Metal on a Budget: $249 S by Solar TB4.61C guitar that's an affordable Monster

[@goodforheath069]

The bacchus bst tw is full tech wood guitar. Tech Wood is a plywood material used for guitars and basses that are made from multiple layers of poplar wood. The appearance of the wood is similar to that of rosewood, which is becoming increasingly rare due to the decrease in resources in recent years. The inside of the body is hollowed out to reduce the weight, making it easy to play and enjoy. It is also said that it is more difficult for the wood to go out of shape if it is layered, which can be expected to improve the rigidity of the neck material.

[@FretboardDiaries]

Thanks for the comment, good info here!

[@GuitarSafari1]

Great review man. I own 2 S By Solar guitars and I love them. Im still waiting on my 3rd one of these in white. Exceptional value on these,pickups are great.

[@FretboardDiaries]

Hey thanks for the kind words… I’m also planning on another S by Solar, indeed an incredible value for the money. Eyeing that Explorer model 👀 🎸 🤘

[@GuitarSafari1]

@@FretboardDiaries Yeah Im very impressed so far the pickups are great. Best bang for the buck. Im getting a white Telecaster style.

[@frankys9150]

I was really sceptical about this guitar, mostly due to its price, but playing mostly metal riffs and basic rythm in standard and drop D tuning seems like this might be it, my next purchase. Anyways, great and fun review covering the most important parts, really helpful.

[@FretboardDiaries]

Gonna be perfectly honest man, I think this is one of the best budget metal guitars you can find for the money. I’m not sponsored by them, not affiliated, and I don’t make a dime, but I’m incredibly impressed with the quality and styling of this guitar for the money. Since reviewing it, it’s my go-to for metal when jamming with friends because I don’t have to worry about it. Single humbucker sounds fantastic, and I plan on buying the Explorer shape in the future. Thank you for the kind words and thanks for watching 🤘🎸

[@yerp-c7u]

I own it and use it in Drop D for Death metal/Grind/Weird heavy stuff. I love it. Absolutely rips. The pickup is super high output.

[@KanariasLibre7]

Looks amazing! ⚡🎸

[@FretboardDiaries]

Definitely one of the big pros to this guitar was the aesthetics!!! Guitar looks Fantastic!!! Thanks for watching 🤘🎸

[@gentelmanjunkie542]

Wish I'd gotten this instead of my Harley Benton Jim Root wannabe. Every single fret end is sharp as f**k and un level end to end. Wasnt able to get it returned within return window, and wont be able to buy another for years. Replacing a pot & tuners sounds awesome by comparison.

[@ОлегПрошкин-ф7я]

I actually own s by solar superstrat and fret ends on it are quite sharp too, especially ones closer to the body. But it’s easily fixable I think, I wouldn’t return the guitar only because of frets

[@FretboardDiaries]

To be fair, any time we’re talking about a budget instrument, sharp frets are within the range of outcomes. And while it can be a little time consuming, it’s not really difficult to file them down. I don’t think I’ve done a video on it yet, but there’s a ton of vids out there. Amazon or StuMac sells fret files relatively cheap, so it’s really just about finding the time (a few hours to do it)… Plus it’s always a good learning experience… Best of luck 🤘🎸

[@erickaphin8861]

Nice review

[@FretboardDiaries]

Thank you! Thanks for watching 🤘🎸

[@ArtOfShredYT]

I believe the benefit of a 5 screw bolt on is slightly better sustain. Reverend Guitars actually have 6 screws on their bolt ons and this is what they say: "Two extra bolts increase mounting pressure of the neck by fifty percent. This makes a stronger neck connection, which improves sustain, tuning stability, and neck alignment." I'm not going to dispute that, but also, these things are negligible/unnoticeable for the average player. What's your signal chain here? This guitar sounds great! Thanks for the review, AJ. I do believe I need to buy an S by Solar soon. 🤘

[@FretboardDiaries]

That’s interesting about sustain… Not really sure I think it could make a difference, and yet, this guitar has pretty good sustain.. 😂… but I suppose an extra screw can’t hurt… As far as signal chain, I’ll have to take a closer look at the patch. I recorded this using BiasFX2, because the acoustics of my room are awful… This guitar sounds soooo much better through my half stack, but the wall you can’t see in my studio is a giant mirror and the acoustics are 💩😂😂 Appreciate the comment man, wishing you and your channel the best 🤘🎸

[@ArtOfShredYT]

@@FretboardDiaries Nice, I have BiasFX 2 but haven't used it yet 🤣

[@FretboardDiaries]

@ArtOfShredYT Okay so go to the ToneCloud, and search Metal… First patch that comes up with 5150 is what I used… 😆…

[@ArtOfShredYT]

@@FretboardDiaries Oh heck yeah, thank you!

[@BazonBlades]

I have spent the last two years exploring budget guitars. I think this one is next on my list. Although I think the next run won't be available till spring. I'm very interested in how it stacks up against the Jackson JS series, Ibanez RG421, and various Firefly models I have in hand. Too bad these don't have stainless fret wire.

[@FretboardDiaries]

So as far as the Jackson JS Series goes, if you like a thinner neck, you’ll prefer the Jackson… If like a meatier neck on a rhythm instrument, you’ll prefer this guitar… As far as pickups, this guitar definitely sounded better than the Jackson JS I had… Although it’s close, I prefer the pickup in this S. I ultimately replaced the pickups in my Jackson JS with GFS Redactive pickups… Spoiler Alert: They’re AWESOME!!! Jackson had a better lead feel. With lower action and a super fast thin neck, it’s definitely better in that regard… For rhythm players, the thicker neck and higher action (helps with lower tunings) is FANTASTIC!!!

