Price watch (65)

Please do not do this- you listed your guitar as such...

 ... but upon clicking, it's something else. I'm sure many of us out there would feel insulted - why should we buy from such an individual?

When the Highway 1 instruments debuted, they were less than $1.3K. I'm not aware of any cult followings for these models to justify this listed amount. What's that? You said Fender prices would appreciate over time? Well, it's still a demand - supply situation. 

On that note, this well-maintained American Standard goes for much lesser. For a guitar sitting higher in the Fender tier (vs the H1), I'd recommend this one instead.

All Squier Bullet nodels were less than $300 before they were discontinued & superseded by the Sonic Series. 

Placid

Ah, yes... the Squier CV Esquire 60s Custom in lake placid blue is now available at Swee Lee ($629). Rightfully, this should appear with its sunburst sibling (Click HERE for review) but it appeared later for some reasons. These are not new to the Squier fold, they debuted in 2021 & we know how things were back then; it's pandemic related. Enough said.

Pic: Fender

Lead & dual

Latest goodies from Laney - The IRF Leadtop. This is a non-tube affair & an affordable one as well ($280). Single channel, two modes.

Its bigger sibling, the Dualtop ($390) offers 2 channels & both are available at Davis GMC now. Word is, the clean tones from these two are some of the best a non-tube unit could offer. That, plus some furious driven tones should get your attention. Watch this first: CLICK

Pics: Laney

Minor happiness

This is one of the Strats I own which feature a default string retainer. As depicted above, the retainer itself comes into contact with the headstock surface. If you are re-stringing your guitar, you need to press the strings down to release it from the retainer's catch. Scratching the headstock surface is inevitable.

Simple solution - purchase a spacer that helps elevate the retainer off the headstock surface. It might affect the vintage vibe of the instrument but this is the least of my worries; I am more interested with problem-solving.

MOMM (44)

For many bands who had been in the scene for a while, they tend to ebb into compromise. Not Marduk. This release reiterates the band's sole dedication to destruction. A very furious release & rightfully, the standard to beat this year. I especially like the bass production. On that note, the bassist got fired for displaying an offensive salute during a live show. Filling in for this recording, the awesome Devo Andersson whom you recall bid farewell after Marduk's previous outing, Viktoria.

Stuff @ SL

These items were recently featured here & they are now available at Swee Lee with the listed prices as indicated.

Also in - Fender Vintera II models. Those prices are not going to attract keen buyers who are looking for a deserving first Fender. Once again, for those keen on the tones offered by the instrument but find the prices disagreeable, do check out the Squier Classic Vibe range.

Pic: SL webstore

SC Sunday

Was at Beez's yesterday to get this done - dead tone pot (bridge PU). It's been a while since I played this guitar so the different feel got me hooked & I played for an hour. The thing about PRS in general; it's not an instrument that attracts a certain player profile. In fact, everyone who clicked with a PRS would like it for what it is regardless of the genre of music it's used for.

Got grass?

Still whining about not having that G-brand singlecut guitar, eh? This Grassroots G-LP-60S is available at Davis GMC for less than $700. One more time - instruments of this outline / design won't be around for long. You know what to do.

Pic: ESP Japan

Sonic III

Folks, ESP has released its third Sonic the hedgehog guitar & this one will cease production in 2025. This should be the most affordable amongst them considering the modest appointments (in-house ESP LH-200 humbucker). 

The guitar comes with these cools picks & a cert.

Pic: ESP Japan

Vin 2

Fender released the Vintera II Series because they can. I'm really trying to understand why there is a need for a Version II when the initial Venteras were decent enough to represent the Mexican workmanship. Note the price hike with these instruments so it's quite plain to see where Fender is going with this one. Any outstanding features coming from the V2s to the extent that you need to ditch the Mexican you currently own for this one? None. These are marketed as combining vintage & contemporary elements which supposedly add magic to your tone. You want vintage & contemporary mish-mash without forking out crazy money? Squier's Classic Vibe models have loads of those. 

Pic: Guitar

Noble screaming

Another green pedal in the playing field? Not just another one but this offers options since there are effectively two drives in a single unit. Watch this for a better understanding:

Pic: Keeley

Had to

The audio wall panel at the new workplace does not facilitate a direct mic plug-in. Had to get this amp (used) to supplement my needs. Post-chemo, I could no longer project my voice for extended periods; would always lead to severe sore throat, even bleed at times.

VZB

 Vox, Zoom & Blackstar products are now available at Swee Lee. Yes - Swee Lee.

Alexi blacky

Yes, I'm still not a fan of signature models but in due fairness, this is a good guitar. It's something that would appease the distortion fans - Edwards E-AL-166 Blacky. Available @ Davis GMC ($2.1K) & I believe it's the only piece brought in. Prices of all ESP products will undergo one more revision before the year ends so if you are interested, do act quickly.

