New Member and New Jackson--ID help please?

[steviekool]

Hello all, First post here, and more to come hopefully for a long time

I recently aquired a US made soloist. What I know about it is a couple of things, which I will share, and the rest I am asking you guys for some help. This is a US made Soloist, "not sure if its a straight up custom, or a production custom made in batches of 12", Warbird. Serial is UO0509. It has 1 volume, 1 tone, and the mid boost knob, I guess you can call it. Great player, absolutely mint.

Now, I called Jackson to get some info on the pickups. I was greated by some rude guy telling me that Since Fender aquired Jackson, anything before they aqcuired them, they wiped the serial numbers from there systems, and they have no info on them at all. I was shocked about this, and called back the necxt day, and I got the same response. Pretty stupid if you ask me.

I come to you guys for a little help. First off, there is lots of info on Warrior Warbirds, as that seemed to be the norm on this graphic, but I can find absolutely nothing on this graphic being on a soloist. WOuld this be pretty rare in that case?

Next, I would love to know if anyone has any clue what pickups are in this thing. They actually have a really nice tone, and I am most surprised with the clean tones, and the neck pickup cleaning up very nicely. The Bridge to me seems almost like a active EMG, very arcticulate, and fairly bright. I know they are not actives, but there is a battery in there for the mid boost knob.

Last 2 questions, The middle pickup gets in the way a bit when Im picking, and they are as low as they go. Is there a mod or anything that can be done about this, or basically just swap out the pup?

Finally, in your opinion, what would you put the value at of this guitar? I would like to here what you have to say about this, and then I will tell you what I got it for. "Actually acquired in a trade"

Thanks all in advance for any help, and without further adoo, here are some pics

[Snoogans]

I'm sure someone will be along with what you want to know shortly. But for the time being - welcome aboard and sweet 'bird!

[wilkinsi]

Sweet indeed! I'm still looking for a Warrior with that graphic.

[DonP]

Have you looked to see if the pickups are labeled?

I'd say check ebay completed auctions for "what it's worth".

[Tricky]

Daayum! Me likes.

Have you looked to see if the pickups are labeled?

I'd say check ebay completed auctions for "what it's worth".

+1

Maybe a J50 & 2 J200s like on a 650?

[charvel750]

The graphic was a standard USA option back in the early 90's. Nothing special or custom about it. It was offered on all USA guitars, including the Soloist, Fusion, and Warrior at no extra charge. Pickups would be the Jackson made J200 stacked single coils and probably a J50B in the bridge. There is the active mid boost (JE-1200) you described earlier.

[roccotanto]

it's SWEET!

saw it when you posted it at TGP......and was drooling then.

Charvel 750 has got it right as far as pickups and electronics.

cool guitar...graphics are always worth a bit more.....depends on the given day, and who is bidding on it.

[steviekool]

Thanks guys for the help. Charvel 750, I appreciate the info on the pickup models. Rocco, good to see you here, and thanks for the kind words on the axe

So I ended up buying a gibson les paul raw power over the holidays. Got it on the cheap at musicians frind it is the last time I buy an axe sight unseen. There was nothing wrong build wise, it just felt very cheap, and the paint seemed like it was a kids water based paint.

I found some dude that wanted to trade his prs mira for the gibson. I did that in a heartbeat. Probably one of the best deals I ever made. The mira was nice, played well, just to me its not my kind of axe. Body was too thin, the bridge was too high up on the body, overall just not comfortable for me.

My buddy had this jackson, and he was specifically looking for a mira. The rest is history, and everyone is happy. The jackson is a great player, they don't make em like they used too,I say.

[steviekool]

Oh, forgot about the pickup hight thing. This j-200 in the middle position is borderline annoying, not a dealbreaker, but the pick does touch it quite often. I guess its easy to get used too, but if I don't have to, I would rather not. These are screwed to the lowest it could possibly go, but is still pretty high. The neck is the same way, but that doesn't matter as I don't pick up there.

So a question or 2. Is this a common thing with these pickups? The pickups do look very tall compared to others, so I would assume it is common. what about a possible pickup swap with the middle position? Are these things wired in a different way or have different size screws or anything that would stop me from just getting, let's say a pro track and installing it normally?

I hope I'm not getting annoying yet! Thanks in advance

[DonP]

J200's are a stacked single I believe. That's why they are tall, and they usually sound muddy without a preamp.

You can put anything you want in. It's just a pickup.

You can try pulling it out to see if there is a foam "spring" underneath. Pull that out and the pickup might sit lower in the body.

[steviekool]

J200's are a stacked single I believe. That's why they are tall, and they usually sound muddy without a preamp.

You can put anything you want in. It's just a pickup.

You can try pulling it out to see if there is a foam "spring" underneath. Pull that out and the pickup might sit lower in the body.

Thanks for the response. I wasn't too clear on the pickup swap part. What I mean is if I swapped it out for something else, does it matter if the mid boost pre amp is connected to the new pickup, or can it be wired without it going to the new pickup, or does it matter? I just don't know if for an aftermarket pup, if the mid boost needs to be wired seperately to it, or it will work automatically after you wire up the pup normally like any other pup.

I'm probably just explaining it wrong, sorry if this whole last paragraph sounds stupid.

[Tricky]

To answer your question on the value. Not worth much because of that pesky middle pup being in the way. Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll help you out & take that problem off your hands.

[Hellbat]

They are standard passive pickups. You can wire any passive in place of them. You need to be careful though to get pickups that don't have the tab along the bottom or they won't fit in the cutout. There probably will be foam under it or some kind of springs that you should be able to take out and get some extra space.

Nice guitar, not really for all-ages shows though hehe.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I have the same problem with the middle pickup in my newer SL1, steviekool.

There are a LOT of Duncans that don't have the extra tab now (unfortunately, I prefer the tab, since the newer SL1's have that type of route) and Duncan actually shows the dimensions of the pickups, so you can measure against what you've already got.

[steviekool]

Thanks for all the responses guys, I appreciate it!

Ah, I thought about it, and its really not that big a deal at all. The pickup actually sounds nice, and I dont feel like really going through the hassle of swapping it out as I barely use that middle pickp anyway. My luck I would buy something that doesnt fit, "Wouldnt be the first time, lol".

I will check for that foam piece you guys are talking about, and remove that, and see if that helps. If not, I will live with it. Its really not that big a deal, and I am probably nitpicking on an otherwise perfect axe. , "In my opinion, of course".


A small backstory. My first REAL guitar, "after learing on a $100 epiphone, was a Used Custom Jackson Dinky I found In a SAm ash probably around 93 or so. 2 humbuckers, raw maple neck with a rosewood board, bolt on of course, since it was a dinky, and a kahler, that actually worked pretty well. I payed $600 for it. A few years later, I sold it like an idiot. To this day I wish I still had it, but vowed I will get myself some old school Jackson Soloist love one day. Finally that day came. I am an 80's freak, and own a Kramer 85 Reissue in black, with a pink Duncan Screamin Demon, so that kind of tells you!!

I needed another old school shredder, and this pretty much fit the bill perfectly! Plays just like I remember them to play, back when they cared about quality control. Oh, and the titties dont hurt either!!

Thanks again all, seems like a nice community here, think Ill hang around for a bit