DGMC / SL

Folks, be informed that Seymour Duncan & DiMarzio pickups are now available at both Davis GMC & Swee Lee. I love both pickups but currently leaning towards Duncans due to the nature of my set up. 

Pics: SD / DiMarzio

Baked EVH

New one by EVH - Wolfgang Special Baked Maple TOM. New feature more like it because the Wolfgang Special was already a model in the catalog but that iteration has no fine tuning hardtail & the neck / fretboard are not the baked version. Late to the game? The EVH brand name is a member of the Fender group of brands so no surprises there. Fender is not known for not keeping up with the pack & this attitude inevitable spilled over unto the sub-brands as well. 

Pic: EVH

LM10

This is Luca Montovanelli's new signature, the LM10. He already had the LM1 (Japanese), this iteration is the more affordable take. Also, this version feature an HSS pickup combo, unlike the all single coil LM1. Both models do not feature Ibanez' Alter Switch system & this LM10 is a standard 5-way affair. The LM1 has a blender pot so it manifests more voicings than what the 5-way selector would traditionally offer.

Pic: Ibanez

Price watch (105)

This is something that is currently listed in the after-market. Seller stated it as no mods but 1) The hard tail piece is not an original model. The default piece from the factory feature slots as depicted 2) Pickups look different albeit the blurred details. Ibanez's Seymour Duncan IBZ humbuckers for this Ibanez SZ2020 only featured a single row of slotted pole pieces as depicted.

In due fairness, the seller might not be aware of these changes as s/he is not the initial owner of this instrument. 

The Crown

Was at the hospital recently for a medical review. I'm into my 5th year of post-cancer treatment. The thing with cancer is, the 5th year is a sensitive period where there is a possible relapse for some patients. I hope to get a full discharge this coming October if everything goes well.

Side note - in addition to blood tests, I also have to undergo physical examinations to check if the chemo side effects are affecting me excessively. As it is, I'm experiencing nerve damage, which is nothing new, but it's beginning to affect one of my eyes - this is new. It seems that the nerves there have deteriorated & affecting the ability of my pupil to dilate & react to light intensity. Over time, the excessive amount of light might cause retinal damage & manifest this type of blindness where there's a permanent dark patch in the center of my vision. 

That definitely killed my appetite for lunch. Did a quick escape to think things through over a glass of cold brew. By the way, if you are interested (depicted above), this is called The Crown, available at Whiskdom@OneNorth.

Wishing everyone the best of health.

The locking argument

The default tuners of this guitar got wonky. The pegs & shafts were wobbly. Tuning wasn't stable when the guitar was in use. Decided to spend some money (saving up to buy a new computer, actually) to get locking tuners. Didn't go premium, just a set of decent ones to see things through. This episode is my attempt to understand if locking mechanisms, in this case the ones at the tuners, contribute to tuning stability or the purported belief in these contraptions got misconstrued along the way.

To be continued...

Pre-owned @ Black Crane

There are currently a few pre-owned Edwards models at Black Crane Guitars. These are one-offs, if you are quick, you would get to own ridiculously well-maintained instruments which could have easily passed off as brand new. I dropped by to take a look at these guitars personally, only the E-LP-STD is available ($1,400), the rest - a Navigator & two other Edwards - were sold off. Stay tuned for more enticing pre-owned Edwards in the near future.

Pic: ESP Japan

Dino @ Kiesel

Fear Factory's Dino Cazarez is now in the Kiesel camp. His signature guitars are based on the headless Kyber model. No 6 strings in the mean time, just 7 & 8.

Pic: Kiesel

Ed 2K

The Ed Sheeren PRS SE is now available at Swee Lee for $2,150. When the SE line debuted in 2001, it was in the $600 +/- price bracket, truly aimed at the beginner / hobbyist. Who would have expected an SE to actually exceed the $2K limit today. I find the SE & S2 prices repulsive. To be fair, they were objective in the beginning but became ridiculous very quickly. The endorser association compounded the situation, definitely. In my opinion, endorsers should not interfere with the economy tiered products.

