A Shout Out to Jim Soloway - GREAT GUITARS!

[Dana Olsen]

I just wanted to post a shout out to Jim Soloway, who's wonderful guitars I got to play again at the LA Amp Show.

Jim just keeps getting better and better: as a builder, as a player, and as a business person. The new guitars I played were fantastic - 25 1/2" scale AND 27" scale. Jim had built a pair of "twins" (among many other instruments) - guitars made of the same woods (some pieces of both guitars came from the same piece of wood!) in a 25 1/2 " and a 27 inch model - that's as close as one is ever gonna get in being able to compare 'em to hear what the difference is between the scale lengths, in tone, playability, and feel. Same pickups, bridge hardware, tuners, finish, even strings - everything the same but the scale length.

Both guitars were totally killer - they both sustained for days and were very articulate. They both felt great, looked great, and sounded fantastic. I myself am very partial to the 25 1/2" Twin, but the 27" was wonderful too.

My hat's off to a guy who keeps evolving and improving his art. Jim's attitude is extremely positive, and I must confess, it's contagious, and much appreciated given how cynical some of us musicians can get.

It's no surprise that several players left the Amp show with new Soloway guitars, and one with a new Soloway version of a Headstrong BF Princeton Amp - that sounded great too!

Excellent guitars Jim - EXCELLENT!

Thanks, Dana O

[Kleio]

In my humble opinion, nobody makes a finer electric guitar than Jim Soloway. Right now, I'm desperately trying figure out how I can put together $2500 to buy the tele style "gosling"!!

[Long2Play]

Jim is a wonderful gentleman and a great Luthier. Well deserved shout out! Glad to hear he did well at that show.

[Brad R]

Yea, I was at the LA amp show as well and got a chance to play the "twins". He's really making some great guitars, and they really have there own special character. They just have a very articulate and singing quality. Definitely on my short list of guitars to get one of at some point!

[Shreve]

I would really love to check out his guitars sometime. I am curious about the scale. Maybe I would still sound like me, :facepalm which ain't a necessarily a great thing, but they look like wonderful instruments.

[mwhy]

I would really love to check out his guitars sometime. I am curious about the scale. Maybe I would still sound like me, :facepalm which ain't a necessarily a great thing, but they look like wonderful instruments.

Hey Shreve,
Definitely take advantage of Jim's "testing" program -- someone will send you the guitar, you check it out, and then ship it to the next player. One of the best -- and smartest! -- systems out there. Go to Jim's site or contact him here for more info.

BTW, the long scale takes only a few minutes to get used to, IMO.

The trouble is, you may not want to send the guitar back!

[reentune]

See.
I told y'all.

Glad I have one coming in the next couple of weeks!

[Jazzydave]

I've been dying to check one of these out!

[Jazztone]

Soloways are extraordinary. I foolishly parted with mine. The memory of that Swan haunts me regularly. I need a fully hollow Swan in Loar burst badly!

[Bryan T]

I had fun trying the twins at the Amp Show. The burst they are doing is stunning. The mini-bucker/humbucker combination sounds great. Personally, I preferred the 27" scale version, as I liked the clarity for the tighter voicings I do. The 25.5" scale guitar was a lot of fun to play, too.

The new Headstrong amp sounds great. It has 75% of the wattage of a Princeton Reverb, which lets it get into the 'sweet spot' earlier. For those of us who play quieter venues or have serious stage volume restrictions, this is a good thing. It was a great sounding amp.

[mojocaster.com]

I need a fully hollow Swan in Loar burst badly!

You and I both! :)

And Dana O, it was very classy of you to post this. Couldn't agree more with you, btw!

[Dana Olsen]

I had fun trying the twins at the Amp Show. The burst they are doing is stunning. The mini-bucker/humbucker combination sounds great. Personally, I preferred the 27" scale version, as I liked the clarity for the tighter voicings I do. The 25.5" scale guitar was a lot of fun to play, too.

The new Headstrong amp sounds great. It has 75% of the wattage of a Princeton Reverb, which lets it get into the 'sweet spot' earlier. For those of us who play quieter venues or have serious stage volume restrictions, this is a good thing. It was a great sounding amp.Hey Bryan - Great to see you.