Pic: Musalmaa

Franken-relic

It's another re-visit release by EVH, this time, the Frankenstein Relic. Frankenstein because it's a re-interpretation of EVH's original put-together, work-in-progress guitar. Would you fall in love with this USD1.7K guitar? If you are an EVH fan boy - maybe. 

Pic: EVH

Offsetting September

Besides the Squier Paranormal Rascal bass, Fender Japan has two other offset models this September which we should know of. This 30" scale length Jaguar bass you see above is the signature model for Mike Kerr (Royal Blood). I don't know him, of course. I have a soft spot for offset basses, especially the scaled down ones but this being a signature offering, it's just visual fodder in the mean time. Expect a S2K + listing for this if it ever makes its way here.

I have no idea what the big deal is with this tune-o-matic / stop tail Jazzmaster, really. First time seeing an offset with dual humbuckers & a non-whammy bridge?

A similar take was done to the Jaguar; equally Japanese but back in 1995, nobody cared because Japanese Fenders were less accessible to the rest of the world (especially State-side) unless your dealer has a special arrangement to bring those in.

Fast forward 2011, Fender's Blacktop Series simplified the HH Jaguar in terms of the electronics & look at how close this was to the aforementioned Japanese HH Jazzmaster. 

At this point in time, it's interesting to see how the Japanese Fenders are being made available outside Japan & Fender has no issues with these being in competition with the American / Mexican counterparts. Prices for Fenders are going up so having a slightly more competitively priced alternative in the guise of the Japanese iteration, with on-par quality compared to the Americans, helps push sales. People are not buying some Fenders but they are buying other Fenders which are still Fenders so in the end, Fender still wins. Get it?

Pics: Fender Japan / Kurnia / G-list

Edwards @ Davis GMC

Still waiting for Gibsons to make a return here? You should move on.

I won't qualify the Edwards E-LP models you see above as the next best things but they are worth your consideration. From a personal account, I find them to be more than agreeable in terms of intention. Playability, tone & overall feel are points of contention, definitely. These are not void fillers, they are ESP's interpretation of what a set-neck, singlecut guitar should be. If it's not your thing then you have no obligations to purchase. 

Folks, be informed that making such instruments today is not a sustainable act in the face of active litigation, some of which are undisclosed till the death. That's all I can say for now. Please be informed that prices have gone up for this shipment but it's not as unreasonable as some Mexican Fenders you see out there. 

PS: The more affordable Grassroots version in store as well, do check them out.

Martin @ SL

Martin acoustics are now available at Swee Lee. Yes - Swee Lee...

Pic: Swee Lee webstore

New ghost

This is perhaps my favourite SG in terms of playability. Tone - it lacks that black metal touch. I like the wider neck profile which is a trademark of the 2015 models but these were plagued by the rubbish robot tuners which I did away almost immediately.

Actually, today's session is about trying the new Northern Ghost pick - the Coffin mini... 3mm & as hard as it can be so it's my kind of pick. Deliberately opted for a smaller pick to test my picking efficiency. Update in good time.

Price watch (64)

I believe, this entity / individual is a parallel importer. There's no shop front & all items are on pre-order basis (down payment required). Jackson Dinky Minion is $259 @ Swee Lee + free delivery. 

New item - $219 @ Swee Lee 🙄

These strings are discontinued for a while already, was $7 @ City Music.

Elixir Optiweb 9 - 46 set... that's more than $20 after delivery considerations. $17 @ Swee Lee...

9-9 sale @ Sound Alchemy

Sale happening at Sound Alchemy (till 17 Sept). Not much details to share but do visit the store.

Pic: SAFB

E-Mys

ESP's Mystique is now available as an Edwards iteration. Stunning instrument but I find the headstock outline to be an acquired taste.

Pic: ESP Japan 

Just play

This guitar (Ibanez SML721) used to be unplayable. Fret issues mainly. Someone who handled the rectification procedure might not have understood how to approach the issue to begin with. It might be from the factory, might be from the store but more importantly, whoever did it, stopped trying. That was crucial. When I took over, I approached it like how I did with the rest facing such issues:

• Straighten the neck first, which didn't happen. Action was disproportionately high at the 8th - 13th fret area
• Action comes next. That's right, check if the action conformed to the recommended settings in the manual. Get this done before any fret attention procedures.
• Shim. If the action is still disproportionately high at the upper fret area, neck shimming should be done. 
• Level checking. Mark out the problematic frets that contribute to buzzing / choking.
• Hammer time. That's right, the fatal mistake here is to start filing / crowning the fret. Some frets are merely popping out, all they need is some knocking into place & that might just be it. 
• File / crown the problem away. If that doesn't work, filing / re-crowning should be the final approach. Remember, this is irreversible & should be done after an exhaustive diagnosis had been carried out. 

I noticed that minor rectifications were required over time & that improved the guitar's playability progressively. Some remediation procedures would only kick in after a few rounds of diagnosis & patience is the order of the day. This is why I strongly advocate for owner rectification as opposed to sending the instrument over to a tech every time. Let the expert handle the issue only if expert knowledge / skills are required. 

