Jackson SL3

[andrew_k]

Hi,
I just signed up. Looks like a great community here.

I'm currently contemplating getting a Jackson Soloist SL3. If I do I'll replace the pickups as I'm not a fan of either Hot Rails or JBs. Currently I am looking at Bareknuckle pickups (http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk).

However years ago I had an Ibanez that also had a maple through neck with a Floyd Rose trem and the unplugged tone of this instrument was quite thin. The SL3 isn't in stock where I live yet so I haven't had a chance to check out its acoustic tone. I know there will be some variance, but what is the unplugged tone of SL3's generally like? Do they tend towards being bright and perhaps a little thin acoustically?

Anyway pickup wise, in the neck and middle I would like something that gets me as close to vintage strat as is possible with a guitar of this type (yeah, I know, maple through neck, Floyd Rose trem, 24 frets - it's not looking good!). In the bridge I would love something complex, rich and warm with tons of sustain, ideal for legato style lead playing. The bridge pickup also needs to have a nice clean tone and not be too out of balance with the neck and middle pickups. I really like more organic, uncompressed, complex, rich kind of tones rather than trebly, cutting, aggressive ones (or am I just getting old??). Any recommendations gratefully received!

[Newc]

First off, the acoustic tone will have zero impact on the amplified tone. It's an electric solidbody. That's why it has pickups.

Second, if you're looking for vintage Strat tones, you might want to look at a Strat. One of the trademarks of neckthrough construction is the darker tone, regardless of the wood used.

You might have some luck with putting Fender single coils in the neck and middle, and a Pearly Gates or a Fender humbucker in the bridge, but you won't get very close to SRV or Clapton.

[andrew_k]

First off, the acoustic tone will have zero impact on the amplified tone. It's an electric solidbody. That's why it has pickups.

Thanks for your reply. In actual fact the acoustic tone has everything to do with the amplified sound. Different woods, different construction methods and different hardware all contribute to this, and all a pickup can do is bring out what is there acoustically. It may accentuate certain features, but cannot for instance add bass to an instrument that acoustically has little or none. I have a custom shop Fender Strat where this is exactly the case. I replaced the single coil pickups with fat sounding humbuckers, which goes some way towards hiding the lack of bass but when you listen you can hear it is has a lot of lower mids but no real bottom end. An expensive pickup in a guitar made out of rubbish wood will still sound like, well, rubbish.

I remember reading years ago where a bunch of well known luthiers got together and all agreed that the quality of the wood in a solid body electric is perhaps even more important than in an acoustic guitar as any flaw was going to be amplified 1000 fold. The acoustic tone is vital.

[DonP]

Hi,
I just signed up. Looks like a great community here.

I'm currently contemplating getting a Jackson Soloist SL3. If I do I'll replace the pickups as I'm not a fan of either Hot Rails or JBs. Currently I am looking at Bareknuckle pickups (http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk).

However years ago I had an Ibanez that also had a maple through neck with a Floyd Rose trem and the unplugged tone of this instrument was quite thin. The SL3 isn't in stock where I live yet so I haven't had a chance to check out its acoustic tone. I know there will be some variance, but what is the unplugged tone of SL3's generally like? Do they tend towards being bright and perhaps a little thin acoustically?

Anyway pickup wise, in the neck and middle I would like something that gets me as close to vintage strat as is possible with a guitar of this type (yeah, I know, maple through neck, Floyd Rose trem, 24 frets - it's not looking good!). In the bridge I would love something complex, rich and warm with tons of sustain, ideal for legato style lead playing. The bridge pickup also needs to have a nice clean tone and not be too out of balance with the neck and middle pickups. I really like more organic, uncompressed, complex, rich kind of tones rather than trebly, cutting, aggressive ones (or am I just getting old??). Any recommendations gratefully received!

Sounds like you are taking a big risk if you are buying without playing it first, if you aren't sure it's the axe for you.

That said, I love my SL2H. Have have many LPs, SGs, RR1s, but this SL2H I have with a JB is the shit.

Personally, I think BKP are way overpriced. I'll never know if they are worth it, because I won't spend that much, but a forum member spent months trying to get rid of his warpig, and lowered the price quite a bit before someone finally took it from him.

If you really think the SL3 is for you, get one and try it with the stock pickups. If they don't do it for you, then make a decision if you think a pickup change would work or if it would be best to go for a bolt on.

[andrew_k]

Sounds like you are taking a big risk if you are buying without playing it first, if you aren't sure it's the axe for you.

That said, I love my SL2H. Have have many LPs, SGs, RR1s, but this SL2H I have with a JB is the shit.

Personally, I think BKP are way overpriced. I'll never know if they are worth it, because I won't spend that much, but a forum member spent months trying to get rid of his warpig, and lowered the price quite a bit before someone finally took it from him.

If you really think the SL3 is for you, get one and try it with the stock pickups. If they don't do it for you, then make a decision if you think a pickup change would work or if it would be best to go for a bolt on.

Thanks for your reply. They are bringing 2 in and I can buy one of them if I like, no pressure there. Certainly won't buy anything without a thorough evaluation first. I always like a second opinion though, hence my query here.

My custom shop strat had scatterwound single coil pickups in it originally. The scatter winding really does seem to add another dimension to pickups, they seem more complex and alive. Hence the interest in the BareKnuckles.