Solar Guitars by Ola Englund

[nickgray]

Shhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiit

I dunno, it's too weird. The bevel on the body. The bevel on the cutaway. The shape and the angle of the cutaway, and the relative thinness of the horn. The height difference between the horn and the left shoulder. The bum is a touch too fat (same problem with his LPs, but not as pronounced here at least).

But I only like vanilla teles. Even vanilla-esque, but HH or without a pickguard just don't look right to me. LPs are kind the same - if it's not a 3+3 old school headstock and the body shape is slightly different, it just looks weird to me.

I also wish he would stop with the logo gimmick. I like the logo, but does EVERY SINGLE GUITAR have to have it, seriously? The reverse headstock alone is pretty recognizable and that alone is a good brand identifier since he puts it on every single guitar (speaking of which... does every single have to have it? ). Classy small dots like on Ibanez Prestiges are super nice looking, just saying.

 

[josh1]

Jesus, that is one ugly guitar.

 

[mbardu]

I also wish he would stop with the logo gimmick. I like the logo, but does EVERY SINGLE GUITAR have to have it, seriously? The reverse headstock alone is pretty recognizable and that alone is a good brand identifier since he puts it on every single guitar (speaking of which... does every single have to have it? ). Classy small dots like on Ibanez Prestiges are super nice looking, just saying.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

I kinda like that ultra metal tele. It has that Viking feel of the Hutchinson medieval concept guitars.

 

[Antiproduct]

I would never buy that tele but I still love it. We have soo many Fender Tele copys that have are marketed as "metal" but in reality just have a slightly thinner neck, 2 humbuckers and maybe a funky finish.
This is the most "metal" tele I know without butchering the tele design too much. It's pointy where it should be, it looks br00tal af and has a decent quality (judging by the other models) and I am sure it will have a fair price point. What's not to like? At least it's different without straying too far from the original

 

[Boofchuck]

This is one of the first tele style guitars I actually want. Never been a fan of more traditional takes.

 

[VGK17]

Jesus, that is one ugly guitar.

Yeah, it's basically just a deformed G shape. The contour really throws the look off for me. Then again I've never been the biggest fan of Telecaster shape.

 

[Chanson]

Looks more appealing to me than the G shape, but I'm not a huge Tele or LP fan anyways. I think it's actually pretty classy and unique looking.

 

[SandyRavage]

Not my cup of tea but what can you do. Props for making something fairly unique.

Holding onto hope for a star shape...maybe one day.

 

[binz]

Personally wouldn't buy it, not my cup of tea and to me looks too much like an LP to be a tele.

But definitely stands out and is somewhat esthetically pleasing, especially the withered finish in combination with the metallic pick guard and hardware.

 

[High Plains Drifter]

I don't think it's particularly ugly but it just seems like it's trying to be too many styles all at once. Meh... identity crisis?

 

[TheBloodstained]

I like that tele! It looks good and classy to me. I was instantly imagining myself cranking out Gojira style riffs on that badboy when I came across Ola's Instagram post!

My first gen A2.6 have slowly become my go-to workhorse guitar. I'm kind of tempted to pull the trigger on the new tele shape, but I'm not entirely sure about the Evertune system. Never tried one, but I certainly recognize the benefits of the system. I usually keep my A2.6 in B-standard tuning anyway, and having a stable always-in-tune axe available at all times when recording is a nice thought!

EDIT:
Btw, just checked the Solar website. There's a black one too

 

[CrimsonStar]

The black tele looks kinda cool, can't deny that. I hope that when these start to arrive at people, we can get a realistic view on these things and really talk about the pros and the cons honestly. Not saying that the discussion has been dishonest or anything like that, but sometimes I feel that the only opinions that are allowed are either "Solar is the second coming of Christ in form of an instrument" or "You can't complain about anything because these cost only a 1200 euros".

I've had my S1.6 for over a year now, there are little cracks in the fretboard and the logo has been peeling off little by little - I still love it, it's the most stable guitar what I have (4 different guitars in the 1000-2000€ price range) and I love how low action I can get with it. Feels kinda 'lifeless' sometimes, but it could be because of the pickups, or because the guitar itself won't move or even lose tuning by itself, or I might just be talking out of my ass and really don't know about anything - that's the most likely reason tbh. Would love to swap the pickups to Dimarzio Tonezone+Air Norton combo or Petrucci set, or set of EMG 85s...

 

[pahulkster]

Black one is nicer. I wanted the Prestige Ibanez FR a few years ago but just couldn't find one. Over it now or I'd definitely order the black one.

 

[Vegetta]

 

[T00DEEPBLUE]

My initial reaction was the new T-shape was absolutely hideous. But the black version actually has a pretty decent aesthetic. No idea why.

 

[Zhysick]

T

On the background. Natural finish with black pickguard... Hnnnggggg... I was going to wait until 2022 for my next guitar purchase but fuck! This is getting hard...

 

[littlebadboy]

Ola has done super strats, LP, V, Explorer types, and now a T type. I wonder if he will ever come up with headless models?

 

[TheBloodstained]

Ola has done super strats, LP, V, Explorer types, and now a T type. I wonder if he will ever come up with headless models?

He said before that he basically makes stuff he likes, and I don't think he likes the headless design, so I doubt there will ever be a headless Solar.
I think it would be more likely to see a multiscale Solar before a headless. I'm just guessing though...

 

[TheBloodstained]

Hot damn!
My pants suddenly started feeling tight in the groin area! :LoL: