End of (sale) days

We're into the final two days of Swee Lee's Katong branch sale. If you are planning to grab a worthy Ibanez, the ones in this end of the display are worth checking out; I cannot say likewise for the other Ibanez models in store. The condition of this lot is very good, close to an out of-the-box experience. 

Out of the eight, I've personally tried five of them & my highest accolade goes to the Andy Timmons model (Premium) for being both good playing & good sounding. It's slightly more than $1K after discount & I deem this value for money. I'm not an active pickup fan but that Luke Hoskin signature is really something tone-wise. The Fluence pickups are really good for metal stuff & high octane rock - about $1.3K after discount. 

Happy weekend in advance, everyone. Please stay vigilant & virus-free.

Raw ash

A gorgeous release by Fender; the Raw Ash Strat. Note the covered pickups.

Also available - the Tele version. Both are from the American Performer Series so they won't cost a fortune. Must say that I have a soft spot for ash Fenders... Hmm...

PICS: Andertons

No Standard

Nothing special here, just the typical LP Standard headstock.

But I've been wanting to do this all along since I did it with the other guitar. The truss rod cover is now a blank version. That 'Standard' label there invites pre-conceived opinions about the instrument. If it's a good one per se, it should be good regardless of the suggested tier it's from. I also do not wish to be seen as somebody who made it in life because I own a certain Gibson model from a certain tier. I believe in letting ability & commitment speak for my accomplishments. 

Fantom menace

Good news indeed - DiMarzio has humbucking P-90s, aw damn! It's called the Fantom P-90, available in three versions as seen above. Very glad that it's offered in a humbucker housing & that's what I'm gonna get once these are available here. P-90 fans would understand how this pickup iteration is second to none when it comes to midrange goodness. The issue with high gain applications is definitely its excessively noisy nature. I've been enjoying midrange goodness with Seymour Duncan's Phat Cat with a dash of noise gate but it somehow sucked some top end away. 

Epiphone: 2020 (4)

Not too many entries ago, I cited the remarkable increase in price for the LP Jr. That was the Gibson version. I'm definitely glad that there's an Epiphone version for 2020 & it will (hopefully) costs about a quarter of the Gibson's list price. 

Still on the P-90 front, the SG Special is also available. The reason why I am highlighting these models is because Epiphone actually went the extra mile to include these 'lesser' or student models in their new lineup. The utilitarian profile of these models would mean it remains viable in terms of sales & won't be sitting in the corner reserved for quirky, forgotten models.

Viola!

So my Dad benefitted from the first day of the Swee Lee Katong sale. He had always wanted one because it's that bass McCartney played & here it is, Epiphone's Viola bass. The Hofner version used to be available at Davis but it was way beyond his budget. 

The bass in question is in very good condition. There were no visible dings or hardware stains/ oxidation. This outline is definitely less appealing to the current generation of bassists & only die hard Beatles fans would get turned on by one. It is also a neck diver & would easily bother those playing it at home in a sitting down position; even my Dad acknowledged this anomaly. No such issues once it's strapped on. He's thoroughly happy with the simple design  of the instrument & how 'easy' it is for him to manage left hand movements. I had a hard time explaining to him the concept of a shorter scale length because his constant refrain was a shorter neck; neck length & scale length are two different matters but it's futile to be very technical with people who do not read into design concepts/ details. Whatever floats his boat.

This one was a gift to him despite me feeling the crunch at this time of the month. I seldom finance gear purchases with a credit card but this one had to be the exception. My Dad bought me only one piece of gear throughout my exploits with all things guitar; it was an Ibanez PF-100 acoustic which I sold off despite the sentimentality. It was a good entry level player but I always struggled handling a standard size acoustic body. It hinders my playing despite how good the instrument is per se. I have no idea if he harbours regret in forking out hard-earned cash for something which I seemingly wasn't grateful for. This sale event was my opportunity to return that kind gesture & I told him to bear with the bagless endeavour in the mean time. It's darn difficult finding a bag for short-scaled basses & this one didn't come with one & that's very unfortunate. A quick check with the Epiphone catalog showed a hard case especially conceived for this bass but it's beyond me why it's not a complementary item & requires a separate purchase. OK Dad, hope you're happy with this one.