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Jackson American Series Virtuoso Electric Guitar - Satin Black

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Ebony Fingerboard, 2 Humbucking Pickups, and Floyd Rose Tremolo - Satin Black
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Jackson American Series Virtuoso Electric Guitar - Satin Black
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An Axe That Meets the Demands of Top-level Players

Oozing with high-performance appointments, the Jackson American Series Virtuoso is built for speed, precision, and high-octane tone. Its Dinky-shaped alder body fits you like a second skin, making this solidbody electric guitar feel like an extension of your body. Its 5-piece caramelized maple Speed Neck features a comfortable satin urethane finish, topped by a lightning-fast compound-radius, 24-fret streaked ebony fingerboard. A classic Seymour Duncan humbucker pairing voices the Virtuoso for everything from fusion to hard rock to full-tilt metal. You also get coil splitting, giving rise to a range of humbucker and single-coil tones. The Virtuoso comes with top-of-the-line hardware, including an upgraded Floyd Rose 1500 Series double-locking tremolo and rock-solid Gotoh MG-T locking tuners. A satin finish, white headstock binding, mother-of-pearl fingerboard inlays, and Luminlay side markers round out this red-hot electric guitar. Top-level players need a top-level instrument like the Jackson American Series Virtuoso.

High-octane performance and playability

Players with high-performance demands will be duly impressed by the American Series Virtuoso. For starters, this solidbody electric guitar boasts a balanced-sounding alder body, which is carved into Jackson's supremely ergonomic Dinky shape. You'll appreciate the comfort of the Virtuoso's 5-piece caramelized maple Speed neck and its 24-fret, compound-radius streaked ebony fingerboard, topped off with classy mother-of-pearl offset dot inlays and Luminlay side markers. A pointed headstock with a classic Jackson logo puts the perfect finish on this guitar.

Loaded with high-output crunch

The guitarists here at Sweetwater are blown away by the high-output crunch afforded by the Jackson American Series Virtuoso's direct-mount Seymour Duncan humbuckers. In the bridge, you'll find a JB TB-4 — the classic hot-rodded humbucker. You know, that sound — the one we've all loved for the last 30 years. In the neck, you get a '59 SH-1N, arming you with intense PAF-like tones with slightly scooped mids. These scorchers boast plenty of output without sacrificing tone, adding harmonics, sustain, and the perfect amount of distortion to your playing. To top it off, the Virtuoso includes a 5-way blade pickup switch that unlocks the gamut of humbucker and single-coil tones.

Built for dive-bombs and squealies

The American Series Virtuoso holds up to sadistic whammy abuse without choking, thanks to its Floyd Rose 1500 Series double-locking tremolo. An upgraded version of the 1000 Series, the 1500 Series can produce subtle, expressive warbles, although that's probably not what you're shooting for. Never fear, this lean, mean shredder also tackles screaming harmonic squeals and subterranean dive-bombs with equal assurance. Even better, this trem's double-locking design delivers super-reliable tuning stability while enabling seemingly endless sustain. Moreover, the 1500 Series includes stainless steel screws and a convenient push-in tremolo arm. Want to brutalize your whammy bar? If so, the Virtuoso is more than happy to accommodate you.

Jackson American Series Virtuoso Electric Guitar Features:

  • Balanced-sounding alder body with an ergonomic Dinky shape
  • Caramelized maple Speed neck with a comfortable satin urethane finish
  • Lightning-fast compound-radius, 24-fret streaked ebony fingerboard
  • Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 bridge pickup yields hot-rodded humbucker tones
  • Seymour Duncan '59 SH-1N neck pickup produces PAF-like tones with slightly scooped mids
  • 5-way blade pickup switch unlocks the gamut of humbucker and single-coil tones
  • Upgraded Floyd Rose 1500 Series double-locking tremolo unleashes unbridled pitch pyrotechnics
  • Rock-solid Gotoh MG-T locking tuners
  • Pointed headstock with classic Jackson logo, mother-of-pearl offset dot fingerboard inlays, and Luminlay side markers
  • Eye-catching satin finish

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Dinky
  • Body Material Alder
  • Body Finish Satin
  • Color Black
  • Neck
  • Neck Material 5-piece Carmalized Maple
  • Neck Shape Jackson Speed Neck
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 12"-16" Compound
  • Fingerboard Material Streaked Ebony
  • Fingerboard Inlay Mother of Pearl Offset Dots
  • Number of Frets 24
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Material Floyd Rose 1500 Series Locking
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Floyd Rose 1500 Series Double Locking Tremolo
  • Tuners Gotoh MG-T Locking
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Seymour Duncan '59™ SH-1N Humbucker
  • Bridge Pickup Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 Humbucker
  • Controls 1 x volume, 1 x tone
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings Nickel Plated Steel, .009-.042
  • Case/Gig Bag Hardshell Case
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 2802401868

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Brilliant Guitar!

