TheBloodstained
Casual music enthusiast
TL;DR - I love it... scroll down for pictures!
So...
Guitar and otamatone virtuoso Ola Englund of YouTube fame wanted to take a stab at the guitar market. Sounds good on paper, but what would he be able to offer on a market that already seems saturated with everything from affordable beginner axes to stunning custom instruments?
It was with this mindset that I checked out the Solar Guitars website shortly after Ola announced the launch of the brand on monday november 27th.
Being a follower of Ola for some time I knew about his Washburn signature guitars, which I had been tempted to buy earlier, and I guess that was what initially sparked my interest in his new endeavour.
Anyway, long story short...
I visited the website, saw the A2.6 and felt that familiar warm and fuzzy feeling bursting through my chest! It was so close to everything I've been looking for in a guitar - spec wise and aesthetically, so after thinking it over once (maybe twice) I put down an order. And couldn't stop giggling like a little girl!
I received my guitar friday december 8th.
And with that said... let's see some pics! (first impression and my opinion follows after pictures)
I must admit that I was a bit nervous about putting cash into a brand new company - there's always a risk involved when buying first-run products from newly established companies. I crossed my fingers and hoped for a playable guitar without too many dings and flaws.
What I received however was - and I'm being completely honest here - a budget guitar on par with high quality Schecter and Ibanez (my frame of reference) guitars!
The first thing I did after carefully opening the big cardboard box with the huge Solar logo printed on top was to very thoroughly look the guitar over for the first time. I was looking for flaws, dings and scratches. In a weird way I almost wanted to find some kind of flaw, but the guitar was literally flawless out of the box.
After my inspection I proceeded to tune the guitar and play the first few notes. To my big surprise I found that the guitar had been setup really well from the factory. The action was nice and low. Zero fret buzz. Every note (and I do mean EVERY of the 6x 24 notes - I played every fret on all strings!) sounded crisp and clear. I wasn't expecting this kind of performance from such a cheap guitar, so I was pleasantly surprised. Also, at this point the guitar was still very cold to the touch from shipping. It even stayed in tune after it warmed up.
To be honest I haven't had that much time to play it since I received it, so I can't really comment too much about the playability just yet. However, I'm getting vibes from this guitar. It just speaks to me when it's in my hands. I tried running it through my dads guitar rig (I have yet to play it on my own), and - besides checking that the electronics worked - I found that it sounds absolutely beastly. I usually play with active pickups, but I really want to get into passives, and these pickups - so far - is the best passives I've heard. They are aggressive but clear and organic in their expression. I look forward to dialling in some good sounds and get recording with my rig.
What else can I add...
It's so strange to do a "review" of a product I've barely started using!
Positive things:
- Solid construction.
- Volume and tone knobs has some resistance to them, and feel like high quality components.
- Groover tuners.
- Awesome pickups.
Negative things:
- The tone control makes a slight "dragging noise" when turned. Nothing major though. The control works like it should.
- The satin finish is beautiful, but it's not the best satin finish I've experienced. The finish on my Schecter C7 Jeff Loomis feels a little smother. Nothing major though. The finish is still smooth to the touch and looks and feels good.
Things I'm going to do to this guitar:
- It's getting Schaller strap locks. I use them on all my other guitars.
- At some point I'm going to change the strings, put it in drop C and tweak the setup a little. I prefer when the neck has a slight neck relief, and right now it as straight as an arrow.
That's it.
Absolutely solid product.
I'm really, really impressed with it.
Would I buy more Solar guitars? Yes... yes I would! And probably will at some point.
I guess you should just ask in this thread if you have any questions
So...
Guitar and otamatone virtuoso Ola Englund of YouTube fame wanted to take a stab at the guitar market. Sounds good on paper, but what would he be able to offer on a market that already seems saturated with everything from affordable beginner axes to stunning custom instruments?
It was with this mindset that I checked out the Solar Guitars website shortly after Ola announced the launch of the brand on monday november 27th.
Being a follower of Ola for some time I knew about his Washburn signature guitars, which I had been tempted to buy earlier, and I guess that was what initially sparked my interest in his new endeavour.
Anyway, long story short...
I visited the website, saw the A2.6 and felt that familiar warm and fuzzy feeling bursting through my chest! It was so close to everything I've been looking for in a guitar - spec wise and aesthetically, so after thinking it over once (maybe twice) I put down an order. And couldn't stop giggling like a little girl!
I received my guitar friday december 8th.
And with that said... let's see some pics! (first impression and my opinion follows after pictures)
I must admit that I was a bit nervous about putting cash into a brand new company - there's always a risk involved when buying first-run products from newly established companies. I crossed my fingers and hoped for a playable guitar without too many dings and flaws.
What I received however was - and I'm being completely honest here - a budget guitar on par with high quality Schecter and Ibanez (my frame of reference) guitars!
The first thing I did after carefully opening the big cardboard box with the huge Solar logo printed on top was to very thoroughly look the guitar over for the first time. I was looking for flaws, dings and scratches. In a weird way I almost wanted to find some kind of flaw, but the guitar was literally flawless out of the box.
After my inspection I proceeded to tune the guitar and play the first few notes. To my big surprise I found that the guitar had been setup really well from the factory. The action was nice and low. Zero fret buzz. Every note (and I do mean EVERY of the 6x 24 notes - I played every fret on all strings!) sounded crisp and clear. I wasn't expecting this kind of performance from such a cheap guitar, so I was pleasantly surprised. Also, at this point the guitar was still very cold to the touch from shipping. It even stayed in tune after it warmed up.
To be honest I haven't had that much time to play it since I received it, so I can't really comment too much about the playability just yet. However, I'm getting vibes from this guitar. It just speaks to me when it's in my hands. I tried running it through my dads guitar rig (I have yet to play it on my own), and - besides checking that the electronics worked - I found that it sounds absolutely beastly. I usually play with active pickups, but I really want to get into passives, and these pickups - so far - is the best passives I've heard. They are aggressive but clear and organic in their expression. I look forward to dialling in some good sounds and get recording with my rig.
What else can I add...
It's so strange to do a "review" of a product I've barely started using!
Positive things:
- Solid construction.
- Volume and tone knobs has some resistance to them, and feel like high quality components.
- Groover tuners.
- Awesome pickups.
Negative things:
- The tone control makes a slight "dragging noise" when turned. Nothing major though. The control works like it should.
- The satin finish is beautiful, but it's not the best satin finish I've experienced. The finish on my Schecter C7 Jeff Loomis feels a little smother. Nothing major though. The finish is still smooth to the touch and looks and feels good.
Things I'm going to do to this guitar:
- It's getting Schaller strap locks. I use them on all my other guitars.
- At some point I'm going to change the strings, put it in drop C and tweak the setup a little. I prefer when the neck has a slight neck relief, and right now it as straight as an arrow.
That's it.
Absolutely solid product.
I'm really, really impressed with it.
Would I buy more Solar guitars? Yes... yes I would! And probably will at some point.
I guess you should just ask in this thread if you have any questions
Last edited:
very cool! Happy NGD!
