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44-594: Grover Jackson began developing ideas that would manifest in the Soloist while he was running Charvel . Early examples have set necks, Stratocaster -shaped bodies, Explorer -style headstocks , and often Charvel appointments like vintage tremolos. The general Soloist style continued to evolve after Jackson started his own company. Early Soloist-styled models, called "Custom Strat" or "Neck-Through Body Strat", were typically custom guitars that varied in size, shape, and control placements. The design had been standardized when

88-611: A PO Box in neighboring San Dimas ). Since Charvel's shop was almost bankrupted, Charvel eventually sold his interest to Grover Jackson on November 10, 1978, which gave Jackson control of the business and the Charvel brand. In 1980 he also launched the Jackson brand with the Randy Rhoads model. Although Jackson and Charvel Guitars became popular with the rise of hard rock and heavy metal music in that era, Grover Jackson sold

132-544: A Seymour Duncan JB humbucker occupies the bridge position. Additional features include an FRT-02000 or JT-580 double-locking tremolo, 24 frets, a compound radius Rosewood fretboard, sharktooth inlays and matching headstocks on transparent finish models. Jackson SL3s are manufactured in Japan. There is also a newer MG-version of it, SL3MG, which has the same features but with EMG 81/85 set. The Pro Series SL3R, made in China, features

176-468: A bulky heel as there is no neck-to-body connection. In such an instrument, the neck morphs into the body of such an instrument. When constructing a neck-through guitar the luthier can chamfer the neck-body transition area (which would be the heel) to a minimum, sometimes almost relieving the heel entirely. This allows easier, sometimes unhindered, access to the upper registers. For players of rhythm or open chords alone, or players that do not reach up to

220-783: A mirror with matching reverse Jackson pointed 6-in-line headstock, white body binding and chrome hardware with 12"-16" compound radius bound ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets and mirror piranha tooth inlays. In September 2022 Jackson released the American Series Soloist SL3. Made in Corona California, it comes in Gloss Black, Platinum Pearl, Riviera Blue or Satin Slime Green finishes with color matched Jackson pointy headstocks and black hardware. A very high quality Japanese manufactured model came to

264-556: A more modest version of the SL2H, made up of maple thru-body neck and poplar wings, with an ebony board and "optional" sharktooth inlays. Most of them had a plain fingerboard without inlaid markers on it. The bridge is Jackson's Floyd Rose -licensed double locking tremolo JT-580 which is widely used on Japanese-made Jacksons. The Jackson logo is not "mother of pearl" on SL2s while it is on SL2Hs. The USA-made Soloist SL2H and SL2 were discontinued as production instruments in 2021 to make way for

308-432: A prototype solid-body guitar built by Les Paul in 1941, can be considered as a forerunner of neck-through designed instrument. Les Paul built the model using a recycled 4x4 fence post as the neck and body core, and mounted the disassembled parts of an Epiphone and Gibson archtop guitar onto it. The 1952-57 Harmony H44 had this construction feature. In 1956 Rickenbacker was one of the first guitar manufacturers to use

352-444: A single unit. This may be made of a solid piece of wood, or two or more laminated together. The strings, nut , fretboard , pickups and bridge are all mounted on this central core. Additional body side components (if any) that fill-out its shape are glued or mechanically attached to this central core. These are referred to as "wings". The construction technique is also used on electric bass guitars . Neck-through-body construction

396-411: Is considerably more expensive than the traditional glued set-in neck and bolt-on neck style construction methods. However, it's less costly than the very rare and difficult "one-piece" fabrication of an entire instrument made from a single piece of material. The first electric bass guitar, the solid-body "Audiovox 736" created by Paul Tutmarc circa 1937, had a neck-through construction. "The Log",

440-415: Is long and unique styles even longer. In-house manufactured pickups became standard in the beginning of 1985, and mid-boost controls were introduced in many guitars. Pickups were handwound by ex- Fender employee Abigail Ybarra , as discovered by Fender Custom Shop founder John Page who visited Jackson in the early 1990s to purchase their then-unused pickup winding machines and found her working there. She

484-517: Is used by many companies, including Parker Guitars , BC Rich , Yamaha , Cort Guitars , Ibanez (primarily on basses), Jackson , Alembic , Schecter , Carvin , ESP Guitars , .strandberg*, Dean, Halo, Rickenbacker and many others. Many configurations of the Gibson Firebird and Thunderbird are also built neck-through. The construction method is also popular with independent guitar builders, who can typically devote more time to such

