Solar Guitars AB1.6FRMNS Sustainiac+

Solar Guitars AB1.6FRMNS Sustainiac+ review

The Solar Guitars AB1.6FRMNS Sustainiac+ is a black, ST-style electric guitar built around an active bridge humbucker, a Sustainiac neck pickup, and a Floyd Rose 1000 tremolo. At a listed price of $1,222, its appeal is clear: it pairs a locking tremolo setup with a sustain system designed to hold notes beyond the normal decay of a guitar string. The model has been available since August 2025.

Owner feedback describes a guitar that arrived quickly and was ready to play without adjustment. The same player praised the fit and finish, the feel of the roasted maple neck, and the tuning stability. Those are individual impressions rather than measured results, but they offer useful context for a guitar aimed at players who want an instrument ready for aggressive playing straight from the case. No case or gig bag is included.

Build and neck

The body is made from alder and finished in Midnight Sky Black Metallic with a high-gloss surface. There is no separate top. Black hardware keeps the appearance consistent, while the Solar logo appears as a fingerboard inlay at the 12th fret. The overall look is restrained but unmistakably geared toward a modern metal setup.

The bolt-on neck and fingerboard are both made from roasted maple. The neck has a C-shaped profile, a 350 mm (13.78-inch) fingerboard radius, and 24 frets. Its 648 mm (25.5-inch) scale is the standard long-scale format used on many electric guitars. Nut width is 43 mm (1.69 inches), and the locking nut helps secure the strings at the headstock when using the tremolo.

The owner who supplied feedback specifically wanted a roasted maple neck and found the guitar comfortable to play. That is a subjective response, but it points to one of the model's main practical strengths: the neck and fingerboard use the same material, giving the instrument a consistent feel across the playing surface. Solar's 18:1 locking tuning machines round out the tuning hardware.

Pickups and controls

At the bridge, the AB1.6FRMNS uses a Duncan Solar+ active humbucker. At the neck is a Sustainiac Stealth Pro humbucker. The bridge pickup received particularly enthusiastic praise from the owner, who found it forceful for heavier sounds and usable for clean playing as well. That account does not establish how it will suit every amplifier or playing style, but it suggests the pickup is not limited to high-gain tones.

The Sustainiac is the guitar's defining feature. Its neck pickup can drive sustained notes, and the controls include a dedicated on/off switch and a mode switch. The owner described it as entertaining and capable of producing a pleasing clean sound, while noting that its character took some getting used to. Players considering the system should expect a distinctive playing response rather than a conventional neck-pickup experience.

Other controls include a master volume, a tone control with a push-pull coil-cut function, and a three-way blade switch. The coil-cut option adds another available pickup sound without adding a separate control knob. The three-way selector provides the main pickup combinations, while the Sustainiac switches manage the sustain system independently.

Tremolo and setup

The guitar is fitted with a Floyd Rose 1000 tremolo and a 34 mm sustain block. Combined with the locking nut and locking tuning machines, this hardware is intended for players who make frequent use of the bar. The owner reported strong tuning stability, although that result can depend on string installation, setup, and playing technique. The guitar ships with.09,.46 Nano Carbon Coated strings.

A Floyd Rose-style bridge adds setup considerations compared with a fixed bridge. String changes and tuning adjustments can take more care, particularly when changing string gauges or tuning. For players who regularly use deep pitch changes, that tradeoff is familiar. For someone who rarely touches the tremolo, the extra setup work may be harder to justify.

Verdict

The Solar Guitars AB1.6FRMNS Sustainiac+ brings together a roasted maple neck, a high-output active bridge humbucker, a dedicated sustain system, and a locking tremolo. The owner feedback supports its reputation for a polished feel and reports stable tuning, while also highlighting the Sustainiac's unusual, engaging response. Its strongest fit is a player who will use both the sustain feature and the tremolo rather than treating them as occasional extras.

At $1,222, the package is focused rather than general-purpose. The Sustainiac and Floyd Rose hardware define the experience, and the guitar's 24-fret, long-scale layout suits players looking for a metal-oriented instrument. The lack of an included case or bag is worth factoring into the purchase. For the right player, the combination of active pickup power and controllable sustain makes this model notably different from a standard two-humbucker guitar.