Modern Guitars, Then and Now.

In the realm of Jackson...my SL1 and HT7.

By the serial number this SL1 was produced mid 1997.

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By this point they'd gone back to the original Floyd rather than the Jackson branded one. Duncan JB.

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I never knew that wrench holder was a factory item, I bought this used and always figured someone had added that.

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I paid the princely sum of $599 for this in '98. From a music shop. The guitar was less than a year old, in mint shape at the time...they had a book they looked up prices in, I don't know if they just looked it up wrong, but that still seems way cheap to me and I can't imagine what they gave the guy who traded it in. They gave me $200 for my trade in which was a Jackson PS4, which I think was around $400 new back then.

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That would be my main guitar for gigging, recording, everything pretty much from '98 thru 2015. I started playing in a project that needed a 7-string around then and that's been my primary gig since, and now I just use the 7 for everything.

For some reason for those 17 years the volume knob position on the SL1 never bothered me. Now it feels like it's right in the way of where my hand wants to be.

Contrast to the HT7, this is one of the USA models when the Juggernaut series first came out, it's not the Misha signature model but basically the same minus the cosmetic features. Hipshot stuff everywhere, BKP Juggernaut pickups, 26.5" scale. Note the volume knob position compared to the bridge/pickup and how it's down and over a little compared to the SL1, this makes all the difference in the world to me now.

Don't have a picture handy of it on its own at the moment.

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I've since gone to Hipshot and Graphtech stuff on pretty much everything else I own that sees regular use (fixed bridge anyway). Just nice solid hardware.

Had to give 'Me Wise Magic' a listen while reading through this thread, as a reminder of the trans-trem...cool stuff in here :)
 
Wow a Gibson era GS7TA, that version TT2 works the best. Refreting a Steinberger in stainless is quite a drag of a job but you would only do it once.
My main black GS7TA is earlier but still Gibson era while I also have a Newburgh GL2TA and GM7TA. Hard to justify the stainless refret even though I much prefer the feel when I have 3 spare necks which I got off eBay years ago which at least 1 of was destined for a custom GS project. Other than a 12 string TracTuner which I never managed to acquire (which I stupidly didn’t buy when Gibson was pushing out NOS parts) the hardest Steinberger part to find seems to be the rocker nut.

BTW, I particularly enjoy your threads especially the 5150 build and Fender relic. Gives me the motivation to at least try a build of Knopfler’s Schecter Strat which was my dream guitar when I first started playing.
 
My main black GS7TA is earlier but still Gibson era while I also have a Newburgh GL2TA and GM7TA. Hard to justify the stainless refret even though I much prefer the feel when I have 3 spare necks which I got off eBay years ago which at least 1 of was destined for a custom GS project. Other than a 12 string TracTuner which I never managed to acquire (which I stupidly didn’t buy when Gibson was pushing out NOS parts) the hardest Steinberger part to find seems to be the rocker nut.

BTW, I particularly enjoy your threads especially the 5150 build and Fender relic. Gives me the motivation to at least try a build of Knopfler’s Schecter Strat which was my dream guitar when I first started playing.
The rocker nut never made it to the end of production. It was replaced by a graphite one in the last GS models . I have never seen one off a guitar.
 
In the realm of Jackson...my SL1 and HT7.

By the serial number this SL1 was produced mid 1997.

View attachment 89815

By this point they'd gone back to the original Floyd rather than the Jackson branded one. Duncan JB.

View attachment 89816

View attachment 89817

I never knew that wrench holder was a factory item, I bought this used and always figured someone had added that.

View attachment 89818

I paid the princely sum of $599 for this in '98. From a music shop. The guitar was less than a year old, in mint shape at the time...they had a book they looked up prices in, I don't know if they just looked it up wrong, but that still seems way cheap to me and I can't imagine what they gave the guy who traded it in. They gave me $200 for my trade in which was a Jackson PS4, which I think was around $400 new back then.

View attachment 89819

That would be my main guitar for gigging, recording, everything pretty much from '98 thru 2015. I started playing in a project that needed a 7-string around then and that's been my primary gig since, and now I just use the 7 for everything.

For some reason for those 17 years the volume knob position on the SL1 never bothered me. Now it feels like it's right in the way of where my hand wants to be.

Contrast to the HT7, this is one of the USA models when the Juggernaut series first came out, it's not the Misha signature model but basically the same minus the cosmetic features. Hipshot stuff everywhere, BKP Juggernaut pickups, 26.5" scale. Note the volume knob position compared to the bridge/pickup and how it's down and over a little compared to the SL1, this makes all the difference in the world to me now.

Don't have a picture handy of it on its own at the moment.

View attachment 89827

View attachment 89828

I've since gone to Hipshot and Graphtech stuff on pretty much everything else I own that sees regular use (fixed bridge anyway). Just nice solid hardware.

Had to give 'Me Wise Magic' a listen while reading through this thread, as a reminder of the trans-trem...cool stuff in here :)
$599 for a Soloist, those days are over . You could buy 80's rock guitars for nothing then .I picked up a Kramer Barreta for £80 around then, nobody wanted that stuff.
 
