Jackson Soloist SLATXMG3-7 (Full Review)
Photo By: RHK Studios
Build Quality:
I purchased this guitar online from Musician's Friend and it had a rough start to say the least. The locking nuts for the saddles were rusted over. The neck was not properly adjusted, and the stock whammy bar could not stay screwed on if it's life depended on it. I'm a Jackson fan boy, but this left a horrible impression. However, I do know my way around with setups and decided to give it the "RHK" meticulous treatment. "laughs" I started by removing all of the hardware and cleaned up any residual dust that was left behind from MF's shipping. I Re-hydrated the rosewood fret-board and slowly intonated the Floyd Rose saddles to perfect pitch. The only thing I had to purchase was a brand new whammy bar. After taking a whole day to fully setup the Soloist. It played like a dream! Chords were stable, it didn't ring out of tune when strumming down hard on an open E power chord, and surprisingly enough the tension springs in the back of the guitar connecting to the Floyd Rose Special Bridge were extremely quiet. The SLATXMG3-7 is tuned a half step down from the factory but I prefer the standard (B E A D G B E) tuning with 10 gauge D"addarios NYXL strings. The balance of this guitar is very good, and the horn cutaway is contoured for easy access on the 24th fret while giving the guitar a sleek look. The neck itself is extremely thin for fast scaling, and the 12" to 16" compound radius eases strain with bar chords up the neck and flattens out from the 12th thru 24th fret . I really like the 26.5" scale length with the 12" to 16" compound radius. It almost feels like you're playing a 25.5" scale length neck because it just naturally contours to your left hand. After playing this guitar for a year and gigging with it constantly. The 3-way toggle switch intermittently cuts out sometimes, and the Special FR saddles does strip really easily due to the fact it's made out of zinc alloy instead of a hard steel. Dive bombing and string vibrato with the FR special bridge is very smooth and hardly ever goes out of tune. So overall for a mid grade FR guitar. The build quality is pretty good for the money.
Tonal Qualities:
The EMG 707s work really well with the mahogany body that this Soloist is constructed with. It has a scooped mid range with a smooth top-end. I've played this guitar through many different amplifiers and I've always managed to get a decent tone overall in the high gain realm. While in the neck position, this guitar can achieve glassy lead tones with plenty of percussive attack when sweep picking. Clean tones with the SLATXMG3-7 do lack a bit with this guitar, and is a bit flat, but overall this guitar sounds great at it's price point.
Conclusion:
Overall The Jackson SLATXMG3-7 has great play ability, sounds awesome in the high gain realm, decent sustain for leads. It's also a great gigging guitar that hardly goes out of tune, but you must be aware of the special needs of a Floyd Rose guitar to fully appreciate the qualities of a double locking trem system. I give this guitar a rating of
7.5 out of 10
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