Need Help : Pro Series : Soloist Vs Dinky

[TJ2020]

Hello everyone,

I am still learning guitar and recently looking to upgrade my guitar. I would like to have a thinner neck and flatter fretboard as right now my current guitar has a low radius and thick neck and I don't enjoy it playing.
I recently played Jackson Pro Soloist SL2Q in a store and I loved it. The Ebony fretboard felt like butter. I also saw a Pro Dinky DK2QM with Maple fretboard and liked it as well. Which one do you guys think would be a better choice overall. I usually like hard rock, classic metal. Which pick ups are better and Versatile? Which guitar has a thinner neck ??( didn't play the pro dinky). This would be my first Jackson guitar so I would highly appreciate your thoughts and comments.

I am also giving link for both of the guitars

https://www.jacksonguitars.com/gear/...mah/2914223521

https://www.jacksonguitars.com/gear/...2qm/2914105521

[skullfunkerry]

Both guitars will have very similar neck profiles so they should be very close in terms of feel, but the neck joint on the Soloist will be a lot smaller, giving you better access to the higher frets. The hardware (tuners, tremolo etc) is the same on each guitar - the FR1000 series trem is pretty good, so that's not something to worry about.

Apart from the neck joint, the other main difference is the pickups: I'm not a fan of the JB/59 set in the Dinky, they're far too loose in the low-end for me (I usually tune to drop C though, to be fair). Every guitar I've had with a JB bridge pickup (Charvel San Dimas, KE3 Kelly and a Performance superstrat) has had the pickups swapped out. Having said that, if you're playing classic metal and rock then there are a lot of players who really rate the JB.

According to the Jackson website the Soloist is $100 more - I'd say it's definitely worth spending that bit extra - you'll get a better neck joint, better (in my opinion) pickups, and tbh I think the colour options on the Soloist are nicer too

[CaptNasty]

Dinky neck is .750” at 3rd, .810” at 12th.

Soloist neck is .790” at 3rd, .850” at 12th.

I personally prefer Dinkys. Which one did you like better?

One consideration, for some reason neck throughs have a greater tendency to experience cracked headstocks. I don’t know why, a number of friends I know who build and repair guitars have told me that essentially all of the guitars they see for headstock cracks are neck through or set necks.

[pianoguyy]

One consideration, for some reason neck throughs have a greater tendency to experience cracked headstocks.

A Gibson Les Paul has a tendency to break at the headstock. That is because of their poor design. I am fairly certain that throws off the "set neck" numbers.


The other thing to take into consideration is real simple - the neck breaks on a neck thru, it has to be repaired or thrown in the trash. A bolt on can have a new neck put on.
What would you rather do - spend $600 to have a headstock fixed, or spend $100 on a new neck.

[pianoguyy]

you'll get a better neck joint

That does not apply to all neck thru guitars. Not all of them are sanded thin. Some of them are very thick. Nor are they all glorified set-thru guitars, where an elongated neck piece is glued on top of a piece of wood to make it as thick as the body - which also allows for that sanded smooth body transition.

[TJ2020]

Both guitars will have very similar neck profiles so they should be very close in terms of feel, but the neck joint on the Soloist will be a lot smaller, giving you better access to the higher frets. The hardware (tuners, tremolo etc) is the same on each guitar - the FR1000 series trem is pretty good, so that's not something to worry about.

Apart from the neck joint, the other main difference is the pickups: I'm not a fan of the JB/59 set in the Dinky, they're far too loose in the low-end for me (I usually tune to drop C though, to be fair). Every guitar I've had with a JB bridge pickup (Charvel San Dimas, KE3 Kelly and a Performance superstrat) has had the pickups swapped out. Having said that, if you're playing classic metal and rock then there are a lot of players who really rate the JB.

According to the Jackson website the Soloist is $100 more - I'd say it's definitely worth spending that bit extra - you'll get a better neck joint, better (in my opinion) pickups, and tbh I think the colour options on the Soloist are nicer too

Thank you so much for the amazing response, I actually saw a pro soloist price drop in sweetwater

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...-mah-aqua-shok

I am from Canada, so I might go to my local store and ask for a price match if they can order it. This looks like an amazing deal.

[TJ2020]

A Gibson Les Paul has a tendency to break at the headstock. That is because of their poor design. I am fairly certain that throws off the "set neck" numbers.


The other thing to take into consideration is real simple - the neck breaks on a neck thru, it has to be repaired or thrown in the trash. A bolt on can have a new neck put on.
What would you rather do - spend $600 to have a headstock fixed, or spend $100 on a new neck.

Is the Jackson pro soloist prone to these problems too??

[CaptNasty]

A Gibson Les Paul has a tendency to break at the headstock. That is because of their poor design. I am fairly certain that throws off the "set neck" numbers.


The other thing to take into consideration is real simple - the neck breaks on a neck thru, it has to be repaired or thrown in the trash. A bolt on can have a new neck put on.
What would you rather do - spend $600 to have a headstock fixed, or spend $100 on a new neck.

I thought the same about Gibsons. One of the guys I know says that Jackson headstocks are one of the more common headstock breaks. 2nd most common behind the Les Paul as a matter of fact. But the don’t crack like a Les Paul. When they crack, it starts at the nut by the high E then typically travels between the 3rd & 4th string machine heads. Still Gibson far and away with the most followed by Jackson.

[skullfunkerry]

That does not apply to all neck thru guitars. Not all of them are sanded thin. Some of them are very thick. Nor are they all glorified set-thru guitars, where an elongated neck piece is glued on top of a piece of wood to make it as thick as the body - which also allows for that sanded smooth body transition.

This is true - however my Soloist has the best neck joint I've ever played, literally nothing in the way of the top frets at all - and looking at the pictures in the OP's link, that guitar has the same joint as mine

Is the Jackson pro soloist prone to these problems too??

I think the issue is that the headstock is angled back without a volute which makes it weaker. However, I've been playing guitar for 30 years now and in all that time amongst all my friends, I've only known one headstock break. As long as you're careful (guitars falling over is the main problem - the one I have experience of is my brother's Flying V, which fell forward off its stand) then it's not really a huge problem

[workerunit]

Between the two, I would go with the Soloist, and get a hard case with it.

[TJ2020]

Between the two, I would go with the Soloist, and get a hard case with it.

Thank you for the feedback, I am leaning towards the soloist as well

[TJ2020]

Between the two, I would go with the Soloist, and get a hard case with it.

Thank you I am leaning towards soloist, will go another couple of days to the store to try it out and make a final decision. Sad they don't give a bag or case with it.

[mule train]

Is the Jackson pro soloist prone to these problems too??

I seem to remember an ad that had a person standing on a neck on the ground supported by the headstock and heel, showing the strength of the scarf joint.

[Steinrealtor]

All the Dinky models are bolt-on but Soloists like SL1 are neck thru. Outside of build quality, the Dinky is a smaller body. The Dinky is also a bolt-on whereas the Soloist is neck-thru. The Dinky is mostly for metalcore kids and the Soloist is mostly for actual guitar players.

[Zedder]

I think Dinky and Soloist usually have same size body. There are of course special models and small unintended differences but I don´t think Dinky should be smaller than Soloist, it should be smaller than Strat(ocaster).