Solar was cool enough to give me an affiliate link! If you are interested in Solar, click here. It doesn't cost you anything! www.solar-guitars.com/#ae23
Ola is a smart man. Yes he comes across zany in his YT videos but you can be assured that he is putting every last ounce of his soul into each and every one of these guitars. Appreciate the honest review of this guitar dude, actually your review scores a 10/10 so keep up the brilliant work!!
I got this one last December, and to me, it is the Guitar of Everything. My particular unit was a slashed price B-stock due to a ding on the tip of one of the wings, which I really had to look for to even notice. Moreover, that dent was repaired beforehand, and mentioned as repaired on the store page's description, so it's basically a non-issue. This should give anyone at least some indication what level of build, service, dedication and care to expect from Solar.
Not many Solars come with even a soft gig bag. It's actually the one thing that has kept me away from them. Any guitar over 1200 should have at least a soft case
@johndo9648 nah, I'm over greed man. There is no reason for a guitar ranging 1200-1500 to come with absolutely no case at all. Aristides is another prime example. Guitars that cost 4k-7k and they come in fuckin soft gig bags. Hell no. I'll quit before I ever go along with that
I recently got a couple of Solars with Evertune bridges - I usually play Floyds - and I really, REALLY like the Evertunes. It DOES take a little getting used to to get it adjusted to where the bends feel natural - I had to live with it for about a week til I felt like I'd really gotten it dialed in - but now it's absolutely second-nature and I LOVE it. And the Solar guitars in general are OUTSTANDING.
I can confirm they don't come all in bags, my friend and I bought from the outlet, he had one, me not (two years between though). But it's usually stated with the guitar if there's a bag or not. I also played EMG 81's for decades (first thing I did when getting a new guitar :D), but not with the Solar... it even has more output than the EMG, probably because the EMG also "compresses" the signal
Solar is the most suprized I've ever been by a guitar. I ordered a TBR v, on looks alone. It's an AWESOME guitar. Also, I have to say, the blacksmith strings that come on their guitars, are very good. That's coming from a strictly Ernie ball guy. Enjoy brother! 🤘
I think it's just gonna take some getting used to. The first time I played on it after putting new strings on, it felt totally alien, but after a while I've gotten used to the feel. Now it's just a matter of fine tuning the bending allowance.
I recently picked up a Solar 1.6FRC+ and totally agree with you on the output jack placement. Might consider swapping out the high gain Solar Humbucker… other than that a great guitar. I cancelled my LTD Arrow 1000 which was on order for 14 months…very happy I did … love those stainless steel frets and overall quality of the guitar 🤘🔥🤘
Wholeheartedly agree that Solar has upped the degree of which you expect, hey premium features have a (in this case) slightly higher cost! Now for what you're getting I think they are well worth what you're paying! (Just saying) Yep, I went there!👏🌞
I have to agree regarding the output jack placement. Would drive me & my balls nuts!! coming from the Rhoads/SV shapes, I'd do the same if I ever get one. Great review as always!!
You commented about affordable guitars that do not exist in the 500-600 price range. Harley Benton sells guitars in that price range with all of the features of a very expensive guitar (locking tuners, roasted maple neck, stainless steel frets and many more).
My biggest problem with the solar V is that the pickups are screwed straight into the guitars body without any springs or foam for resistance. Due to this you can't lower the pickup and if you want to increase the height, the pickup doesn't stay in position, it starts to wobble. In order to solve this, I guess I would have to take all the strings of the guitar and put foam under the pickup to get resistance. This sucks, raising the pickups should not require all this work. I'm not even sure if I want to keep it, so I don't want to start messing around with it, and it needs to be returned within 14 days.
Unless you use whammy, once you go evertune you wont go back. I use a 7 and 8 strings with evertunes exclusively at this point, and its a F'ing god send. The fact that once you are used to the system it takes maybe 3-5 minutes to put in, clip and lock in a string and then its in, and probably won't detune until it breaks. Oh, and not to mention for in the studio, it is simply amazing. Hails from a smidge down south in the Euge.
Exactly this, that's why I got one with a Floyd and one with an Evertune. I'll never buy another fixed bridge again, I only have to tune it when I change strings, and even then, it's not much. Best piece of guitar tech to come out in a long time, in my opinion.
Yeah not many shops carry them unfortunately.. I think the future of guitar buying might be some sort of augmented reality thing anyways, like what fender is doing on their site.
@@TaylorDanley I agree, still nothing like trying them out, I bought a Jericho Fusion after reading all the videos and reading up on stats, they have horrible service, but build awesome guitars and I was really pleased, Evertune 26" scale neck through, SS frets, splittable Seymour Duncans!
The Jack placement is a deal breaker I shouldn't have to pay extra to have it rerouted on a $1300 guitar my Jackson rr3 Rhoads guitar has it right and it cost me 1/4 the price and still had Seymour Duncan jazz JB pickups granted no stainless frets locking tuners or neck thru option or off ect but I could add some of those parts in and still come out under half this price
Been looking at the Schecter V-1 Apocalypse. Have you checked one out yet? It's very similar to the solar and about the same price. Do you prefer one or the other?
I'm getting the natural wood version with evertune Friday in a trade for my Jackson monarkh pro and 650 cash (Canadian). So stoked V are not my normal taste but fuck it I want a solar evertune!
A good budget guitar is a Yamaha Pacifica. You just need to swap the pickups and it's a very decent guitar. Yamaha has excellent quality control and you'd be surprised at the quality of wood they use on their lower end models. Just look at a yamaha guitar factory tour, they are masters of perfection.
This. Pacifica's are hugely underrated guitars, especially the midrange ones. Absolutely incredibly craftsmanship on them. I'd love to play one of the high end ones one day. The lower end ones can be had for basically nothing, throw in some Iron Gear pickups and you've got a quality guitar that sounds amazing and still costs a lot less than anything else comparable
Neck looks pretty wide on this thing. What's the nut width? Also, any cracks in fretboard? Heard these guitars have that problem. Ola really needs to work on getting some company here in the US like Sweetwater to carry these so that they can be tried and returned if necessary without costing an arm and leg.
Hey bro! nice review! you know whats better than the gig review itself? Its the way you toss the strings packets on the floor without hesitation~ lol! i'll be killed over a thousand times from my wife~ hahaha
You aren’t kidding when you say the days of finding mid range guitars are $600 are long gone. My first “real” guitar my dad bought me was a Used Jackson EX Rhoads for about $500 back in the mid-late 90s. That guitar would literally 💩 on most 1-2K guitars nowadays man. I really have been wanting a Solar V1.6. Vinter but I hate the jack on the bottom wing. Would you mind saving what you paid to have it rerouted? Also, I love Jackson as it was my guitar I choice until Fender bought them, and I bought several USA Selects back in 2014-2015, but I had to send them back due to defects. Has the quality of the Jackson USA Select guitars improved at least half as much as the cost of the current models? I love the feel of the Jackson necks, but I’ll be damned if I’m laying 5K for what is IMO inferior to the ESP Arrow at the same price. None the less, In glad I found your channel, I’ve subscribed, and keep shreddin brotha, and lastly…. HOW MICH YOU WANT TO SELL ME THAT SATAN BRO hahahahaha. Oh, and do you have a code to let Solar know I bought a guitar due to one of your videos?
Royce is a good friend and actually didn't charge me. I don't know what this would cost from a normal luthier, but I imagine it's a couple hours of work. Thanks so much for the kind words! Here's my affiliate link to Solar, I think if you buy anything on the site after clicking the link, I get credit. I have no idea how it works TBH, I just set it up with them a couple days ago! www.solar-guitars.com/#ae23
I love how you went with the Ola. Special. But I really want to know if they sound like that because of the Randal satan. Or because of the guitar. Guitar centers don't carry these. I can't try it out myself.
