Let's Talk About Solar Guitars Again (Cracked Fretboards)
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- Due to popular demand I'm back again to cover a very similar topic.
Solar guitars qc/ Fretboard cracks.
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Finnish issues? I thought Ola was Swedish!!!
Good one 😂
there's also talk of Russian during the manufacturing process.
Pin worthy
LOL
💀
The great question is: how their customer service is solving the issues? Every brand can and will have issues. How they solve them is the difference between a good brand and a crap.
I contacted them when mine’s Floyd has some problems and they said that if I take it to the shop and show the receipt they’ll cover the cost if it’s under 1000kr (approx 100€)
but Korean deans never had an issue
These is the real question. If you're shipping all the way from Europe to the US, especially during this shipping climate, you are almost guaranteed to have some kind of damage, no matter the brand. Customer service quality is the better gauge.
@@fuckayouman3869 Yeah sure.. So what, you got a personal relationship with anyone who ever bought a dean? GTFOH.
@@HeavyInstinct never heard of Dean users group , just like the solar one
"I hate guitar players."
Seriously. Guitarists aren't people.
They're the worst. I'm the worst. I hate me.
@@majesticpbjcat7707 it's me. i am guitarists.
I'm in this comment and I don't like it.
I hate people. .. but I love guitars !!!
@@majesticpbjcat7707 Dude, that's so deep man.
I feel your words
Let me tell you a story, of why I'm so fucking impressed with LTD.
I was squeezing the ass out of a starving artists budget, for two identical stage guitars. Having played everything in budget, it came down to Ibanez, Jackson, and LTD.
My guitar shop hooked me up with the LTD UK distributer, on the phone, right there. It was THEY who suggested that I could get a deal on two 'factory seconds'. I said, "fine. I care not at all about finish issues, as long as the playability is unaffected". As I was not even fussy about colour, they sent me two down, through my local store, for £240 IN TOTAL. Then it took me and the store owner an hour to find the issues... a chip on the very tippy top of the headstock on one, some dust in the spraycoat on the neck-heel (no backplate on these, right there) near the pocket.
A week later they rang back to make sure I was happy.
Thus, is brand loyalty born.
Are myself a owner of a LTD H-1007 and love it...🙏🤘It took me about 30years of Playing and testing almost all the brands to come to this point..☮
Facebook groups are the septic tank of the internet
Shit... Facebook, period. I personally believe social media, especially Facebook and similar platforms, is responsible for people's mental health issues. Man, you sit on that bullshit all day and it really will make you crazy. People need to unplug themselves from all of this technology. I'm not saying to do away with it completely, but it's not life and many people act like they can't live without their phones and social media.
I miss forums
Jemsite, 7string.org, and meshuggah forum was all I did on the internet from 2004-2009
The septic tank of the septic tank which is the internet in general
Facebook is definitely the stink eye of the internet
Agreed
I was excited to learn about my EU consumer rights until I realised that I live in the U.K.
Welcome to the Brexit, sir.
But no seriously, I'm trapped on this damn island too so I feel your pain dude.
@@DemonDethchase better that than being under the corrupt and incompetent EU, that's for sure.
@@richardharrold9736 yep, just the corrupt and incompetent UK government, two evils and no good choice in my opinion. Gutting for the musicians who want to tour Europe though right?
(Edit: I realize all governments have many moving parts and I'm sure many of them do mean well and are not 'corrupt' but just like a football team you want the best players, not the ones who will just do a job...basically EU or UK government we can't expect a new manager will fix our issues and remove bad actors)
Clap the NHS and give them a 1% pay rise, love it. Great Britain, hell yeah!!!
You've got two weeks to reject something not fit for purpose and thats just stage 1 of a stage 3 process. Look up consumer rights.
@@richardharrold9736 Great idea that, tossing aside one of the best trade deals in history. Especially when you are an Island, aka very dependant on export/import.
Problem is, there's a lot of US customers who are getting shafted as they're having to pay a large sum extra to send the defective guitars back that shouldn't have gone out in the first place, solar should cover these costs.
Aggreed.
I recently bought a Solar A2.7C and it's very nice considering its price ($699). No issues with the guitar at all, but I really didn't like that I couldn't contact Solar via email. I got an automatic reply that said my communications were blocked. So, other than Facebook, which I don't have, there's no way to contact them. That alone will ensure that I'll most likely never buy another Solar guitar. Nothing personal against Ola, either.
@@nckhed Glad your guitar is good, but to me that would be personal against him. He's choosing to run his company this way, which is fine up to a point, but when you get to a certain volume and number of customers, you have to have multiple avenues for people to contact customer service.
@@Scott__C That's true. Plus, unless things have changed since I bought my Solar almost a year ago, all non-EU customers do not have to the right to return a guitar for any reason. No company phone number and absolutely no way to contact them via email. Very strange. As for the guitar, I'll eventually sell it because it's just not really for me. Probably haven't played it for a whole hour since I've gotten it, lol.
@@nckhed Now, THAT's a bummer, especially when you had to have it shipped from Europe.
Not gonna lie, a cracked fretboard with wood filler in the cracks would be a metal as fuck aesthetic
Metal colour filler would be really sick actually
Let the hunt for the perfect tone filler begin!
@@thejkyle bet you 10 bucks it's ebony!
@Virgil G I'm 30 years old, I don't give a shit if 15 year olds think I'm a fucking poser because I buy a guitar with aesthetic appointments lmfao. I guess if you don't personally paint and finish your guitar, you're a poser.
some boutique builder was doing resin bodies with bottle caps and other shit, but they touted their resin as a proprietary blend that was "resonant" or whatever. i personally prefer really ridgid or snappy necks, tho, so i bet normal old boat epoxy resin would be fine.
