Premier Guitar has awarded the Jackson X Series SLATXMGQ 3-6 Soloist guitar with a Premier Gear award.
In a review appearing online now and in the magazine’s January issue, PG’s Joe Charupakorn proclaims this to be “the sort of instrument that can inspire you to go for it in a way other axes might not.”
The review starts out listing the Soloist’s “killer key components.”
“Like its predecessors, the Jackson SLATXMGQ 3-6 has looks that kill. The arched basswood body with ultra-quilted, maple veneer top is mated with black hardware and piranha pearloid inlays—epitomizing the “super strat” aesthetic. Jackson put pointy headstock guitars on the map, and while the Soloist’s three-tuners-to-a-side AT headstock design is a slight departure from that famous hockey stick drop, there’s no mistaking its metal roots.
“The SLATXMGQ 3-6 is more affordable than Jackson’s USA-made offerings, but the company didn’t skimp at all on the hardware—an area where many manufacturers would cut costs first. Pickups are a good litmus test for gauging a guitar’s quality, and the SLATXMGQ 3-6—with its EMG 81 neck and 85 bridge pickups (the sonic foundation for many of metal’s iconic bands)—does not disappoint.”
His final verdict?
“There’s no doubt that the Jackson SLATXMGQ 3-6 is a top-notch metal guitar. What might be surprising—especially given its decidedly metal look— is how exceptional it can be in other electric applications. I can’t think of a rock, pop, or R&B gig where it wouldn’t excel.
“In the high days of hair metal, a Jackson guitar of this caliber would have been impossible to attain for a musician on a budget. But for today’s aspiring, cost-conscious virtuoso the Jackson SLATXMGQ 3-6 is at the head of its class—and well within reach.”