MY SOLAR GUITAR WAS NOT WELL... 

Thank you Kevin, we're really glad Scott was able to dial in your Solar and help make it the monster it was built to be for you! You and Ola are both huge assets to the metal guitar community, you guys give us all a ton of inspiration, honest info and awesome free entertainment, glad to be able to help give something back to you! 🤘

We need more dudes in the guitar community like this guy

I really like your perspective on the problems with the guitar. You decided it was your problem to fix and didn’t throw Ola under the bus. Says a lot about you.

Scott's attention to detail and labor transparency is worth every penny. I had a similar fret level issue on an fairly new LTD arctic metal I was having trouble setting up and he spent a ton of time getting that guitar perfect. The wait was absolutely worth it. His fretwork is impeccable. Motor City Guitar is awesome and can't recommend them enough.

Ola should invite you for the "coffee with Ola" he started! Two down to earth dudes with sick skills and tones! 🤘

Honestly your channel feels like one if the most honest channels in the entire online community and you seem like a genuinely awesome guy so keep it up! I always love seeing your videos on my feed and I'll watch as many as I can

I'd offer Ola would want to know how the guitar is not meeting expectation. At this point he's a businessman and wants to ensure his instruments are not failing. Asking for a new one may not be the right move but if it was my company I would want to know. Love you gave props to your local store and Tech; very cool. Hope it works for years to come!

Kev: I'm going to riff out a bit and show you what this thing sounds like. Comes in absolutely crushing. That was so heavy my eyes are bleeding.

You seem like a stand up dude. Way to give props to all those who helped, and focused on the positives!

You're a really honest likeable dude. I enjoy this channel a lot.

The comments on this video giving credit to Scott and talking about how the guitar community needs more guys like Kevin gives me hope for the guitar community.

You mean a lot to us, Kevin! Thank you!

You are the most humble dude I watch on RU-vid so down to earth and honest it’s so refreshing ❤

A mountain of a man, brutal guitar playing, but so humble, grateful and down to earth. Great to see something like that still today. Keep it up! Fun fact: Just yesterday I saw a video of Ola telling me that he sent you this guitar.

Having a good luthier is an invaluable asset.

One of the hardest channels on RU-vid.

Yup, not buying a Solar. Thanks for sharing Kevin! ESP all the way.

You have to get a certain evertune that supports drop G. There are different versions of the evertune to support different tunings. The standard one which was probably in yours only supports up to drop B with 10 gauge strings. You can get around it by changing string gauges.

The online community needs more guys like Kev! Solid dude. Literally.

Kevin is a fucking RU-vid guitar OG in the truest sense. So glad to see you still pursuing your passion dude!

Marty and the crew at Motor City are the best guys around hands down. Marty is always willing to just talk bands and even show off his blues and rock knowledge is asked how to do something. I stop in every chance I get. Now that I live in Florida I go when I’m in town to see family

Just wanted to say I'm really impressed with how far the production on your tracks has come since the early days. The playing has always been there, but it's so awesome to hear it with a great mix and tone. Glad everything worked out with the guitar too.

Kevin, I’m so glad Ola and your luthier were able to help you out with your guitar. People doing favors for others, and then those others sharing their experiences, really makes me strive to take care of the people around me. Take care of people and they’ll take care of you. Amazing playing at the end brother, glad you love the guitar for what it’s supposed to be

I've seen a lot of videos with the quality of Solar some seem hit or miss... I'd love to try 1 but not interested in taking a risk of good or bad. I am mainly a bassist myself and i have bass that needed some work. It's a 2003 model ibanez that i mistreated 1 day and busted the headstock I couldn't find anyone in my area to fix and ended up watching what seemed like hundreds of repair videos and repaired it on my own. The bass means more to me than anything because my father bought it and he passed away 3 years ago. I was afraid to mail it out to a repair shop... Glad you was able to get your guitar fixed and in action....

Kevin is jacked! Every rock musician should strive to be as massive as Kevin. Manowar album art style

I’m a big fan of Ola and I like Solar Guitars but man… their 2020 models had horrible QC issues. I had a 2020 S1.6 and it had so many problems I had to sell it. The fretboard was cracked from the 5 to the 13 fret. The frets were starting to sprout. The Solor logo on the headstock was peeling off and other issues. Hopefully I’ll get a new one some day but for now I will wait for them to improve.

