Soloist

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primi

Junior Member
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Hey guys, I have noticed there isn't a lot of love for the soloist around here is it? There are only a small number of flat top ones in stock at Warmoth and not even a single carved top version. Surely there is a market for carved top soloist? Or is it so much more expensive that it just kills it? Anybody ever spotted one in the showcase (or at least lately)?
 
I think the soloist is a great shape. I have one body (flat top black burst neon orange) lying here that needs to be build.

As to the carved top soloist I do think they are too pricey. There are some in the Showcase on odd occasions. 
 
The soloist is basically a rear rout strat although there are people who will tell you the small differences they have matters a lot. Since most guitarists are into Fender they prefer strats so you won't find too many soloists in the showcase. Carved top soloists are expensive like every carved top model, you won't find anything under $500 so if you want one it's better to order it the way you want it. I'm guessing the reason they don't put carved top soloists in the showcase is the price. A few years back when there were less expensive there were always 3-4 carved top bodies.
 
I love my Soloist! I just recently got this one finished, and it is a great playing and great sounding guitar (if unusual looking because of the single neck pickup):

blksoloist2.jpg
 
I agree flat tops are not much different to a regular rear routed strats. But carved tops are very attractive. There's always enough carved top telecasters in the showcase.

Have tried building a body but then there's limited selection of binding, only clear finishes with UC tops etc.
 
I forgot to post my soloist body. I bought it in 2010 in a moment of GAS (like every other Warmoth body) from the showcase. I prefer carved tops but I could not resist to those flames... Later I wanted to sell it cause I have no guitar with a solid color but since I found no interest I have started thinking for pickups and a neck. I hope in the next years...


 
Kostas said:
I forgot to post my soloist body. I bought it in 2010 in a moment of GAS (like every other Warmoth body) from the showcase. I prefer carved tops but I could not resist to those flames... Later I wanted to sell it cause I have no guitar with a solid color but since I found no interest I have started thinking for pickups and a neck. I hope in the next years...

Click to expand...

Holy crap that is gorgeous.

I'm in the middle of building my soloist right now, and already loving it.
 
I would love to build a Soloist (or to be correct, a Dinky).  Problem is, I want the access that a “proper” 24 fret neck provides, not a neck that has the same heel location that the 21/22 fret necks have.  If/when Warmoth offers this, I’ll warm up the credit card.
 
I prefer the soloist to the strat, as a matter of fact I have no strats. I don't have a Warmoth soloist yet, but I have several Jackson Dinky's.. :headbang1:
 
Neo Fender said:
I would love to build a Soloist (or to be correct, a Dinky).  Problem is, I want the access that a “proper” 24 fret neck provides, not a neck that has the same heel location that the 21/22 fret necks have.  If/when Warmoth offers this, I’ll warm up the credit card.
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What? A Warmoth soloist's cutaway is right at the end of the fretboard with a 24 fret extension. You can easily get all those frets.
 
Neo Fender said:
I would love to build a Soloist (or to be correct, a Dinky).  Problem is, I want the access that a “proper” 24 fret neck provides, not a neck that has the same heel location that the 21/22 fret necks have.  If/when Warmoth offers this, I’ll warm up the credit card.
Click to expand...

Yeah, 'funny how they call it a Soloist when it's really a "Dinky". The Soloist is a neck-thru design.

There is no difference in neck heel location for 24 frets on any 25-1/2" scale guitar. The fretboard is just extended and overhangs the body.
 
As far as what Warmoth currently offers, correct.  However, Jackson, Kramer, et al don't add a fretboard shelf like Warmoth does to accommodate 24 frets.  Instead, they lengthen the neck and extend the neck heel accordingly.  To confirm, I measured my Kramer Striker (early Gibson era) and my Strat.  Both are 25.5" scale guitars but the distance from the nut to the end of the neck pocket is approximately 15 and 5/8" on the Strat and approximately 16 and 3/8 on the Striker.  3/4 of an inch may not seem like much unless you want to use what a 24 fret neck offers and if the guitar is not a neck through, that chunky bolt-on neck-body union gets in the way.

Street Avenger said:
There is no difference in neck heel location for 24 frets on any 25-1/2" scale guitar. The fretboard is just extended and overhangs the body.
Click to expand...
 
Neo Fender said:
As far as what Warmoth currently offers, correct.  However, Jackson, Kramer, et al don't add a fretboard shelf like Warmoth does to accommodate 24 frets.  Instead, they lengthen the neck and extend the neck heel accordingly.  To confirm, I measured my Kramer Striker (early Gibson era) and my Strat.  Both are 25.5" scale guitars but the distance from the nut to the end of the neck pocket is approximately 15 and 5/8" on the Strat and approximately 16 and 3/8 on the Striker.  3/4 of an inch may not seem like much unless you want to use what a 24 fret neck offers and if the guitar is not a neck through, that chunky bolt-on neck-body union gets in the way.

Street Avenger said:
There is no difference in neck heel location for 24 frets on any 25-1/2" scale guitar. The fretboard is just extended and overhangs the body.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

That's just flat-out not true. My ESP and Ibanez 24-fret guitars have the fretboard extension, and so has every Jackson I've ever put my hands on. The only difference would be the depth of the cutaways.
 
I think it just depends on the model and whether it's a pro or semi-pro line.  I've owned a few ESP & Ibanez 24 fret guitars and I don't remember any of them having the fret extension of a Warmoth 24 fret neck.  Adding two frets and moving the bridge pickup is the cheap way to do it.  If I were buying a high quality 24 fret guitar and it wasn't built to those specifications from scratch, they wouldn't be getting my money.  The only 24 fret guitar I have now is a PRS Custom 24.  I also have a 22 fret PRS and I can tell you with 100% conviction that they move the bridge and bridge pickup toward the neck proportionately to the 2 added frets and no significant fretboard overhang is added.  The bridge pickup stays where it is

The only disclaimer is my past ESP & Ibanez purchases were in the 80s and my PRSs are early 90s builds.  I have no idea what they are doing now, I don't really keep up do date with production guitars anymore.
 
Wolfie351 said:
I think it just depends on the model and whether it's a pro or semi-pro line.  I've owned a few ESP & Ibanez 24 fret guitars and I don't remember any of them having the fret extension of a Warmoth 24 fret neck.  Adding two frets and moving the bridge pickup is the cheap way to do it.  If I were buying a high quality 24 fret guitar and it wasn't built to those specifications from scratch, they wouldn't be getting my money.  The only 24 fret guitar I have now is a PRS Custom 24.  I also have a 22 fret PRS and I can tell you with 100% conviction that they move the bridge and bridge pickup toward the neck proportionately to the 2 added frets and no significant fretboard overhang is added.  The bridge pickup stays where it is

The only disclaimer is my past ESP & Ibanez purchases were in the 80s and my PRSs are early 90s builds.  I have no idea what they are doing now, I don't really keep up do date with production guitars anymore.
Click to expand...

The best Ibanez's with square neck joints that were built in the 80's used fret extensions.  The newer all access neck joints (AANJ) use a non-extension neck
 
To address primi's original question regarding the carved top Soloists... I can tell you that they haven't made one since at least last June. But a little bird told me that we'll be seeing them again soon. I'll spare you all the long story.
 
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