NGD: Sun Worshipper Edition

[Iron1]

I had this one bookmarked on the Solar page for months and would go look at it now and again, almost pulling the trigger so many times, but just didn't want to deal with all the customs fees, VAT, etc. Something about the color scheme just grabbed me the first time I saw it. And, it's even more stunning in person. Bet it looks insane under stage lights.

After getting the bass off Drache, I knew I wanted a Solar guitar next (and now I want a 7-string!).

So when this this one popped up on Reverb and I had a Warlock bass up for sale, I told myself "if this Warlock sells today, I'm grabbing that Solar." Sure enough, the bass sold about an hour later.

Haven't had a chance to run it through an amp or the AXE FX yet to check out the Duncan Solar pups, and the strings on it are like 11 or 12s (I use 9s) but aside from that I love it so far.













And, we close on our new house in 3 weeks, so I'll finally be able to run my amps again for the first time in a year, so pretty jazzed to crank this bad boy up through the Jet City and 2 Mesa Boogie Lonestars.

[Shawn]

Damn....that is sharp. Congrats!

[Webdood]

well that looks awesome.

[jacksonplayer]

Very nice! I'll be curious to get your full review.

[Iron1]

Thanks guys - can't wait to really break it in!

Very nice! I'll be curious to get your full review.

I had the thought when I first started playing it that this is what Ibanez should be (and isn't) these days. But, once I spend some time with it, I'll come back and post a review for ya.

[Mike]

Nice. You're rapidly becoming the "I buy all the superstrats" guy here.

[Iron1]

Nice. You're rapidly becoming the "I buy all the superstrats" guy here.

So far I have:

Ibby 540SLTD
Schecter KM6
Jackson SLX DX
Solar A2.6
Jackson JS22-7
Jackson HT7 Pro

plus two SS basses...

so, guilty as charged.

Sold the Arrow, and have a Warlock that's about to go up for sale. Love the look of Explorers, but the tail fin gets in my way, so SS it is.

[Chris]

Proper.

[Budda]

Oh hell yeah.

[zepp]

Looks fantastic!

[Megametal7]

Happy riffing

[Iron1]

Unpacked my Boss Katana mini and spent about 15 minutes jamming through it. If that's any real indication, this thing is going to ROAR through the Axe FX and Jet City.

[playstopause]

Nice score!!

[Leon]

I think I can see her kidneys!

[Iron1]

Here's a quick sound sample thru the Katana Mini (no pedals or ulterior motives) recorded on my iPhone:



And this is thru the Mini, pushed by an SD-1, into my DAW:

[Hulk Krogan]

Cleeaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Congrats man!

[Iron1]

Very nice! I'll be curious to get your full review.

Ok, here ya go:

After playing for a few hours yesterday, I'm definitely in love with this one. Have most of my gear packed to move and have been fighting the urge to unpack stuff just so I can play this through stuff other than my Katana Mini and ML Amps plug in.

Here's all the deets from the BrOla site: Solar A2.6S Antique Silver Matte



Neck - very comfortable, fast and easy to move on. After wrapping my hand around the neck on my Solar bass (the thinnest, fastest bass neck I've ever played on), I was expecting this to be a bit more Wizard-esque, but it's a little meatier than those. Feels more like the neck on my Schecter KM6, but fast like my Jackson SLX DX.

Color - pictures don't do it justice - it's STUNNING in person. I bet the flake in the paint really looks incredible under stage lighting.

Headstock - this is my first reverse headstock and I've not been interested in one ever, being stuck with the 'tuners belong on top cause they've always been that way' mindset. That is, until I saw a vid where Ola talks about how it's more ergonomic - and he's right. So, consider me a convert to the reverse headstock Kool Aid drinkers. I've read a lot about the logos peeling on the headstock, but this one shows no signs of doing so, ATM. And, it looks like a freaking spear - so #Metal

Tuners - I prefer 3x3's at my age, just cause I tend to bump the neighboring tuners when adjusting the one I want, but that's not a big deal. They turn smoothly and I've no complaints. So far it seems to stay in tune very well. Still need to swap the strings, but these ones still have life in them, so I may wait a bit.

Frets - the fretwork is done very well, in fact, better than most sub-$1000 guitars I've picked up in stores lately. These are "Super Jumbo" ones, however and this might be my only 'quibble' with the guitar. My shorter, smaller fingers feel every iota of fret wire and that means they lack the inconscpicousness I'd prefer in fret wire. If I notice the frets while playing, it's a distraction and I notice these simply because of how big they are. However, they were installed very well, ends are near perfect, etc. Hardly a reason to diss the guitar, but just something that doesn't immediately suit my personal tastes. Absolutely zero fret buzz and the action is sweet. UPDATE: After getting used to it, the oversized frets are no longer noticeable when playing.

