BT @ DGMC

Just a price update - The Orange Baby Terror is now in stock @ Davis GMC ($299). Reminder - this is an amp head, you'll need speakers to make it work. Also, it's solid state technology.

Pic: TGM

Price watch (108)

Just look at these ridiculous listings. Once again, I'm sure everyone would agree that upgrade is a subjective term when tagged onto musical instruments. Our concept of an upgrade might be different from what others understood it to be. Inflating a Squier in view of such upgrades is a push factor as opposed to attracting potential buyers. $800 for an upgraded Mustang? Look harder & you'd find Fender (not Squier) Mustangs listing for less.

That $2K Mustang reeks of ignorance & possibly desperation. The details of the listing did not disclose the 'revamp'. It's 'hardly use in good condition' but it's 'not for fussy buyer'. We have other listings to consider which are neither confusing nor contradictory, yes?

Japan-inspired

Fender calls this the Japan-Inspired series. I have absolutely no idea what those terms are supposed to conjure; is there a unique Japanese inspiration out there going into these guitars exclusively? After reading the specs, I did not see any such inspirational inputs that went into these guitars leading to the term used to describe this series. Whatever, Fender.

Pic: Fender Japan

Kala U (4)

Kala made it a point to round off the edges of the Wave Baritone ukulele for maximum playing comfort. I look forward to see more of such ergonomic design considerations from the manufacturer. I have no idea if such simple consideration would entail some significant costs in production. The outcome here implied a simple procedure but I'm not a luthier so I have no idea what processes were involved.  

It's a wrap

There are 1001 reasons out there as to why people do a wrap over for their tune-o-matic + hard tail bridge assembly. Some cited added sustain & tension issues for doing so - good for them. My personal reason is depicted above; the wrap over method prevents the strings from coming into contact with the tune-o-matic bridge because the break angle is less acute. If strings come into contact with that tune-o-matic bit, there would be some funky buzzing happening which would highly likely annoy you. So, there.

In brief: Ibanez 540PIII

This 540PIII should have been the re-intro of the moment save for the neck width detraction. I see where Ibanez is coming from in terms of production economy; the 540PIII neck sports a generic Genesis Series reverse headstock neck to avoid the need for manufacturing a period accurate 540PIII neck. Nevertheless, another good one for the catalog.

LIKES

• fast neck
• upper fret access
• strap-on balance
• overall fit and finish

DISLIKES

• bridge pickup
• discomfort (sitting down)
• Chrome input jack while other hardware are black

Because the Genesis Series guitars are Japanese but not in the same reverence as its Prestige / J-Custom counterparts, there is actually no point for the manufacturer to replicate the 45mm nut width for nostalgia's sake. It would mean other cost entailments, the least of which would be the inclusion of a wider top lock unit to accommodate this width difference. There's already a reverse headstock neck in the Genesis production line - the RG565 / RG565R - Ibanez simply used this one for the 540PII. The current generation of Ibanez enthusiasts wouldn't mind but the purists would scream heresy. 

The 540PIII is a warped body version of an RG, that's how I see it. Warped in a good way, definitely. In fact it's visually pleasant. The not so pleasant part would be the body outline inducing some discomfort while playing sitting down. It's that lower curvature proximate to the electronic controls; this bit here got trimmed to compensate the extended treble side cutaway. However, things get interesting if you play this one strapped on; it's suddenly one of the most comfortable body shape you've come across. Adding on to the fast neck, do take note of the more generous upper fret access. The 540PIII's block heel joins the neck at the 21st fret as opposed to the RG's 17th. 

Last but not least, if you are the type who prefer keeping the default pickups in tact, that bridge humbucker, to me, is merely a get-by unit; neither special nor a dud. The neck counterpart on the other hand is above expectations especially for distortion applications. 

Final rating: 89%

Ibanez 540PIII

• available at Swee Lee ($1,749)
• bag not included

Pic: Ibanez