All Sollophonic guitars have a magnetic pickup fitted, however these are of various types, including lower output types for vintage type tone, or higher output humcancelling ones for versatility and low noise when used with valve amps or at higher volumes. They are now all wired in such a way that their replacement is easy, should customers want to upgrade. The Hotrail pickups that I often fit are of superb quality and tone, and can be used in a whole range of musical styles. I do not however fit acoustic piezo style pickups to Sollophonic guitars as in my opinion the combination of piezo pickups and a vibrating metal cone, do not give anywhere near satisfactory results. The internal acoustic pickups required to really effectively amplify a resonator guitar would effectively double the price of my instruments, and would be very difficult and pricey to fit to effectively fit into the confined space of a solid bodied resonator guitar. The truth is that for higher volume, a magnetic pickup is best, as the resonator tone still cuts through in the sound, even with the most basic of amps, and will resist feedback too. For recording and low volume, it is the established wisdom that there is nothing to beat a good quality microphone for recording the true and complex tone of any resophonic guitar. At higer volumes, rolling back the tone controls on either amp or guitar will come very close to the sound of a resoantor guitar, and these Sollophonic guitars really have a tone of their own anyway!!!
All Sollophonic guitars are fitted with bone top nuts, giving a better tone on open strings, particularly useful when using open tunings. They also have a slightly wider string spacing at the nut of 37mm instead of the usual 34- 35mm, which gives a bit more room for low end chord work. They also have a string spacing at the bridge of 55 – 57mm, giving a bit more room, for fingerstyle and fingerpick playing.
Lovely Red and White and Chrome Sollophonic. Fender amp knobs on a chrome front mounted plate. Customer comments “Looks even more beautiful than in the pictures on your website”.
All Black Sollophonic with Chickenhead controls. This has a standard Tele neck pickup. Customer quote “Very happy with it. Great piece of kit for anyone interested in country blues and slide. Everybody who is into slide should have one!”
Red and White Sollophonic with standard pickup and plate mounted controls. Customer said “I’m a very satisfied customer. Ill be using this in Japan later this year. I’ll keep you posted!”
All black Sollophonic with controls on a plate. Simple but effective
Sunburst Sollophonic with Hotrail Picup and red tortoiseshell pickguard. Rosewood neck too!!!
Sunburst with white Guard and Hotrails. Another cool sunburst with a rosewood board
Customer comments “The feel of an electric guitar with the volume of an acoustic makes it a lovely, easy guitar to play with a fantastic sound quality”. The playability is great. December 2009
Recent conversion, black with a Hotrail. Customer comments\”What can I say, an incredible piece of gear. Played through my Champion600 it sounds so authentically rootsy. Youve really got something there, Im going to spread the good word. Thank you very much!
Now with a happy owner in Japan who says” Very satisfied with it and proud that I am the first owner of a Sollophonic Guitar in Japan. Through the amp it sounds crazier than the other resonators I have ever played. I really love it.”
Black single bound with rosewood board neck and P90. New owner says “I love my guitar. It looks great, sounds fantastic and the set-up on it is superb. It is comfortable to play no matter what tuning, with or without a slide. Consider me another happy customer”
Squier Standard Telecaster® converted to a Sollophonic. P90 Soapbar for extra growl!
This guitar finally arrived in Japan after a tortuous journey through Customs. Now resides with a very happy customer.
All Black Sollophonic with Soapbar P90. Customer comments “Guitar is just immense. Great looks, great sound and you are right about the P90!”
Sunburst Sollophonic with matching scratchplate, control plate and chickenhead knobs.
Squier Affinity Tele converted into a Sollophonic. Jagmaster pickup and black pickguard. Customer comments “Its brilliant….amazed me how good the acoustic sound is….when practising this is a bonus. Thanks for the guitar Andy, dont know how you do them for the price”
“Guitar is fine, my German friend will love it”
Sunburst with matching red torty pickguard and control plate. A great combo. New owner says”Guitar looks even better than the photos. Neck is great and set up perfect, just right for slide and not too high for fingerpicking. Sounds great unplugged andsuperb through the amp. I am really pleased, thank you very much for your excellent service”
Black Squier Telecaster® conversion with a white pearl guard and an Entwistle pickup. Made from a lightly used Affinity Tele. Nice slim neck, nice fat tone. New owner says “After feverishly ripping off the wrapping, Ive spent a happy hour with my bottleneck. What a sound, you truly are a wizard bro’! I’m off to the crossroads now!”