Fret board - while I don't seek out signature series stuff, or have any sort of idol worship for other guitar players that I want their signature gear, BrOla is the kind of guy I would have loved to jam with back in my heyday, so seeing his sig at the 12th fret is pretty cool, IMO. The board itself is very clean, free of any cracking, blemishes etc. Would love it if the side dots were luminlay, but at this price point I'm not complaining at all.

Pickups - haven't done much, if anything, with the neck pup yet, but so far I really dig the bridge. As I said elsewhere, it seems like a tighter middle ground between a Duncan Distortion and a Duncan Custom, both pickups I love. But, I'm not 100% convinced I love them just yet, simply because I haven't run them through my Jet City/Mesas or my Axe FX. While I highly doubt I won't love them, if I decide I want to change, it's a perfect reason to buy another Elysian Trident II from Adam. UPDATE: The more I play this, the more I love these pickups. To the point I might seek out some to put in a few other guitars. Very crisp, responsive, thick and tight.

Bridge - It's essentially a generic Hipshot style bridge and I'm a huge Hipshot fan. The saddles are raised up higher than the sidewalls of the bridge, which isn't the case with my Hipshots on other guitars, which I'm not sure I dig. This made me wonder if the sidewalls aren't as tall as the standard Hipshot, but I've not cared enough to do anything other than eyeball the Hipshot on my Franken7, which looks more substantial than this one. I considered lowering the saddles a bit, but imagine that will introduce fret buzz. So, I think I'm just going to live with it. Swapping it for an actual Hipshot is easy peasy, but don't know at the moment if that would improve anything.

Electronics - everything works fine, so... yeah... Really love how the knobs are slightly recessed. Not sure there's any playing advantage to it, but it looks cool, feels cool and... yeah...

Body - the seller told me it had a "big scratch" by the volume knob, but not only could I not see one, my son who has perfect eyesight couldn't either. Aside from this mythological scratch, this baby is flawless. I really love the scallops on either side of the neck in the cutaway valleys. For that alone, I'd buy a Type A over a Type S all day, every day.

The guitar itself has just enough heft to it to feel solid, but not so much that it would bother me having it slung over my shoulder for a few hours. It helps that Mahogany is my favorite of all the toanwoodz.

Overall score - A+
As much crap as I see people giving Ola on the FB page about quality control issues, this thing utterly destroys every other sub $750 guitar I've touched in years. If you told me it was priced more in line with the $1000-1500 Jacksons, Schecters, LTDs, etc. I'd totally believe it. And it's way nicer than any non-Prestige Ibanez available right now. It isn't quite the quality of my Jackson Pro H7, but it's really close - and it lists for $699 while the Jackson is $1350. I'm so impressed so far, it has me considering selling my Schecter KM6, which I absolutely love. And, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Solar, which means I'll be chasing a Solar 7 string soon...

#OlaFTW

Edit: updated a few things above.

[jacksonplayer]

Thanks for the review. I'll probably pull the trigger on a Solar one of these days.

[bigdave]

I like that silver on that body shape, very nice...congrats

[Dominic]

Obvs cool for you, Iron Mike, but WTF is wrong with people these days that a guitar with this many points has zero fucking damage on it when it's sold second hand?! I do not understand. IMHO people aren't playing these things right no more. I propose a séance to detect bitchpicking and Instagram-posting, and a hearty exorcism in the mingingest practice facilitiy within a 100-mile radius, ideally the sort of place where the shitter freezes over in winter, and the urinal drain isn't even plumbed in, so your piss runs past your feet as you make your way to the sink. That is metal. Silver and black? Megadeth. Who ceased to produce new music following a tragic tour bus accident before Cryptic Writings. Give that thing some battlescars and

#CanYouTellTheOktoberfestBierIsAvailable?

[Iron1]

Obvs cool for you, Iron Mike, but WTF is wrong with people these days that a guitar with this many points has zero fucking damage on it when it's sold second hand?! I do not understand. IMHO people aren't playing these things right no more. I propose a séance to detect bitchpicking and Instagram-posting, and a hearty exorcism in the mingingest practice facilitiy within a 100-mile radius, ideally the sort of place where the shitter freezes over in winter, and the urinal drain isn't even plumbed in, so your piss runs past your feet as you make your way to the sink. That is metal. Silver and black? Megadeth. Who ceased to produce new music following a tragic tour bus accident before Cryptic Writings. Give that thing some battlescars and

#CanYouTellTheOktoberfestBierIsAvailable?

That's what BC Riches are for...

[Bloody_Inferno]

Obvs cool for you, Iron Mike, but WTF is wrong with people these days that a guitar with this many points has zero fucking damage on it when it's sold second hand?! I do not understand. IMHO people aren't playing these things right no more.

Also known as the Santuzzo effect.

[Dominic]

That's what BC Riches are for...

What, using as a bottle opener? Nope, I even have a Strat-style for that:



:beer:

[Dominic]

Also known as the Santuzzo effect.

Deviants. How on earth do such people expect to make the thing sound good?