The 5 best Black Friday Gibson guitar buys for 2016
The day I post this is the biggest shopping day of the year for 2016. Some of you will be going to guitar stores to buy guitars. If you intend on doing that and are going for a Gibson this year, see these first because you're about to see 5 Gibsons that are not available in guitar stores at all, but you can get them here.
The M2 is lean-and-mean with a SlimTaper neck, nitro gloss on the body and nitro satin on the neck. Very smooth player, USA-made (as are all the guitars on this list) and most importantly, less than half the price of a USA-made Fender Stratocaster.
Gibson USA Les Paul Custom Studio
This is a simplified Les Paul (note that it only has 2 knobs) with a more subdued look. Has a swamp ash body and alnico 5 magnet "double slugs" pickups.
Gibson USA 2017 Firebird Studio
The Firebird is a guitar I intend to own someday personally and if I had the cash I'd seriously consider this one. This one has the 496R/500T pickup combo. If you're familiar with "SG scream" where tone is concerned, this Firebird has that.
I really dig the design of this particular SG because it has that early-early Gibson design influence to it. Gold top hat knobs, keystone tuners, and so on create a very cool look all around. The pickups in this one are a '57 Classic in the bridge and a '57 Classic Plus in the neck.
This "Classic" Les Paul is basically a Standard without the asymmetrical neck or any robot tuner junk on it. Like the SG mentioned above, this one has a pair of '57 pickups in it as well. Does the Classic cost less than the Standard? Yes. You save about $500 going with this one, and yes it will still retain good resale value if you plan on selling it later on.
Guitar of the week #85 - DiVill by Italia F100
This guitar is weird yet not weird at the same time.
The DiVill by Italia F100 has an appearance that on the surface looks like a wild, wacky shape. But the more you look at it, the more you realize the design is quite normal.
The first thing to note is that this guitar has 3 pickups and not 1. There are 2 black single-coil pickups after the chrome covered humbucker. I actually like this because it easily fools someone into thinking this is a guitar with 1 pickup when it's not.
As far as the rest of the guitar is concerned, I can basically describe it as a cross between a Strat, a Les Paul and a Jazzmaster. The 25.5-inch scale (fingerboard radius unknown) and tuners are Strat-like, the bridge is Les Paul-like, the body and vibrato system are Jazzmaster-like. The electronics are your typical HSS style with 5-way blade selector.
I actually like this guitar's design, but there are two things I don't like about it, both of which are at the headstock.
First, the wood (and presumably the back of the neck) has no tint to it at all. It's just plain wood with sealant.
Second, the end of the headstock has this cut that just looks odd. It's not horrible, but I don't like it.
Other than those two things, this guitar actually looks pretty cool.
What does it sound like? Not a clue. I could not find any videos on YouTube demonstrating the sound of it. Were I to just outright guess, I'd say this guitar probably sounds like a mid-grade Epiphone guitar, which is not a bad thing, but it is a guess.
The best thing I can say about this guitar is that it's not your typical Strat, Tele or Les Paul. This is something different, but tastefully done without looking like a total freak show.
The pick punch pack is a cool and affordable Christmas gift for guitar players
If you've run out of ideas for what to buy as a gift for someone that loves the guitar and want something affordable and available right now, this is it.
A pick punch is literally a stapler-shaped thing that makes picks out of anything it can cut. Old credit cards, old greeting card stock, and so on. While it doesn't make the best picks in the world, any guitar player who uses one of these already knows this. However, any guitar player is happy to have one of these because when he or she runs out of picks (which does happen), the pick punch makes usable picks quick-and-easy.
Most pick punches come with strips, and that's what makes for a good gift.
There is also the "pick-a-palooza" that comes with the punch, sheets and a leather keychain pick holder.
The easiest of the easy is the pick-a-palooza gift pack. Why? Because it's made to be given as a gift. It doesn't get any easier than that.
My weird, wacky wristwatch requirements
There will be a Seiko in my future.
Regular readers of my site know I got walloped with some expenses this year. However, I do want to get myself a little something for Christmas - unless someone is generous enough to gift it to me. More on that in a moment.
The only watch in the world that suits my requirements where an analog timepiece is concerned is the Seiko SNK803. The requirements may be a bit weird and wacky, but valid nonetheless.
I very recently started wearing an analog watch again, and out of the ones I own, I've been wearing the Timex Weekender the most. Love the white dial, love the contrast of the dark numbers and markings, love it all...
...except the fact the 38mm version does not have a day-date complication on it. That is the one thing missing that would otherwise make it just about perfect.