Cracked fingerboards have nothing to do with QC, its fundamental manufacturing flaws - very likely some ebony boards have not been dried properly to 8% or below, plus a huge pointy inlay and when the guitar ends up in a drier environment, you get those nice cracks
Very true, they are cutting corners on the wood treatment. Humidity in Indonesia is a lot higher than most places where these guitars are getting shipped. Once they get exposed to a dryer climate is only a matter of time the weaker parts of the wood grain gives up.
That is true for a lot of manufacturing in East-Asia. In Korea and Japan they obviously have their act together but when producing in Indonesia or the PRC you really need a trusted capable person on location for QC. Not only production itself but also the raw materials, in this case the woods used.
This happened to a classical guitar I bought. The luthier is handling it really well though. We are repairing while I wait for a new guitar.
@@RaulEdu33 So how big a deal is the humidity cracking? I have an expensive dean that just did the same thing. Can't return it either. Worth having fixed or no?
@@toxic2355 Depends on how big the damage, I would take it to a local luthier instead of Dean if it's an older than 20years. Need to keep it inside a case with humidity absorption pouches, will keep the wood and equipment safe longer.
My Solar 7 string does indeed have a cracked fret board. It doesn't really affect the playability that I have noticed.
Not good tho. I saw Kevin frasard has an older Washburn solar and it has the same issue
but it will affect the price the day you want to sell it. Nobody will buy it with a cracked fretboard
Send it back. It will get worse as the temp changes. It’s only a 2 week turnaround to get your new one.
I just saw you on a previous video I watched wtf
HOLY SHIT? You play metal?!!
I think part of the problem that people have with Solar is that they are (or have given the impression that they are) an extremely online company. Through his CZcams channel and his connections with other players, Ola has made Solar seem more open and accessible than other guitar companies. Therefore, people expect them to be more responsive to complaints.
Lol fender changes their phone number after the sale
@@BOBANDVEG I don't know what you're talking about, have I missed something?
@@BOBANDVEG not true at all, I once returned a one year old bass because its neck was highly unstable. They wanted to give me a free exchange neck. Unfortunately it got lost @ Fender, but after half a year of waiting they made it up with a completely new bass.
One of the other problems is people have a gross misunderstanding of how search engines work: they’re only going to return values that match your keywords. So if I Google “iPhone battery issue”, Google isn’t going to return values for how good the battery is lol
@@josefeld7164 exact same thing happened to me. Got a new bass because of a faulty neck. Fender was very gratious about it.
Get him guys!!!! He got a T-shirt!!!!!
😂
BRIBERY!?
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!
Audio Audit: KDH.
"If you have an issue, just contact customer service and they'll take care of you"
Wise words sir.
You can always pick guitarists out of the crowd when playing live, they just stand their with their arms crossed looking angry.
Thanks, I never realized I did this until now.
Argggg your one of them... Hahaha. I enjoy this channel I've only come across it recently & I subscribed . I don't know what it is about us guitarists , we're such a closed knit community with most looking for problems rather than just enjoy the channels / music / reviews. I'd be a very different guitarist if I grew up with CZcams , I taught myself to play by ear back in the late 80's. Because of that I have my own style, people today sound very much the same . Music has put a roof over my head & im a professional musician to this day.... A metal band a fusion band & session work is a good living but you have to be ready to Work. Sorry about the long reply, I seem to write & have a hard time stopping.
@@glennhughes2664 ha! you'll never catch me dead doing anything like that at a live show. No matter how rubbish or how brilliant the guitarist is, I always find myself grooving to their music. Its their musical.perception, their performance, they deserve respect and appreciation for any musicianship.
@ Allinson, I totally agree I never said I did it. Me, other bands had no idea I was on the bill I'd never stand their like a statue looking angry. Why are they so angry looking..... Yeah when I play I have a good time listening & when I go on the " those " guitarists freak out thinking I was just another punter not in the headline band , maybe they're insecure or really bad guitarist & get jealous I really don't know. Why go out to see live music & stand there like they are angry as fluck ? I don't get it either but it's true it's damn true.
I could of sworn I saw this exact comment on a video about ass hole guitar channels that try to cancel people. I.e. A video about channels like the one we are on right now...
I hope Solar does good with the customer service. Im really cheering for Ola!
I appreciate your genuine reviews
KDH seems to have become the guitar police when it comes to consumer advocacy and ethics. I appreciate the content, but I don't wanna pigeon hole the dude. Good show KDH!
He's also tried to cancel people for stupid shit multiple times. And for that, he's a fucking ass hole...
@@Blindashitmetalasfuck found the butthurt
@@Blindashitmetalasfuck why are you watching his videos then?
@@Blindashitmetalasfuck true
@@Blindashitmetalasfuck gonna be honest though, all three of Stevie T, Rob Chapman and Jeff Kiesel deserved to be called out and trialed by the community.
Just to put this in context - We have sold well over 50,000 guitars in my time and I cannot remember a single guitar developing a crack in the fretboard - that's over 26 years. To see SO many cracked fretboards on such a niche brand is definitely a major issue. Anyone for whom this occurs should return the guitar regardless of warranty period.
I like the way you come across as genuine and straight up. Thanks for these videos...
Bribed with a Tshirt? Lol what do they think he is, an 80s groupie?
Woah w....woah....hes got a point
He isn't??
Our tshirt guy always did get a lions share of the womens.
KDH is actually an 80s groupie who traveled forwards in time to save the world from bad guitars and dishonest people on youtube.
Don't expect rationality from these people. I guarentee there's a crossover between them & conspiracy theorists.
