Guitar of the week #72 - Ibanez Artstar Series AM153
This guitar shows how gorgeous bubinga wood can be.
The Ibanez Artstar AM153 is cheaper than a Fender American Stratocaster, and wow does it look nice.
The main selling point of the guitar is that it has bubinga top, back and sides.
This Ibanez is a guaranteed head-turner and one you would be very proud to have sitting on your guitar stand. And fortunately, this guitar is not all looks as it does have premium hardware to back up its appearance.
The knobs are all Sure Grip III style, extra attention has been given to the fret ends for smoothness, all the metal hardware is top drawer stuff, the tuners are super-smooth and the pickups are the "Super 58" model, which you can find in several other semi-hollow body Ibanez model guitars. It's a particular pickup set Ibanez uses that works well in several of their semi-hollow series guitars.
If you've been wanting something in bubinga that is not a super-exotic custom order, this guitar is pretty much the only game in town. Again, remember, the cost of this is less than an American Strat. For a guitar with as much exotic treatment in it, it's a steal for what it's selling for.
Ukulele vs. Mandolin - which should you get?
If you play guitar now and are considering the ukulele or mandolin as your next stringed instrument, one choice is better than the other.
Take the Fender Ukulele '52. It's called a '52 because the thing is supposed to look sorta/kinda like a '52 Telecaster, but eh... not really. I think Fender calls it a '52 as more of a joke than anything. You could buy one and brag that you own a "real" Fender '52 and you technically wouldn't be lying.
I show the Ukulele '52 for a reason which I'll explain in a moment.
Example mandolin: Ibanez M510DVS.
Tip on mandolins: If you decide to get a mandolin and it has a bridge that isn't permanently mounted (meaning it comes loose when you take the strings off), the general rule of thumb is to line it up either at or close to the middle of the f-holes. Why? Intonation. If the bridge is set too far forward or too far back, you'll never get the thing in tune correctly.
If you look at each f-hole, you'll see the middle has a "pointer" of sorts. If you've no idea where to set a bridge when installing new strings on a mandolin, you use those f-hole midpoints as a guide.
Does the bridge need to sit exactly where the f-hole midpoints are? No. It just needs to sit wherever the intonation of the strings sounds best to your ears. Most of the time the correct position will be just slightly behind the f-hole midpoints.
If case you're wondering, yes this also applies to acoustic 6-string guitars with non-permanent mount bridges, violins and pretty much any other stringed instrument that has f-holes on it. When you want to know where to set the bridge, the f-hole midpoints are your guide.
Four things against the mandolin
First, it's usually more expensive than a uke. And that includes the cost it takes to restring one.
Second, it's not all that good as a songwriting instrument.
Third, it's a more difficult instrument to play that requires more finger strength.
Fourth, there's not nearly as much choice with mandolins as there is with ukes.
You can totally buy a mandolin if you want, but don't be surprised if you rarely take it out to actually play the thing. Once the novelty of a mandolin wears off, you may find it difficult if not impossible to use it for songwriting.
One thing (a big thing) in favor of the mandolin
One big advantage the mandolin has over the uke is that it's a far better instrument for live performances. A mandolin is acoustically much louder and from that can be picked up by microphones much easier. You can also do simple street performances with one whereas with a uke that would be difficult just for the fact you really can't hear one.
The entire reason the mandolin is louder is because it's more resonant, uses double the strings of a uke and also uses steel strings.
Which should you get?
If you like the idea of busking (i.e. live street performance), the mandolin is the winner, no question.
If you want something that's better as a songwriting instrument for recording at home, the ukulele is the clear winner.
See a whole bunch of ukes right here.
See a whole bunch of mandolins right here.
I especially recommend the ukulele to guitar players who feel they're in a rut and want something that sparks songwriting creativity for cheap. Ukes are fun little things that remind you why you play guitar to begin with.
Can't decide which to get?
Start with the uke first. It's cheaper, easier to play, easier to string up, lighter in weight and arguably more fun to play than the mandolin is.
