Okubo & Swan

A couple of new signature models from the Kiesel Camp. The pink 7-stringer is the Marc Okubo model, the singlecut is a Will Swan model. Players from various musical backgrounds are embracing the Kiesel goodness. The Kiesel name offers unparalleled quality in terms of built & feel but may still not be the cup of tea for some of us. I recently met someone who's disappointed with his Kiesel experience not that he got a lemon but according to him, the guitar lacks 'depth' in terms of tone. Folks, if you are looking for a Les Paul-ish kind of deep, thick, bottom end, look away from the Kiesel range.

Pic: Kiesel

Acoustic up

We can agree that in the acoustic realm, Ibanez does not manifest a dominant presence in the market share. People are still into the big three here - Martin/ Taylor/ Takamine. However, we can also agree that Ibanez came a long way when it comes to all things acoustic. The ACFS580CE you see here is the highest in the tier & it's a quality instrument. 

The only thing that's holding you back from forking out good money for one is that under-whelming looks. That aside, an instrument's real forte are performance delivery & tone to die for, regardless of what makes the instrument. The ACFS580CE here has solid appointments (top/ sides/ back) & an important inclusion for all you percussive unplug-ers, Ibanez now includes a block contact pickup to capture all your knocks, taps & scratches which are not fully manifested by the piezo unit. Thomas Leeb emphasized the importance of such a pickup when he was here as a Park ambassador. It's kinda costly if you wish to have one in your guitar so the new Artwood Fingerstyle collection by Ibanez paves the way for such considerations. Might just check these out once they get here.

PICS: Ibanez

Selling: Old Glory (SOLD)

As mentioned yesterday, one more on the to-go list. Nothing hateful about this one, just that it doesn't bring out the best in me.

• Epiphone: Old Glory Les Paul
• 9/10 condition, case included
• Self-collect: CCK mrt stn
• Query/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• No reservations/ trades
• Price: $690 (final)

Item SOLD 😅 (29-2-20)

Selling: Mooer 008 (SOLD)

One more for the goodbye list. A simple pedal to emulate an American high gain amp voicing. An effective one at that. There will be more to come.

• Mooer 008 (Cali-MK3), amp emulation pedal
• 9/10 condition, box included
• Self-collect: CCK mrt station
• Query/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• No reservations/ trades
• Price: $70 (final)

Item SOLD 👍 (29-2-20)

Typing

So the new Kiesel is a Type X. I was trying to spec out a V220 last year & had a query sent to them in November about some pickups configurations which was attended to but delayed. That was a good delay indeed because the Type X was released on Black Friday with an introductory discount. As I am a boring person with limited interest in an instrument's visual aesthetics, the choices were down to just this plain blue finish with a blank maple fretboard. 

OK so the roasted maple neck was a free add-on. This version looks darker than my Holdsworth version but they are both equally comfortable for my playing style. Counting from Black Friday itself till its official delivery date just last week, this one took a little too long but Jeff Kiesel pre-empted buyers that he was dishing out the discounts first before embarking on any actual production because the NAMM '20 instruments were on the priority list so it was all good.

Since the local currency here weakened against the USD just last weekend, it's gonna be a while before I purchase something from State side again.

Epi jack

Spent last evening addressing poor connectivity in my Old Glory Les Paul. The input jack kept crackling & reducing power to the amp making my distortion sound very wimpy. The contact spray treatment didn't really cure my woes, it went well briefly. So out came the screwdriver to see what's the real bother & saw some oxidation in the input jack tunnel itself. I resorted to physically polishing the affected area & that was the remedy. Everything was back to normal thereafter. 

Taking this opportunity to show you the Epiphone pride extending into the instrument's input jack but I have a feeling that this component won't last the miles. Anyway, we know there are other more durable, lasting options out there so that etched Epiphone label speaks nothing about quality. 

Selling: Ibanez ES-2 (SOLD)

If you've been a constant visitor to these pages, you'd know by now that I'm not a delay fan. I've been keeping this one only because it has one of the best analog delay tone I've come across & has extra features to heighten sonic interest along the way. It's in awesome condition & going for a good price:

• Ibanez: Echo Shifter ES2 (analog delay)
• 9/10 condition, velcro-free, box included
• Self-collect: CCK mrt station
• No reservations/ trades
• Query/ confirmation via e-mail
• Price: $115 (final, non-nego)

Item SOLD: 26th Feb 😎

G vs K

I am currently embracing a renewed belief for Gibson. My recent purchase episodes involved Gibson guitars & that's plain to see. I like them more now than before. There's a certain re-thinking happening at Gibson that's driving their product worthiness up. 

