Green Orange

Didn't expect this to be available here but you can get it at Davis GMC ($1,190). This is the limited edition Rocker 15 in green. I didn't see the Rocker 32; it might have been sold off / not available to begin with. I didn't ask the store 😅 For those of us with a British type of drive voicing fixation, the Orange is rather iconic because it offers a hint of fuzz at high gain settings that had become a flagship tone embraced by doom-sters. Those of us who are not into this music genre, you can enjoy some of the creamiest drive tone which would rival a Vox.

Pics: Orange UK

Metro Express

Of course, I've not forgotten about our bassist friends. The Sadowsky MetroExpress basses are now available at Swee Lee. These are affordable models (Chinese) but still in excess of $1K. The 5-string versions are also in store. 

For those of us who are predominantly guitar oriented, it's good to own a bass. This opens up opportunities for us to understand music arrangement (how we fit basslines into the tune) & chord progressions. That's right, I always use the bass to identify chords in songs & then I play those on guitar. It's a little long winded but my mind works that way. 

S-Tuesday

Unemployed, indoors with some time in hand; I'm taking this opportunity to play & look after my gear. Just wanna hear an S-Series in action today so this was the guitar of choice - S1620.

I just love playing solos in the neck position, the Seymour Duncan Distortion is an awesome pickup for this intention. Good definition & won't mud-out under intense distortion. I dislike neck pickups that churn out muddy notes at high gain despite sounding good clean. Many Gibson pickups are as such. A quick re-string & a little set-up (bridge related) before playing.

BFDR

Got access to Swee Lee's Black Friday (BF) deals. Nothing too enticing, a little upset that only Sterling guitars (selected) are subjected to the discount. This event is curated unlike other BF deals elsewhere, discounts are store-wide. So if you've been saving for a Fender guitar & hoping there's a good deal waiting come BF - it's not happening. 

I just got myself some DR strings, prices are good after the BF discounts.  I used to be a big fan of this brand (till prices simply turn me off) because it somehow caters to those of us peddling aggressive music. The strings feel solid, the tone, above expectations. These are not for those who embrace boomer bends, though. Just being upfront.

Standard Sunday

Sunday with the Standard (S2 Standard 22 satin). This was an unplanned purchase. The S2 Series were given the American treatment rather recently  & it came with a revised price which contradicted the manufacturer's philosophy of making the S2 range affordable price-wise. The model you see here is the pre-revision Standard 22 in a satin finish. The reason you don't see the wing button tuners there. I like PRS for its 25" scale length. That in-between (Fender's 25.5" & Gibson's 24.75") feel & tone makes it different (to me). I'm also quite a sucker for non-gloss finishes especially the neck. This was clearing for a good price at Davis GMC once upon a time so I had to grab it. 

I don't quite fancy the default pickups so these are Seymour Duncans (JB / Jazz). I don't see too many covered JB trembuckers available here so it was grab & go from Davis GMC. The neck pickup is a pre-owned unit which the previous owner did not install into his guitar. It was virtually new. I don't whammy so the bridge sits flushed against the body.

Saturday morning, still reminiscing my good days at work. Needed a distraction. Took this out to play.

Couldn't get any nice solo ideas going. I blame the pickups for this 😅 DiMarzio's D'Activator / D'Activator X were not conceived to propel ballads & emotional solos. Spent a good hour or so just grinding out brutal riffs. At least I get to manifest my frustrations.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Stay safe.

Final Day @ work

An emotional final day at work. Managed to attend to two guitars before leaving. This one had a broken tuning peg & one crooked unit which was better replaced than repaired. Was told it fell from storage. Yikes. Replaced both rows of tuners, good clean up & a fresh set of strings.

This one had a broken nut. No accidents, knocks, nothing. Hammered the broken piece out & replaced with a new nut. Surprisingly, the new nut required no height adjustments. Same thing - thorough cleaning & a fresh set of strings.

Done. The thing I dislike about nylon strings - it took forever to be in tune. 

