I own three Solars. Two of them are two years old now. Fortunately no signs of cracks on the fretboard. No tuning issues either but I have a Floyd Rose on two of them and an Evertune on the other. So that solves that problem. Overall no complaints. Super easy to play, nice sound and look great.
Use a mechanical pencil on the nut slots. The graphite in the pencil lead will help lubricate the nut slot. I learned that from Ryan "Fluff" (Riffs, Beards & Gear RUclipsr). It works.
No, do not do this. It’s all fun and games until the humidity in the air clumps all that shit up and makes the problem even worse. Get some oil for it instead.
I bought V1.6 Canibalismo, really beautiful guitar V-Model. 2023 model. Pros: -frets were silky smooth. -looks. -evertune. -locking tuners. -pots and switches (good stuff). -feel of the neck. -nut. Cons : -pickups vs SD/EMG etc, Solar Pups were quiet with no sustain or gain, especially that gain with lifeless overall sound . -string alignment issue (6th string almost outta fretboard from 21 to 24 frets). The whole Evertune cavity was installed too much to the side. -coated oxidation preventing factory strings were rusted and 2 of em snapped right away, no biggie tho, it's just strings but bad name for Blacksmith string-brand. -Fretboard had red paint here n there (residue and such) -Fretboard had cracks thru the frets. -Fretboard sides were pushed outwards cracking the fretboard (like installing stainless steel frets would cause the sides to pop out and crack). -There was something which looked like Indian ink here and there on fretboard, have no idea what it was but as the ebony was very light at color (cheap eben i suspect) , you could see the black ink on the fretboard without much light. -Solar logo starts from fret 11 and continues to fret 15 which is weirdly lower than in pictures. -Solar logo started to faint/peel off within the 3 weeks i had the guitar. -other minor cosmetic issues i have with Harley Bentons and cheapest Jacksons. It's darn shame the guitar is designed so well in paper , has potential with expensive and complex EverTune system, Stainless steel frets and so on, basically awesome looks, but destroyed with such a poor build quality,. Im dazzled,. I mean,. If you make this stuff for 1199€ and use all the materials, at least use some time to make it to do its main job or don't waste the materials at all. I believe and want to believe Solar can make quality instrument if it wants, the parts are there to build it up, only fretboard material is too cheap but it can be addressed and use some more time to not mess all the cool Swamp Ash, EverTune etc to something unplayable which peeps wants ro return. I returned the guitar since it was unplayable and unusable as a instrument. Ola being just a businessman nowadays?, profit over anything else? The company is hush hush about all this.
Any guitar can do well with a professional setup. The nut slots won't be perfect, regardless who makes it. I wouldn't put Vaseline in the slots, but maybe graphite from a pencil. That'll help bind. The reason there is the ringing behind the nut is the string angle heading to the nut on a reverse headstock without any string trees. That'll happen on any guitar if you don't do something to change the string angle headed to the nut. Even my Suhrs do that. The only real issue on that guitar is the cracked fingerboard, which is absolutely unacceptable. I don't care where you live.
Yeah, i live in Australia [it gets really hot and dry here in the southern parts] and have ebony fretboards that are nearly 20 years old. Cracking like this has never been an issue here. Even when made in japan and delivered here to Melbourne, Australia. Solar really dropped the ball on that one.
@Just J You missed my point. I realise these are made in china. The climate difference is smaller, so humidity change is never an issue. The difference in humidity is however bigger; going from Japan to Australia and yet never been an issue with ebony with Japanese guitars. Is that a bit clearer?
Very reasonable review. My friend has a 6 and 7 by them and they sound great. Haven’t heard of crack issues but this is my first review I’ve seen. Definitely a problem they need to address.
I've built a dozen guitars with ebony fretboards. It is not a difficult wood to work with. It routes easily, it sands easily. As far as I'm concerned it's great to work with. The only reason I can think a fretboard might crack is when it is less than 3/16" thick. If it's too thin the clamping pressure could crack the board.
First and second issues can be fixed, something that I can still accept. However, the cracked fretboards issues are purely unacceptable especially at that mid range price point. I have 2 Ibanez Gio and none of those had cracked fretboards. The fact that this is still not being addressed by Ola makes it even more frustrating. I’ll never buy Solar until they rectify this issue, I’d rather buy an LTD or Ibanez.
I bought a solar AB 1.6 in silver. Overall I like the guitar except for the fact that the volume pot arrived scratchy and there is a spot where there is no sound at all. This should not be an issue for a guitar in this price range and because of that I wont recommend or buy another solar guitar. Edit: I sold it and bought a kiesel with a floyd rose, its much more stable and the fret ends feel way nicer. I also wished the solar pickups had higher output.
Issues 1 and 2, are not really serious problems. Because it is something that normally happens when you don't have much knowledge of your instrument, and its basic settings. For example : 1) The tuning issues that you mention are very common in guitars of all prices, be it high-end ESP for 4k USD, or LTD mid-range for 800 USD. Due to the nut, which is almost always made of plastic or bone, with a graphtech black tusq XL, in addition to filing the grooves, which are the exact thickness of each string, otherwise, the nut would act as a clamp, which it retains the free movement of the string, getting stuck in the grooves and causing tuning problems. You must leave the height of the nut at about 0.5 mm Low E and 0.4 mm hight e, this measurement is taken from the bottom of the string, to the top of the first fret, thus you achieve that play in the first frets is super soft, comfortable, and your notes are not sharp due to extreme pressure on the string and bend unnecessarily. You should also stretch the strings several times and tune each time, when using a new set, so that the strings sit well, and there are no tuning problems, also tighten the upper part of the locking tuners very well, which are sometimes somewhat loose. , and allow the String to move out of place. When putting yours strings, allow them to go more than half a turn when tuning, for better stability. Intonate well your guitar, that the note of the open string, is the same as in the 12th fret, using strobe Tuner of 0.1 cent of accuracy, and leaves a mid action of about 2mm in low E and 1.5 in high e in 12th fret. Lower the height of your Pickups so they don't pull the strings and interfere with your intonating setting. If you do everything I tell you, all your tuning problems will disappear. 2) ringing noise is something that 95% of guitarists know is normal in no lock nuts, so it is solved with a simple hair band, foam, tape, or whatever you want to place behind the nut, and mute the vibration of the strings, therefore it is not an issue at all. * What if I think it is serious, and the only real problem you have, is the cracked board, that is unjustifiable, and should Ola Englund respond to their customers for that. Although oiled 2 times a year the ebony fretboard with lemon oil is not bad, it shouldn't happen anyway.
Thanks for tip 1, I though that my guitar could have some problems with locking tooners because it's cheap or something like that. But yeah the issue really came when I started to use thicker strings. And I was thinking that maybe they are too lose to hold the tune. i haven't oiled my guitar for like 3 years and the fretboard just got some white stuff beetwen small lines that wood have on fretboard, that could be my worn of skin XD, but other than that it's perfectly fine. i wanted to oil it 3 months earlier but I don't want to take of strings out, oil fretboard and set the same strings again, I'm waiting to one of them to break then I will oil it and put new set of strings, but they just don't want ot break xD, and the worst part is that I thrown away the box of the strings so i don't know what kind of magic strings I got that don't want ot break. I just everytime after playing cleaning them with tissue to get away most of the fat from fingers to not let them get rust quicker and break faster.
@@WarframeCrunch OK no problem. I am glad that it has been of help to you, for that we are to help each other as much as we can. There are many myths about the electric guitar, too much misinformation, which hurts many musicians, making them believe that if they do not spend 4k USD on a guitar they cannot have a quality product and it is not true. With the number of guitars we currently have at our disposal, it is impossible not to have a great guitar for 800 to 1,200.
Great point. I bought a "Mitchell" from guitar center that had tuning issues. I purchased a 140.00 set of ratio locking tuners and it didn't do a thing for the tuning. After painful diagnosis I figured out that the nut was clamping the string and the strings were actually digging through the nut over time causing the intonation to fail. After realizing this I purchased a graphtech nut and installed it myself in 10 minutes. Tuning stability is great now and the intonation is as close to dead on as it can be. This is a Chinese made guitar that cost 200.00 and I would put it up against a thousand dollar guitar now for playability and tuning stability. 12.00 could be standing between you and your happiness. Thanks for the comment though because most don't know these things and after playing guitar for 30 years I just learned it myself.
