PRS: S2 Standards

We end October with the above newbies- PRS' S2 Standards.

Yes, these are new S2s with the 'Standard' monicker. The manufacturer had decided to introduce them at the twilight of 2014 instead of making them 2015's freshies- interesting. It seems that these S2s are merely ones with pickguards as everything else remains the same. Those push-pull switching options were there in the S2 semis so they are nothing new. Let's hope there are some differences in tone (because those are still PRS' No. 7 humbuckers in there) to be heard.

Charity re-string

For some kid. Non-chargeable. I left my string winder at home, darn...

Ibanez: Grooveline 6

Ibanez's Grooveline bass has gone 6-string. It's massive unlike the Soundgear series but it will have its applications, especially for jazz cats looking for a deep, thumping tone. It seems that bass chaps get less flak for having more strings in their instruments, unlike guitar players.

Ibanez: RG421RW

Just taking note of what we won't be seeing here- the regional exclusive Ibanez RG420RW/ RG421RW. That rosewood laminate top is a real looker. OK maybe not as stunning as a flame maple top but it makes the instruments look flushed from one end to the other.

Greenchild: Tribus drive

My kind of pedal- all 3 drive inducing effects in a single serving. I'm a distortion person, anything clean & I'd be easily put off especially when my playing style demands utmost sensitivity. Overdrive means I am assured of some top end polish across the frequencies & the boost section ensures the distortion & drive would bite when the need arises. All 3 activated simultaneously- it helps define the type of player you are. One more time- the Green Child Tribus Drive is my kind of pedal! Question: Will it ever appear in stores here? Hmmm...

Gibson: Les Paul Jr (2014)

Gibson's Les Paul Jr has more than 50 years of alluring history to back its existence. It was conceived to be an affordable alternative back then but it stood its own along the way, thanks to the no-frills livery of its single pickup, slab body & binding-free approach. The LP Jr today retained its identity as a simple menace but the bridge was upgraded to a 'lightning bar' model, specifically, it features intonation ridges to aid just that- intonation ills (notice the bridge requires no slanted placements to address intonation issues). Also, the recent issues Gibson had with fretboard woods saw this guitar sporting a baked maple fretboard instead of a traditional rosewood make.

Whatever permutations the LP Jr. went through, the essence of a good-sounding & attractive instrument are present. The instrument was well made & showed more urgency in finishing less some scratch marks on the fretboard of my test model. Upon handling, it feels right by manifesting a good balance in both sitting down & strapped on positions. The balance was incredible. 

Then comes the tone- how many of us really understood where a P-90 pickup would take us? Is it supposed to conjure a little kick in single coil territory or is it meant to be a disguised manifestation of a proto-humbucker voicing? If you are still confused then the P-90 did its job; it's neither here nor there, it's living in its own turf. The P-90 or the soap bar pickup has a raunchy, gnarly tone which is unmistakably single coil-ish. If you turn the volume up, you can hear the rounder top end reminiscent of a full-fledged humbucker. In this guitar, the dog-ear P-90 dished out a balanced serving of protrusive top end as well as a deep thumping only a jazz purist would truly appreciate. The only limitation, tone-wise, is that the Jr sports only a single pickup so any variety you'd wish to concoct, it has to be in the form of a volume/ tone play. There are times we need a singular voicing to see us through & this is one of those tools out there to help us achieve that. The LP Jr is perhaps one of the go-to guitar for cleans you must try out in your lifetime. In the distortion realm, due to the P-90 nature, this guitar would be more appealing to punks but I had put it through some black metal & shred moments & it proved to be worthy. Do mind the hum, yes?

All in all, the LP Jr is one of the coolest to own for days when you stopped thinking too much & just want to get some ideas through. I must say that it's a costly one-trick pony but it won't be a costly mistake having one in your tone arsenal. Recommended.

Gibson: Les Paul Jr (ver 2014)

Availability: Swee Lee Co.

Price: $1,199 (bag included)

RIP: Jack Bruce

Just heard of Jack Bruce's passing. Cream wasn't a band of my time but this guy was legendary. RIP

Price cuts: Strymon @ SV Guitars

Today is the final day to enjoy the Strymon discounts happening at SV Guitars. Many are sold out at the various branches so if you interested in any one, please call up the stores to check stock (no point making a trip down to places only for them to be sold out):

• Marsiling: 63686586
• Peninsula: 63383371
• JCube: 66845310 

Squier: VM Baritone Jazzmaster

The Squier newbie: Baritone Jazzmaster (from its Vintage Modified series). Credit to Squier for:

1. Giving us a baritone option
2. That Antigua finish- I just mentioned this finish to someone just a few days ago

However, the single coils there are arguably unsuitable. There is a high chance of this being picked up by distortion mongers & those pickups won't do them good. So, maybe- just maybe- there might be a humbucking option in the works.