The people here are very accommodating & looked into my daily workload well. They were generous when it comes to lunch time & did not treat me like a temporary contract employee. To them I was family. It's very difficult saying goodbye to such a community of good people. This is especially true when office politics exist in every establishment but to some people, this is not worth their while. They rather keep one another going because it's quite a journey ahead. Respect.

Unemployed once again.

MS Beetle

Something new from the Vox camp; the Micro Superbeetle amp (20W). Not to be confused with the Mini Superbeetle (50W) which is the larger counterpart & tube equipped. This smaller-scaled version, which is about the size of a guitar body (as depicted) sits in between the table-top & beginner practice amps. Its internal power is re-chargeable making it very busker / outdoor-friendly. 

It may look vintage but the control panel reveals some contemporary applications like bluetooth & various drive voicings.

Potential buyers should be wary of the fact that this amp isn't a firm representative of the flagship Vox (tube) tone. In fact, it's very utilitarian & more present-day in its offerings. Also, bear in mind that an internal rechargeable battery will wear out (might even perish) over time. Please check with the dealer if this is replaceable for those of us who have a potential to fall in love with it & wish to keep it for a very long time.

Pics: VOX

FHH

I kinda knew this would happen; the PRS Fiore is now offered in a dual humbucker version & a rosewood fretboard for this model. The Fiore is a guitar I would purchase if the price tag is less exorbitant.

Pic: PRS

Asahi & Oscar

Paying it forward - I did my bit to ensure the people at work benefit from a fresh set of strings & clean, gunk-free guitars. Between the two, the Oscar Schmidt wins it in terms of tone & playability. No idea if it was ever set up before but it just played great & the tone wasn't excessively bright. Maybe the fresh strings contributed to this positive encounter. The Asahi just sounded bland despite being more visually attractive.

My employment contract ends this week, another impending episode of a miserable year end. At least I would end my stint here knowing I did my part in making others happy.

Used

Off to the recycling bin. About a third of the year's worth of used strings. Yes, I used this many strings throughout the year & this is the reason why I refuse to spend too much on strings because it's a significant expenditure for me.

2209

I am a Telecaster fan. This affiliation extends to guitars in this outline despite sporting a non-Fender brand name. The Ibanez AZS2209 is one such guitar so the obsession was inevitable. The model you see here is the initial AZS model which is slightly different from the current AZS models - no body binding, non-ply pickguard.

The Ibanez AZS is not a Telecaster per se despite the familiar outline. Many people out there are averse to this understanding & targetted the curved control plate as a hideous deviation. One more time - the AZS is not a Telecaster & the manufacturer has no obligations to include a Telecaster-type control plate. 

I am happy with this guitar for its Tele-esque vibe & tone but the humbucking neck is a good move away from the Tele single coil tone which many Tele fanatics out there wish could be refined. However, if that tone is revised, it wouldn't manifest the signature Tele honk when both pickups are in use. The AZS2209 does well to mimic that voicing but having a humbucker in there is actually a move away from that honk but things remain tasteful. If you wish for a more Tele-like tone, please buy a Fender.

Had a spare set of Ernie Ball 9s which went into this guitar before playing started. FYI, the Seymour Duncan pickups in there are: Magic Touch (n) / AII Pro (b).

The other baby

My other (remaining) baby guitar is this Ibanez PF-58. I got this used for a very good price because: 1) The previous owner's daughter gave up learning to play & the strings were very corroded. She has no idea how to re-string + she doesn't intend to keep it any longer 2) The default internal tuner is not working. 

The default tone here is bright. I'm usually averse to such voicings because (to me) bright tones don't go well with fingerpicking. One day, I accidentally bought a bright set of strings for it & somehow it sounded great for finger-picked chords. As such, I've been putting on bright strings in there, this GHS is just one of the many brands I've tried for this guitar.

Powder power

If you are the type who believe in maintaining your guitar yourself - because only you understand how your guitar should be, regardless of what everyone else has to say - you might be experiencing a tight neck fit in the body's guitar pocket cavity. Please avoid sanding down the neck heel surface to address this issue. This should be done as a last resort. If you over do it, you might end up with a loose fit which invites post-attachment movements & further alignment complications. 