@@rezolution6272 Yes, I know what you're talking about. I also had to spend a lot of time, trial and error, to really realize where each of the problems I described lay, and solve them myself. I was never one of those who left all the responsibility to a luthier, since never one of them will adjust our guitars, just as we wanted them. The only way is to learn as much as we can, and adjust them ourselves to our personal taste. That's why I want to share all those tips, and avoid so many people talking S*** about low cost guitars, which are not bad, but those who buy them do not know how to adjust them, and that they also know that even 4k guitars have those same "PROBLEMS, IF YOU CAN CALL THEM THAT".
I recently bought a S1.6FR. I couldn't move pickups' screws to set their height (I tried all 4 of them, both sides). My luthier solved this problem but it took him half a day. He said that there are a lot of holes underneath pickups like they tried to mount them a couple of times and finally shot the screws instead of screw them in. Also frets had to be polished in order to make a proper setup possible. Not to mention about loose tone pot and input jack.
I think for the ringing, take the backplate off, take the springs out and thread some cutout sponge through, normally it's the springs with vibrate, it happens on my Stratocaster, but if it doesn't have springs which is normally for a whammy/tremolo bar then I'm not sure.
Good honest review I bought the vinter last month before I heard of the issues, it's due next month I'm hoping i don't have any problems the guitar looks stunning fingers crossed mine will be good.
@@thedude7726 not received yet shipment was delayed until July 5th today I've emailed to ask if the shipment has arrived today but not had a reply yet from them.
Then they need to change the headstock lol. It's a dealbreaker for me, i return any guitar with ringing noises regardless of how good it is orherwise. Had it on a mij ESP eclipse and on a Mensinger V.
I have a TBR1.7 with the evertune and also a 2.6W. The evertune never needed any adjustment once I set it up correctly. Sits on the wall until I pick it up, sometimes for months and it's still in tune. The 2.6W DID have some tuning issues, however I did order separately the locking tuners and a poor mans way of fixing the nut. Just take the excess string you cut off the end of the tuner and use it as a file. Don't press hard but just rub it back and forth in the corresponding slot with SOME pressure to get it to size and then once it seems free give it slight work with it slightly off center so it's not so much straight like || but rather like )(. Use some graphite (I just used a small amount of light oil like gun oil) and I've never had a problem since. None of mine have cracks in the fretboard to report so I must have got lucky.
Mate, Ive had two solars, first I sent back because of the lacquer peeling and bubbling, second arrived and the volume knob was almost falling out of the guitar, upon tightening it, the tone I got was extremely muddy, and the signal would cut in and out, the middle position on the selector switch didn't work at all. And when I messaged telling them about this I just got ran around in circles, have you tried this? Have you sprayed this, make sure this isn't touching the wood. Like it's my job to do all these things on a brand new guitar that you apparently CQ'd after manufacture and before sending it to me? Gtfo. Despite absolutely loving the shape and playability of solars, I won't ever get another. They can kiss my ass.
I can only say, I own 2 Solars, one bought in 2019, and one bought this year (canibalismo x), both have an evertune, and I don't have any problems whatsoever. So if you consider getting a Solar, maybe get a higher prized model. (Both guitars I bought were around 1400 to 1500 euros).
I had a fantastic experience with my old A2.6, it was a 2019 run I believe. I did have the similar ringing out issue and it's on any guitar that I own with a reverse headstock and no string trees but a jimmy clip or foam gets rid of it. I did widen the nut slots slightly on the Solar (and I do this to every guitar I own) and quite honestly could go a week or two between tuning with the standard hipshot style bridge. I've been looking at buying a new one but the fretboard issue is a concern, I'm unsure if it's only happening to ebony boards or if it's happening to the maple as well. I enjoyed the review and look forward to watching more videos in the future.
Thanks for this video! I was considering buying one because they DO look friggin sick! And I could live with (or fix) the other issues. But cracking fretboards is where I draw the line. BTW... I have a Grestch Malcolm Young and it does the weird ringing out thing too, and it was $2400 USD.
Solar moved their storage facilities in Spain and now QC seems to be more strict. Why don’t you go for it and if this happens to you just return the guitar.
I had to returned 2 guitars to Solar. It’s supoosed they do 3 QC, but i think the speed of business destroyed this super important step specilly the first one in the factory. This could be a potential dearh hurt for Solar. QC are the most important after build a guitar.
I know that this affects mostly ebony fretboards but better do more research to see if the problem exists to your model with those specific kinds of wood you mention.
Shit actually my comment is stupid lol i cant believe some troller or jerk difnt point out that if u have a floyd rose u cant have an evertune and a floyd is a bridge also cant have 2 bridges on 1 guitar right? Lol
I really wanted to get a Solar, but these reports of fretboard cracking are dealbreakers for me. :( I hope you can get it fixed, please update if you do.
Owned an A2.6W guitar that I bought for a really low price since it was B stock. The guitar played great but had some issues with tunning stability. Changing the keys to ones with locking tuners fixed the issue. And for a total amount of 600euros I had a fully functioning and playable guitar. However these days Solars go for for at least 900 (even the B stock) which actually means they'd go head to head with other brands like Schecter, Ibanez, Jackson, Fender, Dean. With this in mind Solar doesn't offer anything additional to what the other companies bring to the table. Besides my guitar was really really good and had no problems with it
One of the most problems of the musicians are the lack of knowledge of the wood of the guitars. Ebony is one of the most painfull wood to work, and is very dry. That is the reason of the crack problems, if you want a ebony fretboard in a guitar you need the oiled or pay more of $2000 for it, when the seller charge you for the time and treatment they need it. Sorry for the honesty!
I've changed tuners into the locking ones but tuning stability is still not acceptable. Next step is to change the saddle. And I always strech string quite hard.
@@JimZarasOfficial I’ve been looking for a guitar that helps keep your back as straight as possible and the right shoulder can stay back, not having to roll it forward as much. Solar seems to have the right cutout on the body. Any suggestions?
put your left leg on something, and keep the guitar inbetween your legs, or buy guitar pads for your leg. Or if you play on your right leg then put your leg on something higher @@Mike-vu7em
First off thanks for your review, they are indeed nice guitars but some do have uncommon issues for a guitar with that price tag. Mine came with a minor, but still a pinhole defect on the satin finish of the neck and the fretboard was so dry it had cracks on all frets from fret sprouting. This prompted me to heavily oil the entire thing right away, and I mean, really soak it, I kept applying oil till it could soak no more, I let it puddle for 30m and then cleaned everything up to a very nice shoe shine. Although tempting I don't think it's fair to compare the 2 guitars unless they are made in the same country, and roughly at the same time of the year, and more importantly, the same wood type, the ESP seems to have a rosewood fingerboard while solar's have ebony fingerboards, ebony is a whole lot harder (read brittle) than rosewood, so they may be more susceptible to dryness damage. Keep up the good work.
It's 500 Euro now on thomann. It looks so nice! Do you experience dryness on the fretboard? Are the playability smooth if it's dry? Do you need to polish the fretboard for a smoother playability?
The playability is very smooth. I didn’t need to polish the fretboard or something. But since I noticed the crack im oiling the fretboard once per month or two months. To be honest the crack is smaller now. Maybe it’s because weather is colder 🤷🏻♂️ weird stuff.
I don't own a solar guitar but I follow ola and he is really big into the evertunes now and putting those on his guitars maybe that's why he loves evertune so much because solars don't stay in tune? Or maybe it's just that one you got who knows. I cant say cuz ive never played a solar. But all my guitars come out of tune more often then i like. About every 4 songs i have to retune both e strings and my g string. The other 3 seem to stay in tune fairly well. All my guitars act this way. I don't own locking tuners or evertuners or locking nut . i don't mind having to slightly tune every 20 minutes or so. Not thst big of deal with a pedal tuner.
