Jackson Soloist - History - Early Years - Original Options

Original Options

Originally the customer had the choice of 3 different bridges:

• Floyd Rose tremolo;
• Kahler cam tremolo;
• String through the body (Rhoads style)

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 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 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 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 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 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.