Apply some talcum powder onto the surfaces that come into contact with the neck pocket walls as depicted above (apply onto the other side as well, of course). Chances are, this will facilitate insertion. Are there any powder brands that I recommend for this procedure? 😅 Avoid coarse grained talcum powder, everything else is fine. 

J5

I don't know Jacob Collier. I saw this while browsing the Taylor homepage. This is his signature model & it features only 5-strings.

It seems there are two models, this one is modelled after the GS Mini, the preceding model, modelled after the Academy 22e. 

I don't know Jacob Collier, it's my first time coming across his name. It turns out he has a preceding signature model, the JCSM-6, which is available at Swee Lee, listing for more than $4K. I have nothing against him, highly likely he deserves a signature model as acknowledged by Taylor. 

Do you need a 5-string guitar? Only you can answer this. What's the probability of finding a ready buyer for such a niche model if you wish to let this one go? Something to think about, yes?

Pics: Taylor

Greenie midweek

Will always make time for this guitar. The middle single coil got a green treatment but remained stock. There's no denying that this guitar is actually nothing special, just a commemorative S-Series given a very loud colour. Those green Seymour Duncans: Custom (b) / Jazz (n).

Marr Special

As long as Johnny Marr is still in the Fender camp, we won't stop seeing new iterations of his Fender Jaguar. This time, he has opted for three single coils, lipstick tube style & the pickup selector is a 4-way affair. We know this won't list for cheap, the current exchange rate / economy will compound the price quite substantially when / if it's available here. To think that Marr is an enduring character from the 1980s & Fender is still bleeding his personality to sell guitars shows how a touch of throwback today can still propel instrument sales. 1980s... some of today's guitar geeks were not born yet back then.

Pic: Fender

Loog Kitty

Fender is obviously bleeding the Hello Kitty hype with this Loog guitar version. Only three strings & meant for kids. Ironically, the Hello Kitty character is a kiddy appeal to begin with. Apparently, this is an online exclusive.

Pic: Fender

Price watch (102)

Ernie Ball recently launched a lineup of re-chargeable batteries using the USB-C type tech. Prices are stated above. Similar battery types can be purchased from Shopee (among other platforms) for a fraction of the EB price. Will EB brand batteries outperform their lesser known counterparts in this aspect? We need to be mindful of utilitarian products which are given a branded & pitched manifestation. The other common example would be lemon oil; guitar branded vs utilitarian version. Things are not getting cheaper especially for us living in guitardom- stop, think & decide.

Pics: Shopee / EB

Baby time

Another unplugged weekend, indoors. This Baby Taylor is perhaps one of my most treasured acoustic. Many friends & acquaintances have warned me to steer clear of such novelty instruments; these are not real guitars, they exits to appease a certain segment of the market, they said.

The Baby Taylor is as real as it gets. Yes it might have its niche appeal but I'm extremely happy with its playability & tone. The latter was a surprise package; this guitar delivers tones beyond its ridiculed form. In fact, it's one of the best for those of us who do not have volume projection in mind. It just sounds very lush compounded by the fact that it's a bolt-on make. The slim neck profile is a bonus as well as it induces a very electric guitar playing experience which is something I'm more accustomed to. 

Of course, some fresh strings before playing started. 

Terminal

These are my string cutters. Affordable ones, of course, nothing fancy. A cost more than B. However, A had proven itself unworthy; look at all those dents at the edges. Implication - the material used to make A was softer than guitar strings. Yes, all it did was to cut strings, none of them were steel. Over time, I was unable to cut thin plain strings, especially the high E (.009) & B (.011) & that's when I knew A's good life had come to its terminal point. Reality check - everything has its good life, termination is inevitable.

E-Horizon

Really happy ESP is cascading some of its flagship models onto the Edwards range. This model here is the E-Horizon I - Duncan pickups (C5 / Cool Rails) & a Floyd Rose 2000 bridge. This is easily the alternative to the Ibanez RG565. 

Of course, the set neck feature of the ESP version is retained here. 

