Cort has joined the headless endeavour. Depiceted above are the G6TR (vibrato / HSS / regular frets) & the G6MS (fixed bridge / HH / partial fanned frets). Pickups are in-house models & frets are tall medium jumbo SS version for both. The thing to take note here is the neck profile; it's an Ergo V neck. Once it gets here, we will know if these are trying to rival the Strandberg version. The last time I tried a type of V-profile, it's just lethargy inducing.
EDIT (20 Feb): Both models are now available @ Swee Lee (G6TR: $849 / G6MS: $799)
Sire has headless guitars now. This one here, is the X6. There's a 7-string version as well (X6 7-string) in the exact details, just an additional string. If you've played Sire guitars, you'd know they are definitely value-for-money instruments. I'm waiting for something appealing (to me) before going down to the distributor's showroom (yes, we have a Sire distributor here located at Bras Basah complex) to check one out personally. In the mean time, there are no X models in store. Yet.
I'm not a fan of multi-scale guitars unless it's designed like a Strandberg; partial fanned frets. Ibanez did this for the SML721 but looks like it's a passing interest for them; no further developments. This X6 looks like a Strandberg mimic, let's not hide the fact, but it's worth considering.
Not too long ago, Kiesel released the Kyber model. Now they have this headless version. Headless here is subjective. If we look at the picture above, there's a bit of headstock going on. This was done so that the guitar can still be mounted on wall hangars. This consideration was done by Parker guitars once upon a time for the same reason; allowing some materials there so that it could be wall-mounted by the headstock area. This aside, I feel the Kyber is more appealing with a headstock.
Solar guitars did this. It's a big deal because according to Ola, a headless Solar will not happen. In any case, these seem affordable (USD599 / USD699), bolt-on models with in-house pickups. The scale length here conforms to the fanned fret design; 24.75" - 25.5". I'm not a fanned fret fan so this & the slanted pickups are deal-breakers. Slanted pickups here are form-slanted as opposed to placement-slanted. Form-slanted pickups are not readily replaceable; very few (hardly any, in fact) replacement units out there are as such.
New follower shout-out: Armand Wright. Thanks for following 👍
Got word on this from a friend - Synester Gates now has a headless signature model. Schecter is not new to this so no surprises there but Synester embracing one is definitely a change. Many fans would be missing that signature, pincer-type headstock for sure. Be informed that the body is chambered & pickups are in-house Schecter USA models.
Ibanez decided to delight the Q-Series fans at the end of November by releasing this signature model. It's the MGFM10, endorsed by one Manuel Fernandes. For those of you who are steep into technicalities would find this name familiar. However, this is also the guy who was once called out for cheating by increasing the speed of his videos. Nothing too special about this guitar, in fact, you wouldn't lose out by getting the QX52 (for less $$ as well) unless gold hardware is your thing.
Really wish these would make it here somehow 😓 There're limited options here at the stores. In fact, only the Ibanez Q models are making an impact here. Strandberg - no dealer. Kiesel - direct purchase / build to order models... prices are getting out of hand.
This is a NAMM '24 release by Strandberg; the Boden Essential. This is the most affordable (USD999) Strandberg & the immediate cost-related feature here is the absence of tilted / fanned frets. Pickups are also economy models but the manufacturer promises good results (tone-wise). There are currently no Strandberg distributors here. Davis GMC used to have the Japanese models in store but they are not bringing in any this time. Of course, if you are not a fan of headless guitars, do steer clear.
Wasn't motivated to leave the house in this scorching heat today. Indoors with the headless siblings.
Kiesel: Allan Holdsworth
One of my favourite / go-to guitars for inspiration. Used this one to play ideas really slowly before speeding up to taste. I'm not a fan of signature models (if you've been following the entries here closely) but the custom options meant I could trim this down to my specs; that's the only reason I bought this guitar.
Ibanez: Q54
Wasn't attracted to this because it's a headless guitar but because it sports a body contour very close to the Radius series. Was wondering if that kind of ergonomics would help me play differently but I believe it's more of the player, not the instrument. I am too used to the way I play so this was adopted to the guitar & not the other way round. There's something about Ibanez that makes me play fast & fumble all the time. Darn.
Ooo la la... This is a gorgeous one; a fretless EHB currently offered as a 5-string only (EHB1005F). I fancy this blue as well, Ibanez calls it Arctic Ocean Matte. However, take note of the fretboard material - richlite. I firmly believe that this non-wood consideration had everything to do with the durability provision. If you have played a fretless before, there's this tendency for it to get scratched by your fingernails & the fact that the strings come into contact with the fretboard. Just wish that fretboard tongue was finished in blue as well; just my OCD.