Evertune is bigger than just "solar guitar dont stay in tune" It's a revolutionnary bridge that make your guitar never go out of tune, Solar isnt the only brand using it
Or you can risk it and if you got problems you can return it and they will send you another one. I guess they fixed the problems now. Do some more research in Solar discussion groups in Facebook.
It's not a QC problem, they can't see that when they receive it from the factory. It is still a huge problem though because that means that whoever is manufacturing Solar guitars is not drying their ebony wood properly and/or does not have access to quality ebony and work with that they have. In the end it's Solar that looks bad, we as customers are paying for that reality and it's all the builder's fault. Solar should seriously consider abandoning ebony for fretboards, not only is it expensive but it is also very hard to have a reliable source for this wood and even harder to have quality wood supply, humans is brining that tree to extinction like many others.
It is a Qc problem albeit the Qc area is in the material sourcing and preparation part of the life cycle and not the assembly part. Sounds like an outsourcing issue which is really sad because the specs of his guitars are pretty much the exact thing I need!
Thanks for the review!!! Best and most honest. How about the first fret string distance? I have a hunch that the nut is too high and tuning at the first frets is off
@@JimZarasOfficial could you check if the first frets are out of tune as well? I have a hunch that the nut is too high. Usually a problem with indonezian guitars. I took mine to a luthier to file it down and it was indeed a manufacturing fault
if you don't use lemon oil in a ebony fretboard its obiusly gonna crack. thats becouse this kind of wood its extremly easy to crack. for the other issues i recomend you to change the nut for a graphtech or a bone one grettings from chile my friend!
I have a Solar S2.6c. My fretboard and tuners are fine. I did notice a few minor finish details that could have been better. My Schechter is built better I would say. They both cost about the same price. I love my solar though, it plays beautifully. And it sounds great. That's a shame they have these quality control issues. They really do make some beautiful guitars.
I really like my solar even with its flaws. It’s very comfortable to play and i like the sound of the solar pickups. I’m thinking of getting also a second one.
Any follow-up on this video? Did they offer to give you a new one? About the strings ringing from the nut above, it happens to many guitars, especially reverse headstocks. It is quite puzzling to me in 2022 we still get this "defect" from factory guitars when it's an easy fix.
Changing the tuners really help me a lot. But yeah you’ll definitely need to put foam on the top because of the long headstock. I have the Evertune and a regular but the 2.6 I have stayed in tune pretty damn good. I have no cracks yet.... thank god lol Ola is moving his storage unit from Spain to Sweden so hopefully this will improve the QC issues they were having because of COVID
@@JimZarasOfficial yeah I’m sure with COVID it makes everything slower in many ways for running a business. Prior to 2020 Solar didn’t seem to have any major issues like as of late.
@@JimZarasOfficial yeah that’s crazy since you just got it, but Solar is fixing them if you contact them. The warranty book is outdated since this is a new issue.
Where did he mention he’s moving the storage unit to sweden? Yeah, I found out the hard way that apparently long headstocks need behind-the-nut muting the most. First I tried a hair tie, but I settled on electrical tape. I only own one Solar, a 2018 E1.6ETC I got off Reverb for $750 after tax and shipping, plus $100 for Solar locking tuners. Im considering getting a floyd solar.
I wish Ola the best, but his guitar venture may go bust. I checked out the outlet website and I could not believe all the damaged guitars there were listed.
I have guitars 30 years old and many newer guitar I dont understand the boards cracking they just aren't doing them right I live in a camper I. Pennsylvania cold dry winters hot humid summers never had an issue and so e of them have never. Even treated .... but I dont have any ebony boards all rosewood three are Brazilian rosewood makes no sense
@@JimZarasOfficial Rosewood is extremely different from Ebony Ebony is a wood that really doesnt like change of temperature and need way more care than rosewood
Cut the nut slots accordingly. Use a fret wrap to get right of the pinging noise. No guitar will be perfect. I'm very nit picky. I had my PRS set up by PRS themselves and they didn't even cut the nut perfectly. It's a craft and requires some skill. I'm learning to do everything myself to not be dependent on others.
9:38 hold on.. you only oiled the fretboard on that LTD one time ??? 👀 Regardless of your climate, it is really recommended that you oil your fretboard once every 6 months or so. Even it might not be so dry that it cracks it is still a very good idea to oil the fretboard. It will improve the feel and "health" of the fretboard. Besides that, a bottle of Dunlop lemon oil is dirt cheap and last for years and years...
Dang that sucks. Just got mine in the mail today, hope it doesn’t crack. I ordered the s1.6pb and it has these weird perfect circle blemishes on it that clearly don’t belong. Other than that the guitar is beautiful. I emailed them, hopefully they make it right, we’ll see.
Couple of years ago I bought a brand new Chapman for 700 euros, made in Korea. After one month (I couldn’t give it back anymore) the neck was warped. I gave it to a luthier to try levelling the frets. He also told me that the quality of the fretwire was pretty shitty. Good quality, air dried wood is hard to find, I know. But delivering such products it also makes no sense.. The cheap brands should maybe find alternatives, like richlite and 7-11 pieces necks to prevent such problems. Cutting the nut is not easy if someone is clocking you. They should consider a zerofret instead.
I have a 2021 A1.6FB and it has a cracked fretboard, peeling logo, fret sprout....the guitar plays fine still but for how much it cost these issues are unacceptable. I HATE that I wasted money on this. I have close to 20 guitars and they all live in the same environment, same temperature and conditions and they rage all over the price ranges. The Solar is the ONLY one with issues like this. Solars are garbage and I'll never buy another one again.
If you want to avoid cracks in your fretboard.. It really does help to condition the fretboard with Fretboard conditioner from like goby labs or somethin. When a fretboards dry.. it cracks.
Should dry that fast and i have 30 year old guitars with ebony necks that dont need to much love and have no cracks, a few month old guitar should not need a feed on the fretboard.
thanks for sharing the video my solar sucks also i have one with an evertune bridge and i can't get it intonate i've seen every video about how to internate an evertune bridge i've had this guitar for half a year now and never have regretted a guitar so much and believe me i have tried everything to intonate it other strings the string calculator from evertune but nothing really works i haven't had a day of fun with this guitar i don't know what the problem is with this one guitar but i just took my old ibanez with floyd rose out of my closet that is intonate and put my solar in the closet don't want to play it ever again i will never buy a solar again
Damn dude. Can't believe this. Can't believe you have to oil fretboard, it means that my $100 yamaha pacifica is solid and strong lol, never oiled the fretboard from the beginning i own like 10 years from now.
My first guitar was an Hohner guitar which I bought in 1994 about 150$. I had no idea about guitars back then and this guitars has endured the worst as far as climax. Never oiled it, never had it serviced. Guess what. No cracks up until today and no problems in the finish up until today. They only thing it needs is slight rod adjustment which is normal.
@@JimZarasOfficial hahaha so true dude. Never buy an expensive guitar more than $600 until now. I use it live a lot and no idea about oiling the fretboard can't believe how much you should doing maintenence for the guitar. Probably I'll stick with inexpensive guitar bcs its not required that much maintenence
My s1.6 apb is perfect. Plays beautifully and came with an evertune bridge and fishman flunence moderns. Only slight issues ive had which arent even really issues are that for certain tunings with an evertune bridge u have to use certain gauges of stings. But this is more of an evertune issue then that of the guitar itself. Quality wise their is a small area on the back of the neck maybe about half an inch in length where the wood is still a bit rough. Almost like it wasn’t sanded enough. But it doesnt affect playability in any way. Only other thing is that the neck is a bit thicker than i prefer. Its more of an Ibanez feeling neck but i like Jackson style better because it feels thiner and faster. But thats not a deal breaker for me in any way. Overall im very happy with it.
Sheesh, yea I mean its a cosmetic thing and no guitar will be 100% flawless but the logo coming off, it really shouldn’t happen at all especially for the price of these guitars.
I kept it cause i wanted to see how it will hold up. 2 years later as of writing you the crack hasn't got any bigger or sth. Its barely visible but its still there. 9 out of 10 people won't notice it when i asked them in person.