And then Gibson had to go after Kiesel.

That's right, folks. That's a recent development, just days ago & I was fortunate enough to watch/ listen to the breaking news during Jeff Kiesel's live telecast at FB. I have a feeling, the people behind this legal wrangling are not the people who chose to embrace product focus. I reserve further comments till the truth be told. But the way things are going, we won't know the truth; not from Gibson in the mean time.

I feel sorry for the myopic people who chose to re-instate this confrontational stance. In view of Gibson's Flying V & Kiesel's Ultra V, it's plain even for the layperson to see that both guitars are different. On the legal front, the Gibson camp is fighting this case on a semblance basis; they are trying to establish the fact that Kiesel's interpretation is a total cause for confusion with reference to  Gibson's on grounds of absolute similarity. If this argument stands then Jackson's version should be included for validity's sake. On the patent front, Jeff Kiesel had made it clear that the design was conceived in the '80s, a good span of time before Gibson had their version recognized by the law. Folks, in the court of law, some cases get thrown out on factual grounds & it's usually the rookie lawyers who fell for this.

Gibson is also contesting Kiesel's singlecut design (the SC). We know & well remember how that failed when Gibson went after PRS so the futility of this pursuit is rather clear. On that note (no pun intended), Jeff Kiesel once again made it clear that the SC went into production after the Gibson vs PRS debacle bit the dust. 

So there you have it; signs of desperation on the verge of futility. I really wish this didn't happen but hidden agenda suggests a thorn by Gibson's side. It might be something the new boss overlooked or thought he could shake off but proved to be more than a handful now. 

Kiesel: In

This might be my final purchase for 2020. The Swee Lee sale was responsible for sapping my funds away & it was a sizeable amount spent. On another note, this marked another bitter episode with FedEx. 

The instrument did not arrive as scheduled & I took time off/ cancelled a money-making appointment just to receive it. FedEx also failed to understand my query; I wanted to find out if there is a technical detail at their end that flags a change in scheduled delivery. This way, the recipient would, at the very least, reschedule personal appointments to facilitate the delivery of the item concerned. FedEx kept prompting me for details to help me check what went wrong. I'm not interested in what went wrong; it already happened, it could not be undone. I just need to know, if a hiccup happens, how can we be alerted? I see that this is too difficult for them to address. 

Classic catch

I had no plans to get anything from the recent Swee Lee sale except that Epiphone Viola bass for my dad; it was an easy decision. Maybe those stash of D'Addario & Harmony strings were part of the plan as well. But when they slashed prices by 40% on the final two days of the sale, some guitars in store were under my serious considerations. Inevitably, this early 2019 Les Paul Classic went home with me. I preferred a non-black option but choosers are losers during such times.       

Another blank truss rod cover treatment. 

I'm actually OK with these so called modern electronics. Those CTS embossed pot base plates remind owners they are worthy components in this rather crowded existence. I thought the tone taper is rather impressive & hope the magic came from those yellow capacitors there - look suspiciously like a pair of Mallories. 

I had a negative experience with Gibson's '61 humbucker in a Melody Maker. I guess the 61 needs a hefty body to make it sound, at the very least, useful. That's what is happening here, the '61 has that rather stinging midrange which I didn't hear from the '57s coupled with a good dose of bottom end thanks largely to the weight of the guitar. On that note, this guitar is heavy despite whatever body chambering that took place at the factory. 

A quick fretboard 'shower' & re-string. The default 9 - 46 strings were quite lifeless despite looking new so this DR set took over. There's something about the DR's rigidity that is so appropriate for angry music & that happened for about 30min or so before I got all sweaty & required a shower.  

Epi in

It's a brand new week & we begin with the news that the initial batch if Epiphone 2020 models are in.  I'm just gonna do some price comparisons here to get your considerations going.

It is also a reminder that there is now an Epiphone version of the current Gibson range. I have no idea if this is status quo with immediate effect but this is the current commercial strategy till further notice.