And again, there are way more ukulele choices compared to mandolins. From the link above you can easily spend hours going through them all.
If you want the choice made real easy for you, get a Kala brand uke. Nearly every single model gets glowingly positive reviews. There's a reason for that. They're built right.
My take on Casio Oceanus watches
I don't talk about Casio Oceanus watches for basically one reason. They're not sold in America.
There are cheap Casio watches and then there are expensive models. Most people think the only expensive Casio watches that exist are upper tier G-SHOCK models.
Well, there's another line Casio makes which are definitely built to be luxurious-but-tough timepieces. Oceanus models. This is a tier (if not several tiers) higher than the Edifice models. Casio Edifice is not top-end, as you can get one for just 30 bucks. Where Oceanus is concerned, they usually start at $400 and top out in the thousands.
There aren't a lot of Oceanus models (a total of about 15), but every one of them is gorgeous. There's not a single one that looks bad. Every model has a titanium super-light bracelet, of which I believe all are slide-adjustable, like a Rolex Submariner's bracelet is. Every model is true 100m water resistant. Every model is solar powered. Every model has at least 2 subdials. Every model has atomic timekeeping for perfect timekeeping accuracy.
The main selling point of Oceanus is "The World's First Full-Metal GPS Wave Ceptor", which again boasts about its ultra-accurate timekeeping while at the same time offering some luxury with its case and bracelet materials.
I personally cannot wear an Oceanus because they're all big timepieces that are too large for my wrist. Most have a 44mm or greater case size. The nice thing however is that while Oceanus models are large, they're not big-for-the-sake-of-being-big. Every millimeter of size has purpose.
I've never seen an Oceanus model in person because they've never had a North American presence. As far as I'm aware, Oceanus is for Asian markets only. From the links above you'll see them on Amazon, but they're all Japan imports and that's par for the course.
I hope to at least get a look at an Oceanus model someday because they are very high-tech, high-end Japan timepieces. I can never buy it because the size is too large for me, but even in photos you can see a lot of attention has been put into the details of the design. It would be cool to see what a true luxury-built Casio really looks like in person.
Guitar of the week #71 - Fender Deluxe Tele Thinline
Fender makes a good amount of guitars with one-piece maple necks, but some are better than others. This is one of the better ones. In fact, I think it's one of the best electrics they've made in 2016.
The Fender Deluxe Tele Thinline has several things going for it that are just plain cool.
First, the fretboard has a 12" radius. That makes for easier soloing.
Second, the pickups are Vintage Noiseless. I've more to say about that in a moment.
Third, it has a 4-way switch instead of just a 3-way.
Fourth, the saddles are the better block style and not those dopey (and cheap) bent steel things.
Fifth, it has short-post locking tuners.
This is a Swiss Army Knife Tele of sorts. Darned good one, too.
Oh, and just to satisfy curiosity, the fourth pickup selection is the back + front pickup in series wiring rather than parallel. What that means is that on that particular position, you get more output and more midrange tone. I don't know how particularly useful that is, but it's nice that Fender included it.
Do the Fender Noiseless pickups in this Tele suck?
There's more than a few players who don't like the Noiseless pickups from Fender, but this one might appease the naysayers. Maybe.
Currently, there are two types of Fender Noiseless pickups available for the Telecaster. Fender N3 Noiseless and Fender Vintage Noiseless. The pickup set in the Deluxe Thinline is the Vintage Noiseless.
There are several differences between the two sets, but the most noticeable is that the N3 uses Alnico 5 magnets and the Vintage uses Alnico 2.
Explained in the simplest way, the N3 has modern "punch" while the Vintage is more "clear".
The big question however is this: Is the Vintage Noiseless set appropriate for the Thinline?
Yes, it is.
The output of the Vintage Noiseless isn't as in-your-face as the N3; it is a good choice for the Thinline, especially with the 4-way selector where overly loud pickups would ruin the series wiring selection.
