What Solar Guitars Are Doing Is........ 

Fun fact: Sega (the games company) did a similar thing in Brazil for the very same reason. Consoles were taxed and priced to high for most consumers, so Tectoy (another toy and games company) made and distributed their own versions of Sega consoles (with Sega's input and approval). And they even got a bunch of stuff that wasn't released elsewhere.

Great video! One thing about average wage in Brazil: official government data says it's actually around 2900 BRL per month, and not 8500 BRL. Many other companies that gather this kind of data say it's around 2900 BRL too. A brand new Epiphone standard cost something like 6000 BRL here, over four times the minimum wage

The S series by Solar is actually available in my country now, too (Philippines). I'm surprised it came here too, but in hindsight it's a brilliant move. Lots of talented, passionate musicians here who gig and record with budget guitars or simply don't have the budgets for top-line guitars. Ola tapping into markets like these is awesome, I actually wanna try one for myself even after trying real Solars.

I live in Brazil and guitar prices are completely ABSURD. Nowadays I don´t buy guitars anymore, I just assemble them by mixing bought parts from local luthiers, Malagoli pickups (which are great btw) and Wilkinson hardware. I spend 30% to 40% of what I would spend on a branded guitar and it's also a fun way to learn and experiment with the process.

I moved from Chile to Ireland two weeks ago. I was so suprised to see the price tags here that I had to get a Charvel that had been on my mind since 2021 for about 400 euros cheaper than the same model in South America, which is pretty crazy when you think about it since these are made in Mexico.

It really is a great idea. Ola understands that not all of his fans across the world can afford a Solar guitar. Even though us Europeans see the prices of the Solar guitars as quite competitive, people living in less wealthy countries might still never be able to afford one. Smart business move, and wholesome at the same time.

Some considerations: - Rule of thumb, "normal" prices here in Brazil are considered USD * 10, so, using this PRS as example, a "good" price would be 7K BRL. - The import tax is one of the taxes that we pay. Currently is 60% import + 17% ICMS (our 'state' VAT). The problem is that the ICMS is calculated a little different. The ICMS is calculated after all the other taxes, incluing shipping fees. The actual calculation is: PRICE / 1 - % of ICMS. Basically, we would pay 92% of the PRICE + Shipping, if we import this model from sweetwater, costing actually less than buying from the place that you show. Companies have a lower rate, but they pay other taxes. - The minimum wage here is 1320 BRL. The medium wage here is something around 2600 BRL. 90% of the whole population earns less than 3000 BRL. 8500 BRL monthly is a very difficult salary to get, even if you have a degree and a lot of experience.

Great video man, but the reality here in Brazil is actually a lot worse... the avarage salary is about 2k BRL, which is around 400 USD, it's actually a really small percentage of people who earn more than 5k BRL, they are considered the "middle class" by the majority of the population. So yeah... it's preatty bad. That's why Brazillian brands, specially Tagima, have such a great importance here, even more if you consider the price they go for, which is way more affordable for us, just like you've said on the video.

With ya on all of this, super cool and would love to see more of it!

Thats a very nice move from Solar , giving everyone an opportunity to play a pointy metal guitar.

"OH SHIT ! THIS KID GONNA GO ALL ROB CHAPAN ON ME !"-Ola

Your latest video on emerald guitars was fantastic! That short scale 12 string is super cool! I’ve always loved that they have lefties in mind- we’ve gotten enough shade from the big guys!

Hey KDH, great vid! I know people already corrected you about the wages in Brazil, but I'd like to give some additional insights. Our minimum wage currently sits at R$1320. 70% of all formal professionals in Brazil receive up to 2 minimum wages, that being R$2640. That means more than 65 MILLION people in Brazil receive that and I hope this illustrates the breadth of the issue. Also, we have a credit based economy that was installed to give people the illusion of wealth by allowing them to pay instalments instead of full prices. So the average Brazilian is sunk in debt and will usually spend all that salary as soon as its received to pay bills and credit card debt. That means even a budget guitar such as the one you've shown will be a 12 month affair for the average Brazilian. So it's even more of a commitment than it looks. That being said, I agree 100% with your point that region locked brands and industries would help A LOT and Ola is a genius for it!

