Forgotten Gibson: 1983 Map Guitar

Probably best played when standing.

I talked about a forgotten Fender model recently, so here's a forgotten Gibson from the early 1980's, the map guitar.

Obviously, this guitar was meant only for show. As far as I'm aware, there were fewer than 200 of these made, and I've only ever seen them in Natural finish.

What is interesting however is what changed from what you see on the cover of the 1983 Gibson catalog compared to what was actually made.

You would think something this rare would sell for well into 5 figures, but it's nowhere near that.

What you will immediately notice is that compared to the catalog photo, the pickup selector, knob type, knob placement and rear strap button placement are different on most map guitars. This is normal. What was shown on the catalog cover was a prototype.

You'll also notice that the prototype had neck binding and most if not all of the actual ones made do not, and the prototype had a Les Paul style bridge and tailpiece while the production Map guitar had a "harmonica" style installed on it. This bridge style was typical for Gibson electric models of the era.

I can't really say anything good or bad about this guitar because it was made purposely as a showpiece. But it leaves me to wonder... did Gibson ever have plans to put a finish on this other than Natural, such as the United States flag, or red-white-blue stripes or some such?

We may never know.

[UPDATE] Yes, there was a stars & stripes version made in 1985

A reader emailed me and told me about this (thank you!), so yes, mystery solved, it does exist...

...but does have some interesting quirks to it.

Rear strap button is moved down to its original position as seen in the prototype.

Tuner buttons are plastic keystone style, most likely for weight reduction.

Three knobs instead of four.

Pickup selector moved yet again, this time closer to the bridge.

Traditional Les Paul style bridge + tailpiece and not the harmonica style, similar to the prototype.

Still no neck binding on this one.

No plate on the output jack.

Knobs are transparent clear instead of gold or black.

Pickup rings are white.

It's very interesting how the stars & stripes were done, because it's not specific to the United States flag nor any specific US state.

Both the Natural and the Stars & Stripes versions of the Map guitar are cool. Which would you take?

Does anybody make a "map" guitar shape anymore?

No, and that's probably a blessing. A search for map guitar will bring you to fretboard charts you can put on your wall. And that's actually way, WAY more useful than a country-shaped guitar that you can't even play sitting down.

Casio MTP-V003, the one everyone missed

I grabbed this one before it disappeared.

Back in 2020 I bought a Casio MTP-V006. I like it and still have it, but I wanted something more classy and that's the MTP-V003.

The MTP-V003 is functionally exactly the same as the MTP-V006. All the difference is in the dial and hands. On the MTP-V003, the hands are flat and the hour markers are raised and shiny, making for a very elegant look overall.

I'm genuinely surprised more people didn't buy this watch, as for many it is the "perfect" size. The perfect diver is known as a 40/20, meaning 40mm diameter and 20mm lug width. The perfect everyday casual dress watch is a 38/18, which is exactly what the MTP-V003 is. The exact dimensions are 45mm lug-to-lug, 38mm diameter, 18mm lug width and 9.4mm thickness.

In addition, the second hand is precise, hits every marker properly and it's a silent ticker. Both the MTP-V003 and MTP-V006 are like this.

Better than other similar offerings

When it comes to an analog quartz, this is what people want:

• Light
• Quiet
• Accurate
• All markers installed properly
• Seconds hand hits all the marks and isn't jittery
• Crown turns smoothly with no grinding
• Day-date lines up properly and works smoothly

Shockingly, Casio is one of the few watchmakers that actually satisfies all these requirements. There are tons of quartz analog watches out there, and the vast majority of them just don't measure up.

There are Swiss quartz watches selling well north of $300 right now that tick loud and have a seconds hand that doesn't line up with the markers. That's ridiculous. Casio, with a watch that sells for well under $50, doesn't have those problems at all.

The only two watchmakers I know of that truly get it right with quartz analogs are Casio and Citizen. Citizen has some nice day-date offerings including the BM8240-03E and BM8180-03E, but where price is concerned, Casio is obviously the better deal.

