Solar Guitars by Ola Englund

[Andromalia]

The Koreans and Indos have skyrocketed in price, but not exactly skyrocketed in QC, to put it mildly.

Try some indos from the early 2000s and we'll talk about it. And, unbfortunately, everyone is jacking the prices way over the average rate, given this is mostly a hobbyist market. ie, they don't just want your money, they want all of it. From the highest end boutique builders to Squier and Cort.

 

[nickgray]

Try some indos from the early 2000s and we'll talk about it

I do have a cheap Cort from those years, and amusingly, while it has problems, cosmetically the fretwork is better than on a Japanese Ibanez that I have. It's all down to luck in the end.

 

[Soulmate]

IMHO, this alone should’ve qualified the guitar as a b stock... Anyway, working on getting the issues settled.

 

[lewis]

IMHO, this alone should’ve qualified the guitar as a b stock... Anyway, working on getting the issues settled.

Woah thats pretty poor

 

[Soulmate]

There’s specks of dust and excess paint all over the finish

 

[Albake21]

IMHO, this alone should’ve qualified the guitar as a b stock... Anyway, working on getting the issues settled.

Damn that's very unfortunate. It looks like something you would see on someone's DIY spray paint job.

 

[CrimsonStar]

There’s specks of dust and excess paint all over the finish

Damn, that's very unfortunate! I really hope that you'll be able to get things settled nicely, be sure to post what you can about the outcome!

Just some of my thoughts:

These kind of mistakes in finishes still seem so weird to me, I've owned several 1000-series LTDs which are in the same price point and there's never been anything like this but maybe I've been lucky. I'm not bad-mouthing anyone here, but it would be really cool to get some real answers to these problems and inconsistencies from Solar - for a company that seems to be really in touch with their customers thru social media, they would really stand out if the customers could get public statements about why the finishes are sometimes really different from what's been advertised and why QC has been going down (or so it seems to me atleast). You don't have to diss your own company but getting some comments about these things would be really nice, and it could help even their own work to answer these kinds of questions on a public forum (facebook or otherwise) rather than answering only in emails of which contents people can't really talk about online. Or maybe I'm missing something really essential here, if so please do tell me!

 

[Soulmate]

After all this whining it’s time to play my A1.6FB which, believe it or not, I have no complaints about

 

[Soulmate]

I guess the fact that I know they’re capable of producing near flawless instruments makes me frustrated seeing these hastily finished and inspected ones.

I really, really, really hope they’ll get more consistent in this regard. Especially now that they came up with that A1.6LN I need...

 

[CrimsonStar]

I guess the fact that I know they’re capable of producing near flawless instruments makes me frustrated seeing these hastily finished and inspected ones.

Thank you, this is exactly what I've b een feeling ever since I've made my decision to get a Solar as my next guitar - and that decision haven't changed. Frustration is the right word, and anxiety, for I'm afraid that they'll stop producing those poplar burl tops with cool colors before they get their QC back to the game (and before I'm confident enough to purchase one).

 

[Rocktoe]

I ended up installing a Dimebucker on my 1.6PP. The original Duncan Solar bridge pickup was actually really good, but I couldn't help myself: I'm a railsbucker kind of guy. (Additionally, I really need to vacuum that carpet... dang.)

 

[mbardu]

I do have a cheap Cort from those years, and amusingly, while it has problems, cosmetically the fretwork is better than on a Japanese Ibanez that I have. It's all down to luck in the end.

That's not fair game though. In the early 2000s, Cort and entry level Yamaha were pretty much the best value, and certainly the highest quality you could get under 500$.

 

[nickgray]

That's not fair game though. In the early 2000s, Cort and entry level Yamaha were pretty much the best value, and certainly the highest quality you could get under 500$.

Haha, the other problems more than make up for it. The neck pocket isn't flush with the neck, trem is a total pos, the saddles are not conforming to the neck's radius properly, the hardware is garbage that rusts (or rather, rusted) super easily (including literally every screw). The fret ends are nice though, no complaints there.

 

[mbardu]

Haha, the other problems more than make up for it. The neck pocket isn't flush with the neck, trem is a total pos, the saddles are not conforming to the neck's radius properly, the hardware is garbage that rusts (or rather, rusted) super easily (including literally every screw). The fret ends are nice though, no complaints there.

