# Washburn and Ola split?



## aWoodenShip (Jul 8, 2017)

Did I miss something? The Solar models can no longer be found on Washburn's website and Ola no longer appears on the artists page.


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## feraledge (Jul 8, 2017)

Wait, a youtube famous guitarist teamed up with a company that barely delivered on a product and then they split ways?!? Now I guess I HAVE heard it all.


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## marcwormjim (Jul 8, 2017)

I didn't know JAM had left anyone at Washburn alive.


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## A-Branger (Jul 8, 2017)

that sucks, I really dig his V


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## sylcfh (Jul 9, 2017)

There was no parallaxe tele so I don't care.


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## tricolor1234 (Jul 9, 2017)

I noticed the same thing on their website. Evertune is selling his guitars at a reduced price now too.


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## Andromalia (Jul 9, 2017)

Those things were available once every blue moon so, well, no big loss.


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## Wizard of Ozz (Jul 9, 2017)

I think Washburn, Randall Amps, US Music Corp et al is going out of business... unless it already is. Someone on another forum said their corporate office closed and moved.


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## manu80 (Jul 9, 2017)

I barely saw one in france , except a 7 in a shop
Also a friend of mine whose tastes i trust ordered a blue one in germany, sent it back because it was really disappointed by the quality of it
Guess washburn really screwed up this line..


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## littleredguitars2 (Jul 9, 2017)

he recently posted a video on a new skervesen guitar and from the looks of it, its not something he's just demoing and sending back


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## manu80 (Jul 9, 2017)

Well he tries a lot of gear, so idk
Contractually he may cannot speak about it
But going to Skervesen won't bring some affordable guitars for us mortals !!!


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## Metropolis (Jul 9, 2017)

We don't even have a dealer for Washburn in Finland, and in elsewhere Europe getting these were also difficult. Just really poor delivering and marketing by the company, so this wouldn't be a suprise.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 9, 2017)

Wizard of Ozz said:


> I think Washburn, Randall Amps, US Music Corp et al is going out of business... unless it already is. Someone on another forum said their corporate office closed and moved.



Makes sense. I checked GC and no new Randalls in stock anymore. Pulled the brand off their website.

Washburn is still there, but only a couple of guitars.


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## diagrammatiks (Jul 9, 2017)

So sad about randall. the 667s are great amps with zero marketing and support. 
they need to get some of that blackstar marketing money


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## gunch (Jul 9, 2017)

Thinking about how cool Washburn was not even 10 years go compared to now is depressing

I think the Parallaxe line was just like the Charvel Desolation line where they tired to get into the METULZ market way too late and everyone DGAF and were moving onto the next thing (minimalism, djent, etc)

the WM was a damned great design, what exactly happened at USMC/JAM that they had to pull the Parker tech/RD?


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 9, 2017)

silverabyss said:


> Thinking about how cool Washburn was not even 10 years go compared to now is depressing
> 
> I think the Parallaxe line was just like the Charvel Desolation line where they tired to get into the METULZ market way too late and everyone DGAF and were moving onto the next thing (minimalism, djent, etc)
> 
> the WM was a damned great design, what exactly happened at USMC/JAM that they had to pull the Parker tech/RD?



Terrible marketing department and distribution?

It sucks because the Parallaxe series had some pretty cool models and features. But they couldn't get them out there, so they just slowly died.


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## USMarine75 (Jul 9, 2017)

silverabyss said:


> Thinking about how cool Washburn was not even 10 years go compared to now is depressing
> ...
> the WM was a damned great design, what exactly happened at USMC/JAM that they had to pull the Parker tech/RD?



The HM Series (WM, WV, and WI) were available online when they first came out for $1799 and they just had all that hype from being named a top product by Guitarworld. After a couple months of pre-orders and wait-listing they overnight went up to $2499. And this was back in the mid 2000's, which put them over the cost of the competition (JEMs, ESP, etc) and into the range of Gibson Custom Shop Customs. For whatever reason, they priced themselves way out of the market and didn't sell.


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## manu80 (Jul 9, 2017)

Well i'll keep my thrasher 50 and my EOD 88 preciously


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## A-Branger (Jul 9, 2017)

well they had the issue of closing down the previous factory and finding the new one and changing production. Which stopped guitars in the wild for quite a while, a year maybe?. Then when they finaly started production witht he new range, like you guys said jsut poor marketing? you can barely find those guitars out there.

Washburn has always been one of those unicorn brands who no-one seems to stock in their stores. And you add the fender/gibson whores stores that wont help either. Plus is not like those small brands where you can buy direct from them.

I was waiting to check out one of the priest. (not the sig model, the black one), because I dig the explorer/firebird concept, but I wanted to see a real pic instead of a digital mockup they have in their site. Im yet to see one even after 1-2 years announcement. I think they had one prototype at winter NAMM, which it had a smaller pickguard than the mockup which looked awful, but still no guitar real photo in the wild.