The day-date complication is still one of the best things ever invented

Rolex made the first day-date wristwatch watch back in 1956 (appropriately called the Day-Date) and still manufactures it to this day. Theirs has the day complication at the 12 o'clock position and the date at 3 o'clock. As far as what company first put both the day and date at the 3 o'clock, that I don't know, but it is faster to read compared to the Rolex layout.

What I do know is that the Seiko 5 model has always had a day-date complication, with most if not all of them having it at the 3 o'clock position. This watch has been around since the 1960's.

The day-date complication is one of those things where once you wear an analog watch that has it, you then understand how convenient it actually is.

Every time I wear an analog watch that doesn't have a day-date, it feels weird because I expect day and date information to be there whenever I look at the dial. Having that info at a glance is something you get used to real quick.

Discontinued, but totally worth getting

The MTP-V003 is now a discontinued model, so I grabbed one now before this watch vanished.

The MTP-V006 is still on Amazon with the roman numeral white dial and casio black dial versions. For the MTP-V003, it's limited where you can find it, so you'll have to search around.

When it comes to a quartz analog where everything works the way it's supposed to, Casio is the only one that does it for the lowest price while still getting a great quality timepiece.

Just for the look: Peavey Solo guitar amp

This one looks so right.

It's not so much the size nor the capability of this smaller amp but rather the look of it that really works here.

The Peavey Solo guitar combo amp is a simple smaller guitar amplifier. It's 12-watt, has an 8-inch speaker, is solid state, has clean and lead channel, 3-band EQ and weighs about 12 pounds. Dimensions are 9.75" across, 16.12" height, 14.87" depth, which is small but not "desktop sized" small.

Is it battery powered? No. AC power is required, which I prefer. If you want something battery powered, small and feature-packed, see BOSS Katana-Mini...

...but I really like what you get with the Peavey Solo.

If there's one thing Peavey does well, they really know how to do simple-and-good right. Yes, they obviously make more complicated amps, but the Solo is a great example of well designed simplicity.

And, of course, there's the look of it. Even when small, Peavey amps look nice. The fonts are great, the knobs are spaced correctly and nothing looks out of place. Even the grill cloth used has a bit of an upscale look to it.

Are there better amps this size? Probably. But few look this good and have the thoughtfulness put into this design like the Solo has.

On an end note, I'll tell you what I mean by thoughtfulness. Look at the knobs. Each has a thick line where you can tell exactly where it's set even from a few feet away. It's extremely easy to tell where the separation of volume to EQ is. All fonts are bold and there's great contrast. No chrome or shiny bits anywhere because there doesn't need to be. Ultra-functional design.

More amps need to be designed this way.

Spacehunter, that '80s movie when 3D was a thing

This movie was a bit of a letdown.

I said after watching The Ice Pirates that I was going to watch this, and did.

First I'll that say The Ice Pirates is the better movie simply because it's more entertaining. Spacehunter looks better, sounds better and is more of a spectacle, but doesn't entertain as much.

The short lived 3D comeback of the early 1980s

Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone was one of a handful of movies from the '80s where one of its selling points was the whole 3D shtick.

I did in fact see this movie in 1983, in a theater, in 3D. Everybody in the theater was given those white 3D glasses where one lens was blue and the other red (the technical name is anaglyph 3D glasses). That was the 3D tech back then.

Anybody who is a fan of 3D movies knows there is good 3D and bad 3D. Spacehunter was good 3D, and the movie really took advantage of showing things that truly had a three-dimensional effect to them. Different shots and scenes are sprinkled throughout the film where even now, 38 years later, I still remember how cool that 3D effect was.

The crappy part is that when I watched it now, I could see every scene where the director purposely composed 3D-friendly shots, which of course I can't fully experience. Would it have made a difference if I watched it on a giant TV? No. A bigger picture doesn't magically bring 3D back.

"Get this out fast before Jedi is released!"

