Rash

It's Tele Tuesday! Got this out for a re-string & some playing time. I like the tones from the Duncans here (Hot Rails / Hot Tele). Despite being a hot humbucker, the Hot Rails still manifests good twang at lower distortion settings. The neck pickup is one of the clearest sounding in all my Teles, perhaps it's benefitting from the 500K pots. A set of D'Addario 9s, of course.

This is kinda strange; I didn't know a rusty screw would leave a rash mark on the pickguard. It's like the surrounding area was infected by the rust. As you can see, I've replaced it with a new one. In fact, I  replaced all pickguard screws today. Confession: I'm actually not into the sunburst finish but when I saw this on a Tele, I just had to have it. This American Standard Tele is my first ever Fender bought in 1998 when Swee Lee was still located at the rear end of Level 3, Bras Basah Complex. The unit is now occupied by Art Friend's extension space. I simply favour the Tele more than the Strat when it comes to Fender - the reason why I have more Teles in the mean time. 

Ibanez: FR420

The Ibanez FR series are not new this year but they were only available here in January 2013. This was definitely on my to-get list, it's a simple guitar, testing the player for his abilities more than a testimony of having locking hardware in an instrument & making the owner feel good. I held back because the FR420 was introduced this year so I was really hoping it's gonna make it to these shores, otherwise, I have to make arrangements for special purchases which I know will not make me happy (extra costs involved- GRRR...). 

But thanks to the forces that be, the FR420 was in stock in the second quarter of 2013 & here it is now. I'm not a sucker for the sunburst finish which was not the reason I held back but the FR420 sports an ash body while the FR320, mahogany. It's not about any superiority issues- no. I just prefer mine to be a little brighter because of the pickups I am gonna put in there. 

One more thing, my friends. The FR320 is also offered in white but this is a regional exclusive finish (meaning: offered in some countries only, it's not offered in the USA) & it's discontinued so if you like it white, grab one while it's still available. Also, the FR420 is not offered in the USA, the FR320 is not offered in Japan. This means, we are one of the fortunate people to have both models in the stores here. Here are some prices (NETT) for your reference:

• FR320 (black): SGD549
• FR320 (white): SGD630
• FR420 (sunburst): SGD639

Thank you, brother FAIZAL (Swee Lee BB), for the assistance, as always :-)