Pic: PRS

Pocket

This neck pocket belongs to the Ibanez AZ41B1 which I appraised recently (CLICK to read). It came in for a re-string & set up. When this body was sprayed at the factory, the pocket wasn't spared. However, during the neck - body attachment, the fit was excessively tight so this part of the pocket had to be sanded down. Is a very tight neck pocket preferred? No - it might stress the fragile areas out & we get a paint crack at this part of the instrument.

Satin metallic

Fender Japan has this new finish for the Hybrid II Series, it's called satin metallic. Instruments feature an alder body, rosewood 'board & locking tuners. I love that satin feel since the Highway 1 days. Rest assured, this satin version is definitely not the Highway 1 version when it's excessively thin & very prone to dents. I also like that very clean look over at the headstock. If you missed it, the hardware here sports a metallic sheen to it as well.

Pics: Fender Japan

SOLAR Sus

If you have been wanting a SOLAR guitar with a Sustainiac system on board + a pickguard, this AP1.6FRG is it. If there's something we noticed about SOLAR guitars, it is the fact that the manufacturer will include features that are popular in other brands. It's not an immediate manifestation but it happens along the way.

Once again, SOLAR would like us to know that this is one of those finished neck that has a satin feel instead of a gloss overcoat.

Pics: SOLAR

BEAMed here

The Blackstar Beam mini is now in stock at City Music ($255). Tempting. Waiting for LANEY's Prism Mini to be available here to make the final decision.

Pic: Blackstar

G-EC flame

Grass Root's G-EC debuted in September 2024 & now its flame veneer top iteration is here for your consideration. LTD's prices are going out of hand in the mean time. We thank ESP for the Edwards & Grassroots for us commoners.

Pic: ESP

Brutal truth

So Ibanez deleted my comments at their FB page. I'm not offended at all. I saw & told them what's plain to see. They have the right to manage comments in the interest of self-preservation. I have the right to tell them not to shove hot air down our throats in order to sell their products. In case you missed it, it's depicted above.

In brief: Tokai LS-101

There are many Japanese Les Paul copies out there that would make Gibson tremble when it comes to craftsmanship & tone. Tokai makes such guitars. These Japanese manufacturers are not tied down by historical / period correct details. They prefer to manifest details that propel their goodwill above all else.

LIKES

• craftsmanship
• tone
• playability

DISLIKE

• weight

This is definitely not my first time handling a Japanese Les Paul copy. I've been through Burny, Orville & Edwards among others. The LS-101 on appraisal here is a cut above the rest to say the least. The quality control is mesmerising. Just by handling this guitar, we could see that dedicated time & effort were invested into this instrument to make it feel upscaled. 

The neck carve on offer is a round '50s profile, enough meat to propel a good grip & facilitate bends. Some appraisals out there mentioned an overkill of finish done here to make it too processed. This audition model did not show any signs of excessive finishing, especially the final lacquer overcoat. I'm not a fan of finished necks but this one is downright playable & addictive. Frets were also well polished & seated so no issues here to fault the attention to details. 

We certainly do not expect a guitar of this pedigree to propel high gain / extreme distortion. These were manufactured to replicate (at best) a certain vibe often associated with the charm & lure of yesteryear. The default pickups here are GOTOHs, the PAF-Vintage MK2 to be precise (both positions). What do they sound like? To summarize my experience after hearing both the clean & driven settings, they are as good as Gibson's 57 models. 

Would anyone go all out to invest in a Tokai copy of a much celebrated singlecut model? It depends on what you embrace. At this price, many of us would check out what Epiphone has to offer before forking out extras to go Japanese.

Rating: 88%

Tokai LS101 ($1,850)

• bag included
• available at Davis GMC

USED: Jan 2026 - April 2026

Not much re-stringing this time round. Only a small cookie container full.

TEJ

After some digging, I found out this is a Fernandes TEJ-75 model. I am the third owner of this guitar, the second owner had scant info that he gladly shared with me. The body's previous finish was stripped down & re-finished with what looked like a gold top. There were numerous scratches on the guitar body so I gladly re-finished it in blue with a light glitter coat.

