Jackson American Series Soloist SL3 Electric Guitar - Riviera Blue Reviews
From '80s throwback thrash to molten-hot death metal and beyond, Jackson's stunning Soloist SL3 delivers the goods. This high-performance, no-frills machine comes with a bevy of upgrades discerning guitarists commonly reach for when outfitting their gigging instruments, accented with top-quality tonewoods and custom-shop sensibility to form an axe worthy of studios and stages everywhere. Its alder body delivers the sonic qualities that have made the wood a mainstay for decades, delivering a firm, full-bodied sound with some extra heft in the low end. Wrap your fretting hand around the 3-piece maple neck, and you'll experience comfort and quickness in any position courtesy of Jackson's Speed profile and a glasslike ebony fingerboard with rolled edges. A trio of Seymour Duncan pickups prepares this 6-string for any situation, with a JB TB-4 dishing out distorted tones in complete clarity and Flat Strat SSL-6 single-coils for that coveted twang with some extra "oomph." Expressive playing is a cinch with a Floyd Rose tremolo on hand, facilitating everything from subtle warbles to insane squeals and everything in between. And with Gotoh MG-T locking tuners up top, tuning instability and slippage issues are a thing of the past. Add the Jackson American Series Soloist SL3 to your arsenal for incredible tone, unparalleled feel, and ultimate playability.
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Highest Rated Reviews
American Made Awesomeness
Dont listen to the haters, "oh this doesn't have stainless steel frets, oh it doesn't have the German Floyd". Would I like both of those, sure, but they dont make or break the guitar. If you like how a Jackson feels your going to like this. I had a RR1 years ago I sold, and this just feels the same quality.
I get that its expensive, but its 2023 and pretty much everything is at this point. I think , you either want this guitar or you don't. If you think you want it, your going to love it. American made instruments tend to hold their value more also. If you love Jacksons, love shred guitars, love how this just looks..... Then you wont be disappointed.
Heres my final take
-Stainless steel frets matter the least, as most people dont get refrets, and if you did you could go to stainless then, no binding also makes that cheaper.
-The non German floyd works really well (you know it does you just want all original like I do - same reason you want an American made Jackson) but its still awesome and you could opt to switch that later
-the case is the biggest bummer to me. It sucks lol, easily could have been the hard-shell version that is sold separately. I personally would not want to travel with the case provided.
Perfect straight out of the box.
Got this guitar today. I can't really find anything I'd change about it except I think maybe it should have stainless frets, and original Floyd with a brass block for the cost. These are all things you could get with a Schecter Banshee GT for about a third of the price. I have both and the cheaper one plays equally well. Also Jackson could throw in an actual hard shell case for what they charge for this.
If you want an American Jackson you're not gonna be disappointed with this one, there are cheaper options that are equally as good as this guitar though.
Better than my old USA Soloist
I have been playing rock/metal guitar for over 50 years, I compose and record in my home studio. I have owned guitars by just about every company but the Jacksons seem to work the best for me, I used to have two USA Jacksons but the new American Soloist is a better instrument, especially the fingerboard, it is finished off beautifully. Locking tuners are always a welcome addition to any guitar and I prefer the non reverse headstock. I thought I might have to change the pickups but actually they are working out fine, for reference my favorite pickup is the DiMarzio Super Distortion which I have installed in most of my current guitars. The bridge is the Floyd Rose 1500 which I have on other instruments, it holds tune perfectly as expected.
This guitar is great tool for me for what I do in the studio and I like that it is simple and straightforward in design.
Finally, an "affordable" made in USA Jackson.
This is a very well made guitar that plays extremely well. Almost every "metal" guitar I've owned in the last 10 years has had super thin neck profile's, so I was surprised when this one had a bit more to hold onto. It feels great, and the finish on this guitar is top notch. I love that they went H,S,S with this model too, it gives it unique tonal qualities. My gripes with the guitar are probably the same as yours. Not having an original floyd is a bummer, but even if you decide to replace the 1500 with an original down the road, you're still ballparking the price close to half of what a USA select would cost you. No stainless steel frets is a bummer too, but even most higher end jackson's don't come with those. (hopefully something they'll do with future american series). I'm really excited about this line, and I hope they do a Rhodes V in the future.
