Unexpected surprise, Casio F201
I honestly never thought I'd be wearing this watch regularly.
Kicking around in my box of watches was something I bought back in 2018, a Casio F201. The thing I like best about that watch is that it has the same feature set as the W213. Love the W213 but really don't like the silver case and the strap is awful...
...so I said screw it, let's put on the F201 and see how I like it. I didn't like it before, but since I already had one, I tried it again.
I've been wearing the thing almost nonstop for a few weeks now if not a month by this point.
The F201 at the time I write this sells on Amazon for just 15 bucks, which is basically the same price as the F-91W.
On paper, the F201 is a far better watch compared to the F-91W. Five alarms, countdown timer with auto-repeat, 10-year battery, stopwatch, dual time, full month/day/date display and a great night light. This absolutely blows away the F-91W, feature-wise.
The F-91W looks cooler and has a lot of history to it, but once I got access back to a watch so cheap with all this great usable stuff in it and it fit my wrist better, well... it was an easy choice to just keep on using it.
In fact, I grew to like the F201 so much that I bought a second one as a backup.
There is something intrinsically good about getting so much for so little
An F201 is all about function over form. It's just a little block of plastic on a resin strap and nothing more. The only metal on it is the case back. Everything else is plastic. There are few lines on the display separating the different fields, but it's still very clean and uncluttered. It's thicker than an F-91W because of the CR2025 battery inside that gives it its "10-year battery" claim (as opposed to the CR2016).
F201 is not stylish. It just works. And oh, does it work well. The buttons are easy to press. The digits are large. It's an ultralight at just 24g in weight total, strap included.
I have no idea how Casio can sell this thing for as cheap as they do, especially considering the F-91W is almost the same price.
Any flaws?
Yes, but darned few of them.
The display is slightly dimmer when compared to an F-91W. I think this is because the panel sits a little further inside the case. There's no problem reading it in the day, but in darker environments you'd be using the night light a lot.
It is small. 41mm lug-to-lug, 34mm wide, 10.5mm thick. And the strap is on the shorter side. Larger wrists can't wear this (which may partially explain why the W800H sells so well).
It's not as easy to use as the F-91W since the F201 is so packed with features.
And that's it.
This sat for years...
I bought my F201 back in '18, only wore it a handful of times and then chucked it in a box of watches where it was not cared for whatsoever.
It's funny that this is the watch that's now one of my favorites.
Why the Epiphone Explorer is better than the Gibson (for now)
It basically all comes down to one reason.
Right now, if you want to buy a brand new Gibson Explorer guitar, there are only two colors. Antique Natural and the "70s Explorer" version in Classic White.
Both these color options miss the mark.
The Epiphone version comes in one of the two best colors ever offered on this guitar, Black. The other is Cherry. It's not nitro, but it totally looks correct.
An Antique Natural finish Explorer is cool when going for that late '50s guitar appearance. A Classic White Explorer looks similar to the "EET F*K" guitar James Hetfield played, which was actually an ESP MX-220.
But Black makes the Explorer really look like a rock guitar, and that's what makes the Epiphone better than the Gibson...
...for the moment. Gibson could, and should, release a regular production Explorer in Black. They don't call it Black but rather Ebony just to be fancy about it.
Yes, it's true there is a Gibson Custom Shop Explorer in Ebony at the time I write this, but that thing is expensive and too pretty for what it is. All the hardware is gold. The pick guard isn't white, so there is no contrast at all against the finish. And this is an instance where the block inlays don't work, visually speaking. Explorers are supposed to have dot inlays.
This is why I say there should be a regular production run of the Gibson Explorer in Ebony.
As crazy as this sounds, Gibson needs to copy what Epiphone did. Ebony finish, white guard, nickel hardware, dot inlays, "loud" pickups. This is a formula that works for the Explorer guitar.
Antique Natural and Classic White? No. Ebony and Cherry? Yes.
You should surround yourself in guitar luxury
Yes, you should do this, but not for the reasons you would think.
At this point in my life, I have been around many millions of dollars worth of guitars. I've seen the best of the best both vintage and new and even played some of them.
However, bear in mind there is a huge difference between luxury and quality.
What is a luxury guitar? Expensive, fragile and ornate.
What is a quality guitar? Reasonably priced, built tough to last long, subtle appearance.
A problem presents itself in that both luxury and quality guitars sometimes fall within the same price range. This being true, how do you differentiate between the two?
Go to an upscale guitar shop
Where I currently reside, oh yes, it is easy to find shops where every guitar starts at $1,500 and goes up from there. And for other guitar shops in this state, several have that special little room where the $5,000-and-up guitars are, and the ones priced over $10,000 are inside a glass case.
This is an easy way of surrounding yourself in guitar luxury without actually having to buy anything.
How to tell the difference between the luxury and quality guitars is easy here. Sit down and play them, and look for problems. For the ones that have even the smallest problem, put the guitar back. Any nick, scratch, creak, squeak, electronics issue or other imperfection you find means the guitar absolutely isn't worth the price on the tag. Chances are fairly good you will find at least three things wrong on all of the high priced guitars you try.
Go to a guitar festival
I was around a few million dollar's worth of vintage guitars (when all put together) at a guitar festival I attended earlier this year.
Something I didn't mention before about that but will now is that it's comical seeing vintage guitars valued that high on cheap fold-out tables like you'd see in a high school cafeteria. Yes, they put fancy looking black tablecloths over them to hide the cheap-ass tables, but they're still all on cheap-ass tables.
What really drives home how ridiculous the prices are is when you compare one vintage example to another, in the same condition, with basically the same specifications, yet one is priced 75% more than the other. Does that mean the more expensive guitar is 75% better? No. It just means the higher priced example has some sort of perceived value to it based on brand, history, prestige or all three.
You should go to one of these festivals to surround yourself in this form of guitar luxury. While there, note the wild price differences, even for same-brand guitars (sometimes even ones made in the same year). Some of the differences you spot will be understandable, while others will make no sense at all.
Recognize marketing b.s. for what it is
"Hand crafted" means nothing, because there is no such thing as a 100% machine-built guitar. Even the cheapest $99 guitar at some point has human hands touch it to install something.
"Sustain" means nothing, because nobody needs a 13-second note decay. Also, nobody wants to hear any single note for 13 seconds either.
"Limited Edition" means little other than "we slapped a different color on this but it's just like the regular model otherwise" in most instances.
The more you hang around luxury guitars...
...the more you will be able to distinguish the luxury garbage from the actual quality instruments.
A few examples:
Suhr guitars look plain for the most part, but they're built to be played hard and last a very long time.
Tom Anderson guitars, also somewhat on the plain side for appearance, really deliver a rock solid player's guitar.
Bacchus guitars out of Japan makes some seriously good stuff for their upper end models. They have some with fancy looks, but also many that are plain in appearance with high end craftsmanship and hardware.
None of these are cheap.
Visit some upscale guitar shops and festivals and you should find a few examples of these to try out for yourself - and possibly go home with one.
On a final note, a question answered: Is there such a thing as an electric guitar that's both luxurious and has the highest of quality? Yes. There are a a few guitar makers like this, but the one I'll mention is Knaggs. You're going to drop at least $5,000 to get one of these, but if you want the "has everything" guitar where both the luxury and quality bases are covered, there you go.
Want luxury for less? See the Epiphone Les Paul 59. Or if Les Paul isn't your thing, Epiphone Casino. I can say with confidence you'll get the quality you want with either of those two guitars, and without going to the poorhouse in the process.
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.