Dean Soltero

131
N
ow, if we were being all
sensible and mature, TG
would probably advise you
to lock your disposable
income into an ISA, thereby ensuring
you have a nest egg in retirement. But
how boring would that be? Seeing
as we’re irresponsible wasters, our
advice is to sink every last penny
into the finest guitar available to
humanity. Houses, cars and holidays
come and go. A top-spec, bells-and-
whistles, traffic-stopping electric, on
the other hand, is a friend for life.
It’s true: the guitar market of 2008
is cheaper than at any other time
in history. Pitched battles between
luthiers have forced prices down
and quality up, with the net result
that almost anyone in the developed
world can now own a perfectly
functional workhorse. That’s all well
and good – but today’s Group Test
ain’t about the workhorses. It’s all
about the thoroughbreds. And, as
we quickly discovered, if money is no
object, there is literally no limit to how
sexy the hardware gets.
TG asked four of the world’s top
luthiers – Gibson, Ibanez, Jackson
and Dean – to send us their sweetest
electrics, and amazingly, they agreed.
This, then, is not so much a Group
Test as a schoolboy fantasy made
flesh. So without further ado…
Show TG the money
Despite our excitement, TG put a bit
of thought into our selection of top-
dollar axes. Of course, we’re aware
there are plenty of esoteric custom
luthiers scattered across the world,
most of whom charge a bomb for
their one-off instruments, but that’s
Flip the page to
 nd out which
one won our
Group Test
head-to-head
not the vibe we wanted. We wanted
to play the iconic models we’ve seen
in the hands of our heroes, and find
out exactly how good they are.
Of course, we had to have a Gibson
and, of course, it had to be the Les
Paul Custom (£2,500), a US-built
legend whose tone is all over rock
history like a rash. With the Les Paul
in the bag, we set out in search of
something with a little finesse, and
found it in the form of Steve Vai’s
signature Ibanez JEM 7V (£1,899).
Our trolley-dash through the upper
echelons of the market concluded
with the acquisition of Dean’s classy
Soltero SL (£1,649) and the modern
classic that is the Jackson Soloist
SL2H (£2,099).
p
Jackson Soloist
SL2H
Gibson
Les Paul
“AS WE QUICKLY DISCOVERED, IF MONEY
IS NO OBJECT, THERE IS NO LIMIT TO
HOW SEXY THE HARDWARE GETS”
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