Every single one of those fretboard pictures looked very dry. I'd guess most are in northern hemisphere winter which is why the cracks are coming out. A guitar going from Indonesia in November to Spain in January, to Finland/Canada in February is asking a lot of the wood. Not saying that Solar shouldn't help out but wood is an organic material and sometimes it cracks with moisture/temperature changes.
I was thinking the exact same thing. People really tend to ignore their fretboards, which I think is fucking awful. Oiling your fretboard makes it last longer, play better and look better.
Good way of looking at it and I have feeling some of them were truss rod ajustments.
@@nathanhyde2079 truth is I was curious about how many of these stemmed from truss rod adjustments.
Out of the box my solar guitars neck looked like a boomerang. I’m convinced someone wanted to see if they might be able to fold it in half using the truss rod.
I had to do a significant adjustment on it to straighten the neck. And while creaking sounds are relative normal when making that kind of adjustment - I has to adjust it A LOT so I took it quite slow to let the wood settle.
If they didn’t ship the guitar with the neck all but folded in half from the amount of relief in it then I’m curious if we would still be seeing so many cracked fretboards.
Still, it takes a special someone or something to break the fretboard during a truss rod adjustment. There comes a point that it’s rather easy to tell you shouldn’t turn it any further.
I got one shipped here to Canada about a year ago. Super slight logo finish "blistering" or whatever. I was actually amazed at the setup though. Neck was almost flat and like 1.8mm string height at 12th fret. I think the only thing i did was raise the treble side of one of the pickups a micron haha
@@nathanhyde2079 You’d likely break the rod itself before cracking a fretboard/neck adjusting it. Changes in temperature/humidity can wreak havoc on dry fretboards. Cracks like the ones in these photographs would suggest there were already cracks to begin with that when exposed to environmental fluctuations wen’t haywire. For a perfectly good fretboard to split like that due to temperature changes you would likely also notice quite a few other issues in addition such as fret sprout.
I've played sub $500 guitars my whole life and never had anything even close to this happen
Same here I've played jackson beginner and intermediate basses them things are reliable and active.
Yeah I've flipped so much beat up gear locally (restore + profit) and never seen this ever.
Here in Cyprus my guitars underwent extreme heat in their room and temperatures close to 0 in winter nights. No cracking. Also I don't have the famous crack at the neck joint in my Ibanez Darkstone. My expensive Framus Tennessee though has some frets in the highest region lifted. The price of a guitar often doesn't matter at all.
I'm 42 and been playing for 20 years since I started in the 90's. I've played instruments from the 80's until now. I've never had a cracked fretboard on any guitar over any period of time. Makes me think about buyer destroyer, but who knows.
Yeah I mean, I love Ola, but I've owned 10 Ibanez instruments in my life and never seen anything close to this bad.
By EU law you should be able to return the guitar for free. Why is Solar asking you to pay the shipping cost?
Finally someone asking this question.
Idk if it applies to Harley Benton shipping to the us but I tried to refund mine and they didn’t want to pay shipping and the shipping cost 800 dollars to send it back and now I’m trying to sell it and I cant
Because if they can get a few uninformed customers to take on the cost, then they get to save that expense for themselves. Not exactly a noble business practice, but if they can find the occasional sucker, it saves them money.
@James Duff so you just keep buying the guitars? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
@James Duff I hope they took care of the problem.
@@JustAPairofLegs It applies to EU customers within EU borders AFAIK
1:08 im so glad theres a boat, you never know when you'll need it
lmfao
Kmfsl god damn that is an awesome comment bro
If i were a customer with an issue I'd contact the company vs wait around for a public response to facebook group conversations. 🤷♂️
A lot of pride and Dunning Krueger lives in the guitar player world. Can’t force people to be introspective either. I’m kind of a Jackson guy, and I see the same thing on their forum. Even within the fanboys, it’s the MIJ’s against the USA’s, the Floyd’s against the hard tails... and everyone thinks they’re right. It’s like everyone forgot why they started playing in the first place, and that the whole experience is subjective. It’s ok to like all kinds of music, and all kinds of guitars. It’s also ok to really like a certain brand, and still admit that they’re not perfect. I do Ola’s riff challenges sometimes, and I’ve been really surprised at how positive and supportive his little community is, as guitar communities can be really toxic. I’m not the biggest fan of Solar, I kind of think they’re overpriced (maybe because he throws evertunes in most of them). But I definitely want to see the brand succeed because Ola (like him or not) is a hub for many really positive music related things. Anyway... my 2c...
Exactly. I can't stand the look of a Les Paul. Doesn't mean they're a bad guitar. This day and age, no one is getting along on the internet. Just weird.
Well, I have to admit that I'm more of a Galien Krueger kind of guy, but since I play bass...
@@clinttaylor6018 right? Lol. At least he doesn’t think he knows everything 😆
That whole phenomenon, where guitar players are SO wrapped up on their particular brand/model/feature comes from people attaching their identity to said product. Then, when someone comes along and talks shit about their thing, it disturbs them to the core because their ego is under threat.
@@nurk_barry right on the head. Same goes for favorite guitarists, celebrities etc... I think we’re all probably guilty of it to some degree with one thing or another. Everyone is different. I appreciate when people can agree to disagree. It’s a quality that seems a little hard to find lately.
Moral of the story: never trust an Irishman wearing a T-shirt.🤠
Seems legit.
Irish? Bloody Hell I thought that was a fuckin Brooklyn accent?!!🤦🏼
Dude. I would testify against my own Mother in open court for a nice t-shirt.
A friend of mine got one and they contacted him about how the guitar had a small ding and they offered a full refund or a reduced price.
I don't know Ola personally but I've met him back in the day. I also know people that do know him and my old guitarist has covered for him on gigs and stuff.
