The Jackson Chris Broderick Soloist 7 is, without a doubt, one of the best 7 string guitars I’ve ever played, and the 6 string version is just as incredible. They have the kind of features you only find on a truly professional, gig ready instrument.

First off, Jackson only uses the finest Mahogany, Maple, and Ebony woods available, so acoustically, this is a very fine instrument and fulfilled Chris’s first request of using good tone woods. Then, Chris added a whole lot of killer features that only a gigging musician would think of… Stainless Steel frets, Planet Waves locking tuners that automatically snip-off the excess string length, coil tapping volume control, a kill switch, and a bypass able tone control. This tone control is one of the coolest features I’ve seen in a while, when the tone control is pulled up, it is engaged, and when it’s pressed in, it’s completely bypassed.

Ergonomics are another key feature with this instrument, the pickup selector switch and both volume and tone controls have been moved to very strategic positions. The input jack on the guitar is angled upward making it very simple to run your cable over the Ernie Ball Locking strap buttons. The truss rod cover has only one screw, making it super easy to do quick truss rod adjustments. It seems Chris has thought of everything, he has even put a strip of spongy foam across the trem springs to get rid of unwanted resonance.

So… how do the Jackson Chris Broderick Soloist 6 and 7 sound? Well, that’s the best part, these guitars sound fantastic, they have an organic, woody tone. Of course, they sound mean and aggressive, but at the same time, you can really hear the high quality woods come through in their tone. The bass notes are tight and the treble ones are clear with real warmth. I give the Jackson CB Soloist two gigantic thumbs up, and highly recommend it to anyone who is a serious 7 or 6 string player.