Oh sweet summer child, have you checked the prices here in Argentina? Brasil’s economy is like a paradise to us.

Ola continues to show his business savvy. He’s earned and deserves every cent he’s made.

Dude, my dad is so guilty of this. He's been obsessed with finding a fake Gibson for months now. I've been able to talk him out of it for now. He just bought an Epiphone Les Paul custom. It's beautiful. It plays fantastic. He literally currently has a microfiber cloth covering the Epiphone logo on it as it sits on it's stand....

Ola gets it. Solar is cool. More power to them. When i lived in Brasil, a friend of mine played a Baretta and explained to me that it took him months to budget for it and actually find one when he had the money. 9 years of college later I could explain taxes and tariffs and how theyre supposed to work (but mostly dont), but...just take me on my word that sometimes youre just shit outta luck depending on geography regarding your purchasing power. So, Solar just became native, Brasileiros now can make and enjoy their guitars. As it happens, Brasileiros are pretty good at making stuff. Maybe this little endeavor will still be cranking out Solar guitars 40 years after Ola croaks, just like how Brasil kept making Volkswagen Beetles up to the 2000s.

I was actually thinking they should do that 3 days ago .... I'm glad they did !!

BRAZIL MENTIONED! Thanks for doing the research on Brazil's retail prices. Even though the import taxes are THAT high, the domestic commercial taxes are REALLY high too. It's a real pain in the ass buying gear over here. The worst thing is the devaluation of the currency on the last 10 years or so. In 2012, we had one USD going for BRL1,50. We just recently were able to get one dollar for less than BRL5,00. The pandemic was tough, but especially the last government (2019-2022) economic policy focused on raising the exchange value of the dolar for investment reasons, not the benefit of the population, IMO. Solar is doing the best thing possible to get their product to the masses. The next step would be being their own distributor in each country, instead of using third party companies for that. BTW, for the price of a PRS silver sky SE, you can get a custom shop quality instrument made in Brazil with our local luthiers. There's a factory called Klingen that makes Suhr-level guitars for 1.5x the price of that PRS SE. Check them out!

KDH, thank you for this. I have commented many times on this special quirk in Brazil and other places. Taxes, distance, materials and the special "brazil factor" i.e. status symbol due to purchase power by the better off are massive factors in the disproportionate prices for imported goods. Some people are prepared to pay 70 to 80,000 reals for a top end Gibson that would be worth 10k or less in the US. These items become investment products and not necessary for playing , unfortunately.

I'm Brazilian and I didn't know this was happening! Thanks for covering it

Another great post, thank you. I'm actually surprised, I would have thought most counterfeit guitars were bought by people being naive and getting ripped off.

Tax in Sri Lanka where I live is 52%. 😥 Granted its not as bad as it is in Brazil, but when the local dealers get to it, the price is about 60% more than American retail. 😥

I immediately thought of Tainá from Crypta. I'm sure there's help with artist pricing for her already, but I'm sure this is something she'd appreciate as a Solar artist and having even an offshoot of her endorsed brand available in Brazil. Really puts into perspective just how expensive those guitars must've been for her which isn't something I'd thought about without this. And, being a Brazilian band that is doing super well lately, I wouldn't be surprised to see her using the S line in the future not just for her own expense but for really, really solid marketing.

dude, your lighting !!! your face is blown out and reflection in your lenses!!! cheers !

This is dope, makes me wanna give their brand a try

Thanksman, I didn't know about this solar line of guitar, helped me pick my next axe

Excellent video, man.

Thanks for bringing this to light

good lord, that title scared me for a second there, thought Ola had done a kiesel for a moment, but thankfully this is good news.

Yo KDH, can I please get input on a problem I have man... I ordered a esp ltd arrow 200, with the intention to upgrade, and I'm debating on what the most useful thing will be to me, whether it be installing actives to accommodate my metal taste, new studio monitors to overall improve sound, or the dreadful decision to upgrade some of the faulty Korean made hardware like the already broken 3 way toggle switch, any thoughts?