And about the skervesen. Hes just doing a demo of it like he does with every other gear


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## BornToLooze (Jul 9, 2017)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Terrible marketing department and distribution?
> 
> It sucks because the Parallaxe series had some pretty cool models and features. But they couldn't get them out there, so they just slowly died.



I had a Parallaxe that I really wish I wouldn't have gotten rid of. I liked it a lot more than the Ibanez and LTDs that I've had. Even the Idol that I got for my first guitar was badass. But I've only ever seen Washburns for sale in one place and they only had a couple in stock.


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## geekusa (Jul 9, 2017)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Makes sense. I checked GC and no new Randalls in stock anymore. Pulled the brand off their website.
> 
> Washburn is still there, but only a couple of guitars.



You mean this website?

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Randall/?typeAheadRedirect=true


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## TheGuitarPit (Jul 9, 2017)

Were the import evertune models any good? The price was right on a couple b-stock ebay ones, but I've never had a Washburn and wasn't able to try one in person. Scared me off...


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## USMarine75 (Jul 9, 2017)

If so, y'all are crazy if you don't pick up one of these:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Randall/RD212-V30-Diavlo-2X12-Angled-Guitar-Cab.gc


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 9, 2017)

geekusa said:


> You mean this website?
> 
> http://www.guitarcenter.com/Randall/?typeAheadRedirect=true



Odd. Wasn't showing for me before.


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## geekusa (Jul 9, 2017)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Odd. Wasn't showing for me before.



Ah I see. Maybe a momentary site glitch.


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## Dawn of the Shred (Jul 9, 2017)

Just sold both my solars.... maybe should have waited


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## mnemonic (Jul 10, 2017)

Shame that Randall has such shitty distribution in Europe. I always see stuff I'd like to try, like the fortin stuff or the RG series, but nobody sells them here. I usually can't find anyone stocking them. 

I remember waiting for the Randall RG13 to come in stock somewhere for ages, but it seemed to go from 'coming soon' to 'discontinued' with nothing in between. 

I think Ola also has a Fortin Satan poweramp (rather than a Randall Satan poweramp) he's been using with a preamp, so maybe he's moving from Randall also? that's just speculation from me though.


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## Genome (Jul 10, 2017)

mnemonic said:


> Shame that Randall has such shitty distribution in Europe. I always see stuff I'd like to try, like the fortin stuff or the RG series, but nobody sells them here. I usually can't find anyone stocking them.
> 
> I remember waiting for the Randall RG13 to come in stock somewhere for ages, but it seemed to go from 'coming soon' to 'discontinued' with nothing in between.
> 
> I think Ola also has a Fortin Satan poweramp (rather than a Randall Satan poweramp) he's been using with a preamp, so maybe he's moving from Randall also? that's just speculation from me though.



Try Thomann or Baxshop - I think they occasionally have some Randalls.


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## mnemonic (Jul 10, 2017)

Genome said:


> Try Thomann or Baxshop - I think they occasionally have some Randalls.



Thomann I think have like three last I looked, I haven't heard of baxshop though, I'll check them out, thanks!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 10, 2017)

mnemonic said:


> I think Ola also has a Fortin Satan poweramp (rather than a Randall Satan poweramp) he's been using with a preamp, so maybe he's moving from Randall also? that's just speculation from me though.



Olas been with Mike even before Randall. The Satan is based on a custom amp Ola got from Mike a year or two before it was announced he was with Randall. If anything happens to Randall, I'd imagine hed go back to using his Fortin Satan.


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## technomancer (Jul 10, 2017)

It seems like US Music Corp is going down


USMarine75 said:


> If so, y'all are crazy if you don't pick up one of these:
> 
> http://www.guitarcenter.com/Randall/RD212-V30-Diavlo-2X12-Angled-Guitar-Cab.gc
> View attachment 54866



Why? It's an incredibly heavy MDF cab, the only good thing about it is the speakers and there are much better V30 loaded cabs out there


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## Genome (Jul 10, 2017)

mnemonic said:


> Thomann I think have like three last I looked, I haven't heard of baxshop though, I'll check them out, thanks!



Yeah they occasionally stock the odd rare Ibanez too. I bought my RG3727 from there last May when UK dealers said they wouldn't be able to source one until November


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## Tisca (Jul 10, 2017)

A-Branger said:


> .
> .
> I was waiting to check out one of the priest. (not the sig model, the black one), because I dig the explorer/firebird concept, but I wanted to see a real pic instead of a digital mockup they have in their site. Im yet to see one even after 1-2 years announcement. I think they had one prototype at winter NAMM, which it had a smaller pickguard than the mockup which looked awful, but still no guitar real photo in the wild.
> .
> .



There are some out there. I've seen them because I've also been eyeing that guitar. Also back when I looked for some there was a total of one person on youtube with a video.


