E-Maverick

And so it happened; ESP did an Edwards version of the Maverick. After the ESP & LTD versions in February, the Maverick is now represented in three manifestations. Will a Grass Roots version take place soon? That aside, the Edwards Maverick features a Lil '59 in the neck position instead of a rail type single coil. Reminder: The Maverick features 27 frets.

Pic: ESP Japan

AZES40B @ SL

I see the Ibanez AZES40B in stock at Swee Lee. It's listing for $40 more than its previous incarnation featuring a white pickguard. A different pickugard colour raises the price by $40? I don't think so. We are all looking at a price hike per se which happens with new shipments.

Pic: Ibanez

27

SOLAR now offers a 27-fret model. This here is the ACS1.6FRW sporting a standard 25.5" scale length. ESP & Ibanez did it, now SOLAR has one that should be more affordable than the aforementioned brand names. A GOTOH 1996 bridge in this one. Nice.

Pic: SOLAR

 

Thank you & goodbye: Wayne Charvel

The world remembers Wayne Charvel for his extended guitar tinkering that eventually led to the Charvel brand name. I should have made it a point to purchase these guitars before they were acquired by FMIC. These used to be available at City Music together with Carvin guitars. Those were the days.

Pic: Guitar

Grassroots: Mystique

The good people at ESP are slowly (but surely) cascading their standard models unto the more affordable sub-brands. I sincerely hope this was the byproduct of an internal realization that the LTD models are becoming more expensive (& unreasonable) & pricing many eager players out. This here is the Grassroots Mystique, last manifested as an Edwards iteration. On a personal note, I still can't get over that headstock outline which looks like a glorified mistake.

Pic: ESP Japan

Antares

Kiesel has a new model in its lineup; the Antares. As you can see here, it's an offset design (think: Fender Jaguar / PRS Vela) quite clearly aiming at the shredders among us. I'm still trying to get used to that headstock design but everything else looks awesome. Loving the one-knob option.

Pic: Kiesel

Gone but not forgotten: Mike Browning

Another legend left us - Mike Browning. Together with Trey Azagthoth, they formed Morbid Angel but he left the band due to personal friction with Trey. Subsequent indulgences, Nocturnus / Nocturnus AD, still shocased his drumming prowess. These bands also feature very capable guitarists so they were a hit with me.

Pic: JRmetalzone

Yes & No

Yes - Swee Lee now has baritone ukulele strings (Ernie Ball). $9 per pack, thank you so much.

No - Swee Lee has no baritone ukuleles listed on its web store / available in any showrooms. Duh?!

Pic: Ernie Ball

Fly HG

Still wondering why this took too long to happen. Blackstar's FLY 3 amp is now offered in a high gain manifestation. That NITRO button there offers a more sizzling amp drive often associated with heavy music. 

I currently own the standard version (since 2014), not this high gain version. The default overdrive was indeed insufficient to propel heavy music but I came to terms with it after plugging a Tube Screamer in. I'm looking forward to try this version: 1) I hope the NITRO mode doesn't scoop the midrange 2) The NITRO distortion doesn't make the tone fuzzy in view of the small driver on board.

Pics: Blackstar

Tim's bag

Signature bag. That's right, it's a Tim Henson model to accommodate both acoustic & electric (quoting the manufacturer). 

Don't see anything special / outstanding about the product. Chances are, you can get an equally good / better model from other brand names.

Pics: Ibanez

 

Roto deals

Good deals (@ Swee Lee) if you are agreeable with the Rotosound brand. I'm saying this because there was this point in time when the Rotosound QC was rotten. Every pack of strings was plagued by rust spots, the fresh, out of the shipment box ones were not spared either. 

25.5" = Long Scale?

This is a Gibson Les Paul Custom. We've seen many LP Customs before but this one sports a 25.5" scale length. Gibson is doing well by confusing us with its long scale reference. In the Gibson universe, 25.5" is a long scale length because the instruments are predominantly 24.75". So does this mean the Jackson, ESP, Charvel, Fender & Ibanez fans are actually playing long scaled instruments?

I have no idea if the Gibson employee who documented this actually plays guitar. Do we need a 25.5" scale length to employ drop tunings? Does a 25.5" facilitate better drop tunings? If that's the case, those extended scale length & baritone measurements that go well beyond 25.5" - are they way better for this application or does string gauge help offset scale length issues when it comes to drop tunings? Geez...

Pics: Gibson

Gone but not forgotten: B War

The early Marduk lineup featured Roger Svensson (aka B War). A completely no nonsense bassists who chose not to pick his bass; it's fingers through & through. I'm a fan, of course. Favourite album featuring B War - Panzer Division Marduk / La Grande Danse Macabre.

