Stripes

More cool stuff from the Japan end of Fender. There are currently two offset models featuring competition stripes at the elbow rest area, this Traditional 60s Jaguar is one of them. The black version has this partial stripe with the ends disappearing into a burst effect.

The other offset is the Jazzmaster. For both models, the sunburst finish feature the full length stripes as depicted here. I'm just of the opinion that the burst finish does not accommodate the stripes well.

Pics: Fender Japan

Price watch (93): Kitty scalpers

Modded version. 'Upscale' features include Bare Knuckle pickups & Graphtech saddles among others.

No mods but not purchased locally. 

Finally, one listed for less than $1K. The Squier Hello Kitty was listed for $799 when it was still available at Swee Lee.

The Fuzz pedal (Fender) was $159. Would you buy any of these items as an investment? 

Was yesterday

Took time yesterday to hang out at JB. I love this Segget neighbourhood & prefer coming here than spending money on overpriced food & stuff back home. There's a very laid back feel every time I set foot on these grounds; there's no rush, nothing to fulfil just the joy of being here.

Of course, I got to feed my darlings. These cats used to be ultra nervous around human presence but they had certainly identified safe individuals especially the ones with food / treats to spare. You can't just bend down to pet JB cats, they are highly likely to dart off unless you approach them with an intention to feed. There are more cats in this neighbourhood, some cute kittens included. 

Shout out to new followers: Cassandra / Al Milano

More gold

Should have looked carefully & included this in the previous post pertaining to gold.

White version exudes class. Anyway, do I fancy gold hardware? No. The coating wears off over time but that's just me. I don't wanna spend money on something that would undo itself over time 😅

Pics: Fender Japan

Up to 40

Swee Lee is currently having this promo, do take note of the time frame.

Predictably, this one listing at the upper end of $1K is a difficult proposition. It's on 20% off.

In a similar league, the Corey Wong Strat is also on 20% off. Despite his social media stardom, the name is still rather estranged to many guitar players & you're paying so much for his guitar.

This, on the other hand, is a good consideration; the Malmsteen Strat (Japan) is $2.5K after 20% off. My only beef is the colour. The Japanese finish is somehow a little pale compared to the American version. 

Pics: Fender

EVH TOM

The EVH association is always about featuring a Floyd Rose bridge in a guitar because that defines who EVH was back in the day. Of course, there will be players (like yours truly) who are interested in the instrument per se sans the FR fiddling & this TOM version is it. The way I see it, it's a hit-miss affair as the FR absence somehow affects the identity of this guitar but throughout his lifetime, EVH did play FR-less guitars. Let's see how much this would list for once it's made available here.

Pic: EVH

Light case

Didn't know this is actually real; a hardcase with a lighting feature for those of us meddling with gear in the dark. Obviously aimed at the pros who require such visual assistance. Available at Davis GMC (GAtor GC-ELEC-LED $180).

Pic: Gator

 

BG / WG

Not new, definitely, but given the gold hardware treatment. We all know the proverbial guitar that sports this black finish - gold hardware combo. Here it is...

Nothing, new indeed. The black - gold finish just exudes class & the Les Paul Custom had been an enduring image in this light.

The Fender Japan camp also offer the white - gold combo if black is not your thing. 

Pics: Fender Japan

Style 1 Evertune

Charvel's Style 1 model is given the Evertune bridge. I simply like the fixed bridge vibe but have not convinced myself of an Evertune need. Despite looking rather demure, this guitar sports a pair of Seymour Duncan Sentient / Nazgul pairing that would please the distortion fiends. That matching headstock just adds a bit of class here. Nice.

Pic: Charvel

What?

Some time last week, I saw these errors over at Swee Lee's webstore listings. A PRS S2 was priced as a core model Standard 24.

The other, an Indonesian Ibanez labelled as a Prestige. 

I reached out to someone over at Swee Lee to highlight the aforementioned oversights & it was attended to. Not the swiftest of reactions but hopefully it was done on time. I do not have a vested interest in Swee Lee, I don't receive perks for doing so. I believe I can mitigate a potential disaster because I value my friends at Swee Lee. Yes, I still have (good) friends working there. This is my way of supporting them.

Imagine someone actually bought an S2 PRS for that price, the refund process might be painful. Ditto the Ibanez, despite not being a price issue, after buying the instrument, there's a realization that it's not a Prestige model. What if the discovery for both cases happened after some time, will refunding still be an option considering there's a potential for wear & tear happening along the way? I'm not a Swee Lee employee & I do not wish to speculate on any refunding administration here, just an after-thought. On a personal note, I've nothing against Swee Lee, I will continue to support them & my friends there. Hopefully the individual(s) behind this oversight re-visits the required conviction to serve the company purposefully. 