There are many more models on offer, I'm sure you are enterprising enough to check them out but I just wanna highlight the LP Studio for this episode. Note that no LP Studios are offered below $2K now. This price here is the latest from the Curleigh management & it pretty much reflects where things are going in terms of prices. Yes, this is lesser than the final Juszkiewicz batch but it's still above the $2K mark. Why is this such a big deal? The LP Studio is the most affordable LP in the family. It's devoid of cosmetic extras yet performing on par with its more exorbitant siblings (no binding, no AAA maple flame top). Based on this consideration, the Studio should not be a deal-breaker for many of us in terms of price but it is definitely not the case as we know it. The Gibson camp is trying to say that their most affordable LP is still worth that much despite being stripped down. More importantly, they will tell you that the real affordable deal is the Tribute range, not the Studio. With the Epiphone 2020 range, we can now re-consider our options with regards to price but an Epi will never go into Gibson territory in terms of material treatment; sounding good & playing well are bonus manifestations.

So folks, for about a quarter of what you would fork out for a Gibson, you now have the Epiphone version to consider & it's worth the trouble keeping in mind that the Epis are now reflecting the Gibsons very closely. You get upgraded pickups, nut & pots for that asking price & selected models are featuring ebony fretboard as well. Things are looking good here but not for the models sporting the older, clipped dove wings design; these are destined for a clear-out in terms of desirability but we know they are not second fiddle in terms of performance & tone. 

So there you have it, hope it'll be a good start for many of us this week & one more time - stay vigilant, stay virus-free. Take care. 😊

Harmonious end

It's the final day of the Swee Lee sale & I managed to grab some worthy strings. There are some D'Addarios in there but majority of the haul are Harmony strings. You might not have heard this brand name but they are there in the history of guitars & all things related. They don't do much contemporary stuff & only your Dads or Granddads might know who they are. That aside, they make good, affordable strings.

Do you often drop by the Katong branch? Not so for me because it's out of the way; I'm from the West & this outlet is in the East. It's almost an end-to-end travel but if there's something worthy to check out, I'd gladly make effort to get there. The store's also a cozy corner with ambient lighting & I certainly enjoyed the less crowded atmosphere (especially on weekdays) & always took the opportunity to talk to the staff. More importantly, being in the Katong neighbourhood means making my way to the food center across the main road to enjoy a Mee Rebus quickie & a wonderful, warm serving of Cheng Tng. With the departure of Swee Lee, my trip to Katong would be few & far between. Thank you to store manager, Mr. Faizal & his motley crew, for the memories; my every trip there was worth it.

You know, it's testing times with the Covid-19 situation in the mean time. Stringent temperature screenings are in place in many venues. In the name of the greater good, please adhere/ comply to the requirements. If you are offended by the intrusion of these temperature checks, I'd suggest you stay home & make online shopping do your bidding. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to the Swee Lee Katong team who braved the insolent, foul-mouthed individuals at the store entrance for refusing to comply with the temperature screening & hand sanitizing exercise. It's a quick one at the door & you're free to enter the premises but your darn ego chose to make it difficult for yourselves & others. You know who you are, you belong in the gutters & should not mingle with society. 

On that note, have a good week ahead, everyone - stay vigilant & virus-free. 👍

Final 40

You read that right, folks. The final sale discount as stated above before Swee Lee Katong calls it off for good. Last day of sale: Sunday, 16th Feb 2020.

If you are in the market for a good, no-frills Les Paul, I'd recommend this LP Studio which is still available as at time of posting. After discount, it's slightly more than $1.4K & that's value for money considering how much Studios go for these days (blame it on the manufacturer, not the dealer). 

Free shipping/ delivery

Shout out to the good people at City Music for this consideration. Many of us are really restricted by all this COVID-19 anxiety & would want to avoid crowded places. You can now place orders with CM online & avoid such situations - enjoy free shipping/ delivery till end of May.

PIC: CM FB

Virginia

Fender's latest pride - Eric Johnson's Virginia Strat. It's a copy of that Strat which propelled Ah Via Musicom into immortality (Manhattan is still my favourite!). However, it's not a faithful repro.

It's more aparant from the rear; the maple neck has some scary flames there which wasn't the case for a typical '54 Strat in its original incarnation. It seems that Fender is continuing its strategy of re-visiting past glory & indirectly re-affirming its perpetual affirmation of old models. It's hurting the focus on the newer models, that's how I see it. Fender is competing on two fronts; against other manufacturers (who are increasingly versed in out-Fendering the manufacturer) & against themselves (the vintage stuff, it seems, are still unbeatable).