Any further tinkering done to this guitar? Of course.

• 5-way selector made way for a 3-way version
• Seymour Duncan pickups
• Locking tuners made way for non-locking ones

That's the story of my Thursday; looking into minor improvements & just playing till it's time to stop. Indoor Thursday, so to speak.

Virtuoso

That's right folks, Jackson made amends after releasing that overpriced American Series Soloist which I do not wish to re-visit. Judging by the cover shot & the players wielding this guitar, believably, this should be a better value-for-money proposal by the manufacturer.

This one is called the Virtuoso (made in the USA). Nothing game-changing in terms of design as you can see above. Pickups - Seymour Duncan JB / '59, alder body.

Four colours are offered & just look at that price (USD) - it's unbelievably acceptable. One major factor here would be the bolt-on construction which keeps the price in check. If Jackson would just instal standard, non-locking tuners instead of the locking ones (which I find totally unnecessary for a guitar with a locking nut), the price could be revised down a bit more. We wonder what happened with the AS Soloist when a more appealing package could be had & the Virtuoso proved just that. Those who bought the Soloist, good luck in trying to offload the instrument. Ditto the unsold ones at the stores - I personally wouldn't pay $1K more when this Virtuoso makes more sense. Personal wish - let's see an American Series with a maple fretboard. Or maybe a single humbucker iteration 😅

Pics: Jackson

D'Suara

Was at JB earlier today & watched this uncle played some oldies & contemporary hits to while away the moments while the Mrs. & Aunt went shopping. He's stationed at the entrance of Plaza Angsana.

That Gibson there is not the genuine article - custom headstock, black body binding... these are obvious red flags. However, the tones that he pulled off (no pun intended) were more than decent. Also, uncle played his guitar effortlessly, most of the time, he's not looking at the instrument, the infallible auto-mode took over. He didn't mind his photo taken as well. Nice guy with an equally nice set of tones (clean / driven) to ply his trade with. Respect.

Heavy

Nothing fancy, just spending time with my Edwards today. This E-LP-C is something you should not invest in if you are particular with weight; it's heavy. I do not wish to speculate if it's replicating the true weight of a Gibson LP Custom which is what it was modelled after but on more time - it's heavy. I like to play this guitar because it can easily pull off (no pun intended) one of the heaviest metal-type tones out there. A tone reference for this would be Dissection's Reinchaos & Napalm Death's Fear, Emptiness & Despair. 

Also, this is the guitar I enjoy plugging the above-depicted pedals into; the re-issue DOD OD-Preamp 250 & Elektrik Head's Snakestortion. Due to the guitar's deep, bass-inclined tone, the pedals were dialled up to manifest more top end. For the record, the pickups in this guitar are Seymour Duncan JB (b) & Jazz (n). These are replacement pickups, Edwards no longer equip the E-LP models with Duncans & I simply prefer Duncans in mine.

Kisser

I think it was late Thursday night when I woke up & couldn't go back to sleep. So it was late night / early morning guitar trawling & this update appeared in my feeds - Jackson finally did a signature for Sepultura's Andreas Kisser. This, of course, nearly took forever but thankfully it happened because it's a deserving recognition to one of the leading guitar proponents in aggressive music.

It's a simple, single pickup guitar (EMG 81) with an FR1000 bridge so this hints at a mid-price, non-American make. That body graphic will make / break some buying decisions among us. It's a definite put off for me but that's just me.

Since his early Sepultura days, Andreas Kisser's guitar of choice was his single pickup Charvel model 2 which had a personalized, sticker body (above). Otherwise, the guitar would look like this:

He should be given a Charvel as a true acknowledgement of the circumstances but we know how it is with Charvel now; they don't make any more pointy headstock models. Fender accords Jackson with all the pointy headstock affair so this was probably the reason this signature deal went the Jackson way. 

Of course, Mr. Kisser also has a Jackson RR so going the Jackson way wouldn't look wayward. While a single pickup guitar is absolutely my thing, an FR bridge + a signature touch are not what I would pay for. 

 Pics: Wiki / Jackson / G Concourse

Sadus: Knifing it

Pic: EM

Also making a come-back this year is Sadus, currently reduced to a duo (Allen / Travis). These guys were the lesser known people in the genre back then. Back then refers to that time when I was in still in school & not eating much, just to buy cassette tapes (& guitar magazines) of my favourite bands. Leaving you with their latest single (& probably the final one before the full LP release come November):

Ibanez @ September

Looks like a drab September for Ibanez as the new highlight for this month is an entry-level PS60. No idea if this will get the KISS fans screaming & wanting more but in my opinion, the Iceman & Destroyer should make a proper come-back into the catalog. For variety's sake? That & the fact that these were the landmark leftist models in the manufacturer's guitar history. But what do I know about guitar production, yes?

PS: Swee Lee actually received this one before it's officially announced - available now ($549)

Hello September 👋

Pic: Ibanez