Here are the scratches, evidently, I didn't use a filler before applying the blue coat. This was intentional because I used whatever colours I have in the mean time, I obviously did not have any fillers 😅 The glitter coat was meant for another guitar but it made its debut here. The pickups in there are DiMarzio Distortion S models. Was told the previous pickups were active units but I am not a fan. I prefer angry passive pickups.

Will continue to use Olympia strings as long as they are still available. 

Labour

In every economy, labour continues to be the spine of progress. Disrespecting labour is telling them to exercise restraint in an economic downturn for the greater good without toeing the line with them. 

Happy Labour Day, everyone. Your blood, sweat & tears define your country. Onwards!

Ibanez April 2026: B

Ending April in the knowledge that Ibanez actually added more to the AZES lineup instead of doing away with this series entirely. We would have thought the AZ Standard would be the new spruced up entry-level models for the AZ family but heck no. The AZES are still active in the mean time. There is an AZES40 already in the lineup, the AZES40B - that B there denotes black pickguard.

Pics: Ibanez

Resolved

The pickups in this SML721 are a pair of DiMarzio Fusion Edge. I've had both bitter & delightful episodes with the FE & in this guitar, it's the former. The neck humbucker is especially disappointing; darn muddy & quite pointless for my kind of music / tone. It took me a while to finally replace the pots of these guitar.

Pics: ESP

That's right - pots. The default pots were working fine & required no replacement but they were suspiciously under-performing. I came to this realization after looking at the specs of my guitars with FEs in them. Those guitars did not sport the default pots as I did away with them due to corrosion / oxidation. I bought a pair of BOURNS pots from Davis GMC which are currently the OEM for ESP & they are indeed the rightful solution to this issue.

I asked Beez what could possibly be the issue with the default pots as they were working fine since Day 1. He told me budget pots might sometimes be labelled erroneously like in my case, the default pots might be a 250K version instead of the preferred 500K for humbuckers. That might be the case here & it turned out to be a simple fix. Beez fixed these into my SML521 a few days ago. After hours of playing, I must say that BOURNS is living up to its reputation for being good. As good as GOTOH & CTS, to name a couple which are benchmark brands for this purpose.

Studio trouble

Gibson now has the Studio version of the Double Trouble Les Paul (USD1,599). The initial version was a Standard, this time round, things get more affordable as the Studio version has no binding & it comes with a soft case. Be informed that modern weight relief (aka generous chambering) is a feature of this guitar.

Pic: Gibson

Beez @ basement

Dear friends, be informed that Beez is now located at B1-21, same building - Excelsior Shopping Center.

Pic: Beez

Explorer @ Davis GMC

A virtually unplayed / NOS Gibson Explorer '76 ($3K) is now available at Davis GMC. I believe it's a one-off acquisition. The current Explorer price is $3.8K...

 

Tokai @ Davis GMC

A trio of awesome Tokai guitars are currently available at Davis GMC: LS-101 ($1,850), LS-101F ($1,950) & SG-101 ($1,850). Please note, the images used here are not representing the actual finish in store. First impression - above expectations.

Pics: Tokai

Aria @ Davis GMC

Can you still get good guitars at reasonable prices today? Of course you can. These Aria Pro II guitars are now available at Davis GMC.

The 714 is a good HSS guitar to own if you require a repertoire of tones for contemporary music; rock, blues & cleans, the AE200 can handle these with ease. When I tried this one out, I'm more impressed with the single coils; very strong note definition. A quick check revealed them to be sporting Alnico 5 magnets so that explains things. 

The MAC here is a D600, meaning - it sports a fixed bridge. I believe the D600 neck is quite the highlight of this instrument. Feels sturdy as heck & very comfortable to handle but don't expect a Wizard kind of profile as this is not an Ibanez. Nevertheless, it is as appealing as the Ibanez (& maybe some LTDs) in this price range.

Pics: Aria

In brief: Ibanez AZ41B1

This is yet another April newbie in the Ibanez camp; the AZ41B1. It is only the second AZ model (discounting the AZS lineup which feature a fixed bridge mostly to propel the Tele vibe) to be featuring a fixed bridge. The blacker than black manifestation is an obvious attribute of the Iron Label series of which it is a member of.