Pics: SL webstore

Some new Vs from the Solar camp. Interestingly, the headstocks here are 'reversed' despite looking otherwise. I've documented a trio here that caught my attention.

• White: VAR2.6W. A simple two-pickup model with  TOM type, through-body bridge. 
• Green: VAR1.6FRGN. A neon green finish & featuring a locking FR1000 bridge. If you are new to the Solar range, obnoxiously bright green, yellow & pink are staple colours.
• Blue: VAR1.6FRVC. Ok... not exactly blue, it's a flip-flop of blue, purple & green & the only one here featuring a pair of Duncan Solar + (Alnico VIII magnets)

23 (2)

When I bought the 23, the last thing on my mind was to re-live some Burzum throwbacks. I'm aware Varg Vickernes played a Peavey PXD 23 III (above).

Pic: whatgear

Unlike Varg's my 23 is the starter pack version featuring a single humbucker. I'm drawn to this guitar for its single pickup feature as opposed to drawing affiliations with the dark lord of metal. I've taken the above pic with my living room lights at its brightest to show you its non-gloss body hence no light reflection to be seen anywhere. Yes, I've sanded down the previous finish & gave it a new satin coat. The perfect brown tone that matched the headstock's original finish was purely coincidental.

Good Friday

Every year, I look forward to good Friday. For the long weekend, of course. Taking this opportunity to rest. Yes, rest at home with very little to do but the best opportunity to catch up with music & gear. Typical activities for sickly individuals with limited purchasing power. On that note, I wish you a restful Friday.

Ryche

Holiday eve. Ordered this & collected it on the way home from work. Would be the ideal companion for the long weekend. I used to have this album way back when it was released but in the cassette tape format. I bought the CD version as well & was one of my form favourites during my CD player days so the underside data surface got scratched quite badly after repeated insertion & removal from my CD wallet / pouch. Decided to get a new copy. Post-Empire, the Queensryche releases were acceptable but not as stellar as this one. The recent ones are bland, at best. Nobody really fit the line-up since Chris DeGarmo left. Empire is a great release in my books.

Mustaine LP

Gibson & Dave Mustaine have a Les Paul going. It's a compromise between what Mustaine wants (eg. 24 frets) & Gibson maintaining its traditional LP appeal. Is this necessary? By all means, no. Mustaine is not one who is seen & associated with a single cutaway design. There are however parties taking this opportunity to push sales & it's all understood from a commercial point of view. Signature models are not my thing so this is just news to me 😅

Pics: wolf patrick_jones

Well played

If you've browsing Swee Lee's pages, you'd notice this - the Well Played gear section. Folks, the well played gear had been going on for a while at the Star Vista outlet. The instruments are located in a corner just outside the glass room.

These instruments are clearly indicated as used on the page listings so those who fuss over conditional presentability, need not bother. Please do not expect an after-market kind of prices for used gear here. Be mindful that these instruments are still part of the store inventory & set up accordingly. These will never match the after-market prices of individuals selling off their instruments.

Pics: SL webstore

Martin Juniors

The Martin camp is serious about their Junior range of guitars. As depicted above, they released more than a handful of models. As the name implies, the guitar had been re-sized to address the travel narrative but the scale length is 24.9" which is in between a Gibson & PRS. 

One of the models that caught my attention is this Dreadnaught Jr Street Legend version. Everything else here is in pristine condition less that top which was given the Street Legend treatment. This is basically a relic treatment. Not my cup of tea but this sells.

This one's interesting as well; a 000 cutaway bass. It sports the same scale length as the guitars & the primary concern here are the replacement strings availability. No idea when these will be available here but these are listed for USD699 each, regardless of the models. 

Widow

Epiphone is releasing the LP Custom Widow models but this is an exclusive arrangement with one of the American stores, meaning, it won't make it here. 

When the Gibson version debuted in 2009, there was definitely a cult following. However, Custom Shop model access has a limited outreach even today. The Epiphone version looks cool & might provide a some throwback moments for LP fans. 

Pics: GC

Done

This one made my signal squeal. Have no idea what happened. Might have stepped on it a few days back. Disposed.

Price watch (92)

Happened to pass by the second hand store near my workplace. Unknown acoustic listing for $139. A used unit could be had for $80.