Selling: Seymour Duncan Power Grid distortion (Sold)

I'm more drive-inclined these days so my distortion units are all under review. Letting go of the ones which won't play a major role in my tone quest :-)

• Selling: Seymour Duncan Power Grid distortion
• Condition: 9/10
• Self-collect: CCK mrt stn
• No reservation/ trades
• Queries/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $69 (final)

Item SOLD :-)

Fender: Modern Player Dimension bass

Another adventure in the Chinese territory- the Modern Player Dimension bass. The Chinese origin always gets the flak even before getting started. If you wish to implore the fact that such instruments are actually disguised duds, then it's entirely up to you; there is no compulsion for embrace. However, upon a chance encounter, do not forget to acknowledge (no praises necessary) the fact that the MP Dimension bass is a well-made instrument through & through (Disclaimer: Test model is not always a true representation of the herd). What might be a little objectionable here is the fact that the Dimension bass manifests a neck diving encounter when played sitting down; we do note the scaled down body as opposed to the P & J basses. Strapped on, it's a different story.

Tone-wise, you won't hear a specific single coil affair coming from a 'Fender'; the pickup is a Triple bucker, it's inclining towards a Stingray affair, more than anything else. Then again, it's not an accurate inclination but it's in this territory & that would be a good reference. Another displeasure here is the fact that there's no tone control, you get a 5-way rotary selector manipulating the triple coil's various possible combo; from a compromised single coil to a real humbucking affair & everything else in between. Again, upon a chance encounter, so acknowledge the fact that this bass sounds contemporary & there's no hiding its move away from its immortal P & J siblings. Slap players looking for an affordable humbucking instrument would be rewarded with those deep but defined tones.

As far as I am concerned, the Modern Player series are very acceptable permutations of traditional Fender takes & they should be treated with respect. Dissenters out there would highlight the fact that it's a product from the Chinese Squier factory, one which had been re-labelled into a 'Fender'. That's absolutely true but its sheer goodness is present for your consideration. Recommended.

Fender: Modern Player Dimension bass

Availability: Swee Lee Co.

Price: $699

Referential, not preferential

My holiday adventure. Nothing new, really, just revisiting stuff that I'm not inclined to but do own for the sake of reference. I'm referring to EMG pickups as well as signature products.

I'm not an EMG fan (or fan of active pickups per se) but I make it a point to own EMGs. Despite the non-preference, I believe there is an application for EMG somewhere along the way. It's the reason why I crave to hear EMG at times & when that happens, whatever EMG tone I hear would be more of an acceptance than rejection. However, it's not something I would return to subsequently, it seems that the EMG tone is only a reference (for me).

This is the same mindset when I deal with signature products. I'm quite averse to signature guitars but not quite amps & pickups. The reason you see the EVH 5150III in this post. Despite being a signature amp, I am able to concoct my own voicing from it & it delivers what I want to hear & I don't accede to what it has in store for me to begin with- this is the wrong reason for buying stuff; you actually want to sound like the flavour of the moment. That's a big NO for me.

Tone Evidence

Having a ball of a time with my Evidence cable. They say there's good tone to be had in good cables & it's not a myth. I've been through many cables & they range from cheap complementary ones to some costly affairs but they are all worth trying. Evidence Audio are cable specialists, they make audio cables for audio applications & guitar cables are a fraction of what they do. I personally recommend this to players who plug straight into their amps with nothing in between. You can actually hear good tones coming out from your amps & by that you'll hear much clarity & details. I absolutely love how the amp's drive tones get a kick out of it akin to adding a boost type pedal in the chain but there's nothing extra here to lug around, just the cable per se. I currently own the 3m version which I think is quite overkill for domestic applications so I look forward to acquire something shorter & I'd like to try the L-plug type for some guitars I have here which would benefit from this arrangement (eg: Gibson SG). Here's a recommendation list of other brands you should check out if you are into a pedal-free set up, just the guitar & amp (in no particular order of merit):

• Free The Tone
• Lava
• Mogami
• Monster

PS: Thank you Lisa the cat for being a willing model :-)

Holiday greetings...