Pic: RTTP

Assassin 8

Oh man, SOLAR is offering the Assassin features in an 8-string format. The one you see here is the A1.81A (A for active pickup - it's a Fluence Open Core Red). The Assassin concept is fundamentally a black-out guitar featuring a single humbucker, a single control knob & red highlights for the pickup, inlay & truss rod cover - simplet yet very intimidating for those of us who dwell in the metal zone.

Pic: SOLAR

Ice @ SL

Two new colours for the Ibanez Iceman (IC420) this July - this Coral Green Metallic...

.... and this gold top. I noticed that these July releases were already available at Swee Lee ($899) even before the official announcement.

I see the Iceman as a refined Les Paul, both guitars have many things in common: 1) 3-per side tuners 2) Set neck joint 3) Dual humbuckers / 3-way selector / 4 control pots 4) Tune-o-matic (type) bridge. The Iceman appeals to those of us who had enough of the Les Paul's weight & a desire for an extended cutaway arm to promote placement stability when played sitting down. The Iceman is one heck of a cool guitar (no pun intended).

Pic: Ibanez

FF bass @ DGMC

Some very cool - and definitely affordable - fanned fret basses are now available at Davis GMC. If you're that adventurous type who benefits from dropped tunings, a fanned fret option would definitely help proceedings when it comes to string tension. This here is the Bacchus WJB-1MS which lists for $699 (bag included). A sunburst finish is also available. When it comes to value-for-money, the Bacchus name is hard to beat. 

Pic: Deviser

BK @ DGMC

Please be informed that Bare Knuckle pickups are now available at Davis GMC. For those of us who are new to the brand, know that prices are astronomical due to the brand's boutique nature (whatever boutique means to you). Paying for a matching pair of humbuckers could easily get you an entry-level guitar.

Pic: BKFB

Vega T

Those of us who are whammy excessive but still prefer our Strats to do the bidding, the Vega Trem is now available at Swee Lee (upwards of $220). I usually lock down my Strat bridge as I don't whammy, so...

Pic: SOS

Limited & missed

Aw, darn. This was a limited edition Japan only AZ2204NJA - good for 2025, strictly. I'm somehow averse to white single coil covers (remind me too much of the Strat) but these look very acceptable here. That awesome top there is ash, Ibanez refers to it as Japanese Ash.

Pic: Ibanez Japan

White & grey

Ibanez did a wonderful thing this July by re-introducing the Genesis RG550 in white. It was done before not too long ago & was quickly snapped up. Those who are trawling the scalper's market for one can now get it for a reasonable retail price. (EDIT: The white version is not offered in China)

This is the other new finish in the lineup, a grey affair & would probably appeal to senior folks like me. 

Pics: Ibanez

TB

That brass contraption you see there is a Trem-Band. What does it do?

There. Basically for players who own a guitar with a dual action whammy but wish it to be single action only for some reasons. Trying to understand who such players are & the reason(s) for not owning more than one guitar to fulfil this need.

 Pic: Trem-Band

Capo pedal

The manufacturer refers to this as a capo in a pedal format. It raises / lowers pitch emulating a physical capo function. In layperson understanding, it's actually a pitch-shifting device & it's gonna cost you USD249. Yay / nay? (PS: the SOLAR Chug capo can be purchased direct from the manufacturer's homepage).

Pic: SOLAR

G-jerseys

We know what's going on in that part of the world now & Gibson is cashing in by churning out football related merchandize. 

Goodbye, mid-year...

Pic: Gibson

K-Gold

Kramer had released a lineup of 50th Anniversary guitars which are actually current production models finished in gold. Why gold? Because the 50th Anniversary is also known as the golden anniversary. My favourite is the Night Swan depicted above; I actually like seeing this model in it brighter / lighter colours. 

Pic: Kramer

Jourdan

Prior to this, I had no idea who Jon Jourdan is. I'm currently not following Wolfgang Van Halen's musical developments so the name was simply unfamiliar. This here is Jourdan's signature model which I really fancy; single pickup, single knob, no fretboard markers. Downright simply & to the point. Already, many people are looking forward to seeing this manifested as the SE version along the way. Really hope it would happen. This grey finish is rather wicked. Not so good news in the mean time - this is limited to 200 pieces & PRS is not hinting at further production.

Pic: PRS

Liar

There's a video going round. It shows the new Fender CEO, Edward 'Bud' Cole talking to Fender dealers about the recent antagonism between Fender & other brand names who are allegedly copying the Stratocaster body shape. For the most part, it's rather obvious that he's fire-fighting, trying to sedate the hostility. He's also using this opportunity to explain why Fender's actions in the mean time are legit moves to protect the Stratocaster heritage. 