Fascinating. Thanks. Peace

i live in chile, south america, where guitars are almost 3 times more expensive (specially budget guitars and budget amps) and that makes two brands called Epic Chile and Freeman Guitars, both terrible manufacture and bad guitars in general, being the main guitar brands owned, which is really sad considering some of this guitars after a year just, stop working, either because of the neck having nut problems or the electronics just dying, i literally had to replace the neck (yes, it was cheaper than a new guitar but not for much) my amp it's a Fender Champion 40 which in the US is less than 250 dollars (i think) and here was bought at 350 dollars, and it happens with other brands, Epiphone 200 dollars guitar are sold at almost 500 dollars, squiers that are at 150 dollars are sold at 250-300 dollars (unironically the least expensive options out there) harley bentons are sold at a straight up x2.5 price, most Laney, Vox and Orange amps are sold at x3 of the original price and i can go and on for minutes, it's a really shitty situation

Solar seems cool. Never tried one, but they seem to be doing cool stuff.

Great vídeo!

Great one man. Looking forward to trying one of Ola's budget priced guitars. I live in the USA so probably won't be any shops selling them. Would have to order one to try and pay shipping fees just to play one. I'll wait for a few reviews when these come out before buying one. Hope they are great! Good reporting on this brother!😊

The sad thing is that Australia is in a similar boat. A Gibson Dave Mustaine Flying V is $5500.

I was a bit worried when I first clicked. But, glad I watched all the way through. It's really awesome that Solar is doing such reasonable prices.

Solar seems to be a down to earth company. How can it not be with the ultimate metal Swede as owner, Ola Englund! Music for the people, by the people. Not more money to the sorporate greed which many bigger companies seems to live by, the customer suffers. Good on Solar!

Regional pricing tends to mean rich countries can import for far less than buying locally, destroying overall profit margin.

How do they do it? Do they open a factory on-site?

I must hear you say “budget” more often. Your accent is brilliant!

what's that blue guitar in the back?

brazil mentioned!!!!! 🇧🇷😎🇧🇷😎🇧🇷😎🇧🇷

Great video.

ngl i´d love to have the chance to get a budget Solar. i hope the demand gets high enough that they´ll become available world wide.

Localization is always a great idea to me. Whether it be games or guitars, spread the love!

I've seen a few products marketed specifically for the Brazilian market, I always wondered why they seemed to be the only South American country getting this, now it's making sense. Good video pal.

I’m an American living in Brazil 🇧🇷 actually. I think it’s cool that Solar is trying to make more affordable guitars. I have only played one Tagima guitar in my life which is from their Memphis Series (I have no idea the year since I bought it 2nd hand at a guitar shop here for around BR$1,000). The minimum wage in Brazil is actually BR$1,302 reais per month though man not 8,560 BRL as google stated more for people in super high paying jobs. Most jobs here in Brazil are BRL 1,302. I’m currently an English Teacher online over here and even I don’t make 1,302 reais a month man hahahah. So, it technically would take many Brazilians months to years to be able to afford a 8K Reais guitar. I do agree with you on the taxes here in Brazil being a lot. I have lived here for almost two years now and they are absolutely outrageous. Had my dad from the U.S. send me my focusrite solo, beyerdynamic headphones, Akai MPK Mini Keyboard (that were all pretty much used by the way) and the customs over here held it until I paid them nearly 700 reais just to be able to have them send it to the house where me and my wife live here in Brazil. Absurd.

As a brazilian: you got pretty close, but things are actually worse. A couple months ago the state created a import law that taxes all products over 50 dollars by 92% ... *cries in brazilian So that's why some things are REALLY expensive now. We do have Tagima as you have shown, but it varies from R$900 all the way up to R$1300 (267 dollars) to get the base model wich doesn't even have scale made from real wood (it is some kind of resin). Ironically it's called the ''woodstock'' series. The ''Brasil'' series are better quality but actually costs around 550 dollars, some models up to 800 dollars. S by Solar is very much doing miracles if the quality matches the price!! Thank you for the great vid, as always

I just compared the prices for the SE in Australia and the price actually does look same as the US after conversion which is actually surprising, Gibson on the other hand likes to throw in a 30% increase for us

Your the best mate hi from Montreal Canada 🇨🇦

Nice to see some more positive videos

that is a great idea, they need to hit that $300 budget guitar. that would open up the market to killer intro instruments. Fender/ Squire has had the "bullet" guitar for years, this could be the new gen squire.