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528-500: The neck-thru design that is obligatory for any Soloist. Along with the discontinued U.S. made SLS, the SLSMG is one of the few Soloist models not to feature the traditional pointed Jackson headstock with six inline tuners. Instead the headstock is fitted with a three tuners per side setup. Models released prior to July 2006 featured passive EMG HZ-H3 pickups while models released after this date are equipped with active EMG 81s and 85s in

572-418: The "button", "saddle" or "nose". The area where the neck attaches to the body is naturally a weak zone. There's a lot of pressure exerted on the instrument due to the combined tension of all the strings pulling on the instrument between the tuners and the bridge . The neck-body connection area is weaker if you have to join a separate neck to a body. The screws ( bolt-on ) or glue ( set-neck ) used to connect

616-611: The Jackson USA Custom Shop. Examples of these were the Artist signature line, which included the Marty Friedman signature Kelly, which was renamed "The Kelly". Date of these models are identified from headstock as follows; Neck-thru Neck-through-body (commonly neck-thru or neck-through ) is a method of electric guitar construction that combines the instrument's neck and core of its body into

660-728: The Jackson/Charvel brand to the Japanese manufacturer IMC ( International Music Corporation ) of Fort Worth, Texas , in 1989, and eventually left the company in 1990. From 1993 to 1996, Jackson worked for Washburn USA in Chicago. During this time he designed and supervised the "Chicago MG" and "Mercury" guitar and "Bantam" bass series. These models were advertised as "Grover Jackson's design" along with his photo. He also worked with Dimebag Darrell to design and build his signature guitars (Washburn Dime series). Then he moved on to run

704-494: The Japanese MJ Series Soloist SL2. The SL3 belongs to Jackson's Japanese-made Pro Series guitars. The body is made of alder and includes a flamed maple veneer on transparent finish models. The SL3 features the traditional Soloist setup of two single-coil slots for the neck and middle positions and a hot humbucker in the bridge position. Seymour Duncan Hot Rails are fitted in the single-coil slots and

748-469: The MG were imported for Washburn to Jackson's specifications. At that time, Jackson began to experiment with CNC equipment to customize the geometry of individual necks to the requirements of various artists. Other MG components were precision CNC machined by a local stair manufacturer resulting in high precision, repeatable MG assemblies. The SL4X is based on a now discontinued Charvel '80's guitar. The SL4X has

792-552: The SL1 and SL3. The SL2H features an "Original" Floyd Rose locking vibrato, while the SL2HT uses a fixed bridge. The SL2H-MAH is made of mahogany (neck and body "wings"), with a transparent paint finish on both body and headstock . All SL2Hs are made in the US. The SL2 is again a USA made Soloist with neck-thru construction (all Soloists have neck-thru constructions). The SL2 can be considered

836-403: The Soloist body shape, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 24 frets, and dot inlays. The SL4X is distinct from other Soloists by having three single coil Seymour Designed Hot Rails pickups and is the only Soloist to have a pickguard. The SL4X comes in the colors of Daphne Blue, Bubblegum Pink, and Neon Orange in the spirit of the '80s. Jackson introduced Specific Ocean as an additional color in

880-695: The UO serial number code. The J+4 digit number continued on only through the Custom Shop. Many different models were unveiled through the 1990s. It also saw the introduction of the imported Jackson Soloists at this time. The JT6 tremolos were dropped in favor of the Schaller Floyd Rose style, which are recessed into the face of the body. Later in the decade, genuine Floyd Rose models returned. Domestic headstock logos will have "Made in USA" below or beside

924-485: The bridge in the neck positions. The SLSMG's carved body is made from mahogany. The string-thru design makes the SLSMG one of the few Soloists without a Floyd Rose tremolo. All SLSMGs are made in Japan. Jackson briefly partnered with Washburn International with headquarters in Vernon Hills, Illinois and for a short time manufactured a version of the MG model on Elston Avenue in downtown Chicago. Additional models of