My impression of him is that he is a 100% legit dude. Too bad he didn't want to do an interview, tho I know he hates that stuff, but maybe we can get him to bring it up at an upcoming SWOLA or OLA FAQ?
It looks like on a couple of those fretboards that the inlay was jammed in without enough tolerance, so when the board shrinks in different humidity, and the inlay doesn't, the board loses. That's such a shame. I really hope Ola finds a way to fix this moving forward, and compensate those affected. I'm a fan of his, so I hope this all works out.
Made in a tropical rainforest (Indonesia) and then stored in an arid steppe (Spain). That has to be the worst way to process anything made of wood.
Here before Ola
Solar Guitars are cool and I hope they fix these quality control issues soon. Still better quality control than Gibson in my opinion.
jesus dude they should interview you at this point you're the most hardcore watcher in the yt metal community no lie i run into your comments everyday
Don´t even mention Gibson.
It´s such a shame whatever´s happening to them. But maybe with Dave Mustaine hopefully they´ll put more quality control in their guitars.
@@cr01554nt Thanks for the kind words, honestly I wouldn't know what to say if I ever was interviewed though. 😅
Ola seems like a decent bloke. I'm sure it's worrying to have issues with your guitar like that, hopefully the effected customers will be seen right. I'm sure they will. I like ola, and whilst his guitars don't appeal to me, I'd like to see the company succeed.
It reminds me of Chapman Guitars. I mean, I wasn't a huge fan of Rob Chapman, but I actually liked his guitars. When they first came out, they were solid mass-produced, Asian built guitars. Unfortunately, the quality went down big time after they started getting their stuff in Guitar Centers in America.
So I guess, reading back, this is nothing like Chapman Guitars once you get past CZcams. Still, I want these small companies to succeed because it breeds change with the big ones. Healthy competition and all that.
@@biganimetiddies1287 I guess it is similar really. Probably made in the same factories, and both owned by youtube personalities. In my opinion though, Ola seems a much, much more genuine guy than Chapman. I'm not a fan of Chapman at all, he's full of shit.
Timber had high moisture content when milled and glued up, subsequently dried out in time: cracks
So, it’s not poor quality control but rather poor craftsmanship.
Bribed with a tshirt. That’s amazing. Dude, you could take that as a compliment.
literally on the verge of dropping coin on a Solar, this info is eye opening. I have 80/90s guitars that have zero issues. That's a worry. I have never seen a cracked fretboard like that. Ever.
Same here. Sadness.
Good thing Ola came out and said they’ll take any cracked ones back! And they also cover any of your costs at a shop if they arrive defective, if you choose to go that route
I have 3 Solars .... all are great so far. Going on 1.5 years on 2 of them. 6 months for the other.
“I asked Ola if I could read this out and here is what he has to say” *CZcams cuts to ad* sick
Right. 🤦♂️
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The ad I got was for something called Goodada, which is about just this subject.
lmao sounds like ola content alright
I like how he just airs people out with a calm Terminator like demeanor.
A fretboard cracking on a new $700+ guitar after a year is a HUGE red flag. I have multiple $200 new guitars that have been in a garage, no case, for years. No cracks.
Disappointing out of Solar, but not surprising.
Thanks for the info my dude. This is a great channel. You seem genuine and your pulling the curtain over these fake guitar personalities out there. Fresh change of pace hearing a talented guitar player who is pretty darn humble and cool person. Thanks for the material and I hope you give out another one of the big fat picks again cause I'm gonna be the first person to enter to win it. I'm a total pick nerd brother lol.❤
Glad I held off on purchasing one. I have a beautiful LTD Delux with ebony fretboard that is perfect for 8 years now.
cracked wood isn't a case of quality control as often as it is a case of proper handling and transportation, humidity and temperature conditions while shipping, sat in warehouses, and generally being jostled around in an unstable/changing state while the wood is relatively fragile as it adjusts to different climactic conditions could easily cause this, might explain the weird delamination of the decals as well. guitars need to be looked after, and in the ongoing pandemic situation makes it harder for the logistics workers, who already do not know what they are doing to take proper care of these instruments in transit.
i'd suggest that the factory Solars are made in includes something to act as a humidifier, under the normal plastic bag arrangement that it comes with in the box, if that helps nothing and these issues keep happening, then the factory isn't sourcing properly dried timber.
Your last line says it all.
Thanks for addressing this issue lot of stress among solar owners right now due to this
Everyone criticizes buying products from a middle man, until you need assistance and your direct seller is on the opposite side of the flat earth.
TBH you're pretty much the only CZcamsr that I feel can be trusted in terms of whether your opinion is genuine or not.
i second this lol ( generally)
I found this Channel today.i watched Till night. Awesome. Finally some honesty.subbed.🙂🖖
These fretboard cracks are not the end of the world when/if they happen. I'm not sure about the cracked maple, but cracks in Ebony are an easy fix. A luthier will sand a little bit to create a little bit of dust, then mix the dust and some resin and use it to fill the cracks. I had an ebony board once that was fixed this way and it came out perfect. Probably works with maple too I'd imagine
That's an old woodworking trick for filling any cracks, adhesive+sawdust fills cracks like new. Not a really big deal to me.
Scary if you don't know that though, I would panic too. Admittedly before doing some research and finding that out but this is the Internet age - shout first haha
it´s not the problem that it can´t be fixed, it shouldnt be there in the beginning. it´s a quality issue, if they are cracked dont use them
@@Cherub1m And yet it's better not to be a baby about something easily fixable right? Yeah, Solar shouldn't send out these guitars but at their price point it wouldn't exactly break the bank to fix it yourself either.
