Antigua

On the eve of the circuit-breaker/ semi-lockdown enforcement, I managed to make a quick trip to Swee Lee to get this charming mistake. It was supposed to be a birthday present for myself but it wasn't my birthday. Today is not my birthday as well. Whatever, I don't celebrate my birthday but I do reward myself time & again when reward is due.

Anyway, FYI, the antigua finish was an accident when Fender first created the Coronado model. The burst effect turned out to be a burnt effect during manufacture & it was saved by having a mustard-ish background to create that signature look. It's not a  popular colour scheme as it reminded players of infant turd back then. The '70s saw the demise of this finish but it re-sirfaced every now & then for nostalgia's sake. The model you see here is a limited edition 2019 run & strictly Japanese. I have a thing or two when it comes to unloved & marginalized finish. 

Ho ho ho 2019

Minimalist? Not really. Anti-climax more like it.

I don't celebrate Christmas but it's a holiday I look forward to. It's that final laid back moment for the year before the work cycle is rebooted & meaningless movements happen once more. I plan to have quiet moments this time, maybe some overdue reading & servings of coffee. I actually look forward to some significant purchases at this year end but the windfall was way, way below expectations. Never hope for such things from an entity that depends on economic performance. For goodness sake, the economy is beyond anyone's control. You can sway things but you can't leash it. So that plan bites the dust.

Anyway, here's wishing everyone some quality time with family & loved ones. Stay safe, promise?

Let there be lights

Wishing everyone a restful, stress-free long weekend. Of course, don't neglect your guitars 🎸

Price check: Gibson

More Curleigh-era Gibsons making their way here. The 2019 Gibson SG Jr costs slightly more than its 2018 counterpart. No prominent differences between the two less the different scripts at the respective  headstocks. The 2019 has a Graph Tech nut while the 2018 has a Tektoid version. Which one is it for you? Is it worth paying that wee bit extra for a nut material difference? The decision is entirely yours. 

V up

This is the new Gibson Flying V 2019. This was the first batch, the pre-Curleigh era model.

The newer Curleigh era version (2019, Spring) features slight differences; the Gibson label at the headstock end of the instrument plus a Graph Tech nut (tektoid on the pre-Curleigh). You guessed it, a slight price increase in observed. Hmm...

Heritage?

Folks, the 2019 LP Standard 50s from the newer Gibson Original collection, is now available at Swee Lee. The 60s version is also available, same listing price as well. Anyway, Swee Lee should be mindful of that labelling there because there's no such thing as a 50s Heritage Electric Guitar at the official Gibson webpage.

This should be the correct reference. Thank you for keeping the price true to the manufacturer's suggested listing. In any case, it's a no go from me. Will buy something else. If you are keen, be informed that limited quantities are in store. How limited is limited? If there's an active interest for both models over this weekend, they'll be sold out by Monday. 

Fire in the house

The latest acquisition is another Gibson (as I slowly move away from getting another Ibanez) but something from the affordable range- the 2019 Firebird Tribute. This is an absolutely gloss-free finish which I prefer. It was fresh out of the box when it arrived at Swee Lee Katong. I told the sales guy (the great Mr. Fouzy) to leave it as it is; no pre-purchase setup necessary. The intention was to see the standard of presentation.

The guitar experienced a neck bow but it's a slight affair that a quick truss rod tweak managed to cure (I did that at home, not in store). As such, it played poorly in terms of action setting. The toggle mounting ring was also loose plus a dry fretboard to kill the joy of buying a GIbson. Folks, these are expected anomalies that are perfectly manageable within the ambit of a good set up. In fact, these are expected since the guitar per se is constructed from organic components that react to temperature. There are parts that would slowly come undone with repeated movements; these are usually tightened parts. We cannot rule out the fact that someone at the factor didn't do a good job at tightening them & contributed to a poor pre-purchase experience - it's all about QC. Tone wise, despite having the guitar plugged into an EVH amp, it was mediocre when it comes to heavy, distorted tones.

Tune in to the next episode of Fire in the house to know how this one fared with my set up at home. 

Eid Ul-Adha 1440

Blessed greetings of Eid to all Muslim friends & blog readers, a happy long weekend to the rest of us - hopefully it's a deserving one.

