Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

[Markus]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

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Just to stir the pot, a JB Jr. sounds amazing in the neck of a S/S/H Soloist. Plenty of hot-rodded Les Paul neck pickup goodness.

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I like the sound of that, Noodles. The Jazz in my LP sounds fantastic, I want that plus a little more in my HSS soloist.


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What year is the guitar? Is the body poplar or alder?

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I'm not exact on the year, but I purchased it new in 2002. I'm quite sure it's Alder.

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If it's alder then it's probably the JB and the 250K pot. I'm not a big fan of JBs myself. I'd go with 500K pots and a Duncan 59.

-Mark

[noodlesatf]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

While I love the '59, I think the Lil' 59 suffers from lackoftesticleitis, while the JB Jr. is more of a hotrodded PAF sound.

[toejam]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

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If it's alder then it's probably the JB and the 250K pot. I'm not a big fan of JBs myself. I'd go with 500K pots and a Duncan 59.

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Yeah, but when did Jackson use 250k pots? The JB will definitely sound warmer with 250k than 500k. I thought Jackson used 500k pots, though.

[jammermatt1]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

This one came with two-fitties.

[quiksilver]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

I'm not crazy about JBs. EMGs are nice, but I'd recommend a DiMarzio Evolution as a first choice, or Tone Zone as a second.

[chrisolson]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

I'm surprised no one has thought of this yet, but do you have other guitars that do the same thing through your Flextone? I am a LONG-TIME Line 6 user, and have always found the L6 amps rather spongy sounding. Check with another guitar first before you start doing a bunch of surgery. Treat the illness, not the symptoms.

[jammermatt1]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

Hi Chris. Yes, my Flextone seemed spongy at one time. I upgraded the chip sometime back and that seemed to help. But, to answer, no, my other two axes don't seem to be that spongy.

I did the swap. I threw in the Distortion, and it did help. Still not as articulate as my LP, but the LP has 500k pots, so I'm going to try some 500k's. But then again, that LP is dang bright. Otherwise, I love the tone of this guitar.

[jammermatt1]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

Oh, I forgot to ask... My understanding is that the 500k tone pot allows more higher frequencies to pass. However, I do not understand what a 500k tone pot will do. Any takers?

[leftyjackson]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

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Hey guys, this is probably the place to ask my question. Anyway, here goes. I have a Soloist SL-1, loaded with a JB in the bridge, the "stock" Classic Stack at the middle, and Hot Rails neck. I play through a Line 6 Flextone IIXL, usually with a Tube Screamer out front. I have two other axes, a Japanese Dinky w/Screamin Demon/Jazz, and an LP w/Distortion/Jazz.The other night whilst practicing pulloffs I got to noticing that the Soloist sounds a bit "spongy" in the lower register - i.e. lack of articulation with the E, A and D strings. The other two axes don't seem to have this going on. So, I got to wondering if it's the axe, or the JB (as I have read that it can sometimes be loose in the bottom). I find it difficult to imagine that it is the axe, as I've never heard of this happening with a Soloist, and I was wondering if any of you have had this experience, and what you did about it. I'm guessing it's the JB, which I would probably swap out for a Distortion. The Hot Rails is an 80's vintage, and it's a tad spongy as well. Pots are all stock 250k's.Or, is there a possibility that I have a misfit Soloist?Thanks,-Matt

[/ QUOTE ]I own an SL2H, and compared to all of my other guitars, I too have found the Soloist to be "spongy" in the lower registers. I also swapped out the JB for a Duncan Distortion. While this definitely helped, the Jackson still isn't as "tight" as my other (various models) guitars are.Here's my take on it:The proximity of the bridge pickup to the neck. With the 24 fret neck on Soloists, the bridge pickup is a lot closer to the neck than 22 fretters (even some other manufacturer's 24 fret models).Obviously, the closer you move a pickup to the neck, the "looser" it's going to sound. Same kinda goes for the neck pickup- in reverse. The Soloist neck pickup is nowhere near as "creamy" as some of my other guitars' neck pickups- because it is in fairly close proximity to the bridge (compared to other models).However, I got around these issues by having specifically EQ'd presets on my digital graphic equalizer for the Soloist, and it sounds really good. For rhythm tones, I dropped some of the lower mids and it helped to tighten up the low end tremendously.

[DSS3]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

Good point, LeftJackson, but that goes for all Jackson's.

IIRC, Jackson moves the bridge pickup about 1/8" closer to the neck than most other companies.

[jammermatt1]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

Very interesting... thanks.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

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Here's my take on it:The proximity of the bridge pickup to the neck. With the 24 fret neck on Soloists, the bridge pickup is a lot closer to the neck than 22 fretters (even some other manufacturer's 24 fret models).

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Don't measure the distance of the end of the fretboard to the bridge pickup. It's a bridge pickup for a reason... to be placed near the bridge.

I'll be willing to bet that the late 1990s DK1s (22 frets, H/S/S pickup configuration) and the latest DK1s (24 frets, H/H pickup configuration) have EXACTLY the same distance between the bridge pickup and the bridge itself. Same goes for the KV2 versus the RR1, which are V-shaped guitars with 24 and 22 frets respectively.

Wayne Charvel called the bridge pickup location "the sweet spot". Too close to the bridge and it sounds thin and tinny. Too far from the bridge and it sounds too flubby and loose.

[dg]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

NOTP is exactly right. The bridge pickup is in the same spot in relation to the scale length on a 24 fretter as it is on a 22 fretter. The fact that the fretboard extends closer to it makes no difference. Obviously, it will affect the neck pickup placement, and that makes a huge difference to some people.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

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Obviously, it will affect the neck pickup placement, and that makes a huge difference to some people.

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HUGELY influenced by the writings/teachings of a self-proclaimed deity who happens to go by the name Ed Roman. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[veliyasin]

Re: Soloist and articulation - general Soloist Q

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HUGELY influenced by the writings/teachings of a self-proclaimed deity who happens to go by the name Ed Roman. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

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Not really.
The neck pickup placement makes a huge difference in neck pickup tone, that's a fact. But I think it is just a "different" tone with 24-fretters not necessarily "worse". [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]