There is always room in every video for a cat appearance. Liked for Gingy.

yeah thats a fucking nightmare in brazil. I went to a guitar store there and asked where all the gibsons and american fenders are and the guy said that they dont stock them because no one is able to afford it anyway...

That explains why I had a dude buy my sun valley shredder a few years ago and didn't care that it was $110 in shipping.

The reason why more companies don't do this is because in most countries the prices are already "geolocked" in that they use only 1 official distributor. The difference being most countries don't have exorbitant import taxes so if the locked prices are too high people import them privately

Here in Australia we pay a fair bit more for guitars too But it always stands out to me how much guitars are in Japan A quick look at reverb and eBay Ormsby guitars are more than double there what we pay here in Australia

How do they cut the prices, is it just cheaper build quality/parts or are they able to open factories in the countries they wish to sell in to avoid import taxes? KDH come to brasil

Here in morocco we have often relied on relatives coming for Europe to get our hands on guitars. There is a few shops now that import guitars but the choice is very limited.

Awesome!

That's some real shit right there. Guitar and music gear in general prices in Brazil are beyond crazy. They've always been that way, but it's currently probably the worst it's been in a long, long time.

Hell, even the Big Mac has different prices all over the Netherlands and it's a small country S by Solar seems to be pretty cool

one information for you: 8000 Reais is considered a very good wage in Brazil. 90% of people in Brazil make less than 3400 a month.

Thanks for bringing this up. Please keep in mind, 60% import tax if you import via government services (national post office or through sea ports). If you want use private companies like Fedex and such, import tax goes to 100% of the product original value + shipment cost summed. =)

I'm from Mexico, and indeed, similarly, we are paying the same product + 20% import tax, +16% Added Value Tax or the equivalent of sales tax for all you Americans... and no.. Mexican made Fenders EVH's and Charvels are not cheaper just because they are made locally, we get them at the same proportional price as they are in USD + taxes... and yes, the financial power is proportionally not the same. This is a brilliant move to actually offer budget models in places where they are truly needed at.

I’ve wondered about these guitars. I’d love for a RU-vidr to get hold of an S by Solar (perhaps even a few) to compare to the main Solar line. It would be interesting to see if/where they’re cutting corners. S by Solar has existed for some time yet I can’t find any examples online anywhere. Would be great if a RU-vidr could arrange to get a few models from S by Solar. Honestly, I don’t think this should be a regional thing. Solar and other brands should do this worldwide. People who want the main line will still buy it. The rest who can’t afford it will have another option that’s likely a much better quality than Chibsons because it will go through a much stricter QA process (at least where Solar is concerned). Counterfeits and knockoffs are a worldwide problem that would be largely eliminated if legit brands did this sort of thing everywhere. I am hoping Solar will extend this line to the US in the future - and that other companies will follow suit.

This is good. This is VERY good. Solar has my full support. Now, let's see if other brands might find this useful. So what do you say, Gibson and Fender? Are you up for a challenge?

I see you can buy them online in Europe aswell I set one up for a customer really nice guitar

Lv the videos how about Black Friday rip-off I've been keeping an eye on a boss chorus pedal though I'd wait till the bf sales and there it was saying great deal but it's the same price As 3 months ago how's that a deal? Maybe something you could investigate?

Solar came to Brazil!

Budget guitars have come so far, it's crazy. I have a squier VM jazzmaster and it's my main instrument right now just because it plays so well.

Yesss so right in Australia it's the same - to get even a Mexican made fender is 2.3 aus dollars

2:03 Ermegeerd, kitty time!

Great!

It's the same in India lol, the insane markup on what will be considered as midrange guitars in the US makes them premium for us. Hopefully S launches in India too.

I can really relate to this video, Fenders and other big guitar brands are twice as expensive here in Guatemala as they are in the US, and yeah… salaries are a joke here. Having hobbies is expensive in Latam sadly.

My god the title got me worried 😅

Yea geographic pricing is messed up, it’s one thing if it’s cheaper because of shipping but it’s another to charge one customer more because you perceive they make more money so you make them buy a part of somebody else’s guitar.

