Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl vs PRS S2 Custom 24
Reasons to Get
Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl over PRS S2 Custom 24
Reasons to Get
PRS S2 Custom 24 over Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl
Other Key Differences
Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl vs PRS S2 Custom 24
Shared Features
Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl vs PRS S2 Custom 24
Common Strengths
- High-Quality Nut
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 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 PRS S2 Custom 24 is probably the better product overall with its final score of 73 compared to the Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl's 69 score, although not by a lot.
The PRS S2 Custom 24 wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl has the upper hand when it comes to playability, value for the money.
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 PRS S2 Custom 24 is the better choice.
The PRS S2 Custom 24 meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl meets only 4. 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 SLX DX Swirl- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
- Easy-to-use bridge
New Player Friendliness
PRS S2 Custom 24- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
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 SLX DX Swirl Overview
- From Jackson's 2020 X series
- Made in China
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" to 16" Fretboard Radius
- Basswood body
- Maple neck
- Laurel fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Jackson High-Output Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Jackson High-Output Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Floyd Rose Special Double-Locking Tremolo (Recessed) bridge
- Jackson Standard Neck-Through neck
- 24 Jumbo frets
- Jackson Sealed Die-Cast tuners
- Compare Specs >
PRS S2 Custom 24 Overview
- From PRS's 2019 S2 series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25"'' scale
- 10" Fretboard Radius
- Maple top
- Mahogany body
- Mahogany neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: PRS 85/15 S (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: PRS 85/15 S (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Speed knobs
- 3-way Switch
- PRS Patented Tremolo, Molded bridge
- Pattern Regular Set neck
- 24 Medium Jumbo frets
- PRS Low Mass Locking 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 the Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl
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.
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.
Basswood is a lightweight type of wood that isn't as expensive as other popular choices for guitar building. It gives more power to the mid-range frequencies. Its color can vary from pale white to light brown. Find out more about Basswood.
Woods Used in the PRS S2 Custom 24
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
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: PRS S2 Custom 24.
Pickup Configuration
Both pickup configurations are HH. 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.
Pickups Quality
The PRS S2 Custom 24 pickups from a more specialized brand than the Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl. 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 Hard Rock 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: PRS S2 Custom 24.
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
Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.
Only the PRS S2 Custom 24 comes with some kind of pickup modification: Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: PRS S2 Custom 24.
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 SLX DX Swirl compares to the PRS S2 Custom 24.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl is built in China while the PRS S2 Custom 24 is made in United States.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
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.
Winner: PRS S2 Custom 24
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 SLX DX Swirl has 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.
On the other hand, the PRS S2 Custom 24 comes with a PRS Propietary nut. It's similar to TUSQ nuts, but they're not as hard, and the tone is not as bright. However, the material is self-lubricating, and it's usually well cut, so they have good tuning 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.
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 SLX DX Swirl's brige 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.
On the other hand, the PRS S2 Custom 24'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: Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl.
Tuners
The PRS S2 Custom 24 has the best tuners of the two because they are 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.
Nevertheless, the Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl has a locking nut, so it should have even better tune stability and doesn't need locking tuners.
Winner: PRS S2 Custom 24.
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 SLX DX Swirl 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 PRS S2 Custom 24 comes with Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
Winner: Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl
- Locking Nut
- Neck-Through Build
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Expensive Woods
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
- No Strap Lock
PRS S2 Custom 24
- Locking Tuners
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- PRS Propietary Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Neck-Through Build
- 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 SLX DX Swirl has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42.1mm (1.656''). This is a 0.8mm (0.032'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl, 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.
The Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl has the longest scale: 25.5". The PRS S2 Custom 24 is only 25" long. This is a 0.5'' (12.7mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
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 SLX DX Swirl 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 PRS S2 Custom 24, 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 SLX DX Swirl 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 SLX DX Swirl:
PRS S2 Custom 24:
Fret Size
The Jackson X Series Soloist SLX DX Swirl has Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the PRS S2 Custom 24'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.
