GSME

For those of us who revere Taylor's GS Mini, look at what Sigma is offering. If you are bent on the GS Mini's build & dimensions, you can get this Sigma GSME for $480 (Davis GMC). Acoustics do not bring out the best of my guitar playing but I would not hesitate to recommend something very playable / comfortable for individuals who cannot come quite to terms with standard-sized acoustics.

Pic: Sigma

ND Deals @ Swee Lee

In conjunction with the nation's birthday, Swee Lee has rolled out some deals as documented above.

If there's anything that I'd recommend from this deal, it would be the PRS SE CE Standard 24 ($595). This is a wonderful no-frill guitar with above-expectations outcomes when it comes to playability & tone. Sure, those default pickups might not be ear candy to some of us but this is a very good consideration for a sub-$600 guitar.

The other would be the SE Silver Sky ($977). More affordable & more appealing than a Squier Strat in this price bracket.

Pics: Steve's Music

New CVs

I believe these are the newer Squier CVs released lately. That CV 70s Strat ($649) has a four-bolt feature instead of three so the label here should not be taken as a measure of exact reference. No idea how many of us out there are obliged to consider a baritone Tele but it's included in this release ($749). Strangely, I find the single coil tone to be more appealing when it comes to lower tunings but for those of us who are using this at high gain settings, we just want something humbucking. 

Pics: Swee Lee

Roto promo

Great promo by Swee Lee - 3 for the price of 2. This is my personal experience with Rotosound - many strings were plagued by rust spots on various parts of the string length. This was years ago, pre-COVID days in fact. In view of the price enticements, I shall give this a go & share findings here.

Ibanez: July 2025 (6)

We bid farewell to July by understanding why the new Ibanez RGA20P1PB got flak from fans. The RGA isn't new, we all knew this. That dark wood strip running through the  middle of the body is a false indication of the body-neck construction involved. We would all assume that it indicates a through-body feature but on the flip side, we can clearly see the bolt-on design. So what's the point, Ibanez?

If this is your thing, then there are the fixed bridge version (RGA21P1PB), featuring the newer Gibraltar Standard III & its 7-string counterpart (RGA217P1PB). All models feature DiMarzio Fusion Edge pickups.

Pics: Ibanez

Rotating BOSS

Didn't realize this was new. It won't be a hit with someone like your truly here who doesn't give a hoot about creating a panned tremolo effect for guitar. That's how I understand the rotating speaker effect to be for want of a deeper appreciation of this effect type. Anyway, there's will definitely be fans of this pedal if Hendrix & Pink Floyd are your thing. Some contextual understanding here:

Pic: BOSS