Jackson has officially launched the Pro Series Jeff Loomis Signature Soloist SL7, a 7-string guitar tailor made to the Arch Enemy shredder’s specifications, and one that he is so proud of, he has been good enough to demo it and talk through its features.
The Soloist SL7 was announced at the start of the year, just one of a huge fleet of new Jackson high-performance electric guitars, and is Loomis’ second signature guitar with the Californian brand.
His Pro Series Jeff Loomis Signature Kelly Ash is one of the finest shred machines we have seen in recent years, but if it’s next-gen Explorer vibe is a little too much shape for you – or, indeed, if you require an extended-range instrument – the Soloist SL7 might be more your speed.
It takes the time-honoured S-style, sharpens the edges and beefs up the sound. Here, Loomis and Jackson have gone for a solid basswood body topped with a piece of sandblasted ash, finished once more in a metal-friendly shade of total noir. It has a through-body three-piece maple neck that is reinforced by graphite rods and topped with a 12”-16” compound radius ebony fingerboard.
Aesthetic touches are kept to a minimum. Like Loomis’ signature Kelly, the sandblasted ash offers a nice-open grain texture, and white binding on the body, neck and headstock completes the look. The ebony fingerboard counts out the positions with Jackson’s shark-fin inlays, and seats 24 jumbo frets.
To accommodate that seventh string and the lower register it offers, we have a 26.5” scale length, a full inch longer than the Fender-esque equivalents found on the six-string models.
There is a Floyd Rose 1500 double-locking vibrato system, and supplying the ammunition for those pitch squeals and harmonic divebombs there are a pair of Loomis signature Seymour Duncan Blackout pickups.
These active humbuckers do not lack output, and occupy the neck and bridge positions, and are selected by a three-way toggle switch mounted close to the lower waist.
Loomis doesn’t mess around with the tone pot so appropriately we have none here. A single volume control, however, should come in handy. Elsewhere, Jackson has fitted the SL7 with a set of sealed die-cast tuners and Dunlop dual-locking strap buttons, and the truss rod can be adjusted with a minimum of fuss via a heel-mounted wheel.
Other nice touches include the Luminlay side dot markers, and the satin finish on the neck.
The Pro Series Jeff Loomis Signature Soloist SL7 is available now, priced £1,299 / $1,699 street. See Jackson for more details.