It had been an imposing week for me, personally; staying strong & putting up a stoic front to see this through. More importantly, believe in the sacrifices we have to undergo in order to enjoy the fruits of the labour subsequently - never stop believing & praying. That's what Aidiladha is all about, isn't it?

Old & gold

Gotcha. Nothing old here but 100% new materials by Darkthrone. Knowing it's Darkthrone, 'new' is subjective. The manipulations will always end up as a Darkthrone serving despite a pinch of whatever other genre the band serves to embrace as flavour of the moment. Old Star has lots of doom to offer. With that, the inevitable slow-down-&-destroy pace that dominated the music from start to end. I can't say it's a definitive Dark Throne release like Soul Side Journey, Under a Funeral Moon, Transylvanian Hunger & dare we include, FOAD, but it's one of those releases that defies clustering. 

Production-wise, there seems to be an errant buzzing in the mix which doesn't sound musical (already evident in the second track, The Hardship of the Scots). Maybe it was meant to be as such or someone actually overlooked a dislocated EQ slider at the mixing console. At the very least, it sounds annoying. As implicated, the doom branding here has nothing to offer in terms of menacing intensity, everything is calculated & cold. There's no rush to prove anything. In fact, the mid-tempo, palm muted riffs remain to be one of the album's highlight (Alp Man) like Black Sabbath meets Cathedral only to be out finessed by Darkthrone themselves. Anyway, I like Old Star & glad they didn't pull off another punk episode. Here's wishing them other fine moments to come that could finally afford Nocturno a bass of his own. Then again, the point here might be to not own a bass & stay kult.

GSS @ CM

Thank you City Music for making this happen- you lead the way 👍🏾

Revised DC Tribute

They didn't have to but they did- the Gibson LP Jr DC Tribute has a revised manifestation just days ago (released together with its other 2019 'Fall siblings). The bridge is still a wrap-over model but it's a new design & the input jack had been shifted to the side.

The former incarnation for reference. Not so good news- price goes up by USD100... 😦

Emerging Standards

I'm pretty sure you know this happened a few days ago- Gibson finally released their Juszkiewicz-free 2019 models. That's right, it's a little confusing. Let's be clear that the 2019 models that appeared at the start of 2019 were the Juszkiewicz 2018 leftovers. What happened was that the 2019 models were announced around August 2018. The manufacturer already had those in production & they were obliged to be released. Curleigh, the new CEO, waited till Fall 2019 to announce the manifestations under his helm & those were listed over at the Gibson homepage which was re-vamped to accommodate this debut.

On everyone's anxiety list was the Les Paul Standard, the very flag-bearer of all things Gibson. As promised, the manufacturer delivered a back-to-goodness manifestation of the guitar to some very grateful devotees. I'm not a Gibson fan but I'm grateful that it happened because it means that it's worth considering the Gibsons again. My Gibson journey started with a no-purchase  after being under-whelmed by a '57 reissue. On that fateful day, I paid good money for a PRS McCarty instead which was of course worth every cent- no regrets. 

Do note that the major return-to-form feature of the LP Standard is its non-chambered body. It would mean a lot to folks in their golden age because the typical LP Standard is a whopping 4.5kg on average. That's gonna be pretty taxing for those of us who play standing up for the money. If you have plans to ditch your current weight-relieved version for the new model, please re-consider. Maybe turn it into your No. 2 so that you could have a breather in between numbers. I've handled both versions & of the opinion that the difference matters.

Also included in this consideration are the PCB-free circuitry & a wonderful capacitor to begin with. From the factory, they are strung with a set of standard 10s as opposed to the current practice of 9 - 46. 

Saving the best for last- the price. This generation of LP Standards retails for USD2,499. What's so benevolent about paying that much for one? The current exchange rates would tell you that it'll probably be listed for SGD3.4K +/- here, a far cry from the 2019 LP Standard listing for SGD4,599 in the mean time. I'm definitely checking one out for throwback's sake- maybe this time I'll end up buying instead of walking away. 

Top to Bottom: LP Standard 50s (Cherry Sunburst)/ LP Standard 60s (Unburst) 😙

Count down

If your social media platforms are guitar related, you might have come across the above update. It's a reminder that the post-Juszkiewicz Gibsons are about to be unleashed.

