NGD: 1986 Jackson Soloist San Dimas (J2039)

[djpharoah]

Picked this up locally. It's a Jackson 1986 San Dimas Soloist which was made by the custom shop since all orders at that time then were custom.

I went to a GC with the owner to try it out and just freaking loved it through a 6505+ combo enough to take it home.

It's nearly 26 yrs old so it's got some love taps but damn it sounds fucking beastly. The original bridge was some really weak SD (thinking 80s JB) which had a loose bottom end but some bite - removed that and put in the Dimarzio Super 3 which is pretty f'n sweet in this. I miss Poplar :wub:

My first time with a Kahler trem and I'm pleasantly surprised. I've always thought the string height of the body would be my downfall but it seems that the Kahler has a similar feel to the floyd under my palm and puts my hand in a similar position. This keeps the doors open for older San Dimas'

[Ward]

That is a freakin' awesome shade of blue. Congrats!

[Gunner]

Looks great man, nice score.

[djpharoah]

Just gotta find a black cover for the neck single lol

[straycat]

86 would mean made in Ontario Ca.

[djpharoah]

86 would mean made in Ontario Ca.

According to the Jackson Serial # chart online 1986 was the last year they made them in SD before moving to Ontario. I think...

[neilli]

Yeah...

[DalyTek]

Who the hell cares which plant it was made in? It's a USA Soloist that plays awesome and looks phenomenal! That's all that matters!

I've only had one experience (and it was quite recently) with a Kahler. Like you, I was very pleasantly surprised. I actually liked it much better than a Floyd personally.

Congrats on the beautiful score, and happy NGD!

[coloradoman25]

lots of em comin out of the woodwork these days!

nice score!

[Deathrider29]

cool metallic blue

[djpharoah]

I've only had one experience (and it was quite recently) with a Kahler. Like you, I was very pleasantly surprised. I actually liked it much better than a Floyd personally.

Congrats on the beautiful score, and happy NGD!

Thanks. Yeah a lot of people were telling me Kahlers were poop etc etc and for the longest time I missed out on a few SD Soloists because of them. Then when I tried it out I was like shit... this feels quite decent like almost like palming a floyd.

[beardy]

That is a beautiful shade of blue! Love it to bits! And those SD/Ontario Soloists are some of the best I've played! And Kahlers are actually quite addictive - stick on the heavy (bass) springs and wang away! Got one of those in Metallic Purple - it's currently in the workshop getting new pickups (the stocks are really weak) and receiving a locknut shelf route to accommodate for an FR nut - they work best with Kahlers in terms of tuning stability. After-the-nut lock sadly cannot handle angled headstocks a la Jackson, Gibson Explorer or Firebird. It's therefore best to go with an FR top-mount locking nut.

[djpharoah]

That is a beautiful shade of blue! Love it to bits! And those SD/Ontario Soloists are some of the best I've played! And Kahlers are actually quite addictive - stick on the heavy (bass) springs and wang away! Got one of those in Metallic Purple - it's currently in the workshop getting new pickups (the stocks are really weak) and receiving a locknut shelf route to accommodate for an FR nut - they work best with Kahlers in terms of tuning stability. After-the-nut lock sadly cannot handle angled headstocks a la Jackson, Gibson Explorer or Firebird. It's therefore best to go with an FR top-mount locking nut.

You're so right man. I'm definitely loving the smaller sized frets compared to my other Jacksons. The Kahler is pretty cool too and has been impressing me since I got it - it's almost like it's over engineered to a point of crazy!

[daisp]

Nice one!

[Charlz]

Cool. You're on a roll lately.