Horse

Greetings everyone, the year of the Horse is upon us. Blessings & good health all round - huat ah!!

Come to think of it, every year is the year of the hoarse (in this country). People are slowly but surely getting trampled on by inflation, unaffordable housing (the suthorities here now refers to this as attainable housing), immigrant influx & snobbish politicians among others. The economy is ailing but the government wants us to believe otherwise by announcing a budget surplus. Excess here does not translate into a good thing without considering other pertinent factors. Also, do note the pathetic performance of our SGD against the MYR which is a glaring indicator of economic asphyxiation. No offence to our Malaysian friends - we are still friends - just announcing the anxiety in this country which should be addressed (& fixed) but the authorities chose distraction instead. 

Oh well, the year turns regardless of the circumstances. We take care of ourselves first & foremost but don't blame us if we go after those who make our lives miserable. 

Mode!

To me, the new Ibanez Mode basses are clear winners in the 2026 lineup. The headstock was clearly derived from the AZ design. The rest of the features borrowed heavily from Fender's J-Bass; there's no hiding this. The 1000 & 1600 sport an alder body with the former featuring a poplar top. The 1300 is ash. Despite hinting at classic derivatives, Mode basses feature 24 SS frets. Over the years, I've noted that Ibanez don't hold back when it comes to their basses. In fact, the more adventurous designs & tweaks were manifested by basses instead of guitars. Please be informed that 5 & 6-string versions are available (at Swee Lee) as well.

Pics: Ibanez

Cort's headless

Cort has joined the headless endeavour. Depiceted above are the GT6TR (vibrato / HSS / regular frets) & the G6MS (fixed bridge / HH / partial fanned frets). Pickups are in-house models & frets are tall medium jumbo SS version for both. The thing to take note here is the neck profile; it's an Ergo V neck. Once it gets here, we will know if these are trying to rival the Strandberg version. The last time I tried a type of V-profile, it's just lethargy inducing.

Pics: Cort

Modern Morten

Was expecting an outright signature model but Mark Morten opted for a tweaked LP Modern with a quilt top. He's definitely not the first to utilize a Les Paul for heavy music but's it's good to know there are still players out there who embrace the Les Paul for its sheer thumping bottom end.

Pic: Gibson

JB_J 50th

As an ardent follower of all things Seymour Duncan, I am happy to see the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the JB & Jazz pickups. These might not be everyone's cup of tea, especially if you are from the DiMarzio camp. The JB is an in-your-face pickup when paired with the right kind of amp drive / gain. From a personal perspective, it dislikes pedals or any excessive processing. The jazz here hold its own when it comes to clean tones but it's also a closet avenger when it comes to driven tones. Am I buying this commemorative set? There seems to be no news of a trembucker version for the JB, so...

Pic: SD

Ibanez 2026: Why bother?

There were a few 'new' acoustic models in the Ibanez 2026 releases. These two are mentioned here because they are available in the stores already. Every year, we see Ibanez churn out non-solid top acoustics, the ALT & TCY models are examples. We can understand how the mere outline of these instruments would heighten the performer's presence & a solid top construction isn't something we can tell visually.

When you consider buying an acoustic guitar, what matters to you - tone, features, playability? When it comes to acoustic, more often than not, the tonal quality plays a very important part in making the guitar desirable. It's meant to be played unplugged & tone is everything. A gaudy finish, an outlandish outline & fancy fretboard inlays, among others, simply cannot save a bad acoustic tone. Yes, Ibanez has other acoustic models in its lineup that offer some immaculate tones this side of Martin & Taylor. However, those are touching the upper midrange price points, ofter beyond the reach of the average Joe. I guess this approach to acoustic guitar offerings work for Ibanez, otherwise they won't continue making visually attractive guitars that sound bland & get away with it.

Pics: Ibanez