Holiday greetings to all blog readers & friends. It's a much needed mid-week break for many of us so sit back & unwind, more importantly, play guitar. It's a whole week's worth of break over at West Malaysia- awesome!

Way Huge: Saucy Box

An interesting release by the Way Huge chaps- the Saucy Box. It's an overdrive with a mixture of cleans in the signals so it's like a 2-in-1 deal with lesser knobs. On my to-check list :-)

Gibson: SGJ14 Duncanized

I'm not a Gibson pickup fan so the default '61 humbuckers in this SGJ14 made way for the Seymour Duncans you see here: JB (bridge)/ Pearly Gates Plus (neck).

JB & Distortion are winners in Gibsons. I find the SG benefits from a JB in the bridge because they are complementary; each has some midrange focus to manifest. The PG Plus wasn't made to sound smooth in the neck so the vintage character was quite absent in there, ditto the woman tone upon dialing down the tone control. Everything sounds rather protrusive in this guitar so I need not worry having some muddy notes in there.

Once again- thanks, Beez for the fine electronics handling :-)

Bacchus: BST-1M

Once again, I'm not one to turn away from guitars at the entry end of the price range especially if it's of credible background.

The Bacchus brand name prides itself at being copies- no hiding this. However, they are not people who extend themselves into the realms of piracy. We note their very own brand name at the headstock.

The BST-1 you see here is a Strat copy with a very familiar Strat outline, ditto the tone. The BST-1 offers the beginner very good-value-for-money in terms of QC; above-average to say the least. The Strat-like twang comes courtesy of the pickups & the very appeal of guitars in this price bracket is arguably tone-dependent. Let's be clear that the trio of single coils in this instrument are in-house units. They are not as smooth as you'd expect from a set of vintage Fender electronics but at the distortion end, they are worthy. Ditto the cleans; absolute cracker for the neck & middle pickup but the bridge counterpart sound a little harsh, quite devoid of vintage goodness. All in all, the BSTs (rosewood fretboard version available) are what I'd recommend to enthusiastic beginners who would reserve a Fender at their later playing stages & would want a deserving guitar in the mean time. Personally, it's a winner.

Bacchus: BST-1 M

Availability: Davis GMC

Price: $190

Selling: BOSS DA-2 (SOLD)

Selling my DA-2. Virtually unplayed :-)

• Selling: BOSS DA-2 Adaptive Distortion
• Condition: 9/10
• No trades/ reservations
• Self-collect: CCk mrt stn
• Confirmation/ queries: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $79 (final)

Gibson: SGJ14 (owner's take)

The newbie here with me is Gibson's SGJ ver 2014. It's not a costly affair, you can get one for less than $800.00. The reason I bought one was to keep an eye on the manufacturer's mid-priced offering. We do know too well that 'Gibson' has no entry level offerings in its catalog. If you wish for one, you have to dig into the Epiphone range which are quite detached from what Gibson is dishing out.

Here it is, a commemorative 12th fret marker which is, quite frankly, undesirable. It means nothing to the general players & collectors alike. In years to come there won't be a marked appreciation in value for these instruments for a simple reason- they are not limited edition. It'd be different if Gibson released a pool of special editions, souped them up a little to make them really special (read: Demand vs supply).

Equally undesirable are these tall grip-type knobs. It's a positive intention but do they solve any access-related issues? Simple answer- no. They don't free any real estate in that vicinity unlike the hat-type knobs where the tapered nature actually create more space for the fingers.

The 'J' models are affordable Gibson instruments. Affordability means cutting corners especially for big names like Gibson. There's obviously cost savings here as the guitar is devoid of a final clear-coat. The SGJ14 is a very ordinary guitar & priced as such. A guitar like this would signal if the manufacturer had gotten their fundamentals right because there were no extras to begin with.

PRS: Archon 25W

Third amp update in 3 days... but here it is- PRS' Archon amp offered in a 25W combo. Many other manufacturers have included an attenuator option & PRS does the same, letting you switch this down to 13W should the need arises. The manufacturer included a 12" Celestion G12-75T in there so the distortion intent is clear.

