The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

[Dave L]

So you´re gonna let GMW refinish it to the original rising run? Sweet [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] It´s gonna look killer!

Is the lower wing of the body somehow oiled or stained or is that a natural variation of the wood?

[Jim Shine]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

That is typical poplar mineral staining. There is some on the other side as well, but its on the back.

Yeah, I am going to go with GMW. Its weird sending a guitar out to get refinished as I do refins everyday. I just can't do the graphic stuff. This guitar desrves it, so what the hell.

Sorry if pics disappear sometimes..it appears my ISP is having problems today.

[ June 05, 2003, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: Jim Shine ]

[shreddermon]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Dan will totally nail that graphic. He's the man! It will be well worth it. If the seller had other pics, try to give GMW close-ups of the script writing, too. They're a little hard to make out from that one picture.

Good luck, and be sure to post pics when it's done. [img]graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[Jim Shine]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Will do! Unfortunately that is the only decent pic he had. I guess early in the guitars life he began covering the graphic, so he didn't have a whole lot of choices in the way of pics.

I just opened the humbucker up and found it isn't a Dimarzio (like it looks to be on the outside). It is actually an old Mighty Mite! I wonder if Dimarzio made them for MM?



[ June 05, 2003, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: Jim Shine ]

[jgcable]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Nice one and it will be awesome when returned to original condition. Its cool to have a pic of its former self. [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[VoiceX3]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Nice F'N score Jim!!!!! That guitar is a beauty in the raw. I had one of those mighty mites in an older Warlock....it was cool, but if I were you I'd dig up a coverred Jackson J-90 pickup to return it to it's original self graphic pickups and all! The J-90 is probably one of the best passive pickups ever. Very versitile in my opinion.

congrats

[charvel750]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

No San Dimas era Jackson had covered Jackson pickups as standard issue. While those pickups were certainly being used by 1985, they did not introduce the covers until a year or two later. I bet for an '85 SD that Soloist had a pair of J-100 single coils and a J-50 bridge humbucker stock.

[Jim Shine]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Thanks! It will be fun to restore.

Actually, this guitar came with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge. I happen to have a pristine 80's JB in my parts stash, so that is what is going in it. The pickup types were stated in the work order, so you are no doubt right about the Jackson model pickups being standard and the SD's that were in this were only there because they were requested.

Many parts were changed over the years. The Kahler trem was swapped with a Kahler fixed bridge, one knob is changed as well as the strap buttons. I will probably take the PAF Kahler trem from my '84 Rhoads refin for this and either get it a common patent number Kahler, or use the fixed bridge on it (which is the way I will likely go). I have all the other missing pieces as well. The important stuff was all intact namely the original tuners and the earlier style jackplate.

[ June 05, 2003, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Jim Shine ]

[VoiceX3]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

My 86 soloist must've been a custom order then. It's got a coverred J-90 in the bridge which came stock from the factory. The only mods this guitar has ever seen are a trem bar replacement and strap locks.

[Jim Shine]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

It must have been. My '86 Soloist has one J50 and two J100's. The J50 has black poles and screws and there are no Jackson logo's on the tops of any of them.

Charvel750 said, the covered pickups were not used in '85 and came out a year or two later. That makes '86 possible. Good thing guys like him are here because I couldn't have told you when the covers came in.

[ June 05, 2003, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: Jim Shine ]

[Jim Shine]

The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

I got that stripped Randy Rhoads serial number '85 Soloist in today. Boy, it sure is ugly as-is. It needs some attention in a few areas. Otherwise the refret was undetectable, its the lightest Soloist I have ever held, and the it feels and plays great!

I am definately going with a GMW refinish as this one deserves it. Below are pics of this guitar before and after. I am sending a copy of the pic with the guitar, lets see how close they will get it.

Here is the guitar back in the 80's..


Here it is as it sits today...


[ June 05, 2003, 12:57 PM: Message edited by: Jim Shine ]

[adrenaline junkie]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Jim, Great Score! That will look Sweet when you get it finished!

[Ironhead_metal]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Very nice! Do you have more info about the odd serial number? As to the why and how and when ...

[Jim Shine]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

The prefix error was just an accident. The guitar is logged as being J0632, I assume the letter prefix was stamped seperate from the number as RR0632 was made about a year earlier (on a Rhoads student model).

Lee isn't sure if Dan can match the letters/symbols up from such a small pic. I told him if he has to come up with replacement letters, to look for ones that mean "sun" and/or "shine", this way it relates to the graphic and to my last name. However, I spoke to the original owner today and he remembers being told that it said "thunder" or "storm" so I hope that helps them figure out exactly what was on there.

[pro-fusion]

Re: The RR serial number Soloist has arrived!

Congrats on a great score, Jim! If that had been equipped with a Floyd, you might have found yourself in a bidding competition with me... [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I won my Soloist auction around the same time you did--mine's a black 1993 Soloist Custom, which I received earlier this week. Pure Heavy Metal Heaven! And yes, I will post pics...hopefully this weekend.