Usa sl1 help

[Luca1973]

Take a look at the edge of the headstock.
It seems to me that a layer of clear coat was applied. Highly possible after putting the “Made In USA” fake sticker.
I’d return back immediately the guitar to the shop, or if you like it, ask for a refund at least the half of the money you paid.
In any case, let the seller know what happened.

[Number Of The Priest]

This photo reinforces my theory that the "Made in USA" label is aftermarket. Look at the color of the "Jackson" script versus the "Made in USA" label. They are different. The "Jackson" has a yellowish appearance while the "Made in USA" is unnaturally stark white. If this was a true USA guitar, you would expect both portions would have the same tint, look consistent with each other, have aged/yellowed together/consistently, etc.

If you run your fingertip across the "Made in USA" portion, can you feel it "raised" above the surrounding surface of the headstock, perhaps indicating an extra layer of clearcoat over the "Made in USA"?

I have no doubts the Floyd is legit. Both the "Original Floyd Rose" and the "1000 Series Floyd Rose" are official Floyd Rose products with identical metals and dimensions, and differ only in their country of manufacture. The former is made by Schaller in Germany, and will have "Made in Germany" on the underside of the baseplate. The latter is made as an OEM product for mid-range guitars by Ping (I think) in Korea, and will be blank on the underside of the baseplate. SL3s were equipped with the "1000 Series" circa 2006 and would be considered an upgrade over the pre-2006 tremolo, the Takeuchi JT580LP, along with the aforementioned black hardware and Seymour Duncan pickups.

It's a shame someone tried to pass this guitar as a USA model. Yes, the SL3 was one of the few very high end guitars remaining in the Japanese Jackson product catalog in the 2000s, with respectable specifications and quality build, and your guitar may be better than everything else that you've ever owned or played... but USD$1200 is considered grossly overpriced for any SL3.

I agree with CaptNasty and Luca1973; the recommended action would be to return it, citing deception. Alternatively, if you've fallen in love with the guitar and must keep it, at least severely haggle for a partial refund. USD$500, taxes included, would be more reasonable, and that's very much on the upper threshold price for what I would pay for a 2000s Japanese Jackson IF I REALLY LOVED IT.

[Luca1973]

Mudlark, the photo of the bridge here leads back to the Rhoads RR24 topic, in which we were talking about the OFR or Korean Floyd with also the link to the Jackson site.
It seems that also the Korean Floyd hasn't the slanted saddles, so...I assume that only the Takeuchi/JT have that kind of saddles (both Lo-Pro and normal)

[Number Of The Priest]

Regarding slanted saddles... I never noticed before, but now I see the German OFR on my USA Soloist doesn't have them, while the Korean Floyds on my 2009 and 2011 Charvel So-Cals have them. Pictured below is the trem on the 2011.

[Mudlark]

Checking for the Germany stamp is the only way to confirm what tremolo it is since the saddles may've been changed.

[Luca1973]

...assuming that the ones in the SL3 are the original ones and after a look at the photo in the Jackson site...big confusion at this point

[Number Of The Priest]

I'm being mostly absurd here for the purpose of conjecture, but the baseplate could also be changed from a blank (Korean) one to a German one. It's an unlikely (and pointless) scenario, but the parts are interchangeable and thus it's a possibility, as remote as it may seem.

[Mudlark]

I've just googled a few SL3's with the FRT and black hardware and the saddles don't have the slanted back corners. So, it appears at least some of the FRT02000's don't have the slanted saddles.

[defyingsilence]

Thanks everyone #1 I really appreciate your time. Jackson has not returned my e-mail yet, so until they do the guitar, receipt and tag plus my wife as witness basically is evidence if I decide to pursue legalities. Had I not been an experienced consumer to check the authenticity of this guitar I would have been ripped off in a real bad way and I am pretty sure it is a federal crime to sell any counterfeit product. Especially for one of the biggest music stores in the United States to sell me this guitar as a legit USA SL1. This is inexcusable as the salesman said it was verified legit thru corporate when I asked at the time of sale. I feel personally feel any retailer especially one this renowned should be held 100% accountable. I hope this thread serves as reference to others not to trust any major music store.

[CaptNasty]

Thanks everyone #1 I really appreciate your time. Jackson has not returned my e-mail yet, so until they do the guitar, receipt and tag plus my wife as witness basically is evidence if I decide to pursue legalities. Had I not been an experienced consumer to check the authenticity of this guitar I would have been ripped off in a real bad way and I am pretty sure it is a federal crime to sell any counterfeit product. Especially for one of the biggest music stores in the United States to sell me this guitar as a legit USA SL1. This is inexcusable as the salesman said it was verified legit thru corporate when I asked at the time of sale. I feel personally feel any retailer especially one this renowned should be held 100% accountable. I hope this thread serves as reference to others not to trust any major music store.

It is sad. In all fairness I have to wonder if most of the staff at your typical music store could tell the difference between a Dinky and a Fender Strat beyond the difference in the headstock.

As the saying goes: let the buyer beware.

Perhaps you should contact Sam Ashe corporate? The store is going to bury it. If you do, contact them on Twitter or Facebook in a public manner.

Corporate contact info:
278 Duffy Ave
Hicksville, NY, 11801 United States
(516) 932-6400
Twitter: @samashemusic
Facebook: @samashemusicstores

[defyingsilence]

Publically yes they would bury it if I posted on twitter or Facebook, they do not want that type of attention. Although Jackson rep said Based on the features and serial number of the guitar in the photo, it appears to be an SL3. The USA serial number format has always been prefixed by a "U" or a "J" since the 1980s. I can't confirm this because our serial number database doesn't go back before 2002 but we do know that has always been the USA format.

Does anyone have proof and old serial guide they could post a image, since Jacksons data base only goes back so far? I would like some more fuel to add to the fire when I contact corporate.

[Number Of The Priest]

our serial number database doesn't go back before 2002

Here is the serial number chart for the years prior to 2002: https://www.jacksonguitars.com/support/neck-thru

I'm going to play devil's advocate but it might not even be Sam Ash's fault. I'm a Canadian so I don't have Guitar Center here, but I regularly hear about Guitar Center misrepresenting used items on their Guitar Center Used page. This could be out of pure ignorance, or they just identify something "close enough" and deem it acceptable to not spend any more precious time researching what precise model it could be. If this is true, I hypothesize it's because they are a corporation with a large amount of product to move, and "close enough" research results save time and money, otherwise you have clueless employees spending too much time researching instead of doing other work tasks.

If Sam Ash is like Guitar Center, then I can see why your local Sam Ash saw various identification features of this Soloist, including "Made in USA" on the headstock, superstrat shape, hum-single-single Seymour Duncan pickups, one volume, one tone, 5-way switch... and came to the [erroneous] conclusion that it's an SL1. Since the SL3 is a discontinued guitar, the store staff might not even have known it existed, and the easiest "close match" they could find was an SL1 and labeled the guitar as such.

The culprit in this scenario would be the previous owner who affixed that "Made in USA" sticker on there, thus duping Sam Ash and the next buyer (you). I hope Sam Ash didn't pay that previous owner a price commensurate with an SL1 when it should have fetched an SL3 (lower) price.

Ultimately it is up to the buyer to be informed and/or ask questions. You did the right thing by asking questions within your return period.

[JerEvil]

Man this is awful. Sorry to the OP that you got taken. These are good guitars but not at the price point you paid. As mentioned, for US made soloists, there'd be fretboard and headstock binding. The only USA non-bound fb's/hs's I have seen had no inlays on the neck.