NGD: Grover Jackson Archtop Soloist

[Dave L]

And here we have another cool Jackson from the lesser known japanese market, it´s the Archtop Soloist from 1991. At this point they were thinning out the top of the japanese lines in the US and Europe, for example I think the export Archtop Soloist Pro was gone by 1992, but in Japan they kept the whole thing going under the Grover Jackson or Jackson Stars monikers thru the 90s and 00s. I needed this one about as much as a hole in the head, but I´m a sucker for Jacksons and always have been.

It´s a dark transparent purple on a fairly thick maple top, you can see the figuring in the recess for the Floyd as well. Not a ton of figuring, but some proper depth on what´s there. Mahogany body and neck, ebony board.

It has the same larger heel as the 750XL or the earlier 80s Soloists, so I wonder if this is set-in like the 750 or has the more typical neckthru build.

 

[Devin]

Badass

 

[Dave L]

You would not guess this was 35 years old, it´s in really nice condition apart from a few small nicks.

Overall it has a pretty old school vibe compared to where Jackson actually was in 1991, apart from the bulkier heel it also has the tilt-back neck so the Floyd sits way above the body. The routing for the Floyd is definitely just for show I have a few of its mid-late 80s cousins, and in many ways it feels just like that era.

 

[Dave L]

We had a sunny day today, so I snapped a few pics with some better lighting to show off the top (and dust...) a bit better.

I´m not super keen on the J80 humbucker in this one, so I´ll probably swap in something from my pickup drawer. Thinking maybe a Duncan Parallell Axis Blues Saraceno model I´ve never gotten around to trying out. Fits the early 90s era well enough

 

[Dave L]

I´ll also order up a new baseplate from Schaller, as is almost always the case with these the threads for the intonation screw can´t hold the saddle snug under string pressure. You can see the third saddle pulled forward, and more are sure to follow eventually.

 

[JackBootedThug]

Awesome! Would you believe I have never played a soloist.

 

[Dave L]

Is that so? I did most of my proper gigging with a SL1 from 2001, my first really good pro-level guitar, so they´ve always felt like home to me somehow. I go away from them now and again, but always end up back there just as quick.

 

[Deleted member 101920]

Nice!....That thing is pure sex.. love it

 

[Dave L]

Nice!....That thing is pure sex.. love it

The high-end japanese stuff is way cool, I still have some minor fretwork and set-up to work thru but it feels rock solid. Same neck shape as the aforementioned SL1 too, so it´s really comfy and not too thin as a ´91 otherwise might have been.

 

[Deleted member 101920]

Oh you ain't kidding.
I love the 80's-90's Japanese stuff.
My Jackson DK2 is MIJ and is perfect, not a flaw on it. Both of my Charvels are MIJ and are killer guitars.. They make awesome stuff.

 

[Dave L]

Don´t know why I never jumped on a japanese Pro Mod, but I think I was getting more into strats at the time and/or downsizing a bit.