Likes

• weight
• playability
• tone
• tuners
• fixed bridge

Dislikes

• blacked out theme impairs navigation for beginners

Upon handling, the weight was rather significant most likely due to the lack of cavity for a whammy bridge system. This adds to sustain & more bottom end even when strummed unplugged. Everything was tip top for this guitar & the default tuners were rather impressive. We know these are the likely compromised components when it comes to cost-cutting but the ones in the test model worked well. I somehow felt the neck was thicker than a Prestige version but it's spec'd to be identical according to the manufacturer's webpage. In any case, playability was brilliant all round, very easy navigation even for non-metal applications.

The default pickups here are DiMarzio Fusion Edge which is a hit / miss affair. I have these in some of my guitars, they tend to sound more appealing for lower tunings. In this guitar, these somehow sound brilliant for both clean & heavy distortion. I'm wondering if the instrument's overall weight has something to do with this. 

I am of the opinion that a blacked out finish hinders the beginner in terms of navigation & familiarity. In this case the electronics & absence of fretboard markers go against the player who is trying his / her best to get acquainted with the instrument. On the contrary, the seasoned lot will find these fundamental orientation very familiar & it won't mess up their playing in any way. Is black the de facto metal endorsement? Well, there are players out there who play non-black guitars & are oblivious to whatever visual implications there are to the music. At this price point, a bag should be included, yes?

Final rating: 82%

Ibanez: AZ41B1

• available at Swee Lee
• $1,399
• Bag not included

PS: Thank you Mr. Faizal & Ram @ Swee Lee Star Vista for letting me try this guitar & enduring my scrutiny 😁

April savings @ Swee Lee

April savings are now live at Swee Lee. 

The Starmaster is a good guitar, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a quality offset model. As for me personally, I can't get along with the headstock... It's now sub-$2K for your considerations.

I also tried & liked this bass (Japanese) but I don't wish to own another sunburst instrument. Current discounted price: $1,360... very tempting.

Pics: Fender / PG

Ibanez April 2026: Black Qs

Ibanez's obsession with black continues this April with these guitars offered in the Q-Series line up; the QX52B ($1,549) & QX527B ($1,579). These do not qualify for the Iron Label Series as they still feature in-house Ibanez pickups & the presence of dot inlays there are simply not Iron Label enough. These are now available at Swee Lee. EDIT: The 7-string version is out of stock.

 

Pics: Ibanez

Ibanez April 2026: AZ47P1

As it is, this new AZ47P1 is the only 7-string in the Premium lineup in the mean time. Not aware of any 7-string resurgence or the need for the AZ Series to manifest a 7-string; there are currently no ambassadors propelling a 7-string AZ Premium. In any case, it's the first AZ 7-string to feature a pickguard. Available now at Swee Lee: $2,099. The previous non-pickguard iteration was $1,899.

Pic: Ibanez

MoMM (64): Reality check

I pretty much bought this album because of a personal doom metal resurgence of sorts. I'm still not an Ozzy fan, I bought this for the music. Master of Reality is perhaps one of the pioneers of doom but music journalists deem it as stoner / sludge rock. Until a definitive music theory separates these genre comprehensively, I am happy to treat is as doom. The tempo & arrangement pretty much defines doom as we know it today. Mind you, doom itself was a term coined retrospectively; someone said it's doom then did a throwback trawl & realized Black Sabbath sounded like they pretty much started the movement.

In any case, I'm embracing how down-tempo plays a very big part in doom. In my metal domain, speed is essential so when speed plays a lesser part in this sub-genre, it doesn't sit well with me. Then again, doom has a heavy emphasis, not speed. Iommi's work here pivots on his magnificent riffing more than his solos; they sounded very bluesy but that's what you get if your ideas are rooted in the pentatonic scheme of things. Master of Reality is enjoyable. It could have been a blast if the fuzz was properly generated but hey, it's done in 1971.