Did something different yesterday, being the new year & all, with the looming urge to tread spaces outside my comfort zone. Brought the guitar out to the Botanic Gardens with the following sound supplements (no pun intended):
Cables. George L (2m), Ibanez (patch), brandless 3.5mm i/p for the speaker
Guitar chosen for the occasion - NK Headless. Why? Because it's light & less wieldy. I had not been playing the Pandora mini for a long while but it's proven its worth in terms functionality; it still works. The Animals Pedal distortion was included because there's a fresh battery in there & it's the most proximate when I was packing stuff before leaving. Ditto cables. The JBL speaker was a 2021 Christmas gift that somebody wanted to discard. It was sold to me for less than half the price; was still sealed in its original box.
Outcome
Having portable items is the way to go. My JBL speaker & Pandora didn't take up much space in the guitar bag pocket. Even the unwieldy guitar contributed to the joy in travelling & playing.
Manage expectations when dealing with compromises. Tone on offer wasn't that great but the JBL is not a guitar-related item to begin with so the driver wasn't conceived to manifest fantastic guitar tones but it's not trashy either. The JBL however, did very well when it comes to modulation & reverb. It's just not build for distortion. Also, the speaker rattled excessively even when bass was set at the halfway point (5); had to re-set bass to 2 for a decent, working tone. The Animals Pedal's presence was confined to the role of a boost, tone tweaks contributed marginally to the overall tone.
Having a spare battery helps. But I had forgotten to include one. Not worried about the JBL or distortion dying out but the KORG died after about 40min of use. Battery was drained rapidly because I activated the drum beats / samples throughout. Lesson learnt.
It's one of those Mondays when things didn't quite work out as intended. My string muting today was almost non-existent even when playing slow. I would usually switch guitar if that happened but the demotivation today was intense. I stopped playing altogether.
I like to play this guitar because of the DiMarzios on board - the Air Classic. I have a love-hate relationship with DiMarzio pickups but the ACs have been pleasant all round; they just sound good clean & distorted. These are not really what I'd go for when shopping for DiMarzios - low output & a little wanting in the midrange. Sometimes you really need to hear these pickups in action to know if they really have something for you.
Hope it's not too late to wish everyone a good week ahead.
Folks, this is an NK guitar. It's a Chinese made instrument, the one you'd tell others to avoid & the subject of ridicule when a conversation about knock-offs gets going. Yes, it's trying to do a Strandberg of sorts but that bat wing tail end design is a miss when it comes to close manifestations.
This one came in for a re-string & some other general maintenance. I did a fret polish, fretboard re-hydration & tidied things up at the bridge end; it was mostly corroded. I have a feeling this was an impulse buy & it was left to hibernate along the way. A quick check revealed that it's no longer in production, NK Guitars had moved on with other goodness in their catalog & moving up the price range as well. New, this could have been had for less than $400.
There is currently a pair of DiMarzio Air Classics in there which leaves me to appraise it for its good tones; surprise, surprise. My overall impression of this guitar - it's surprisingly a good player but two things:
That bridge there is proving to be a scourge. One of the reasons why I accepted this for a re-string was to see how this thing works. Apparently, you need a key to turn the tuners, this could be done with bare fingers but it requires a good pinch to turn. I suppose, this is to keep tuning in tact while in use, a locking mechanism. Also, it did not manifest a radius compliance; having played the guitar for quite a bit, I can feel that the fretboard is not flat. It might be a 14" Ibanez-esque curvature but definitely not flat. So The action at both E strings felt higher than the rest of the strings.
The body is a slab design. That's right, no elbow relief, no ribcage contour; a very Telecaster type design. It makes playing uncomfortable especially for someone with a medical condition like me.
OK so this episode put NK Guitars as another benevolent brand name from China. It's not shabby by any means. Eart & NK, good stuff.
Indoor Sunday. Rained & everyone here is a little under the weather (forgive the pun). I just got my booster vaccine yesterday so the body is a little weak. Everyone had their reasons to stay indoors. Played another pair of HH guitars:
PRS S2 Mira
Ibanez Q52
Miss Mira there will also be a joy to play. It's equipped with a pair of Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates, very JB-ish in the bridge but has that spongey midrange that I like. The hollow nature adds to some top end zing but the PG has a strong bottom end response so it's perfect for aggressive music.
