Solar Guitars by Ola Englund

[Metropolis]

Anybody here that has experience with both the solar pickup and dimarzio fusion edge that are typically in the equally-prized Ibanez Indonesian built guitars? (I only know the solar ones and generally have no clue about pickups)

I'm talking about the bridge pickup. Not sure if I'm just not having any use for the neck one or that solar one is just crap.

Fusion Edges have typical ceramic modern DiMarzio charasteristics, a bit cocked wah mids and not very much bass, but still quite balanced. Nothing special, but they do their job. I would say they're like less pronounced Titans or D Activators. More output than Solar pickups, but not too much. Definetly different sounding and feeling pickups than Solar which are scooped, have less output and Alnico 5 magnets.

Hello! I have a Solar V2.6C and I want to have some upgrades done to it...

I would say those tuners are going to fit, their measurements, orientation and screw places should be same as stock Solar Grover tuners. What they now have is just a copy of them. Doesn't it have Graph Tech nut already, or are there other reasons to change the stock nut? Measurements of stock pickups should be really similar to Seymour Duncans and cavities in these aren't very shallow, shouldn't be a problem to install Nazgul/Sentient set.

 

[Chanson]

I've been a bassist on and off for about 10 years or so, and only dabbled occasionally with guitar. I'm thinking about picking upa Solar, as they seem good quality and fair prices. I'm looking at some of their higher end models, and most come with Evertune, as you probably already know.

For someone who has little experience setting up guitars, how easy is it to adjust for different string gauges or tunings with an Evertune? Is it something a novice can do or is it fairly involved?

 

[Antiproduct]

I too think about getting a guitar with evertune so while I didn't setup one yet I watched some videos and read about it. Apparently it is a little bit more fiddly than tuning the normal way. You put the evertune in one of the zones (forgot which one) with your normal tuners and then you use an allen key (or at least I hope it's allen and not some special evertune key) to tune it to pitch. So drop tuning between songs might take too long.
Action and intonation is not more difficult than on other bridged, so it seems.

 

[Rocktoe]

I too think about getting a guitar with evertune so while I didn't setup one yet I watched some videos and read about it. Apparently it is a little bit more fiddly than tuning the normal way. You put the evertune in one of the zones (forgot which one) with your normal tuners and then you use an allen key (or at least I hope it's allen and not some special evertune key) to tune it to pitch. So drop tuning between songs might take too long.
Action and intonation is not more difficult than on other bridged, so it seems.

Tighten the strings from the headstock enough that the pitch doesn't change. Tune the string with an allen key. Tighten the strings to the edge where the pitch starts to rise again if you want to bend normally, and you're done.

As for maintenance, if the bends start to feel hard you can tighten the strings from the headstock once a month or so.

Edit: For drop tunings you can setup the bridge for drop tuning and just "overtighten" the string to standard when you need it. You'll lose the evertune from one string but otherwise it's fast and easy.

 

[MadYarpen]

Hello! I have a Solar V2.6C and I want to have some upgrades done to it.

First, I'd like to change the stock tuners to locking ones. I found an older thread from 2018 in which someone suggested to go with Grover locking tuners (albeit for an E2.6 model): https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/solar-guitars-replace-tuners.331699/

Does anyone know if the Grover 406BCL6 tuners could be installed without drilling new holes into the headstock?

Another thing I want to do is to replace the stock nut with a Graph Tech BLACK TUSQ nut. Maybe someone has done this before? From my (not very precise) measurements the PT-6643 version should be a good fit.

And last but not least, I'd like to change the pickups. Will there be any problems replacing the stock Solars with a Nazgul/Sentient set? Or to put it in another way, are original Seymour Duncan pickups a drop-in replacement for Duncan Designed pickups?

Thanks!

Few posts back I posted a link to Gotoh model which should fit.

I was also thinking about changing them in mine, but after a proper setup by technician, the stock tuners are working perfectly. I had issues with guitar detuning during playing, and it seems using something which I think in english is called silicone grease on the nut solved the problem. So if you are changing them because of that, just make sure you really need this.

 

[Soulmate]

There’s one “issue” with Evertune regarding intonation. If you set the intonation with the saddles right on the edge of zone 2 (when you want to be able to both bend and get the evertune feature) and suddenly want to “loosen” the strings further to zone 2 the intonation will go off as the saddles move back. Same happens with fresh strings as they loosen up. It’s not a big thing but something people should be aware of.