I bought this when they first came out, got it in September of 23. Full disclosure, I had Sweetwater plek this guitar and set it up with D'addario NYXL .010-.046 and install Floyd Rose noiseless trem springs. The NYXL's are just fabulous on this giutar it's a perfect match, and Sweetwaters guitar workshop always does fantastic work. When I first saw these I was wondering where the sharkfin inlays were, but the designers at Jackson knew what they were doing, it looks awesome with that streaked ebony board, which by the way is a great tight grained ebony board, I love it. This quickly became my number one guitar and at the time I had an mj series solist (fantastic guitar as well) but this guitar was just so much better. This is by far the most comfortable guitar I've ever played, the neck is insanely good, the finish is so smooth and it's so easy to play. It's a thin neck for sure but in a good way, easy chording and easy solos. I love the matte finish as well, very comfortable. What really blew me away was how versatile this guitar is, the bridge is perfect for the heavy stuff but this thing cleans up very nicely. The 5 position switch gives you plenty of options, position 4 sounds like a strat. If you are in to recording you're going to love the versatility, one guitar to rule them all so to say. Compared to the mj solist this guitar is a little brighter and more snappy and I mean that in a good way, I suppose thats due to the bolt on neck, I'm not sure but I couldn't be happier. The neck is extremely stable as well, I live in a very dry climate and have not had to adjust it yet, it's still set up the way Sweetwater sent it. This thing will do anything from Pantera to Chris Isaak. I honestly have nothing negative to say about it, fantastic instument all around, plays great, sounds amazing, it's comfortable, and it looks cool too.
Now for the less important stuff. My guitar was flawless in the fit and finish category, no defects whatsoever. It's loaded with high end features, I appreciate the locking tuners even if you don't need them, I'd rather be playing than changing strings any time. The case is just ok but at least you get something, At this price point I'm surprised it came with one. Just add a little padding around the body and it works just fine for short trips. I'll eventually buy a hard case for it. The Floyd 1500 has been great, it's always in tune. I'm not a tremelo expert but I've had the gotoh 1996, I have an edge zero and now the Floyd 1500. They all work the same to me, they do their job well. Personally I like the feel of the Floyd the best, my hand sits just right for palm muting feels more natural to me. It comes with Dunlop strap locks as well and they work great. Just in case Jackson reads these reviews, I would love to see a Virtuoso version of the new American soloist with the emg's. I can guarantee you'd sell at least one, make it in matte white with the matte black headstock and the carmalized neck, that would be beautiful. Anyway, bit of a long review but this guitar is worth it. This is a fantastic instrument all around and I feel lucky to own one, it's a keeper for sure I will never get rid of this guitar. Big Thanks to Darcee my sales engineer, the guitar workshop and everyone at Sweetwater, and a great big thank you to Jackson for bringing us this gem at this price point. I'll wait patiently for the matte white virtuoso with emg's.
Rated 5/5

A guitar with an awesome neck

My Jackson Virtuoso has practically an identical neck shape as my old Charvel, which has the best (= fastest and most comfortable to play) guitar neck I've ever played! This is the main reason why I gave it 5 stars. Perhaps with the exception of the necks of my EBMM JP16 and Custom Shop Jackson (CSJ), no guitar necks I've ever played were very similar to the favorite and a couple of times refretted neck of my old Charvel. [Of course, the neck shape's preference is a very subjective entity and some players may hate this neck shape. :)]

For succinctly describing various Virtuoso's good, bad and ugly features (from my standpoint), I will compare 3 very similar guitars, i.e., my CSJ, Virtuoso and Charvel (see the first picture). BTW, all 3 guitars have the same SD JB TB-4 (bridge) and '59 SH-1N (neck) pickups.

The good:
1) The Virtuoso neck's shape is very exceptional as if being designed to be a copy of my Charvel's neck, and it plays with an extremely low action without buzzing (perhaps being factory-PLEK'd?).
2) Its Gotoh locking tuners are one of the best tuners around (my CSJ and Charvel do not have locking tuners).
3) Its Luminlay side markers provide good guidance even on the darkest stages – see the first picture. My CSJ and Charvel do not have Luminlay inlays.
4) The classic tried and true combo of JB & '59 pickups and a 5-way pickup selector generate both great humbucking and believable single-coil sounds. My CSJ and Charvel have 3-way toggle switches and can produce only humbucking sounds.

The bad:
In contrast to the original Floyd Rose with fat brass tremolo sustain blocks present in my CSJ and Charvel, the Virtuoso has a cheaper and inferior Floyd Rose 1500, with a relatively thin metal tremolo block (see the left side in the second picture), and a push-in tremolo arm (in the middle of the right side in the second picture, showing also the CSJ and Charvel tremolo arms), "controlled" with a plastic inner ring and a tension screw (not very easy to set it up so that it would be neither too loose nor too tight).

The ugly:
While my CSJ and Charvel have strong and well-protective factory hardshell cases, the Virtuoso sells with a flimsy, nasty, inadequate, soft and ridiculous case (see the third picture), with a strange insert (polystyrene wrapped in a plastic foil – see the right side in the third picture) obviously meant to prevent the guitar hopelessly free-floating in the case (and getting damaged) during any transport. Without this ghastly, feeble insert, the provided Jackson case is completely useless.
Music background: Gigging and recording musician
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