Route 101 Guitars' Solimar
Reviewed by
Tony Thomas
Shopping for a guitar these days isn't much fun. If you shop at the local music store, you often have to contend with dozens of pawed over, (or in some cases, even trashed) guitars. And, if you are very lucky, you will find the guitar with the features that you want in the color you want in reasonable shape. If not, you are forced to buy what is in stock or wait for the next shipment.
Route 101 has developed a somewhat novel concept for ordering your guitar (although, in fairness, Carvin pioneered the concept). They import instrument bodies and necks from overseas (specifically India) and custom assemble them to your specifications. The end product is a guitar that will meet your specific requirements far better than an off the shelf model.
Currently Route 101 sells an "S" style guitar (the Solimar) and a "T" style (the Rincon) as well as a line of tube amps and pedals. Customization options for the Solimar include: color/finish, fingerboard (rosewood or maple), pickguard, bridge type (trem or hardtail), pickups (including SC, HB, Hot Rails and Fishman Powerbridge), hardware color, knob and pickup cover color, nut type, straplocks and engraving on the truss rod cover.
I decided to order essentially a stock Solimar with mostly cosmetic options: sunburst finish, pearloid pick-guard, maple fingerboard and black knobs and P/U covers. I ordered it with the stock "Duncan Designed" single coil pickups. Sonically, it is the same guitar that you can buy off the site for $279.
Generally, it takes a week or two to get your guitar once it is ordered. It is shipped in a light gig bag and well packed in a sturdy box with a lot of peanuts. Upon inspection, I found the Solimar to be a tightly built guitar that is ready to tune up and play right out of the box. The setup is great, the action and strings as you specify and the 12" radius neck very smooth and fast. Sonically, the guitar is very quiet for a single P/U guitar and very smooth sounding with all of the "clean" and "quack" that you would expect. You can crank it up relatively hum free in the 2-4 positions and there is a minimal amount of hum in 1-3-5.
The Kapere wood body (Indian Red Cedar) is unusally light but seems to sustain well. The maple fretboard and neck has the expected fast attack and brilliance. The bridge and hardware are above average for a guitar in its price range. The support is excellent. If you have a problem with the guitar, you can talk to Eddy Estrada, the guy who actually assembles your guitar. The Product Manager, Tom Cassell, was also extremely helpful and answered all my questions.
To say I am impressed is an understatement. The Solimar is currently my #1 guitar. It compares favorably with instruments twice its price!
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Copyright 2001
Photos and Editorial
Tony Thomas
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