Ibanez MGF

Ibanez decided to delight the Q-Series fans at the end of November by releasing this signature model. It's the MGFM10, endorsed by one Manuel Fernandes. For those of you who are steep into technicalities would find this name familiar. However, this is also the guy who was once called out for cheating by increasing the speed of his videos. Nothing too special about this guitar, in fact, you wouldn't lose out by getting the QX52 (for less $$ as well) unless gold hardware is your thing.

Pic: Ibanez

Raven @ SG

I must have overlooked this in favour of the Malevolent Creation / Nile dates; it was there all along at the guitar stores. If you know the history of this band (stretching back to 1974), you know what they are capable of dishing out.

Pic: Phil Studios

 

Monster Hunter something

Fender Japan has this collab release with Monster Hunter World called the Rathalos Tele. Seriously, I am clueless when it comes to all these... just feel that these guitars are cool as heck 😅 

This one has those claw marks & cost a little more than its mark-less counterpart. Like $1K more. OK so it comes with a hardcase as well.

Pics: Fender Japan

KR @ Davis

I'm just glad to know this guitar is still in production & it's still being brought in by Davis GMC (Schecter Japan,  KR-24, List: $1,499). If you fancy a singlecut with modern vibes, this one is really under-rated. Notice the bridge upgrade - it's now the hipshot version as opposed to the in-house model in mine when I bought this guitar like nearly a decade ago. Also, the price had gone up by $200 since then. 

EDIT: Mine was the maple 'board version but this matching headstock version is just ... 👌

 

Pic: Schecter

MXR: Malmsteen

You guessed it - the MXR Malmsteen signature pedal is finally available here (List: $189) & it's immediately out of stock - it's a Malmsteen thingy & I want one kind of fever setting in, every time all the time.

Pic: Dunlop

Price watch (85): Close

If you have to decide between the Fender Player II Strat & an Edwards:

• Fender - a typical Strat, nothing special. Maybe those Alnico V pickups might appease to the contemporary players who are more at home with driven tones.
• Edwards - a typical Strat as well, one less fret + truss rod access at the neck heel. tradition 6-screws bridge. Made in Japan. 
• Something with Fender on the headstock vs Japanese QC... tough call.

If you have to decide between the Squier (Affinity) J-bass & a Bacchus WJB

• Squier - ceramic pickups, laurel fretboard. Good features for something in at this price point.
• Bacchus - roasted maple neck + steel frets, both for a sub-$500 asking price.
• $60 price difference between a good beginner bass & something that offers more in terms of value-for-money. What would hold you back - that Bacchus brand name, yes?

If you have to decide between a Jackson (RR24) & Edwards (Alexi Ripped) V-type outlines

• Jackson - Ebony 'board + JB/Jazz pickups, potent combo
• LTD - Ebony 'board + EMG HZ pickups, equally potent (EDIT: Pic shows the ESP version... oops)
• It's always a little difficult putting money into something with an endorser association but the Alexi Laiho models are popular (till today) with a good re-sale value. But in this outline domain, the RR will always be the standard reference / to beat. A single coil in the neck for the Laiho might be deal breaker for many of us. Then again, it already sounds very good just with the bridge humbucker.

Pics: Davis, Swee Lee

Jack hound

Had been playing the Jackson Minion more lately. It's one of those guitars (to me) that lets me 'cheat' because it's easier to move around as the frets are a little closer due to the shorter scale length. Also, those DiMarzios there make it sound good. 

Also, I've put away my Snakestortion in the mean time in favour of this VFE Dragon Hound. It features a dual drive control. OK so it's actually a distortion & drive combo. It gets very interesting when both are combined to taste. In the mean time, I've set it for a hard, edgy distortion setting which becomes excessive when the amp's dirt channel is engaged. That's right, I don't dwell on subtlety. 

Rampage @ SG

The oh so GAS-inducing G&L Fullerton Deluxe Rampage 24 is now oh so available at City Music: Rosewood 'board $3,210 / Maple 'board $3,010. Checking wallet now... Empty. Cue sound of cricket. OK maybe it's only oh so attractive to dweebs like me who likes single pickup guitars. Maybe.

