Price watch (87)

The Fender American Performer Timber series were released in Summer this year (CLICK) & it's now available here for the above listed price. Folks, the Performer sits at the lowest tier in Fender's American offerings & we can say that it's unaffordable with reference to its latest asking price. The Performer was $1.7k +/- when it debuted, moving on to $2,150 in mid 2023. Bottom line: Fender is screwing everyone with their prices & we all still want one because it's Fender. 

By now, it's rather obvious that they are pricing the Americans out so the average Joe out there would look at the Mexican models to begin with. We saw how, in recent times, they revved up the specs of the Player models (now referred to as the Player II) to compensate the fact that it's not American but worth the consideration in view of the specs. To put things in perspective, the Player II Strat lists for $1,299 in the mean time. This is more than the most affordable American Fender, the Highway 1, which was $1,099 in 2008. Not a good time to be buying Fenders.

Pic: Musix

Slots

Oversight - the slots here were not deep enough to contain the strings so a good part of these strings were virtually sitting on the nut material instead of being inside the slots. 

Deeper slots. Did I use a file? I don't own one. I use the excess wound G string to floss out the slot cavity. Verdict - no buzzing at the nut & strings sit in the slots. Crude approach but it worked.

Personality highlight (2): Brother Andy Soh

Next up is brother Andy Soh. He is a certified busker under the NAC scheme for outdoor entertainers.

Andy's guitar of choice is the Claren Guitars MINI 1. This is a scaled down, single cutaway, electro acoustic which is a very comfortable & super playable instrument especially if you are always on the go. By the way, Andy is part owner of Claren Guitars which offer full solid acoustics mostly, at super prices. OK, I own one. If you have been following me for a while, you'd know that I have this constant struggle with acoustics. I have given up on many brand names out there that offer scaled down versions of their popular models because those are simply not to my liking due to set up & playability issues. I was pretty much done chasing this ideal until Andy himself reached out to me to check out his range of guitars & that was it. 

Andy is actively busking at the following venues: Holland Village, Tanglin Mall, City Square Mall, padestrian area outside Wisma Atria / Takashimaya SC. Please say HI or do one better by contributing generously. He also does private events (birthday parties, wedding receptions) if you are interested. Xmas is coming, so that office Xmas party can be a little special with a live performance, yes? Do reach out to him via his Instagram account: iamsohandy

Pics: NAC / Claren Guitars / Andy Soh

Purple Sunday

Just got the wiring for this sorted out. On the way home, finally met the guitar GOAT 😅

It's like this - The replacement pickups for this guitar are DiMarzios. This guitar features Ibanez's dyna-MIX10 switching system. DiMarzio pickups have to be wired in another way, not conforming to Ibanez's colour code. In this case, DiMarzio's Fusion Edge humbuckers actually follow the Ibanez color code. So there. We were made to figure out an unnecessary permutation of wirings only to realize that the original combo is the correct one to begin with.

Yonlapa

I can't remember when was the last time I was at Baybeats. Today, I made time to watch Yonlapa because: 1) There are seats for sick people like me 2) The performance time did not clash with my medication time. Yonlapa is a Thai indie band. I personally believe if they are from the West, they would be a bigger, more well known act because the standard on show is up there with the best, just the 'wrong' ethnicity to be playing this type of music, so it seems.

I discovered the band during one of my chemo sessions & got hooked ever since. Regardless of who you are, I respect you for your music first & foremost. The rest are just further details to me. Please take time to check out the song I'm Just Like That (above).

Silver Slinky

Ernie Ball now has a John Mayer Slinky set aptly called the Silver Slinky. EB already has a 10.5 set similar to the SS set but differs slightly when it comes to the wound strings as shown above. The reason why people would wanna get the SS set is because it has John Mayer there, agree? 

 

Pics: Ernie Ball

Ibanez aroma

Colleague bought an Ibanez acoustic starter pack for her son. I was tasked to do a set up suitable for beginners. There was an Ibanez tuner in the starter kit (together with picks & a strap). It looks exactly like... Now you know.

Joe Bo '50s Tele set

Joe Bonamassa has a new set of Seymour Duncan Tele pickups - The Joe Bonamassa 1950 Broadcaster pickups. These are the type of pickups which might not appeal to high gain dweebs in view of the philosophy behind its conception as the name implies. However, I'm impressed with the neck pickup's clarity & would be interested in giving it a high octane distortion application.

The fact that a Squier was used in the demo clip above gave the pickups the deserving flex - the sheer tonal focus & it's never about the guitar. 

Pic: Seymour Duncan

Ibanez: October '24

A rather bland October over at the Ibanez camp. The TMB400 bass got a new finish - iced Americano burst.

And then there's the TMB405 in this cosmic blue starburst. That's about it.

Pics: Ibanez

Personality Highlight: Brother Halim

Greetings, folks. For the month of October, I will be showcasing some individuals very much affiliated to the guitar at large but making marks in the music scene as well. They come from all walks of life with a strong passion for music & everything related. The objective here is to accord highlight to deserving individuals who are beyond the popular media attention. More importantly, I value their friendship / acquaintance. We begin the instalment with Brother Halim.

Brother Halim (also known as Halim VH among friends) is a Singaporean guitarist who is now residing in Johor Bahru. He is currently one of the founding members of Etcetera. He is also on guitar duties with The Guzzbuzz Project where he got to wield his scalloped 'board Epiphone (Kasih MV) & a Fender Strat (Palsu MV). 

His main squeeze & personal favourite is definitely the Ibanez 540R which I had the privilege of re-stringing once (CLICK to read). Wishing Brother Halim all the best in all his musical endeavours. He is definitely one of the respected senior members (or otai as they say) in the local & neighbouring guitar circle. In the mean time, do check out the following MVs for the songs Kasih & Palsu.

Pics: Halim VH / NLB

Red Dinky

This Jackson Dinky (JS12) was left for dead. The person whom it was bought for left for further studies & clearly uninterested in the instrument. The nut came off when it was handed over to me, it had paint stains on parts of the body, nothing severe but some splatters. The connection was intermittent despite the frets being super shiny, indicating scant or no play time. For some unknown reason, it had a paint chip at one of the tuners, exposing the wood underneath. The person who did the handing over told me it was lying on the floor all along hence the paint crack at the neck heel. 

To be continued...

SOLAR: Relik

That's right, folks. Solar guitars now offer the AB1.6 in a relic finish. The infatuation over the worn out, semi-desecrated look will not go away any time soon. Nothing really new here, hardware & electronics were done in other Solar models prior to this Relik series. Yes, it's officially called the Relik model.

 

Pic: Solar

October deals @ Sound Alchemy

FYI...

 Pic: SAFB

Iridescent

This is an Epiphone Joe Bonamassa Les Paul. Wait. Let me re-phrase that. This is another one of many Joe Bonamassa Les Pauls. I believe he has more than 10 such models with Epiphone, some are non-Les Pauls. It's a very ordinary Epiphone less the iridescent finish which is a flip flop formula in today's guitar-speak. The exact citation for this model is Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard Copper Iridescent & it lists for USD849. Maybe - just maybe - it will be available here in time to come.

 

Pic: Epiphone

Price watch (86)

I believe this is one of the most delusional listings I've come across. Why that price tag?

Look at the 'upgrades' but pay particular attention to that last line. 🤦

Rowe

This is a new one by Jackson; Diamond Rowe Monarkh DR12MG. Diamond Rowe is the guitarist for Tetrarch. All these are new to me. This is what she has to say about her guitar:

Pic: Jackson

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