[jacksonplayer]

Well, my Jackson rare unicorn showed up today with a head injury...

Here's the Reverb listing, and yes I'm crazy enough to buy a guitar from Russia. :lol:

https://reverb.com/item/29814405-grover-jackson-soloist-jr-1990-metallic-black-short-scale

Jackson probably only made a handful of these just for the Japanese market. It's a bucket list item for me; a short-scale traditional Soloist (not an archtop). I didn't even know about this model until recently--I figured I'd have to wait until someone sold a custom shop guitar like this (if I lived that long).

Alas, this is what I found upon arrival.



In one of the photos, you can see Soloist Jr. next to my '85 Soloist, for comparison. I really love Soloist Jr. and already have it at Action Music for repair--it's a clean break and should come back together pretty easily. Hopefully the Russian guy doesn't try to skimp on the reimbursement.

These are so rare that I wouldn't even dream of shipping it back.

 

[Ken]

Damn, that's heartbreaking. Kinda curious to see the packaging it came in. Was there apparent damage, or was it just a total shocker when you opened the package?

Either way, this sucks, but hopefully it comes out of surgery just fine.

 

[1]

Well that guitar is awesome, and this story fucking sucks!

Hope the repair goes well man!

 

[jacksonplayer]

It was a shocker. The seller packed the guitar pretty well.

The problem was that he shipped it in an aftermarket strat case, which doesn't properly fit a guitar with an angled headstock. The tip of the headstock could clearly make contact with the bottom of the case, and there you go. You could probably carry it around locally with no problems, but not a good case for shipping.

The seller deals in quite a few Jacksons and other shredder guitars and has a pretty good reputation on Reverb, so I'm a bit surprised he shipped in this case--maybe it's what he got the guitar with and was just lucky when he bought it (presumably from Japan). A gigbag and huge amounts of bubble wrap probably would have been safer than this case for international shipping. For whatever reason, many expensive Japanese-market guitars are sold new with bags rather than cases, so this might have been a case the original Japanese owner got for it. Never have figured that one out.

Matt, the owner of Action Music, said it'd be a pretty simple repair since it's not like a Gibson-type neck snap. Couple of small dowels and some glue will do it. He said he should even be able to match the paint. His shop does good work. The funny thing is, my '85 came with a horrible-looking (but solid) headstock repair, so they really will be a matched set now. Jr. and Sr.... :lol:

 

[1]

What's the repair estimate? I assume the binding around the headstock has that same yellowed patina that the fretboard has - can they match that too?

Man that sucks dude

 

[jacksonplayer]

It'll be a little over $200. Not unreasonable for what's being done.

 

[1]

The seller deals in quite a few Jacksons and other shredder guitars and has a pretty good reputation on Reverb, so I'm a bit surprised he shipped in this case--maybe it's what he got the guitar with and was just lucky when he bought it (presumably from Japan). A gigbag and huge amounts of bubble wrap probably would have been safer than this case for international shipping. For whatever reason, many expensive Japanese-market guitars are sold new with bags rather than cases, so this might have been a case the original Japanese owner got for it. Never have figured that one out.

The ad says this:

Comes with a tremolo arm, Dunlop Straplocks and an OHS with a key.

Which I would have taken to mean an Original Hard Shell, not an unmatched Snap Your Headstock strat case. I'd be fucking pissed if I were you.

 

[jacksonplayer]

Which I would have taken to mean an Original Hard Shell, not an unmatched Snap Your Headstock strat case. I'd be fucking pissed if I were you.

I could tell from the ad that it wasn't a Jackson case but couldn't tell how it would fit the guitar. I'm definitely not happy with the seller--but after having to fix Jackson's fuck-ups on that Monarkh, I'm oddly copacetic on this one. It'll get fixed and I'll have a killer guitar I'd be unlikely to find anywhere else in the near future.

 

[bigdave]

Its cool that you got one but that stinks about the break but I bet they can fix that break no problem. Ive seen a LP Custom I got after years of being in a actual dump get the headstock repaired very well. My friend worked there and told me what he had, he had it laying in the bed of his truck with one guitar string going from the detached headstock to the neck flopping around. Only some sort of fate kept them together. Years before I traded my 10 speed for that very guitar right after it had got broke but my parents made me take it back. Small world.

 

[jacksonplayer]

Yeah, in the world of guitar damage, this is a relatively simple one to fix. Clean break and not a complicated area of the guitar like it would be for a break at the nut where you worry about the truss rod etc.