Thats soo awesome how everything worked out for you. God bless ya bro

low humidity will definitely cause the wood to shrink, the neck to warp and develop cracks on the finish where the fret-ends will push out of the wood due to shrinkage. i keep a moist sponge in a bag in my guitar case because of this. my solar's neck warped and started buzzing on some frets, and the fret-ends started poking out the side a bit. the problem fixed itself after increasing the humidity in the case I stored it in. also, you can't use just any strings you want with Evertune - they have to be the correct gauge for the tuning you want to use, because the tension on the bridge has to be correct (there are fine-tuned counterbalance springs inside the bridge).

Hell yeah, Motor City Guitar is awesome. I used to live like 5 minutes away, used to go there all the time. Just shoot the shit. So much gear to look at. Moved up north a few years ago, but I miss it already.

Wow, what a story! Nice to know there's still nice honest folks in the world like you guys! This is one wicked guitar! Looks so freakin sinister! Love the suffocation shirt!!!! Rock on 🤘 Kevin!!!

I'm would never _ever_ risk buying a Solar. The quality build is all over the place.

That's an incredible story, so glad it worked out for you. And that jam at the end is absolutely crushing....so sick! RESPECT \m/

As someone from the midwest, I appreciate how humble and positive you are.

huuuh, that's great riffing there! love that kickass and massive sound!

I'm glad Scott got you squared away Keven, I hear nothing but great things about his work. I have a '91 Jackson Dinky that I'd like him to rejuvenate one of these days. We're very lucky to have a place like Motor City Guitar near by.

We need more fellas like you around bro!! I would safely go on a limb and say Ola woulda taken care of it if it had came to that!! Ola stands fully behind these instruments!! Just glad you got it worked out! Now shred the shit outta this thing🤘🤘🤘

Absolutely sick riffs brother !!!.

Scott from Motor City set up a Tele I recently bought. You are right - he is a wizard. It play so amazingly now. I will always go to Scott and Motor City for everything I need.

Best trick with Evertunes, I find, is to set them right between "zone 2" and "zone 3" (tune it until it starts going sharp, and then back it off). That way it stays in tune, but you can still bend. Tis a little trick I learned from Devin Townsend. When it comes to setting up the bridge itself, it's not all that different from setting up a floating Floyd. Just have to get the spring-tension dialed in to match the tuning/string-gauges you're aiming for

Hell yeah. Glad you got your axe rippin' proper. Killer intonation!!!!!

You’re one lucky guy!! First Ola gives you this AWESOME gift, then the Luthier give you the assist on taking care of your Axe. Just wow! I wish I could get as lucky hahaha I have 2 out of commission guitars due to lack of funds that mean so much to me that I still have them around even though I can’t play them anymore

Motor City Marty is a great dude. Been buying gear from him since the 90’s when he was in the LITTLE plaza in Waterford.

Solar is slowly turning into the next Chapman...

Badass Suffocation shirt btw , those are my bro's , drove from Seattle to Portland this last Sat. to hang with them on their bus , last time they were here in Seattle we hung out in the Hotel they had , you have a Sick collection of GuitFiddles and killer riffs as well !

Its rare to see a guitar channel that gets a gifted guitar from an even larger youtube channel brand share some honest criticism on the gear and handle it yourself, makes me wish more brands would gift you guitars because i take your feedback seriously even more now, good on you bro, and your luthier scott!🤙 side note if ola ever makes the inlay smaller and just on the 12th fret, it might solve some fretboard issues. Its overly big for my taste, and it makes sense hes pushing roasted maple, lower shrinkage for the massive ola logo.

I’m glad you were able to get that guitar in tip top shape and write some brutal ass riffs on it. It’s nice to read through the comments and see nothing but positivity and support. Keep up the brutal riffage!!

Those were some badass riffs. You Practically have a badass song there........

It’s great to see someone who is into Death Metal get a good following. Keep shredding. Guitar sounds great.

