New soon to be USA guy, new to forum

[paulbag]

I grew up on Ibeenhads myself...you'll love the neck. Welcome to the forum.

[S-man]

Welcome and enjoy the atmosphere here...
When you get the guitar you must remember this thread
because

I'm sure you won't let him forget.

Oh yeah, make sure you get the subject centered in the frame and don't cut off the head stock or any part of the guitar in the pic or Ron (photograpghy police) will be angry....I think the lack of food and too much excercise is taking an effect on him.

[Rupe]

Welcome aboard! If you like the Ibanez Wizard neck, you should like the Soloist. It is still very fast but has a little more meat to it so my hand doesn't cramp up like it can after playing my Jem for prolonged periods.

[sandbag]

welcome to the board! i'm paying on a USA KV2 right now and am anxious as well!

[S-man]

Welcome aboard! If you like the Ibanez Wizard neck, you should like the Soloist. It is still very fast but has a little more meat to it so my hand doesn't cramp up like it can after playing my Jem for prolonged periods.

So true.

The soloist has one of the best necks in my opinion and I'm used to Wizard I's.

You are going to love the sustain of the neck through and the way it resonants through to the alder body. The stock pups are good units too.

MOP inlays, Ebony board, Real Floyd Rose Trem, SD pups, neckthru, CTS pots and sw.s, Compound radius fretboard, etc. How can you go wrong?

The finishes are nice . I haven't seen a "bad" one yet.

The fret and binding work is also very nice. Some of the best availble, IMHO.

[S-man]

I've looked at alot of USA soloist and this my list of thing to check...

Do the polepieces line up with the strings?

Do the strings line up on the fretboard? I've seen many with the strings shifted to the treble side.

Is the nut centered on the fretboard?

Is the trem centered in the route?

Are the inlays symmetrical and level?

Is the nut tight? (doesn't creek/move when using the trem)

Is the bridge fairly flush with the body with a factory spec of 1.5mm at the twelth fret on the treble and bass side?... I'd rather see it higher than too recessed.

Are the screws for the trem claw screwed in perpedicular to the mounting points?

I could think of more...but those are the common "problems" I've seen. YMMV.

[RacerX]

Oh yeah, make sure you get the subject centered in the frame and don't cut off the head stock or any part of the guitar in the pic or Ron (photograpghy police) will be angry....I think the lack of food and too much excercise is taking an effect on him.

Thanks, Deputy S-man! :ROTF:



And welcome, Atari!

[atarilovesyou]

OH there SHALL be porn. Trust me! It'll be a few weeks, but there's going to be a crapload of it.

How are you guys for non-Jackson pron? I may need to take a family pic!

I remember taking some pics of my Ibanez, right out of the box..not a pick scratch on it or anything! Now when i take photos of it it looks a little used..hahaha, not a real problem, I'll just remember to take plenty of Soloist pics before I give the workout it deserves!

I sure hope that all the "issues" that were brought up aren't a problem. Mainly cause I ain't sending it back unless it's got SERIOUS issues...shipping is a bitch! Although, it's a USA and shouldn't have anything wrong with it..but sometimes things slip. My Ibanez for instance still has an annoying 'creak' to it's trem when the bar is spun round it's radius.

I don't forsee the knob being an issue, but it IS pretty close to the bridge pickup. I'll make due! If I can get used to the Dean, all is secondary (I still dig Dean necks, of course).

So how bout some more questions....exactly how much of this guitar, or all USA Selects, are hand assembled? I realize that machination is a big part of guitar manufacturing, and that only the customs are truly given that "hands on" attention (which you pay for), but in the case of the Selects, what can I look forward to? My Prestige came to me in great shape, and you can tell that a few folks put some time into making sure that the frets, electronics, all that, was done properly.

I'm sure the USA will not disappoint! Could somebody just give me a hint of what makes a USA different from the import models? I know that you get what you pay for, I can't tell you how many Ibanez models I've played that 'looked' great, but just didn't play like my Prestige. Which figures as the cost is much higher...Just like the Dean imports vs the USA ones, mind you the price gap with Dean is HUGE compared to the price of a Jackson USA and it's imports....in my opinion anyway.