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## drmosh (Jul 10, 2017)

Wizard of Ozz said:


> I think Washburn, Randall Amps, US Music Corp et al is going out of business... unless it already is. Someone on another forum said their corporate office closed and moved.



really? fuuuck


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## ArtDecade (Jul 11, 2017)

Ola can always switch it up and give some other gear a whirl. That said, I am more bummed for *Nuno* if Washburn does go completely down in flames. To me, he is and has always been the real face of Washburn guitars.


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## couverdure (Jul 11, 2017)

ArtDecade said:


> Ola can always switch it up and give some other gear a whirl. That said, I am more bummed for *Nuno* if Washburn does go completely down in flames. To me, he is and has always been the real face of Washburn guitars.


He could always go to Charvel if Washburn ever closes down. Angel Vivaldi's new custom guitar looks a lot like his signature, especially the reverse Strat headstock and Floyd Rose.


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## ArtDecade (Jul 11, 2017)

^ That would be a little weird - endorsing a company where another artist practically copied his signature model. "Yes, but this one is padauk. See?"


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## Descent (Jul 11, 2017)

The Paralaxe had a US model originally under $1k that was very interesting, I waited too long and missed it. The next line wasn't as good in quality, plus didn't have FR models and I currently need a FR model. The design is killer though, one of the best aggressive metal axes out there at the moment IMO. 
BTW, not surprised Randall is not doing good - they milked the brain of Fortin and tossed him aside as yesterday's garbage, so they don't really have an amp designer now. Plus the poor distribution and very high costs might have something to do with it.


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## manu80 (Jul 11, 2017)

Considering how jackson seems on a rool those dayz maybe he'll go to them...which I'd love...
Hope he's not gonna finish drowned in the ESP roster though... Anyways if wants to offer to the public some gear he must go to a market brand instead of Skerv or mayo etc...so in terms of metal, ESP, jackson, Schecter...


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## Mad-Max (Jul 11, 2017)

manu80 said:


> Considering how jackson seems on a rool those dayz maybe he'll go to them...which I'd love...
> Hope he's not gonna finish drowned in the ESP roster though... Anyways if wants to offer to the public some gear he must go to a market brand instead of Skerv or mayo etc...so in terms of metal, ESP, jackson, Schecter...


I could see him going with Schecter honestly. Like he could probably get away with getting his own Banshee model. That seems like something he would gravitate towards the most. One with the Reverse 6 in line headstock like used on the old Tommy Victor sig. Since he's good buddies with Keith Merrow and Jeff Loomis, I could totally see him getting on board, and Schecter would eat that up, since Ola has a pretty good influence on Youtube and he's undeniably metal, which seems to be Schecter's market. He's easily one the better guys these days. 

Jackson would be cool, but I think they would limit him on what he could do, because he'd probably want something that everyone can afford, and they would probably give him a USA line, and then a dumbed down version of it in the pro series, and I think Ola would want something that is affordable for not only himself, but for everyone else, and he wants something that he also plays too, and not a model that has his name on it but doesn't play because he's got a more expensive model that's nicer and more legit, etc. That's what he was trying to do with his Washburn Solars. 

I think for the price point he's shooting for, I would say Schecter is easily the best bet. Loomis has been coming at it from that angle for years, and he's extremely happy with his sig. Same with Keith. Schecter is really killing the game these days. 

That's my .02 cents.


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## ArtDecade (Jul 11, 2017)

I play Deans and I love Deans. And, I would love to see Ola over there with Mustaine, Schenker, Amott, Sanders, etc etc. They know metal and offer USA, Korean, and Chinese made guitars at every price point in between. He already has a few Deans in his arsenal according to his website. Plus, seeing as how he is a Dime fan, I know he has some Washburns in shapes that Dean already has available. Jus' sayin'.


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## couverdure (Jul 11, 2017)

Him going to Ibanez would also be likely since his older demo videos were used with their guitars (the MTMs, RGDs, and RGA8) and he recently used a Universe in an entire livestream.


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## A-Branger (Jul 11, 2017)

couverdure said:


> Him going to Ibanez would also be likely since his older demo videos were used with their guitars (the MTMs, RGDs, and RGA8) and he recently used a Universe in an entire livestream.



dont think so, He seems to like his evertune guitars a lot, an Ibanez seems to not like it, they dont like to use others people bridges. They dont seem to be too open to ideas like he did with his solar shape an V, so he would end up with either an RG or an RGA. I also dont see Ibanez giving a "youtuber" a sig guitar.

I would say Schecter would be the best bet that fits better with him, worse case scenario ESP its always there to hapy snatch any to their huge artist sig list lol. Dean is ok, but thats another IMO unicorn brand that doesnt get much market and reach in the real world, I think I have seen maybe one store stocking something?, so it would be like Washburn, guitars made that no-one stocks. And Skerseven is cool but their are too high end boutique to have a sig artist guitar, they dont even have a factory line, maybe Mayones?


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## couverdure (Jul 11, 2017)

A-Branger said:


> dont think so, He seems to like his evertune guitars a lot, an Ibanez seems to not like it, they dont like to use others people bridges. They dont seem to be too open to ideas like he did with his solar shape an V, so he would end up with either an RG or an RGA. I also dont see Ibanez giving a "youtuber" a sig guitar.