 

[Metropolis]

Well that was a nice surprise... these were supposed to ship around june 30th, but mine shipped today It will be here in a week.

 

[lewis]

Well that was a nice surprise... these were supposed to ship around june 30th, but mine shipped today It will be here in a week.

Im so so jealous!

NGD thread?

 

[Metropolis]

Im so so jealous!

NGD thread?

Yeah, why not

 

[Louis Cypher]

I'm really loving the "My Guitar" videos Ola is doing. Latest is his Washburn Solar, 1st guitar ever made with his body design apparently

 

[RiksRiks]

if that HS bolt-on was available in a 7... I might be interested in buying one. I never would because I just don't need more guitars, but that thing is near perfect to me. Ola's a good man for only making it in 6 and keeping my temptations in check.

Like the black one they announced? Are they sold out already or something??

 

[Metropolis]

Like the black one they announced? Are they sold out already or something??

Prototype was with two humbuckers and they had pictures of it in Solar website. They just updated the pictures with real ones, it is now with neck single coil. I think there was bit of misunderstanding because of that... and they're still available.

 

[RiksRiks]

Prototype was with two humbuckers and they had pictures of it in Solar website. They just updated the pictures with real ones, it is now with neck single coil. I think there was bit of misunderstanding because of that... and they're still available.

Yeah I remember Ola saying in a video that the production model was going to have a single coil. Just replying to the guy saying he would buy one if there was a 7 string.

 

[aesthyrian]

Like the black one they announced?

If it has the single coil then yeah, but all the pics and the announcement shows it with HH. And now apparently they do come with HS and not HH? Which is it, what the hell is up? Solar needs to sort that shit and get their marketing corrected. I mean, if you are doing a product launch why would you use photos of the incorrect item?

I think I'll just believe that Ola saw my post and figured "fuck that guy, I'm gonna make him buy one!".

 

[Metropolis]

If it has the single coil then yeah, but all the pics and the announcement shows it with HH. And now apparently they do come with HS and not HH? Which is it, what the hell is up? Solar needs to sort that shit and get their marketing corrected. I mean, if you are doing a product launch why would you use photos of the incorrect item?

I think I'll just believe that Ola saw my post and figured "fuck that guy, I'm gonna make him buy one!".

I think they were in a hurry, schedules just didn't meet and manufacturing was way ahead. They're still photographed in Ola's office by his wife I think. Other bolt-on models had updated pictures as well.

 

[RiksRiks]

If it has the single coil then yeah, but all the pics and the announcement shows it with HH. And now apparently they do come with HS and not HH? Which is it, what the hell is up? Solar needs to sort that shit and get their marketing corrected. I mean, if you are doing a product launch why would you use photos of the incorrect item?

I think I'll just believe that Ola saw my post and figured "fuck that guy, I'm gonna make him buy one!".

I don't know what's up with the picture, probably the above poster is right and they were in a hurry, but Ola already stated that it will be HS as well and not HH as shown by the site.

 

[MadYarpen]

On the website you had big ass font saying the photo is of a prototype HH and the guitar will be HS.

Probably to make it possible to order before they had a finished guitar to make a photo...

 

[T00DEEPBLUE]

If it has the single coil then yeah, but all the pics and the announcement shows it with HH. And now apparently they do come with HS and not HH? Which is it, what the hell is up?

Did you not notice the giant text right at the top of Solar's website listing for that guitar, stating the guitar pictured was only a prototype and that the production model would be HS?

It was pretty hard to miss.

 

[Edika]

I was disappointed with his last Sunday with Ola where he basically validated what the Essex Recordings guy did with the Mustaine guitars. I don't know if it was a sponsored video by that Ganon guy but his take was "oh these guitars are expensive and I can't afford them but I wish I could!". And that the guy is selling them because he probably is in financial troubles due to Covid.

I mean I didn't expect him to do an expose piece on the guy but I didn't also expect him to brush it off like he has no idea what was going on with the guy and think the prices he's asking are reasonable. Anyways really disappointed with his take o the matter.

 

[manu80]

Covid or not his prices are always ridiculous.
Only Mustaines worth are Jacksons anyways