As guitar prices continue to manifest unreasonable & absurd figures, we're happy to see such a move by ESP. The prevailing exchange rates are not helping many of us with our potential guitar ownership as well. 

Pics: ESP Japan

Weeping

Mayhem had just released a single from their upcoming album (Liturgy of Death: Feb 2026): Weep for Nothing. Do take a listen if you're interested: CLICK I really hope, it's not gonna be a Daemon Part II.

Plus discount

I have no idea if players here are still looking up to the Japanese Pacificas for a deserving throwback episode but here it is; the Standard Plus Series (made in Japan) are on sale. Just looking at the price per se, players would be asking themselves why opt for this one instead of an American Fender or even a Japanese Edwards for that matter (the latter for less). The glorious, shred-tastic Pacifica days are well over, yes? But these are good guitars (do take time to try them out) albeit an absence of that 90s Pacifica vibe. 

Pics: Yamaha SG

777

Solar guitars had just released a trio of 7-string guitars. This black one here is perhaps the least vibrant of them all. The sparkle finish is barely visible. That single knob feature is a winner in my books (AB2.7BSG).

Flame top version (AB2.7FPBG). Both guitars feature a pair of in-house Modern Alnico pickups. 

This is the most attractive among the three featuring a sparkling flip-flop finish; you know, the type that switches colour depending on your viewing angle (AB2.7BSG). All three guitars feature a bolt-on neck-body attachment.

Pics: SOLAR

GF1

This is a China exclusive model, the Ibanez GF1. It's a signature model for the Chinese artiste Gao Feng / Gao Funk. This easily looks like an AZ2204 but be informed that the GF1 has a compound radius neck & it sports the Gotoh T1702B (brass saddles). That colour scheme there - sunburst / gold hardware is unique for this model.

I'm wondering why Gao Feng gets a Prestige / Japanese model while players like Bernth & Tim Henson do not. 

Pic: Ibanez CN

Check

Every now & then, I would make it a point to play the acoustic guitar because it keeps my playing in check. What aspects of checking am I seeing through? Simple - the fact that the acoustic is not an electric, it compels me to re-visit some playing fundamentals like picking, fretting & muting which are employed differently on the acoustic. 

For instance, I have no intense overdrive to supplement my light picking techniques so every picking effort must not be sloppy in order for things to be normal. Also, the absence of overdrive means I need to play staccato more than legato & my forte is the latter. Playing the acoustic, to me, is a necessary struggle. So, there. Playing the acoustic help my electric ego in check, so to speak.

Chleo...

Ending October with this announcement - the PRS SE Chleo is now available at Davis GMC for $2,288. This figure is easily the monthly income of some people here. In fact, this is approximately how much an untrained teacher earns monthly in this country. So, there.

Pic: MR

Ross the boss

I got this through a swap deal; my octave pedal for this discontinued ROSS distortion. The ROSS brand of pedals were briefly handled by JHS before being discontinued late last year. These were offered at clear-out prices State-side (USD99) but it didn't happen here. Since I'm more of a distortion fan as opposed to wallowing my tone in octave adventures, it was a worthy deal.

In brief: Aria STB-PB/M

Bass on a budget - a rather tricky proposition. More often than not, a very affordable bass manifests too many compromises, it affects playability & tone. Bottom line - why bother. The Aria STB-PB/M is indeed a budget bass ($299) but it's worthy of your considerations.

Likes

• good playability, no fret sprouts
• smooth pots
• responsive tuners
• well-slotted nut

Dislikes

• tone taper could have been better
• heavy

This is one of those no frills bass on a budget, no doubt about it. Hardly any oversight in terms of build, impressive in this price range. If you are a tone connoisseur (wondering why you are looking up basses in this price bracket), chances are, you'll be bothered by the tone control sweep; a marked brightness / bottom end boom is virtually absent here. Some electronics upgrade should do the trick but adding on components which eventually exceed the instrument's price is not a prudent move, yes? Also, be mindful of the substantial neck profile, a complete opposite from a Yamaha Attitude / Ibanez SR. I see this being favoured by home-recording enthusiasts & those in need of an above-average bass to get things done disregarding its lack of flash; it's plain looking indeed but it's not awful. Recommended 👍

Final rating: 85%

Aria: STB-PB/M ($299) - available @ Davis GMC

Dream 2026

Heads up if you're a fan. I'm sure many of us here are looking forward to Portnoy back in action with the band. FYI, 3 February 2026 is a Tuesday, workday night for many of us.

