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ByPhilipp€Herndon
electric guitar designers
llfhen
lfll attempt to imovate, they enter
f ! a wilderness ftaught with limidess peril. For every Leo Fender
'plarilC'
or PaulReedSmith dual-cutaway, there are dozens of misshapen science-fair projects that occupy the "here be dragons" section of
your music store or suburban doset.
\A/ith his S\a"n sedesof electrics,lim
Soloway luckily gets much closet to
the fomer than the latter By tweaking some classic designs,he's created a visually appealing inshument
boasting superbplayabilityand adistinctive voice,
[00]($ o" the sotowaywebsite,
styles:Odgina,
No-
PRICIS
$2,200-s3,200
& mateials)
c0lilAcl
SolowayGuitars
503-977-2727
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66 GUITAROl{E
the swan is called "the ideal sl,'Inbol for everything we are trying to
achieve,"and the guitar we received
sure seems to back up that claim.
Both striking and somehow familiar,
the body shape could be a thematic bridge between Tom Petty's 600series Rickenbackers and Prince's
"cloud guita/' frorn Purple Rain,
(Note to Solo$1ay:I would strongly
ulge your altist rclations
departrnent to get a purple model over to Paisley
Park assoon as the paint
dies.)
Our test model a1ai!.ed
with a gorgeous, solid
Indian rosewood top
with ivoroid binding
over a chambercd, twopiece swamp ash body.
Finished in a Blossynitrocellulose lacquer, the
gultaronemag.€om HO DAY2006
body bears a deep shine without the
rcsonance-killing layers of cornmon
polyester clear coats.A one-piece
maple necl with pau ferro ftetboard
matches the body perfecdy,creating
a la].ered effect sparuing the length
of the guitar. The black pearl truss
rod cover with inlaid swan logo and
brass nged ftet markers are subde nods to the swar"s ltr)ruy standing. $lth other nice touches including a stainless steel Hipshot bridge,
Electrosocket jacb chrome pickup
dngs,and ashcontrol cavityplate, the
o\,'emllefiect is ujrderstatedyet classy
Other than somediscoloration on the
binding nearthe neckjoint, tlis Swan
was aestheticallyfl awless.
tttl
I LLLSolo\,my'stagline fordle Swanis
"LongNecksandBigBoftoms."Ilo:row
it sounds like a great ZZ Top song
tide, but there'smore to dlis concept
fian just wink-and-point marketing. Central to the Swan'sdesign is
an exceptiona.l27" scale length. (It's
genemllybelievedthatFendels 25.5"
scalelength contributes to that special snap and t\,\,?ng,while Gibson's
24.75"measureimparts wamth and
makes the strings easierto bend.)
I didnt notice the LN6's scale
length uttil it was pointed out to me.
It pla,s effordessl]4as Soloway has
compensated for the extra length
with a thin neck thats easyfor smaller hands to get around, and a flatter 16" radius that's great for stringbending. A nicely contoued neck
joint allo\asfor unimpeded accessto
the upper registers.At the headstocl!
a mild 1o-degreeangleand 3+3flrner
array maintain pressure across the
nut without string tees and mitigate
the exfta string tension that comes
with a longer scalelength.
Most semi-hollow or chambered
gujtarstend to be neck-heaw tipping
down'\,?rd when played in a standing position. But Sololray has countercd this tendency with two significant design tactics. Firct, the openback Sperzeltuners marage to lock
the stdngswithoutanyextramechanical partsor addedweightto the headstock.S€cond,the longer hom on the
bassside helps reposition the hstIumentwhilestanding.TheSwan'sbody
shape \aas also well suited for playing in a sitting positioq and the deep
"be\cuf inthebackallo\,!stheguitar
will adore the LN6. Unplugged, I
noticed a significant diffeience in
bassresponsebet\,\,eenthe S&1an
and
other guita$ I had. It \ ,?sn'ta matter
of volume or EQ so much as qualCAMNNUED ON PAGE125
s
i
2
0rln
B0[
ity; while my Telecasterhad good thump and
bomce, low notes and walking lines played on
d1eS],€n stood out like theyd been played on
a piano. Although &e LN6 is designed for standard tunin& the improved defirftion was especialy apparent when'hying altemate or lo\ /er
tunings.
As a custom builde! Solouay offerc a variety
ofpickup options. Our test model camewithTv
lonesry Chssicand ClassicPlu\ pickup\ dul
worked odremely well for clean to mediumgain applications. I was a litde disappointed to
6nd only master \'olulne and tone contols for
the two humbuckers, but all ofthe pickup selections and conhol settingssounded terific, and
a dual-volume option is alailable. Solowayalso
offels a number of DMarzio pickups, tbr those
seekingto use the Swan'sexfaordinary definitlon in higher-gain situations.
lSll [0RY0U?
t" o*suitoraspeciflc
soar,
Solowayhascome up with aconcept that'sbeen
verl well thought rrough.n/hile ils designis
unconventional, tlle SwaI doesnt come across
as"different" or er?edmental. The components
a.llworktogetherto qeate aguitarwith greatdefinition, d)'namics,andplayability ff pute look
ing forthese qualities ft omyourinstrumeni, ihe
Swanmight be what you need to take fllght'