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968-646: The design when compared to a bolt-on construction. As both ends of the guitar string are attached to the same piece of wood that runs the length of the instrument, more of the string's energy runs across the instrument, passing more of the string's harmonic content to the pickups in comparison with a bolt-on instrument. Neck-through construction is significantly harder to mass-produce than bolt-on or set-in neck constructions. As such, guitars with this construction method tend to be more expensive than guitars made by other methods. This method of construction may be somewhat more common in basses than in guitars. Repairs to

1012-467: The factory and supervise guitar designs for Rickenbacker from 1996 to 1999. This is also the same time Rickenbacker started adopting CNC router operation (late 1996 - 1997). He also worked with several other manufacturers, such as G&L Musical Instruments , Tacoma Guitars and Sadowsky , throughout the late 1990s to 2000s. In around 2010, he worked for B.C. Rich to design and handcraft "Gunslinger" series guitar model. In from 2014 to 2015, there

1056-416: The first official Soloist, serial #J0158, was completed on August 28, 1984 (though later serial numbered guitars were completed a week and a half earlier). Customers thenceforth could order variations. 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 designations do not make one a lower quality instrument and

1100-425: The headstock. There are many examples which blur the line. Often one can find examples with alternate fretboard material, or Student models with binding. Any option was available on request. All Soloists are made using neck-thru the body construction. There are many variations on the Soloist's basic design in production, but they can be split into four basic groups: SL1 , SL2 , SL3 , SLSMG , and SL4X. The SL1

1144-402: The highest registers of the fretboard in lead or solo playing, this benefit is very minimal and will still necessitate increased cost of the production method. However, some opine that a neck-thru guitar sounds different to a bolt-on construction instrument. This opinion asserts that neck-through construction provides greater sustain, richer overtones and increased tuning stability inherent in

1188-612: The logo. Guitars with the "Professional" and "Performer" logos are always imported. A USA J series serial number will always have 4 or 5 digits later, but any more means that it is an imported guitar. Archtop Soloist models have a JA + 4 digit number serial number. For the 1980s custom era, the two standard classifications were the Student and Custom model. Student models featured rosewood fretboards and dot inlays. Early rosewood fretboards were Brazilian Rosewood. Custom models feature bound ebony fretboards, pearl sharkfin inlays, and binding on

1232-498: The market from the year 2000 until 2002 - the SL4 and it was from the high models of the Jackson guitars as they were made from alder or mahogany for the body-maple or mahogany for the necks but with two differences from the SL1 or the SL3 of Japan that were built late 1990s and early 2000s—the SL4 comes with 22 comfortable frets-humbucker pickups and Takeuchi JT 580 lp bridge units, as the model

1276-454: The modern variant of this technique, although this was originally restricted exclusively to semi-hollowbody guitars. The most important benefit for the player of a neck-thru guitar is the reduction of heel mass. The heel is the term used to describe the thickened area of the end of the neck and/or body where the neck is attached to the body. Body-neck connection area thickening is required for structural integrity. In violins this area's called

1320-471: The neck and middle pickups being single-slot overlapping Classic Stack humbuckers, while the bridge pickup is a TB-4 (JB) "Trembucker" humbucking pickup. The SL1T is the same guitar that uses a string-thru Tune-O-Matic bridge. The Soloist SL1 was discontinued as a production instrument in 2021, being available only through the Jackson Custom Shop. The SL2H (the 'SL2' is a different model which

1364-506: The neck are usually expensive and tedious. In many cases, it is usually easier to remove the old neck completely, either by taking the wings off and putting an entirely new core in, or by converting the guitar to a bolt-on or set-neck by creating a heel and affixing the new neck to the core already in place, rather than to try to repair the neck itself. However, thanks to excellent stability and reaction to string tension and pressure, neck-through guitars tend to be more sturdy. This structure

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1408-405: The neck to the body requires significant area to be able to provide sound structural integrity to act against the string's tension and bond body to neck totally stably to ensure tuning stability of the instrument. Heel mass then becomes an obstacle when attempting to reach higher registers of the fretboard . Neck-through construction allows easier access to higher frets because there is no need for

1452-455: The nut was the primary nut with screws that go through the neck to the back, it was a Floyd Rose tremolo equipped from the factory. If the clamp was behind the nut and mounted to the surface, it was equipped with a JT6. Also, the archtop Soloists were introduced. The initial runs were made with Brazilian rosewood fretboards, flamed maple tops and mahogany necks and backs. Graphic finishes were very popular in this era. The list of common styles