Most of his videos in which he uses his signature Solar has the Hipshot bridge on them instead of EverTune. If he ever gets a signature, I'm sure he could bring back the 6-string Edge FX like the Mick Thomson models he used.

Also,











Starting at 3:00, Fred mentions his custom Stoneman has a special bridge that's made in Germany.


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## A-Branger (Jul 11, 2017)

for recordings but mainly live he uses evertune.

Yeah maybe Satch got a custom made (which seems to be pretty old pic since he changed into using a hotrail pickup on the neck many many years ago), but Ibanez wont do a production model or a sig guitar with it.

yeah I know they have the V, but they havent release it in so many years Im not sure they would be happy to revive the model.


meh who knows, maybe Ola is happy to stay like he is now and not have any more sig gutars


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## sylcfh (Jul 12, 2017)

Randall didn't go anywhere when they changed ownership the last couple of times.


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## manu80 (Jul 12, 2017)

I agree with the schecter thing. Still, it would mean generic headstock or shape ( the KM head is clever with the black line but still )...boring....
The washburn was , though still a ss, edgy. Hope he'll get that to another brand too....you get the idea.
Dean will give him a korean crap... 
jackson quality is really good right now...
I'm hearing stuff here and there too...mar...all...satan....


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## A-Branger (Jul 12, 2017)

couverdure said:


> Starting at 3:00, Fred mentions his custom Stoneman has a special bridge that's made in Germany.



yeah on his custom, which its fine. But the final production model comes with a FX edgeIII Ibanez tremolo.

Maybe for something special like an evertune Ibanez might gave in a little and do an exemption?...I doubt it..... but for a new artist Im not sure. Maybe if it was for one of their big players. 



manu80 said:


> The washburn was , though still a ss, edgy. Hope he'll get that to another brand too....you get the idea.



thats what I like it about it. Shame they were all black which I hate, yeah I know there was white, but kinda boring for me as I already have a white one. And the blue one was too expensive as it was an USA model. I really dig the headstock


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## manu80 (Jul 12, 2017)

The headstock was really cool, kinda berni rico like
A friend of mine had a blue one, import, sent it back immediately to the store as it was pure crap, fretwork was really bad on his...


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## Sumsar (Jul 12, 2017)

As far as I understand people with sig guitars usually get a small percentage of every guitar sold, maybe someone who knows more can verify this.

I guess that like others, Ola's income is a mix of youtube adds, money for doing demos, selling cd's and t-shirts, getting money for sig gear etc, so getting to a brand where it is actually possible to buy his guitars, like Jackson, Schecter or ESP would make a lot of sense, Dean less so.

Jackson would be really cool, maybe a flattop version of Misha Mansoors sig, with less bling.


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## USMarine75 (Jul 12, 2017)

technomancer said:


> It seems like US Music Corp is going down
> 
> 
> Why? It's an incredibly heavy MDF cab, the only good thing about it is the speakers and there are much better V30 loaded cabs out there



I have one.... It's a ported cab that doesn't sound like garbage IMO. It was so good I got rid of all my 412s and all but one of my other 212s. It has the right amount of low end boom and volume, but it still retains its tightness. I'll admit I've only used it with my KPA and Engl, so it may not gel as well with other amp models. But I have the KPA dialed in perfect and there's no flub, which I would have expected with a ported cab...


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## Mathemagician (Jul 12, 2017)

If I remember correctly, Satriani said that he liked the bridge and wanted to try it so he had his tech retrofit one onto a guitar he already ownerd. He didn't go it and request a new custom one. I think a lot of artists would enjoy that kind of tuning stability for recording various parts in a studio setting, even if it doesn't become an everyday use kind of thing.


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## xvultures (Jul 13, 2017)

A-Branger said:


> dont think so, He seems to like his evertune guitars a lot, an Ibanez seems to not like it, they dont like to use others people bridges. They dont seem to be too open to ideas like he did with his solar shape an V, so he would end up with either an RG or an RGA. I also dont see Ibanez giving a "youtuber" a sig guitar.



The guys from Wintersun have multiple Prestige and LACS with evertunes, but if I recall correctly they had to get the Evertune's installed by Daemoness guitars. I'm not sure the reason why he went through them instead of Ibanez, but you'd figure Ibanez would want to take care of one of their artists?


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## marcwormjim (Jul 13, 2017)

If Vai wasn't Vai, Ibanez wouldn't even be putting backstops in his guitars. That brand is notorious for telling their own "page" artists that they can't play Ibanez models endorsed by other artists onstage.


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## Andromalia (Jul 13, 2017)

xvultures said:


> The guys from Wintersun have multiple Prestige and LACS with evertunes, but if I recall correctly they had to get the Evertune's installed by Daemoness guitars. I'm not sure the reason why he went through them instead of Ibanez, but you'd figure Ibanez would want to take care of one of their artists?