That sounds like a dream guitar compared to some of the Squiers from that time still
More seriously though I'm surprised, The G90 and M...something (not sure of the series but looked like an ESP potbelly) I kept for many years had nowhere near any of those issues.

 

[lewis]

I ended up installing a Dimebucker on my 1.6PP. The original Duncan Solar bridge pickup was actually really good, but I couldn't help myself: I'm a railsbucker kind of guy. (Additionally, I really need to vacuum that carpet... dang.)

VIDEOS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

Please dude!
Im gas'ing massively for that SH13 again and would love to hear this!
Looks badass in there too

 

[Kovah]

Damn, that's very unfortunate! I really hope that you'll be able to get things settled nicely, be sure to post what you can about the outcome!

Just some of my thoughts:

These kind of mistakes in finishes still seem so weird to me, I've owned several 1000-series LTDs which are in the same price point and there's never been anything like this but maybe I've been lucky. I'm not bad-mouthing anyone here, but it would be really cool to get some real answers to these problems and inconsistencies from Solar - for a company that seems to be really in touch with their customers thru social media, they would really stand out if the customers could get public statements about why the finishes are sometimes really different from what's been advertised and why QC has been going down (or so it seems to me atleast). You don't have to diss your own company but getting some comments about these things would be really nice, and it could help even their own work to answer these kinds of questions on a public forum (facebook or otherwise) rather than answering only in emails of which contents people can't really talk about online. Or maybe I'm missing something really essential here, if so please do tell me!

Ola used to do some QC himself in the factory in Indonesia (at least the very first batches). Not sure if he's still inspecting some guitars, especially with lockdown all around the world.

 

[Soulmate]

Ola used to do some QC himself in the factory in Indonesia (at least the very first batches). Not sure if he's still inspecting some guitars, especially with lockdown all around the world.

I’m 100% sure he hasn’t got the time to inspect any batches at this point.

As with all brands, they have a certain set of guidelines and tolerances the guitars have to pass through final inspection at the factory. Either the tolerances are high in some areas or the inspectors are passing some guitars maybe too easily.

 

[hamster]

I think that something is radically changing in the guitar market : As other members previously said, its seems that every brand is trying to increase their margins and profitability on each guitar sold, and they are doing so by going the easy way :

The prices of the Indonesian made guitars are really exploding, we are currently starting to see made in Indonesia guitars sold between 1000 and 1500 USD with branded hardware, yes ; but their overall craftsmanship, quality and QC are still equivalent to what the 400-600USD Made in Indo guitars (with unbranded hardware and stock pickups) offered a few years ago!

For example, brands like Ibanez are pushing their Premium series (produced by Cort in the Jawa Timur Plant) into the 1000-2000USD price bracked, and their FujiGen guitars are slowly but surely and mechanically pushed above the 2000USD price bar ! We have to keep in mind that a few years ago, one could easily buy a brand new Prestige Ibanez (with a nice case and DiMarzio pickups) between 950 and 1200 USD, and this price range is currently the price range of the Premium guitars ! They are even trying to push their cheaper 250-300USD models into the 700-800USD price range, just by putting a Dimarzio pair of pickups on them, and recycling some fancy finishes from the Cort catalog : this is the new "High Performance" series !

Going back to Solar, I don't know a lot about the brand, but I think that the rules that us, customers, apply to other brands should also apply to them :

Guitars made in Indonesia can be great, Indonesia is an amazing country for manufacturers because producing guitars there is really really cheap, workforce is really cheap, the fact that nowdays most important manufacturing processes are based on CNC and computers enable workers without any real formation related to musical instruments manufacturing to be able to work in the factory, keeping the manufacturing costs down, but from the customer point of view, buying Indo is a little bit like playing a lottery, especially when it comes to little details for which people have rightful expectations when they spend a lot of cash on a guitar...

From the distributor point of view (and I'm not a distributor so what I will write below is just my own modest opinion on the question) I think that when you sell limited volumes, you can still afford doing QC, either yourself or with a small team (about QC, I also want to add that it seems that even Hoshino relies on its distributors for the QC of all their guitars, including the made by Fujigen ones) but when you start selling big volumes and don't want to waste money managing a large "B-STOCK" inventory, you don't have many possibilities :

1) Making a deal with a BIG distributor, and let them take care of the QC and after sale service.
For example, I think that Thomann's QC is 100% BS, they sell so many guitars that they cannot waste time unboxing and checking every guitar, but their major asset is that they can rely on a huge structure, and can consequently handle without any problem a large B-STOCK inventory made of the guitars returned by the customers.

