SOLAR Sus

If you have been wanting a SOLAR guitar with a Sustainiac system on board + a pickguard, this AP1.6FRG is it. If there's something we noticed about SOLAR guitars, it is the fact that the manufacturer will include features that are popular in other brands. It's not an immediate manifestation but it happens along the way.

Once again, SOLAR would like us to know that this is one of those finished neck that has a satin feel instead of a gloss overcoat.

Pics: SOLAR

SOLAR: S1.6H-RSO

The new SOLAR S1.6H is not just a neck-through model; the neck rear had been satin-ized as depicted above. There are players here who prefer a glossed over body but not the neck. They want the neck to retain the matching hue but dislike that lacquer overcoat as it makes the surface sticky when the fretting hand gets sweaty. Love the fact that the SOLAR fretboard inlay had been darkened to blend into the ebony.

Pic: SOLAR

Satins

Having owned a few Gibsons, I must say they don't quite supplement my playing quirks - fat necks, blocky heels & no elbow / belly reliefs. This is one of the reasons why I held back from buying one early on. Early here refers to the 90s when prices were not as crazy but that was the prime time for shred & Ibanez was the order of the day. At least for the guitar scene here. This is namely due to the fact that the other formidable names in shred - Jackson / Charvel / Kramer / ESP - had no strong distribution here. I was going to give up on Gibson till I tried the faded SG.

Faded here means there was no gloss coating, satin by another reference. It's basically a stained neck plus a layer of sealant to hold everything in place. That was the turning point. Despite the non-preferred neck profile, the finish made the difference for me. Till today, I still keep a good lookout for satin finished Gibsons. Two of which are seen above: LP 60s tribute / LPJ. Keep this in mind- if a guitar neck profile is not your preferred profile, that's a hindrance to your playing proficiency. If the gloss neck finish gets in the way then you are dealing with two hindrances. Know what helps you play better. In my case, the gloss finish impedes my personal playing progress so if it's subtracted from the equation, I'm actually removing 50% of what gets in the way. That was what exactly happened. A gloss-free Gibson neck is something I find acceptable & I managed to adapt better. In fact, the Gibson neck profile grew on me to such an extent that it now doesn't matter if it's glossed over or satin finished. So folks, some things are indeed make or break for us, we just need to know what it is after taking time to reflect. We also need to give some things a second chance 😁

My Gibsons with gloss-free finish:

• LP 60s Tribute
• LPJ
• SGJ
• Firebird Tribute
• LP Special humbucker edition
• SG Melody Maker
• Flying V Melody Maker
• Explorer Melody Maker
• LP CM

Review quickie: PRS Standard 22 / 24 (Satin)

S2 Standard 24 Satin

S2 Standard 22 Satin

Overview

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• S2 Series are PRS’ affordable American models
• Electronics are not American, that’s one of the reasons why these are more affordable
• The Satin version of the Standard 22 / 24 has no final lacquer overcoat. The manufacturer describes this as a nitro layer. It’s a very thin top coat protecting the wood, you can feel the mahogany grain.
• Push / pull coil split option (tone control) for both models

Construction / features

LIKES

• Well made, top notch QC
• Not a heavy guitar at all, resonant
• Very comfortable lacquer-free neck feel, C-profile
• Smooth / responsive tuners

DISLIKES

• Pickup selector located quite away from the bridge making quick access via pinky stretch a little tricky
• Pickguard makes these guitars look entry-level

Playability / Tone

LIKES

• Non-lacquered neck supplements quick movements
• Good upper fret access despite blocky neck heel
• Pickups – impressive cleans, impressive jazz tones in the neck, adapts to drive / distortion well. One of the best midrange & coil split manifestation
• Responsive / smooth vibrato bridge

DISLIKES

• Pickups not made for metal / intense distortion, lacks clarity under such applications

Last say

There’s so much to like about this guitar at this price point. The feel is amazing & should spur players of any background to be more engaging during play, be it purposeful bending, slower, feel-inclined phrasing or all-out shred, these guitars are up to it. Many of us would dismiss these as merely the lacquer-less version of the Standard 22 / 24 but having played both models, I have to say it’s not merely a difference in feel. Due to the lighter nature, the treble response here is more organic. There’s a tad more warmth to the midrange as well. Personally, I note that the neck humbuckers of these Satin version do not mud-out easily under restrained volume applications. However, these pickups are definitely not the choice reference for metalheads; they don’t do bass notes chugging well under intense distortion / drive / gain. Coil split tones are a pleasant surprise. Not an exact replication but hold its own, impressive to say the least. Between the 22 & 24, the former has a deeper bass response, not much, just a tad. It’s almost unnoticeable unless you spend more time peddling bass notes.

Rating: 90%

Availability

• S2 Standard 24 Satin - Swee Lee / Davis (bag included)
• S2 Standard 22 Satin - Davis (bag included)

Glossless

Managed to spend time with these two before heading for treatment. They are similar in so many ways. It wouldn't be too far fetched to say the Tribute (white) is a refinement of the BFG (red), a slight one at that. More importantly, these are some of the Gibson models that come without a gloss finish which I am a fan of. The Tribute has a slight edge over the BFG as it has a satin overcoat so it does not feel like touching the bark of a tree while playing. Tone-wise, due to the lighter nature of both guitars, they manifest this clarity which is not heard in other LPs which are much heavier. With that said, LP devotees don't quite fancy the ones without that deep, low frequency growl. It's simply the signature tone of an LP. I'm not too particular when it comes to such expectations. In fact, my expectations are simple - a Les Paul serving my needs should sound the way I like it to be & inspire me to play despite how restrictive it might feel. 😎