Delos H

Late 2019, Kiesel ended the season with the headless Type X guitar & I thought that was the last headless venture by the manufacturer. Just days ago, this was official - the headless Delos model. We can surely say that when it comes to headlessness, the Kiesel offerings won't stop any time soon. Personally, I don't mind seeing more headless models from them as they did things tastefully. The instruments are also very playable & sound above average. Will this be one of my considerations for 2020? Hmm... 😝

PG-14

This is a new release by JHS for shred maestro, Paul Gilbert. It's a distortion unit.

Those of us who are only into his stuff lately, you'd wonder where the shred affiliations came from. In his early days with Mr. Big & notably Racer X, Paul Gilbert was on the A-list of shredders. He was one of the outstanding GIT grads back then so he's knowledgeable & shred loaded, a definite plus.

However folks, of late, Paul Gilbert practices restraint & veers off the shred path for the good part. There are still traces of his awesome finger gymnastics every now & then but that's not the current staple. He favours a less aggressive drive tone, was in single coil mode (but now back to humbuckers - mini ones) & dwells in the Marshall tone to date. The PG-14 pedal here embodies his current indulgences & sound clips out there proved just that. It's a very fuzzy distortion which is definitely not for me but might just work for you, though. Listing for more than $250, I'd rather get pickups for that kinda money. Just me.

Little wonder

Someone's son gave up guitar last year & put this up for sale. It's a Samick Greg Bennett ST6-1, half-sized acoustic guitar. I'm a fan of smaller acoustics namely because I'm small-sized as well & find the standard acoustic models a struggle to handle. From the condition it's in, this little guitar did not get much play time. There were no dirt anywhere on the fretboard & fret wear was non-existent. I must say that I got this one for a steal. 

There was a small chip on the headstock & it's an acceptable anomaly considering that a student beginner once handled this guitar. It's 'restored' with black paint & still looks awesome after a good wipe down & polish. I received this guitar in its as-is condition; lots of dust & rusty strings but all's good now. The plastic stick-on pickguard was my doing, you can get one from SV Guitars & they are on sale now.  

It's an all mahogany guitar (rosewood fretboard/ bridge) but not a solid top model, understandably so at this price point. The instrument sounds a little boxy & I bet the next string change with a bronze set on board might improve the tone somewhat. Despite all that, the sustain is healthy, in fact, it's one of the best from a budget model. It's also my first acoustic with a 12th fret joint to the body, an exciting addition to say the least. 

ESP/LTD: 2020 (6)

In my opinion, ESP revisiting their past is a good thing for 2020. In addition to the Eclipse, we have this single pickup attraction, the M-1 Custom '87. I just have a thing for single pickup (Duncan Distortion in this one) focus so this is a positive introduction for this year. Bear in mind that the FR1000 bridge there works in one direction only ala Van Halen. 

Still in the Mirage vein, this one is pretty much the M-1 Custom depicted above with a neck pickup but features a bolt-on construction. The bridge is also a dual action type. Pickups: Duncan Distortion/ Hot Rails. Seen here - Mirage Deluxe '87 in shell pink. 

If you're on a budget, LTD's series 200 guitars still offer good value for money details like this gorgeous H-200. The humbuckers are in-house but things are as classy as the upper tier models. This is the thing I like about the LTDs; they don't skimp on looks for the 200s. Looking forward to see these guitars at Davis GMC soon.

RIP: Neil Peart

This was yesterday's sad news; the passing of RUSH drummer, Neil Peart. Preliminary reports cited brain cancer. We reserve comments till further disclosure. He is indeed one of the best in this genre & noted for his song lyrics in addition to his helm at the drum stool. 

This is still my favourite RUSH track from their Counterparts album, Stick It Out. One of the reasons I like it is because it's one of those heavy numbers by the band with prog elements in tact; they don't do too many of such stuff.

Hollow enticements

Folks, if you were anticipating the PRS SE Hollow body models announced late 2019, these are now available at DGMC.

Both the Standard & II versions are in stock. Price-wise, I thought these were going to intrude into the S2 range but they remain affordable. Guess what? The price includes a hard case this time. OMG! Click here to read more details from DGMC: Hollow Standard/ Hollow II Tri-color Sunburst/ Hollow II Charcoal Burst