Benson will be here

George Benson will be in town :-)

• 26th August 2013 (Monday)
• 8.00PM, Kallang Theater
• Tickets: $168/ 148/ 128/ 98 from Sistic on June 7

Ibanez: FR420

The Ibanez FR series are not new this year but they were only available here in January 2013. This was definitely on my to-get list, it's a simple guitar, testing the player for his abilities more than a testimony of having locking hardware in an instrument & making the owner feel good. I held back because the FR420 was introduced this year so I was really hoping it's gonna make it to these shores, otherwise, I have to make arrangements for special purchases which I know will not make me happy (extra costs involved- GRRR...). 

But thanks to the forces that be, the FR420 was in stock in the second quarter of 2013 & here it is now. I'm not a sucker for the sunburst finish which was not the reason I held back but the FR420 sports an ash body while the FR320, mahogany. It's not about any superiority issues- no. I just prefer mine to be a little brighter because of the pickups I am gonna put in there. 

One more thing, my friends. The FR320 is also offered in white but this is a regional exclusive finish (meaning: offered in some countries only, it's not offered in the USA) & it's discontinued so if you like it white, grab one while it's still available. Also, the FR420 is not offered in the USA, the FR320 is not offered in Japan. This means, we are one of the fortunate people to have both models in the stores here. Here are some prices (NETT) for your reference:

• FR320 (black): SGD549
• FR320 (white): SGD630
• FR420 (sunburst): SGD639

Thank you, brother FAIZAL (Swee Lee BB), for the assistance, as always :-)

The telecaster of death (no country music allowed)

Death by corrosion- this Switchcraft input jack belongs to my Fender American Standard Telecaster & recently it went dead. It's not about a superior brand name when it comes to parts deterioration; it will happen, it's a matter of time. You just need to know where to get the replacement parts that best fit your needs. So in addition to the dead pots & switches, it's off to Beez's...

Here it is, my sonic Telecaster of death is now back to life (forgive the pun). Considering it's only the second time the parts died & required replacement since 1998, I must say it's well taken care of. Oh by the way, when I bought this guitar back at Swee Lee before the turn of the century, I recall this salesperson who attended to me then said clearly, "Telecasters are for country music only." Screw that, of course. Thanks Beez, for the exceptional workmanship.

Ibanez Sunday

Sunday. Have Ibanez, will play. :-)

Hello Hollow

Hello weekend- nothing like a weekend morning, sipping coffee, slowly. Because I can.

Hello June. The mid-year is here. It's that time of the year when I feel more accomplished because there are actually 6 months to look back to- occurrences, ups, downs, could-have-beens, should-have-beens.

Hello hollow. Played this morning- my Ibanez AF-105. I always have this urge to hear non-solid body tones so the AF-105 was there for a different kind of shred. Those Super 58 humbuckers are something.

Re-issue re-think

The guitars you see above: Fender ST57 (maple fretboard)/ ST 62 (rosewood fretboard). These are fine guitars, well-made Japanese instruments. I've tried them in the shops before & they are definitely great players. I've been trawling buy/sell ads (as always) & kept reading the fact that people propel these models as 'reissues' based (loosely) on the fact that there are '57' & '62' in there.

Recently, the manufacturer added the above ST57FR & ST62FR models in their catalogues. So if you are selling them off, would you propel them as 'reissues' as well? I've been talking to people & reminding them of the fact that these Japanese models are no 're-issues' in any way & they are not worth more than what the current market assessments dictate. Thanks to the FR models, we can now understand the fact that Fender made a close reference to what the '57 & '62 Strats were all about & manifest them in essence but definitely not in the strict 'reissue' understanding.