@@pegglethon4553 no, there shouldnt be anything to be fixed. you pay money you want a perfect guitar, imagine you are a beginner and you dont know how to fix it. nothing about being a baby you just want your value
Having been apart of that FB group and owning 2 Solars myself...I've never been involved in a group that gives me so much anxiety when scrolling fb haha! Even seeing this video makes me want to run to my music room and check both my guitars with a torch for any signs of 'cracking'...
How are your Solars doing by now? Just got mine a few days ago and since I made the mistake of looking at reviews online, I am completely paranoid 🤣. Actually bought the guitar without knowing the brand or whom it belonged to. Just love how it looks and feels and it was recommended by the shop I bought it at.
@@Wollestar I check now and again, but no issues! I turned off the notifications to that group cos it got a little too much. Worth an inspection everytime I oil the neck and change strings and setup but thats it
@@RJFHMusic thanks for the quick answer. What I take away from these reviews, is that I will take good care of the instrument (as you probably always should) and oil the fretboard on a regular basis. Everything else is outside of my influence.
@@Wollestar Sounds like a relatively sensible opinion! Look after the instrument, oil it everytime you change strings. All else should be fine
I know its a lot of work, but John Suhr and Peter Stapfer and Peter Diezel, are in their groups on Facebook every day. They reply. Make suggestions to try to help resolve stuff, and provide customer service themselves. Both Peters from Diezel reached out to me to be facebook friends when I posted about buying a used Diezel amp in a forum. This is the new customer service model. The companies I've mentioned have existed since before the internet though, so they've grown with this idea. Ola is transitioning from CZcams personality to Guitar MFG owner. There's almost nothing related in the business types. It would be to his credit if he addressed some of the issues publicly on his channel or in social media. To be honest, I've seen the same thing happen to Kiesel guitars with ebony boards. I've heard less issues about his brand than either Chapman or Abasi. Why are people picking on Ola specifically?
I just bought a Solar and when it arrived the fretboard came pre-cracked... neat, also the binding was cracking where the frets were.
This video indeed was helpful when deciding if to buy their guitar or not. Thanks
There's no way Ola wrote that letter himself.
Since Ola is the owner I think it would be ill advised to make any public statement regarding this matter without running it by someone in your legal department.
Lol yeah his English ain't that good
I'd say that's probably Ola (or Louise) but through some sort of legal advisor. Making any statement like this has to be "proper" if you get what I mean.
Probably his brother Frederik
@@DSchea Could be. I mostly mean that any like, official statements or stuff like that are probably legally binding in one way or the other so I would assume you can't really say much more than "we're looking into it" without it becoming binding and so on.
Guess part of it, is you have been a pretty straight shooter. You're becoming trusted by the community. It's a double edge sword.
That statement was NOT Ola. That was a Solar marketing person. Guaranteed
Did a set up on a Solar last week. I think it was a few years old. It had a crack in the fretboard around the OLA logo edges. The neck has also gotten a bit of a warp around the 12th fret so you couldn't get the neck straight. I really liked the guitar though, it felt nice, sounded really nice and I'm thinking my next guitar will probably be a Solar.
I liked the look and feature sets of Solars at first, but the prices didn’t line up with the quality level. Not surprising at all given we saw all this happen with Chapman just a few years ago.
Hey gang! I wanted to ad my two cents in the matter. Bear in mind this is just a theory. Indonesia has a much higher moisture level climate-wise. This could be theoretically the source of the problem. So they produce the guitar in a high moisture climate, then ship it to say Spain where the general moisture level is lower. The moist wood discharges the moisture (evaporates it), thus forcing the wood fibers to contract and producing the crack.
Side note:
I owned a Epiphone Lee Malia Explorer made in Indonesia. There were no wood problems with it, but when I received it from Thomann one of the frets had surface level corrosion on it and the gig bag had moisture stains on it.No biggy (some fine grit sandpaper and it was better than new)but comes to show you that some guitars coming from Indonesia are soaked.
Edit: I ain’t bashing on Ola
Thanks for the explanation my dude!
I wish more people gave others the benefit of the doubt, but oh well, that´s life i guess.
@@bidenswetvagoogoo2001 freezing the wood can also produce the cracks as well (during shipping)
It’s really great that you’re getting solar to address their problems
Just thought I’d add I have a solar guitar. I have had a few issues with it but me being an idiot and it being my first guitar one of them was most definitely my fault, the problem being denting a fret which probably happened when I dropped it. I also have a loose input jack but again probably my fault. My last problem though I’m not sure if it was my doing that being the coil splitting knob coming off.
Overall though the guitar is good, not that my opinion on that matters much since it is my first and only guitar
I have owned a lot of Indonesian made guitars over the years, and lived near Indonesia for many years. I always check all Indonesian guitars when I get them and make sure they have not suffered from dried out fretboards due to Canada being a lot drier a climate than islands in the South China seas. I usually lubricate all of them within 3 months after changing the strings for the first time and then adjusting the action as it usually changes intonation which tells me they are drying out. If you use the right lube, this usually eliminates the problems as the wood adapts to the climate eventually and doesn't dry out.
Solid advice
I never played a newer solar. I had a Washburn solar from back in the day and I remember it being a really good guitar. The fretboard made my fingers so black though. Worse I ever experienced. I’ve dealt with the black finger phenomenon many times from various brands. Wether it’s dyed fretboards or dirty wood or whatever it may be, this was the worst. My finger tips looked like I dipped them in printer ink and then tried to wipe it off with a dry paper towel. Once that abated it was a good guitar and I’ve been debating trying one of the newer ones out. I still may.