[@BazonBlades]

@FretboardDiaries , the Jackson "Speed Neck " profile is one of my favorites. I have four JS32/JS34/JS42 models in my collection right now. They are all killer budget guitars. But my favorite is my X series Soloist fixed bridge. The neck on it is sublime. It is one of the fastest I have ever played on. I also like meatier necks, although I like to stay with a more modern C. Thicker necks are just more stable and seem more resonant. I have a Firefly FFLP that is kind of a mix of a modern ESP Eclipse body with set- through neck joint and belly cut mixed with a more vintage LP neck profile with medium stainless frets. That guitar is a total smoke show. Everyone that plays it raves about it. Even though it has a more vintage neck profile, it is a joy to play.

[@FretboardDiaries]

@@BazonBlades I’ve gotta try some Firefly guitars… I hear so many good things about them… Gonna be some of the next reviews 😂

[@BazonBlades]

@FretboardDiaries , I have had decent luck with them. Two of the three I have came with a high fret. Not a big deal at this price point. But it's definitely something to take into account for anyone not equipped to deal with it. Other than that, they are pretty solid. They seem to have good bones. The relic FFST (Strat) I bought from the latest drop has one of the best modern C neck profiles I have ever felt.

[@FretboardDiaries]

@@BazonBlades I’m definitely going to check them out soon… They’re on the list for a 2024 review, and like you said, fret leveling and crowning is par for the course with budget instruments, so I’m looking forward to grabbing one 🤘🎸

[@GuitarsandDrones]

Wow sweet guitar Ashley at an awesome price

[@FretboardDiaries]

Yeah man, it’s definitely going to make its way into some lesson videos! 🤘

[@FlorenceViolet-o8u]

Damn!!! Is this the best one under the price range of 250$? Or do we have more alternatives? For metal riffing ( Thrash, Heavy)

[@FretboardDiaries]

@@FlorenceViolet-o8u I believe most if not all of the S series are more expensive. That said, I think it’s one of the best options for budget metal and I find myself playing this guitar frequently. I like it so much, I’m probably going to buy the explorer shape soon. 🤘🎸

[@marcelo.bassalo]

A heads up by a Solar 7 string guitar owner: If you don't like thicker necks don't go for them! LTD and Ibanez have good models for the price if you are more into lead playing and shred.

[@FretboardDiaries]

Good to know, thanks for the heads up. I’m more of a rhythm player and am considering a 7 string so it works for me, but completely understand why a lead player would hate it…

[@marcelo.bassalo]

@@FretboardDiaries Yeah, I too do mostly rhythm and they're great for recording if you have locking tuners + evertune but the neck is not fast at all. More reviewers should cover that as you did because their website only says "C shape" and not much else.

[@davessparetime83]

This single Humbucker should have push pull options. Whether parallel/series, reverse phaze or coil split/tap.

[@FretboardDiaries]

That would actually be a great mod! Particularly since I’m keeping the stock pickup, too bad it didn’t come wired with this, but for $250, it’s hard to ask for more 😂 🤘🎸

[@GearStuffandThings]

I wish they would remove the Solar logo from the neck on every model.

[@FretboardDiaries]

I love it but obviously it’s subjective 😂… But I agree with you that they should definitely offer some different options for those that aren’t a fan of it…

[@SenseiKreese]

No cheap guitar pots last for a long run. Being scratchy usually just means its picked up dust somehow and needs cleaning. But all cheap guitars need their pots changed a lot quicker than an expensive guitar.

[@FretboardDiaries]

I agree to an extent… I generally anticipate replacing the electronics on budget instruments simply because they’re usually lower quality… but I have more expensive guitars that had pots go bad quickly (Looking at you Schecter)… So it can happen on more expensive guitars too… With that said. I mentioned it as a con because I’ve had cheaper Harley Benton guitars have pots that are smooth and have held up just fine… So there are budget brands that can make it work. This guitar’s pot has worked just fine to this point, but definitely feels like it could go bad at any moment… Anyway, I appreciate the comment and thanks for watching 🤘🎸

[@1-eye-willy]

those cheap pots are fine, ive played ibanez gio's for 15 years and ive never had any problems, never had to change them, just need a spraying with contact cleaner

[@NordicMeatShield]

@@1-eye-willy Yeah, same with my budget Jackson's. got a Jackson performer 2 from the 90's still working fine lol

[@bluwng]

What size are the frets?

[@yerp-c7u]

take a super metal guitar and play clean tones. got it.

[@FretboardDiaries]

@@yerp-c7u because there’s never any clean tones in metal 🙄

[@bluwng]

Why did you choose C standard doesn’t that introduce issues unnecessarily to the review without adding value to the review.

[@FretboardDiaries]

So with this style of guitar, I did a quick demo in C standard because many who buy this style guitar will ultimately set the guitar up to play in that tuning. I was clear that it comes setup in E standard, and would need an additional setup to play in C standard. Many times budget guitar pickups become muddy when playing in a lower tuning, so that’s why I did some demos in lower tunings, to give those who play in them, an idea of how it will sound

[@bluwng]

@@FretboardDiaries I get it C is extreme a compromise e.g. mid point would be more accurate.

[@bluwng]

We need to step away from branding it is a non critical way of thinking that we were unfortunately brainwashed with in all western countries. Critical thinker will simply look at function and performance not worry about the brand.