JB_J 50th

As an ardent follower of all things Seymour Duncan, I am happy to see the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the JB & Jazz pickups. These might not be everyone's cup of tea, especially if you are from the DiMarzio camp. The JB is an in-your-face pickup when paired with the right kind of amp drive / gain. From a personal perspective, it dislikes pedals or any excessive processing. The jazz here hold its own when it comes to clean tones but it's also a closet avenger when it comes to driven tones. Am I buying this commemorative set? There seems to be no news of a trembucker version for the JB, so...

Pic: SD

Edwards' 50th

Lest we forget, this year, ESP celebrates its 50th Anniversary. The ESP / LTD commemorative releases were costly. Even the LTD was priced excessively for many of us. It's rather late (December) but ESP has released the Edwards version of its commemorative piece - the E-Horizon CTM. Very classy looking with its gold appointments but it will definitely be as costly as its other anniversary counterparts. Darn.

Pic: ESP Japan

Iron-iversary

Still in the Fender end of things - the Iron Maiden 50th Anniversary collection was just announced / released. The guitars you see above are the (L-R): Janick Gers Strat / Dave Murray Strat / Dave Murray Masterbuilt Strat. That's right, no Adrian Smith model because he's playing a Jackson which ironically is a Fender sister brand. 

Of course, Steve Hariss' P-bass is included in this line up.

For the record, the 50th Anniversary's time line started in 1975 when the band first formed up. The debut album only happened in 1980.

Pics: Fender

EC2025

The commemorative 25th Anniversary LTD Eclipse is now available at Davis GMC. I was actually looking forward to this as the ESP company has a special consideration in my guitar adventure. It's listing for $2,150 (hard case included) which is a deal breaker for me... just not meant to be.

Pic: ESP Eclipse FB

ESP 50th: LTC EC

So all is not lost. The other ESP 50th Anniversary commemorative guitar is an LTD Eclipse in this splendid gold finish (25 = Silver, 50 = Gold, 60 = Diamond... get it?). Pickups on board are Seymour Duncan's Alnico II Pro / Custom. The tricky bit - will this even be available here? FYI, these are the ESP versions: CLICK

Pic: ESP

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

More 50th

More 50th Anniversary BOSS pedals are now available at Swee Lee. If you are looking for a differentiated tone from something that is already available in the market for a good while, then don't bother. If you don't mind spending on something collectible, then these prices are good.

DS 50th

A totally unnecessary purchase - another DS-1. But this is a special one, released in a darker shade of orange.

Because it's an anniversary edition. By the way, it's 50th Anniversary not 50 Year Anniversary. Available at Swee Lee now (List: $129).

Ibanez LACS 50th Ann

So, after the dust had settled on the 2022 Ibanez releases, they pulled some surprises from the LACS commemorating the manufacturer's 50th Anniversary which I am unaware of. I will mention three in this episode which are fundamentally the AZs, given the LACS treatment. The flame maple top version here is called Sly.

If you prefer a quilted version instead, then meet Roscoe.

These are just costly, super hyped AZ models, you say? It's the first to feature a through-neck design. Most probably, this will not be cascaded onto the other interpretations, making these models unique.

But you are an HH kinda guy / gal then the Golden Eagle might be it.

Unlike Sly & Roscoe, the Golden Eagle has a completely finished rear body so you can't see the through-neck construction. Also, it has a pau ferro fretboard & a swamp ash body. Its other two siblings sport a mahogany body & rosewood fretboard. All three guitars sport a generic black headstock finish which IMO make the instruments look less exquisite at this end. Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway because these won't be available here. The official Ibanez distributor said these are American models which they can't acquire. That's strange isn't it? Considering the EBMM & some exquisite Fender Custom Shop models in store are from the USA as well. 😶

Pics: Ibanez CS

50th

I'm just not that motivated when it comes to Strats but do own a few. Those that really speak to me, I will pay attention to them. It might just be down to the tone - the 5-way pickup options don't really get me going. I'm only a fan of the middle & neck pickup played in isolation. 

This Strat here is Fender's 50th Anniversary version marked by that neck plate. It has an ash body with a single ply pickguard which I really like. I bought this in 2005 at Swee Lee's BB branch. When the 50th Anniversary models were released, they came in three versions: American Vintage / American Deluxe/ American Series. I chose the American Series because at that point in time, I could only relate to contemporary Strats with 'normal' features. The Deluxe version had gold hardware which was a put off for me (till today, I don't fancy gold hardware on any guitars). The Vintage version cost more than the other two so it was out of my consideration. I find ash-bodied Fenders to be very prominent in its bottom end despite its more reduced midrange overall resonance. This is only obvious if one dabbles in excessive overdrive. In clean mode, the guitar sounds clear without being excessively trebly.

Ironically, the PRS Silver Sky re-kindled my interest in a 3-single coil guitar. Unlike the Strat, the Silver Sky offers a 5-way pickup combination that is attractive in all positions. I think it's down to the PRS-John Mayer philosophy of making the instrument likeable regardless of the pickup(s) in use. Oh, well.

Wah-versary

Morley is offering this chrome version of their wah to mark its 50th anniversary.

Presented nicely in this box. So for all you wah fans, this should generate some excitement.

I don't wah. 😎

Selling: Marshall 50th Ann JVM 1W combo (SOLD)

Investing in some clean tones, letting this go:

• Marshall JVM 50th Anniversary 1W all tube combo (power cord included)
• Condition: 8/10, please NOTE- the clean channel indicator is NOT working
• Self-collect @ CCK mrt stn, no testing
• No trades/ reservations
• Queries/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $449 (final)

Item SOLD 😀 

Gold bird

Gibson's Gold (finished) 50th Anniversary Firebird. Honestly, if you are GASing for this, is it the guitar per se or that wicked finish?

Marshall 50th Anniversary JTM 1W (Part 1)

Finally, the Marshall JTM 1W is in my residence. I've not tested it yet, had some work to clear... *Bummer*

Marshall: Anniversary 1W models

Marshall's celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Marshall will be releasing 5 commemorative models which are 1W units in both head & combo versions.

There is a grand buzz out there about these amps, in fact, a sizable camp believe these are unconfirmed products since there wasn't any word from Marshall to acknowledge their existence. So are we treading the X-files ground here- do you want to believe?

Well, I have to say that these amps exist & they will be available when the time comes. I've signed a blood contract not to disclose too much details. Unless I don't mind being arrested by internal security for disclosing details which will bring about commercial instability in this country, especially during this economic downturn when people should surge for jobs instead of low wattage amps.

You have been informed.

SG 50th

Gibson is releasing the 50th Anniversary SG soon & it's only available in everybody's favourite finish: Black, limited to a few units of course. Anything special with this one? Nothing much less the additional 2 frets there. I sincerely hope the 24 frets will become a standard production feature in time to come.

Back from the dead

My Fender 50th Anniversary Strat under-went an electronics overhaul (less the pickups) recently. The knobs, due to oxidation caused by regular play, were stuck & the 5-way switch lost that detent feel. I'm not too particular with exact replacements, the purist owners would argue that I'd lose some of the tonal authenticity with non-exact substitutes but this is the least of my worries as I have faith in the GOTOH parts I acquired for this guitar, ditto the 5-way Ernie Ball switch I have in there.