I live in the states and I had a warranty repair with origin effects. This is like 2-3 months ago so during covid. They said that I would have to pay for the shipping there but they would pay for the shipping back. This is after I had to make a video to show them the issue and have them verify it was indeed not my fault. I agreed because the pedal was like 700 bucks. It’s a custom revival drive. I go to ship it and the cheapest option was like 250 bucks. I didn’t send it. Covid has really wreaked havoc on shipping costs. I’ve read articles talking about free shipping may not be a thing in the coming times. So, I can kind of understand a company not wanting or being able to pay those prices for repair shipping etc. I’m not saying it’s right and I certainly didn’t feel good when I wrote origin telling them about the shipping issue and they were like sorry bro. It sucked and I was pissed. As a customer when you spend a lot of money on something you hope the manufacturer does the right thing. It’s good to hear that Ola seems to be doing right by people with issues. Has anyone said that they contacted customer support and was denied or was treated poorly by solar?
I contacted them and am getting a full refund for my guitar with a cracked fretboard. Had it for 6 months.
@@ThePopsers that’s good. Ola seems like a regular guy and a good dude. I can’t see him taking advantage of fans and customers. I’m sure he will make it right.
I totally understand possible environmental issues and I’ll even slightly concede possible mistreatment by the player I guess. But have to say cracked fretboards as seen in those pictures is flat out NOT something you see very often. On any guitar from any brand. Simply attributing it to shipping or the player not conditioning the fretboard doesn’t add up to me personally. Those cracks looked quite severe in my opinion.
It's the wood itself. Roasted maple and ebony are both fairly brittle if their moisture contents are too low. So, the guitars are going from Indonesia (hot and humid), to Spain (warm and dry, generally), and then off to any conceivable place. If QC on the raw materials is faulty, then parched woods (which can really move quite a bit with environmental changes) might be getting built into guitars when and where they shouldn't. It's telling that it is seemingly only happening to the fretboards. That's the most flexible, and weakest piece of wood on any guitar.
That statement was 100% not written by Ola lol. That was a copy-pasted damage control statement they had on deck exactly for this eventuality.
I have 2 solar guitars that I purchased about 1 year ago and they are still in great condition.
I enjoy your videos because they are not only educational as far as gear goes, they are also a lesson in critical thinking (a rarity these days).
Back in the day (TM) Guitars were made in the country were the brand was actually based and to some extent from domestic woods (exceptions apply). Wood was slowly grown, stored for optimal humidity (if it had to for years) and then crafted in to a Guitar. These days wood is grown industrially, chopped down, quickly dried and then CNC'ed on the spot. In Indonesia an other countries with high humidity. Before the glue and paint is dried (overemphasized for dramatic effect) the guitars are shipped to all around the world. If a guitar that was made last month in Indonesia and is unpacked in say Arizona today might react to the rapid shift of humidity and climate. No guitar company that proudces like that is safe from these issues.
Could the cracking ebony be down to the thickness of the fretboard? I have a 40 year old bass guitar (Yamaha BB1200) with an ebony fretboard, and until watching this video wasn't aware they need more care and maintenance than something like a rosewood one. The difference is that my bass has a much thicker fretboard than it looks like the Solar guitars have.
Love your videos buddy. Don't let the idiots get you down.
As a solar owner I am a little frustrated that ola himself hasn't made a statement on this, I am continuing to check mine for any defects
Never got into the Solar guitars. Didn’t like Chapman guitars either.
Despite this I would still wholeheartedly buy a Solar guitar so long as they stand by their products. RC is another story given KDH's videos.
Chapman is complete shit.
@@RohannvanRensburg Yeah at least Ola is a good person unlike Rob Chapman.
@@citrus7115 looking at chapman guitars without knowing any issues with them I wouldnt buy onr
I came across a Chapman guitar at a local shop. It was one of the strat-types with a reverse headstock. A completely soulless instrument with no character. Sure, a decent studio musician could probably write okay music with it, but it had no spirit or distinctive feel to it. And the Chapman name is all it had going for it. Plus, that same store had a couple ESP/LTD Eclipses for about $200 cheaper, a much better option.
Is Rabea the only Chapman player left? Does Rob Scallon still play one.
I’ve worked in manufacturing for many years. When demand goes up, qc usually suffers. The way that qc works with thousands of pieces of material is- qc will randomly pick X-amount of fingerboard and body wood and test it for moisture content, cracks, knots etc. If a certain % passes, the whole lot of material is signed off, ready for production. $1K+ is not that much for a guitar these days (you can thank the big companies for that), and with the guitar market as saturated as it presently is, competition for the demand manifests itself in issues like this. If Solar wants to survive, these things will change.
I got my Solar FR A1.6 in the Lemon Neon Matte color about 9 months ago. I made sure to time the shipping so it would avoid exposure to extreme winter temperatures. The only issue I have had is that the Solar logo is peeling a tiny bit. No serious problems. I should mention, I have been oiling the fret boat between every other string change. So the fretboard has been oiled 2-3 times. This could be helping prevent the infamous fretboard cracking that has been reported lately. My other theory is that the color is unpopular, so I may have received a guitar that was manufactured before the QC issues began.
Hope they resolve their wood/finish qc issues. I like ola and his brand. I dont own a solar, and probably wont until they fix this issue. I considered a 7 string from them with evertune because it is a good value. But at this point id rather pay $600 more and get a custom kiesel.
what about a slightly used ESP then?
To be honest, Jackson has a lot of cracked or damaged fretboards. Even mine had, the point of a headstock broken off, very badly actually.
My Jackson once lived in Florida and Los Angeles before I bought it and had it brought to Michigan. It’s the third one of the same exact model I’ve owned, but the first to have a fretboard crack (presumably because of the differences in humidity it experienced) wood moves 🤷♂️ people need to understand that once something leaves the factory doesn’t mean it will always look like that
Maybe the Chinese . Never had issues with jackson's MIJ
KDH!!! greetings from oswego, NY...just wondering if you've seen any of the louis torres vs. ola/solar guitars drama in the last few days??? mite be something you want to comment on...love your content brother!!!
