Nippon stripes

Some new but not that new stuff from Fender (Japan) - guitars with competition stripes. Specifically, stripes are located behind the bridge. The guitars are from the Traditional 60s line up, just given those stripes.

Not leaving out the bottom ender among us, there's a P-bass version & it's the only bass in this release. That's right, white finish only, folks.

Pics: Fender Japan

Whitey

PRS released the SE P20E Parlor guitar in white. It is limited to 3, 500 units worldwide so you have to catch one quickly once it's available. 

Pic: PRS Guitars

Tribute (Part 4)

If you see Beez in action here, it means that my instrument is in good hands.

Nothing much, just a pair of oranges to oversee the tone performance. Also, not the prettiest of sights but when I took over this guitar, the electronics are in good working order. That's nine years of issue-free existence. 

Here it is once more, looking good in picture but actually a little worn & yellow like the pages of an old book. There's actually a deeper reason why I went all out to buy this knowing too well that I don't need another Gibson, let alone another guitar. Still a little dazed as to how well it plays & those P-90s there, they will stay put. 

Related episodes: Tribute (Part 3) / Tribute (Part 2) / Tribute (Part 1)

Special

This is a special one indeed. It was a special order liaised by Davis GMC for me some years ago. The good ESP people were willing to tweak certain features from an existing model to include others from another existing model. It's virtually a hybrid design.

So my request was a simple one; an existing M-Series with a H-S pickup configuration (Seymour Duncan JB/ Classic Stack Plus in this guitar). Since I get to pick my finish of choice, I went with white. Why? Because the preceding models that I acquired before this one were black. This went the opposite way.

The H-S pickup combo was a refreshing change. The ESP people tilted the neck single coil so that all strings are aligned with the pole pieces. Was this a design in any existing ESP model back then? Yes - the Horizon FR 27. Subsequently, Kiko's signature ESP model featured the slanted neck single coil slot as well. That was easy for ESP. 

The white finish was regrettable. All white finish will yellow over time, the parts coming into contact with the hard case interior will yellow faster than other areas (as seen above). It's like that repulsive sweat outline on a white pillow cover so no more white for me. ESP stopped this special order programme a few months after I ordered this one. Bummer. 

The sound of white noise

I have not played this for a good half year. I'm trying to figure out which replacement pickups should be in there. Recent sale events saw some DiMarzios & Bare Knuckles with significant price cuts but I'm not a fan of those despite the temptations.

This one caught my attention & there's no turning back. A Custom Shop piece with Seymour's signature; must be my lucky day.

So the entire Seymour Duncan line up: Custom Shop Crazy VIII (B)/ Classic Stack Plus (M)/ Distortion (N). The white middle pickup was intentional & the control knobs together with the selector tip were given the white treatment as well. I made a big decision to leave the tone control unconnected for a wide open tone. It's that special consideration for this guitar in making it a little different from the rest. Some tone appraisals soon.

Re-strung with Sfarzo's 5109 set of 9s. Sfarzos are not sold off the shelf here, bought this online.

Ready to annihilate everything that gets in the way. Sort of. 😎

Gen white

On the final day of May, when everyone had been bewitched by my absence, I went to fetch this home. Nothing special, just an Ibanez Genesis RG550 in white. It's something I've played before, accustomed with, yet enchanted once more.

The first wave headstock without the 'RG Series' label on it had always been my preferred design- less cluttered, more elegant.

I'm now oblivious to the the block neck-body joint. If you frequent the upper frets & feel that this feature gets in the way, it might be just you. I'm OK with no extra trimmings inviting me to the higher  fret registers because I can deal with it.

By the way, these default pickups have to go- I already have something for it even before its presence here.

That blue Ibanez guitar bag with a ripped handle- that one was used to bring this guitar home. 👍

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 :-)

White iron

The Ibanez Iron Label RG is actually available in white but it's not available here... *bummer*

Ibanez RG2228A

I have plans to get Ibanez's RG2228A- I already own the RG2228 but it's the EMG version. Having a set of passives in there would be good for me (not an EMG fan but they sound good in the RG2228) but this white version is regional exclusive, it won't be available here off-the-shelf... PFFTTT...

Power of three

Which three? Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, to perform here (@ Esplanade) on 5th Dec- part of the MOSAIC programme. Looking forward to this...

PS: Darling you are game for it, ya?

New finish: RG321

Another new finish for the RG321 this 2009: Weathered White.