Anyways, only a small fraction of the people receiving guitars with defects (that should have been labeled as B-STOCK) use their right to send back the guitar and get a replacement or their money back, so the odds are always in favor of the big distributor in these situations.

2) Discouraging the customer to send back the instrument in case of minor defects is another option : restocking fees, customer has to pay to send back the product.... Handling a large B-STOCK inventory when you don't have an adapted structure must be a real pain !

Sorry for the long rant, I will just add one thing : I really believe that we have to accept the fact that the 1000-1500USD price range will soon be the new price bracket for mid-range guitars (especially in terms of craftsmanship and QC).

What we will get in return are fancy woods, finishes, branded pickups and hardware.

Is this really a change for the better ?

 

[lewis]

I think that something is radically changing in the guitar market : As other members previously said, its seems that every brand is trying to increase their margins and profitability on each guitar sold, and they are doing so by going the easy way :

The prices of the Indonesian made guitars are really exploding, we are currently starting to see made in Indonesia guitars sold between 1000 and 1500 USD with branded hardware, yes ; but their overall craftsmanship, quality and QC are still equivalent to what the 400-600USD Made in Indo guitars (with unbranded hardware and stock pickups) offered a few years ago!

For example, brands like Ibanez are pushing their Premium series (produced by Cort in the Jawa Timur Plant) into the 1000-2000USD price bracked, and their FujiGen guitars are slowly but surely and mechanically pushed above the 2000USD price bar ! We have to keep in mind that a few years ago, one could easily buy a brand new Prestige Ibanez (with a nice case and DiMarzio pickups) between 950 and 1200 USD, and this price range is currently the price range of the Premium guitars ! They are even trying to push their cheaper 250-300USD models into the 700-800USD price range, just by putting a Dimarzio pair of pickups on them, and recycling some fancy finishes from the Cort catalog : this is the new "High Performance" series !

Going back to Solar, I don't know a lot about the brand, but I think that the rules that us, customers, apply to other brands should also apply to them :

Guitars made in Indonesia can be great, Indonesia is an amazing country for manufacturers because producing guitars there is really really cheap, workforce is really cheap, the fact that nowdays most important manufacturing processes are based on CNC and computers enable workers without any real formation related to musical instruments manufacturing to be able to work in the factory, keeping the manufacturing costs down, but from the customer point of view, buying Indo is a little bit like playing a lottery, especially when it comes to little details for which people have rightful expectations when they spend a lot of cash on a guitar...

From the distributor point of view (and I'm not a distributor so what I will write below is just my own modest opinion on the question) I think that when you sell limited volumes, you can still afford doing QC, either yourself or with a small team (about QC, I also want to add that it seems that even Hoshino relies on its distributors for the QC of all their guitars, including the made by Fujigen ones) but when you start selling big volumes and don't want to waste money managing a large "B-STOCK" inventory, you don't have many possibilities :

1) Making a deal with a BIG distributor, and let them take care of the QC and after sale service.
For example, I think that Thomann's QC is 100% BS, they sell so many guitars that they cannot waste time unboxing and checking every guitar, but their major asset is that they can rely on a huge structure, and can consequently handle without any problem a large B-STOCK inventory made of the guitars returned by the customers.

Anyways, only a small fraction of the people receiving guitars with defects (that should have been labeled as B-STOCK) use their right to send back the guitar and get a replacement or their money back, so the odds are always in favor of the big distributor in these situations.

2) Discouraging the customer to send back the instrument in case of minor defects is another option : restocking fees, customer has to pay to send back the product.... Handling a large B-STOCK inventory when you don't have an adapted structure must be a real pain !

Sorry for the long rant, I will just add one thing : I really believe that we have to accept the fact that the 1000-1500USD price range will soon be the new price bracket for mid-range guitars (especially in terms of craftsmanship and QC).

What we will get in return are fancy woods, finishes, branded pickups and hardware.

Is this really a change for the better ?

for my personal situation and feelings on this - No it isnt

 

[iLike myMetalBlack]

I ended up installing a Dimebucker on my 1.6PP. The original Duncan Solar bridge pickup was actually really good, but I couldn't help myself: I'm a railsbucker kind of guy. (Additionally, I really need to vacuum that carpet... dang.)

Little late but the Dimebucker looks KILLER!