Laney: IRT30

In another goodness-in-smaller-serving news, Laney now offers its flagship Ironheart amp in a 30W combo. It's a 1x12 take so you get a full-sounding amp with no compromise in tone. It's also one of those mean-sounding amps with lush cleans so you get the best of both worlds & that's your money's worth, right there. More importantly, the attenuator effect's kept in tact so you can unleash your distortion fury at lower settings. Another bedroom winner here :-)

EVH: 5150III 1X12 combo

You can now consider the EVH 5150III amp in a 50W 1x12 combo format. This recent addition is a beast because the manufacturer claims you'd hear a roaring 4x12 despite having a 1x12 in front of you (so it's that convincing, eh?). The driver on board is also a Celestion but it's yet unspecified at press time. The absolute plus here is the fact that there's an attenuator in there which lets you scale the wattage down to a mere1W- an absolute winner with many bedroom guitar heroes.

Gibson: Les Paul Studio Hot Rod

Yet another newbie by Gibson & it's something not prohibitive- a Les Paul Studio. If you don't already know by now, the Studio is a trimmed down version of a Standard & stripped off all cost-inducing binding. So that's the Studio in a nutshell. The Hot Rod you see here is Gibson's interpretation of what happens to the studio after being given some advancements. The body was thickened to match a standard. Pickups- hotter pair of 500T/496R. The fretboard's a blank- my kind of fretboard!

However, take a look at the fretboard material; would there be anyone out there doing a victory dance & badly wanting a Les Paul with a composite fretboard after reading this? Also, the those pinstripes on the body- that's, em... quirky. I might consider this one if they have left the body top alone. Something to ponder- why pay for a Studio with 'upgrades' if a bona fide Studio is fine with you to begin with? Another shot in the foot , it seems.

Ogre: Thunderclap

It is forgiven if you dismiss this as an over-sized belt buckle or an attention-grabbing ashtray for that matter but this is a legitimate distortion pedal by Korea's Ogre brand. No traditional control knobs here but spiky horns as controls instead. A rocker-type switch doubles up as the jaw of this hideous creature & those LED eyes- you know what they are for.

If the Ogre crew thinks bewitching players with looks exclusively will win them fans then I'm here to tell you to stay away from gimmicks. This one adds considerable weight to the pedalboard (flashback Line 6 Uber Metal- you think that's heavy? Please handle this one) & it doesn't come cheap. But I'm also here to tell you to cast aside skewed perceptions pertaining to  looks because the tone on board is worth it.

Despite featuring only bass & treble controls, the overall tone isn't acutely scooped. This gets my thumbs up. The volume control is a beast. It lets loose some ferocious distortion at upper end settings & this is where I pay homage to satisfaction- an imposing sweep to say the least. With many distortion pedals out there, it seems that 'distortion' per se implies no obligations to manifest intensity. We have the BOSS DS-1 to refer to for this understanding. The Thunderclap here gives you some traditional voicings because that's how distortion is sold- a harder interpretation of the overdrive without going overboard- then it maneuvers itself into harder, thumping territory without being metal & predictable. The plus factor is indeed the Thunderclap's very amp-like gain sweep. Dialing up more dirt here means it gets more extreme while staying appealing. You won't hear that pointed treble response manifested by pedals at the budget end. This is the very reason why the thunderclap is just worth it. 

How things are at the in/ out access points. Neat top access, all laid square for your connection pleasure.

This is quirky & it's gonna get to some people but it's a very functional application; the battery access is merely a rubber cap. My advice to you is a simple one- do not add any more weight to the pedal, run it through a power supply.

All in all, an average Ogre pedal isn't easy on the wallet, no doubt about that. There's this real danger of buying it for its looks if it's any cheaper but it's all about the tone. These guys don't get away with wimpy tones, it's some serious distortion here & it warrants some good money for that. Simply put, it's a deserving, boutique-type distortion, regardless of that somewhat immature presentation :-)

Ogre: Thunderclap distortion

Availability: SV Guitars

Price: $320

Buy Ibanez = Watch Satch

If you purchase any Ibanez guitars at Swee Lee by 16th October 2014, you'd stand a chance to win a free ticket to watch Satch shred his stuff here in SG- 4 more days to go...

Pic: Swee Lee Co.

Gibson: LP 7

Here it is, another new one by Gibson- The 7-string Les Paul Classic.

While it is rather ripe for Gibson to be doing a Les Paul take for a 7-string, the manufacturer had decided to preserve the traditional scale length of 24.75" which screams 'wrong'. If you've handled a 7-string guitar by other manufacturers, majority of them avoided going below the 25" mark on accounts of string tension practicality. Maybe, the good people at Gibson deem the default LP scale length to be suitable for this application, we are certainly not privy of this consideration. That singlecut design will also pose an issue pertaining to accessibility (more so with an additional string in there) so this instrument will have a niche appeal to some of us with rather long fingers. Of late, we see the LP classic sporting only 3 control knobs & that's perpetuated here. The flick switch is a booster unit, activating up to 15db of push should the need arises.