If the Noiseless N3 set was in the Thinline, the tone would suck. It would be too "hot," tough to control, and, ironically, a noisy mess. Not the 60-cycle hum kind of noisy mess, but you'd hear way too much string drag, pick noise, body clunking and pretty much every other unwanted noise you can think of. The tamer Vintage set is a much better choice because you get the clarity without extraneous noise nor hum noise, and that's the entire point of having a noiseless pickup set to begin with.
So to answer the question, the Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups in the Thinline do not suck. They genuinely sound good, and with the modern bridge give a nice blend of vintage tone + modern appointments.
To really put a fine point on it, does the Vintage Noiseless "sound like a Telecaster?" Yes. No, you won't get "perfect '52" tone out of it. But what Tele would other than a real-deal '52?
Complaints?
I only have one, and it is unabashedly a personal preference on my part.
I don't like Strats or Teles with 22-fret necks on them.
Being the Deluxe Tele Thinline has modern appointments, yes it makes total sense that the guitar has a 22-fret neck as that is a totally modern thing...
...but I don't like it. I would much prefer to see a 21-fret neck.
There is, however, something that makes having that 22-fret neck worth it. Another modern feature, the heel cutaway. That cutaway makes it super-easy to reach for and bend high notes on the high-fret end of the neck.
The more you look into this guitar, the more you realize it truly does earn its "Deluxe" name in the model title.
I still don't like 22-fret guitars, mind you, but I'm certain this one is a joy to play. And from what I've heard, it also sounds right.
This is a genuinely good player's Telecaster. It's not meant to be a collectible. And by that I mean that this guitar was not built to be a case queen. Rather, this is one you play the hell out of.
Guitar of the week #70 - Squier Affinity Strat HH in Candy color option
This is the first time ever that I've seen a Squier priced this low with not one but three candy color options along with a few other goodies.
I'll first explain all the things that make this guitar unique and different compared to the stock Squier Affinity Strat.
Zebra pickup HH pickups. An HH Strat is nothing new, but seeing zebra color pickups in a Squier Strat priced this low is. This is the first time ever that I've seen zebra pickups in a Squier.
"Blackout" hardware. Black bridge/saddles, black tremolo arm and switch tip, black output jack, black tuners, black string trees.
Candy color option. This is where things get really interesting.
There are three of these.
First is the Candy Blue.
Second is Candy Green.
Last is the Candy Pink.
Body color-matched decals on the headstock. You can see this on the pink model the most, but all the decals on the headstock are matched to the body color. While I have seen color-matched headstocks from Squier before, this is the first time I've seen color-matched decals.
What is a "candy" finish?
Heavy metallic flake. Extra-big chunks of metal are mixed in with the paint to give it a super-sparkle of sorts.
If the Squier brand has released a candy finish Strat before, I don't remember ever seeing one. I've certainly seen Fender Strats with the candy option (like the Dick Dale Stratocaster), but not a Squier.
Price-wise, a candy Affinity Strat is $30 more than a regular Affinity.
Collectible?
Yes, absolutely. And a cheap collectible at that. The funny thing however is that it will be interesting to see which of the three colors will hold the most value in the future. You'd think it would be the pink one, but who knows? Maybe the blue or the green will command top dollar.
As for my pick of the three, it's the green one, and I have to explain that choice a bit.
Green, ordinarily, is an absolutely awful color for a solid-body electric, especially for a Strat. But the candy green with the zebra HH layout works for some strange reason.
I've only seen one other green Strat in my life, and that was the Eric Clapton Stratocaster in 7-UP Green. Ugly guitar. The Squier in candy green actually has more character to it.
For those of you that remember the Squier Strat in Orange Metallic, this is not a copy of that guitar. This one has way more metallic flake in the paint, a white pick guard instead of black, and it has the cool look of the zebra pickups.
How does it sound? Probably a bit on the bland side, but that's not why you buy this guitar. You buy it to get something that sticks out in a sea of Strats that all look the same.
One thing is for sure if you get one of these. Whether you play in a band or just make videos for YouTube, it will probably be true that you'll be the only one with a stock candy color Squier HH. The stuff on this guitar is what other players would mod their guitar to look like, but you won't have a mod a thing. Just plug in and go.