Swee Lee Year End SALE (2023)

 One last hurrah from Swee Lee before the year ends.

Let's put things in perspective. Suppose I wish to purchase this Fender (Japan) Junior Strat which is currently listed for $1,599. So after the current sale savings, I need to pay $1,549. This guitar only qualifies for $50 discount since it's in the $1K bracket. Considering the price of this guitar was $1,449 before the price hike took place (just before the Black Friday sale), it's actually not a bargain. What if Swee Lee gives a percentage discount instead, let's say 10% off? You would then be paying $1,439 which is slightly lower than its former price tag. I am of the opinion that a percentage discount would be more enticing than block discounts as clearly illustrated above. I hope guitar stores here understand why people prefer spending their money on year-end travels this time as opposed to buying new musical instruments. 

Pic: Swee Lee / Fender Japan

Strat set up

I set up all my guitars since day one. That's right, I went through the dark, misinformed times without internet reference. It was mostly magazine reference from the library. I would spend hours at the Geylang East branch browsing through back issues of Guitar Player & Guitar World. I also worked with sub-par tools. Today, we are fortunate to have stores selling player-friendly tools & implements to keep our treasured possessions in check. The internet access opened up a whole new range of tool acquisition possibilities. But the large part to this advancement was the credit card; this increased my purchasing power somewhat. Anyway, I recently re-set up the Fender American Special Strat you see above which was purchased from Swee Lee's end of year warehouse sale.

Despite being playable, this was how the string saddles look like when I brought it home. It's evident that someone lowered/raised the strings without due consideration of the fretboard radius. It was a crude attempt, almost a noob level effort at best. Let's not rule out the fact that this could be done back at the factory. What do you think?

I was very happy with how straight this guitar's neck is. There were no traces of shimming & upon removal of the neck (to satisfy my curiosity), I was right. 👍 This could only mean that they got it right back at the factory. 

Ibanez: RGD2120

This is my catch from the Swee Lee sale earlier today- Ibanez's RGD2120Z-CSM. This textured satin finish is discontinued WEF 2011 but the RGD2120 model is still in production, it now features a solid black finish instead. The RGD model in general is rather overlooked because of its extended scale length (26.5") & for this version especially, the satin finish. The fashionable discourse right now if your are into detuned playing is getting a 7-string/ 8-string guitar instead.

 The flip-side view- generous beveling for the ribcage area as well as the treble-side cutaway.