Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT vs Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster
Reasons to Get
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT over Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster
Reasons to Get
Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster over Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT
Other Key Differences
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT vs Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster
Shared Features
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT vs Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Top Pickup Brand
- Expensive Wood
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better for Beginners?
Both meet 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.
New Player Friendliness
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster- Comfortable shape
- Locking tuners
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Easy-to-use bridge
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Woods Used in the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
Woods Used in the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Winner: Tie.
Pickup Configuration
The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT has an HH configuration while the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster has HSS pickups.
Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
On the other hand, HSS provides a great balance if you like to play with a lot of distortion, but also love to use clean tones. You'll get a lot of output at the bridge position, but you'll be able to play bright clean tones at the other positions.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
However, the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.
You can purchase similar pickups to the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT's and use them on any guitar:
We found the same or similar pickups to the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster's online:
The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT's pickups are Active while the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster's are Passive.
Passive pickups are what most guitars use. These have a normal output that works well for most genres. However, Active pickups are the preferred choice of heavy metal players because they offer extra output thanks to their 9v battery, which results in a heavier, more distorted sound. Bear in mind that achieving a completely clean tone with them won't be easy. So if you want to also use clean tones, you might want to avoid Active pickups.
Winner: Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster gives you 5 switch options while the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT gives you 3. This means that the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster comes with some kind of pickup modification: Killswitch.
A Killswitch lets you disengage the pickups instantly. It can be useful when playing live, and it allows you to create some cool sound effects by using the switch rapidly.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT compares to the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT is built in United States while the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster is made in Mexico.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
Winner: Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.
On the other hand, the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster comes with a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.
Winner: Tie.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
In this comparison, the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT is the only one that has stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.
Winner: Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster's is a Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster.
Tuners
They both have locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT has a Neck-Through neck joint. This neck is a lot more resistant and lets builders give the neck joint a more comfortable shape for soloing at the upper frets. The disadvantage is that they're more expensive and that if you damage your neck, you can't simply replace it like with bolt-on necks.
On the other hand, the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Ivory Tusq Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Neck-Through Build
- Luminescent Inlay
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Strap Lock
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster
- Locking Tuners
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Killswitch Pickups
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Retainer Bar
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- Made in Mexico
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42.5mm (1.675''). This is a 0.4mm (0.013'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".
This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.
However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT has a D type of neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.
The Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster, on the other hand, has a C neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
Both have a compound radius. This means both offer you the best craftsmanship when it comes to fretboard design. You'll have an arc to help you play chords close to the nut, while also having a flat design at the higher frets for faster soloing and easier bends.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT favors large hands more than the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT:
Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster:
Fret Size
The Jackson American Series Soloist SL2MG HT has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender Tom Morello Stratocaster's Medium Jumbo frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
