Or, What Happens When You Pit the USA Model Against Its Chinese Counterpart?
Many of the MusicPlayers.com editors have been playing guitar for decades, and we can recount a time when the first import guitars from China and surrounding territories back in the ‘80s were cheap, poorly made instruments that simply didn’t compare to any guitars made in the USA, Europe, or Japan. But we know firsthand that today, you can get instruments from China that rival the best instruments crafted anywhere in the world.
Why is it that some manufacturers’ Asian imports remain inferior to their domestically produced models while others are fabulous? Typically, it comes down to selection of components, such as cheaper hardware and pickups, simplified product designs, and sometimes a different choice of woods. Level the hardware playing field, though, and the difference become significantly marginalized. You can operate the same CNC milling machines and Plek devices anywhere in the world, and when it comes to the guitar’s aesthetics, you can’t knock the quality of Asian artistry.
The Jackson Soloist is an iconic, American shred machine, and we really like the latest Jackson USA Soloist SL3, reviewed last year (check out that in-depth review here). Now, Jackson offers the Pro Plus series of instruments manufactured in China, and this begs the obvious question: Does the Chinese-made Soloist rival the USA-made Soloist?
 Jackson USA Soloist SL3 |
 Jackson Pro Plus Soloist SLA3Q |
We set out to answer this question in the only unbiassed way possible: a completely blind product test! Our reviewer, Zack Seif, was the perfect guinea pig: a professional guitarist with a love of super-strats and other premium guitars, but who owned no Jackson guitars. When he arrived at the studio for our shoot-out, he didn’t even get to see the instruments until the review was completed.
We’re sticklers for the little details. For those of you who really know your Jacksons, we even went so far as to remove the Allen keys from behind the headstock of the USA Soloist to make sure that wasn’t going to be an obvious giveaway (in case our tester, Zack Seif, knew about the classic, included tools).
Below, we highlight the similarities and differences between the two guitars. In short, they are very similar in many ways! But at purchase time, there is an $750 difference. However, if you were to upgrade a few components on the import version, you’d close the price gap to within just a few hundred dollars of each other. Could it be that these guitars are basically just as good as each other? Does one play or sound any better than the other? We could tell you here and now, but where’s the fun in that? Watch our shootout video to find out what we discovered:
Features
Below is a direct comparison of the feature set between the USA and import Soloist:
| Jackson USA Soloist SL3 | Jackson Pro Plus Soloist SLA3Q | |
| Body |
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| Neck |
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| Bridge |
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| Pickups |
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| Tuners |
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| Case |
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| Other |
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| MAP | $2,349.99 | $1,599.99 |
 Jackson USA Soloist SL3 |
 Jackson Pro Plus Soloist SLA3Q |
| Category | Value | Jackson USA Soloist SL3 Ratings |
Jackson Pro Plus Soloist SLA3Q Ratings |
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| Features | 20% |  |
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| Usability | 25% | |
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| Sound | 25% | |
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| Documentation/Support | 10% |  |
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| Price | 20% | |
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| OVERALL RATING 3.4 Stars (out of 4) |
OVERALL RATING 3.5 Stars (out of 4) |
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| 3.6 stars or better: Outstanding, WIHO Award 3 stars or better: Worth considering 2 stars or better: Suited to specific needs 1 star or less: Not recommended |
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Contact Information
Jackson Guitars
www.jacksonguitars.com
