Jackson Pro Series SL3R Soloist

[@paulc99]

Great review. Thank you.

[@edh2524]

I got mine yesterday. I actually love it.

[@fadlyhans82]

I appreciate this review! I was so close to getting this but I shall take a look at Ibanez Prestige or a used ESP instead.

[@v4ld3r5]

At the beginning of January 2022 I got an X series, DK3XR (the neon green, talk about finishes haha) and 5 months later I removed the strings to perform a full setup, hydrate the fretboard and so on. The body snapped in two (I published a Short about it), was sent back to the shop and got my money back, but it was a very dissapointing and sad experience. This year I wanted a Pro series, KVMGT, I had a lot of doubts because previous experience but finally pulled the trigger. I'm glad I did because love this guitar, only thing I needed to do was lower the bridge a tad, absolutely perfect. The lower you go in tier the higher chances are to get a bad one. Jackson has a serious QC issue on recent years. My conclusion is just keep this in mind when purchasing and most importantly, do shopping on a place with very good after-sales service and as soon as you get it give it a good setup or bring it to a luthier for further inspection. Sooner or later these things happen. Cheers! 🍻

[@gaberox1]

Radius is 12-16 which i love. I hate how jacksons qc has gone bad cause they are my favorite guitars i own 6 and want to buy another but i am hesitant.

[@TheCivicsiep3]

i have a made in indonesia soloist sl2 and i love the way it plays however i have put a ton of work into it. i change the electronics to fluence. tuners are locking added brass sustain , locking blocks, and pressure pads. guitar is cheaply made for the price honestly. for what i have in this, if i were to buy one now i would honestly just recommend buying the usa model or dont buy jackson

[@ryant3600]

The price of guitars have gone up on a lot of models When this came out it was around 1250 USD, now it's 1600 USD. I've noticed that with a few guitars I've had my eyes on the past few years. I got the Pro Soloist SL2Q MAH in Carribean Blue Fade ( made in Indonesia) before they got discontinued brand new it was 999 but I noticed the models that Jackson put out to replace these were also 999 and also made in Indonesia. Now they're 1200.00. And the Crackled Pro Rhoads RR24 was originally 1250 I think now 1550. I don't know whats going on, but with how "hot" the cheaper guitars are right now like Harley Benton for example, probably not the time to raise prices. I think these big price changes in the last 2 years is why so many are curious and going for guitars like Harley Bentons etc and why they're selling like hot cakes. I don't understand it. I wanted this one that you have but I was on the fence between this and the Ibanez Rg 550, and by the time I decided the price on yours went way up and the 550's went out of stock. So, I bought a Kramer Nightswan aztec instead.. my third choice.(which is built in China by Epiphone but there aren't any cheap pots or jack/switches on it, everything is great. I love my Nightswan so it worked out and it was 900 when I got it, but oddly enough the Kramer prices have gone down about a hundred bucks or so on different models, NOT up. the Aztec is now 800 brand new. And it's fantastic, but hearing you say your Jackson Pro is made in China.. I'm glad I didn't get it, I assumed like the other pro's I've looked at it was built in Indonesia, weird they decided to do this one in China, but i guess they're doing a few other models in China as well under the Pro name which I don't understand especially if they're putting cheaper components on it. I am assuming the pot/electronic components are probably one of the differences between China made and Indo made, my indo made pro everything is great nothing wrong with the pots at all. and I can do volume swells on mine and the cable jack is tight and holds well. The frets were perfect not one sharp end, or uneven. So yeah I'm thinking you got cheaper chinese parts and bad QC before it went out. which is sad especially for the big mark up in price. I've also been hearing from some that bought the new USA models for like 3 grand that they're no where near worth that price tag either. Basically same quality and same everything for the most part as the pro series built in Indonesia for nearly half the cost. The price tag for the USA made ones I feel is more off of what the real Grover made Jacksons reputation but they're not the same at all. All of this makes me wonder what the future of these beloved guitar brands is gonna be? I mean if these guitars that truthfully are only worth about 700-1000 and they're selling them for 1500-1800 now.. They going to go up to over 2k by 2025? The guitar world is weird right now..

[@thesolarengineer]

Thanks a ton for posting this. I had a dead on similar experience. Those fret are NOT jumbos and the polish/finish work was d- quality. Pots and switches are criminally poor. I think they should be selling this for around $750 given the final product.

[@mccoy4354]

Hey man - I am so sorry to hear you spent so much money and got a crap piece. I own the same guitar but Jackson was selling it at $1200 They were even selling this at $1k at the end. My guitar has none of the problems you described as I bought straight from Jackson and the guitar came in setup perfectly. The fret ends are a little weird but I am nitpicking and comparing to Gibson. That’s the problem with QC - you are pretty much unsure of what you’re getting. Sounds like you’re in Canada - try getting stuff from Jackson directly or Sweetwater and you can atleast get another set of QC. Again this must suck - hope you’re enjoying after fixing it a bit though. It rivals Prestige but the Seymour Duncan’s on this are amazing which blow DiMarzio outta the water for me. Try loving and enjoying it after you fix it - then it’ll be your very own piece!

[@frankorobinson1540]

Its said jackson went this way some pros are made in China some in Indonesia, I was looking at jackson but might be goin esp ltd it comes with a case and stainless frets,its a challenge trying to find quality guitars under 2000

[@ivantibljasgrof8637]

I wanted to buy this guitar but after this video, no thanks...

[@redshiftdrifter]

Nice guitar but the fact that it doesn't have a forearm carve is an instant dealbreaker for me.

[@michaelkennedy2190]

Man it is sad the way Fender will try to save a few dollars on crap electronics! The name Jackson use to mean something. Sorry you had such a bad experience my brother! Unfortunately it is the norm nowadays. Fender/Jackson Gibson turn out junk for our hard earned money! I started building my own guitars using necks and bodies from Warmoth. For around 1,600 to 2,000 you can build a custom one off guitar!

[@djoDadof2]

I've had a custom Warmoth for a long time and it's my #1. If they made a thinner neck and a better contoured heel I'd build another one.

[@aidanhenson8479]

A lot to pay for a Chinese guitar