Ibanez seem to have a very specific endorsement policy, that doesn't necessarily make sense to us but likely makes sense to them. They sell a boatload of guitars every year and I suppose the signature sales account for less than they would in another brand, say, ESP. I wouldn't be surprised if the share of sig guitars in sales for ESP was enormous.


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## manu80 (Jul 13, 2017)

Wasn't it chris broderick who was saying that having something at your precise specs from ibanez was very complicated and took a lot of time tu discuss etc...?


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## electriceye (Jul 13, 2017)

Mathemagician said:


> If I remember correctly, Satriani said that he liked the bridge and wanted to try it so he had his tech retrofit one onto a guitar he already ownerd. He didn't go it and request a new custom one. I think a lot of artists would enjoy that kind of tuning stability for recording various parts in a studio setting, even if it doesn't become an everyday use kind of thing.



Doesn't make sense for Satch, though, given how much he uses the trem. I mean, it's pretty much every song he does. Although, it would be interesting/refreshing to see/hear him play a non-trem bridge.


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## ArtDecade (Jul 13, 2017)

^ His solos require trem work and they are obviously the main focus, but he also records a lot of the rhythm tracks as well. I would guess he keeps a few non-trem guitars in the studio just for that purpose.


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## marcwormjim (Jul 13, 2017)

I suppose next we'll find out he uses guitars other than his signature models in the studio.


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## mnemonic (Jul 13, 2017)

manu80 said:


> Wasn't it chris broderick who was saying that having something at your precise specs from ibanez was very complicated and took a lot of time tu discuss etc...?



I remember way back when bulb was gonna get a LACS, he had a thread on here talking about specs, and as I recall, there were all sorts of things they couldn't or wouldn't do. Not surprised he moved on, as it would have ended with a compromise he probably wouldn't be happy with. 

I get the impression that since Ibanez is a big company and sells plenty of guitars as it is, they're not as concerned with endorsements and don't want to go above and beyond for endorsers. They've already got the industry clout, so you get what you get. 

I guess Steve Vai is a special case as he's a big name and has been with them for a long time. He probably gets whatever he wants. Iirc he was involved with designing the RG.


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## Sumsar (Jul 13, 2017)

^ I Remember Broderick saying that they would not do SS frets (though I think they recently did a production model, though this is years later) and also that there where many small things where they said no, we can't do that. From his Jackson model I assume he wanted them to do a different fretboard radius, neckthrough construction and maybe even a different body shape.

Also they would not make a sig model for him, even though he was in Megadeth at the time (and wanted a sig).


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 13, 2017)

Sumsar said:


> Also they would not make a sig model for him, even though he was in Megadeth at the time (and wanted a sig).



I heard a sig model was supposedly in the works, but before it could be finalized he jumped ship to Jackson.


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## prlgmnr (Jul 14, 2017)

They might just think if they made a sig model for every lead guitarist Mustaine hired there'd be no one left to actually sell guitars to.


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## manu80 (Jul 14, 2017)

Well... steve vai's jem were made by Joe despagne who gave his name to the Jem, not by ibanez directly... not sure he even plays the market Jem sold by ibanez...


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## couverdure (Jul 14, 2017)

manu80 said:


> Well... steve vai's jem were made by Joe despagne who gave his name to the Jem, not by ibanez directly... not sure he even plays the market Jem sold by ibanez...


Vai gets most of his guitars from the LACS and since he's a top-tier endorsee, he gets to choose whatever he likes. Most of the LACS guitars out there are based on pre-existing shapes, neck profiles, and hardware based on their production models, and some are just straight up repaints or modifications (JB Brubaker's RGA121, After The Burial's RG2228s, Pat Sheridan's RG927, Jesse Cash's RG752LWFX).


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## Jake (Jul 14, 2017)

manu80 said:


> Well... steve vai's jem were made by Joe despagne who gave his name to the Jem, not by ibanez directly... not sure he even plays the market Jem sold by ibanez...


This is simply not true. Joe made him a guitar he liked and he sent the specs to Ibanez to have them build the first Ibanez JEM. All of Steve's JEM's are Ibanez made and he definitely plays models that were sold to the general public.


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## diagrammatiks (Jul 14, 2017)

mnemonic said:


> I remember way back when bulb was gonna get a LACS, he had a thread on here talking about specs, and as I recall, there were all sorts of things they couldn't or wouldn't do. Not surprised he moved on, as it would have ended with a compromise he probably wouldn't be happy with.
> 
> I get the impression that since Ibanez is a big company and sells plenty of guitars as it is, they're not as concerned with endorsements and don't want to go above and beyond for endorsers. They've already got the industry clout, so you get what you get.
> 
> I guess Steve Vai is a special case as he's a big name and has been with them for a long time. He probably gets whatever he wants. Iirc he was involved with designing the RG.



and yet bulb's sig is literally just an rga hmmmm


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## manu80 (Jul 14, 2017)

jale,Thx for the precision for the vai stuff.


