Jackson SL2H neck: how different from a DK2 one?

[mnit1965]

After a long time searching for a good used SL2H i finally found one for sale. I always dreamed of owning one, a neck-thru Jackson with HH config. Unfortunately, since it's in another country, i cannot try it before...

I have a DK2 (2011) and i really love the neck. It's thin, but not as thin as an Ibanez wizard, super super confortable.

Now, my problem is that i never tried the USA Soloist neck. The stores in here don't have these in stock.

I was talking to a recent friend of mine who had a SL2H on the past (he now has a DK2 from 2010) and he said to me that the SL2H neck feels a little chunkier (this i already knew and i'm ok with that as long as it's not baseball like). But what surprised me: he said that the neck feels wider compared to the DK2 he now has, like the distance between the edge of the fretboard from the low E to the high E seems wider on the SL2H compared to the DK2. He didn't made any measurements and he didn't knew it this perception was caused by the SL2H neck being a little chunkier. The SL2H neck, as far as he remembers, feels bigger, wider and chunkier, on the DK2 he now has seems, the neck feels like a skinnier smaller one.

Can you please confirm me this? Do the necks are the same width/measures? How would you compare the SL2H neck to a recent DK2 one?

Since i love so much my DK2 neck, i'm afraid i would not like the SL2H neck, if it is subtantially chunkier (wider?)... And since i can't try one before i buy this...

Thanks in advance!

[LaoWai]

I have two SL2Hs one from 05 and the other from 011, the 011 is much thicker than the 05... almost like the FNG made it. The 05 is super thin and the 011 is about a good 1/8" thicker. My DK2MG feels chunkier than the 011... as far as width... dunno, I regularly switch between the three... and all I can say is USA SL* necks are fucking badass, once you tap one, nothing else is the same,... if that helps ya

[emperor_black]

I have a 2007 DK2T and I agree, its the best neck ever! I also have a DK1 and its super thin. I had a 2005 SL2HT and a 2007 Sl2HT Yellow bengal which I a little over a year ago. The main reason was the neck. Even though I got over the painted neck sticking to my hand, the necks did feel bigger in all aspects. Width, thickness, etc. I would not say its as big as a gibson's or even a fender strat's but its definitely bigger than the DK2's.

See if you can get your hands on a DK2M. I would sort of put the Sl2's neck in that ball-park. Also, keep in mind that I'm talking about fixed bridge versions.

[mnit1965]

I have a 2007 DK2T and I agree, its the best neck ever! I also have a DK1 and its super thin. I had a 2005 SL2HT and a 2007 Sl2HT Yellow bengal which I a little over a year ago. The main reason was the neck. Even though I got over the painted neck sticking to my hand, the necks did feel bigger in all aspects. Width, thickness, etc. I would not say its as big as a gibson's or even a fender strat's but its definitely bigger than the DK2's.

See if you can get your hands on a DK2M. I would sort of put the Sl2's neck in that ball-park. Also, keep in mind that I'm talking about fixed bridge versions.

Hummm... so, is the DK2M neck more like a SL2H one than a DK2? Never having played a DK2M also, i always tought that the DK2M was like the DK2 (minus the rosewood of course )

[emperor_black]

I personally felt the DK2M was a tad bit thicker than the DK2's. Oh, BTW, even if the SL2's neck is built to the same specs as a DK2's the paint over the neck probably makes it feel a bit thicker. The unfinished neck of the Dk2 feels like butter.

[DonP]

I have a 2003 DK2 with a big fat neck that I never bonded with.

I have a 2005 Bengal SL2H I just got done playing an hour ago. Awesome neck. Not super Ibanez thin, about the same as my 2007 DK2M

And I have 2007 DK2M White Bengal with a great neck. Maybe a hair thicker than the SL2H.

My 1992 and 1995 RR1's have thin necks.

My 2010 RR24M has a real thin neck.

I have a Charvel 550XL and Model 5FX with fatter necks for neck-thrus.

I have 2 Model 6s and a Model 4 and 2 with thin necks.

Summary: It's a crap shoot. Roll of the dice. Research can improve your odds by trying to figure out what to avoid and what to shoot for.