Soloist SLA6 DX Baritone BK : For 609 € it does the job, albeit poorly

I was looking for a rhythm guitar that I could easily tune down and play various songs in different standard and/or drop tunings, But I also didn't want to go for a 7-string guitar, so baritone was the way to go. This guitar had the original price of 999 Euros (which is a joke, you will be better off with Ibanez or PRS baritones at that price) but I bought it for 609 Euros.

The packaging was done right and the guitar came without even a tiny scratch. only the first string had slipped out of the nut, but it was a quick fix. The factory tuning was supposedly B to B, but almost all of the strings were out of tune, which is relatively normal. The guitar is made in Indonesia, and the build quality is OK, but everything looks and feels cheap. The neck feels fast and the playability is good. But this guitar is by no means a shred machine or suitable for playing lead guitar, which makes the whole concept of using a compound radius obsolete. A rounder radius all over the neck is much better for playing rhythm. But at least bending strings is a breeze because of the relatively flat radius of the higher frets and the low string tension. In B-standard, I could even make 7 fret bends. The factory setup was horrible. Everything had to be adjusted, the action of the strings was too high and you can't lower it much, because then the strings would start buzzing. The nut grooves are not deep enough, the angle at which the higher strings meet the nut is not optimal, and tuning machines are the worst I have ever seen. I will definitely replace them in the future. I don't know if mine had a defect or all the tuning machines are like that, but they are awful and are easily the worst thing about this guitar. Then there was the problem with the intonation. I just can't intonate this guitar. I have moved the bridge saddles as far back as possible to the point where the springs are almost crushed, but the notes on the 12th and 24th fret of most strings are still a little sharp. This is much worse in the third string (the infamous G string). I might consider replacing the bridge too, but I'm not sure if that fixes the intonation problem, because baritones are hard to intonate perfectly. You also have to bend and push the string down at the bridge to remedy the intonation problem a bit.

Now on to the positives: the guitar is very lightweight, playability is descent, the neck feels smooth, the fret ends were filed perfectly and had no sharp ends, the sound is great if you like EMG pickups, and surprisingly the guitar stays relatively good in tune even with the awful quality of the tuning pegs and the average quality of the bridge. The guitar could easily handle any low tuning from drop A (Slipknot, Amon Amarth) to D standard (Killswitch Engage, Symphony X, Ghost) without constantly needing to adjust the truss rod.

Conclusion: I have not played any Harley Benton or Chapman guitars, so I don't know how they compare to this guitar in the 600 € price range, but I'm relatively satisfied with this guitar and would probably mod it in the future. But for 1000 € it is a joke. I'm pretty sure you'll be better off with the Baritones from Ibanez and PRS. The Tuning machines are awful, the bridge is not great, the string action is too high, the overall built quality of the body and neck are descent, the sound is good, and it can handle almost every low or drop tuning you throw at it. But if you are not comfortable with getting your hands dirty and setting up the guitar by yourself, you'll definitely need to have a guitar tech set it up properly for you.