Pic: BMS

Jr for Tele

Still wondering what took so long for Seymour Duncan to make this available. Anyway, this is the JB Jr. for Tele. The Strat version had been available for a while & it's time everybody's Tele get to experience this sonic pleasure. 

I have a soft spot for the JB, it's my first Seymour Duncan humbucker but I got it installed in the neck position 😅 This made way to the bridge a long while later but realized, I needed a TB version because the guitar in question was an Ibanez (featuring a Lo-Pro Edge bridge). Along the way, I tried many other Duncan humbuckers but the JB has that signature midrange thrust that's so suitable for my brand of metal music. 

EDIT: This might not be a completely new product but a revision of the existing model. Awaiting confirmation.

Pic: SD

Black cat

Well, look what just happened; it's a black kitty now. This will retail for more than $600 if it debuts here. Worth your precious money? Up to you, it's your money.

Pic: Fender

Taylor @ SL

Taylors are on 15% off till the stated date. Taylor prices are steep, even for the novelty models like the Baby Taylor. This might be an opportunity for you to enjoy a bit of a discount... before prices are revised in the near future. 

Ibanez: 540PIII

For those of us who waited with bated breath for the Ibanez 540PIII to arrive here, it's finally available at Swee Lee. I won't comment much till I get to try this at the store. That price there - it's $200 more than the last Genesis Ibanez that came in; the RG565R. I have no idea if the subsequent shipment of any Genesis models would adhere to this revised price tag or is this exclusive to the 540PIII. It's a matter of time, anyway.

Pics: Ibanez 

Selling:

Good day, folks. This guitar is for sale, price as depicted. It's not mine, just that it had been sent over to me countless times before, for re-stringing & mileage check. It has a nice crispy ring to it (mahogany body + solid spruce top), one of those rare Korean models that's value for money. If interested, do get in touch with Mr. Dzul here: CLICK

Ace: 1951 - 2025

Contest as you like but Ace Frehley's smoking Les Paul antics defined Kiss. Paul Daniel Frehley left us last week (16 October) & it left a marked void in the shock rock arena. Frehley is not your shred-fest fanatic, neither did he tread his pride through the boomer bend path. He's just Ace Frehley. There were countless post-humous commemorations along the way, one of which was that bitter episode where fans contested his worthiness when he appeared on the cover page of a certain guitar magazine, considering he's not as adept to the instrument as opposed to Al Dimeola, John McLaughlin & Pat Metheny, among others. It was a trivial matter at best. Subsequently, even Kurt Cobain was on countless magazine covers & we all know it's not about his intricacies with the guitar. So long, Ace. You were worth our time.

Pic: UG

Culto winter

This was a sensible move by SOLAR. The Nocturno Culto signature model (GC1.6NC) gets a single pickup treatment (Duncan's Black WInter!) & given a canibalismo finish with a matching headstock. Simple features for an instrument that is arguably conceived for a single mission - manifesting black metal.

Pic: SOLAR

Deepavali 2025

It's Deepavali time again. This means, we are almost at the turn of 2025, the final public holiday for this year. Season's greeting to all Hindu friends & blog readers. Happy long weekend to rest of us.

 

SG week

Had been an SG week. I just prefer the playability & tone of the SG over the Les Paul but on some days, I love listening to the deeper distorted tones of the latter. Yes, the SG is plagued by that notorious neck dive but things remain playable if you get the hang of it. Dreaming of a single pickup SG because on most days, I only need one pickup. Someone suggested buying a modified pickguard but that doesn't address the 4-knobs situation. Really, I need only one knob 😅

Wishing everyone a good week ahead.