Dude we love you

I'm glad to see that good is following good. You have a special guitar dude

Man, there are just waves of people having problems with Solar guitars over the last year or so, it seems like every time I turn around anymore, someone is writing on the forums or making a RU-vid video about a myriad of issues they are having with them, while looking into it I've seen Solar is addressing the issues for the most part (at what seems to be a turtle pace), Ola for the most part is silent publicly about it however from what I've seen so far, I like the dude and his guitars, but it seems like they're having a plethora of QC issues over at the factory where they are being produced, it makes me very reluctant to pursue a Solar guitar, hell I've got an entire wall of Ibanez guitars that were all made in Indonesia from 6 strings with hard tails and Floyds, all the way up to 7 and 8 strings, and I've never had issues to this degree with any of them (Sans the Ibanez RG8 8 Strings, and they literally did not mount the bridge far enough away from the nut for proper intonation to be achieved, you have to cut the saddle springs, or remove it altogether to get enough reach to properly intonate it, which is what I did), I hope Solar gets their issues under control, the frequency in these problems seems to be increasing at this point. Sick playing Kevin, cheers for the video, respect!

I work in Wixom and have been wanting very much to stop in at Motor City Guitar ; so much to see there . Thanks Kevin for reminding me. My visit will come soon I'm sure. I live west and just don't have the time or energy unfortunately. Holy crap awesome playing cheers corey

Cheers to a fellow dropped G bro from Texas!🎉

Thank you,Kevin!!!

Motor city guitar Rocks . Scott their amp guy saved my 1969 amp v-4 , awesome place and awesome people ... Great info on the solar also ...🤘

We all love you Kevin, like a brother. Just keep digging your pick into the strings and keep jamming. I would have done the same for you if I worked on it. It is the reason I work on all my equipment. The small town I live in has only one music store and it is dying. Thye barley have half their lights on inside. Back in 1993 they were always busy, then the internet came and guitar center and etc.... Changed it all for local Mom & Pop shops.

I just want to say that I’m a massive Ola fan and have been watching him since 2011. That said, I’ve had nothing but trouble with the two Solars that I purchased a couple years back. The first one had a paint blemish and they gave me $50 back even though I wasn’t super happy with that resolution. The second problem I had was with another Solar (funny enough it also had ET) where the Fishman neck pickup was completely dead. I waited 3 months for this guitar only to receive it with a dead pickup, which they eventually replaced. For the $1500 I paid for that second guitar you’d think Solar would also do some basic QC before shipping it out, but nope! I don’t care how good their guitars look, their QC is a joke and I have since sold both my Solars and I will never waste my money on that brand again.

Love dealing with Motorcity guitar. Great place.

You deserve it chief - glad the guitar was fixed up and it's a monster in your hands. Cheers! \m/

Love that after a decade of watching you, your level of gratitude and humility has only grown deeper. Really nice of Scott and the guys at MCG to take care of you. Always paying it forward baby! \m/

Master Shredder in every sense of the phrase!

Great video. I was curious about this guitar. I'm glad you did this. Crushing riffs as always!!! We need a full-length!!!

Dude I think its your badass cool personality and the overall positive individual that you are is what makes these special moments happen to you, like the gift from Ola, and this guy giving you a free TLC, etc. You deserve all that shit bro you really do. Looking forward for more heavy shit, gym and guitar dont matter💪😈🤘

Perfect gym music! Should make a gym centric album geared for us that train!

That is Awesome! Sounds great. 🤘🏼🤘🏼Thanks for sharing 👍🏻👍🏻🙃🙃

Oh shit I found you on RU-vid too. I’m glad you’re guitar got fixed or patched up. It’s hard finding a place where you honestly take a breath. Knowing you left it in good hands and will eventually return to yours better and ready to go. Props to your guitar buddy and for making content.

This man only plays the heaviest of metals! Good shit man! I'm glad they were able to hook you up with the great service!! Killer tracks at the end to!!

I haven't been down to see Scott and Marty in a few years, I need to swing down there soon.

