Price watch (89): Gibson @ SG

First & foremost, I have nothing against 35 Guitar Avenue. In fact, they are one of the most welcoming guitar stores here & I can attest to this personally, especially the Peninsula outlet (now permanently closed). Since they are currently the recognised Gibson distributor here, I would like to highlight the prices of some of the models in store against a popular guitar store in the USA. Prices at both ends are regular listings & not subjected to seasonal / blowout discounts. Starting off, the Gibson LP Studio Smokehouse Satin model depicted above is more than SGD3K here, State side, it's USD1,999 (SGD2,695). Here are others:

• SG Standard '61 (vintage cherry): SGD3,090 / USD1,999 (SGD2,695)
• LP Standard '50s (gold top): SGD4,590 / USD2,799 (SGD3,774)
• LP Standard '69s (bourbon burst): SGD4,590 / USD2,799 (SGD3,774)
• Slash LP Standard (november burst): SGD4,890 / USD2,999 (SGD4,044)

Note: SGD prices are in red, USA prices are in blue

We note prices are not on par with the listings in the USA. You can visit the official Gibson webpage & note that the US store is listing Gibsons according to the manufacturer's recommended figures. Are all Gibson distributors obliged to comply? It depends if the distributor has a good business plan to cut  profits & offer them on parity. While we applaud the return of Gibson to our shores, does this equal to letting stores here screw us up with prices? You & I know the answer. We are not privy to the business formula of product pricing. Whatever prices stores wish to list their guitars for, they know better. We can always choose to not buy from them.

Pic: Sweetwater

Gibson / Epiphone @ SG

This is a major announcement for us gear geeks here - Gibson & Epiphone guitars will return to Singapore & will be distributed by the above-depicted dealers. This should put a stop to the unreasonable Gibson & Epiphone prices in the after-market. I had delayed this announcement in the hope that the Kramer distributor would be made public as well but there were no such revelations to be had prior to this posting. In any case, it's good to have these brands back here because these are the formidable names in guitar-dom that should not be overlooked. 

35-versary

In conjunction with their store anniversary, every $299 (& above) purchase at 35 Guitar Avenue, entitles you to a lucky draw chance. Prizes are depicted here. So this marks the start of a good March 😁

Anderson @ 35GW

Congrats to 35 Guitar Avenue for being the official dealer of Tom Anderson guitar works 👍 I've sent my order in, waiting for price quotes. 

Duncan @ 35GA

Seymour Duncan promo/disct is back @ 35 Guitar Avenue. 

Fender - SD promo

Great promo from 35 Guitar Avenue- a Seymour Duncan upgrade with every purchase of a Fender (Japan) instrument. Please contact the store for further details: 6352 2636

PIC: 35 Guitar Avenue FB

Fender Jap @ the avenue

That's right, Fender (Japan) is now available at 35 Guitar Avenue. Pre-order services available, please call for enquiries. 😮

Seymour Duncan: California 50s set

Greetings, tone hounds. How's the weekend coming along? A little too brief, yes? Anyway, it's been a while since I've done a 'formal' product appraisal so here goes... 😉

The product in question is Seymour Duncan's California 50s single coil set. The 50s monicker there is a little evasive because the pickups in question feature an Alnico V magnet, leaning more towards a contemporary voicing rather than a strict vintage articulation. These pickups are mounted onto my Fender American Special Stratocaster featuring a rosewood fretboard.

Clean
We renew our belief that Alnico magnets are the best in this turf, regardless if they are of the stronger variety. In all positions, the C50 set successfully captured the inherent instrument twang. It's like hearing amplified wood in action- almost, very convincing. The manufacturer did well in maintaining the EQ settings for all positions, we don't hear a selected frequency excess coming from any positions. With that in mind, do note that the neck position is the least performer in terms of sharpness but it won't blur into mud.

Drive
The first drive test involved an amp source; a Marshall JVM 410H. The crunch & OD1 channels were used. Crunch settings brought out the best from in-between positions. In addition to the jangle, there was a firm, organic, clunky voicing that we all love to hear, especially Neil Rodgers-type funky chords. Tame the volume & we are in blues territory; this is the versatility of the C50s that make them a good buy. The harder drive settings brought out splendid individual performances. If you are the solo type, the drive experience here should be rewarding. Both the neck & bridge pickups have impressive clarity, nothing too saturated & we have the alnico magnet to thank for that. The fact that it's an Alnico V means we need not try too hard to get the drive going. There you have it, a good balance for both clean & driven tones.

The next drive test involves an OD pedal in booster mode to accentuate the amp's drive performance. The neck pickup suffered a little mushiness due to saturated drive responses. The bridge counterpart fared better here, in fact, I could push it into pseudo-metal territory with no issues in terms of clarity. Not forgetting the middle pickup, it inclined towards its bridge bother's performance; a more ready player when push came to shove.

Conclusion
Lest we forget, the C50s are actually...

... the SSL-1s as depicted above 😁 The fact that they had been re-introduced as a collective trio under the 50s slant (whatever that means to you) made you think in vintage terms which they are not. But in some settings, they sound more vintage than some other Alnico V manifestations. I'm going to recommend these to those in search of untainted cleans but at the ready for some contemporary drive tones. On a side note, I've pushed these pickups into hyper-metal territory with good results (unlike the SSL-5 in action, but that's for another appraisal episode) but the hum was just not worth it.

Rating: 8.5/10 👍

The California 50s are available at both Davis GMC & 35 Guitar Avenue. 

35's first

35 Guitar Avenue turns one- here's wishing them continued success in the industry. On a personal note, thanks to Dhalif & company for the rocking good services 👍👍

Visit 35 Guitar Avenue's website for more info: CLICK

Drop by the showroom/learning venue:

Duncan sale @ 35 Guitar Avenue

If you are pickup-hunting, this might interest you. 35 Guitar Avenue is having a Seymour Duncan price cut while stocks last. Everything is on discount, you can reach the store at the following numbers for enquiries: 6352 2636/ 8222 1601