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Jackson American Series Soloist SL3 Electric Guitar - Riviera Blue Demo

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Ebony Fingerboard, 1 Humbucking Pickup, 2 Single-coil Pickups, and Floyd Rose Tremolo - Riviera Blue
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$2,114.99
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Condition Notes:

There are scratches and scuffs on the body top, back, and sides. There are other fine scratches on various parts of the instrument that do not appear in our Guitar Gallery images. Comes with manual, tremolo arm, and adjustment wrenches.

This item was thoroughly inspected by our factory-authorized service team and is backed by Sweetwater's exclusive 2-year warranty. These images are of the exact item advertised, and provide as accurate a representation of its condition as possible. If you need further information, please call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700.

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Jackson American Series Soloist SL3 Electric Guitar - Riviera Blue
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Sleek, Stylish, and Searing Soloist SL3 from Jackson

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.

Hard-hitting tonewoods deliver a thoroughly boutique experience

From tip to tail, the Soloist SL3 is a finely tuned machine destined for studio and stage mayhem. It starts with a solid alder body, delivering the chunky, tight lows and gut-punching power required in today's heavier genres and playing styles. Move further up this firebreather, and you'll be treated to a sleek and snappy 3-piece maple neck shaped to Jackson's Speed profile — this ultra-thin cut allows for lightspeed shredding up and down the Soloist SL3's 24 frets with ease. Speaking of frets, this guitar's silky-smooth 12–16-inch compound-radius ebony fingerboard is made even better with rolled fingerboard edges — a common feature in boutique-grade instruments — enhancing comfort with a feel similar to a well-worn guitar.

Unleash a sonic firestorm with Seymour Duncan pickups

As one of the foremost manufacturers of aggressive-leaning instruments, Jackson knows what it takes to bring the heat when it matters most. The Soloist SL3 comes loaded with a Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 in the bridge and Flat Strat SSL-6 single-coils in the middle and neck positions, capable of dishing out waves of amp-pummeling distortion as well as glassy cleans, crunchy rock rhythms, and so much more. Sweetwater shredders commonly cite the JB TB-4 as their go-to pickup for hot-robbed humbucking tone, high in output with lush harmonics, long-lasting sustain, and unrelenting amounts of gain on tap. Flip over to the Flat Strat SSL-6 pickups in the middle and neck positions for the sweet spank of an overwound single-coil, complete with that coveted chimey sparkle and balanced sound. Whatever metallic flavor you're looking to conjure, Seymour Duncan's JB TB-4 and Flat Strat SSL-6 pickups are sure to take you there.

Floyd Rose: the shredder's-choice tremolo since '76

Steve Vai. Neal Schon. The late Edward Van Halen. Guitar heroes like these and many more credit the Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo as a core component of their trademark sound. The Soloist SL3 comes stock with a Floyd Rose 1500 Series tremolo, the secret weapon behind those deep-sea dives, chirping crickets, and plenty of other tasteful sonic treats. Best of all, you can go wild with the Floyd Rose's whammy bar without worry of ever going out of tune, with the double-locking system keeping things nice and tight at the nut as well as the bridge.

Jackson American Series Soloist SL3 Electric Guitar Features:

  • High-performance, no-frills machine crafted with a custom-shop sensibility
  • Alder body lays a firm, full tonal base with solid sustain
  • 3-piece maple neck cut to a flawless Speed profile for effortless 6-string sweeps, frantic solos, and furious tapping
  • Smooth-as-glass 12–16-inch compound-radius fingerboard with rolled edges offers incredible comfort
  • Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 and Flat Strat SSL-6 pickups deliver dirt-tinged cleans to unrelenting levels of gain and everything in between
  • Squeal and dive all night long in perfect pitch courtesy of the Floyd Rose 1500 Series locking tremolo
  • Gotoh locking tuners make string changes a breeze while enhancing tuning stability
  • Luminlay side dots help with hand positioning on the darkest stages

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

What is Demo Gear?

At Sweetwater, we're so picky that what we call a "demo" is actually better than what most music retailers sell as "new" gear! Our gear hasn't endured hundreds of people a week plunking away at all the keyboards, fumbling through Stairway to Heaven on every guitar or playing with every fader and knob on a mixer or control surface.

What demo means to us is that we've had it out of the box, or maybe it was in a customer's hands for a few days and isn't "factory fresh" as a result. Every demo item we sell has Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty, and has been tested and verified up to "new" specs by our factory-authorized technicians to make sure it's in perfect working order before we ship it to you.

Note: While demo items from Jackson do not include the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation warranty, you can shop with confidence knowing that this item is backed and covered by Sweetwater’s 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty.

When you buy a Demo item at Sweetwater, you get:
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Warranty Info

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Soloist SL3
  • Body Material Alder
  • Body Finish Gloss
  • Color Riviera Blue
  • Neck
  • Neck Material 3-piece Maple
  • Neck Shape Speed Neck
  • Neck Joint Neck-through
  • Radius 12"-16" compound
  • Fingerboard Material Ebony
  • Fingerboard Inlay Inverted Mother-of-pearl Sharkfins
  • Number of Frets 24, Jumbo, Nickel
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.6875"
  • Nut Material Floyd Rose R3 Locking
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece Floyd Rose 1500 Series Double-locking Tremolo
  • Tuners Gotoh MG-T Locking
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Seymour Duncan Flat Strat SSL-6 Single-coil
  • Middle Pickup Seymour Duncan Flat Strat SSL-6 Single-coil RWRP
  • Bridge Pickup Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 Humbucker
  • Controls 1 x master volume, 1 x master tone
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings NPS, .009-.042
  • Case/Gig Bag Softshell Case
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 2802601890

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

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.
Rated 5/5

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.
Music background: Experienced
Rated 5/5

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.
Music background: Over 50 years guitarist and composer
Rated 4/5

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.
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