Surf Blue Single Bound Sollophonic with rosewood board neck. This one has an Entwistle pickup giving a great tone
A rare handmade custom body build on this one. Sapele body with rosewood board neck, and Hotrail pickup. This one has a body which was simply finished and lightly oiled, this solid guitar has a huge tone, and classy looks.New owner says “Seriously nice lump of wood. Was playing it until 3am and I have to get up for work at 5.30! I can tell you have put a lot of care into the making. I am also very impressed with your service, its been first class”
All Sollophonic guitars have a Sollophonic logo applied to the headstock, whether they are a conversion or a rare custom body build like this one
Blue Sollophonic converted from a Squier Affinity Telecaster®. New owner very happy “These Squiers make great conversions”. With their slim necks these are great Sollophonic guitars
Ash topped Sollophonic with Squier Standard neck and Hotrail pickup. New owner very pleased with it “Its gorgeous, lovely stuff”
A surf blue Sollophonic being played on the streets of Provence by Fergus Mckay, who is Bandolino, a one man band. Check out his website on my Links page.
I also undertake repairs and restorations of other guitars, both electric and acoustic. Here’s a 1959 Gibson Melody Maker restored to a playable and giggable condition. Contact me through this site for a quote on getting your old guitar back to a playable state.
New owner of this left handed single bound black Sollophonic lives in the USA and says this about his recent acquisition “It was like Christmas morning! You have done a great job, I’m very pleased. The sound is awesome, I will have many years of enjoyment playing your wonderful creation.”
Another left handed Sollophonic, this time in sunburst with a white Hotrail pickup in a white scratchplate. New owner says “Must let you know how happy I am. The tone is great, and it is so “player friendly”. I’m very impressed, and you have most happy customer.”
I really like using these chrome pickup mounting rings, as an alternative to pickguards, especially on natural timber guitars.
Natural Alder with Rosewood Board Neck. New owner says “I have thoroughly enjoyed playing the guitar since and trying to get a bit better with the bottle neck, it’s the first thing I do when I get home after a long day and it sounds just amazing, looks good too. Once again thanks very much and I look forward to hours of enjoyment”
Another natural timber Sollophonic, this one with a soapbar P90 and a chunky maple neck. New owner says “It arrived safe and well and I am extremely pleased with it. Well done, superb guitar. Nice doing business with you.”
A nice left handed black singlebound Sollophonic with a P90 pickup, now with its new owner overseas. Customer comments “Enjoyed my new guitar for several days now. Well packed, it arrived safe (and fast!) and really is a looker! Very nice weight and balance and plenty of volume, too. All in all I’m happy with the guitar!”
Another shot of this fine looking and playing left hander. Contact me through the site if you are looking for a left handed Sollophonic resonator guitar.
A black Sollophonic with rosewood board neck, Hotrail pickup and red torty scratchplate. New owner says “Magnificent. Has a fine tone, and fretting is easy, even with the heavy strings. Put it through my amp and it sounds ace”.
A nice natural timber Sollophonic with rosewood board neck and mini-humbucker. Lovely player, great tone. New owner says “Arrived all safe and sound on Friday. I’ve been playing it loads over the weekend and am very pleased with it. Acoustic sound is great and my wife is very happy that I can now play slide in the house at lower volume. The electric sound of the Sollophonic is absolutely brilliant. Really authentic Chicago blues type of grit but very transparent and lots of sustain”.
Surf Blue Sollophonic converted from a nice Squier Affinity with a rosewood board neck. Lovely player, lovely tone and a fine looking guitar. A rare pastel shaded Sollophonic.
