The designations do not make one a lower quality instrument and the two are made in exactly the same fashion. The intended meanings of the model designations was to be similar to Gibson Les Paul Standard ( Student in this case) and Les Paul Custom. The Soloist Student: standard neck-thru the body, 24 frets, rosewood fretboard, genuine pearl dot inlays, lacks binding on the fretboard and headstock.The Soloist Custom: standard neck-thru the body, 24 frets, ebony fretboard, "Sharkfin" or dot genuine pearl inlays, binding on the fretboard and headstock.By the time J0158 came around the factory had a basic spec outline used as a default on all guitars ordered and only changed when specified by the customer. The earlier models were typically true custom guitars that follow no real standard.
Before that the Soloist styled guitars were named "Custom Strat" or "Neck-Through Body Strat" guitars.
The first official Soloist was serial #J0158 completed Aug(though later serial numbered guitars were completed a week and a half earlier). The design is a typical " superstrat" with differences from the Stratocaster being a: neck-thru design and often a Floyd Rose or a similar tremolo (although other types of bridges such as a Kahler tremolo or a fixed Tune-O-Matic are also offered), premium woods, a deeper cutaway at the lower horn for improved access to the higher frets, and a sharper body with squared off edges.Īs the 1980s brought up a shredding guitarist phenomenon, the Soloist was acclaimed in rock and metal music, especially by lead guitarists. The Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar model manufactured by Jackson Guitars that was officially produced since 1984 (although prototypes were available before then). Production models have a pre-determined color or graphic finish, while Custom Shop options are vast Usually H-S-S or H-H, although various configurations can be ordered ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Īlder (standard), Poplar, Mahogany (some models make use of figured maple tops or veneers)įloyd Rose (standard), string-thru tune-o-matic, Kahler Tremolo ( June 2012) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.