If you are interested in this one, folks, be informed that it's available as a standard production signature model & a Custom Shop version. These are only good for a year, none will be offered come next year.

PICS: Fender CS

End of (sale) days

We're into the final two days of Swee Lee's Katong branch sale. If you are planning to grab a worthy Ibanez, the ones in this end of the display are worth checking out; I cannot say likewise for the other Ibanez models in store. The condition of this lot is very good, close to an out of-the-box experience. 

Out of the eight, I've personally tried five of them & my highest accolade goes to the Andy Timmons model (Premium) for being both good playing & good sounding. It's slightly more than $1K after discount & I deem this value for money. I'm not an active pickup fan but that Luke Hoskin signature is really something tone-wise. The Fluence pickups are really good for metal stuff & high octane rock - about $1.3K after discount. 

Happy weekend in advance, everyone. Please stay vigilant & virus-free.

Raw ash

A gorgeous release by Fender; the Raw Ash Strat. Note the covered pickups.

Also available - the Tele version. Both are from the American Performer Series so they won't cost a fortune. Must say that I have a soft spot for ash Fenders... Hmm...

PICS: Andertons

No Standard

Nothing special here, just the typical LP Standard headstock.

But I've been wanting to do this all along since I did it with the other guitar. The truss rod cover is now a blank version. That 'Standard' label there invites pre-conceived opinions about the instrument. If it's a good one per se, it should be good regardless of the suggested tier it's from. I also do not wish to be seen as somebody who made it in life because I own a certain Gibson model from a certain tier. I believe in letting ability & commitment speak for my accomplishments. 

Fantom menace

Good news indeed - DiMarzio has humbucking P-90s, aw damn! It's called the Fantom P-90, available in three versions as seen above. Very glad that it's offered in a humbucker housing & that's what I'm gonna get once these are available here. P-90 fans would understand how this pickup iteration is second to none when it comes to midrange goodness. The issue with high gain applications is definitely its excessively noisy nature. I've been enjoying midrange goodness with Seymour Duncan's Phat Cat with a dash of noise gate but it somehow sucked some top end away. 

Epiphone: 2020 (4)

Not too many entries ago, I cited the remarkable increase in price for the LP Jr. That was the Gibson version. I'm definitely glad that there's an Epiphone version for 2020 & it will (hopefully) costs about a quarter of the Gibson's list price. 

Still on the P-90 front, the SG Special is also available. The reason why I am highlighting these models is because Epiphone actually went the extra mile to include these 'lesser' or student models in their new lineup. The utilitarian profile of these models would mean it remains viable in terms of sales & won't be sitting in the corner reserved for quirky, forgotten models.

Viola!

So my Dad benefitted from the first day of the Swee Lee Katong sale. He had always wanted one because it's that bass McCartney played & here it is, Epiphone's Viola bass. The Hofner version used to be available at Davis but it was way beyond his budget. 

The bass in question is in very good condition. There were no visible dings or hardware stains/ oxidation. This outline is definitely less appealing to the current generation of bassists & only die hard Beatles fans would get turned on by one. It is also a neck diver & would easily bother those playing it at home in a sitting down position; even my Dad acknowledged this anomaly. No such issues once it's strapped on. He's thoroughly happy with the simple design  of the instrument & how 'easy' it is for him to manage left hand movements. I had a hard time explaining to him the concept of a shorter scale length because his constant refrain was a shorter neck; neck length & scale length are two different matters but it's futile to be very technical with people who do not read into design concepts/ details. Whatever floats his boat.

This one was a gift to him despite me feeling the crunch at this time of the month. I seldom finance gear purchases with a credit card but this one had to be the exception. My Dad bought me only one piece of gear throughout my exploits with all things guitar; it was an Ibanez PF-100 acoustic which I sold off despite the sentimentality. It was a good entry level player but I always struggled handling a standard size acoustic body. It hinders my playing despite how good the instrument is per se. I have no idea if he harbours regret in forking out hard-earned cash for something which I seemingly wasn't grateful for. This sale event was my opportunity to return that kind gesture & I told him to bear with the bagless endeavour in the mean time. It's darn difficult finding a bag for short-scaled basses & this one didn't come with one & that's very unfortunate. A quick check with the Epiphone catalog showed a hard case especially conceived for this bass but it's beyond me why it's not a complementary item & requires a separate purchase. OK Dad, hope you're happy with this one.