The desire for a 7-string Les Paul is as scant as the need for a Floyd Rose locking bridge in one; it reeks of desperation rather than a genuine attempt to adapt to the circumstances. I would personally acknowledge the limitations of the LP when it comes to a 7-string application rather than enforce its existence. Then again, I am not Gibson, I don't know what's good for the brand name, yes? *roll eyes*

Fender: American Standard Series... a little expansion

The good people at Fender have announced some additions to the American Standard series. The manufacturer promises the unwavering build & quality of the good 'ol American Standard with some fine revisions. I'm attracted to these 3:

The Dimension bass has gone HH with a pickup selector option. We are looking at more Fender basses withe selector options & it's a good thing because bass geeks can now switch pickups on the fly & won't be second fiddle to guitar dweebs in this aspect.

The Strat receives a dual humbucking treatment (not the first time, though) but the humbucker might be acquired taste for some; it's inclined towards the vintage tone but a more full sounding take.

The other dual humbucking newbie I would like to check out has to be this Tele; finally, there's a full humbucking Tele in the American Standard range. It seems that the manufacturer had always kept a single coil in there but this time it's a full-sized humbucker in both positions. 

Thank goodness, there are absolutely no robot tuners in any of these darlings. Top marks to Fender this round.

EHX: Pitch Fork

Electro-harmonix has this Pitch Fork pedal out & it's a pitch shifter/ harmonizer affair. We've been through that already, haven't we? However, the PF has an expression pedal option so you can turn one into a pseudo whammy unit. I'm a little skeptical when it comes to battery operations but I should reserve that for a later appraisal. Some sound clips:

ESP: Javier Reyes

Here's another addition to the ESP endorsers list: Javier Reyes. Ibanez, Carvin & now ESP. Please reserve judgments pertaining to his very brief stint with Carvin, the real issues at hand were not privy to us. We should respect the courage to move on in the face of adversity. It also implies the very fact that big names won't guarantee anything, so what if it works out for others?

Poll: Guitar & bass ownership

Greetings, everyone. Thank you, once again for taking part in the recent poll. It's interesting to note that many guitar players own basses as well. I'm one of them & bass ownership came much later in my playing days. Here're some implications:

1. The recording enthusiasts. Many of us are bedroom recording champions. We own several instruments to attend to our recording needs- guitars, drums, synths, basses, percussions, etc. We may not be specialists in every department but we do things ourselves for maximum satisfaction.
2. The need for perspective. Many guitar dweebs can relate to this; we need another stringed instrument to offer fresh perspectives to ideas. We also believe that the bass can offer us more finger dexterity due to that longer scale length.
3. Teaching music. Some of us are music teachers, we own the bass to accompany our students' guitar parts.
4. We collect. Em, that's right, some of us buy for keep's sake. It's that simple.

In this light, the stores out there would do well to (maybe) offer guitar-bass bundles at a more competitive, bundled price. It'd be wise to also include the bass counterpart when a dealer introduces a certain guitar brand. These are some suggestions of course. I'm seeing things from both the buyer & seller perspectives. As always, I advocate for a win-win situation :-)

Fractal: FX 8

Some of us had been waiting for this with bated breath; a Fractal floor unit (because we can't do rack units - downright impractical for home use per se). But here's the let down- it's a 'multi-effects pedalboard', to quote the manufacturer. This means all those menacing amp simulators are omitted, hopefully for a later development.

Why would you want a Fractal in the first place? For multi-effects application? That's not what made the Axe-FX units so monumental to begin with. Players are after that amp voicings in there, many of whom would readily give up their actual amps for this substitute. You'd say amp simulation technology are in numerous existence these days; yes, but they don't sound like a Fractal. Upon hearing/ reading this release I felt rather betrayed (personally, at least) because it's like releasing a Les Paul without a cutaway, a Strat without single coils, A Marshall without a Brit-voicing, A MESA Dual Rectifier without overdrive- you get the drift. I was looking forward to purchase this as a tribute to reputable digital technology but it's effectively off my list now.

Veelah: To go (Spruce)

Greetings, acoustic fans. Here's a quickie & it's about this little wonder- Veelah's To Go travel-size acoustic.