Many of these imported resonator guitars need some work to optimize their play-ability and sound, and they also need specialists who know what they are doing, to do this. They are nowhere near as straightforward as electric and acoustic guitars, and replacing parts and setting-up is something that Sollophonic Guitars can do to your resophonic guitar that needs some TLC. Here is one that needed a new cone, new strings, a new bone nut, new bridge and saddle and a good set-up. Plays and sounds great now.
Great article about Sollophonic Guitars in the Feb/March issue of Blues Matters magazine www.bluesmatters.com Good magazine about blues and related things, and cheers to them for the piece they did on me.
A recent, quick repair on an old Japanese Takamine acoustic. New strings, set up, lowered action at the nut and a bit of a clean up of the fret-board too. Nice old guitars these Takamines
Black and Chrome Sollophonic with Hotrail pickup. Great guitar, sweet playing and sounding, now with a new owner who says “It’s brilliant. I’m very pleased!!
An all black Sollophonic with a Hot-Railpickup and a chicken-foot cover-plate. New owner says “Wow, she’s just arrived and she’s beautiful 🙂 Great packaging too. The workmanship is just awesome, what a great job.”
An alder bodied Sollophonic with a maple neck and a Hotrail pickup, Nice red guard on this one too, plus top-bout mounted controls. Great player, great sounding and one of a run of natural timber Sollophonic guitars
Another natural timber Sollophonic, this one with a paulowina body, maple neck, Soapbar P90 pickup and black pick-guard. Light and resonant and a lovely player
Cream and red Sollophonic, converted from a recent Squier Tele. Red pick-guard, control plate, and sound-port covers complete the theme. Soapbar P90 pickup too, sweet player and sounder, cool looks!
Black and Tan Sollophonic with Hot-rail pickup. Great player and sounding, New owner says “Thanks for the info and speedy service. Its a peach!”
Another meranti bodied Sollophonic, this time with a Yamaha neck and a Hotrail pickup mounted in a chrome ring. New owner very happy “Its wonderful, great tone and getting a lot of play-time”
Resonator guitar repairs are a speciality here at Sollophonic Guitars. Here is a nice metal bodied resophonic guitar having a cone upgrade and a replacement bone nut fitted. Give your resonator a new lease of life and a dramatically better tone with a Continental cone fitted for you at Sollophonic Guitars.
Meranti body with maple neck and soapbar P90 pickup. New owner in Germany very happy “The guitar arrived safely. It is one of the best instruments I’ve ever played, I LOVE that guitar. Wonderful sound, great looks, you do incredibly beautiful work”
Delivery of nice shiny parts, ready to be made into Sollophonic solid bodied resonator guitar conversions. Continental cones, maple saddles and rosewood biscuits, Chicken-foot and sieve coverplates and matching tailpieces.
A lovely surf blue Sollophonic guitar with a Bare Knuckle Blue Note P90 pickup, and matching pickguard and control plate. A custom order, and a sweet playing and sounding guitar.
Latest Stock here at Sollophonic Guitars, the maker of solid bodied resonator guitars here in the UK. As you can see, a real variety of styles, necks, pickups and colours can be combined.
Black and Red with a P90 and a rosewood board neck. Sweet player, great sounding too. New owner says “You did a fine job, everything works perfect, string setup is ideal, the guitar sounds and looks great, thank you very much! Thank you for good communication, your understanding and for that fine instrument!”
Meranti body with rosewood board neck, hotrail pickup and top bout mounted knobs. Now resides with its new owner in the USA who says ” I am absolutely thrilled. I love the sound, plugged and unplugged, the playability, everything. It arrived in great shape. Thanks again and I’ll be sure to recommend you to anyone who asks!”
Alder bodied Sollophonic guitar with rosewood board neck, Hot-rail pickup and rear mounted controls. Now with its new owner in Austria who said “the guitar has arrived safely (which is not surprising since it was packed really well). Congratulations, Andy, you did a wonderful job. The guitar looks great and sounds even better. It is a pleasure to play it – and I am not the only one who thinks so. Thanks again and keep up the good work!”
