Solar Guitars A1.8C 8 String Review! (Tone Demo and Discussion)

Videos I have used this guitar in:

Hi all, here is my review of my latest guitar, the Solar Guitars A1.8C 8 string! Tone demos are at 6:54, for you impatient folk out there :P

If you have any questions regarding anything mixing/production/instrument related, feel free to drop them as a comment below, and I'll try to reply to everyone!

SOCIAL MEDIA:

[skinnyraddish]

This review came at the perfect time for me. Was literally trying to decide between different models of solar and was also worrying about the lack of gig bag. I live in the UK though so if it was fine for you guess I'm golden.
That clean split neck tone gave me third degree gurns dude.. I'll be walking funny for days after that wow.

[elucidate_sound]

BRO I used to watch your Djent Santa vids all the time back in the day but the last couple of years I forgot your name and could never find them and thought they were lost to the sands of time;( until i decided i wanted to look more into the Solar A1.8C and you made a vid on it 5 days ago!! If I had looked it up when I first saw the guitar a few weeks ago I never would have found you again </3

[empiresofash]

Awesome video man! I fully agree about the Solar quality, after having a Hellraiser C7 and an RG2228 back in the day (which I had to get at an exorbitant price in Dunedin when they first released), the Solar A1.8D blew me away (and the 8C looks so nice too). I'm over in Sweden at the moment for a job, but I'll be moving back to Dunedin eventually and I'm kind of freaking out about flying all the way back with it and my RGD721...the baggage handles aren't the gentlest, even with sturdy flight cases. It's awesome to see someone back home doing something great like this! It'd be cool to grab a beer next time I'm in Christchurch man, the NZ scene down south is pretty tiny all things considered haha.

[CPJ]

Great review! I've been on the fence about ordering a Solar 8 for ages now

[dragtrn]

Ola is killing the game really great guitar mate

[MATEAKENNY]

I remember watching your videos when I was 18 years old (I'm 29 bow) trying to get those sweet 8 string tones with my Ibanez rg7421 through my line 6 spider. Nowadays I have an ltd sc608b and gosh I hate how the Carpenter's fishman pickups sound. Any tips on how to improve the tone coming out of em? xD
I'm still to stuborn to sell the guitar, I know something can be done with it.
Love your videos! :)

[JamesPhillipsOfficial]

It looks absolutely stellar and sounds like a pack of wolves. Just brilliant.

[jnal]

Hey man, been interested in solars for a while but since no shop sells them in my country I haven't had the chance to try one out. I can be a little picky about my neck profiles so what's the closest thing you could compare it to? I like esp or fender style U and C-shaped necks but I've never found ultra thin or flat ibanez/jackson style necks comfortable personally. Thanks in advance and great video!

[noahbrewer]

The chief reason why you experienced tuning stability issues with your RG8 is because of the tuner arrangement. It’s never about scale length, but total string length, which is what put Solar several thousand steps ahead of literally every single competitor on the market. The reversed inline tuner arrangement is objectively the best because it accommodates every single string with proper tension and length. Another thing they’ve done to put themselves that much farther, is the fact that they’ve cut the nuts of their extended range instruments to fit a 75 gauge string or above at either the low B or F# depending on if you’ve bought a 7 or 8 string. They already come stock with a 64 gauge at the bottom so that’s another plus.

[QuintonLucionMusic]

Love it man. I own two of these. They are that damn good

[shredguitarafraz]

Hey Tim, great video! Was thinking of getting one of these. Do you know if the neck is 3 or 5 piece?

[lrd_breeigo-sama]

Just Got the ftm, my absolute dream guitar. Perfect shape for me, pickups being the absolute best Ive ever tried. If you ever feel the unge to by i definatly reccommend it. But the bridge’s finish on the saddles chips easily.

[matttaylor]

It sounds very bright through both of the amp sims you used. I'm high curious about this guitar. I heard that the Evertune bridge can cause the guitar to have less low end fullness compared to a standard bridge, would you agree with this statement in any way at all?

[georgezorbas]

I am about to buy an 8 string and I was thinking solar, ibanez, Goc, Strandberg..what would you say?
Also the thickness of solar vs Ibanez? which is easier to play?

[craigs]

Tim, is the evertune a bit of a pain if you want to do a lot of different drop tunings such as with Periphery tunes (yes, I know it's mainly 6 and 7 strings with them)? I've been looking online at its workings and looking at the manual and think I'd be better with the cheaper A2 8 with the fixed bridge.

[christophercabotaje]

Damn i know im late but this review is perfect because i live in Auckland haha. Definitely going to get the new 7 string tele!

[oDanksy]

I just purchased one and its on its way.
Ofcourse I have to try it out myself first but Im not sure if I like the pickups.
They sound somewhat muddy - atleast compared to Fishman Fluence moderns.
Changing them is not going to be cheap though.

[afrazmamoon]

did you have any issues with strings breaking at the nut? Got this recently and the high e breaks if I try to get to the end of zone2 for bending

[danielgreen]

I notice that the bridge is a bit lower in the body than I'm used to. Have you found that noticeable when playing?

[Liquifireguitargeek]

Good video, but using the Archetype Abasi for clean demonstration is not fair and a little deceptive!