Suitable?

Folks, this is the Gator GBE-EXTREME-1 bag. As the name suggests, it's made to contain guitars sporting the eccentric outline which are a little extensive & protrusive.

A case in point would be the Flying V. As depicted above, the bag has ample room to contain the instrument. FYI, it's also good for the Explorer, Firebird & Dean ML, among others.

Please be informed that the bag's interior does not feature a strap to hold the neck down. Why is this necessary?

When you strap this on, the guitar does not stay put. It will collapse to the front side of the bag. The stitches of the strained strap area might give way after repeated use.

When you handle it by the carrying straps, it will cause the instrument inside to neck dive & create that fold / crease there.

I believe that if the interior neck strap was included & the overall design of this bag was tapered more to prevent neck movements / displacements, it would be worth it. To answer the question will this bag fit a V / Explorer / Firebird / ML design? The immediate answer is yes. However, it might not be suitable for players who are constantly on the move.

Serpentine '25

No point commenting on the outlook for this year. Pretty much everyone is just sick of how things are here; prices going up with disillusioned people at the helm preaching belief in their brand of politics. Trash.

Instead, I would like to wish everyone a good Year of the Snake - best wishes, good health & prosperity always. Enjoy the deserving mid-week break with good company!

Thanks for your support!

Thank you everyone, for your kind support. 3.5mil hits as at 25th January is a huge achievement for me. My blog is unashamedly old school; limited videos & wordy. It was intended to be this way all along as I want my fellow gear enthusiasts to re-visit the lost art of reading. These days, we tend to be at the receiving end of information dissemination without making much effort to acquire knowledge instead. Reading is a form of knowledge acquisition & it should be perpetuated. Hope you understand.

If you appreciate my efforts & would like to make a contribution, it would mean a lot to me. This QR code would be good for this week only, I don't see the point of a perpetual validity as it's something to mark the occasion, nothing more. I sincerely hope to keep this effort going but at the back of my mind, I might succumb to what had hampered me before. Till that happens, I'm here to talk gear (& everything in between) - thanks in advance!

ESP 2025: 50th Anniversary

We begin the week with ESP's 50th Anniversary commemorative guitar announcement. The chosen model for this historical event is the Horizon CTM. This iteration features resin injected parchments in the body finish.

If resin & reverse headstock are not your thing, then this version features a flame top with a burst effect & of course, a standard, non-reverse headstock.

I'm actually looking forward to this announcement & had saved quite a bit to acquire a historical commemorative instrument but these guitars would be listed for more than $10K each so that's the obvious deal breaker for me. 

Dear ESP, there are people out there who wish to mark this event with you but they do not possess the purchasing power to acquire one of the above guitars. Moving forward, please be inclusive & acknowledge the fact that the lower income among us are equally responsible for your success as well. Happy 50th birthday.

Pics: ESP Japan

Jackson 2025

Jackson took this year to re-introduce the Surfcaster model (X-Series). That's right, the surfcaster design is not new. This simple, non-whammy bridge design should appeal to the offset camp.

Thank you, Jackson, for remembering us, the marginalised shallow pocket citizens who wouldn't want to miss out on the fun - a JS22 model is also available.

 Pics: Jackson

$399 vs $399

Same price, interesting considerations. If you are in the market for a trustworthy entry-level guitar, these two might just be the value-for-money instruments you would want to shortlist.

The LTD MH-10 is the epitome of comfort & playability. The only possible dispirited outcome here might be the pickups which serve overdrive & distortion better than clean settings. 

The Kramer Focus VT-211S has lots of tonal versatility on board due to its HSS pickup combo. I like everything about it less the tuners. You might wanna look into replacing those for some peace of mind during performances. 

DISCLAIMER: I tried this guitar when it was still available at Swee Lee. Back in the day, these were easily some of the most affordable starter models out there & they used to list for $200 +/- no kidding. Now that Cristofori Music is listing them for $399 with no upgrades in instrument components, we might be compelled to consider a Bacchus / Aria just to weigh in on the value-for-money consideration.

 

Pics: ESP / Kramer