S2 35th

Head's up! New PRSes are in @ Davis GMC. One of them is this gorgeous S2 35th Anniversary Custom 24. It's definitely a limited edition model & no more will make their way here, just these ones so if you are indeed waiting anxiously for one, it's now available in store.

Faded Blue Smokeburst: CLICK
Elephant Grey: CLICK

Dean 2020

Nothing much from the Dean camp this year (maybe more later in the year). This MD 24 Select looks more mainstream featuring a headstock we can all like. 

Equally simple & mainstream but still attractive is the Tele-style Nashvegas. 22 frets on this one. 

They made this official - the Karl Sanders signature V. Of course, the other V that made a greater highlight is the Kerry King model but I've mentioned that before & it's not that affordable.

RIP: Reed Mullins

This was a little difficult for me to accept but Reed Mullins (Corrosion of Conformity) passed away just days ago. He's one of my favourite drummer despite me playing guitars & not knowing how to drum for nuts. However, I'm intrigued to play after hearing inspirational drumming more than some shred-worthy guitar passages. The thing about Mr. Mullins here is that he's able to pull things off with just a single bass drum & not sounding less heavy than his peers. 

Here's Mine are the Eyes of God as the perfect example of his drumming prowess - still my firm favourite after all these years. I saved up $18 just to but the cassette version of this album way back boy bands were starting to make headlines in the music world.

Kramer!

We end January in the good knowledge that the Kramer name is still alive & kicking, now under Epiphone's watch. The Pacer (above) was one of the shredder's standard reference back then. This tiger finish screams '80s.

The Baretta is as simple as it gets with a lone Duncan JB in there.

But I prefer the '84, especially in this green finish. Between the Baretta & the '84, the latter sports a non-tilted headstock, body end truss rod access & a non-slanted humbucker but it's the Duncan JB as well so tone-wise, not much difference.

Last & certainly not least, it's the Holy Diving Kramer haunting our GAS list since forever, the Nightswan. Thank you, Kramer, for having the FR 1000 bridge in there & in my opinion, these guitars rank higher in terms of functionality compared to the recently reissued Fender HM Strat. 

Since these are now under the Epiphone distribution, I strongly urge dealers/ distributors everywhere to make them readily available in stores. If there's a good time to be selling these nostalgic models, it is now. Fender & LTD, among others, are playing the nostalgia cards this year, if dealers do not see the potential of Kramer doing likewise, it is at their loss. 

Rosy re-string

This has to be my shred Tele; action is super low on this one. I'm actually making full use of the smaller, shorter frets which allow for a lower action. The overall satin finish on this one also spurs me to play faster. I bought this at Davis GMC when there were many Japanese Fender models in store. Good to know that they are bringing in more of such Fenders soon. 

If you take a closer look, I've swapped out the original M-type string retainer for this rounded, modern version. The former pushed the strings way down, strings are touching the headstock bit just after the nut. This helped with the elevation issue & it's more responsive to tuning as well.

Unexpected combo but what a pair! These Seymour Duncan pickups simply compliment each other. Despite being labelled as a Vintage Stack, the neck pickup can keep up with the bridge Hot Stack in terms of drive & distortion. Also, these stack models don't wimp out in terms of clarity which is essential for me. 

La Bella strings this time & they are good strings indeed. Note that these feature coloured ball ends & not to me mistaken for D'Addarios.

Kiesel FG

This was showcased at NAMM recently. Ironically, Frank Gambale started out with a Strat before moving on to Ibanez, Yamaha & currently, Kiesel. It's unclear if it would be a regular production model as it's not listed as such in the mean time. Any yellow Gambale guitar never fails to induce GAS.



Here's the sweep picking master himself showcasing the guitar in question.