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## xvultures (Jul 14, 2017)

Sumsar said:


> ^ I Remember Broderick saying that they would not do SS frets (though I think they recently did a production model, though this is years later) and also that there where many small things where they said no, we can't do that. From his Jackson model I assume he wanted them to do a different fretboard radius, neckthrough construction and maybe even a different body shape.
> 
> Also they would not make a sig model for him, even though he was in Megadeth at the time (and wanted a sig).



It was a Premium model, it had stainless steel frets, bubinga/wenge neck, luminlay side dots, mother of pearl inlays, and a reasonably thick maple top. These Indo Ibanezes are getting better specs than Japan or LACS builds


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## SeanSan (Jul 20, 2017)

Regarding the split..


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## ZombieLloyd (Jul 20, 2017)

SeanSan said:


> Regarding the split..




Damn it, I was just about to post this.


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## mnemonic (Jul 20, 2017)

Pretty cool. I wonder what he'll come up with, and what they will be called. 

I assume Asian imports only? I guess in that sense it's not that hard to start your own brand. You don't need to source matierials or learn how to build, you just need startup capital to get a contract with WMI (or whoever) to make them. 

The hardest part would be distribution, but as he's a big name with a big following in the metal arena, I would think he wouldn't have much trouble there.


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## ZombieLloyd (Jul 20, 2017)

mnemonic said:


> Pretty cool. I wonder what he'll come up with, and what they will be called.
> 
> I assume Asian imports only? I guess in that sense it's not that hard to start your own brand. You don't need to source matierials or learn how to build, you just need startup capital to get a contract with WMI (or whoever) to make them.
> 
> The hardest part would be distribution, but as he's a big name with a big following in the metal arena, I would think he wouldn't have much trouble there.



It's funny, I've just been looking for a new guitar and my favourite guitarist just announces he's starting his own brand. I hope he come out with a v shape though, super strats don't sit well on my body haha. Still, I'd probably buy one either way.


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## manu80 (Jul 20, 2017)

Interesting...As long as he's not doing like zakk with his 1555 euros import schecter, good luck !!!!!!
Really curious to see what he'll end up with.


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## gunch (Jul 20, 2017)

I guess that's one thing you can do with all your YouTube money


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## StrmRidr (Jul 20, 2017)

Looking forward to see what he comes up with.


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## A-Branger (Jul 20, 2017)

mnemonic said:


> The hardest part would be distribution, but as he's a big name with a big following in the metal arena, I would think he wouldn't have much trouble there.



I think that part its not that hard really and he must already have some contacts. For me the hardest part would be the QC control over it. Since hes not a builder, he wont have a shop to do it in house unless he hires people to do so in whatever warehouse he rents to do the shipping part of it. But also the factories itself have different levels of QC control, which helps if you know your stuff so you can go there, have a look at their process and be able to tell them how do you want them to do stuff, and be able to pick stuff that you dont like ect. One thing is to grab a guitar as say "this plays good... or I dont like the feel, fix it", and another is "feels alright, but this here is too blah blah, and here is too blah, for my guitars can you guys do it this way and that way, and be sure to use this and that and in this way so it looks/feels like this.." I guess he might have someone onboard helping him on that too

But yeah I recon this would be a pretty cool thing for him and for all, and I recon the guitars would end up in the same $ ball park as his Washburn stuff, maybe with couple of better features/quality since most likely he would be selling direct like Chapman does. Plus the fact that Washburn took away his models might say that his new brand would remain a similar shape/design/headstock, which his solars werent too far away from the S7 sigs. So we might get an idea on the overall look of this new adventure. Also seems that he might do the same Chapman approach of asking and having people have a voice on it, which is always great thing. Plus the amount of people who follows him would helps 198417402979 times more than any overpriced marketing department


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## Sumsar (Jul 20, 2017)

Also looking forward to see what he comes up with. I hope he already has some distribution agreement lined up, with say Andertons or Thomann for EU and others for the states. As far as I remember it took Chapman guitars quite a while to get other distributors than Andertons.

I hope he does not burn himself on this one by investing a lot of money just to end up with 5000 guitars in storage somewhere.

I might pick one up in the future, depending on how it turns out. I wanted to try the washburn 7 string, but I have seen more live Unicorns than Washburns in my life, so ... Hopefully these will be easier to come by


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## Womb raider (Jul 20, 2017)

I was not expecting that. He's going to have his hands full for a while touring with 2 bands, doing YouTube and starting a company. I imagine he's got the right people lined up to pull this off. How successful? no one knows as he's still relatively unknown outside of the metal community. Interested to see how it all turns out and what he comes up with.


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## cip 123 (Jul 20, 2017)

I'm really excited for this. It can be argued he's not that big outside of metal but he has a huge fanbase to market to, plus this would only increase his profile. I'm really excited for what comes out.


