Warrior neck vs Soloist neck

[TheGeekWad]

Hello all, I have been a huge Jackson fan for a few years now and the time has come to join this forum. I am in the market to order my first Custom Shop guitar but I am having an issue finding certain information. I want to order a Warrior but I am not sure what the neck feels like on those guitars, and because they are hard to come buy I can't really test one out. I have a 2004 SL2HT and I really like the neck on that guitar, I was wondering how the neck shape/thickness on a Soloist compares to the neck on a Warrior. I apologize if I'm breaking any rules with this post, let me know if this has already been a topic.

[CaptNasty]

The Warrior neck is the Jackson Speed Neck with a thickness of (.775” @ 3rd fret, .835” @12th fret).

The Soloist neck thickness is .790” @ 3rd, .850” @ 12th.

These dimensions are for a raw, unfinished neck. The poly finish will add some additional thickness to the neck. But the difference in thickness between the raw Soloist and Warrior necks is 0.015”.

If neck thickness is important to you, you could order the Warrior with a Soloist neck carve. On your order form you would specify “.790 @ 3rd - .850 @ 12th” for the Neckshape option.

If you like your SL2HT you could contact Jackson customer service and request the spec sheet for that guitar. Then just use the same neckshape for your Warrior order.

They will both have 1 11/16” nuts and 2 1/4” neck butts. A 12-16” compound fretboard radius, and 24 frets.

They both come with Jumbo nickel frets and an ebony fretboard, though that is an option you can change on your order.

You can also order an oiled neck instead of a poly finished neck if you would like to.

My $0.02: while I can tell a difference in feel between a speed neck and a soloist neck I can play both equally well. The difference is very small. The place I find a significant difference is in the neck finish. I prefer an oiled neck to a poly finished neck and that IME has a much greater effect on playability than neck thickness. I can play either but given a choice I personally prefer an oiled neck. YMMV.

[metalhobo]

The difference is very small.

that's good to know. I'd always imagined (and also heard others say) the speed neck shape as "blockier" than the round shape of the soloist profile, which was also how I would have described my wrmg neck. but it also wouldn't surprise me if a real speed neck felt a bit sleeker in profile than that one.

[CaptNasty]

that's good to know. I'd always imagined (and also heard others say) the speed neck shape as "blockier" than the round shape of the soloist profile, which was also how I would have described my wrmg neck. but it also wouldn't surprise me if a real speed neck felt a bit sleeker in profile than that one.

Yeah only 15 thousandths of an inch difference which is is pretty small. The neck profile is a little different too in all fairness and that is probably where more of the difference in feel comes in.

I would say from my experiences that the speed neck is more of a “D” profile where the Soloist leans more towards a “C”. Could definitely see that translating to describing the speed neck as “blockier”.

The other thing to consider is that while Jackson is using CNC for Selects and Custom Selects, there is still hand work that goes into each instrument. Particularly sanding. This will cause minor variances in measurements and shapes from guitar to guitar.

[TheGeekWad]

I had a 2006 KV2 a while back which I believe also had the Speed neck, and more recently I bought a used Custom Shop KV2HT (Mahogany neck and body) and I have no idea what neck profile was on that thing. Felt completely different than both the KV2 and SL2HT. I wonder how much of an upcharge it would be to have them do a Soloist neck profile on a Warrior? Maybe I will try to get an estimate from my local dealer.

If it does end up costing too much, the Speed neck isn't necessarily a bad thing IMHO. I was surprised at how comfortable I found the KV2 to be, given how skinny the neck is and also because I mostly play rhythm.

[Mudlark]

I was playing my '08 SL2HT tonight, and I have a Speed Neck on an MIJ Dinky.
As mentioned, it's basically comparing a D to a C shape.
I'd call the Soloist 'meatier', but it doesn't exactly feel bigger.

They used to show the individual spec charges on the Select download, but I see they don't now?
If you could find a pre-2016ish download online, you'd get an idea of the neck profile charge.
If memory serves me, the neck profile charge won't be a deal breaker for you.

[pianoguyy]

I've found the necks of the same unit(s) to be different. So, it really shouldn't matter what 'specs' say. Once you get into sanding and shaving and smoothing and waxing and coating, they are simply a reference point, not an exact for a final product.
And that is really sad, because it makes ordering guitars online rather difficult.

I mean, think about it - This is the guitar I like. Make me 2 more. Two years later, you get them and you hate them. Maybe they are close. But something is just 'off'. They aren't the same.

You can make plastics exact. You can make computer programs exact.
But living things... much more difficult.

[CaptNasty]

I had a 2006 KV2 a while back which I believe also had the Speed neck, and more recently I bought a used Custom Shop KV2HT (Mahogany neck and body) and I have no idea what neck profile was on that thing. Felt completely different than both the KV2 and SL2HT. I wonder how much of an upcharge it would be to have them do a Soloist neck profile on a Warrior? Maybe I will try to get an estimate from my local dealer.

If it does end up costing too much, the Speed neck isn't necessarily a bad thing IMHO. I was surprised at how comfortable I found the KV2 to be, given how skinny the neck is and also because I mostly play rhythm.

The King V also has the speed neck. The work that is done by hand on these guitars yields differences from instrument to instrument. That variance may be the difference in feel you noticed.

As for price to change the Neckshape, not sure what that is. They just give you a bottom line price for your build. You do not get a breakdown of charges per option.

I have several Jackson Custom Selects that are on order right now. They do not break the bank compared to a production Select. They are a Dinky and Soloist. The Soloist was about $550 more than the Dinky. The Soloist base model is ~$400 upcharge from the Dinky base model. These two guitars have the same options with five exceptions: The Soloist has the following differences from the Dinky order:

• birdseye maple fretboard
• non standard neck finish: oiled
• Dinky neck shape
• Single hum (I think they charge for the non-standard route, but then you don’t pay for a second pickup so it is a wash)
• push/pull toggle to split the pickup

After taking out the Soloist upcharge, those five upgrades cost about $150. That may help to give you and idea of what to expect.

Jackson has three common neck shapes:

• Dinky - .750”-..810”
• Speed Neck - .775”-.835”
• Soloist - .790”-.850”

Then there is the Kelly with a .775”-.850” neckshape.

In my experience, if you stay with one of these three carves the upcharge (if any) is nominal.

Here is a thread that I started while ordering the Soloist: https://www.jcfonline.com/forum/equi...m-select-order