Price watch (100)

Once again, like a broken record, it's not a good time to be buying Fender guitars. The latest Fenders to debut here are the Vintera II models, prices are depicted above. Fender is asking you to spend in excess of $2K for these. The most affordable American models, the Performer, are listing for $2,249. The B-stocks & those on promos; you can get these for less. Notice how they hyped the V II models to be limited edition / roadworn. These are terms to fall back on to justify the figures. We know these mean very little when it comes to playability & tone. Then they will tell you it's different. 

A reasonable expectation here is the corresponding increase in performance value with regards to increasing price tags. It need not be exponential or even proportional for that matter, just a manifestation of enhancement of sorts but this remain elusive & subjective at best. Then again, why expect such favours when we know added costs are the product of taxation, flailing exchange rates & other extras that force prices up. Is anyone interested in keeping prices down so that legit musicians / players / enthusiasts can afford a Fender? Ironically, back in the day, Leo Fender conceived instruments that were  affordable alternatives to you-know-what. Provisional philosophy doesn't go hand in hand with economics, it seems. Not when the guitar manufacturer exists as a commercial entity first & foremost. Which guitar manufacturer exists with no profit-making in mind, yes?

Pics: Fender

GSG

Monday, spending time with an unglam guitar - Grass Roots G-SG-STD. I love this one because the neck's a little wider than a Gibson. Come to think of it, it feels like a 2015 / 2017 Gibson model where the neck was indeed a little wider.

Of course, an obligatory re-string because it was last played in July & I don't remember wiping the strings down. We will be seeing lesser Edwards / Grass Roots guitars which bear resemblance to a Gibson due to copyright infringement issues, of course.

Stoptail

Looks like it's a busy time of the year over at the PRS camp. Not too long ago, we saw the SE CE Standard 24 taking headlines in the value-for-money consideration & now, the same guitar is offered in a hardtail version. I've played the previous incarnation in the stores here & it was a serious contender in terms of playability & affordability. I was also of the opinion that the default pickups require no replacement if there's a decent amp to supplement the tone. The hardtail version here is slightly more affordable than the whammy version which is already a steal at $659.

Pic: PRS

Another distortion

This was the last item I bought at Woodworks before they bowed out of the scene. This pedal was one of the leftovers because prior to closing, Davis GMC took over the Blackstar distributorship. If you are new to this brand name, the ISF control there is a voicing control. Blackstar offers both American & British type of distortion voicings & these are available on board the amplifiers. Despite being orange, it sounds quite removed from BOSS' DS-1. It sounds a little more intense but not quite the metal type of intensity. This is also one of those pedals whose LEVEL control adds quite a bit of intensity as opposed to merely making the pedal more audible. I have a few Blackstar pedals, one of which had been gladly handed over to brother Ijau over at West Malaysia.

Godzilla

As Japanese as it gets, this is a Fender (Japan) Godzilla Strat. Looks to be a limited run so don't expect it to appear in the stores here unless there's an exclusive arrangement for its appearance. Nothing too exclusive in terms of specs less those Godzilla graphics. I'm not too keen on this one because it's black.

Pic: Fender Japan

Chleo SE

Due to its unattainable price tag (to many of us), PRS has released the SE version of Herman Li's Chleo signature model. But it's still unaffordable (more on this later). Unlike the core version, the SE take is a bolt-on affair & sports a Floyd Rose 1000 bridge. The core is a set neck make with a GOTOH whammy bridge.

PRS did a bulge design for the core to avoid interfering with the flame top aesthetics which actually backfired; players claim these look like bulging genitals under a blanket. Right. The SE version simply appointed metal plates (rear mounted so the screws aren't visible from the front) which are definitely a less costly construction approach. Personally, I find the SE version more appealing. The input jack is more functional as it is visible unlike the core version, according to players, require a certain degree of estimation when plugging in is concerned. 

The SE Chleo lists for USD1,999 & makes it the most expensive SE in the mean time. To the manufacturer, this is justified in view of the signature affiliation & exclusive specifications but it goes against the PRS philosophy of affordability, first & foremost. When the Santana SE debuted (the initial wave of SE models), these were downright affordable. Putting things into chronological context, the SEs had been affordable over time despite price hikes along the way but the Chleo here is a spit into the face of the average Joe who are indeed looking forward to embrace this guitar's SE version but that price tag is downright unreasonable. In any case, PRS is not the only commercial entity to slowly make their affordable models more costly; Squiers & Epiphones are manifesting unaffordability as well. 

Pics: PRS