But one thing's for sure, he's lying about Fender not telling the targetted manufacturers to destroy inventory & compensate Fender monetarily for the damages done. These instructions were documented in black & white & shared (online by podcasters / influencers) for all to see. So there; you did something but you are now telling the world you didn't. We are not dumb. It's not gonna go down well for sure. If this is an attempt to Make Fender Great Again, there's an incompetent driver at the helm.

Tokai bag

 This is what you get when you purchase a Japanese Tokai guitar. This bag looks well-designed. 

Ample padding all round (strap included) to make it a very comfortable bag to handle. If you have handled a Kohlman bag before, this is an iteration of that bag with additional trimmings to make it feel / look exquisite.

Neck cradle & ample side cushioning. Notice the black layered areas - these are the spots where the instrument's hardware comes into contact with the fabric. This layer prevents lining adhesive from bleeding onto the hardware over time & causing some nasty reactions, namely that sticky feel.

I'm giving this bag plus points for this design - can you see the zipper material here? Of course not. It's been covered by fabric.

If you undo the zipper & flip it over like this, then you could see the actual zipper material. Why is this important? It means that on rainy days, that fabric 'blanket' protects the zipper from water & prevents rust.

Victory FR

Gibson wants you to know that its Victory model is now available with a Floyd Rose bridge (& locking nut). Will this iteration be able to compete against the super-shredder type guitars by Jackson, ESP, Ibanez et al? The way I see it, it's still rooting for the Gibson heritage - glossed neck, heavy, absence of single coils... Other brands won't be intimidated, to say the least.

Pic: GMusic

Neo-Classic

Something new by Charvel - the Neo-Classic San Dimas Style 1 SD1 HH. That's definitely a mouthful & we have people dissing the lengthy Ibanez model number citations. What's the big deal with these guitars? They are made in the USA.

If you are interested, please be informed that it features the block heel neck joint which they don't mind doing due to the Fender association plus the fact that Ibanez is doing it for the Genensis models & this doesn't impede sales.

The other mouthful - Neo-Classic San Dimas SD1HH HT, which is of course, the fixed bridge version. Pickups for both versions are Seymour Duncan JB / '59. Do also note the absence of a tone knob.

Pics: Charvel

Broken F

This is a major concern in the mean time; Fender putting other manufacturers to legal task for infringing its Stratocaster body design copyright. I'm reading this with interest as an individual who used to be in the legal fraternity here once upon a time. It was a brief stint but an eye-opening experience. I refrained from commenting because my legal knowledge is strictly based on domestic understanding & more importantly, I'm not a lawyer. 

Fender claimed there are enterprises out there infringing the Stratocaster body design copyright. In my opinion, this is the glaring fundamental legal failure that should put Fender's efforts to nought. With reference to intellectual property rights, a design cannot be copyrighted. Copyright protects authorship (Osborn, 1993). Leo Fender invented the Stratocaster body shape & by virtue of this understanding (its capability of industrial application, Osborn 1993), it would move into the patent domain. Until Fender is able to show a definitive legal ownership / registration of the Stratocaster body, it has no case to begin with.

Another important point to note here is the default judgment obtained by Fender (Regional Court of Dusseldorf, March 2026). This judgment type merely acknowledges the complainant's points of contention in view of the respondent's failure to appear in court. There were no damages awarded or entailment rights conferred to the complainant so Fender has absolutely no authority to tell others what to do with potentially offensive inventory (stop production, destroy inventory, pay compensation, etc.). Also, I am not aware of cross jurisdiction in this case; can a judgment in a German court be used as a basis to initiate legal action in the USA? 

Shag's guitar

Dimmu's Shagrath has a signature ESP guitar. He's not known for his guitar playing in Dimmu but he plays guitar with this other outfit, Chrome Division. I sometimes wonder why individuals who are not known for their guitar playing actually gets a signature model. To be fair, Shagrath plays quite a bit in CD but people like Bruno Mars (Fender) & Taylor Swift (Taylor)? Gee...

Pic: ESP

Indoor Saturday

Someone recently said that I like wood-looking guitars. He's actually referring to those unfinished guitars of mine, exposing the bare wood grain. This was of course, a default finish from the factory. I happened to play one such guitar today, the RGA32 you see above.

This was the original batch of non-Japanese RGA models; notice the absence of cutaway chamfering unlike the models of today. This guitar also had a default set of active pickups which I didn't fancy so they made way for a pair of Seymour Duncans: Distortion (b) / P-Rails (N).