Pics: Audiofanzine

Kusumi

Fender (Japan) has new Thinline models. Excuse me, not new per se, but new colours. These are referred to as Kusumi colours. The visual reference above suggests Kusumi to mean pastel colours, yes?

Two versions are available, one with gold hardware, the other, nickel / chrome. Being a Tele fan, despite being regurgitations, these are indeed, em... attractive 😅 Note for both versions - brass saddles.

Price watch (84) : Tribute prices

Folks, Gibson had the Tribute Les Pauls once upon a time. These were around late 2011 if memory serves me right, I bought one. They were initially under the Studio model. Moving on, they placed the Tribute under the Modern Series which had been discontinued after the new CEO, James Curleigh, took over.

Why am I bringing this up? Lately, I noticed a few Tribute listings with prices seemingly glorifying the Tribute tag. It's like Tribute here refers to a revered model in Gibson's glorious history worthy of an exorbitant price tag. With reference to the listing above - $2.5K for a Tribute? In 2017, there were two types of Tributes, the Ts & the HPs. The Ts were basically models based on traditional designs. The HPs (High Performance) are the counterparts manifesting modern attributes & the most loathed feature of it all - those robot tuners. This particular listing is interesting because firstly, it included a pic of an unrelated model featuring a pair of P90 pickups. 

Secondly, the tuners here are a set of Grovers. Seller did not disclose why this swap happened. Thirdly, that pick guard is not supposed to be there. Notice, there are no screws / mounting bracket on the pickguard - so whassup with this?

These are the other Tributes listed in the after-market. When they debuted back then, prices were in the $1.5K - $1.6K range. Yes, we respect some appreciation in price but paying $2K (or more) for one  - please re-think your choices. Oh, you shouldn't influence prices this way, it's strictly demand - supply. That's true but we should not fall victim to price flippers / scalpers, just because there's Gibson at the headstock. There's already a shop here doing just that.

Nothing against the Tribute models - I still own 2 of them. Good no frills Gibson but nothing boutique.

Dean-less conformity

Mike Dean said goodbye to Corrosion Of Conformity. Bummer. Dean, Mullin & Weatherman were the formative core of this band. With this departure & Mullin's demise (2020), Weatherman is the only original member left. COC is one of my early influences of intense music & those were my cassette tape days. This is also the band that helped coin the term cross over; migrating from one genre (hardcore) to another (metal) without losing edge. 

The current line up includes Pepper Keenan, which is a staple name if you follow Down. Keenan, to me, infused loads of sludge into the music which makes the overall approach less dangerous & more mainstream (not to mention being stoner rock-ish). This is the reason why I don't fancy Deliverance (1994) & the albums thereafter. In 2012 when the band carried on as a trio less Keenan (self-titled release), the harder, edgier elements returned. However, Keenan returned to the fold in 2018 for No Cross, No Crown & I was rather upset with this release for obvious reasons. I have nothing against Keenan as he's a fine musician elsewhere, in COC, he might be the weakest link. Nevertheless, they did a fine cover of On The Hunt (Lynyrd Skynyrd). This is possibly one of the best songs done with Mullin & Dean still in the line up. Please take time to listen:

Pic: D. Karr

Malevolence @ SG

An interesting November awaits. 

Pic: Street Noise FB

The rail way

Finally. Seymour Duncan now offers more pickups in its rail design. Simply put, these are existing models given the pole pieces-less rendering as seen above. The JB & Jazz models are offered individually or as a set (Hot Rodded).

Also available - Nazgul & Sentient (as a set as well).

Prior to this, SD rail models are limited & somewhat costly, the most affordable being the Dimebucker. The Slug, Jupiter & Diablo are custom-based models which retail for more. I bet there would be some peculiar characters who would claim they hear a different tone coming out of these ones due to the absence of pole pieces. 

Pics: Seymour Duncan

Fanned 8

Maybe I missed this but it's labelled as new at Solar's web store: A1.8BOP, a fanned fret 8-string. Just by looking at this pic, that headstock looks a little overwhelming. Hopefully it does not translate into neck heaviness. Imagine struggling with the number of strings here plus those fanned frets & your guitar's neck keeps diving. Hmm.

