Vola Guitars - Any thoughts?

mkendall · May 2018

Has anyone checked out any of the Vola guitars?
There's a bunch of YouTube reviews by people like Ola Englund, Robert Baker, Andy Guitar etc.
Wondered what people thought of them

They're not in many shops in the UK yet - but trying to build some presence here.
(I am involved with Vola).
www.volaguitar.com

grungebob · May 2018

Just had a look, never heard of them before and to be honest I’ve no desire to try one. It’s like fret king , Cort and Ibanez rolled into one except I couldn’t see one pleasing design.

Sorry. Not for me.

mkendall · May 2018

Fair enough! Can't win em all. Whats your thing?

Simon_M · May 2018

What's your involvement with Vola?

John_P · May 2018

The design reminds me of caparison.

On the website it lists models made in the US and Japan but the contact address is in Hong Kong - is there a history behind the firm or are they new and contracting out the construction?

equalsql · May 2018

grungebob said:

Just had a look, never heard of them before and to be honest I’ve no desire to try one. It’s like fret king , Cort and Ibanez rolled into one except I couldn’t see one pleasing design.

Sorry. Not for me.

Same here .. yawn

mkendall · May 2018

Simon_M said:

What's your involvement with Vola?

Heya - so we (my wife and I) are trying to help them out get a bit of presence in the UK by contacting some shops, getting some reviews published etc. One of the directors is an old friend of my wife. She's the business brain and im the one who likes guitars

stickyfiddle · May 2018

First, the url is www.volaguitar.com not "guitars"

Second, the site suggests the guitars are "made in USA (or Japan) with quality", but the company is based on Hong Kong, which just seems a smidge weird

Third, they look utterly bland but ok for generic pointy things I guess. And the website makes the range look HUGE but actually it's just every colour listed as a different model which is a bit strange.

Fourth, does anyone want a Tele with all the classic timeline curves replaced with pointy stuff? I honestly don't know. But I would like to know if anyone's done any significant market testing prior to launch

Image: https://www.volaguitar.com/media/catalog/product/cache/7/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/v/o/vola_vasti_butterscotch_blonde-2_1.jpg

mkendall · May 2018

John_P said:

The design reminds me of caparison.

On the website it lists models made in the US and Japan but the contact address is in Hong Kong - is there a history behind the firm or are they new and contracting out the construction?

Hiya - so the head office is in Hong Kong - but that's mostly for practical/infrastructure reasons. One of the founders is from HK has another (non guitar) business that operates from there. The CEO and designer is actually from Korea and usually based there. Production is in Japan and America. The US production is smaller scale and closer to custom shop. Japan production is a factory - but still handmade. Conpany is only 3 years old and production is still only small batches, usually to satisfy orders. Going to hold a little bit of stock in the UK soon

mkendall · May 2018

stickyfiddle said:

First, the url is www.volaguitar.com not "guitars"

Second, the site suggests the guitars are "made in USA (or Japan) with quality", but the company is based on Hong Kong, which just seems a smidge weird

Third, they look utterly bland but ok for generic pointy things I guess. And the website makes the range look HUGE but actually it's just every colour listed as a different model which is a bit strange.

Fourth, does anyone want a Tele with all the classic timeline curves replaced with pointy stuff? I honestly don't know. But I would like to know if anyone's done any significant market testing prior to launch

Oops! Thanks! Corrected the typo.

Yep- explained the HK thing above - that's just where the office and logistics infrastructure is.

Not a fan of the designs then! Oh well

The Vasti (model) you posted the image of - is one of my favourites...and I've never been a Tele player before. It's super contoured/comfortable and has a much nicer low end for me. There's also a pretty cool boost function in the push/pull on the bridge pickup.

The range is pretty big...but not huge. In the UK we're planning to focus on the Oz, Vasti, Blaze X and Ares

johnl · May 2018

Wow, tough crowd. The designs aren't for me but I've certainly seen far worse out there and with the right marketing (and intelligent use of Youtube) I'm sure they'll do fine. One thing I would say though is that "quaint" is a particularly weird name for a model, I understand the connotations that they were aiming for but it brings to mind country cottages rather than classic guitars.

The Blaze X range actually look really good....

Winny_Pooh · May 2018

Since you asked, they should try and build guitars that people want, like:

mkendall · May 2018

Winny_Pooh said:

Since you asked, they should try and build guitars that people want, like:

That certainly is pretty

mkendall · May 2018

johnl said:

Wow, tough crowd. The designs aren't for me but I've certainly seen far worse out there and with the right marketing (and intelligent use of Youtube) I'm sure they'll do fine. One thing I would say though is that "quaint" is a particularly weird name for a model, I understand the connotations that they were aiming for but it brings to mind country cottages rather than classic guitars.

The Blaze X range actually look really good....

I can see what you mean

Blaze X is very cool. They're head turners because of the finish - but they're pretty unique sounding and playing too. Lots of versatility with coil split and coil tap on both pickups - really nice and articulate cleans. Also much beefier necks than typical on a guitar that might come across as 'shreddy' at first glance. Feels really nice to me!

Teyeplayer · May 2018

Winny_Pooh said:

Since you asked, they should try and build guitars that people want, like:

This with a bigsby...that’s what we want.

Strangefan · May 2018

So they should build a f@#king telecaster like everyone else??... Please ...

Ignore the cretins stuck in the past your designs are great I would definately rock one! You're unfortunately on the wrong forum if you want an opinon which isn't steeped in vitriolic holier than thou bumfluffery

stonevibe · May 2018

Looks interesting and as already mentioned by @Strangefan this lot can be a tough crowd sometimes, if it isn't from either a Fender/ Gibson or boutique 'vintage' design.

mkendall · May 2018

Strangefan said:

So they should build a f@#king telecaster like everyone else??... Please ...

Ignore the cretins stuck in the past your designs are great I would definately rock one! You're unfortunately on the wrong forum if you want an opinon which isn't steeped in vitriolic holier than thou bumfluffery

It's ok! All kinds of bumfluffery are more than welcome. It's good to evoke strong opinions I think. No intention of appealing to everyone!

mkendall · May 2018

stonevibe said:

Looks interesting and as already mentioned by @Strangefan this lot can be a tough crowd sometimes, if it isn't from either a Fender/ Gibson or boutique 'vintage' design.

I get it- I'm a fan of those guitars too. Vola definitely have their work cut out. The great thing is so far there aren't many people that have tried them and not loved them. So I'm optimistic!

flying_pie · May 2018

I'd have to see them in the flesh to really judge them... But I'm not put off. I like the quirkier ones in Fiesta red with the rosewood board.

mkendall · May 2018

Nice. Don't have the fiesta red Vasti in the UK right now. I've got one in Candy Apple Red (maple fret board) which is currently with Guitarist magazine for review. Also one in two tone sunburst which you can see reviewed on the YouTube channel Andy Guitar. Mostly going to be stocking the butterscotch for the time being

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Vola Guitars - Any thoughts?

Comments

Win a Cort G250 SE Guitar in our Guitar Bomb Free UK Giveaway