Jackson Elite Soloist weak output and no muting when vol-pot turned down

[StealthPro]

Hi,

i bought an elite soloist with the JB (TB4) / SH2N combo. The guitar has an active circuit built in. I think from looking at the pcb that is directly connected
to the vol-pot it is a JE1200.

One problem i immediately recognized with that guitar was the weak output (weak high gain sound) and the mediocre if not weak sustain on that thing.
In one of my JDR94s i do have the same PUs but without the active-eq and it's got more "crunch" / output.
You can especially recognize that when playing some palms especially on higher frets.
My first thought: Maybe a bad piece of wood (it's also a surprisingly light guitar)?
Second: maybe that je1200 steals output (battery is ok, i alread checked that)?
When using the elite it feels like there is quite a lot of gain is missing.
I took a multimeter and measured values from 35.5 to 40 kΩ with both PUs depending of the eq-pot position. That active circuit seems to work with higher values?
The JB in my JDR measures about 17kΩ which seems normal values of the pure PU to me.


The next thing is that the guitar will only be completely muted when the toneknob of the active eq is set to the highest sounding side.:think:
Is this a normal behaviour of that je1200-circuit?


Any ideas / suggestions?

Greets

[RobRR]

Have you tried changing the battery? Sounds like its dead.

[StealthPro]

Have you tried changing the battery? Sounds like its dead.

Hey,

yes that was the first thing i've tried. I also measured the voltage on both batteries to be sure they are ok.

[Axegrinder87]

Hey,

yes that was the first thing i've tried. I also measured the voltage on both batteries to be sure they are ok.

Measure the voltage on the battery in the circuit, otherwise you're wasting time, as batteries can only be properly tested with a load.

[JacksonEliteFan]

This is strange. The Jackson Elite Soloist I own is definitely the heaviest guitar i own. It also does have nearly as much output as my RR24.
The guitar and the tone knobs work fine after changing the battery. There is no multimeter ready to hand, so I can't tell you, what the included resistors do have for values. But it seems, that the wiring isn't correct? May you can take a look inside and/or post a picture of it. So that I could also post one pic of my guitar's wiring to compare.

[StealthPro]

Measure the voltage on the battery in the circuit, otherwise you're wasting time, as batteries can only be properly tested with a load.

Today, i just took the battery out of my SLSMG and tested it in the Elite Soloist, but it made no difference. So i guess it is not an batteryissue.

This is strange. The Jackson Elite Soloist I own is definitely the heaviest guitar i own. It also does have nearly as much output as my RR24.
The guitar and the tone knobs work fine after changing the battery. There is no multimeter ready to hand, so I can't tell you, what the included resistors do have for values. But it seems, that the wiring isn't correct? May you can take a look inside and/or post a picture of it. So that I could also post one pic of my guitar's wiring to compare.

Yes, a wiring issue could really be the cause, especially because of that "volume-muting problem". But as the guitar beeing brand new, i better don't touch anything as i am thinking about sending it back, because there are other issues with it too.
Can you check if your Elite Soloist is muted when you turn down the vol-knob and set the eq-pot (the last one) to the darkest sounding position (turn it clockwise)?
(Turn the noisereduction off for that test)

[JacksonEliteFan]

I checked it and the result was, that you were right. But i could only hear hardly a tone while the distortion channel volume was turned up to the maximum. This is a combination far away for me to play at home. Worth mentioning is also that the random noises of my amp prevailed. I am using a Marshall Transistor Combo. To conclude it: it is far less dramatic as you mentioned. What other issues do you have?
I saw that you were moaning about the sound?

[StealthPro]

I checked it and the result was, that you were right. But i could only hear hardly a tone while the distortion channel volume was turned up to the maximum. This is a combination far away for me to play at home. Worth mentioning is also that the random noises of my amp prevailed. I am using a Marshall Transistor Combo. To conclude it: it is far less dramatic as you mentioned.

I don't need to crank the volume on my amp to hear that. You can hear it clearly even at low volumes.
I play with quite a lot of gain. While the vol-pot is rolled off i can hear a clean tone that gets louder when turning the eq-pot clockwise.

What other issues do you have?

Two strings are buzzing when played open while the locking nut is screwed on the respective strings.
The other issues are more weaknesses/little faults in workmanship.
The saddle is a bit too high and there are 2 more screw holes in the tremolo cavity where they started drilling at the wrong place at first for example.

I saw that you were moaning about the sound?

Yes, i described it above. It always feels like some gain is missing especially when playing some leads and the sustain is more on the average side.

[xxx256]

When i compare the JB in my RR elite with that in my other japanese KV i hear that the RR elite has marginally less output. Its nothing dramatic as it is almost not noticable.

[JacksonEliteFan]

That's sad to hear. If you aren't comfortable with this guitar, return it back. May you did get a lemon ("Montagsmodell" ), so that you could get another one as a recourse?

[Predator1]

I have had this issue on a couple of guitars and it ended up being a bad toggle on one and a bad input jack on the other. Once these were replaced they came to life.

[StealthPro]

That's sad to hear. If you aren't comfortable with this guitar, return it back. May you did get a lemon ("Montagsmodell" ), so that you could get another one as a recourse?

Yeah maybe it is a "Montagsmodell". There are some other things too that i'm not that happy with, which are more cosmetical things.
The ebony is more brownish with a lot of brighter / grey streakes in it when compared to my other Jacksons with ebony fretboards.
And until now, i think that i just can't get used to the chrome hardware (and those grey plastic inlays).
I would have to exchange the hardware together with the electrics, if i should keep the guitar.

One thing i really like on that guitar is the thin neck. It is the thinnest neck (with less "shoulders" too) that i have ever played on a Soloist.
Much thinner than the SL2Hs i've played. Thinner than a SL3 and Slat3-6 i tested and even a bit thinner than the one on my SLSMG which was really surprising to me (
but still nowhere thin as the JDR94 necks).
But for a Soloist it is really nice. Really an aspect which makes me thinking about keeping it and mod it to my preferences.

[JacksonEliteFan]

Now u got sucked into its ban . Optical issues (hardware color, inlays) are a personal thing, change whatever you want. But if you are unhappy with the guitar, send it back, get another one and cogitate whether this "new" guitar overlaps with your conception. Also, now is the right time to show some pictures of your axe. Which color or finish? I like the silver inlays, they are something "new", but of course they fit better on a silver or black guitar than on a flamed maple top finish, but actually, I do not stare all the time on my guitars, i play them Everyone of my collection is something special especially because of their unique tiny bugs

[larryguitar]

Just curious, and not trying to be rude, but what was the last guitar you got that you were completely happy with?

[StealthPro]

Also, now is the right time to show some pictures of your axe. Which color or finish?

Yeah, i should have taken some pics of it, but it is already sent back. It was the solid (gloss) black version.
Thank you for your postings and have a good time with your new guitar.