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NGD: Jackson Soloist Caribbean Blue

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  • NGD: Jackson Soloist Caribbean Blue

    Hey guys,
    long time no see. Been around at FB. Too much hassle to go to repost the same thing everywhere, but I feel you guys deserve some kind of update. Anyways, I just got myself a Caribbean blue soloist through Amazon by 3rd party seller ADORAMA. (demo model) for the demo model price of 864.00

    https://imgur.com/a/lu2ZI46

    They double boxed that shit pretty good, only thing that it had enough dust to make me think it was shipped from Tatooine. I had to blow it all out of the guitar!

    I measured the neck at the 1st and 12th fret with calipers. I got a reading of 20mm at the 1st and 20.5mm at the 12th.

    Impressions are pretty good, very playable out of the box. The Floyd was a little bit sunken in, but everything else was setup just fine. After changing strings, even at the same gauge the tension changed so I had to loosen the springs in the back. This is probably the best neck I've ever tried to be honest and I know it gets even better with the USA models. I've tried a few Jackson pros in stress but this one seems to be even better. Being a demo model , I'm assuming Jackson sent their best. The fret ends are even better than my previous LTD JH-600, which were a hair sharp. These ones are very soft. Everything looks lined up proper, there's no paint under or over-spray, the binding looks great all the way up and down.
    My hand feels relaxed with the shoulder being smooth and flat, also the back of the neck also being flat. Some people hate light guitars, but having a 7.6LB guitar means I play this a lot more and thats all the difference.

    Cons not the fault of Jackson:

    The back had some light buckle rash swirls but I buffed most of it out so u can't see it anymore.
    There's a microscopic 1mm hairline scratch below the bridge at the end of the body that no one is gonna see unless they want to look for it.

    ON Jackson or OEM parts but its pretty minor nitpicking:
    the tone knobs go left and right when you turn them slightly, so that tells me that the knobs were simply installed slightly crooked rather than the tone pots not installed right. No big deal, i can fix that (there's no screw hole though..hmm)

    Minor fretbuzz at a few frets that's only apparent on the low E string. But this I expected of even new USA Gibson guitars and will get it Plek'd soon anyways lol. Honestly its the least amount of buzz I've had out of the box considering that the action is set to 1.6mm. Most people wouldn't notice.

    Floyd 1000
    the fine tuners are extremely tight and it will go sharp by simply touching it . I need to get some guitar oil or something to put it in there. There's also a PING! Sound when I put back on the high string clamp. I didn't even have it screwed in yet and it pings. That is not a good sound.

    Time will tell if this is as good as real OFR.

    Poly line at the base of the neck: Everyone knows about this already, its more an aesthetic thing, but I sure hope they make it look better next time. It bothered me on day 1, but after a couple days I forgot about it.

    This guitar is worlds apart from the Jackson Kelly Performer I had before. Ofc it was a budge line guitar, no matter where it was made from. The neck feels nothing alike and not even as good as midline Jackson's today. That guitar was over 10lbs as well. People tend to forget that country of origin is only part of the picture.

    All in all,
    I think I got a pretty dang good guitar, it plays great, looks fantastic!
    Last edited by DanzoStrife; 04-15-2021, 06:23 PM. Reason: Picture

  • #2
    I have set mine to 1.5 on the bass side and 1.0 on the treble and no buzz. i used a fretboard straight edge and an allen wrench, i could probably go lower.
    I know the old saying that the value of an opinion is generally inversely proportional to the strength with which it is held.

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    • #3
      'Tis a beauty.
      96xxxxx, 97xxxxx and 98xxxxx serials oftentimes don't indicate '96, '97 and '98.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by john.w.lawson View Post
        I have set mine to 1.5 on the bass side and 1.0 on the treble and no buzz. i used a fretboard straight edge and an allen wrench, i could probably go lower.
        No buzz on that brown mii soloist?

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        • #5
          Originally posted by DanzoStrife View Post

          No buzz on that brown mii soloist?
          nope, thats not that low. i've had other usa guitars that a one mil pick would push the strings up at the 12th fret with no buzz or dropped note.
          I know the old saying that the value of an opinion is generally inversely proportional to the strength with which it is held.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by john.w.lawson View Post

            nope, thats not that low. I've had other usa guitars that a one mil pick would push the strings up at the 12th fret with no buzz or dropped note.
            the guitar's I get change the minute they go into my room. When i got the guitar there was no buzz but then it buzzed a few hours later and I also needed to fix the bridge. Also, when I plek'd my other guitars that happened when I had to go back and readjust the truss rod again cuz the drastic change to my room, even tho the luthier is only a few miles away lol. I'll definitely need to plek this to get low action, but I haven't met a guitar that wouldn't benefit from a plek.