I think the biggest difference with the Solars for me is the Solar Duncan pickups. They're alnico and have quite a spike in the upper mids. Other than that anything you are going to notice with these guitars is going to be ergonomic and cosmetic.
My Chapman ml3 pro has stainless steel frets n it was same price in 2017. Now everybody may laugh because I have a Chapman. Its a killer guitar honestly.
I have a bad habit of forgetting to stretch new strings. With Evertune this can be pretty annoying, because you’ll bust into a solo at band practice or whatever, and your bends won’t work. Luckily it only takes a few seconds to remedy, but it’s a bummer when you’re in the middle of a song. I love Evertune though. I have a 7 string with one, and hopefully I can score a 6 string with one soon. Another great video. Cheers man!
I think the Mexican Charvels and EVHs for $800-$900 are likely of a similar quality, but you're right overall that prices on most upper-mid range guitars have gone up. It seems like they're trickling back down now that we're seeing deflation and an overall asset bubble pop throughout the entire economy. $1299 is still fair though, even if it is the absolute top level of "fair", in my opinion.
Dude, I just receive an V2.6 solar and it’s very light, is that normal on V type bodies? I have an A2.6 an it’s the double of weight than the V. Great video btw ! 🤘🏼
Hey Taylor, just a quick question. How did you direct mount the EMG pickups onto your other Solar guitar? Isn't the thread of the woodscrews too wide to fit the mounting holes of the EMGs? Thanks in advance!
interesting, i play several axes in C standard - gotta be 12-56 not even slinky set. i can only get to c sharp standard with the 11 beefy set - they got wayyyy to slinky for me at another half step down.
I did drop a pick size as well, but for me it really made things simpler getting used to thinner strings as per the EB recommendation. Especially with FR, the thicker you go, the more you need to modify it with extra springs and whatnot to compensate.
I have seen these in a few videos but can someone tell me what the big red digital numbers in the back right that fluctuate from the 60s to 90s is? Is it a decibal range? Or something else?
I have to apologize... haven't watched your videos much. But.... I remember a different set up behind you. But, that old crate solid state half stack. I had one of those. lol.... man it was rough sounding...eq out the ass made it sound ok.
I often compare guitars to a surgeon's scalpel. You could PROBABLY do the surgery with a 2 dollar steak knife, but it would be a lot easier and more precise with a 1300 dollar razor sharp scalpel. That also depends on your skill, can you take full advantage of that expensive scalpel? or will the job look the same no matter what knife you use?
My only beef with Solar is they have an $800 guitar with a Floyd done by cutting down on the extras a maple fretboard and a bolt on saves too. The thing is they only make one. As an old school guy I would love to see them do their T type guitar single cut to tip toe into Floyd -land. I hate the cattle horns on most Metal guitars.
Yeah, I can understand that. But you gotta think every run they do there is a risk they won't sell all the guitars, so it's smarter to make guitars that appeal to a broader group of people.... maybe they'll have a custom shop one day! 👀
@@TaylorDanley They just open a Custom shop in the UK and the prices are thru the roof ,lol. Another thing. I am talking about their entry level $800 model which has a problem of availability not a problem becoming dead stock. Bolting on different body style is not a big deal. The most it costs is reprograming the CNC machine. even if they bring in a guy to do it the price would not be over $400.00 If they only do 50 pieces they can make money on an $800 guitar. A long story but I've been there and got the T-shirt I've had prototypes done for Guitar store chains that want an in house line of guitars. Again I have notice they do blow out dead stock and it is gone on day one so there is nothing collecting dust.
I agree I gotta start my channel what set up do you have ? What computer etc etc been playing since I’ve been eight im now 42 so I can rip but don’t understand the recording process on laptop or computer and would love gain little knowledge I just want to be able to get something I get get gold dear metal drum beat out of
Good day to you Sir! Thinking that your man-cave is ... dreamy! Lol okay that sounds girlie. There is nothing feminine about your office and gonna borrow some elements as I plan my next home practice room.