Due to the locknut being clamped during shipping, the damned thing was still fully strung and almost in tune despite half the headstock hanging off by a couple strings! That's how I know it happens to be a really good one--I was able to plug it in and play.

Both my '85 Soloist and my Les Paul Classic have headstock repairs, and they're two of my favorites. Sucks that it happened to Soloist Jr., which was otherwise in better shape after 30 years than half the "new" guitars at Guitar Center are, but it's almost fitting to have it this way to join my Island of Broken Toys. :lol:

The thing now is to get Russian Guy to pony up some rubles.

 

[105]

Short scale soloist you say? How did I not know of this???

 

[GentleHands McCoy]

Nice guitar. Is the finish black, or the dark metallic gun metal grey? Can't tell from the pictures. It has the same metal flake thing going on I've had on a 650xl and a Futura in the close up.

Reverse sharks are also the best inlay Jackson offers.

I know the seller you are talking about, although there are a couple overseas guys who sell Jacksons. Was it not insured? That being said, it happens. Statistically if you sell enough guitars its going to happen to you. I thought it was fucking never going to happen to me 30 guitar sales in, then I sold a ridiculously sturdy custom Zon guitar neck from the late '80s/'early 90s to Elysian on here and somehow it broke. It was seriously just the neck alone, a sturdy Zon one. Luckily I had it insured and I only sold it for like $100. But in terms of all the guitars and necks I've shipped I would have ranked that one one of the least risky ones.

 

[GentleHands McCoy]

I could tell from the ad that it wasn't a Jackson case but couldn't tell how it would fit the guitar. I'm definitely not happy with the seller--but after having to fix Jackson's fuck-ups on that Monarkh, I'm oddly copacetic on this one. It'll get fixed and I'll have a killer guitar I'd be unlikely to find anywhere else in the near future.

Based on the piping and the interior it actually could be original. I wouldn't be surprised. I've got a variety of Jackson cases throughout the ages. The chainsaw ones are usually pretty good. I have the stock one for the Futura I still have (not the one I sold you) and it is a total piece of shit with identical piping and interior. Some of the USA ones for Rhoads have similar interiors or piping. The handle and the locks don't look like anything I've seen, but it's not out of the question for the Grover MIJ branch.

The fact that it doesn't actually protect the guitar that well isn't enough to disqualify it unfortunately. :lol: I've had some stock Jackson cases that fit like shit. They definitely did some where the area around the headstock is way too tight. Even the nice newer SKB ones don't fit older soloists that well.

Checked out the guys photos, it's definitely the same sparkly GMG as my 650 and Futura. As a general rule I don't like near black finishes, but I like that one. Not surprised it's an excellent guitar, the '89-'90 MIJ ones are usually better than their USA counterparts. Some of the nicest soloists out there are 650XLs.

Your guitar actually looks pretty much exactly like a short scale 650XL. It has the pickup covers with the script that was only used for that specific era.

 

[GentleHands McCoy]

It was a shocker. The seller packed the guitar pretty well.

The problem was that he shipped it in an aftermarket strat case, which doesn't properly fit a guitar with an angled headstock. The tip of the headstock could clearly make contact with the bottom of the case, and there you go. You could probably carry it around locally with no problems, but not a good case for shipping.

The seller deals in quite a few Jacksons and other shredder guitars and has a pretty good reputation on Reverb, so I'm a bit surprised he shipped in this case--maybe it's what he got the guitar with and was just lucky when he bought it (presumably from Japan). A gigbag and huge amounts of bubble wrap probably would have been safer than this case for international shipping. For whatever reason, many expensive Japanese-market guitars are sold new with bags rather than cases, so this might have been a case the original Japanese owner got for it. Never have figured that one out.

Matt, the owner of Action Music, said it'd be a pretty simple repair since it's not like a Gibson-type neck snap. Couple of small dowels and some glue will do it. He said he should even be able to match the paint. His shop does good work. The funny thing is, my '85 came with a horrible-looking (but solid) headstock repair, so they really will be a matched set now. Jr. and Sr.... :lol:

If the guitar is a keeper I wouldn't go with dowels. :lol: That's fucking cheap. They do fuck all anyways, glue is stronger than wood.