Sollophonic electric solid bodied resonator guitars can be set up to your individual playing needs. Actions and string gauges can be adjusted and tailored to your playing style;- heavy or lighter strings, high. low or mixed action, and also set up to accommodate different tunings you may want to use. Specialist, player specific set-ups are all part of Sollophonic Guitars approach.
A lovely swamp ash bodied Sollophonic with a P90 and a rosewood board neck, now residing and being enjoyed by its new owner in Australia. “The guitar has arrived safe and sound. Thanks for the careful packing. It is still almost in tune! I love its appearance and the acoustic sound is fantastic. I have played it through an amp and it has a great growl in the lower strings”
Ash bodied Sollophonic with maple board neck, Hot-rail pickup, and red tortoiseshell guard. Great player, sweet sounder, classy looker.
Now in the home of Soul in Detroit, USA. New owner says ” I picked up the guitar this morning. It is everything I was hoping for The guitar looks beautiful. It plays beautifully. Plays like an electric, sounds like a resonator. You packed it so well, it took me a very long 5 minutes to unpack it, and then I could not get all the packing material back into the box!. There is a wealth of tones and “feels” in this guitar, some of which are totally new, at least, I do not think anyone has ever exploited tones like these on record. The guitar really does quality as a new kind of instrument … because of all the tones. Thanks again for the fine guitar.”
Nice sunburst and rosewood board neck Sollophonic guitar here, this one with a P90 Soapbar pickup. New owner says ” Wow! a real beauty. Got the volume and tone settings on the guitar just how I like it with the amp, it sounds great! Got ma vest and braces on and heading down to the crosssroads.”
Lovely surf blue Sollophonic, with an Entwistle pickup, white pearl scratchplate and control plate, Single bound body, rosewood neck, this pre-ordered guitar is a real sweet one. New owners says “Its fantastic, many thanks. We are very grateful to you for keeping us informed throughout the process-your customer service is exceptionally good.”
Resonator guitars of all kinds benefit from specialist set-up to improve and enhance their playing and tone. Contact me and let me bring your resonator back to life. New cones, new nut, new strings and a proper set-up of these guitars can work wonders
Lovely Cream Ash Sollophonic with P90. Now residing in Holland with its new owner who says “Today my guitar arrived, all in good order Already playing all evening, Also checked the pickup sounds very very beautiful”
Lovely natural timber Sollophonic with a humbucker sized P90 and rear mounted controls. Now resides in the U.S of A. Sweet build, great player.
Very nice Fender Custom Deluxe here, in for a bit of wiring repairs and the addition of an Electro-socket. Very nice.
A rare cutaway ShoBro in for a clean-out, set-up and re-string. Resonator/Resophonic repairs are my speciality, let me get yours playing and sounding like it should.
A beautiful Les Paul Traditional in for a pickup swap. Fitted some Bare Knuckle Mules with the nickel covers, which have made this great guitar sound even sweeter. Punchy, yet smooth. A real pleasure to work on.
I get some unusual repairs in too sometimes. This one is an existing customer who likes his guitars strung as 5 stringers. New bone nut with wider spacing between the strings and tuned to Open G. Unusual repairs a speciality here at Sollophonic Guitars
Fretless conversion on this nice Peavey International Series bass. Careful removal of the frets, veneer inlays in the slots, careful sanding down and a final oiling of the fretboard and a set up. Nylon coated strings for reduced fretboard wear too
One piece ash-bodied Sollophonic with a Soapbar P90, rosewood board neck, rear routed controls and a red torty scratchplate. Now has a new owner, set up for Open G slide, with a great tone.
A nice Vintage P-Bass in for a bit of work recently. New CTS controls and Switchcraft jack socket, replacement pickups springs, restring with D’Addario strings and a set up. Sweet basses these Vintage ones.
Black Sollophonic with a mix of brass/gold hardware, a Lipstick style pickup, and a nice red torty pickguard. Now with a happy new owner.
This guitar is an all black with a rosewood board neck and a Hotrail pickup. Now resides with its happy new owner in Memphis, Tennessee who says “It’s quickly become my most played guitar. It so versatile, light, and has such a cool vibe that I reach for it before anything else on the rack.””