Scott is amazing. He set up and swapped a few of my guitars. Motor city guitar is ONE thing I miss about living in michigan. From Milford michigan. They guy that works on amps is amazing also. Wanna say his name is Art. I bought a VHT Pitt bull head off EBay and when I got it home and plugged in I got nothing. Took it to Motor city guitar dude did his magic and a week later that thing screamed. The whole motor city staff and associates are amazing.

Lol the riffage is gonzo fast. Love it.

As a luthier, it sounds like it was basic guitar setup issues. Even happens with the best guitars. Neck bow just needs a tweak of the truss rod. Frets weren't perfectly level because it wasn't completely flat when it was originally done, another common issue with a lot of factory made guitars. Fret edges needed dressing because the wood shrank because of a different climate, honestly necessary on most guitars in general because factory edges suck. And the saddles needed intonated and spaced properly, and that's probably the only REAL issue with the guitar setup really since the rest is basic. The saddle spacing should have been done right at the factory. But intonation from the factory is usually done just quick and dirty and can almost always use some adjustment based on what string size you use and you're tuning if you want it to be perfect. So in conclusion, the guitar really wasn't that bad and that kind of work can be done within an hour or 2 depending on the amount of work needed for the fret polishing and recrowning and if it only needed a partial dressing.

Three class moves made for a great story and a great outcome! Much respect to the luthier at Motor City Guitar.

Making the things that are given to you better is honorable

You're a legend, Kev. Your passion for guitars and metal is always inspiring

I have the exact same guitar and had issues that made it unplayable as well (particularly not being able to tune the 7th string). I finally resolved all them and must say I love this guitar so much. It has so much features and is so comfortable. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Love Motor City Guitar. That place is awesome.

I remember when you got this thing. Dope that it's all fixed up now. You inspire me so much to keep going. Thank you Kevin.

I'd be curious to know more about what the issues with the Evertune were. Im working towards becoming an official installer of them and like to know as much as possible anyway. The few that I've dealt with have been flawless. As far as the fret sprout (sharp fret ends) that should really be expected for any of us living in colder areas where the guitars might live in a house that has heat running for half of the year haha. I've had issues with almost every guitar I've owned in my current house (including ones Ive built), except for a 15 year old LTD that had probably been through all of the wood shrinkage it was going to experience in its lifetime.

I'm really diggin that Rhoads in the background. \m/

This scares me off buying a Solar.

Glad to see you enjoying to play it. Great people left in this world still.

I've bought 7, sold 3. All were recieved with issues. Broken switches, bad pots, unsanded necks you name it. I'll stick with my Jackson's.

So happy for you that you got that guitar into perfect shape. Keep on killin it man!

Man I was just at motor city guitar last weekend for the first time.awesome

Cool of them to service it pro boner. Well I mean, I know I'd be hard while working on it too. Sick riff!🤘

Didn't realize you were in Michigan dude! Resident of Waterford here. Been going to Motor City Guitar for over 20 years. Would MUCH rather have my hard earned money go to a local business than some big chain music store. Glad to hear Marty took care of you. Shred on man. 🤙

I'm new here, but that part about gratitude just had me like fuck yeah buddy!

Sounds great dude. He did a good job

You seem like a cool and definitely genuine dude. Thanks for your content. 🤘🏻

Happy to see it back on the channel!

Ghaaaat dayum! Those riffs are killer. I’m all fired up now while having my morning coffee and over loaded cream cheese bagel FTW!🤘🏻🫡

There's good people out there. Love your channel, Kevin. Cheers.

Kevin deserves all the success he's had and more! Totally humble and incredibly talented!

Shoot, I had no idea you went to motor city guitar!! they always do great work. Its less than 10 minutes from my house so I am there pretty often. I'm glad you got those issues fixed.

Had no idea you were a local guy (to me). Much love brother.

This is the exact reason I haven't purchased a Solar guitar yet, ive heard so many problems with them and their quality control.

I have five friends with solar guitars and all of them had issues. That’s why I will not buy one. I’ll stick to my BC Rich and ESP! Your music is killer Kevin thanks bro!

Loved the demo, Kevin! Crushing sound \m/

I like it when good things happen for good people. 🤘