Given that Jackson started as a spare parts firm, it makes sense that the Soloist fused the best bits from existing models into a pioneering new metal axe. This 80s superstrat is ageing surprisingly well.

Build

Built in the US of A, the SL2H boasts a svelte alder body, furnished with flame maple top and bisected by a quartersawn maple thru-neck.

Hardware and pickups are just as sexy as the timber – with twin Seymour Duncan humbuckers promising high-output mayhem –and a genuine Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo wobbling obligingly at the bridge.

In use

The Soloist was born from endless conversations with guitarists in Jackson's Custom Shop and that's probably why it feels like a player's axe.

The SL2H handles like a dream, with the body slim in all the right places – the cutaways and thru-neck getting you right up to the teeny frets. But beware, the speed of the profile can also give you an rather inflated view of your technical ability!

It's the ultimate choice for guitar virtuosi – a guitar that laps up every nuance of your technique. That's why they called it the Soloist.

The Soloist may not have the raw character of a Les Paul, but it's born to rock, and offers the most glorious metal tones when you make the 'buckers angry.

You can blame it on our inner 80s rocker, but we have to hand the Soloist a shiny gold medal.