Selling: PRS SE P20 (SOLD)

Good morning, folks! In view of the changes coming my way soon (sooner than expected), I'm selling off stuff to see me through. Will share more along the way. Letting my PRS SE P20 (non-plug in version) go. It's hardly played, bag included. Just a reminder, a parlor guitar is NOT a student-sized / travel guitar. Thanks in advance for your support.

• PRS SE P20, parlour type acoustic, Vintage Mahogony finish (solid top)
• PRS SE bag included
• No reservations / trades
• Self-collect: CCK / Yew Tee mrt station
• Queries / confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $490 (final)

SE Parlor

This was slated for a Summer NAMM release & we know it's not gonna happen so it's finally released online instead. The PRS SE P20/ P20E is a parlor type acoustic. PRS also reduced the scale length a tad to bring out the mahogany warmth in addition to the midrange sting. I'm definitely looking forward to this being here but there's no telling when it will actually debut in stores. How much? USD499 (MSRP) - definitely reasonable asking price. Words from the horse's mouth:

PIC: guitar.com

Black Friday @ DGMC: Recommendations

If you are looking for a good grab this year end & wish to take advantage of some bargains, do consider the PRS S2 Singlecut (Sale: $1,690). 

Even the semi-hollow version is worth considering (Sale: $1.950). Two reasons 1) The S2 models are no-frills players, well made & absolutely worthy of the asking price 2) The Singlecuts will be discontinued in 2020, this is your final chance to consider a good one out of the Gibson offerings. Yes, Gibson is still the go-to name but there are worthy contenders out there surpassing what Gibson has to offer in many aspects. The final batch of Singlecuts are equipped with adjustable wrap over bridge so you need not worry about intonation issues. 

Moving away from tradition but still in singlecut territory, the E-II Eclipse is another worthy consideration (Sale: $1,700). Please be reminded that the pickups here are active models so being excessively vintage in terms of tone is not quite it. In my opinion, the Eclipse is the most popular non-Gibson take on the design, it's selling well everywhere, State-side included. Even the aggressive music proponents do not shy away from the more reserved Eclipse outlines; Gary Holt (Slayer), Ted Aguilar (Death Angel) & Teloch (Mayhen), among others. Now you know why PRS is not too keen in keeping up with the numbers & they have other more defining models to fall back on to.

Moving on to the acoustic side of the sale, this Takamine P3NY is one heck of a player (Sale: $1,450). Not many of us look East when it comes to acoustics but Takamine had been the quiet success story this side of Martin & Taylor. The P3NY is a parlor-sized instrument; the scale length remains as standard while the body width had been trimmed to accomodate two things: 1) Less overbearing body size for playing comfort, especially so for the smaller built players among us 2) Less boomy tone much appreciated by the finger pickers & those excelling in arpeggios & single notes as compared to chords. 

Where I'm coming from

I've personally played & tested the models mentioned above  (OK, I bought some...). They will never be an ultimate, end-all reference when it comes to choice. More importantly, you should be doing some reading up & testing prior to purchase. Use personal recommendations (like mine) as a final reference before buying. On my part, I'd be up front with what these instruments have in store for you in terms of objectivity & appeal. As far as price-to-satifaction ratio is concerned, this is the best time to buy as prices are slashed but not for long, of course.

No sugar coating

My Takamine sounded absolutely dead but the strings- no signs of corrosion, still very shiny. That out-of-the-box condition.

A quick re-string with a set of no-nonsense D'Addario really made my day. FYI the previous set in this guitar was a coated set, lots of longevity promises but very little delivery on tone. I believe I can take good care of a set of non-coated string set. On a regular playing basis, I can keep it in kicking good tone for more than a month. No more coated set for my acoustics. All those sweet promises without real delivery- hmph!

Selling: Sigma 00MSE (SOLD)

Priced to clear (less than half price... 😔), pre-amp not working. One of my fav but it has to go...

• Model: Sigma 00MSE (bag included)
• Solid spruce top, mahogany back/ sides
• NOTE: This is a parlor-sized guitar
• Pre-amp NOT working
• Slight discolouration (from factory) at treble side body bout
• No reservations/ trades
• Absolutely last price: $199 $170

Item SOLD ✌

Reduced

It's Friday night. It's raining. It's time spent indoors playing my Sigma.

This is perhaps one of the most unglamourous guitars I own. The sigma brand name per se, is not  immediately recognizable in terms of its Martin association until you see the typeface. Also, Sigma had severed its associations with Martin so it's now a nobody, save for some marked history as second fiddle. This is a rather harsh perception of Sigma but that's reality check. I have to tell you that this 00MSE is one of my most comfortable & inviting instruments I own. I only appreciated this guitar after swallowing some pride; that I'm playing a trimmed down body sporting a 12th fret neck-body joint. Something unenticing for pop culture & visual appeal. I told myself I'm not treading that direction with this guitar so buying it was easy. I don't need something that sounds fascinating with chords either- I'm not a chord person. I wanted something that's clear-sounding under lots of finger picking without body dimensions that impede playing. This was it, no regrets. 

It's the first weekend of 2018- wishing you folks a much deserving rest & quality time family. 👍

Fender: Paramount parlor

In addition to the solid bodies this NAMM, Fender released some acoustic models as well- the Pramount series. The model you see here is a member of the Paramount range, it's a parlor type cutting so seeing it as a 'smaller' guitar isn't a strange thing.

If there's something sorely missing from the Fender acoustic range, then it's the parlor models. The Deluxe version seen here is a full solid model featuring an ebony finger board. Look forward to see them at the stores.

Parlour comfort

Whatever you have to say about Chinese production, please do it in context. When it comes to guitars, a China-made unit could manifest some of the most desirable standard of production out there, you just have to know what to look at. The Takamine GY93E here is Chinese. I tried it earlier today & it's one of the most congenial parlour-type model out there. Due to its Chinese pedigree, it can be had for less than $600. I'm with acoustics sporting smaller bodies; it's less of a struggle for me to play.

This is how things are from the back- absolutely beautiful rosewood-maple-rosewood combo.

Some price checks to convince you that the domestic prices here are absolutely the best considerations:

• MSRP: USD799
• Amazon.com: USD549

Ibanez 2014: Parlor-ized

This is an interesting addition by Ibanez; one of their new acoustic guitars is a parlor type model, featuring a solid spruce top. The rest of the AVN1 is mahogany. For someone who is keen on a more manageable acoustic body dimensions, I'm interested :-)