Green T

My Tele itch continues. Took this one out to play - Fender American Standard Telecaster, the final year of production.

Actually, it's more than just taking it out to play; dead pot + selector. If you look closely, the selector is Mexican. The volume pot is a brass shaft CTS which means nothing when it comes to durability. I have lesser maintenance issues with Japanese pots.

Glad that the string retainer is this rounded version by default. 

A quick re-string & trying something different this time; a set of Thomastik Infeld 9 - 42.

No idea if you can see this clearly at your end but the strings are brass coated. Not cheap, USD18.99 a set so it's really not worth the trouble if no free shipping is offered. I bought this one last Easter when international shipping was free. If you like bright, very defined single note definition, do give them a try. Not for the heavy metal, riff inclined among us as things are generally bright-sounding. When everyone else is too pre-occupied with synthetic/ organic coating for their durable offerings, Thomastik Infeld did theirs with a metal coating so feel-wise, these hold their own. Will get back to you folks on matters pertaining to durability. I had these done last weekend so about a week of playing & sweating over them, everything's good I must say.

Swee Lee Katong: SALE

Happening tomorrow. *checks pocket* *realize it's not pay day (yet)* 🙊

PIC: Swee Lee

YY

This had been a quiet release. You won't even know it's a signature model as no significant quirks were made visible. Folks, this is the Ibanez YY10, Yvette Young's signature release based on the Talman model. The default design is so agreeable that no further mods were needed to accommodate her playing style. Pickups on board are Seymour Duncan's Five Two & that's a Wilkinson bridge there. 

Now that there's an established ambassador, it'd be interesting to see if this series of guitars deserve a re-issue/ re-introduction. 

Thank you

Dear blog readers, thank you for making this happen. At around 1700hrs today, this humble blog had the honour of being visited 3mil times. I'm grateful for all the support & constant return to check stuff out. Admittedly, some of the entries turned personal at times due to sheer frustration from gear indulgence. I have no idea how long more this could go on but rest assured that the passion for all things guitar still burns bright in me. Once again, thank you everyone for your time & belief.

Up (what else)

I'm here to highlight to you price differences of Gibson instruments & harbour no ill-intent towards the reputation of any dealers here. The objective is to provide a buyers' perspective to this nasty thing called procrastination. So OK, some of us are simply not in a position to buy when the price is right; believe me folks, it happened to me countless times. We have kids to feed, house to finance, car to maintain... stuff like that. 

Starting off with the Gibson LP DC Junior Tribute model. The newer version is now $200 dearer. How to tell them apart? The revised model has its input jack relocated to the side.

Designer series - $100 more than before.

This one's a deal-breaker if you ask me - look at that price; the LP Jr is now beyond $2K. We understand that previously, it wasn't an Original Series designate & proved to be one of the most affordable, no-frills Gibson one could own. I got mine for less than $1.4K when it first appeared in the store.

Folks, this would also mean, after-market sellers can now flex more bargaining muscle citing the current price increase as a refusal to bring prices down. But hey, prices are gonna continue to climb & we are virtually powerless in letting this not happen. The real issue for many of us now - our damn pay isn't increasing as much as the prices of things around us. It's gonna stay this way seeing how the economy continues to crawl with the current spread of Corona Virus & all. Testing times ahead.

Aero II

This is actually Episode 2 of 'Available but not updated'. That's right folks, Fender's Aerodyne II Strats (MAde in Japan) are now available in store.

The HSS version is also available. I usually reject black guitars but this one has white binding & in person, it looks attractive. Unlike its predecessors, version II features an alder body & 2-point whammy bridge. The string saddles are also steel so you get that beefy bright top end & it helps during solos.

Sky colours

These are also in stock at Davis GMC but they are moving fast. What I like about The Silver Sky is that, despite being a signature model, the price remains realistic, in fact, it's lower than majority of the core models. In this upright position, I just feel that the headstock design is darn retarded.

But in this playing position, it makes a lot of sense. More importantly, I would like to thank Davis GMC for inviting me to try one in person (I tried the Tungsten finish). 

Leading

Reminding ourselves of Fender's re-living its past glory with current re-issues. This is the Lead II.

Both maple & pau ferro fretboard versions are available.

If you fancy a humbucking version instead, the Lead III might be it.

That's right, pau ferro version here. The fact that these are Mexican models imply affordability. Prices are along the lines of the current Duo Sonics.