I'm actually one of the dweebs world over who is holding out on this. It's not an affirmation of the right thing to do because these might be lemons for all we know. It's about looking forward to sensible people fulfilling a good intent. If you've been with me for a while, you jolly well know that I find Gibsons a sorry reaosn to be spending hard earned money on. This had been compounded by the Juszkiewicz buffoonery that plunged the brand name goodwill into the dumps. 

The NAMM '19 preludes were promising & there's no reason not to at least look forward to good stuff. If this is the time for me to put aside my abhorrence to the Gibson name, then I should be embracing the quality of things, not the name on the headstock per se. 

This is also my umpteenth reminder to you that the 2019 models you see online & currently available in the stores now are still the Juszkiewicz leftovers. If you like them, fine. 

A good Friday

Enjoy the long weekend if it's a holiday being observed wherever you are. Happy rest day for those of us with no religious observance, it's a deserving break especially for yours truly here- overworked.

Oh, really?

The new Ibanez RG550 is finally listed online at the dealer's webpage but if you frequent the stores, it's been there for about three weeks. 

If we refer to the manufacturer's web page (correct as on April 2019), the RG550 is firmly placed under the Genesis banner. Yes, it's a Japanese production unit & was under the direct Prestige tier not too long ago. I'm not contesting validity but throwing caution to disputable facts.

Ice-kelele

This is why you would be the first rocker in your ukulele circle: Ibanez UICT10.

PIC: Ibanez

Old Glory

This was quite the talk of NAMM recently. After reading stuff & checking the specs out, Jared James Nichols won my respect for coming out with this one. I have a thing for single pickup guitars so the simplicity of this Old Glory Les Paul is downright attractive. 

The thing about any signature guitar is its price. Seeing how simple this one is, the price is about having that artist association to push things through in terms of sales. It's USD100 lesser than a simple, bare bones Gibson featuring similar specs albeit the double cut away design- the LP Jr Tribute DC. Then again, coming back to the artist lure, this video might have you bent on getting the Epiphone Old Glory instead (that tone!): CLICK

Jackson 2019

Didn't really look at the Jackson camp after the Jeff Loomis revelation but here are two among the 2019 releases I really dig. Seen above, a simple mahogany bodied model with a fixed bridge & Duncan Distortion pair- what's there not to like? OK that burl top was done before by Ibanez but that matching headstock is ace.

This is as close as we get to the original Rhoads without breaking the bank. Note the shorter protrusion & a non-locking whammy bridge. Unseen here is the set-neck feature on the flip side.  However, it's a black only offering. Bummer. (This model: CDX22)

Current Standards

We end February on a reassuring note. In the spirit of keeping things objective, Gibson had streamlined the Les Paul Standard to a few sensible models WEF 2019. The one you see here is the LP Standard 50s.

This one is the LP Standard 60s. These two anchor models are definitely worthy of the manufacturer's recent resurgence, thanks largely to the new CEO pulling the brand name out- surely but slowly- of a bleak quagmire. With the above iterations of the LP Standard, the LP Traditional would be phased out & that's a very objective move. The rationale- the LP Traditional is what a historic Standard should be, a true reflection of tradition & in the current scheme of things, is an overlapping model. With that, the 2019 LP Standards are now devoid of the weight relief body & would manifest the true feel of a Standard. 

In the mean time, these models have yet to be cataloged in the Gibson records & the 2019 line up at the official web page are the final iteration of the 2018 models. This is happening because Gibson, under the former CEO, had announced the 2019 models a little too early (back in August 2018) & had to honour the distribution of those models. Similarly, the later models are not available at the stores here just as yet. We are anticipating an official release in spring/ summer. 

I'm definitely holding back till these make their way here. I've been wanting a deserving LP for the longest time & had been distracted along the way. 

V12

If this one appears at City Music, it's gonna be a hard time for me not wanting one. It's basically a Doheny with humbuckers but a closer look at those pickups- they are housed in a JM-type bobbin (Doheny V12 they call it). If the G&L people are true to their spirit of R&D, it means that each humbucker sports a wider winding both ways to give a differentiated sonic experience. Also, the guitar is equipped with a 3-way switch to manifest a true humbucker, parallel & split coil mode for sonic variations. 

PIC: Andertons