1496-451: The range. Grover Jackson Grover Jackson (born July 17, 1949) is an American luthier best known for designing and making various guitar models at Jackson Guitars , such as Jackson Rhoads and Jackson Soloist during the 1980s. Jackson has been making guitars since 1973. In 1978, he started working at Wayne Charvel 's guitar repair shop in Covina, California (while using

1540-487: The two are made in exactly the same fashion. Originally the customer had the choice of 3 different bridges: Pickup options were vast. A customer could get any configuration and any brand. The standard pickup brand was Seymour Duncan until very early 1985 when the company began using in-house wound pickups standard. Finishes were practically unlimited. While the standard colors were Platinum Pink , Ferrari Red , Ivory and Black , any custom color or airbrushed graphic

1584-528: Was an IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a documentary film about him. However it failed to reach its $ 250,000 goal. In 2018, Jackson starts working with Friedman Amplification and manufacture Friedman brand guitars including pickups based on David Friedman's spec. In 2011, Jackson co-founded GJ² Guitars in Orange County, California . "Premier Guitar: GJ2 Shredder Review" . Retrieved May 20, 2014 . His partner in this venture

1628-452: Was available for an upcharge. Some items changed to help cut costs and speed up production. An example of such a change was in the mid-1980s, when the hand-shaped nibs in the binding beside the frets were discontinued to save time hand-shaving the binding between each fret. In-house manufactured pickups also became standard. Necks were also changed from a laminated style early in the year to a single piece of wood to prevent wood wastage. 1986

1672-476: Was coming in solid-trans-quilted maple finishes. Alongside the American lines of Jackson guitars there was other economic line—in prices—from 1987 until nowadays that called Pro lines for all Jackson models, and the top of these models in Soloist model were the 1990s models until 1996. The SLSMG (Super Lightweight Soloist MG) is the entry level Soloist model and belongs to Jackson's MG series guitars. It features

1716-408: Was former Fender Senior Vice President Jon Gold. In the 1990s, many models were produced as Japanese market exclusives under "Grover Jackson" brand name. However, in this period of time Grover Jackson had nothing to do with the brand name. This was due to "Jackson" brand already being trademarked by another company in Japan and having to have a different name for the market. The "Grover Jackson" line

1760-560: Was hired by Jackson in 1985 when the Fender factory closed down and when Fender was sold by CBS to FMIC . The expensive Masterwound pickups were wound by her and possibly the same machine since the mid-late 1980s. Up to this point these guitars were each made to order and each was given a serial number that matched a detailed work order. The next big change occurred in 1990. At this time the company decided to offer Soloists in production runs rather than make them to order. These are marked by

1804-408: Was produced in Japan, in the same factory as the "Jackson Professional" series. There were also some low end models marketed as "Team GJ". "Grover Jackson" brand was later renamed "Jackson Stars". "Jackson Stars" was essentially the same as "Grover Jackson" brand with the same purpose of being a Japanese exclusive line of Jackson guitars. There were, however, "Grover Jackson" guitars which were made in

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1848-405: Was produced in the years 1996–1997) shares the same characteristics with the SL1 except the pickup configuration. The guitar is made up of the same wood, 24 frets, neck-thru construction, same bridge, etc. Contrary to the SL1 the SL2H only has 2 Seymour Duncan pickups at neck and bridge positions. In addition, the SL2H uses a 3 way toggle selector switch rather than the 5-way selector blade found on

1892-432: Was the flagship USA-made Soloist model. It has an alder body intersected by a quartersawn maple neck-thru neck. The bound fingerboard is made from ebony and has 24 jumbo frets and triangular "shark tooth" inlays made from mother of pearl (all SL1 and SL2H models use real mother of pearl for their inlays). The SL1 uses a Floyd Rose original double-locking tremolo. It also has an HSS pickup array of Seymour Duncans , with

1936-525: Was the year the company moved from Glendora aka San Dimas and over to Ontario . 1987 they began using a Floyd Rose-styled tremolo made in Asia with their name on the top plate. It was still possible to purchase a Floyd Rose or Kahler tremolo bridge, but the JT-6 Jackson unit was the default. A quick way to differentiate the different bridges was to look at the nut at the furthest end of the fretboard. If

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