Now where have you seen that jersey motif before? Hmm... 😆

Pics: Man City/ Sweetwater

LTD 2021

The LTD camp did a Black Metal series featuring all black (no surprises there) instruments sporting a single bridge pickup in 2020. 2021 will see the Arctic Metal series unleashed unto the metal masses with white being the finish of choice for all things frosty & merciless.

There are a few models in the series, I'm just showing two here. Seeing these guitars in the LTD 2021 catalog implies a certain degree of success in terms of numbers. Players in general do not look forward to owning an instrument with a single pickup, it's a niche demand. LTD must have done something right along the way so the single pickup iteration is now riding on a colour variant. 

Pics: ESPguitars

Mustaine - Dean: Parting ways

Dave Mustaine is leaving Dean. This is his final week with the manufacturer & he managed to confirm this in a reply to someone in cyberspace. Rumour has it that he will be in the Gibson camp come 2021. There's a pic going round of the prototype, purportedly by a Gibson employee & he nearly got fired for it. I think Mustaine will be happy with whichever company that entertains his quirks. 

PIC: Grammy

Heavy resurrection

 

Folks, the other anticipation at the close of 2020 is the HM-2 pedal. What's the big deal, you ask? This was the pedal that single-handedly gave birth to the so called Swedish Death Metal tone. It's also noted that David Gilmour had one in his pedal board once upon a time so there's more to the HM-2 than being an exclusive slave to heavy music. 

However, the HM-2 would be released as a Waza Craft model. It means paying a little more than what it should list for without the WC extras. This is currently dividing the HM-2 camp into the purist vs revisionist movements. BOSS did a clever thing by asking fans to contribute to the design features of the pedal so the final manifestation has some user ownership rather than dictating the revised features per se. 

I would hear what the new HM-2 has to offer before committing to purchase. If there's any dissent for a good, angry distortion pedal, it would be a lack of midrange. 

Gen 565

 

This is easily the key highlight at the close of 2020 - Ibanez reintroduces the RG565 as a Genesis model. This means you get a Japanese made instrument at its most affordable. However, since the J-line series aren't here yet, those might just be the most affordable of the no-frills Japanese offerings.

The 565 should embrace the 550 details & would miss that 're-issue' tag owing to the neck construction; it's a contemporary 5-piece parallel attachment with a neck volute. All in all, it's good to see more Genesis models making the fold & I believe Ibanez fans out there would want to see other models inducted into this range of instruments; some S-models would be good. 

PICS: Ibanez

Home

 

Home after 52 days. Thank you for all your prayers & keeping me in your thoughts. Despite the discharge, I am required to undergo chemo for at least a quarter of the year as an outpatient. This will be costly & I would be clearing some gear to fund the therapy. One thing's for sure - I cannot afford to be trigger happy when it comes to gear acquisition now. Things have turned for me so it's embrace-&-move-on mode from now on.

Please be patient with me if the entries are less frequent but I'm looking forward to make up for lost time. ✌🏽