Pic: Solar

Reimagined imagination

Gibson re-launched its Les Paul Studio models. Quoting from its webpage: Now the Les Paul Studio had been re-imagined & is better & more versatile than ever. So what exactly are the new attributes of this guitar? 

• weight-relieved body
• slim taper neck profile
• neck binding
• Burstbucker pickups

Hold on. These are actually new features? Chambered bodies had been a thing of Gibson's past. The slim taper neck profile is not new, the LP Classic features this neck profile & it's been a while. Burstbucker pickups - not new as well.

So the neck binding is indeed the new feature for this guitar, yes? Nope. This is the LP Studio ver 2018 & it features neck binding. Folks, Gibson is playing us for fools. USD1,599 for the 'new' LP Studio 2024 isn't exactly appealing considering you get a regurgitated 2018 model. Just saying.

Pics: Gibson, star music

Up - Yamaha

My respect goes to Yamaha for this endearing effort in playing a part for the environment. The other aspect of wood sustainability involves the use of unused / spare wood parts to construct an instrument. It has to be playable & desirable at the very least so as not to demean itself as a glorified piece of junk. The frankensteined Pacifica you see above is a glorious example of research & effort into manifesting such an instrument. Wood blocks / pieces were salvaged from cut waste which were high quality / premium cuts to begin with.

This Marimba model was constructed using pieces of leftover rosewood used to manufacture, you guessed it, marimba. 

My personal favourite has to be this Piano model consisting of spruce, beech, birch & maple favoured for pianos initially. The fact that Yamaha could easily construct quality instruments of this nature shows that upcycled wood materials are no less desirable than their unsullied counterparts. At our end (players), we need to stop equating unparalleled quality with exotic woods costing way much with marginal contributions to tone. Also, players tend to couple looks with tone so upcycled wood pieces would easily be defeated in this aspect - visual appeal. Wonder if any of these interesting instruments would make it here...

Pics: ifdesign/ designboom 

Minions - New colours

Jackson has new colours for its Minion models. These are scaled down guitars, only 22.5" in scale length, maybe more suitable for the younger players. But Paul Gilbert has an Ibanez Mikro model similar in dimensions & nobody said anything about those being more suitable for a certain player demographic. Of course, he's Paul Gilbert & those are Paul Gilbert guitars. Everything else is unimportant.

Pics: Jackson 

Price watch (83)

I'm always on a lookout for used Ibanez guitars (despite the poor purchasing power these days). Was about to recommend this to a friend when it was sold off.

It's acquired by a shop in town that buys pre-owned instruments. Note the selling price. It's a free country; you can buy from whoever you want to at any agreeable price but be wary of what happens along the way, price-wise. If you decided to buy stuff from this store, think of how much cheaper they used to be.

Old

This had been a tough one. I had difficulties sourcing for parts (tuners / bridge) due to incompatibility; this guitar is more than 40 years old. Also, this model does not include a truss rod so curing the bowed neck without thermo treatment is impossible.

A complementary set of 11s (Cristofori brand) went into this one. I like the tone, just that the instrument is not in an ideal playing condition. The owner just wish for a re-string & minimal restoration; sentimental item, this one. 

Epi @ CM

City Music has the following Epiphone guitars for pre-order:

• LP Standard '50s: $1,069
• LP Standard '60s: $1,069
• Dave Grohl DG-335: $1,999
• LP Custom: $1,219
• ES-335: $899

We hope to see more Epiphone selections in time to come, especially the more utilitarian models: LP Studio, SG, Designer Series, etc.

 

Pics: Epiphone

Victory

Gibson is celebrating the return of its Victory model, an offset doublecut design which somehow looks very PRS-esque. This design might appeal to those players who always venture up the upper frets. Putting it plainly, it might have applications for shredders. 

Here's how the original '80s Victory looked like; the headstock was really an acquired taste (darn, looked like the Fender Startcaster headstock on a diet). Back then, it's an all maple affair for the body & neck. The current Victory looks more refined design-wise so it's not really a real return in that sense. Oh, it was meant to appeal to country players.