Ibanez April 2026: S721

There is this series in the Ibanez lineup that supposedly caters to all things metal - the Iron Label Series. This new S721 is a new member in this Series of instruments & as you can see, it's blacked out. I totally understand the inevitable association of black with doom & gloom but there are some things in a guitar that should facilitate playing, not merely visual dominance. I believe such colour scheme does not help the beginners out there in terms of visual reference. The ebony fretboard has no position indicators & the dark colour scheme facilitates being lost more than being elegant. Black pickups against a black body - you'd be hitting the pickups while playing instead of being aware they are there in that particular playing space where you should avoid playing over to avoid hitting them. 

It's quite the opposite for seasoned players. Fretboard reference is second nature after years of playing. All this compounded by the dark stage presence; visual reference is nothing anymore. The instrument had become too familiar for you to mess up your playing fundamentals. Anyway, this blacker than black S721 is now available at Swee Lee ($1,299) & it sports my favourite DiMarzios in there - the D Activator.

Pic: Swee Lee

Price watch (104)

I do not know who these people / entity are but they are selling stuff at super inflated prices. This Ibanez RG421 could be had for less than $550 at Swee Lee.

Look at this very unreasonable pickup price; there is a whopping $118 difference. Please be careful when dealing with such people / entity, they might have received favourable reviews pertaining to buying / selling but it doesn't exclude them from being daylight robbers.

Futura RD

Epiphone just launched its Futura line of guitars & this made the defunct RD design (still available in Gibson's Custom lineup, though) more accessible for us lay people. The mere outline might not sit well with many of us, it looks like a failed high school design project more than anything else. Despite this peculiarity, mind you, there is a cult following.

The implication of this launch is rather obvious. Epiphone wants a bite in the lower midrange price pie & they need to offer instruments that reflect this price range. 

For the record, the original Futura is actually the name of a model (debut 2001) as depicted above. It looked like a deformed Explorer. The Futura re-surfaced in 2008 as part of the Prophecy collection before disappearing for good.

 Pics: Epiphone

Zen

Screen grab from Swee Lee's web store. It's sold out in the mean time. Didn't even know it made it here... Once something ascends onto mythical / legendary levels, the obsession is real. 

Ibanez April 2026: Classical 7 & 8

Would like to applaud Ibanez for the perpetual extension of the 7 & 8 string concepts unto non-solid body models. The GA3007 & GA3008 you see above are absolute beasts. I currently have issues fretting a 6-string classical guitar, that 8-string version there would be an absolute predicament. 

In any case, this is absolutely not the way to promote an 8-string instrument - please keep track of how many times the 7th / 8th strings were fretted.

Pics: Ibanez

Ibanez April 2026: RGR431

The thing about Ibanez, it does not neglect the more affordable range for the masses. This RGR431 here lists for $629 (in stock at Swee Lee). There's nothing really special about a fixed, bridge RG with a reverse headstock but a closer look reveals a matching poplar burl top for both the body & headstock. Just wish that the finish of this guitar was not black (Ibanez calls it charcoal gray) as this failed to accentuate the burl top. 

Pic: Ibanez

Misha's baritone

This ragged Jackson guitar is a signature baritone for guitarist Misha Mansoor (Periphery). It's referred to as a Surfcaster but we know that's not how a Surfcaster headstock looks like. But it doesn't matter, a signature interpretation lets the endorser dictates how his instrument should look like. If you like the guitar, you just buy it. This one's listed for USD8,999...

Pic: Jackson

SOLAR: S1.6H-RSO

The new SOLAR S1.6H is not just a neck-through model; the neck rear had been satin-ized as depicted above. There are players here who prefer a glossed over body but not the neck. They want the neck to retain the matching hue but dislike that lacquer overcoat as it makes the surface sticky when the fretting hand gets sweaty. Love the fact that the SOLAR fretboard inlay had been darkened to blend into the ebony.

Pic: SOLAR

Mango

PRS is currently doing a limited run of instruments featuring a mango wood top. Mr PRS himself, in a recent dialogue at the launch of this lineup, did not mention any tone-related benefits of this wood type save for the fact that they look good as guitar tops. Waiting for any coconut, durian & perhaps a jackfruit top in time to come should they decide to extend this oriental wood interest.

Pic: PRS