Solar Guitars by Ola Englund

[Rocktoe]

I just received an email from Solar saying they're getting ready to ship within 48 hours: I guess the shipping time for Purple Bursts was moved up?

 

[Rocktoe]

I've reached out via email to Solar, but if this is by design I guess I can live with it? Other than the finish it feels like a stellar instrument!

Did Solar ever comment the finish issue of your guitar?

 

[Mraz]

I am torn...

I have a purchase of a 7 string coming up..

I am between the KM-7 MKIII TBB and a
Solar 1.7A LTD (I would equip it with KM Fluences).

The solar is cheaper with the upgrade and routing.. and it has an evertune, but I am not sure about the build quality.

I hope I find someone on here who maybe owns both.. and can help me out with this.

Also Solar 1.7A experience reports.. (please no fanboying, but real talk.. pos/neg)

How is the build quality from Solar in general?
I heard there are some issue with QC, necks not being properly aligned, logos falling/peeling off and finishes being unperfect.

 

[Flick]

I am torn...

I have a purchase of a 7 string coming up..

I am between the KM-7 MKIII TBB and a
Solar 1.7A LTD (I would equip it with KM Fluences).

The solar is cheaper with the upgrade and routing.. and it has an evertune, but I am not sure about the build quality.

I hope I find someone on here who maybe owns both.. and can help me out with this.

Also Solar 1.7A experience reports.. (please no fanboying, but real talk.. pos/neg)

How is the build quality from Solar in general?
I heard there are some issue with QC, necks not being properly aligned, logos falling/peeling off and finishes being unperfect.

I own a KM6 MkIII. Bought this last summer. It’s one of the best playing guitars I’ve played. The neck is very comfortable and fast. The pickups deliver a huge punch and maintain clarity. Finish looks great.

I do plan on ordering a Solar baritone in the near future. I don’t think you can go wrong with either.

 

[JimF]

Did Solar ever comment the finish issue of your guitar?

If this is the one with the odd grain matching in the 2 piece body (pic hasn't loaded) then yes. Ola said to contact him through the website, and the owner sent the guitar back for a refund.

 

[Rocktoe]

If this is the one with the odd grain matching in the 2 piece body (pic hasn't loaded) then yes. Ola said to contact him through the website, and the owner sent the guitar back for a refund.

It was about the purple poplar burst that had very pale coloring in the center. Glad to hear Solar is actively dealing with these situations.

Meanwhile, this thing arrived today and completely ruined my work at the home office. Can't find anything to complain about, it's an excellent instrument and I'm in love with the Evertune bridge.

 

[Soulmate]

If this is the one with the odd grain matching in the 2 piece body (pic hasn't loaded) then yes. Ola said to contact him through the website, and the owner sent the guitar back for a refund.

Glad to hear Solar is actively dealing with these situations.

lol, I sent it back on my own expense within the 14 day EU right of withdrawal period. They never admitted it was any kind of a fault. Solar didn’t do anything besides providing an address to ship the guitar back to. So in the end I lost 40€. At least the A1.6FB I bought instead is perfect.

 

[JimF]

They never admitted it was any kind of a fault.

Technically, the finish didn't have a fault on it. I vaguely recall reading about a rattling you had in the bridge, but if I remember correctly you returned it because you didn't like the finish.
I wouldn't have liked it either, but I wouldn't say you could call it a fault.

 

[natedog_approved]

lol, I sent it back on my own expense within the 14 day EU right of withdrawal period. They never admitted it was any kind of a fault. Solar didn’t do anything besides providing an address to ship the guitar back to. So in the end I lost 40€. At least the A1.6FB I bought instead is perfect.

So it was the black open pore with the odd grain? Yeah, I wouldn't say it was a "fault". I think the majority of people would find it unappealing, true (I know I did), but that's still subjective.

Definitely unfortunate, and it would be cool if they covered the shipping, but can't blame them. Glad your new one is to your liking!

 

[Soulmate]

Technically, the finish didn't have a fault on it. I vaguely recall reading about a rattling you had in the bridge, but if I remember correctly you returned it because you didn't like the finish.
I wouldn't have liked it either, but I wouldn't say you could call it a fault.

Yeah, I’m not salty about it. I also mentioned about the bridge rattle but didn’t get any response regarding that. I think they would’ve compensated a check up at a guitar technician if I had pushed it, but I still would’ve wanted to send it back.

Just wanted to reply to Rocktoe’s comment about Solar actively dealing with issues.

