New Models!

Jim Soloway is not resting on his laurels, for sure. While we are still admiring his "original" design, he is moving forward, redefining his original concept to adapt it to the multitude of requests and needs of a wider audience of long-scale enthusiasts, from the rock players to the trad-jazz cats. From the innovative "Short Horn", to the Fullerton inspired "Contour", to the production line "392", to the "Feldgling", to the new bronze stringed model for those who crave to have a "real" acoustic / electric - a whole new world of un-traditional instruments is available to satisfy your most creative pulsions!

The Contour

Take the original no f-hole, chambered body, swamp-ash swan, round it's edges, complete it with a Leo approved arm rolloff contour. Choose between a fixed bridge or Hipshot trem. Go for a full Fullerton with 3 single coils and 5 way switching and further refine the vibe either with a maple or cocobolo fretboard. The 27" Swan scale does the rest... Surf / blues / twang has never sounded this good!!!

The Little Wing
	The Little Wing was created as a response to the players who needed a more compact body shape and size. Both bass and treble "horns" have been slightly reduced in size, which some players may prefer especially when playing in sitting position. All the other specs are similar to the original Swan, including, of course, the 27" scale...

The Fledgling

Here is what Jim has to say about his new creature: It's basically my take on the classic Junior formula but maintaining our identity (27" scale length, Swan shape etc). The body will be a Korina Contour (with chambering) in either transparent navy blue or classic heritage cherry. I may alo add a two tone burst. The neck is probably going to be korina with a cocobolo fingerboard. The pickups will be Vintage Vibe P90's (with a couple of interesting twists) and there will be one-pickup, two-pickup, and three-pickup versions.

The 392

Jim's idea for a "production line" guitar. A misnomer, really, because everything is still built in the good 'ole USA - no asian factories are involved. Basically it's a non-customizable Swan, based on the Contour body, which sports 3 Fralin P92 noiseless pickups and a choice of any color you like, as long as you choose amongst the following ;-) Lake Placid Blue, Ice Blue, Candy Apple Red, Candy Tangerine, Shoreline Gold, two-tone burst and Mary Kaye White (quite a nice choice, actually!). Hardware will be chrome, only. You cna choose between fixed bridge and trem, and between maple or pau ferro fretboards.

Jim Soloway Guitars About the Swan: The 27-inch scale length is probably the most important design element to the Soloway Swan guitars, and the elongated neck that results from longer scale length is the inspiration for the model name "The Swan". The scale length (the distance from the nut to the bridge) is a critical characteristic of the design of any guitar. The shorter 24 ¾-inch scale length that is typical of Gibson guitars make string easier to bend and contribute to the rich tone. The longer 25 ½-inch scale length of Fender guitars help provide the twang and snap that has made them so useful for country players and the bite that has made them a staple of R&B. When PRS first rose to prominence, one of the characteristics that set them apart was a then unique 25 inch-scale length that emphasized mid-range tones and provided a compromise between the traditional Gibson and Fender formulae. The 27-inch scale length of the Swan produces a remarkable level of clarity, presence, and articulation that most guitarists have never experienced. When playing a Swan, the notes just seem to jump off the instrument. The Swan Long Neck guitars are not baritones. While they can be very effective in lowered tunings, they are designed to be played at standard pitch. Even with the longer scale length, the Swan was designed to be a very player friendly guitar. A very thin neck profile, a flat fingerboard radius and extra large frets make the Swan extremely easy to play, so easy in fact that most people don’t even notice the extra length. Difficult chords and intervals are still easy to reach, even at the bottom of the neck. The 7-string models get an even greater benefit from the longer scale length. Most 7-string guitars present a choice between two compromises. Either the added string is too loose, producing a muddy tone and poor articulation, or the string has to be too heavy which makes it both much louder than the other six strings and causes intonation issues at the bottom of the neck. The longer scale length of the Swan LN eliminates this compromise and allows the use of a string that produces a balanced tension and volume with the other 6 strings while also providing tonal clarity and proper intonation.