I sorta wish I hadn't become so hypnotized by the Soloway guitars so I could have spent a little more time with you, though as you know, I do dislike people who are younger than me, or better looking, or who have better prospects - so that's pretty much three strikes on you to start with (GRIN). After all these years playing and gigging, I'm still a major gear queer, and I have precious little focus when I'm around a bunch of interesting gear - it's very distracting, makes it hard to visit and catch up. Kid in a candy store ....

To repeat myself, I was deeply impressed with all the Soloway guitars, ESPECIALLY the Twins - man, THAT'D be a great pair for someone to own...

Thanks, nice to see you, Dana O.

PS - Thanks Mojocaster - Jim's a classy guy, so I decided to dig deep and try to make a classy post about him. (GRIN)

[Bryan T]

Hey Bryan - Great to see you.

I sorta wish I hadn't become so hypnotized by the Soloway guitars so I could have spent a little more time with you, though as you know, I do dislike people who are younger than me, or better looking, or who have better prospects - so that's pretty much three strikes on you to start with (GRIN). After all these years playing and gigging, I'm still a major gear queer, and I have precious little focus when I'm around a bunch of interesting gear - it's very distracting, makes it hard to visit and catch up. Kid in a candy store ....

I was hoping to catch up with you later in the day, but I ended up splitting around 1:00 with a killer headache. It was great to see you acting like yourself.

[Jim Soloway]

Thanks to everyone for the kind remarks and thanks Dana for starting this thread.

It was a great show on so many levels. Business was fantastic. It was a blast hooking up with old friends. And it was incredible hearing some great new players. But I have to admit, a total of four days driving to do a one day event has me feeling every day of my 57 years today. Plus I'm backed up so far on all of the non-musical parts of the business that I'm just looking forward to get enough cleared up to be able to pick up a guitar and fall in for a few hours.

[reentune]

You can't be 57!
Well, you don't look it anyhow.
Does flattery get me anywhere?

[Jim Soloway]

You can't be 57!
Well, you don't look it anyhow.
Does flattery get me anywhere?

I am a true antique...and flattery might get you somewhere but only if you look like Meagan Fox and don't tell my wife. (Obviously I don't think Meagan Fox is over rated)

[Lemuel]

bought a guitar from Jim. great person. really smart. makes an impression on you. would buy another without hesitation.

[edwarddavis]

its all been said and it all true

[mprvise]

I have two Swans, and my NYA continues to be my #1 go to guitar for just about everything. Absolutely wonderful instruments, and I will never sell mine.

[Brian Scherzer]

I asked Jim for a chance to demo the Soloway guitar that Jack Devine reviewed on the TGP webzine. If you listen to the soundclip that Jack did on that guitar, you'll understand why I felt like I needed to try out one of Jim's guitars.

The build quality was excellent and I could find no faults anywhere as regards fit and finish. I was really curious to find out what a 27" scale guitar would play like and was quite surprised to find that it didn't take too long to feel comfortable on it. The string tension feels tighter than the shorter scales but, man, the notes really sustain and are as articulate from note to note as I have ever heard. I found it easy to play upper register notes more clearly than on most guitars. The really flat fretboard radius on that guitar made it a joy to play chords and bends were a breeze.......although it seemed to require a bit more strength than a shorter-scale guitar. Being primarily a bassist, I didn't have any problem using .10s in that scale length.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to finally hold and play a Soloway. I now have to decide which one to purchase, but my time spent with that one guitar convinced me that these instruments are not your typical custom guitars. The feel and tone were wonderful and well worth the price!

[reentune]

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to finally hold and play a Soloway. I now have to decide which one to purchase, but my time spent with that one guitar convinced me that these instruments are not your typical custom guitars. The feel and tone were wonderful and well worth the price!

That's how it happens. I've seen this same scenario play out several times when people play any of my Soloways. When you play it and hear it, you gotta have it.

[reentune]

Oh, Brian, now I know why you went crazy over the Soloway...it was the NYA demo.
That's gotta be the best-sounding Soloway 6-string I've heard so far, and it has a perfect neck.