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Solar Guitars

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  • Solar Guitars

    Anybody have one? They seem like a lot of guitar for the money, and there are some really cool designs. For instance...

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    “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

  • #2
    Never heard of them, I really like the green one though. (the one in the middle)
    Last edited by Χάρης; 09-20-2020, 10:57 AM.

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    • #3
      They're designed by Ola Englund, who's probably best known for his YouTube channel, also the guitarist from The Haunted and Feared. Used to be in Six Feet Under.

      The ones in the $1000 range have stainless frets, glowing fret markers, Evertune or Floyd bridges, and other premium features. The $700 ones have Hipshot fixed bridges and nickel frets. They all have Ola's proprietary Duncan Solar pickups, proprietary locking tuners, and most are either neck-thru or set-thru. There are a few artist models that have other pickups, like EMG or Fishman Fluence.

      Like I said, they're packed with premium hardware, and after being out for a few years, the market is not flooded with used ones for sale. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with initial buyers being fans of Ola, and maybe a little more bought-in to the brand to begin with, but I'm curious enough to buy one.

      That green V is definitely sweet.
      “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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      • #4
        Will they chug?

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        • #5
          ^ nice
          “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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          • #6
            Originally posted by JB_From_Hell View Post
            Anybody have one? They seem like a lot of guitar for the money, and there are some really cool designs. For instance...

            ​​​​​​
            I have seen some guitar YouTube channels buy some of the models from the brand. They love them.

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            • #7
              They are indonesian 1000 dollar guitars. They uses a 12th fret logo to distinguish themselves. Besides the logo, they are nondescript contract build guitars.

              while ola is entertaining, I wouldn't want an instrument associated with him. For same reason I wouldn't want a chapman.

              Also would not want guitar without inlays. Are they decent? Probably just as good as the indonesian ltd's and Ibanez guitars. You want to pay extra for ola's inlay?

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Top-L View Post
                while ola is entertaining, I wouldn't want an instrument associated with him. For same reason I wouldn't want a chapman.
                Yeah, I hate guitar brands associated with actual people...Gibson, Hamer, Ibanez, Paul Reed Smith, Washburn, Parker...

                God forbid an actual guitar player runs the company...sheesh!

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by JB_From_Hell View Post
                  That green V is definitely sweet.
                  Agreed. I might be putting that one on my x-mas list! Dear wife...

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                  • #10
                    I like the pickups, and they certainly sound good. They look a little 'genre specific' to me, which is something I generally avoid.
                    Administrator of the SDUGF

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Top-L View Post
                      They are indonesian 1000 dollar guitars. They uses a 12th fret logo to distinguish themselves. Besides the logo, they are nondescript contract build guitars.

                      while ola is entertaining, I wouldn't want an instrument associated with him. For same reason I wouldn't want a chapman.

                      Also would not want guitar without inlays. Are they decent? Probably just as good as the indonesian ltd's and Ibanez guitars. You want to pay extra for ola's inlay?
                      Why is that? Would you not want a Greg Bennett or a Les Paul for the same reason?

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                      • #12
                        It's based on Washburn Solar his sig model. I'd get a Washburn Parallaxe for a third of the price, and none of his goofiness.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Top-L View Post
                          You want to pay extra for ola's inlay?
                          And stainless frets, an Evertune bridge, and luminous side dots. Equally important to me anymore is where my money is ultimately headed.

                          Ola’s a goofball, and seems like the kind of person I’d be friends with. He’s not some ******y CEO who could be interchanged with any other random asshat without having an effect on the end product. The older I get, the more stuff like that matters to me.

                          Like I said before, I’m sure I could get a comparable Schecter or LTD for less (and I love both of those brands), but I like Ola, and would feel good about supporting him.
                          “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Top-L View Post
                            They are indonesian 1000 dollar guitars. They uses a 12th fret logo to distinguish themselves. Besides the logo, they are nondescript contract build guitars.

                            while ola is entertaining, I wouldn't want an instrument associated with him. For same reason I wouldn't want a chapman.

                            Also would not want guitar without inlays. Are they decent? Probably just as good as the indonesian ltd's and Ibanez guitars. You want to pay extra for ola's inlay?
                            The inlay issue is definitely subjective. I personally like the Solar inlay design.

                            I feel that Solar and Chapman guitars are competitively priced with their competition. $700-$1300 seems to be the price range that most professional level imports are set at these days. I have an Indonesian made PRS SE (35th anniversary edition, $999.) The build is fairly close to flawless. For the same price I paid for this PRS, I guess I could get an Ibanez RG 550 that is made in Japan, but I'm not convinced that the country of origin makes as much of a difference as it used to. I've picked up and played a number of Player Series Strats. They're great. Epiphone? Yeah... they've really upped their game, too. In fact, I've played several Gibsons and Epiphones in stores. In the end, I found that the quality control was way tighter for the Epiphones. Some of the Gibson guitars were flat out unplayable, which is a real shame.

                            Looking at the Solar guitars specifically - Duncan Solar pickups, Evertunes, Floyd Rose 1000... all quality parts. Yeah, I think you're getting a tour-grade instrument, and the prices really don't seem all that premium to me.

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                            • #15
                              I had an Ibanez Tosin Abasi 8 string about a year ago. The build quality was as good as any other production guitar I’ve owned, despite being Indonesian. I think they were like $1200 or $1400 new. It had real DiMarzio pickups, and otherwise quality hardware, but not premium tuners or bridge, and no stainless frets. The felt very similar in quality to the MIJ 7621 neck on my current 7, and the fretwork was just as good.

                              My current mandolin is a Northfield, built in China from USA supplied materials. It sounds different than the $10,000 Gibson Master Model I had previously, but the build quality is at least as good, and the fit and finish is better. It also came stock with higher quality tuners, and a $150 tailpiece compared to the $25 stamped metal Gibson tailpiece.

                              In other words, I agree that country of origin is irrelevant.
                              “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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