            Glad yours is pretty good! Mine is playable but yea I want mine lower , its closer to 1.8 than than 1.6. Its really hard to see the markings tbh

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            • #7
              Congrats, nice guitar.

              Demo model just means it was on some store floor for customers to try, or it was used by staff, or could even have been a return. Different stores define "demo" in different ways.

              The Poly line has an important purpose. It is there to keep the paint from cracking at the transition from painted body to oiled neck.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by wrldeatr7 View Post
                Congrats, nice guitar.

                Demo model just means it was on some store floor for customers to try, or it was used by staff, or could even have been a return. Different stores define "demo" in different ways.

                The Poly line has an important purpose. It is there to keep the paint from cracking at the transition from painted body to oiled neck.
                my neck is unfinished. I will probably oil it though it dry in KS.
                Last edited by john.w.lawson; 04-16-2021, 02:40 PM.
                I know the old saying that the value of an opinion is generally inversely proportional to the strength with which it is held.

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                • #9
                  That looks great, I hope the Floyd settles in and you don't have to replace it.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by john.w.lawson View Post

                    my neck is unfinished. I will probably oil it though it dry in KS.
                    Unfinished? Yikes. That should be oiled, no?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by wrldeatr7 View Post

                      Unfinished? Yikes. That should be oiled, no?
                      Ah, it is slightly oiled. My other soloists have painted necks. My bad. I'll still put a coat of tung oil on it. Because it is real dry here
                      I know the old saying that the value of an opinion is generally inversely proportional to the strength with which it is held.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by freedom's door View Post
                        That looks great, I hope the Floyd settles in and you don't have to replace it.
                        I don't think it will come to that. Strings are still new, just changed them, so lets hope :P

                        Btw, i checked other people with the same guitar, the pattern is wildly different. It seems to me that for sure this is a maple veneer, not some printed graphic lol. A thin one, but nonetheless a real wood veneer.

                        Thanks for the comments guys! Yea, I don't think the MII's are bad at all. There's some features and designs that I prefer like having Ebony fretboards, binding on the neck (though I miss my sharkfin inlays) and more popping colors. the MIJs for the most part except some special ones are dull colors

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by DanzoStrife View Post

                          I don't think it will come to that. Strings are still new, just changed them, so lets hope :P

                          Btw, i checked other people with the same guitar, the pattern is wildly different. It seems to me that for sure this is a maple veneer, not some printed graphic lol. A thin one, but nonetheless a real wood veneer.

                          Thanks for the comments guys! Yea, I don't think the MII's are bad at all. There's some features and designs that I prefer like having Ebony fretboards, binding on the neck (though I miss my sharkfin inlays) and more popping colors. the MIJs for the most part except some special ones are dull colors
                          Yeah, they probably do look different at different angles. Not saying its not a cap, if the design were from the cap! They would indeed all look the same.
                          I know the old saying that the value of an opinion is generally inversely proportional to the strength with which it is held.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Damn nice score and excellent review!

                            I've always dug that finish.

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                            • #15
                              Excellent! ESP LTD has several guitars that compete with that and even have a similar fade, but I think Jacksons have a nicer fade on average.

                              I have two SL2 Pros and one of them came with noticeably sharp fret edges. No big whoop as it's only about $40 for a pro to file them! If I was brave and/or talented, I would file them myself, but I'm neither, so I'll take it someone soon.

                              I find that Curt Mangan 10-46 strings and Callaham springs were both worthy upgrades to mine. Nothing else planned!

                              '95 Charvel San Dimas USA Model I Koa - BKP
                              '91 Charvel 650 Custom - EMG 85/SLV/SLV+SPC
                              '92 Jackson Soloist Pro MIJ
                              '91 Charvel 475 Exotic Cherry Sunburst - Duncan PATB set
                              '90 Charvel 475 XL
                              '10 Charvel San Dimas MIJ Style 1 2H - JB/'59
                              Mesa Boogie Quad Preamp/Stereo Simul-Class 2:90
                              Mesa Boogie MkIII+ Simul-Class & MkIVb with Mark Series stack
                              Marshall JVM410H

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