The J custom features were three piece quarter sawn neck with reinforced Floyd nut mount and bolted (not screwed nut fixing). Also no truss rod cover . This is by far the best neck that they made as long as you can cope with 17mm at the first fret .
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$599 for a Soloist, those days are over . You could buy 80's rock guitars for nothing then .I picked up a Kramer Barreta for £80 around then, nobody wanted that stuff.

Little bit of context...I'm behind the drums in this pic (me and the other guitar player would trade off songs), but that's the same SL1 in June of 1998, I would've been 15 at the time. To grab a USA Soloist for $400 after I traded in my Performer series was a lot of lawns mowed and something I never thought I'd have. I rode my bike 3 miles home from the music store carrying the guitar in its hardcase. The store was kind enough to let me place a deposit on it so I could scramble for two weeks to scrape the money together. Very fond memories of acquiring that one, and why I'll likely never let it go :tongueclosed: it does desperately need a refresh these days but I can pull that thing off the wall without looking at it for 6 months and it'll still be in tune.

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The kid on bass there is still my best friend, and still the bass player in our band after 27 years :)

Nice Ibanez there. I really like the bent maple, I'm not a fan of the current trend of sanding through the top layer on that contour. Cool to see that same neck joint as on my recent RGA, almost 20 years advanced, and it's still quite comfortable. Interesting to me that they put the volume knob in a better spot than the SL1. I don't know why that bothers me so much now after all that time on that guitar, but Jackson doesn't even put it in that spot on their current Soloist line, so it can't just be me. Guess techniques and artist preferences have just changed over time.
 
I later bought a Brian Moore i9F.
I was kinda sure the electronics would fit since BM made these also with the whole Graphtech package.
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I had to rout a cavity for the battery box and add the 3 switches and a 13-pins out.
As you can see, the electronics fitted quite nicely:
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Don't bring me that for a new volume pot!:tearsofjoy:
No worries....I sold it.
But I've got an even worse one.....a Brian Moore with the whole Graphtech shebang and a Sustainiac :grin:
I'm not playing that one anymore though.
It arrived with a hairline crack that developed into a full cracked neck.
I sent it back for repairs but it arrived again with a hairline.
They advised me to put some superglue on it ...
I didn't trust it so I sanded the paint to see if it wasn't a real crack...
It wasn't but I'm not touching it anymore.
I later had something similar made by Chris Larkin minus the 13-pins:
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I'd love to try an Aristidrs for curiosity sake.

What about Relish guitars with the removable back?
 
I'd love to try an Aristidrs for curiosity sake.

What about Relish guitars with the removable back?
I only played one once and it seemed like a lot of trouble to go to for something really marginal. It certainly didn't improve anything and how often do you really need or want to change pickups? I'd rather have more guitars.:tearsofjoy:
Aristides are interesting though I was drawn to it as a replacement for my old Parker Fly dlx . I used to have three but I started to get ones in with problems, expensive problems. The flex PCB dying and needing a total rewire with a new active board .Then frets falling off (no tang.) I didn't have issues with mine but I was getting practically all the guys I know with them bringing them to me. Even a new volume pot or jack now requires a total rewire.
 
i remember seeing a white GM steinberger with black binding when i was a teenager in a local music store. it looked like it had dropped in from the future. i could never afford one and probably wouldn't have liked the neck shape, but i loved the look of them. i ended up having a couple of headless guitars made for me many years later. i did have a jackson fusion (and the charvel version) and they were both terrific guitars. after i hurt my neck, i got a parker dragonfly...this was back when they were deeply unfashionable and the factory still existed. you could get them for almost nothing. amazing guitars...i loved all the innovations but ended up selling it, because i couldn't get on with the wide fingerboard and the strat scale length. i think the parker is up there with the steiny for most innovative guitar. such a shame they're not around any more. i wonder where all the machines are?
 
i remember seeing a white GM steinberger with black binding when i was a teenager in a local music store. it looked like it had dropped in from the future. i could never afford one and probably wouldn't have liked the neck shape, but i loved the look of them. i ended up having a couple of headless guitars made for me many years later. i did have a jackson fusion (and the charvel version) and they were both terrific guitars. after i hurt my neck, i got a parker dragonfly...this was back when they were deeply unfashionable and the factory still existed. you could get them for almost nothing. amazing guitars...i loved all the innovations but ended up selling it, because i couldn't get on with the wide fingerboard and the strat scale length. i think the parker is up there with the steiny for most innovative guitar. such a shame they're not around any more. i wonder where all the machines are?
Did you ever get to play a GM? the neck shape is not at all what most people thought it would be. Ned claimed to model it on a 59 Les Paul and the depth is indeed similar.
 
Did you ever get to play a GM? the neck shape is not at all what most people thought it would be. Ned claimed to model it on a 59 Les Paul and the depth is indeed similar.
yes, that's what i heard and why i figured i wouldn't like it. the large 59 carve is too big for me
 
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