First look: Washburn Ola Englund Solar signature models

He’s a YouTube sensation, guitarist for Feared and The Haunted, and now Ola Englund is a guitar design guru, too!

The Swede has been hard at work with Washburn to bake up a fresh batch of Solar models for your playing pleasure, including his first V outline.

We managed to get hold of Solar16 and SolarV160 prototypes ahead of the official launch, and although there are still a few spec tweaks to be made – the finished Solar16 will have a Hipshot hardtail bridge, for one - we think you’ll agree they’re looking rather delectable.

What’s more, the price won’t leave you spooked, at £789 for the 16, and £649 for the V160. Let’s take a closer look...

The Solar16 is built for speed and comfort; as well as those scooped cutaways on the front, around the back you’ll find a full access neck joint where the maple neck meets the swamp ash body - it’s finished in a snazzy Trans Blue Matte, too.

Ola and Washburn have collaborated with Seymour Duncan on the pickups for both models we have here - the Solar16 offers series/parallel switching on its three-way switch, while there’s a push/pull coil-split on the SolarV160’s tone control.

Although he’s made his mark on every aspect of the Solars’ specs, Ola’s signature provides the finishing touch, dominating the 11th, 12th and 13th frets on both guitars.

The body shapes may differ quite drastically, but the Solar16 and SolarV160 share the same dramatic head stock.