Having contacted solar guitars, I was told it’s because of the reversed headstock. So the lower strings travel more to the tuners so this distance makes them ring more hence the ringing thing. They told me to use a fret wrap. Maybe I will make another video trying to demonstrate this. But it needs good ears and most people in RUclips wouldn’t listen to that. That’s why I decided not to put it on the video. Thanks for your comment.
@@JimZarasOfficial I set up a Ibanez RG Jake Bowen a few weeks back and there was no rattle and it's a reverse headstock with a Floyd Rose. I call there reply BS. The truss rod chamber has too much room to rattle. I use a couple drops of water down tightbond Woodglue and drop it around the truss rod nut till is absorbs and then I leave it for 24hours on a guitar rack till the wood glue cures, sometimes I do this twice and the rattle stops
I like your review, but I did want to mention that other than the crack in the fretboard, the other issues you mentioned are common with most, if not all guitars. I have several Schecters, An LTD, A Legator, and Fenders, and every single one of them has a high pitch noise with you palm mute or chug, if you're not extremely careful with muting the high strings. Also all of my guitars have hipshot or standard bridges, and none of them stay in tune for longer than 5-10 minutes, and they are mostly high end, great qualitymguitars. its just the way it is if you don't have a floyd rose or an evertune bridge. its why they make evertune bridges. still a good honest review though 🤟👍
I think that my solar was out of tune so quickly because it took time for the wood to adjust to new environment. After a week the guitars stays in tune within normal standards.
again another guitar made in Indonesia that have same problem i visited some local guitar store and seeing new Squier made in Indonesia had a same problem too (i wish PRS doesn't suffer same problem too) hope this problem got solved soon
That is the issue, the solar guitars are kinda buy me and do not play Mr stuff, the issue is not the QA the issue is about cheap wood, to speed up the drying process and sell it cheap.. well.. a 1000€ guitar is not cheap
@@JimZarasOfficial I was gonna get it, but then I saw the schecter e1 apocalypse, which is beautiful too...theninsaw the Chapman ghostfret pro badblood 2019... Now don't know which way to go, they are all beautiful.
1. The nut issue can and typically will happen to most guitars and I can’t remember or not but I believe the nut on a 2 series budget guitar may be made of a cheaper material hence it being the budget version. Best fix is use something like big bends nut sauce I use it even on high end guitars to increase tuning stability. 2. All guitar have that over tone resonance from palm muting not just your solar. I really don’t care if you say it doesn’t happen or isn’t as loud on your other guitars. As a professional guitarist I can tell you it does happen from the cheapest squire to the most expensive Gibson so use a fret wrap or foam or even a simple hair tie to take care of that. 3. Your cracked fretboard. That can be attributed to a few things so I won’t criticize on that but ola has stated to contact customer service for that issue.
Made in Indonesia crap for 1500 dollars from Solar with cracked fretboard and wack tuning crafted with slave labor and poor customer resolve OR.... you could just buy an Ibanez Prestige for 1500 totally packed with quality and in a custom fitted Hardcase with cert of authenticity. F Solar.
1. Tuning stability, 99% it is the nut, not the tunners. Strech your strings after string change and adjust your nutslots (this cannot be done 100% in factory as you might use a different gauge of strings), lubing the nutslots is also recommended. 2. Ringing noise, all guitars have this with long string lenght after the nut, yes use a sponge or hairribbon or whatever this is bydesign since fender...(some guitars have "more" of this problem but just becaus of the high output pickups) 3. Cracked fretboard, shit wood quality, that should only happen in extreme desert climate, this is why I would order only rosted maple fretboard from solar... In the end Solar is still just a midrange brand (with nice features) I would not expect perfection from them.
I think you had bad luck. I have the exact same guitar and it doesn't go out of tune and the fretboard is perfect. If you want to stop the ringing noises just put a little bit of foam there and it will fix it.
Bought one of their G-type guitars. Expensive as hell, but looked good and had decent hardware. Holy hell, what an absolute QC disaster. Strings alignment were seriously skewed, lots of paint job failures and the fretboard did not look like it would last even 6 months. Went straight in return. Never Solar ever again.
@@JimZarasOfficial Ισχύει αν και εγώ προσωπικά είμαι εξωτερικό και επίσης μέσω Thomann είναι καλή η εξυπηρέτηση στην Ελλάδα απ'όσο ξέρω. btw νομίζω μέσω Thomann μπορείς και να την επιστρέψεις αμα σου ραγίσει
Out of scale? I don't care. It costs less than the Ferry plus a month all inclusive at Bornholm Island. It's still a swedish thing. I don't know. Namastè.
You should have said “higher frets,” obviously not lower. And you gave two compliments before your third one, which you called number two. I didn’t see a crack. And I find it hard to believe you have only had some kind of oil or polish on your neck one time in 20 years.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
I own three Solars. Two of them are two years old now. Fortunately no signs of cracks on the fretboard. No tuning issues either but I have a Floyd Rose on two of them and an Evertune on the other. So that solves that problem. Overall no complaints. Super easy to play, nice sound and look great.
The older, pro covid models had no issues with QC as far as I know.
Use a mechanical pencil on the nut slots. The graphite in the pencil lead will help lubricate the nut slot. I learned that from Ryan "Fluff" (Riffs, Beards & Gear RUclipsr). It works.
Yep that works been doing it for year’s.
How about cutting the slot to the right size for the string and to create the prefect string break angle?
@@chrisking6695 So crazy it just might work.....
No, do not do this. It’s all fun and games until the humidity in the air clumps all that shit up and makes the problem even worse. Get some oil for it instead.
Or just file the nut slot a hair wider so the string isn't clamped in there.
I bought V1.6 Canibalismo, really beautiful guitar V-Model.
2023 model.
Pros:
-frets were silky smooth.
-looks.
-evertune.
-locking tuners.
-pots and switches (good stuff).
-feel of the neck.
-nut.
Cons :
-pickups vs SD/EMG etc, Solar Pups were quiet with no sustain or gain, especially that gain with lifeless overall sound .
-string alignment issue (6th string almost outta fretboard from 21 to 24 frets). The whole Evertune cavity was installed too much to the side.
-coated oxidation preventing factory strings were rusted and 2 of em snapped right away, no biggie tho, it's just strings but bad name for Blacksmith string-brand.
-Fretboard had red paint here n there (residue and such)
-Fretboard had cracks thru the frets.
-Fretboard sides were pushed outwards cracking the fretboard (like installing stainless steel frets would cause the sides to pop out and crack).
-There was something which looked like Indian ink here and there on fretboard, have no idea what it was but as the ebony was very light at color (cheap eben i suspect) , you could see the black ink on the fretboard without much light.
-Solar logo starts from fret 11 and continues to fret 15 which is weirdly lower than in pictures.
-Solar logo started to faint/peel off within the 3 weeks i had the guitar.
-other minor cosmetic issues i have with Harley Bentons and cheapest Jacksons.
It's darn shame the guitar is designed so well in paper , has potential with expensive and complex EverTune system, Stainless steel frets and so on, basically awesome looks, but destroyed with such a poor build quality,. Im dazzled,. I mean,. If you make this stuff for 1199€ and use all the materials, at least use some time to make it to do its main job or don't waste the materials at all.
I believe and want to believe Solar can make quality instrument if it wants, the parts are there to build it up, only fretboard material is too cheap but it can be addressed and use some more time to not mess all the cool Swamp Ash, EverTune etc to something unplayable which peeps wants ro return.
I returned the guitar since it was unplayable and unusable as a instrument.
Ola being just a businessman nowadays?, profit over anything else?
The company is hush hush about all this.
Any guitar can do well with a professional setup. The nut slots won't be perfect, regardless who makes it. I wouldn't put Vaseline in the slots, but maybe graphite from a pencil. That'll help bind. The reason there is the ringing behind the nut is the string angle heading to the nut on a reverse headstock without any string trees. That'll happen on any guitar if you don't do something to change the string angle headed to the nut. Even my Suhrs do that.
The only real issue on that guitar is the cracked fingerboard, which is absolutely unacceptable. I don't care where you live.
Yeah, i live in Australia [it gets really hot and dry here in the southern parts] and have ebony fretboards that are nearly 20 years old. Cracking like this has never been an issue here. Even when made in japan and delivered here to Melbourne, Australia.
