, but I'm wondering if one of the Charvels wouldn't be almost as good for a fraction of the cost. What do you JCF'ers recommend I go with?

[wilkinsi]

I'm a Jackson snob, so I vote SL2H.

[Grandturk]

I'm a strat snob, so I would say SD1 or SoCal.

[bombtek]

Alright, I finally decided to go ahead and get a good MIA guitar. I like to play all kinds of music from light hippy stuff here and there to stuff like Necrophagist (well I can't play that stuff yet but I'd like too haha), but I'd say that my favorite style to play would be the heavy thrash of Pantera.

The SL2H would be amazing for sure and would probably nail Children of Bodom tones, but I'm wondering if one of the Charvels wouldn't be almost as good for a fraction of the cost. What do you JCF'ers recommend I go with?

SoCal all the way man. you can change out that guitar's pickup combination in under 10 minutes if you keep some loaded pickguards on hand. It'd be like having several different guitars at your disposal....all in one guitar. You can't beat that with a stick!!!

Think about it:

Hum
Hum Hum
Hum single
Hum single Hum
Hum single single
single single single

With the above, that is 6 different guitars if you have the pickguards loaded and ready to go. If you're handy, you could probably work some kind of a plug for the grounding lead.

Not to mention that the SoCal is one fuckin cool cat guitar.

With the SL2H you are limited to the what will fit into the pickup routes. Basically just 2 humbuckers. Yep its a nice guitar , but you want versatility? Go with the SoCal.
Neckthru Shmeckthru.....the SoCal is the better choice for you in this situation.

You can also change the pickguard color, switching options, you want actives....there's room in a route under the guard for a battery ...man thats it...I'm gonna order one myself now

[DonP]

Love my Bengal SL2H. Don't have one of those others to compare it to, however.

[Hellbat]

I'm a neckthrough snob so I say SL2H. But honestly you need to try some to determine what's best for you.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

It's really hard to compare an SD-1/SoCal to a Soloist. It's even hard to compare them do a DK-1. The question is whether the accessibility to the high frets would actually be an issue to you, for one. Second, the SL2H is a little better in terms of workmanship and materials.

In all honesty, the SoCal and San Dimas are what they are, and they're great bolt-on guitars, but they can't hold a candle to a DK-1 or Soloist for playability or quality. Of course the Jacksons cost damned near 2x as much, too.

[Zerberus]

If the cash were there to go either way, I´d go with the Soloist.

[Newc]

If you found an SL2H and Charvel for the same price (doubtful either way), I'd say go for the SL2H.

Pickup swaps are actually easier on the Soloist. The Charvels require complete neck or string removal or unreasonable loosening to do it. With the Soloist, you pop out the springs and the bridge lifts right out, with strings going right back to full tension and tuning when you put it back together.

The SoCal offers one advantage in being able to do single coils (after a pickguard swap and a wood mod if you put one in the bridge), but with some slight compromise in pickup choice and simple wiring mods, you can get great clean tones similar to single coils on the Soloist.

[bombtek]

I guess I'm just more of a full sized strat guy myself then. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my 5FX, but my favorite to play is definitely the Model 3. I dig the 22 frets, the full sized body, the pickguard......everything about it.

If it were me, I'd go after the SoCal, but as you can tell, I am biased.

[Sheddingskin]

Hmm so I'm still unsure what to do. I don't have the money for either, if I go with the Soloist I'm just going to have to wait longer until I can get the money. It will definately be used though, which I'm not against at all and actually kinda welcome.

As far as the 22 vs. 24 fret issue, my current guitar has 24 frets but I don't really seem to need them all. I'm sure I can find a way around the missing two frets for songs by being a little creative.

I'm really falling in love with the look of the Ferrari red Socal. How well would this guitar do for low chug type stuff? My brain is telling me it'll be like any strat (single coil, not for metal) when I really know that its not at all.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

For me, it's not so much the "missing 2 frets" but the "how easy can I get to the usual 22" that makes the difference.

If you play in E up high on a typical bolt-on guitar like a Strat or San Dimas, you'll be angling your hand and trying to cram it into the cutaway, etc. At least I am. On a Soloist, I just "go right there." Nothing really gets in the way.

[Sheddingskin]

Hmm I know what you mean, I'm so confused about what to do. Its a big chunk of money to be laying down for the soloist, but its an amazing guitar. But then I absolutely love the look of the Socal.

A quick question about the Socal's Floyd, is it able to be pulled up a fair amount? I read somewhere that you can only barely pull it up, and that wouldn't fair well with Dimebag style playing.

[Grandturk]

Hmm I know what you mean, I'm so confused about what to do. Its a big chunk of money to be laying down for the soloist, but its an amazing guitar. But then I absolutely love the look of the Socal.

A quick question about the Socal's Floyd, is it able to be pulled up a fair amount? I read somewhere that you can only barely pull it up, and that wouldn't fair well with Dimebag style playing.

A - go play the guitars. Figure it out that way. No amount of internet gurus is going to tell you what feels best in your hands.

B - I've got an SD1, there's a fair amount of pull back. You can always get a tad more based on how you set up the Floyd - tilted slightly forward (parallel with the neck) is OK. My strings hit the neck and pickups before the Floyd hits the body on fretted notes high on the neck.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

IMO there is PLENTY of pullback on the SD-1/SoCal Floyd, so long as the tremolo is parallel with the body (at least) or tilted forward slightly parallel with the neck.