You'll have a harder time finding a luthier that does it, and it's going to be more expensive, but the nicest repairs I've seen have stringers of another wood. The dude who worked on my Explorer does those for Gibsons. It's not in the same realm as a "neighborhood guitar shop repair" price wise, but it looks and works brilliant. I played a bunch of guitars he's done those repairs on and it's like, so fucking nice you think it should be part of the original design. This is obviously not the same area of break as a Gibson break, but two small stringers from a nice wood would look so much better. That's making lemonade out of lemons.

I wouldn't sweat the paint matching or originality that much, I say just totally recap it. No one really finds the MIJ ones with the "Grover Jackson" subtext desirable. Some pretty hardcore fans don't even know about the "Grover Jackson" non export ones. It did have the right logo though. Large toothpaste > Small toothpaste > MoP

 

[jacksonplayer]

Short scale soloist you say? How did I not know of this???

I didn't know about these either until this listing, and you know how obsessive I am about these. If you look through the early Japanese Jackson catalogs, there are many cool models they didn't export out of Japan.

There's a newer guy on the JCF who has one, and then I googled an old for-sale listing (long sold) from some Japanese site for a Soloist Jr. in that medium metallic blue you see on some of the toothpaste Charvels.

I know the seller you are talking about, although there are a couple overseas guys who sell Jacksons. Was it not insured? That being said, it happens. Statistically if you sell enough guitars its going to happen to you. I thought it was fucking never going to happen to me 30 guitar sales in, then I sold a ridiculously sturdy custom Zon guitar neck from the late '80s/'early 90s to Elysian on here and somehow it broke. It was seriously just the neck alone, a sturdy Zon one. Luckily I had it insured and I only sold it for like $100. But in terms of all the guitars and necks I've shipped I would have ranked that one one of the least risky ones.

I haven't heard back from the seller yet -- the time difference between us is pretty substantial, so I wouldn't be surprised not to get a reply until tomorrow. If not, then I'll start with Reverb. Don't know if it's insured or not. That's really the seller's issue.

Based on the piping and the interior it actually could be original. I wouldn't be surprised. I've got a variety of Jackson cases throughout the ages. The chainsaw ones are usually pretty good. I have the stock one for the Futura I still have (not the one I sold you) and it is a total piece of shit with identical piping and interior. Some of the USA ones for Rhoads have similar interiors or piping. The handle and the locks don't look like anything I've seen, but it's not out of the question for the Grover MIJ branch.

...

Your guitar actually looks pretty much exactly like a short scale 650XL. It has the pickup covers with the script that was only used for that specific era.

Only some of the very early USA J/C cases lacked company identification of any kind, which this does. All of the early '90s Jacksons I've ever seen had molded cases, so that's probably what this one had originally.

Since this guitar has an ebony board and metal back plates, it's more like an '89 USA Soloist. I had a 650xl many years ago that played great but was kind of dead sounding. This one is very live.

It's interesting how Jackson kept the '80s specs for the Japanese market well into the early '90s--bigger neck heel, angled neck, non-recessed Floyd--even though the same factory was exporting '90s spec Soloist Pros everywhere else. If I wanted another 25.5" scale Soloist, I'd definitely be on the lookout for one of the early Grover Jackson ones.

As for the repair, I trust the guy I took it to. Since this is the upper end of the headstock and only carries two strings, I suspect the 'biscuits and glue' approach he recommended will work.

 

[Iron1]

Man! issed:

A) Gorgeous git-fiddle!
B) The busted headstock SUCKS
3) You are way more chill than me, I'd be chewing nails over this happening.
D) Glad you happen to have a guy who can take care of it that you trust

Hope it all works out for ya, brutha.

 

[Randy]

I love a guitar with a story, and "low number" Japanese market, bought from Russia and headstock repair covers that a few ways lol

 

[Oogadee Boogadee]

Chris, your last two threads have been super fucking depressing.

 

[jacksonplayer]

Chris, your last two threads have been super fucking depressing.

Probably just karma for 20+ years of guitar deals that went off without a hitch. :lol:

Honestly, even a day later I'm STILL more pissed about having to fix Jackson's shitty QA on that cheapo Monarkh than having to get a major repair on a bucket-list guitar.

Also, as I'm sure you've discovered, dealing with the job of raising multiple kids puts everything else into perspective...

 

[Mr. S]

Oof, I flinched opening this thread... At least it should be an easy fix. This has also sorta reignited my desire for a short-scale super strat.