Solar really dropped the ball on that one.
@Just J You missed my point. I realise these are made in china. The climate difference is smaller, so humidity change is never an issue. The difference in humidity is however bigger; going from Japan to Australia and yet never been an issue with ebony with Japanese guitars. Is that a bit clearer?
Your fault for being Austrailian
Very reasonable review. My friend has a 6 and 7 by them and they sound great. Haven’t heard of crack issues but this is my first review I’ve seen. Definitely a problem they need to address.
I've built a dozen guitars with ebony fretboards. It is not a difficult wood to work with. It routes easily, it sands easily. As far as I'm concerned it's great to work with. The only reason I can think a fretboard might crack is when it is less than 3/16" thick. If it's too thin the clamping pressure could crack the board.
First and second issues can be fixed, something that I can still accept. However, the cracked fretboards issues are purely unacceptable especially at that mid range price point. I have 2 Ibanez Gio and none of those had cracked fretboards. The fact that this is still not being addressed by Ola makes it even more frustrating. I’ll never buy Solar until they rectify this issue, I’d rather buy an LTD or Ibanez.
Did you buy one that has a cracked fretboard?
I bought a solar AB 1.6 in silver. Overall I like the guitar except for the fact that the volume pot arrived scratchy and there is a spot where there is no sound at all. This should not be an issue for a guitar in this price range and because of that I wont recommend or buy another solar guitar.
Edit: I sold it and bought a kiesel with a floyd rose, its much more stable and the fret ends feel way nicer. I also wished the solar pickups had higher output.
Issues 1 and 2, are not really serious problems.
Because it is something that normally happens when you don't have much knowledge of your instrument, and its basic settings.
For example :
1) The tuning issues that you mention are very common in guitars of all prices, be it high-end ESP for 4k USD, or LTD mid-range for 800 USD.
Due to the nut, which is almost always made of plastic or bone, with a graphtech black tusq XL, in addition to filing the grooves, which are the exact thickness of each string, otherwise, the nut would act as a clamp, which it retains the free movement of the string, getting stuck in the grooves and causing tuning problems.
You must leave the height of the nut at about 0.5 mm Low E and 0.4 mm hight e, this measurement is taken from the bottom of the string, to the top of the first fret, thus you achieve that play in the first frets is super soft, comfortable, and your notes are not sharp due to extreme pressure on the string and bend unnecessarily.
You should also stretch the strings several times and tune each time, when using a new set, so that the strings sit well, and there are no tuning problems, also tighten the upper part of the locking tuners very well, which are sometimes somewhat loose. , and allow the String to move out of place.
When putting yours strings, allow them to go more than half a turn when tuning, for better stability.
Intonate well your guitar, that the note of the open string, is the same as in the 12th fret, using strobe Tuner of 0.1 cent of accuracy, and leaves a mid action of about 2mm in low E and 1.5 in high e in 12th fret.
Lower the height of your Pickups so they don't pull the strings and interfere with your intonating setting.
If you do everything I tell you, all your tuning problems will disappear.
2) ringing noise is something that 95% of guitarists know is normal in no lock nuts, so it is solved with a simple hair band, foam, tape, or whatever you want to place behind the nut, and mute the vibration of the strings, therefore it is not an issue at all.
* What if I think it is serious, and the only real problem you have, is the cracked board, that is unjustifiable, and should Ola Englund respond to their customers for that.
Although oiled 2 times a year the ebony fretboard with lemon oil is not bad, it shouldn't happen anyway.
Thanks, your recommendations for the tunning stability will help me!!
Thanks for tip 1, I though that my guitar could have some problems with locking tooners because it's cheap or something like that. But yeah the issue really came when I started to use thicker strings. And I was thinking that maybe they are too lose to hold the tune.
i haven't oiled my guitar for like 3 years and the fretboard just got some white stuff beetwen small lines that wood have on fretboard, that could be my worn of skin XD, but other than that it's perfectly fine. i wanted to oil it 3 months earlier but I don't want to take of strings out, oil fretboard and set the same strings again, I'm waiting to one of them to break then I will oil it and put new set of strings, but they just don't want ot break xD, and the worst part is that I thrown away the box of the strings so i don't know what kind of magic strings I got that don't want ot break. I just everytime after playing cleaning them with tissue to get away most of the fat from fingers to not let them get rust quicker and break faster.
@@WarframeCrunch
OK no problem.
I am glad that it has been of help to you, for that we are to help each other as much as we can.
There are many myths about the electric guitar, too much misinformation, which hurts many musicians, making them believe that if they do not spend 4k USD on a guitar they cannot have a quality product and it is not true.
With the number of guitars we currently have at our disposal, it is impossible not to have a great guitar for 800 to 1,200.
Great point. I bought a "Mitchell" from guitar center that had tuning issues. I purchased a 140.00 set of ratio locking tuners and it didn't do a thing for the tuning. After painful diagnosis I figured out that the nut was clamping the string and the strings were actually digging through the nut over time causing the intonation to fail. After realizing this I purchased a graphtech nut and installed it myself in 10 minutes. Tuning stability is great now and the intonation is as close to dead on as it can be. This is a Chinese made guitar that cost 200.00 and I would put it up against a thousand dollar guitar now for playability and tuning stability. 12.00 could be standing between you and your happiness. Thanks for the comment though because most don't know these things and after playing guitar for 30 years I just learned it myself.
@@rezolution6272
Yes, I know what you're talking about.
I also had to spend a lot of time, trial and error, to really realize where each of the problems I described lay, and solve them myself.
I was never one of those who left all the responsibility to a luthier, since never one of them will adjust our guitars, just as we wanted them.
The only way is to learn as much as we can, and adjust them ourselves to our personal taste.
That's why I want to share all those tips, and avoid so many people talking S*** about low cost guitars, which are not bad, but those who buy them do not know how to adjust them, and that they also know that even 4k guitars have those same "PROBLEMS, IF YOU CAN CALL THEM THAT".
I recently bought a S1.6FR. I couldn't move pickups' screws to set their height (I tried all 4 of them, both sides). My luthier solved this problem but it took him half a day. He said that there are a lot of holes underneath pickups like they tried to mount them a couple of times and finally shot the screws instead of screw them in. Also frets had to be polished in order to make a proper setup possible. Not to mention about loose tone pot and input jack.
Have apsolutely no issues with my A1.6 Solar FBB. Correct - The nut rings but that's easily solved via fretwarp
I think for the ringing, take the backplate off, take the springs out and thread some cutout sponge through, normally it's the springs with vibrate, it happens on my Stratocaster, but if it doesn't have springs which is normally for a whammy/tremolo bar then I'm not sure.
I have a solar guitar and fretboard also cracked. so frustrating.
Good honest review I bought the vinter last month before I heard of the issues, it's due next month I'm hoping i don't have any problems the guitar looks stunning fingers crossed mine will be good.
Most solar guitars look stunning. I hope yours comes with no problem at all and enjoy it to the max
@@JimZarasOfficial thanks Jim, hope you get yours sorted dude keep us updated 🤘
@@pantera666ify how is it
@@thedude7726 not received yet shipment was delayed until July 5th today I've emailed to ask if the shipment has arrived today but not had a reply yet from them.
@@pantera666ify get the guitar yet man?
Transient ringing is common with reverse headstock guitars that have straight string pulls.
Then they need to change the headstock lol. It's a dealbreaker for me, i return any guitar with ringing noises regardless of how good it is orherwise. Had it on a mij ESP eclipse and on a Mensinger V.
I have a TBR1.7 with the evertune and also a 2.6W. The evertune never needed any adjustment once I set it up correctly. Sits on the wall until I pick it up, sometimes for months and it's still in tune. The 2.6W DID have some tuning issues, however I did order separately the locking tuners and a poor mans way of fixing the nut. Just take the excess string you cut off the end of the tuner and use it as a file. Don't press hard but just rub it back and forth in the corresponding slot with SOME pressure to get it to size and then once it seems free give it slight work with it slightly off center so it's not so much straight like || but rather like )(. Use some graphite (I just used a small amount of light oil like gun oil) and I've never had a problem since.
