Ashless

A little taxing on the eyes, apologies. More importantly, Fender sent out a message to dealers recently notifying them of the discontinuation of ash as tone woods for their instruments. Reasons: 1) Insect infestation 2) Climate change (flooding). Will you be scampering to grab hold of an ash-bodied Fender instrument in anticipation of this situation? 

On a personal note, I have ash-bodied Fender instruments here as well as basswood, mahogany & alder. In terms of tonal advantage, very little separates them but in terms of weight & sustain considerations, there might be a case in point.

Terminal

JHS founder, Josh Scott, had announced a severance with artist, Ryan Adams, while investigations are under way alleging misconduct (sexual & assault) by the said artist. The signature VCR pedal seen here would be cleared off the JHS inventory immediately with future plans of re-branding the product on the cards. Reputation is everything.

Goodbye American

Good Sunday morning guitar fans, how's everything coming along? Hope everyone's strumming to good health & in a good state of mind approaching the month's end. Sharing a major breaking news here for all you Fender fans- the manufacturer is going to discontinue the American Standard Series instruments. It is unclear if these instruments are receiving a slew of upgrades & thereafter renamed  as a fresh range for 2017 or an introduction of a fresh series of guitars & basses as complete replacements.

In any case, online stores are clearing stuff in anticipation of more breaking news approaching Winter NAMM 2017. If you are planning to get one online, please hold on to more clearance deals (highly likely) as the festive season creeps in. 

The most anticipated question: Will the local dealers follow suit? It depends. Some dealers are more in touch with reality than others, they will match the demand-supply circumstances while the rest- in view of a more monopolistic position they are in- will totally ignore this development as they are more than happy to keep discontinued, over-priced inventories in their midst. 

End: Ovation

Fender is set to cease production of the US-made Ovation guitars. This will be effective come June 2014. If you are still interested:

1. Grab whatever's in store in the mean time
2. Look out for price blow-outs by mid-year (mostly online offers)

Treasure yours, my friends.

Edwards: Conclusion

I had been holding back this info but as 2013 draws to a close, it's time to stop being emotional & look ahead & accept changes. As part of ESP's gaining ground in the USA, the Edwards name will cease to propel musical instruments for ESP come 2014. That's sad because this name had been putting ESP in good stead for less money. It's an economical emulation of the ESP name without crucial compromise unlike what the LTD names stands for in terms of commercial alternative. We are actually a lucky lot because these Edwards are for domestic circulation in Japan only, special arrangements were made between ESP & selected distributors to have them made available elsewhere.

Edwards make good stuff.Will miss them. You know, it might be a good time to re-look at whatever Edwards there are out there & act accordingly.