Anybody care to point me in the right direction? The Jackson website wasn't much help, and the guys here seem pretty in depth when it comes to explaining things like this.

Thanks!

[Bengal65]

"I'm sure the USA will not disappoint! Could somebody just give me a hint of what makes a USA different from the import models?"

In short, North American quality woods. (USA and Canada). US electronics, pots etc., even larger wire gauge on USA models (better than the Asian counterparts) and I think all would agree. Fasteners - American (better tolerences) and always a fine German made (OFR) Floyd by Schaller, for those that have the Floyd that is.

"So how bout some more questions....exactly how much of this guitar, or all USA Selects, are hand assembled?"

The USA models are all hand assembled in the Jackson "Custom Shop" in Corona, CA

[kinde69]

Welcome!

You won't be disappointed dude!

+1

[delt]

Do the strings line up on the fretboard? I've seen many with the strings shifted to the treble side.

They're supposed to be shifted a bit to the low side, to give more room to the high E string so it doesn't "fall" off the frets... unless you normally play with your arm hanging over the fretboard

[atarilovesyou]

...well, I'm on vacation right now but I wanted to say I've received my Ferarri Red SL2H...pron to follow!

I was stunned by this guitar, looks great with only one very minor imperfection that I could find. The strings are centered nicely, but the high E is somewhat close to the edge and if I'm not careful, I could see it sliding off...

...that being said this guitar is a beast! Arrived almost completely in tune, and I plugged her in and rocked for hours! The pickups are great, in my opinion and I don't think I'll swap em out for a while. The Floyd is rock solid, as always...VERY comparable in speed to my Prestige Ibanez but perhaps due to the strings on the Soloist, and pickup, I find the notes just a lot more clear...great shredding guitar, I get NO mud in the lower strings....I almost wanna keep the Daddarios for the future, I'm usually a Slinky fan. These strings just feel so slick, I can RIP through note passages with ease! And the pickup makes every note clear, something I don't quite hear with my Dimarzios...this is my first guitar with Seymours, and I'm diggin em! No string buzz, either!...getting used to the ebony...quite different feel from rosewood, and the jumbo frets make shredding a breeze!

So after I get it setup at the shop (something I gotta learn to do for myself, it ain't cheap!), some strap locks...I'll be a damn happy man for years to come...although I do agree with most here...the case is pretty lousy considering it's a USA guitar..the Prestige case blows it away in terms of quality and safety for the guitar.

...again, pron to follow...she looks great!

[RacerX]

Congrats!

What amp you play through?

[atarilovesyou]

...a 100 watt Peavey JSX through a 2 12 Marshall cabinet, for the real deal sound...practicing, usually through my solid states, either my old Fender Champ 110 or lately through my Microcube. The Soloist sounds amazing through that lil Microcube, let me say!...

I'm in the market for a half stack cabinet...a full stack is just unneccessary right now and I don't really wanna go the Marshall route...I'd like to stick with Peavey, but who knows...cabs are pretty much cabs..I know, most disagree but all I care about is quality and decent speakers. My Marshall cab is cool, but I got it at a great price and it's a lil shaky with the mids scooped. Randall has some great priced cabinets and they look pretty solid. I'm sticking with my JSX for now, it really nails the shredder tones I like, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get 'my' sound out of it...especially now that I have my guitars figured out (for the most part!).

[atarilovesyou]

...these aren't the full on prons, but here's a lil sample. More to follow!












..this guitar plays like buttah!...the only thing is a pin head sized chip in the neck binding, barely noticeable (but I notice these things!).

Also, as stated before, the strings are slightly shifted to the treble side. Not optimal, my Ibanez doesn't have this fault. It does't impact my playing that must though, but I can notice it. It's due to the trem not being perfectly centered in the cavity, it appears.

But other than those things, this guitar plays, sounds, and looks like a dream! Totally happy with it, and now know what to look for in the future regarding Soloists.

Oh, and yes, I thought the case looked pretty flimsy...but it does make a good seal and it appears to be functional, if not as pretty as my Ibanez Prestiges case.

Then again, that USA feeling rocks my Ibanez...not by a whole hell of a lot, I love my Ibby too, but this is in a league of its own.

More pics to come!