I went guitar shopping about a a month or so ago as I was getting rid of the three guitars I already had (for those who care, I had an Eiphone Jason Hook M4 explorer, Schecter Demon-7 and a Chapman (yes THAT chapman) ghost fret V2) I opted to sell them all in favour of one quite expensive guitar. I had initially looked into buying a Solar guitar but remembered KDH's initial report on the QC problems and promptly bought a Schecter Banshee-7. So glad I didn't buy a Solar
Ive had my solar for around a year and never had an issue. I dont know if it is just mine. Keep in mind that i take great care of it always conditioning the fretboard and treating it with as much care as i can. The only thing that it has is that the logo has bubbled up a little but never with my fretboard or anything. I personally love it and have had great experiences with their customer support. Im not saying that its the fault of the people that have their guitar cracking but maybe my guitar hasnt had this because its over a year old. Maybe their QC has been affected by Covid or maybe their qc has just gotten worse
@James Duff And we've seen absolutely nothing yet. Shit's playing out like a sick Hollywood movie. That's exactly why movies and pretty much all forms of media are predictive programming. And you know people are going to scoff it all off, but that's only natural.
I had the same issue out of the box. The guitar had neck finish flaking off and the ends of the frets were finished horribly. It took alot of emails and effort for Solar to acknowledge that there was an issue. In the end they offered a refund. It was not delightful experience.
I recognize your voice from that video against that britt-bully wackadoodle... nice video mate
I temporarily had a solar guitar I traded my ltd Wayne static explorer for. It held up pretty well and didn't have any issues (electrical or cosmetic). Only reason I traded it was the seven string I traded it for was a Keith merrow with Lundgren black heavens. Sucks people are having these issues. Hopefully Ola will listen and get some extra QC inspectors.
When you read Ola's statement, I still heard it in his voice. Burps and all.
“I-I-I hate- I hate guitar players. They’re just.....ugh!” I feel ya man! But trust me, it’s not just guitar players. Although we all are a bit neurotic, when it comes to social media, it’s not just guitar players. People from every walk of life and hobbies and just in general seem to turn into grade A arseholes hiding behind a computer screen or device. I don’t own a Solar guitar (although I want to) from what I hear, Ola and his company will do everything they can above and beyond just about ANY guitar company to make an issue right. Ola seems like a standup guy and more importantly, a musician that understands what it means to have good customer service. And I said all this without even getting a T-Shirt. 😂 Good video man!
Just look at all the tone authoritarians online. If somebody posts a video of themselves playing a riff, there will always be some douche saying "Your tone is complete dogshit". Actual musicians interacting with each other away from a computer would say "Hey...can I make a suggestion about your tone?". There's no need for pointless obnoxious attitudes.
I own a solar A1.6 FRC and it tops many others. One of the best I have played in every category
This is where the fun begins
Cracking wood generally happens in younger uncured wood or if you heat treat it and fuck about with the timing of the process. I'm a woodworker and a guitar player but ebony was always expensive wood and it was bizarre to see the guitar making industry pick it up and start using it as a common component. With regards to the roasted maple stuff. And all the variations that exist, it's a process that needs attention if you want it to be successful. Cracked wood literally slips through QC checking as well because of how long it can take.
Ebony has risen in popularity as Brazilian rosewood became harder to get. Also it looks rad.
People just don't know how to maintain their guitars. If it's not shipped to them like that, it's not a QC issue in my opinion.
You a customer service rep for Solar?
@@ChainsawChristmas no, but if a item is not shipped with a crack then it's not on them. If you play acoustic guitar you have to have it humidified or it cracks. Any wood cracks when it's not properly hydrated.
“Why did I have to make this video?”
You didn’t. Facebook guitar groups might be the dumbest place on the internet.
Cracked fretboards is a critical flaw with the builder..Quality builders stand behind their products..not belittle the buyer.
People are so easily affected by what they rad on the internet. I'm sure the complaints are true, but I'm also pretty sure that while 99% of people who have issues actually complain, the vast majpority of those who don't have issues remains silent because they just don't know/care. Those groups amplifiy the issues and while this is good because they can bring them to the public and hopefully receive assistance, it can misrepresent the actual size of the issue
Like Kiesel imo.
It was just this, I left the group cause I was sick of the people who didn't even own one s**tposting on every single genuine post
I've asked several times if people had reported this issue to solar and the majority replied with no. Its just more convenient to complain on fb. Its become more of a group of people wanting attention rather than goto solar to fix their issue and has become such a negative forum because of it. If it was my guitar I would have went straight to solar with my issue and if it wasn't resolved with them then I would have taken it up on the forum.
Except when you live in the US and the return could cost you an additional $300-$400. When strapped with that cost, users feel like they can't afford to return it and get the value from their money.
Have you bothered to ask them to pay for repairs and shipping at their cost since the damages were beyond your control and due to failures on their end? Yall gotta learn to speak up and stand up for yourself. Not everyone is going to do that for you
@@hebguy420 I have a Solar with no issues but friends who do. That's not being offered to them upon contact with customer service.
Then that's their issue with getting the problem resolved. If you had an issue with your gf you going to plaster it all over fb to have people give you worse information, most likely no. So why is this any different. Its a personal problem that people are making a bigger deal out of than needs be and creating a toxic place for people like me who just want to see people post pics of their rigs as it was intended to be
@@hebguy420 because people being quiet throughout history has lead to positive change right? To each their own man. It took people, like me, and many others, to bring the issue to the forefront. Best thing about the internet and social media... you can choose to look away.
