Solar sure knows how to do a guitar drop. In true Solar fashion, the metal guitar brand – which is owned by YouTuber and Swedish shredder Ola Englund – has debuted 11 fresh models, which bolster its collection of fanned fret and roasted maple neck-equipped axes.
Highlights from the latest batch include the six- and seven-string White Matte A1 models, which are the brand’s first instruments to pair roasted maple fretboards with a fanned fret layout.
Roasted maple fretboards can be found throughout the revamped lineup, and have been equipped to the new Gloss-finished double-cut AB1 models, as well as a pair of freshly finished GC single-cut alternatives.
Two bass guitars also make the cut – though don’t flash anything too ground-breaking, save eye-popping Metallic Blues Gloss and Candy Apple Red Gloss colorways – as does a sole baritone guitar, which sports a fancy flamed maple veneer.
Solar’s latest drop also flashes a range of neat colorways, from the left-handed A1’s Antique Natural Matte to the A2’s Trans Purple Matte.
Read on for full breakdown of the newest Solar six-strings.
Solar A1.6W-FF
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Three-piece roasted maple, thin C profile, set through
- Fingerboard: Roasted maple
- Scale length: 24.75" to 26"
- Frets: 24 stainless steel, fanned
- Bridge: Hipshot multiscale
- Pickups: Solar FF passive pickups
- Controls: Five-way blade switch, one volume control, one tone control
- Price: $1,149
Solar A1.7W-FF
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Three-piece roasted maple, thin C profile, set through
- Fingerboard: roasted maple
- Scale length: 25.5" to 27"
- Frets: 24 stainless steel, fanned
- Bridge: Hipshot multiscale
- Pickups: Solar FF passive pickups
- Controls: Five-way blade switch, one volume control, one tone control
- Price: $1,199
Solar AB1.6MP
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Three-piece roasted maple, thin C profile, bolt-on
- Fingerboard: Roasted maple
- Scale length: 25.5"
- Frets: 24 stainless steel
- Bridge: EverTune
- Pickups: Duncan Solar humbuckers
- Controls: Three-way blade switch, one volume and one tone control, each with push/pull for series/parallel
- Price: $1,099
Solar AB1.6HMBL+
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Three-piece roasted maple, thin C profile, bolt-on
- Fingerboard: Roasted maple
- Scale length: 25.5"
- Frets: 24 stainless steel
- Bridge: Hipshot bridge
- Pickups: Duncan Solar Plus humbuckers
- Controls: Three-way blade switch, one volume and tone control, each with push/pull for series/parallel
- Price: $999
Solar A1.6FBB-29
- Body: Alder with flamed maple veneer
- Neck: Three-piece maple, thin C profile, set-through
- Fingerboard: Ebony
- Scale length: 29"
- Frets: 24 stainless steel
- Bridge: EverTune
- Pickups: Duncan Solar humbuckers
- Controls: Five-way blade switch, one volume control, one tone control
- Price: $1,199
A1.6D-LH
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Three-piece maple, thin C profile, set-through
- Fingerboard: Ebony
- Scale length: 25.5"
- Frets: 24 stainless steel
- Bridge: EverTune
- Pickups: Duncan Solar humbuckers
- Controls: Five-way blade switch, one volume control, one tone control
- Price: $1,249
Solar A2.6TPB+
- Body: Sungkai
- Neck: Three-piece roasted maple, thin C profile, set-through
- Fingerboard: Roasted maple
- Scale length: 25.5"
- Frets: 24 Super Jumbo
- Bridge: Fixed
- Pickups: Duncan Solar Plus humbuckers
- Controls: Five-way blade switch, one volume control, one tone control
- Price: $849
Solar GC2.6BOP+
- Body: Sungkai
- Neck: Three-piece roasted maple neck, thin C profile, set-through
- Fingerboard: Roasted maple
- Scale length: 24.75"
- Frets: 24 Super Jumbo
- Bridge: Tune-o-matic
- Pickups: Duncan Solar Plus humbuckers
- Controls: Three-way toggle switch, one volume and tone control, each with push/pull for series/parallel
- Price: $849
Solar GC2.6TPB
- Body: Sungkai
- Neck: Three-piece roasted maple neck, thin C profile, set-through
- Fingerboard: Roasted maple
- Scale length: 24.75"
- Frets: 24 Super Jumbo
- Bridge: Tune-o-matic
- Pickups: Duncan Solar Plus humbuckers
- Controls: Three-way toggle switch, one volume and tone control, each with push/pull for series/parallel
- Price: $849
Solar AB2.4CAR
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Three-piece maple, thin C profile, bolt-on
- Fingerboard: Maple
- Scale length: 34"
- Frets: 24 Super Jumbo
- Bridge: High Mass bridge
- Pickups: Solar soapbar active pickups
- Controls: Volume, Balance, Active Bass and Treble with center detent
- Price: $799
Solar AB2.5MBL
- Body: Alder
- Neck: Three-piece maple, thin C profile, bolt-on
- Fingerboard: Maple
- Scale length: 35"
- Frets: 24 Super Jumbo
- Bridge: High Mass bridge
- Pickups: Solar soapbar active pickups
- Controls: Volume, Balance, Active Bass and Treble with center detent
- Price: $949
To find out more about all the new models, head over to Solar.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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