Same store, Squier California Strat: $288. A brand new Squier Debut Strat is listing for $199. These guitars could have matched the after-market prices easily but the fact that they are in-store means prices might have been marked up to account for costs.

TK Tele

This is a nice one with good specs. The TK there stands for Toru Kitajima, so it's a signature model & the reason why it's listing for $1,950, in stock at Davis GMC.

Pic: Schecter Japan

American menace

In view of recent developments, we need to brace ourselves for the impending price uncertainty. The only certain thing that would happen in the near future is a price hike. Simple economics would tell us prices would increase more than whatever tariff amount that had been announced. The recent example would be the increase in the local GST here; prices went up by more than 1%. 

Should we look away from the American offerings? That would be the ideal but guitar players & musicians at large are loyalists to say the least. Yours truly here is an obvious example - I'm still an Ibanez fan after all these years despite the exposure to other brand of instruments. Many of us would look at the American QC as benchmarks but let's acknowledge the fact that many non-American instruments out there are matching the American standard & the Japanese end of things simply hold their own in this regard. 

Was out looking for shoes yesterday & decided to check the Anta brand out. Anta, Erke & Lining are the big names in sporting merchandise in China. I have always looked up to American & European brands with regards to sporting equipment but a simple try out in the store won me over. These Anta shoes are downright comfortable & more importantly, effective in delivering the objective. They have their own take on the technology involved in manufacturing these goods & do not attempt to replicate the American / European competitors. Recently, I've advocated for the lesser known brands like Artec (pickups) & Olympia (strings) which serve the objective while keeping costs in check & buying these Anta shoes is an extension of this belief. We should all move on & rediscover what works for us, not just embrace the trend blindly.

Standard pricing

The Fender Standard Series (2025, Indonesia) are now in stock at Swee Lee. It's $899 regardless of the model. The initial Standard Series (Mexico) listed for less than $700 back in the day. Just putting things in perspective.

Pic: Fender

Unsuitable

I am in the midst of re-fretting one of my guitars. I am dealing with steel frets.  None of my existing cutters can handle steel so I went out to acquire a more robust pair to deal with steel.

1. This cutter is virtually a bigger version of what I own. So the logic here is that if it's bigger, it would handle tougher stuff with ease. Of course, this was not the case. It's not about the size, it's about the material used. For something to eat through steel, it has to at least be made from steel or some other harder materials. This one failed miserably.
2. I returned to the same store to purchase this one. The store owner said this is a bolt-cutter (whatever that means), it's able to cut padlocks was the assurance. This one failed as well. Some padlock materials are not steel so this would be a suitable implement but not for steel frets. Never consult a non-guitar person on matters pertaining to guitar matters. Being a store owner is not a qualification.

Silent jazz

These are Seymour Duncan's Silencer pickups for Jazzmasters. Of course, if your guitar is not a Jazzmaster but features such outlines, these are worth checking out. Unlike regular P90 pickups, I hear more hum coming from the JM style pickups & it might be down to the wider coiling. On that note, as this pickup utilizes a stacked technology, please be mindful of the thicker-than-standard depth.

Pic: SD

Special '25

So this is how a Gibson LP Special looks like now. Nothing too different from the predecessors not too long ago & there's a return to the wrap over bridge which might be a hit / miss with some of us, especially the intonation purists. Not aware if there's a strong call for the Special to feature non-standard size humbuckers but that's the spec this 2025. There's a bridge P90 version if you are keen. My experience with these mini humbuckers - be prepared to embrace the brightness. Rather excessive.

Pics: Gibson

 

Founder's Day Sale

If you're not bogged down by any festive expenditures then this might be for you.

Warrior Dave

Jackson & Dave Davidson continued their collaboration into the Warrior zone. Many conformists out there would find this outline a little repulsive but it's compulsory consideration for all those dwelling in the metal zone.

Those of us who are not into maple fretboards, it's available in ebony as well but with a reverse headstock. Specs are decent; DiMarzio Pickups (Occult) & an FR1000 bridge. This is a Pro Series model FYI.

Pics: Jackson

GRX... new colours

Ibanez's April highlight is actually a trio of GRX in three new colours. That's right, colours are new, the GRX40 had been a Gio mainstay for a while. 

I used to own the RX40 (Korean) & the vibes are obviously different from the current GIO interpretation. If you look carefully, the RX has a slightly deeper treble-side cutaway compared to its GIO counterpart. Despite being an Ibanez fan, I would recommend a Jackson JS model over this GRX40 in terms of value-for-money consideration.

Pics: Ibanez / I-wiki