Will the shredder horde embrace this guitar & abandon their Ibanez / ESP / Jackson in the mean time? Doubt so. For the Gibson fanatics, I still believe they adore the SG for that doublecut feel albeit the neck dive. Gibson has limited appeal in this aspect & they've never really tried to penetrate this segment of the market. Maybe a passing interest (eg. M-III) at best, nothing concrete / lasting.

Pics: Gibson / Namuwiki

September deals @ SL

Swee Lee is having some discounts on selected products this September: 10% +/- 

I have personally handled the Fender Player Series (Gen 1) Strat & must say it's a good instrument if you are in the market for a no-frills Strat. This one going for $1,199.20 is a reasonable asking price despite my personal vendetta against Mex Strats that exceed the $1K mark. I'm a maple fretboard fan but I find this pau ferro version to be more enticing tone wise.

At the shred end, this Jackson Dinky JS22 arch top going for $272 should be considered. 

Squier Sonic P-Bass for $314 - recommended for those of us in need of a back up or for guitar dweebs looking for palatable bass tones for recording. 

Saving the best for last - this Fender 68 Vibro Champ (reverb) is about $200 off the list price but it's one of the best clean-sounding amps out there. Those looking to attach pedals through the FX loop - this might be a deal breaker - no FX loop. 

Pics: Amazon / Five Star / SL

Grassroots: EC

That's right folks, the EC model is now available in the GrassRoots offerings (G-EC). Bodies & necks for these models are mahogany with ebony 'boards for all models. Pickups are in-house PRIDE humbuckers. The MSRPs for these are in the $700 bracket & hopefully these do get here.

Pics: ESP Japan

XII

Fender Japan has these Telecaster XII in a limited run offering. Body is ash for both finishes & the pickups are in-house vintage voiced single coils. It's good to see the Japanese end of Fender expanding its offering in addition to filling up certain feature voids but one thing is for sure - price is going up across the board.

Pics: Fender Japan

Used

All my used strings (June 2023 to August 2024) from various guitars & basses - into the re-cycling bin.

Ibanez: September '24

It's an acoustic September for Ibanez & this JGM11 is the most intriguing amongst the releases. JG here refers to Jon Gomm & this is his signature acoustic. 

No missing tuners here as the top two (E/B) are banjo ones to facilitate Mr. Gomm's constant re-tuning / de-tuning which is his signature technicality. This is a quality guitar indeed with 2 sets of pickups to pick up (no pun intended) both string resonance & percussive applications. Steel frets, ebony board & a solid spruce top  for the money's worth. Oh, a hard case is included with this one.

Pics: Ibanez

JB

I am rather proximate to  Johor Bahru. On a good day, I can reach City Square shopping center in 40min by bus. This includes custom clearance. I was here last weekend & saw these street musicians performing to their original compositions. We decided to have dinner first before coming back to enjoy some songs.

However, upon returning, he was already done for the day. Managed to get a closer look at his gear; a lefty Ibanez RG170 (judging by the shark tooth inlays, this should be the DX version) & an MXR Fullbore Metal. 

Unfriendly

This is a screen grab of Swee Lee's social media post made a few days ago. According to them, the USA PRS S2 Series, as well as the bolt-on models are gentle on your wallet. A quick price check from their web store:

• S2 McCarty: $3,199
• S2 Custom 24: $2,999
• CE24: $3,699
• NF33: $4,199

Folks, do these prices look like they are gentle on your wallet? You'd agree that gentle here hints at affordability, yes? How much is the average person here earning? Because after buying one of these guitars, they would have plenty of spare change, yes? 

The S2s, down the years, especially after the American makeover, have ceased to become affordable to the average guitar player out there. PRS' bolt-on models are above the S2s in the manufacturer's tier, they cannot be more affordable by virtue of this understanding, no? I find this claim disrespectful. It's like telling you if you don't deem these figures as wallet-friendly, then you are unworthy. Someone out there needs a reality check. Unless they are marketing for an establishment reaching out to a bunch of elitists exclusively. 

Affinity Jaguar

This is a good move from Squier. A new Affinity Jaguar model that keeps things simple in the electronics department; a slanted 3-way switch. Nice.

If you dot wish for a dark fretboard material (laurel), then this maple version featuring a sparkling metallic brown finish, is absolutely cool.

Pics: Fender