3:09 I'm pretty sure the average salary is WAY lower than this. For example, this would be the month's salary of a Senior Web Developer. The monthly minimum wage here is R$ 1320, and I believe the average Brazilian salary is just a bit above that. So it wouldn't be just over a month of salary savings to buy a Silver Sky SE, it would be almost a YEAR of salary savings, without expending much

I legit almost cried when I saw the announcement of S by Solar a couple months ago and that Brazil was one of the main countries they'd be available in, as you showed it yourself, guitars are REALLY expensive here! Now I can finally dream of being able to actually afford a 7 string guitar lol. You talked about the average wage, but if we bring that to minimum wage, it gets even crazier. Here in Brazil, more than 70% of the population earns at MOST 2x the minimum wage here (it's currently at R$1320,00. So most people live with R$2640,00 at best, which makes it around $540.00). Someone that earns R$8000,00 is almost making it to the top 5% of richest people in the WHOLE country (the top 5% most rich population here currently makes R$10.000,00 or more), so the average wage isn't actually average at all if we consider how much money most of the population actually earns. It's agregious. Ola really understood that from the times he visited and I'm so glad he came up with S by Solar!

For a very short period of time there were even Brazilian made Fender guitars. Made by Gianni guitars from Sao Paulo.

Solar and Ola seems like cool company but the aesthetic isnt for everyone.

That's a good move!

Gin-gy aggressive lick at 2:03 is hilarious

In addition to the taxes, the difference in the value of the currencies can be also a suck when paying, if the currency in your country is not dollar/euro.

More Ginger! What a handsome cat - he seems a real character too! 😽

Just to add another piece of information that illustrates how imports here in Brazil are a bit of a madness: indeed, the tax is 60%, which is already outrageous. However, this only applies if the product is sent through the regular, state-owned postal service. If the product is sent through a service like DHL, FedEx, UPS, these companies not only charge fees (which are not very significant), but they also have to pay additional state taxes on top of the 60% federal tax. So, the total can end up being approximately 100%. Yes, we buy a product and end up paying DOUBLE.

It would make even more sense to have one of the brasilian manufacturers license produce the guitars to push the prices down even further seeing as there is a local industry.

Holy $HIT! I'm buying a pallet of SEs and going to Brazil!

mate i live in brazil and i've used the example of the silver sky as the most nonsense deal to one of my friends hours before you release the video. I'm quite surprised by the coincidence, or maybe this is the most ludicrous example at the moment. Thankfully i still have nice guitars and their prices hold up VERY well, but you have to grind to be able to afford them.

Hopefully they make them available in more countries of South America.

Here in Argetina the same PRS Silver Sky SE costs around 1.4 million pesos (~1400 USD) and the average salary is around 250k pesos (~250 usd). This means that, for the average worker, buying one equals to almost 6 months of work, assuming you don't use your money somewhere else... like buying food or paying rent. Do not look at the exchange rate shown in Google and the majority of websites, that rate (1 USD = 370 ARS) is only available to certain parties/companies. The real exchange rate, as of today, for the average citizen is closer to 1 USD = 1000 ARS.

Really interested if they do a launch in India. Cort guitars are really good anyways and are very popular over here, cheap but not in the quality usually, and most of these budget brands are manufactured at the same Indonesia Cort factory ig

It's a great thing for these less affluent markets it will however also create grey export.

Just out of curiosit, fender tryed this in south america with the Fender SouthernCross, with guitars made in Brazil. It was in the beggining of the 90s. But soon it ended cause brazil's importation was open again and ouer currency was on par woith dolar, so it was easy to import. To be honest, guitar prices in Brazil were not that bad, but after the covid thing, everything was skyhocket and still is damn high.

I like that Gretsch has high end guitars and cheaper guitars still under the gretsch name

There's an indie game developper that does the exact same thing, 65% of the total sale comes from Brazil

You're right. I am American but lived in Brazil from 2017 to 2022. ANYTHING imported is astronomically high. Plus their currency is very weak compared to the dollar so it feels like you're paying about 5x the price of certain things. ON THE FLIPSIDE, getting things built in Brazil aren't expensive. I had an unbelievable guitar custom built there for what's equivalent to $750 usd . I have builder friends here in the US that told me that would charge atleast $4000-5000 for the same guitar. I absolutely love Brazil though