Awesome channel
My ~2 y/o Solar has had some problems with the electronics and the Floyd. Right out of the box the locking nut would shift whenever you used the bridge which was annoying, but an easy fix at home so no customer service required. Then the volume pot started crackling whenever you’d use it. After that, the wound string would pop when pulling back on the Floyd. I’ve taken the guitar for repairs about twice now for the latter problems but they keep coming back. Mine seems to be an anomaly though since I haven’t seen anyone with these particular problems.
If they were gonna bribe you wouldn’t they send you a free guitar for you to keep instead of a t-shirt?!?!
...20 year old Squier laughs in the corner
Yep, I have had a beaten up 1996 Squire that I bought second hand when I was 16, in 2006, which I bought with my first ever pay. It's heavy as hell, and missing a lot of the finish, but it plays as good as many $2000 guitars. I have upgraded all the hardware and electronics, and have refretted it because the frets were half gone in places, and I will never part with it.
My ‘79 yamaha black beauty is my ride or die...
@@6nosis I had an 80s black Yamaha with 24 frets and a single bridge humbucker. I loved that guitar, but unfortunately it was stolen.
@@Patrick-857 I played a RGZ 110 and it was great
The dislikes are from the people who got a cracked fret board and hated that you got a free t-shirt.
Hey man thanks for making this video even though you said you didn’t want to be the guy to acknowledge the cracked fret boards, but again like I said I thank you! I ran into the same problem with one of there guitars and in matter of fact I was super disappointed especially since there not cheap guitars you know, I was a really big Ola fan but since this happened unfortunately I will no be buying any of his guitars for a while now until I see a bit more responsibility taken into his hands to really make sure the level of standards into making these guitars are raised a lot more considering their price. I do still like the idea of them and there style but for now it’s a no for me.
Especially since I live in the United States and have no where that I can go to speak to someone in person about this issue you know?. I will say that even though after returning the solar guitar and was super disappointed I would still like to own one of there guitars sometime in the future but like I said once I see a bit more care put into these guitars and better reviews with less issues maybe then will I give it another try. I was a big fan of the blacked out A1.6C that thing looks diabolical! But for the price to have a cracked fretboard is just a BIG NO! I take good care of all my guitars and every single one has a case and gets regular tune ups and maintenance checks all the time and I have never had any of them crack on me from anywhere and there all pretty pricy guitars as well so that’s why I don’t fully accept that answer from Ola, it’s almost a bit rude to me to say that it’s not that many, like saying it’s ok to the group of individuals that there guitars cracked because his sales are a lot so they don’t matter.
?, but I think EVERY single individual who spends there hard earned money on there products should get there money’s worth on these guitars like me for one right? Well anyway that’s just my thought on this and I guess I still like the guy but Ola if your reading this man STEP UP TO THE PLATE BRO!!, and make sure your selling good shit to people! Not hating on you just a bit disappointed with you especially since I’m one of your subscribers on CZcams! I just hope you were having a bad day when you said that..... on another note with the money I got back I bought the new Epiphone Extura Prophecy explorer in all black and that thing plays like a Beast!, and for the price I think it’s 100% worth it so if anybody is looking for a new guitar I would definitely suggest looking into those, just give them a try! Alright well thank you for your time and keep making your videos I love them!
“Slip through the net”. Really my man. Missed the chance for “slip through the cracks”
I think he avoided that on purpose.
Once you contact Solar, they tell you it's your fault the ebony cracked and it's not covered. At least that's what happened to me.
So if they are changing their tune on this, I'm wondering will they pay for my repair?
The exact opposite happened to my friend. He ordered one and then they contacted him to say it had a ding and offered a full refund or a discount. This was before it even shipped to him tho.
@@apanapandottir205 that's good to hear. My crack appeared a year later, but I had it in a temp and humidity controlled room and oiled it twice during that period of time. It's ridiculous for such a pampered guitar to still crack
@@rocketPower047 Yeah,we all know that shouldn't happen after 1 year of taking even basic care of the guitar. There is obviously some issues that Solar needs to take care of asap. I have shit guitars that's been lying on the floor that has no cracks.
I played my friends solar last weekend and it felt great.
Buying a semi-expensive guitar should not be a gamble tho.
@@apanapandottir205 agreed
@@rocketPower047 You should be oiling it at least ever other string change.
Ok long winded comment but i hope this clears up why this happens to solar guitars and old washburn solars.
This is due to the inlays and not a lack of quality or subpar timbre. The solar logo on the wood has very sharp ends. This creates what's known in engineering as a stress concentration. The sharp corners amplify the stress at those points. What's worse is that the sharp ends of the inlays point vertically along the fretboard with the grain of the wood. This means that over time as the wood expands and contracts and goes through stress cycles you get tiny cracks along the grain of the boundaries of the wood which end up expanding. Only way to fix this is to change the inlay to something less sharp and more radiused. (which i dont think ola would do as its a established brand logo). Early planes that had square windows (The de Havilland Comet) crashed because the edges of the windows would create stress concentration over lots pressurization cycles and cause the fuselage to crack. As a result, all modern airliners have very rounded window edges.
Only ways I can see Ola can fix this while still keeping the current logo is by either using decals instead of inlays. or cut the wood slightly larger and more radiused that the inlay and use filler around it to reduce the stress concentrations.
Its sad that Olas getting so much hate over this because he makes really good guitars and sells them for a very fair price and these cracks aren't something that will happen at the factory QC stage as they take time and stress cycles to happen (much like the hairline cracks you eventually get at the neck joint of most bolt on neck guitars). I just hope he tries to fix this small flaw in the design of his guitar instead of pulling a Gibson and making the shitty flawed design for 60 years.
This is fascinating. A flip of the burger to you, good sir!
"Orientated" is not a word. Carry on.