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Hi guys,
I'm about to order my first Jackson, in the form of a lefty SL2H (probly be ordering tomorrow from wild west guitars).
Firstly, call me crazy, but I have never actually played a proper USA Jackson Soloist. However, being a lefty and living in the UK, it is impossible for me to find one to play. However, I get on with the strat design and I want something for playing fast and metal really now (I have a les paul guitar and a fender strat already). If the very unlikely case happened that I didn't like it I could probly sell it on ebay over here for possibly even more than i paid for it so i am safe [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].
Firstly, some guy on harmony central was saying that the new jacksons have been fitted with 250k tone pots when they should be 500k for humbuckers. He said he fit a 240k resistor in series to compensate and it made a world of difference. Is this true? Is this something I should definitely consider doing when I get mine?
Also, what is the JB/59 standard pickup combination in the soloists like? I've read before that the JB in the bridge is great for leads but lacks any bottom end for good rhythm, especially palm muted. Is this true? Are there any other pickup combos well suited to the soloists?
How much of a difference does the painted neck make? I am used to unpainted necks, like my strat. Also my les paul (Gordon smith hand made in the UK not gibson) is stained red on the neck but still not painted, so that feels really smooth too. Does a painted neck take some getting used to, in terms of moving around the neck fast and smoothly?
Finally, this is going to be hard to explain but I'll give it a go anyway. In terms of playing, I figured that the Jackson would be similar too my strat, because the wood, scale length, shape etc are all very similar. However, I find my strat difficult to play fast (in comparison to my les paul) because the strings tend to "snap back" at me when I play them. In essense they are effected too much by my picking and it kinda messes up my picking a bit. It feels like my pick is being caught and stopped from playing sometimes! lol. Is this just because I am using old, puny 9's on my strat currently and 10's on my les paul? Or is the "snap-back" because of the bolt-on neck and won't be present in a neck-through soloist? Or is it something else? I ask mainly because if it is the strings for example, I may ask Jim, at wild west guitars, to set it up for 10's instead before shipping, even though they will be harder to bend etc. I've normally found 10's are a little stiff on a 25.5" guitar but perfect on a 24.75".
Thanks for all your help guys, I look forward to being a proud Jackson owner like the rest of you (though I have to wait 4-6 months for the order!),
Luke
I'm about to order my first Jackson, in the form of a lefty SL2H (probly be ordering tomorrow from wild west guitars).
Firstly, call me crazy, but I have never actually played a proper USA Jackson Soloist. However, being a lefty and living in the UK, it is impossible for me to find one to play. However, I get on with the strat design and I want something for playing fast and metal really now (I have a les paul guitar and a fender strat already). If the very unlikely case happened that I didn't like it I could probly sell it on ebay over here for possibly even more than i paid for it so i am safe [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].
Firstly, some guy on harmony central was saying that the new jacksons have been fitted with 250k tone pots when they should be 500k for humbuckers. He said he fit a 240k resistor in series to compensate and it made a world of difference. Is this true? Is this something I should definitely consider doing when I get mine?
Also, what is the JB/59 standard pickup combination in the soloists like? I've read before that the JB in the bridge is great for leads but lacks any bottom end for good rhythm, especially palm muted. Is this true? Are there any other pickup combos well suited to the soloists?
How much of a difference does the painted neck make? I am used to unpainted necks, like my strat. Also my les paul (Gordon smith hand made in the UK not gibson) is stained red on the neck but still not painted, so that feels really smooth too. Does a painted neck take some getting used to, in terms of moving around the neck fast and smoothly?
Finally, this is going to be hard to explain but I'll give it a go anyway. In terms of playing, I figured that the Jackson would be similar too my strat, because the wood, scale length, shape etc are all very similar. However, I find my strat difficult to play fast (in comparison to my les paul) because the strings tend to "snap back" at me when I play them. In essense they are effected too much by my picking and it kinda messes up my picking a bit. It feels like my pick is being caught and stopped from playing sometimes! lol. Is this just because I am using old, puny 9's on my strat currently and 10's on my les paul? Or is the "snap-back" because of the bolt-on neck and won't be present in a neck-through soloist? Or is it something else? I ask mainly because if it is the strings for example, I may ask Jim, at wild west guitars, to set it up for 10's instead before shipping, even though they will be harder to bend etc. I've normally found 10's are a little stiff on a 25.5" guitar but perfect on a 24.75".
Thanks for all your help guys, I look forward to being a proud Jackson owner like the rest of you (though I have to wait 4-6 months for the order!),
Luke
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