Scaled down guitars are often reduced to children's tinkering supplements; they aren't worthy enough for adults, especially for those working professionals. Then Ed Sheeren came along & proved to the world that it's a matter of preference & a timely reminder that the guitar is a musician's tool first & foremost. The type of guitar in question appeals to personal taste.

Veelah's To Go here is the spruce top version. For this amount of cash, that solid top inclusion is a respectable move. The test model is virtually flawless in terms of wood work- check out that carved rosette! Hardware-wise the tuners are above-average in-house units which do not cause a chronic neck dive.

What do you expect from a travel-size acoustic? A jumbo-type bottom end? Dreadnought resonance? These are impractical expectations. What the To Go guitar has to offer is a sweet acoustic tone, very clear & focused in terms of definition & that all important top end which are rightfully offset by the mahogany sides & back- nothing too bright & juvenile. It's something you don't mind hearing in the midst of song-writing. All the goodness with a complementary bag to boot. I'd say, if you are looking for that guitar to place in that corner of your room at the ready should you feel inspired to play, this one should be considered. Thanks, Mike (SV Guitars) for the heads-up.

Veelah: To Go (Solid spruce top)

Avaialbility: SV Guitars

List: $199 (bag included)

Pic: SV Guitars

Eid greetings

Eid-ul-Adha greetings to all Muslim friends & blog readers. It's time to reflect on our sacrifices if we've not done so lately. Part of my great sacrifice is accumulated here in this blog- lots of time & effort to update stuff in the name of awareness (sometimes the entries are too personal- that, I'm aware). Thank you for your support & patience :-)

Gibson 2014- some stuff (sharing content)

I have here with me a Gibson SGJ14, a 2014 model, of course. This is how short the tenon is in the cavity.

Moving on to the fretboard, that's how pale & dry it is (against a treated portion, 10th fret onwards). *roll eyes*

Selling: Gibson '61 pickups

These Gibson '61 pickups were removed even before the guitar was plugged in.

As labelled, a '61 model for both bridge & neck.

• Selling: Gibson '61 humbuckers (zebra finish)
• Mounting screws included
• Selling as a pair
• No reservations/ trades
• Self-collect: CCK mrt stn
• Queries/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Condition: 9/10
• Price: $140 (final)

Chris Letchford: Lightbox

Chris Letchford is half the guitar duo of Scale the Summit, an instrumental monument, I would say, with no obligations to ride the current  bandwagon. This is his solo instrumental release & we'd expect someone of this standing in terms of guitar ability, to extend, expand & explore the guitar with distortion in tact but heck no. This is a real showcase of guitar mastery where one abandons one's comfort zone & just go with belief. Chris Letchford performed his masterworks abosolutely clean with his STS equipment. You'd think a jazz hollow body would suit this environment better but just listen to the immense talent & absolute command involved:

Selling: DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 (SOLD)

This one has a touch of fuzz to it at higher gain settings.

• Selling: DOD Overdrive Preamp 250
• Condition: 9/10
• Box included
• 1mth +/- old
• No reservations/ trades
• Confirmation/ queries: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $89 (final)

Item SOLD :-)

Gibson 2015: Yes & no

Greetings, guitar fanatics :-)

We have slightly more than 90 days to go before saying farewell to 2014...

But the folks at Gibson are strutting their stuff. I'll cover more along the way but these 3 models featured here would suffice for now (top to bottom):

• LP Junior Singlecut
• LP Junior Doublecut
• LP Less +

The LP Jr gets special attention this 2015 with Gibson having 2 versions of it. We have P-90s for authenticity while getting a wider fretboard make for many of the models, the Jr included. This would be good news to many of us who are more inclined to the Super Strats that feature wider fretboards for finger gymnastics comfort. Take a closer look at the nut & you'll see metal- your eyes are not deceiving you. These are adjustable versions & should make our lives easier should we choose to go with thicker string gauges. Purists won't be too pleased, of course.

Another plus worth mentioning is the new rectangular hardcase. I find this very wise considering many of us would wanna stack our cases or place it upright. If you own the current hardcase, you'd understand the issue.

Alright, now moving on to the negatives (at least to me). The signature at the headstock- well, it's a commemorative label. That '100' there looks sooooooo... wrong. The featured LPs in this commemorative range are all equipped with the G-Force tuning system. Personally, I give it a thumbs down. It needs a rechargeable battery to operate (won't work at all without one) & it adds weight to the headstock. In any case, I will update the options (if any).

That's all for now, more to come for sure. Happy October, everyone :-)