I would also guess that the purple S with the unusual coloring isn’t considered faulty.

 

[JimF]

Would you say your experience on the whole was positive? I can see myself going that way in the future (buying a Solar I mean)

 

[Soulmate]

Would you say your experience on the whole was positive? I can see myself going that way in the future (buying a Solar I mean)

Yeah, I have nothing bad to say about them.

I had a minor issue on my A1.6FB which I reported and if I hadn’t already taken care of it myself before their reply they would’ve compensated the fix at a professional technician. Instead they offered me a discount code which I used on the A1.7 I got shortly after that.

 

[CptSlyboots]

It was about the purple poplar burst that had very pale coloring in the center. Glad to hear Solar is actively dealing with these situations.

Meanwhile, this thing arrived today and completely ruined my work at the home office. Can't find anything to complain about, it's an excellent instrument and I'm in love with the Evertune bridge.

Looks killer!

I decided to keep it, as I was told by Solar that I could get a refund, and then buy another but it would most likely be simialr to the one I received. I'm glad yours turned out pretty close to advertised.

Outside of the finish it's up there with any of my other guitars. definitely going to snag another solar down the line at some point. If they ever make an E type artist with 25.5" I'm there in a heartbeat.

 

[Rocktoe]

Looks killer!

I decided to keep it, as I was told by Solar that I could get a refund, and then buy another but it would most likely be simialr to the one I received. I'm glad yours turned out pretty close to advertised.

Outside of the finish it's up there with any of my other guitars. definitely going to snag another solar down the line at some point. If they ever make an E type artist with 25.5" I'm there in a heartbeat.

I'm really happy with mine as well: I think it's a combination of using EverTune for the first time and the fact that the build quality of the guitar is really solid. Might have to grab another ET model at some point, maybe an A1.6.

 

[CptSlyboots]

I'm really happy with mine as well: I think it's a combination of using EverTune for the first time and the fact that the build quality of the guitar is really solid. Might have to grab another ET model at some point, maybe an A1.6.

I've got a Jericho with an evertune so I knew what to expect, but the neck on the solar is pretty spot on to what I'm looking for going forward, while the Jericho is a bit of a baseball bat... Which I love, but not for what my current group is playing. Probably going to hunt around for someone to do a bit of stain work on the top of this guy down the line though, to get it closer to that all over purple I was expecting.

 

[Rocktoe]

I've got a Jericho with an evertune so I knew what to expect, but the neck on the solar is pretty spot on to what I'm looking for going forward, while the Jericho is a bit of a baseball bat... Which I love, but not for what my current group is playing. Probably going to hunt around for someone to do a bit of stain work on the top of this guy down the line though, to get it closer to that all over purple I was expecting.

Solar neck shape is really comfortable, somewhere between Fender modern C and Jackson speed neck I guess? Combined with stainless steel jumbo frets it is one of the best necks I've ever owned.

 

[Louis Cypher]

I am so late to the party on the Solar guitars, they just seem like great guitars from this thread, the sound on Ola's videos etc etc, one is def on the list of future purchases for me, then I saw this today and I'm gutted I missed out on one of these last year...
The A1.7DVV

I'm sure these are all over a few pages in this thread way back last year ( tl;dr sorry) but this is a gorgeous guitar
Here's hoping Ola has this design resurrected in someway soon

 

[natedog_approved]

I am so late to the party on the Solar guitars, they just seem like great guitars from this thread, the sound on Ola's videos etc etc, one is def on the list of future purchases for me, then I saw this today and I'm gutted I missed out on one of these last year...
The A1.7DVV

I'm sure these are all over a few pages in this thread way back last year ( tl;dr sorry) but this is a gorgeous guitar
Here's hoping Ola has this design resurrected in someway soon

This was an artist guitar I believe. The guy kinda abruptly left Solar from what I gathered, so I doubt this will be coming back.

 

[Cryovillain]

I am so late to the party on the Solar guitars, they just seem like great guitars from this thread, the sound on Ola's videos etc etc, one is def on the list of future purchases for me, then I saw this today and I'm gutted I missed out on one of these last year...
The A1.7DVV


I'm sure these are all over a few pages in this thread way back last year ( tl;dr sorry) but this is a gorgeous guitar
Here's hoping Ola has this design resurrected in someway soon

https://www.solar-guitars.com/product/a1-7frc-ltd-carbon-black-matte/

Same guitar different finish, cheaper too.

 

[JimF]

For all those who have Solar guitars, how does the neck compare to say, an Ibanez Prestige Wizard?