Solar: X2.6FR / Dismember

This body outline reminds us of the fact that Ola Englund (SOLAR Guitars owner) is a huge Dimebag fan. I see this design as inevitable. This new one has that very attractive orange finish with a matching colour for the 12th fret inlay. If you are interested, be informed that the bridge here is  Floyd Rose Special.

Here's another new one - a signature model for Dismember guitarist, Robert Sennebeck. The bridge here is an FR 1000 with a thicker-than-usual whammy block. 

Pics: SOLAR Guitars

Dean 2022 (2)

After Rusty Cooley left Dean, his signature models were re-interpreted to become the Exile models. These are basically super shredder guitars in Dean's offerings. The manufacturer is not known for the shred reference despite having such players in their endorsement roster. Seen above, the Exile X, the most affordable in the series featuring an FR 20 bridge. Pickups are in-house DMTs.

This here is the NT version which costs USD1.1k more than the X, has a flashy top, FR 1000 bridge & Fluence Classic / Modern humbuckers. I'm just wary of the thin cutaways of the Exile. Rusty Cooley specified those to be as such for a functional purpose; he cited unobstructed upper fret access to be his thing back then. If the guitar should topple, these thinner contours might not be as resistant to absorb the impact. Then again, we rarely hear of such incidences but it's a concern for me.

Pics: Dean