Tonal qualities of a Soloist Archtop

[Trev57]

I have 3 American Jacksons, and they all have Floyds and active pickup setups. I am looking at a new Soloist Archtop that does not have a Tremolo (it is string through body), and the retailer says has Duncan Jeff Beck pickups. I assume that means JBs. I asked them to discribe the tonal qualities of the guitar, and all they will say is " Awesome". Which although may be very complimentary, it does not give me any information at all. Does anyone here own one of these, and can you be more descriptive?

Thanks.

[danastas]

I have one, but the Soloist Archtops are all made of different materials with different pickups. Mine has a Duncan Custom Hybrid, one Hum, Koa body, Maple and Mahogany neck, thick Bearclaw Spruce top, Rosewood fretboard. It's going to sound tonally very different from any other. Mine excels at the high end and high mids. The low end is ok, but it's not the highlight of the guitar. I notice that the other archtops are made of very different wood combinations as well.

Sorry that I can't answer your question.

And oh yeah, it's become my favorite guitar, better than my LP, my PC1, SD, etc. I love them, and for me they are the best guitars built by Jackson.

[npacheco]

Sounds like you were looking at a SLATQ. I suck at describing tone, and the only one I ever played was at DCGL and I didn't plug in and it was busy that day so there were a lot of other players plugged in...yada, yada, yada...someone will be along shortly that plays SLATQs.

[StukaJU87]

This is just my opinion. When I buy a guitar, I buy it because I like the way it looks and plays. That is the most important thing to me because really, pickups can be changed out cheaply enough to make the guitar suit my needs. Just sayin'.......

[Trev57]

This one is all mahogany with the thick maple top. I assume it will be something like a Les Paul with the incredible Jackson looks and playability?

[danastas]

In my opinion, you can't really assume that. Mahogany with a maple cap is definitely an excellent combination for tone, but in my experience the Jackson S archtops don't sound like Les Pauls. Different weight, different mass, different pickups. I have a LP R7, and though i love it, I like the sound of the Jackson better. It's cleaner all around, less mud at the bottom (a problem I always have with LPs). For me, the playability of the lP isn't an issue. I prefer fat necks. In fact, I prefer them to the thinner Soloist profile but I get by just fine with the Jackson.

[Chrisb]

you can't assume it will sound like a les paul cause of just the wood combination. Most SLAT's I have played are extremely balanced tonally especially if they have a thick cap. Strong low end that is well defined, excellent mid range and top end bite. Awesome is probably the best way to describe it. Due to having more body mass, les paul's tend to have a stronger bottom end that is muddier IMO. And this is simply just my interpretation. But the body shape and size matters just as much as the woods. And though mine is a death angel shape I got an archtop on mine to balance the tone on mine. Koa body with a 3/4 maple archtop. Its a great combo.

[danastas]

Chris, just wondering, is that the Orange flame maple archtop with Koa body?

[Chrisb]

nope. custom teal burst quilt over koa. Why do you ask? Does someone else have a death angel archtop in the making as well?

[danastas]

No, I thought I saw something like that on one of the retailers pages, but I can't remember where.

[hawkerbc2]

I've got an Ibanez USA Custom RG(mahogany w/thick maple) with PAF Pro's and that sounds nothing like a LP either, nowhere near the same amount of wood to give the same 'chunky' sound, different scale length etc...

As ever you can't really describe it, as to any two people one word may be perceived slightly differently - thats why I'm never really convinced when sound engineers band around words to describe guitar tone.

[Tashtego]

I play a SLATQH. It is a very beautiful guitar. I would describe its sound as a cross between the twang of a strat with the warmth of an LP. It is certainly a guitar that is a pleasure to listen to unamplified or playing crystal clean.

[Trev57]

well I bought the guitar. I am just waiting for it to arrive. It is a lefty too. So I will be able to form my own opinions.

Thanks for the replies.