Two of the latest creations here from Sollophonic guitars, two rosewood board neck guitars, both set up with versatile actions, sweet sounding Continental cones, and each with lovely pickups wired to top mounted controls. Both with red torty guards too.
Recent conversion from a cream bodied Squier. Lovely guitar, its new owner Patrick says “Guitar arrived an hour ago………it’s incredible not to mention beautiful…… Thank you so much, it really is fantastic. I am totally blown away by this guitar, it really is awesome.. I put a skinny brown leather strap with shoulder pad on it.. It’s just gorgeous !!”
A recent conversion using a Squier Classic Vibe Custom neck, a solid ash body and a Soapbar P90 pickup. A bit of a one-off here and a sweet playing and sounding guitar.
One of these lovely Busker Deco Tri-cones now has a new home with a very happy owner who said “Special unwrapping took place and I can now say it has settled in to its new home. Looks and sounds great so post-Christmas I will be starting the challenge of learning a new playing style.”
Very nice sunburst with a maple neck and a Hotrail pickup. Now resides in the USA with a very happy owner who says “It is fantastic! Used it in the studio just yesterday! Sounds incredible “
Bound mahogany “Rough ‘N’ Ready series with rosewood board neck. New owner had it bought for him as an Xmas present, and his mum says “”Thanks Andy, He is delighted with the guitar and I have to say it is a beautiful piece of work. All the best to you for 2018. Regards”
Black Sollophonic with maple neck and Hotrail pickup. New owner in Spain says “Hi Andy, The guitar arrived on tuesday in perfect condition. It is a very beautiful guitar, and sounds great!! even plugged or acoustical. For sure I will use it in my rock band. Thank you very much for all!!!”
It’s not often I build these cream ash guitars with rosewood board necks, but this one is a sweetie, and now resides with its new owner who bought it barely 24 hours after it was completed. Cream Ash plus dark necks = Lovely combination.
Mahogany bodied guitar with rosewood board neck and P90 pickup. New owner says “I feel like Christmas came remarkably early this year. In short, this guitar is absolutely amazing! It was basically the sound I’ve been hearing in my head all my life, but haven’t managed to capture yet, and this guitar just does it without breaking a sweat. The neck and fretboard are similarly natural in feel, and comfortable; not too chunky, not too thin, and while playing I’ve not run into any points where it slowed me down. I feel like I got an absolute bargain on this guitar. So, congratulations on having created a guitar, which I expect will become a favourite for the growlier genres I play, and which I consider quite easily matches the playability of guitars that are 4x the price you charge. Consider me one very happy customer.”
Now on its way to its new owner in Germany, this is a Vintage V2 conversion, using its existing Wilkinson pickup and a red torty guard. Sweet player and great sounder.
Using my own Sollophonic guitar to knock out some classic Northern Soul!
Used live regularly.
Epiphone Special Conversion, made as a pre-ordered guitar for a customer who said “Just had a brief session with it. Remarkably, it was still up to pitch and still in tune. WOW! What a geetar, with endless possibilities! Thank you very much, Andy, what a brilliant job you’ve done. You’re some kind of magician, I think!”
New owner in Spain “I’m really pleased with it. It plays great, its sound is astounding. You have made a really good job. Thank you very much indeed.”
Some lovely guitars in recently for some repairs/set ups. Sweet PRS Custom in for a jack socket replacement, and a full restring and set up
I do basses too, Japanese Bass Collection for a Glockenklang circuit
Custom Shop Strat in for a fret dress and polish, restring and nut slot recut
Lockdown has brought in this beauty which needed some work on the action and the frets. Sweet player and sounder when it was done.
Look at the flame top on this Les Paul Custom Shop! Another one given a good set up and restring plus a quick electrics repair so that its owner could enjoy it during lockdown. Stunning
Wow the sound from this gorgeous Gibson J45 was just a joy to behold. In for a set up and action lowering.
Another big sounding guitar in recently, this lovely Martin DX1. Mahogany body and a sweet playing neck, in for a bit of a setup and a restring.
