Hi
I am not a fan of the telecaster model of guitars. I think its for old men like keith richards!
But when ola englund (youtube royaltee and owner of the solar guitar brand) announced the upcoming solar T model on his youtube channel, i fell in love.
and then i talk about the first Tmodel announcement, so the wooden version with metal plate, the so called T1.6D … i was sold, this guitar has an esthetic that drawed it into me …i mean, just look at it …
So, tbh all my own logic and reason was overboard, i already have more guitars then i own fingers, and my love hate relationship with solar had already started ….
but still i took the plunge and pre-ordered this guitar, not only because of it’s amazing esthetics, but also because i had an idea, a vision on how to make this guitar even more beautiful (the idea was simple; add lace fingerburners) and beside that, i had presumed this model would be, just like the other models with the ‘damaged’ wood, a limited run, with a COA …and that assumption made it extra interesting for me to preorder asap…before they were sold out …and i could mourn that cool limited guitar that i could have bought but lingered to much … so i did place my order with the solar website.
the guitars looked like they would be pretty quick available, so i decided to already go to thomann and place an order for the new pickups …
Why new pickups i hear you think, if it is just about esthetics, make your own cover with the fingerburner looks. And i would say, that (and here comes my love/hate relationship with solar) new pickups are essential,
I own another two solar, and one of those has the duncan solars in them and even though the Neck is based off the Duncan 59 and the Bridge is based off the Duncan Custom 5 … the guitar sounds thin …
and it’s weird because on youtube, Ola E. Always sounds very decent, but anyway, these duncan solars miss the bite that i am looking for. And i personally believe it has to do with cheaper electronic parts, or cutting corners. Or maybe it’s even licensing the name, because I have a pair of duncan design pups in an old schecter, and they blow the whole lot out of the water … And it is not that solar does not know how to do it, because the Seymour Duncan Black Winters in my solar killertone, make that guitar sing.
But now i drift off again ….
One of the reasons why i said logic was overboard, with a 1,3K guitar you should expect a decent build and a decent set of pickups.
So, i ordered the lace afterburners … which i thought would be great with the metal and wood …but once i received those afterburners at home, the set i received was the ugly ducklin of the lot, so those went straight back to thomann.
Then i bought my second set of choice … the EMG Het set, in black chrome … my imagination saw those pups sitting between the metal pickguard and the shining black chrome with the looks of this guitar … in my head it was almost bliss.
Little did i know
The pickups arrived, but the guitar had huge delays. So i had to wait … solar told me it would arrive this december, and during this delay, i had talks with customer service, and i realized this guitar was not a limited run at all … i made a presumption, i should not have made … this means also… so no coa. And while waiting untill december, i was in doubt, it was not a limited guitar, my intended pups are not what i expected, so i am thinking, should i continue with the purchase, or just call it a day ….
I’m the kind that does not decide very quick
but then in september i got a nice email from the chug express, my T1.6 was on the CHUGG expresse & on its way. So i decided to stick with the plan.
After unboxing the T looked like this ….
As you can see the guitar looks nice, but after i opened it up, and saw the wiring in the back i was a little shocked, how can such an expensive guitar have such shitty wiring and components?
and especially after i noticed those tiny little pots, i was very happy i ended up with an EMG set, instead of the afterburners, because with the EMG install packs, you can easily replace all of the wiring and pods, and if you look at the wires that came with the guitar, and those shitty little pots …
I knew i had work to do, so at the first occasion i tore everything out of the guitar, so i was ready to replace all the wiring and switching these small wires and pods out with quality wiring, pods and switching from EMG.
Then the trouble started.
I have switched pickups in many guitars, but this Solar T is a whole other beast ….i really have the idea, parts of this guitar are handmade … but not a grade hand made quality (the holes on the inside are rough and have huge splinters) …. The naked construction and the metal pickguard is a fit so tight, that the hetset pickups with its black chrome cover just would not fit.
I could have taken an electrical tool and start cutting a bigger hole, but with a big chance to cut into the one piece neck or into the metal plates, on a 1,3K guitar. I am no woodworker … So what options did i had left ….
So i contemplated and realized my second choice of pickups, were a no go also.
These pups would not fit ….
and the het set could no longer be returned, because the arrival of the T took so long, i could not return the het set anymore …
but i can prolly find another guitar in my collection that would be happy with a that set … so no worries there … but what pickups would i now choose from the emg line.
So, i picked the signature daemoniums from jim root (in black and an F spacing so it fits with evertune like a glove) and with short shafts, and because of all the shitty wires, i also ordered EMG switches. This way the whole electrical system is made by EMG.
(this picture is not mine, i broke my box)
But that was not all … this fairytale ain’t over ,… because now the pickups fitted into the holes, i encountered several new problems.
The duncan solars are screwed tight onto the guitar wood with a woodscrew, these daemoniums have regular screws, and the holes to fit them, so the solar screws wont fit, unless you drill the holes bigger in the emg’s … but the emg’s cradle is not made of metal, it is plastic (because of retro active pcb underneath?) so! this caused some sweat, but with some help from my dad who is much better with drilling then i am and now it fits like a charm, without affecting the pcb board ….. yaay
Is the nightmare now finally over?
NO
Then we encounter another problem ….the T guitar is not made for solderless wires, so i had to carve and sand all cavities, on the inside and also create and make some new cavities and room for the emg 3 way switch.
And then we are almost at the finish line, but not completely. Because EMG also dropped the ball and i had to create an alternative, improvisational wiring schematic for the emg pups.
Because what i wanted and needed was nowhere described on any of the manuals … but in the end we got there, with a full cavity that is still looking lean, mean and ready for action.
So now it works, and after all i went trough to make this happen, i am quite happy about it …
Even though In the end, esthetically i did not got what i wanted …. fingerburners on top of the metal plate, or the black chrome het set ….
If you compare the before and after pictures the only noticeable difference is the branding of the pickups, furthermore the guitar looks almost as stock
Playing this guitar is like driving an M5 without any labels on the car (some will know what i mean with this)
The guitar plays like a charm and it sounds so much better with these daemoniums in them, compared to the solars, these pups make the axe come to life
So after all, i am very happy with the sound of these retroactive emg signature pickups, based on the 81/60 set, and that stays always a classic right …
I dare to say that this solar is now a much more cooler guitar then the white jim root tele from fender
Disclaimer, while writing and editing, i thought of something, it might be that the shitty sound of the duncan solars might is partially within the wiring.
As a test i wired up a Seymour Duncan Distortion in a cheap guitar with also shitty wiring, and the pickup sounds like crap … the wires on the schecter i mentioned before, are thicker, and as i mentioned before, those pups sound faboulous … so, maybe changing the wiring, could fix the thin sounding duncan solar pickups