Someone actually handled this guitar while I was at Beez's some time back. He said Ibanez necks are supposed to be thin which this one is not. Well, if you are not familiar with the Ibanez line-ups, there are various neck profiles for the various models offered. Ibanez got associated with think necks when the JEMs debuted, followed by the RG550, which retained the neck profile. Along the way, Ibanez did not limit thin necks to all the guitars on offer but they stuck to the Wizard name which became synonymous with thin necks. The really thin necks are the Super Wizard of the 1980s. The Wizard III profile which are equipped in many mid-priced models are definitely not thin. My RGA32 has a Wizard II version which is 21mm at the 12th fret as opposed to the Super Wizard's 19mm at the same fret.

Whatever the case, I'm not obsessed with thin-necked Ibanez guitars. I'm OK with any neck profiles as long as they facilitate my playing style. Re-string day today, a fresh set of Olympia 9s for my RGA32. 

Under cover

Sharing some stuff here since I received quite a few queries pertaining to pickup covers / cover installation. Do note that the pickups in question here are passive Seymour Duncan Nazgul & Sentient humbuckers.

Are pickup covers necessary? No they are not. Pickups work fine with or without covers.

Do the covers (regardless of the materials) impede performance? Thusfar, there have been no records / documentations to show a significant difference in performance between covered & non-covered pickups. The pickup's magnetic field are strong enough to penetrate the cover materials. If there was ever an anomaly that significantly affected output / performance, companies like Gibson for instance, would have given up covering their pickups a long time ago. 

What are the supplementary steps to be taken after covering pickups? If you are covering your pickups like how the manufacturers are doing it, wax potting would help prevent microphonic occurrences. If you are doing it for novelty reasons (like yours truly), it's a mere covering of the bobbins & pole pieces; drop in & ready to go.

Will a typical pickup cover fit into any humbucker? From my personal experience, this is the case with the flapless version (refer to the top-most pic of this post). As for the flap version (depicted above), the length is not universal. Wider pickups, eg. Seymour Duncan Trembuckers, would manifest minor fitting issues. FYI - SD Tembuckers feature a longer bobbin vs a DiMarzio F-Spaced pickup. DiMarzio keeps the bobbin length the same for both standard & F-spaced versions, only the pole pieces spacing are different.

What are the advantages of covering pickups if this doesn't affect performance? 1) Covered pickups are protected from the player's sweat or other external moisture interference. This way, the pole pieces won't rust / oxidize easily. 2) Covers also protect the pickups from pick scratches. Some of us tend to scratch the coil tape as well (the brute players especially) so the covers protect the tape & coil wires. If you intend to sell off the pickups in time to come, covered pickups would look more presentable once the covers are removed (obviously, duh...). 3) If you are bored or experience a surge in artistic assimilation, you can doodle on the covers with paint markers or simply paste stickers on them.

How much? Plastic covers are $3 each (average price), metal versions typically lists for $5 each or more.

Bottom line - covered pickups are neither inferior nor superior to their uncovered counterparts. It's a cheap, reversible, fun mod.

Dad's bass

Was at my Dad's this morning to check out his bass. He had been complaining to me about the tuners which were dysfunctional. My step-mum told me the situation had caused unnecessary anxiety. By the way, this is an Ibanez PCB54E.

It turned out that two of the tuners were dysfunctional. One was dead & quite impossible to turn. The other was the opposite; it was too loose & had a little play that failed to retain tuning. I bought a fresh set of tuners & replaced all four. Done.

Also, my Dad bought a standard scale replacement string set which were unsuitable for this instrument (too long). A little reading up revealed that the medium scale version was required. Easy fix - purchased from Swee Lee. 

My Dad used to play in a wedding band. He would ply his trade at the community centers here & was more active during his younger days. He gave up the solid body bass & opted for something much lighter in view of his senior years (he's in his 70s). He's currently undergoing UTI treatment & spends his days at home so this bass keeps him happy. I totally understand this need to be pre-occupied & not think of one's ailment so this is the least I could do for him. 

Purple S

Did another quick re-finish since the weather was good with eventual downpours in the evening. Nothing fancy, just my Ibanez S521. I will continue to hunt for used fixed bridge S-Series because I prefer it to the RG, really. I wouldn't pass the chance to acquire the older 22-fretted version if a good one comes my way but understand the fact that these are usually equipped with a whammy bridge.

As usual, Beez handled the electronics with ease. I tend to replace the default 5-way selector to a 3-way because these days, I do not fancy the split coil option.

That's right, I'm still pre-occupied with the metallic flake finish. Also, those pickups are passive humbuckers given the cover treatment. This guitar was strung with a set of DR 10s & tuned a half step down. It's designated for heavy tunes as the pickups on board are (Seymour Duncan) the Nazgul / Sentient pairing.