Fender Standard Strat in for a set up, a bit of TLC to the electronics and a fret dress and polish. A cracking Strat here.
While we’re on the sunburst theme, I do like the tobacco sunbursts on the G&L ASAT guitars. In for a good set up and restring, plus an good dial in of the rather full toned pickups. Pretty lairy sounds out of this Tele style guitar
And now two fine old beasts. This Gibson ES345 needed some work on the Bigsby as well as a good clean up and set up. The Bigsby also needed a ground wire fitting which was a challenge in itself! Sweet player and a great looking guitar
Here’s an old warhorse. 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom which has had a tough life. Imported from New Orleans USA, this has genuine wear and has had a tough life. In for a full fret level, dress and polish and some serious TLC to the hardware and electronics. A true heavyweight in both tone and heft.
Natural Timber with maple neck and P90 Soapbar pickup. Now with a new owner in the Netherlands who says “It looks awesome and plays really nice. what a blues machine it is. I am gonna discover much more on and whit this guitar, for shure ! Thank you for this guitar Andy. I wish you good health and luck and keep on making guitarplayers happy !
New owner in Texas said “It’s beautiful, VERY well made, perfectly set up and it sounds amazing. The way you packed it was outstanding”
Lovely Gibson J100 in for a bit of TLC. Sweet sounding guitar
This Aria T60 arrived to me needing some real attention. Let the clean up commence.
Now looking great and sounding sweeter. Replaced pickup rings, electrics rejuvenated, fingerboard cleaned, fret work done, hardware cleaned
Another shot of this lovely Gibson that has had a hard life, but continues to serve.
Lovely Gibson G45 in for a quick set up, fret dress and polish. Glorious sounding acoustic here, sweet
Cream Fender 60s Classic in for some electrics work, a good setup and clean up. Nice player
I’ve been working on some of these Bass Collection basses recently, mostly owned by a collector.
USA 1994 Strat in for some work on the electrics, set up, fret level dress and polish.
Seem to have had a few USA Strats in recently. USA Performer for a set up, fret dress etc.
Another blue USA Strat, this time a Strat Plus, again from the 1990s. Some TLC applied.
Westbury Standard bass in for a replacement scratchplate made.
Music Man Valentine in for a rear pickup swap, repair to the back of the neck.
National Style O in for a good overhaul. Big resonator here.
Bass Collection in for a GlockenKlang circuit added and a good set up.
Another USA Strat, This one a sunburst, which needed attention to the frets and also the electrics. New jack socket too. Another nice Strat
This white USA Strat came in for some TLC recently. It had been played well in the past, then put away for a while. Needed a good cleanup and set up, lots of dirt and dust on the guitar and in the electrics……….
………….a good player and great sounding now. Almost like a new guitar.
Beautiful Dowina Parlour guitar in for a good set up. Stunning!
Glockenklang, new jack fitted and full set up. Bass Collection
Another Bass Collection, Honeyburst this time. New Glockenklang circuit, barrel jack, as well as full setup. Bass Centre Elite strings too
Lovely Gibson J45 in for a set up and action lowering. Stunning guitar!
Black and Red Sollo now with a happy new owner “Sounds amazing both plugged in and on its own, it’s got an amazing tone.”
Great figuring on the koa back too.
Lovely Taylor in for a setup, bridge lowering and new strings.
Martin 0017 in for the action lowering and a set-up. Really sweet playing and sounding guitar
Tanglewood Java, restring, bridge saddle lowering, setup. New owner very happy with the work.
Tokai Breezysound in for a setup, cleanup and general TLC. Cracking early 1980s Tele style guitar
Top end Martin D45 in for action lowering, setup and Elixir strings. Gorgeous!
Blue Fender Telecaster in for a new nut, set up and new strings. Great guitar.
Faith acoustic in for a set up and repair to stop string buzz. Lovely player.
Martin D00017 in for the action lowering and lighter strings. Lovely guitar.
Martin Mini in for a set up with heavier gauge strings to suit the shorter scale.