Yes, it is true that Timex makes a timepiece very close to the look of the Weekender that is in fact a day-date, model T2N065, but it's a 36mm which is just 1mm too small for me. The Weekender is a 38mm and my Orient Three Star is a 37mm.
Speaking of which, while I really like my Orient and it operates just fine, I find that a dial with numbers on it is something I can read much faster and easier. It really shouldn't make a difference, but to me it does. The Orient I have hasn't any numbers on its dial at all.
In addition, I find that I greatly prefer an off-white dial over a dark dial be it black, blue, brown, green or whatever. The Weekender has that just-right dial color to it where it's not stark in color.
I've gone through both Amazon and eBay, again and again, over and over, looking through many listings trying to find something that has an off-white dial, numbers on dial, has minute markers, is light in weight, has a day-date complication and a 37mm or 38mm case size.
The Seiko SNK803 is the only timepiece on the planet that satisfies all these requirements. I've found no other timepiece that fits the bill. And believe me, I've looked.
Why am I being so selective about this? I can explain that best by citing two examples.
I'm in the supermarket buying groceries. There is one item in particular where I wanted to compare the expiration date to today (I didn't want to buy it if it expired in less than a week). Instinctively, I look at my watch, and... uh-oh. I'm wearing the Weekender. It has no date function. I can't check the expiration date against what the watch says because the watch doesn't show the date.
Numerous instances have happened where I glance at the watch to tell me what weekday it is. But again, the Weekender doesn't have that function and doesn't display that information.
True, I could just put on my Casio A158WEA which does display day and weekday on the face in addition to the time. But I noticed something else about the Weekender the more I wore it.
I can actually read the Weekender's dial more easily than the Casio. There is more contrast to the Weekender's face compared to an A158.
This is not to say the A158 isn't readable as it is very readable, but the Weekender is even easier. And I like that. A lot.
The Seiko SNK803 has that contrast just like the Weekender does with the addition of a day-date complication, which is exactly what I'm looking for.
There is one other watch that satisfies the requirements besides the Seiko. The Pulsar PJ6007. Why don't I get that one? I already have. I returned it because it was just too darned heavy, and the style of it wouldn't agree with a leather strap at all. That, and it's actually more expensive than the Seiko is.
It's like I said, the Seiko SNK803 is the only one that fits the bill.
I'm not saying the SNK803 is the perfect watch. I'm saying it's the perfect watch for me. Most other guys would prefer a larger timepiece.
If my wrist were just a half-inch larger, guess what? I could go buy the Casio MRW200H-7BV today. That meets all my requirements, save for one problem. Too big for my wrist. Another option is the Lucien Piccard LP-13017-02 "Expeditor". That also meets all my requirements, but has the same problem. Too frickin' big.
The SNK803 is, much like my Orient, an old-school Japanese style watch both in look and function. A bit of a holdover from how watches used to be made, but it is absolutely the right size for my wrist.
Guitar of the week #84 - Squier Vintage Modified '70s Jazz Bass (Natural Finish)
This is a model that might not be around for very much longer.
Arguably, the Fender Jazz Bass is the best bass a guitar player could own for basically one reason. It has the skinniest neck. Note that I didn't say thinnest neck. I said skinniest. As in a skinny nut width of 1.5 inches (compared to the Precision Bass which has a 1.625-inch nut width). This makes for a ridiculously easy-to-play bass.
There is also a second reason guitar players like the Jazz Bass. It has a "lean" in the body like the Jazzmaster does, so not only is the neck very easy on the fingers, but it's also a bass that plays very nicely in the seated or standing position. Chances are if you read my site, you're a guitar player, and when when you play bass, you do it sitting down, so the Jazz Bass would be the right choice.
The '70s Jazz Bass model from Squier may not make it much longer. I sincerely hope it does, but it might not.
This particular model is one of the best Jazz Basses Squier makes. Right weight, right tone, right everything. It is better than the Affinity version, no question about that.
If you record your own music at home (and you probably do), you need a real bass. Tuning down your guitar for a bass tone sounds awful. Using a pitch shift effect on your guitar for a bass tone also sounds awful. Using a keyboard sounds too fake. You need the real thing. I found this out myself and that's why I also own a bass.
The Jazz Bass will be the easiest on your fingers, easiest to play and yes, it has "that sound" with its two skinny single-coil pickups. You really can't go wrong with one.
Why do I recommend this particular model? Other than the fact it's a Jazz Bass, it's because of the maple fretboard. That's a sealed wood, meaning it's far easier to clean compared to rosewood. This means if you go a few months without playing it, no problem. Just detune, lift the strings, wipe down the board, retune and you're good to go.