None of mine have cracks in the fretboard to report so I must have got lucky.
Mate, Ive had two solars, first I sent back because of the lacquer peeling and bubbling, second arrived and the volume knob was almost falling out of the guitar, upon tightening it, the tone I got was extremely muddy, and the signal would cut in and out, the middle position on the selector switch didn't work at all.
And when I messaged telling them about this I just got ran around in circles, have you tried this? Have you sprayed this, make sure this isn't touching the wood.
Like it's my job to do all these things on a brand new guitar that you apparently CQ'd after manufacture and before sending it to me?
Gtfo.
Despite absolutely loving the shape and playability of solars, I won't ever get another.
They can kiss my ass.
Transported guitars from the uk to australia no cracks , came from hot part of aus to tasmania no cracks. Humidity is no excuse solar...
ok so graphite nut and a foam which are super common issues for all guitars in this price point or buy the 1.6. The crack though is not acceptable.
I can only say, I own 2 Solars, one bought in 2019, and one bought this year (canibalismo x), both have an evertune, and I don't have any problems whatsoever. So if you consider getting a Solar, maybe get a higher prized model. (Both guitars I bought were around 1400 to 1500 euros).
My Solar 2.7 tbr got after a month a cracked fretboard, the replacement had a brocken neck pickup, the next one fretsprout.
Wow thanks for the review sir! I'm living in the Philippines and was just about to buy one next few weeks. Thankfully I dodged a bullet!
I had a fantastic experience with my old A2.6, it was a 2019 run I believe. I did have the similar ringing out issue and it's on any guitar that I own with a reverse headstock and no string trees but a jimmy clip or foam gets rid of it. I did widen the nut slots slightly on the Solar (and I do this to every guitar I own) and quite honestly could go a week or two between tuning with the standard hipshot style bridge.
I've been looking at buying a new one but the fretboard issue is a concern, I'm unsure if it's only happening to ebony boards or if it's happening to the maple as well.
I enjoyed the review and look forward to watching more videos in the future.
Thanks for this video! I was considering buying one because they DO look friggin sick! And I could live with (or fix) the other issues. But cracking fretboards is where I draw the line. BTW... I have a Grestch Malcolm Young and it does the weird ringing out thing too, and it was $2400 USD.
Solar moved their storage facilities in Spain and now QC seems to be more strict. Why don’t you go for it and if this happens to you just return the guitar.
I had to returned 2 guitars to Solar. It’s supoosed they do 3 QC, but i think the speed of business destroyed this super important step specilly the first one in the factory. This could be a potential dearh hurt for Solar. QC are the most important after build a guitar.
Should the symbol be the problem of the cracks?
the problem is the drying phase of the wood
thank you for the video ... so if I buy the model with a roasted maple neck with a Floyd Rose, it does not affect me
I know that this affects mostly ebony fretboards but better do more research to see if the problem exists to your model with those specific kinds of wood you mention.
Maple fretboards are cracking too.
Or get it equipped with the evertune bridge
Shit actually my comment is stupid lol i cant believe some troller or jerk difnt point out that if u have a floyd rose u cant have an evertune and a floyd is a bridge also cant have 2 bridges on 1 guitar right? Lol
Maybe you came out with something revolutionary right now. Patent it 😝
I really wanted to get a Solar, but these reports of fretboard cracking are dealbreakers for me. :(
I hope you can get it fixed, please update if you do.
I will definitely do a follow up video if I manage to fix it.
Same, I was about to buy one because I wanted a good metal guitar that would last me a long time but it’s a shame these guitars have so many issues
Dam I’ve heard about the cracking fretboard hope they resolve this
Somehow the crack has gone away 80%. Maybe it’s because it’s winter and I’ve been oiling the fretboard since then once a month.
Owned an A2.6W guitar that I bought for a really low price since it was B stock. The guitar played great but had some issues with tunning stability. Changing the keys to ones with locking tuners fixed the issue. And for a total amount of 600euros I had a fully functioning and playable guitar. However these days Solars go for for at least 900 (even the B stock) which actually means they'd go head to head with other brands like Schecter, Ibanez, Jackson, Fender, Dean. With this in mind Solar doesn't offer anything additional to what the other companies bring to the table. Besides my guitar was really really good and had no problems with it
6:30 what is that music in the background? sounds killer
good review
One of the most problems of the musicians are the lack of knowledge of the wood of the guitars. Ebony is one of the most painfull wood to work, and is very dry. That is the reason of the crack problems, if you want a ebony fretboard in a guitar you need the oiled or pay more of $2000 for it, when the seller charge you for the time and treatment they need it. Sorry for the honesty!
Ah, that explains why my chinese 400,- Euro B.C.Riches from 2008 have perfect ebony fretboards.
As a professional woodworker I wanted to post something like this. Thanks
Ridiculous BS.
No dissagree with you you do not need to pay for hand stroked ebony and pay a small fortune. The guitars are not bieng made to a quality standard.
Have you stretched the strings .. guitars don't stay in tune until the strings stop stretching?
Tuning has become much much better after a couple of weeks. Don’t know why this might have happened.
I've changed tuners into the locking ones but tuning stability is still not acceptable. Next step is to change the saddle. And I always strech string quite hard.
How does your right shoulder/arm feel after playing it a while?
Feels fine. Why?
@@JimZarasOfficial I’ve been looking for a guitar that helps keep your back as straight as possible and the right shoulder can stay back, not having to roll it forward as much. Solar seems to have the right cutout on the body. Any suggestions?
put your left leg on something, and keep the guitar inbetween your legs, or buy guitar pads for your leg. Or if you play on your right leg then put your leg on something higher @@Mike-vu7em
First off thanks for your review, they are indeed nice guitars but some do have uncommon issues for a guitar with that price tag.
Mine came with a minor, but still a pinhole defect on the satin finish of the neck and the fretboard was so dry it had cracks on all frets from fret sprouting.
This prompted me to heavily oil the entire thing right away, and I mean, really soak it, I kept applying oil till it could soak no more, I let it puddle for 30m and then cleaned everything up to a very nice shoe shine.
Although tempting I don't think it's fair to compare the 2 guitars unless they are made in the same country, and roughly at the same time of the year, and more importantly, the same wood type, the ESP seems to have a rosewood fingerboard while solar's have ebony fingerboards, ebony is a whole lot harder (read brittle) than rosewood, so they may be more susceptible to dryness damage.
Keep up the good work.
It's 500 Euro now on thomann. It looks so nice! Do you experience dryness on the fretboard? Are the playability smooth if it's dry? Do you need to polish the fretboard for a smoother playability?
The playability is very smooth. I didn’t need to polish the fretboard or something. But since I noticed the crack im oiling the fretboard once per month or two months. To be honest the crack is smaller now. Maybe it’s because weather is colder 🤷🏻♂️ weird stuff.
@@JimZarasOfficial no weird stuff at all. people just seem to have no understanding of the material e-guitars are built of. magical wood! :)
I don't own a solar guitar but I follow ola and he is really big into the evertunes now and putting those on his guitars maybe that's why he loves evertune so much because solars don't stay in tune? Or maybe it's just that one you got who knows. I cant say cuz ive never played a solar. But all my guitars come out of tune more often then i like. About every 4 songs i have to retune both e strings and my g string. The other 3 seem to stay in tune fairly well. All my guitars act this way. I don't own locking tuners or evertuners or locking nut . i don't mind having to slightly tune every 20 minutes or so. Not thst big of deal with a pedal tuner.
Evertune is bigger than just "solar guitar dont stay in tune"
It's a revolutionnary bridge that make your guitar never go out of tune, Solar isnt the only brand using it
It is revolutionary but many people hate it.
Dern, I am looking for a guitar I can put in dropped D tuning. You destroyed this dream. Thanks for the review.
Or you can risk it and if you got problems you can return it and they will send you another one. I guess they fixed the problems now. Do some more research in Solar discussion groups in Facebook.