The release of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was May 25, 1983. The release of Spacehunter was May 20, 1983. Yes, just 5 days prior. Not a coincidence. Spacehunter had to beat the clock and get released before Jedi because otherwise they would have been clobbered at the box office and never made their money back on production cost.

Yes, they did make their money back, but not by much. It was very wise to have this released before Jedi, because had they not done that, the movie certainly would have lost money.

Wimpy story, but great visuals and sound

For literally every character in this movie, either a small amount of information was given about them to push the weak story along, or hardly any at all.

The three girls seen in the beginning? They each have names, but I guarantee you won't find out what those names are until looking at the end credits. Also, you will not get any info whatsoever on where these girls came from or why they're even important. All you're given is "Good guy must rescue these three girls that were on a cruise that got blown up." That's it.

You're never given a chance to care about any of the characters because of lack of info. And for any moment when the movie hints at telling you more about anybody, it just stops and goes back to the adventure stuff. The whole movie is like this.

Visually, yes, well done. Good sets, good costumes, good makeup, good lighting, good props. All good. Everything looks very sci-fi like the way it's supposed to. Some point out that there are certain things that look cheap, but I counter that by saying overall it's a good presentation.

Sound is also well done. I can hear everything that's going on and things are mixed well. It's a far cry better than many other 1980's movies.

I know now why I forgot this movie existed

Production is good, but it's the lack of story more than anything else that just kills this movie. It's the weak story that makes this flick so forgettable...

...and I believe that is why I totally forgot about it all these years until just recently.

What I liked about this movie when I saw it 38 years ago was the same thing I liked about it now. The visuals and spectacle of the whole thing. I was impressed by what I saw knowing it's a movie from 1983.

But as for story, there really isn't one. Spacehunter could have been so much more.

The Ice Pirates 1984

There are some movies that can only live in the time which they were made. This is one of them.

In the mid-2000s I started a journey to watch every single movie I had seen as a kid, especially for the ones I only had fuzzy memories of.

Examples of this are Logan's Run and The Gumball Rally.

I thought, incorrectly, that I had finally finished the journey when I saw The Black Cauldron. I was certain that yes, this was it. This was the last one.

No. There are two more. The Ice Pirates and Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone.

I just re-watched The Ice Pirates, and that's what I'm going to talk about now. I've not re-watched Spacehunter yet, but will very soon.

What is The Ice Pirates and why did it even happen?

This is a goofy sci-fi adventure movie from 1984, meaning it's 37 years old at the time I write this in 2021. I saw it originally when it was new.

The movie is exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak. Pirates in space on a swashbuckling adventure.

I'm pretty sure the last time I saw this was literally in the 1980s. My fuzzy memories of that time tell me that not only did I see it in a movie theater, but I also watched it at home either as a VHS videocassette rental or from seeing it on television during the summer. I'm convinced I saw this a few times long ago due to how many scenes I actually remembered while re-watching it. When you see a movie once, then don't see it again for decades, you barely remember anything about it. But I was recognizing and remembering a good chunk of this movie, so I had to have seen it a handful of times.

It's a fun movie and I liked it. But seeing it now all these years later reminds of why this movie happened in the first place.

The sole reason this movie happened because of Star Wars. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a ton of sci-fi movies and television shows happened because space adventure and space fantasy storylines were hot-hot-hot. Everybody was trying to cash in.

Yes, sci-fi adventure/fantasy movies had been around a long time (see The Forbidden Planet), but when Star Wars had its original three movie run from 1977 to 1983, the influence it had was far and wide. And that's how movies like The Ice Pirates happened.

Is this movie a spoof of Star Wars? No. A lot of people think it is, but it's not. The movie does tell a story that is its own thing. As such, it's not a parody, meaning not a spoof. This isn't Spaceballs.

Worth watching?

This movie is certainly more than old enough to qualify as vintage era, given it's almost 40 years old.

With that said, if you like the original Star Wars and want to see a "byproduct movie" specifically from that era, then yes, you'll like The Ice Pirates.