Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS vs Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Reasons to Get
Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS over Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Reasons to Get
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster over Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS
Other Key Differences
Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS vs Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Shared Features
Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS vs Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Weight Relief
- Locking Tuners
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Expensive Wood
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS is probably the better product overall with its final score of 70 compared to the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster's 67 score, although not by a lot.
The Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS wins when it comes to playability, build quality, value for the money. On the other hand, the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster has the upper hand when it comes to sound.
If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster is the better choice.
The Fender Noventa Jazzmaster meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS meets only 5. 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.
New Player Friendliness
Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
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.
Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS Overview
- From Jackson's 2018 X series
- Made in Indonesia
- 8 strings
- 28" to 26"'' scale
- 12" to 16" Fretboard Radius
- Quilt Maple top
- Poplar body
- Maple neck
- Laurel fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Jackson Uncovered 8-String Blade Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Jackson Uncovered 8-String Blade Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Staggered Individual Saddles bridge
- Jackson Standard Neck-Through neck
- 24 Jumbo frets
- Jackson Sealed Die-Cast tuners
- Compare Specs >
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster Overview
- From Fender's 2021 Noventa series
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Maple neck
- Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Noventa Single-Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge with Vintage Style Floating Tremolo Tailpiece bridge
- Modern C Bolt-On neck
- 21 Medium Jumbo frets
- Vintage-Style tuners
- Compare Specs >
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.
Woods Used in the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS
There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies. Find out more about Laurel.
Poplar is a cheaper and heavier alternative to Alder wood. It terms of tone, it emphasizes the low-end and has cutting mids. It's relatively soft compared to most body woods. Find out more about Poplar.
Woods Used in the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
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.
Winner: Tie.
Pickup Configuration
The Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS has an HH configuration while the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster has P90P90P90 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, P90P90P90 will give you a vintage tone that is different from the typical single-coil and Humbucker. You'll have good output at the bridge position (although not as much as with a Humbucker), and beautiful, clean tones that are a bit less bright than other single-coils. The disadvantage of having three big pickups is that the middle pickup might get in the way of your right hand if you keep the height too close to the strings.
Pickups Quality
The Fender Noventa Jazzmaster pickups from a more specialized brand than the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Funk and similar genres.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Fender Noventa Jazzmaster.
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 Noventa Jazzmaster gives you 5 switch options while the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS gives you 3. This means that the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.
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 Noventa Jazzmaster.
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 X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS compares to the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS is built in Indonesia while the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster is made in Mexico.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
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: Tie
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 X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.
Winner: Fender Noventa Jazzmaster.
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.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
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 X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS'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 Noventa Jazzmaster's is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
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: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS's are Jackson Sealed Die-Cast while the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster's are Vintage-Style
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 X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS 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 Noventa Jazzmaster 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 X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS
- Neck-Through Build
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- 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 X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS has the wider nut with 47.6mm (1.875'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 5.6mm (0.221'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS, 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, the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS features a multi-scale of 28" to 26" while the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster has a regular scale of 25.5".
A multi-scale fingerboard incorporates two scale lengths at the same time. This is present in some instruments with long scale to give a different tension to the lower strings than the higher strings. The thickest strings need more tension to avoid fret buzz (especially when tuned low), so the scale is longer for these strings, while the thinnest strings will need less tension (because they have a lower gauge), so they have a shorter scale to reduce stiffness for bends.
It can feel awkward if you've never played a multi-scale because the frets will have more separation for the higher strings, but a lot of people love their versatility.
On the other hand, the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster's 25.5" regular scale means it has a fixed scale for all the strings.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 X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS 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 Noventa Jazzmaster, 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.
In this case, the Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS is the only one with a compound radius. This is a huge win because it will give you the best of both worlds: a more curved radius in the first few frets for chords, and flatter as you come closer to the body for soloing.
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.
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .
Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS:
Fender Noventa Jazzmaster:
Fret Size
The Jackson X Series Soloist Arch Top SLATX8Q MS has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Fender Noventa Jazzmaster'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.