@@JimZarasOfficial thank you.
lube your nut, buy locking tuners (tone ninja is cheap and fits) and put a hair tie around your headstock for the ringing noise when muting
I want to ask you a specific question man I would appreciate it if you’d answer sometime
It's not a QC problem, they can't see that when they receive it from the factory. It is still a huge problem though because that means that whoever is manufacturing Solar guitars is not drying their ebony wood properly and/or does not have access to quality ebony and work with that they have. In the end it's Solar that looks bad, we as customers are paying for that reality and it's all the builder's fault. Solar should seriously consider abandoning ebony for fretboards, not only is it expensive but it is also very hard to have a reliable source for this wood and even harder to have quality wood supply, humans is brining that tree to extinction like many others.
It is a Qc problem albeit the Qc area is in the material sourcing and preparation part of the life cycle and not the assembly part.
Sounds like an outsourcing issue which is really sad because the specs of his guitars are pretty much the exact thing I need!
Thanks for the review!!! Best and most honest. How about the first fret string distance? I have a hunch that the nut is too high and tuning at the first frets is off
Thanks. Always honest 🤘
@@JimZarasOfficial could you check if the first frets are out of tune as well? I have a hunch that the nut is too high. Usually a problem with indonezian guitars. I took mine to a luthier to file it down and it was indeed a manufacturing fault
if you don't use lemon oil in a ebony fretboard its obiusly gonna crack. thats becouse this kind of wood its extremly easy to crack. for the other issues i recomend you to change the nut for a graphtech or a bone one
grettings from chile my friend!
I have a Solar S2.6c. My fretboard and tuners are fine. I did notice a few minor finish details that could have been better. My Schechter is built better I would say. They both cost about the same price. I love my solar though, it plays beautifully. And it sounds great. That's a shame they have these quality control issues. They really do make some beautiful guitars.
I really like my solar even with its flaws. It’s very comfortable to play and i like the sound of the solar pickups. I’m thinking of getting also a second one.
Any follow-up on this video? Did they offer to give you a new one?
About the strings ringing from the nut above, it happens to many guitars, especially reverse headstocks. It is quite puzzling to me in 2022 we still get this "defect" from factory guitars when it's an easy fix.
Changing the tuners really help me a lot. But yeah you’ll definitely need to put foam on the top because of the long headstock. I have the Evertune and a regular but the 2.6 I have stayed in tune pretty damn good. I have no cracks yet.... thank god lol Ola is moving his storage unit from Spain to Sweden so hopefully this will improve the QC issues they were having because of COVID
Is he? It was about time.
@@JimZarasOfficial yeah I’m sure with COVID it makes everything slower in many ways for running a business. Prior to 2020 Solar didn’t seem to have any major issues like as of late.
If it wasn’t the neck crack that’s a turn off for me, I would be very satisfied with the guitar in general for the money it costs.
@@JimZarasOfficial yeah that’s crazy since you just got it, but Solar is fixing them if you contact them. The warranty book is outdated since this is a new issue.
Where did he mention he’s moving the storage unit to sweden?
Yeah, I found out the hard way that apparently long headstocks need behind-the-nut muting the most. First I tried a hair tie, but I settled on electrical tape. I only own one Solar, a 2018 E1.6ETC I got off Reverb for $750 after tax and shipping, plus $100 for Solar locking tuners. Im considering getting a floyd solar.
I think Solar was Washburn?
The same 2 long cracks on my new Solar V right out of the box. Painted with dust. Frets are not it the level. Looks like QC does nothing on a factory.
Don't play the music so loud over the narration.
I wish Ola the best, but his guitar venture may go bust. I checked out the outlet website and I could not believe all the damaged guitars there were listed.
He must be really upset because of all this. Too bad because those guitars have the potential of being very good instruments.
Jesus I checked the outlet section and holy... that's a lot more than I was expecting. Sad to see...
Just cause you can design a guitar dont mean you can mass produce it
I have guitars 30 years old and many newer guitar I dont understand the boards cracking they just aren't doing them right I live in a camper I. Pennsylvania cold dry winters hot humid summers never had an issue and so e of them have never. Even treated .... but I dont have any ebony boards all rosewood three are Brazilian rosewood makes no sense
My other guitars which I own for years also have rosewood fretboards and have no issues at all.
@@JimZarasOfficial Rosewood is extremely different from Ebony
Ebony is a wood that really doesnt like change of temperature and need way more care than rosewood
Cut the nut slots accordingly. Use a fret wrap to get right of the pinging noise. No guitar will be perfect. I'm very nit picky. I had my PRS set up by PRS themselves and they didn't even cut the nut perfectly. It's a craft and requires some skill. I'm learning to do everything myself to not be dependent on others.
9:38 hold on.. you only oiled the fretboard on that LTD one time ??? 👀
Regardless of your climate, it is really recommended that you oil your fretboard once every 6 months or so.
Even it might not be so dry that it cracks it is still a very good idea to oil the fretboard. It will improve the feel and "health" of the fretboard.
Besides that, a bottle of Dunlop lemon oil is dirt cheap and last for years and years...
Yeap. True story.
I changed my solar Duncan’s to EMG H4A. Sounds a lot better for metal IMO.
It seems like the basic builds have less issues than the more loaded Evertune and Fluence models from what I noticed.
So it’s better to buy a cheap solar rather than a more expensive one 😝
Dang that sucks. Just got mine in the mail today, hope it doesn’t crack. I ordered the s1.6pb and it has these weird perfect circle blemishes on it that clearly don’t belong. Other than that the guitar is beautiful. I emailed them, hopefully they make it right, we’ll see.
Beautiful guitar 🤘
My solar kind of feels like a toy but it does stay in tune and no cracks
I had to send mine back because the kneck was warped out of box. Talk about a sad day. Never again
Couple of years ago I bought a brand new Chapman for 700 euros, made in Korea. After one month (I couldn’t give it back anymore) the neck was warped. I gave it to a luthier to try levelling the frets. He also told me that the quality of the fretwire was pretty shitty.
Good quality, air dried wood is hard to find, I know. But delivering such products it also makes no sense..
The cheap brands should maybe find alternatives, like richlite and 7-11 pieces necks to prevent such problems.
Cutting the nut is not easy if someone is clocking you. They should consider a zerofret instead.
100% agree
I've been hearing if you call them, they give a refund. I would have just called them before making the video...but 🤷♂️
I have a 2021 A1.6FB and it has a cracked fretboard, peeling logo, fret sprout....the guitar plays fine still but for how much it cost these issues are unacceptable. I HATE that I wasted money on this. I have close to 20 guitars and they all live in the same environment, same temperature and conditions and they rage all over the price ranges. The Solar is the ONLY one with issues like this. Solars are garbage and I'll never buy another one again.
Agree 👍👍
If you want to avoid cracks in your fretboard.. It really does help to condition the fretboard with Fretboard conditioner from like goby labs or somethin. When a fretboards dry.. it cracks.
Should dry that fast and i have 30 year old guitars with ebony necks that dont need to much love and have no cracks, a few month old guitar should not need a feed on the fretboard.
thanks for sharing the video my solar sucks also i have one with an evertune bridge and i can't get it intonate i've seen every video about how to internate an evertune bridge i've had this guitar for half a year now and never have regretted a guitar so much and believe me i have tried everything to intonate it other strings the string calculator from evertune but nothing really works i haven't had a day of fun with this guitar i don't know what the problem is with this one guitar but i just took my old ibanez with floyd rose out of my closet that is intonate and put my solar in the closet don't want to play it ever again i will never buy a solar again
Damn dude. Can't believe this.
Can't believe you have to oil fretboard, it means that my $100 yamaha pacifica is solid and strong lol, never oiled the fretboard from the beginning i own like 10 years from now.
My first guitar was an Hohner guitar which I bought in 1994 about 150$. I had no idea about guitars back then and this guitars has endured the worst as far as climax. Never oiled it, never had it serviced. Guess what. No cracks up until today and no problems in the finish up until today. They only thing it needs is slight rod adjustment which is normal.
@@JimZarasOfficial hahaha so true dude. Never buy an expensive guitar more than $600 until now.
I use it live a lot and no idea about oiling the fretboard can't believe how much you should doing maintenence for the guitar.