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## lewis (Jul 20, 2017)

at first I was like noooo wtf

then I watched Ola's video and to hear him start his own guitar company and now Im....OMG OMG OMG I cant wait to see designs!! andddddd prices


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## Edika (Jul 20, 2017)

He seems to be taking a page out of Chapman's book. If his designs are close to what he had with Wasburn, they're more readily available, puts good specs and a decent QC he'll do quite well. He'll probably have different tiers starting from more basic models around the 500 price mark and going up to mid level instruments about the 1000 price mark. 
Seeing the video he'll most probably cement specs and designs with his fan base and followers which is a good move to create that community atmosphere and make people feel they participated in the ceeation of this line.
In any case I hope it works out well for him and we get some more kick ass guitars.


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## manu80 (Jul 20, 2017)

Yeah wait til you see the design and the prices 
So far zakk was speaking about amps and lot of things and i wonder he his brand really works...coz nothing else has emerged so far
I think the chapman wah is a good way to go , despite crazy prices for import stuff again.
I can spend 900 euros for an impprt jackson bit for a chapman ? Nope sorry..


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## A-Branger (Jul 20, 2017)

Womb raider said:


> How successful? no one knows as he's still relatively unknown outside of the metal community


like if he was going to market his guitars for rock/blues and jazz players


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## Womb raider (Jul 20, 2017)

A-Branger said:


> like if he was going to market his guitars for rock/blues and jazz players


That was kind of my point. He's aiming for a niche market.


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## Mathemagician (Jul 20, 2017)

The GC's in Central Florida always have a few Wylde guitars in stock and they seem to move as it's usually a different model every few months.


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## feraledge (Jul 21, 2017)

It's crazy what Youtube is making possible. Nothing against Ola, it's just pretty nuts. 
FYI, the minimum for a WMI order is 60 guitars. That's a lot for a new company, but given his platform and that all these smaller and larger companies basically becoming a sales pitch for WMI as though it were a company itself (ESP, PRS, Schecter, Ormsby, etc), it's like companies are largely responsible for designs and after delivery QC. So if he's got designs and the following, he could potentially do considerably well for far less effort than if this was all happening five years ago.


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## xvultures (Jul 21, 2017)

ZombieLloyd said:


> I hope he come out with a v shape though, super strats don't sit well on my body haha.



If he puts out a V or RRV shape with Evertune at a nice price I'd like to pick one up. The Washburn headstocks never sat right with me.


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## ZombieLloyd (Jul 21, 2017)

xvultures said:


> If he puts out a V or RRV shape with Evertune at a nice price I'd like to pick one up. The Washburn headstocks never sat right with me.



I acually really like those headstocks; though I can see why some people wouldn't be a fan.


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## Lemonbaby (Jul 21, 2017)

feraledge said:


> FYI, the minimum for a WMI order is 60 guitars. That's a lot for a new company ...


That's easily below $20k (for 500-700 USD resale guitars) and shouldn't be any issue if someone's starting a business. Given the fact that the electric guitar market shrunk from 1.5M/y (sold units) to 1M/y, the trend is very clear. A lot more companies take a bite from a shrinking cake as there's many smaller brands out there who grab additional volumes from the big players. Good for us players as we nowadays get a broader choice in total and much better quality especially regarding mid-priced guitars...


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## A-Branger (Jul 21, 2017)

also remember when Washburn changed factories he got to try like 4 different models made by like 4 different factories, there was a pic around in his facebook showing all the racks of guitars. Then they picked the best factory to build the new line. So he might had already an input/inside on where and how to, and the whole process involved. Also although it might be cool to see a WMI Korean, he might go with the Indo factory that did his last solars too.

But yeah if he got some cool designs and a good factory to help him around, it should be good. Just like Chapman are doing. Its then a matter to choose the right set of specs vs $ and how picky he would be (or the person working with him) for the QC out of the factory.


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## xCaptainx (Jul 21, 2017)

Lemonbaby said:


> That's easily below $20k (for 500-700 USD resale guitars) and shouldn't be any issue if someone's starting a business. Given the fact that the electric guitar market shrunk from 1.5M/y (sold units) to 1M/y, the trend is very clear. A lot more companies take a bite from a shrinking cake as there's many smaller brands out there who grab additional volumes from the big players. Good for us players as we nowadays get a broader choice in total and much better quality especially regarding mid-priced guitars...



+ there's probably a good chance that he has financial backing from an investor. Legator was bankrolled by an extremely wealthy Chinese investor. $20k investment for a brand such as his would be a pretty low risk.


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## feraledge (Jul 21, 2017)

Lemonbaby said:


> That's easily below $20k (for 500-700 USD resale guitars) and shouldn't be any issue if someone's starting a business. Given the fact that the electric guitar market shrunk from 1.5M/y (sold units) to 1M/y, the trend is very clear. A lot more companies take a bite from a shrinking cake as there's many smaller brands out there who grab additional volumes from the big players. Good for us players as we nowadays get a broader choice in total and much better quality especially regarding mid-priced guitars...