The Q52 has factory default Quantum pickups but they meet my expectations. These will stay put till I hear a reason to swap them out. I don't know if it's down to the metal covers there but I also find the Quantums below par in other guitars, namely the S-Series. Here they sound above average but I might raise the bridge pickup in time to come.
Both guitars are light weight, the Q52 being slightly lighter between the two.
The Q52 is a member of the Ibanez Quest family, a series of bolt-on, headless guitars. The instrument is very light & suitable for extended strap on use & does not tax the thigh in sitting position. Pickups are in-house Ibanez Q-models with an additional Dynamix-10 switch. Gold frets, if you missed those.
Construction / fit / finish
Likes
well-assembled, no shoddy workmanship, solid all-round feel
roasted maple / bubinga neck is a joy to handle, fretboard has mild birds-eye feature with interesting spalting
responsive Mono-Tune tuners
Dislikes
5-way selector rather stiff
5-way selector switch tip is ugly
Playability / tone
Likes
well-finished neck promotes playability
rounded neck profile similar to AZ model but a little thinner in feel
body ergonomics (single side taper) contributes to playing comfort
Q-pickups are above expectations, clarity & warmth all round
Dislikes
Tone control has next to no effect once the Dynamix-10 switch is activated
Light weight takes away bottom end from an otherwise impressive tone
Conclusion
If there's any significant feature here then it has to be the neck. This seems to be the forte of the instrument because the headless highlight had already been established by names like Strandberg & Kiesel. Harley Benton & Agile have also proven to the world that a good headless guitar can be done for not much money so Ibanez had to prove its case with the Quest models. The Q humbuckers are, in my opinion, very good, just lacking that much needed beef in the lower frequencies. The Quest Series ambassador is Ichika Nito & his playing style necessitates clarity & single note definition more than lower frequency girth. In fact, he has single coils in all positions so that aspect of the Q models were cascaded unto the rest in general. I'm still wondering what's going on in the electronics of the guitar because that tone pot is virtually useless once the Dynamix switch is in use. Ibanez needs another design for the selector switch or just stick to what they've been using for the rest of their guitars (RG /S). An overall impressive guitar, a strong performance in the playability aspect.
So this was the big announcement two days ago; Ibanez is now making headless guitars. The one you see here is the prime example, a signature release for guitarist, Ichika Nito, the ICHI10. Well, it took a darn long time for Ibanez to finally land a deal with a homegrown talent.
The guitar itself retained some established details & a re-visit to a familiar territory. The highlight, from my understanding of this presentation, is indeed the headless neck. It's an all roasted affair; the fretboard itself is pure maple while the rear consists of maple & bubinga. The profile, they say, is a Wizard C - a jack of all Ibanez profiles but gravitating to none. This is a clever move indeed, it entices us to buy the guitar to check it out personally, while the rest would want to commit to this new profile as an addition to something new. The cutaway is mimicking an S-Series so that's propagating a current feature, ditto the dina-MIX switching system which many AZ fans find enriching. I'm rather stoked to see the Radius body profile resurrected here, only apparent if it's viewed from the tail end as depicted above. The tapered bass side adds significant comfort to the picking arm; plus points to Ibanez here. Other details aside (will be covered in other episodes), the body is nyatoh. A baffling choice you'd say but it makes perfect sense. The model is touted to be a lightweight artistic tool as highlighted by the headless affair & the body should complement this philosophy. Alright, too much talk already, here's Ichika with the guitar in question:
Since I last updated these Ibanez EHB basses back in January 2020, I didn't realize they are now in stock at Swee Lee. There's something particularly alluring about headless basses after my personal experience with headless guitars. These might look too quirky for some of us. Ugly seems to be the immediate adjective for that body outline. (Above: EHB 1000 - white / EHB1005MS - black)
However, that design borrowed heavily from Ibanez's own RD bass. I might be checking them out soon but many models are selling out fast. On that note, I might be exploring ideas on the bass more in time to come. For someone with poor chord knowledge, I rely on the boomy bass single notes to back me up.
Late 2019, Kiesel ended the season with the headless Type X guitar & I thought that was the last headless venture by the manufacturer. Just days ago, this was official - the headless Delos model. We can surely say that when it comes to headlessness, the Kiesel offerings won't stop any time soon. Personally, I don't mind seeing more headless models from them as they did things tastefully. The instruments are also very playable & sound above average. Will this be one of my considerations for 2020? Hmm... 😝