Probably I'll stick with inexpensive guitar bcs its not required that much maintenence
My s1.6 apb is perfect. Plays beautifully and came with an evertune bridge and fishman flunence moderns. Only slight issues ive had which arent even really issues are that for certain tunings with an evertune bridge u have to use certain gauges of stings. But this is more of an evertune issue then that of the guitar itself. Quality wise their is a small area on the back of the neck maybe about half an inch in length where the wood is still a bit rough. Almost like it wasn’t sanded enough. But it doesnt affect playability in any way. Only other thing is that the neck is a bit thicker than i prefer. Its more of an Ibanez feeling neck but i like Jackson style better because it feels thiner and faster. But thats not a deal breaker for me in any way. Overall im very happy with it.
Today I noticed that also the logo started to peel off.
Sheesh, yea I mean its a cosmetic thing and no guitar will be 100% flawless but the logo coming off, it really shouldn’t happen at all especially for the price of these guitars.
Agree
Did they replace your cracked fretboard?
I kept it cause i wanted to see how it will hold up. 2 years later as of writing you the crack hasn't got any bigger or sth. Its barely visible but its still there. 9 out of 10 people won't notice it when i asked them in person.
"they are a little bit noisier than my emg 81" the EMGs are active pickups, of course they are quiet
Sounds like it could be truss rod rattle, if I heard it I could let you know
Having contacted solar guitars, I was told it’s because of the reversed headstock. So the lower strings travel more to the tuners so this distance makes them ring more hence the ringing thing. They told me to use a fret wrap. Maybe I will make another video trying to demonstrate this. But it needs good ears and most people in RUclips wouldn’t listen to that. That’s why I decided not to put it on the video. Thanks for your comment.
@@JimZarasOfficial I set up a Ibanez RG Jake Bowen a few weeks back and there was no rattle and it's a reverse headstock with a Floyd Rose. I call there reply BS. The truss rod chamber has too much room to rattle. I use a couple drops of water down tightbond Woodglue and drop it around the truss rod nut till is absorbs and then I leave it for 24hours on a guitar rack till the wood glue cures, sometimes I do this twice and the rattle stops
Useful info. I will definitely try this. Thanks 🤘
I like your review, but I did want to mention that other than the crack in the fretboard, the other issues you mentioned are common with most, if not all guitars. I have several Schecters, An LTD, A Legator, and Fenders, and every single one of them has a high pitch noise with you palm mute or chug, if you're not extremely careful with muting the high strings. Also all of my guitars have hipshot or standard bridges, and none of them stay in tune for longer than 5-10 minutes, and they are mostly high end, great qualitymguitars. its just the way it is if you don't have a floyd rose or an evertune bridge. its why they make evertune bridges. still a good honest review though 🤟👍
Useful info you are sharing 🤓
You can fix the problem ealsly if you put a little bit of foam behind the strings or a hair tie around them.
Brah wtf you doing to make them all go out of tune that quickly haha
I think that my solar was out of tune so quickly because it took time for the wood to adjust to new environment. After a week the guitars stays in tune within normal standards.
again
another guitar made in Indonesia that have same problem
i visited some local guitar store and seeing new Squier made in Indonesia had a same problem too (i wish PRS doesn't suffer same problem too)
hope this problem got solved soon
Me too
Hello everybody Borat Here!
That is the issue, the solar guitars are kinda buy me and do not play Mr stuff, the issue is not the QA the issue is about cheap wood, to speed up the drying process and sell it cheap.. well.. a 1000€ guitar is not cheap
esp guitars are quality!!1 i am going to get a snakebyte soon
Very beautiful guitar the snakebyte.
@@JimZarasOfficial I was gonna get it, but then I saw the schecter e1 apocalypse, which is beautiful too...theninsaw the Chapman ghostfret pro badblood 2019... Now don't know which way to go, they are all beautiful.
dude! Lowest frets? Come on!!
Nice intro
Thanks 🤘
1. The nut issue can and typically will happen to most guitars and I can’t remember or not but I believe the nut on a 2 series budget guitar may be made of a cheaper material hence it being the budget version. Best fix is use something like big bends nut sauce I use it even on high end guitars to increase tuning stability.
2. All guitar have that over tone resonance from palm muting not just your solar. I really don’t care if you say it doesn’t happen or isn’t as loud on your other guitars. As a professional guitarist I can tell you it does happen from the cheapest squire to the most expensive Gibson so use a fret wrap or foam or even a simple hair tie to take care of that.
3. Your cracked fretboard. That can be attributed to a few things so I won’t criticize on that but ola has stated to contact customer service for that issue.
Made in Indonesia crap for 1500 dollars from Solar with cracked fretboard and wack tuning crafted with slave labor and poor customer resolve OR.... you could just buy an Ibanez Prestige for 1500 totally packed with quality and in a custom fitted Hardcase with cert of authenticity. F Solar.
Riff is similar to Inhuman Harvest by Cannibal Corpse.
Guarda, bel video, recensione molto personale ma onesta, xò ti prego…. Impara a suonare… 😢
1. Tuning stability, 99% it is the nut, not the tunners. Strech your strings after string change and adjust your nutslots (this cannot be done 100% in factory as you might use a different gauge of strings), lubing the nutslots is also recommended.
2. Ringing noise, all guitars have this with long string lenght after the nut, yes use a sponge or hairribbon or whatever this is bydesign since fender...(some guitars have "more" of this problem but just becaus of the high output pickups)
3. Cracked fretboard, shit wood quality, that should only happen in extreme desert climate, this is why I would order only rosted maple fretboard from solar...
In the end Solar is still just a midrange brand (with nice features) I would not expect perfection from them.
I was taught to take a graphite pencil and hit the nut with that.
Cracked board, no. My early nineties fenders and Gibsons have no problems after all these years.
I think you had bad luck. I have the exact same guitar and it doesn't go out of tune and the fretboard is perfect. If you want to stop the ringing noises just put a little bit of foam there and it will fix it.
Bought one of their G-type guitars. Expensive as hell, but looked good and had decent hardware. Holy hell, what an absolute QC disaster. Strings alignment were seriously skewed, lots of paint job failures and the fretboard did not look like it would last even 6 months. Went straight in return. Never Solar ever again.
Too sad to hear that they still have QC issues because they are very beautiful guitars.
LTD behind him is made in the same factory by the same machines by the same people..
Yes but 20 years ago
Τρελή ξενέρα. Ψηνόμουν άπειρα να πάρω αλλά απ'ότι φαίνεται θα περιμένω κανα 2 χρονάκια
Η μαλακια είναι ότι δεν έχει Ελλάδα από όσο ξέρω κάποιο κατάστημα.
@@JimZarasOfficial Ισχύει αν και εγώ προσωπικά είμαι εξωτερικό και επίσης μέσω Thomann είναι καλή η εξυπηρέτηση στην Ελλάδα απ'όσο ξέρω. btw νομίζω μέσω Thomann μπορείς και να την επιστρέψεις αμα σου ραγίσει
Out of scale? I don't care. It costs less than the Ferry plus a month all inclusive at Bornholm Island. It's still a swedish thing. I don't know. Namastè.
Thanks for the review. Your or the drummer is really off in the intro, cant tell which. Stay safe.
The headstock seems too big
I really like the headstock. Maybe it’s the camera angle that makes it look bigger.
@@JimZarasOfficial its possible. I love the look of the guitar though
Didn't talk about weight? WHAATT
"Easy access to the lowest frets"
Plays the highest frets.........
Yeap. Sorry I was thinking in Greek.
Buy a Washburn Parr axe..Thank me later🎼🎸🤙
Same thing as a pos Solar
1:25 XD
Am I the only one finding these guitars ugly? The horns are ever so slightly too wide for my taste.
the constant metal in the background is super distracting. I`m all for metal, but its not rly ideal for speaking over.. imho
Music too loud when you're talking. My mental illness was triggered.
You should have said “higher frets,” obviously not lower. And you gave two compliments before your third one, which you called number two.
I didn’t see a crack. And I find it hard to believe you have only had some kind of oil or polish on your neck one time in 20 years.
Si xò almeno a tempo…