In the scheme of things, it's nothing, especially for a new business. But most guitarists don't have it lying around is all I was getting at. In terms of his platform and the low starting level, it's pretty low risk indeed.
So when do we start an SSO brand and do a couple runs through WMI??


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## stevexc (Jul 21, 2017)

feraledge said:


> So when do we start an SSO brand and do a couple runs through WMI??



When you can get more than 3 people to agree on specs


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## MrBouleDeBowling (Jul 21, 2017)

I've been an Ola fan since 2012 and I can't wait to see what he comes up with. The dude knows exactly what he likes and has great taste.


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## metallifan3091 (Jul 21, 2017)

This is a really surprising move to me. Ola seems like a sharp enough guy, hopefully he make this into a pretty profitable business endeavor. I'm interested to see what his designs look like.


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## Andromalia (Jul 25, 2017)

Yeah, I'm not a buyer at the moment, and I'm likely past the WMI level guitars forever, but I guess he could do some good business by getting some real metal axes out. Market is pretty cutthroat at the moment though.


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## DeathCubeK (Jul 26, 2017)

Andromalia said:


> Yeah, I'm not a buyer at the moment, and I'm likely past the WMI level guitars forever, but I guess he could do some good business by getting some real metal axes out. Market is pretty cutthroat at the moment though.



That's fair enough, but WMI have been making some really awesome guitars in the last few years. Particularly Schecters.


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## beerandbeards (Jul 27, 2017)

In his newest video.... he's playing a Solar brand guitar. Looks like he already has prototypes


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## beerandbeards (Jul 27, 2017)

Century Media video for The Haunted "Spark"


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## StrmRidr (Jul 27, 2017)

So basically it's a Washburn Solar that says Solar on the headstock. I was expecting more changes but this might just be an early prototype he has.


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## getowned7474 (Jul 27, 2017)

The fretboard looks very glossy, you can see it on some of the close up angles. I wonder if it's just polished ebony or if it's some sort of composite, looks interesting either way.


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## technomancer (Jul 27, 2017)

StrmRidr said:


> So basically it's a Washburn Solar that says Solar on the headstock. I was expecting more changes but this might just be an early prototype he has.



Assuming he owns the rights to the designs and was satisfied with the quality the fastest way to get this off the ground would be to just order guitars from the same factory that was building them for Washburn with the same specs with the new logo on them...

Also given Washburn pretty much let him do whatever he wanted not sure why the designs would change if he owns them.


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## manu80 (Jul 27, 2017)

Well was pretty sure of the solar brand name stuff...
And as said, easy to do. Same axe, different decal...


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## StrmRidr (Jul 27, 2017)

technomancer said:


> Assuming he owns the rights to the designs and was satisfied with the quality the fastest way to get this off the ground would be to just order guitars from the same factory that was building them for Washburn with the same specs with the new logo on them...
> 
> Also given Washburn pretty much let him do whatever he wanted not sure why the designs would change if he owns them.



True. I am sure we will see some different stuff with time. I am not complaining, I like the Solar shape as it is and if he can make it more available than the impossible to find Washburns, that's a win in my book.


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## bnzboy (Jul 27, 2017)

manu80 said:


> Well was pretty sure of the solar brand name stuff...
> And as said, easy to do. Same axe, different decal...



I am completely ok with that as long as these Solars are easier to get my hands on than Washburns! Actually I would love to try one as I was kind of bummed out that Ola was no longer with Washburn.


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## MASS DEFECT (Jul 27, 2017)

Looks like he just silk screened the Solar logo to his old Washburns in that video. Since he is no longer endorsing Washburns, it totally makes sense.


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## ZombieLloyd (Jul 28, 2017)

I wonder if he'll have that blue swamp ash Solar in his range. A Solar V in that colour would be great.


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## forsakened (Jul 28, 2017)

One of the best super strat designs to come out as of late. I do hope for guitars without the 12th fret solar inlay though.


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## ZombieLloyd (Jul 28, 2017)

forsakened said:


> One of the best super strat designs to come out as of late. I do hope for guitars without the 12th fret solar inlay though.



I agree, it looks great. I'd like to try one but there are no guitar stores under an hour away from me and none of the ones an hour+ away have Washburn Solars. Hopefully Ola can get his guitars stocked here.


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## Tisca (Aug 18, 2017)

Here's a Solar "explorer"


also
https://www.instagram.com/p/BX7wVEFFDjK/?taken-by=thehauntedrocks


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## ZombieLloyd (Aug 18, 2017)

Tisca said:


> Here's a Solar "explorer"
> 
> 
> also
> https://www.instagram.com/p/BX7wVEFFDjK/?taken-by=thehauntedrocks




I might get that explorer. I used to have a goth epiphone one, it was comfortable to play and I regret selling it. Hopefully this is as comfortable at least.


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## Shoeless_jose (Aug 18, 2017)

Explorer thats likely 25.5 looks killer


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