Forgotten Fender: The Robben Ford model
Time for a trip back to the early '90s.
Given that more guitarists are paying attention to now-vintage 1990's guitars, one that doesn't get much attention is the Robben Ford model.
Why? That's an easy answer. Hardly anybody knows this guitar ever existed. Heck, even I didn't know this existed until very recently.
Have I ever seen one in person? No. But then again, hardly anybody would identify this as a Fender guitar shape, so it's very easy to miss. That being said, it's totally possible I have seen this before in a guitar store but missed it completely because of that reason.
This guitar has a bit of a bounce-around history to it. The design is based on an 1980's Fender Esprit Ultra and was originally only made in Japan from 1987 to 1993. The only you see above is an ES-RF (which I assume means Esprit / Robben Ford) that was made in 1992 and 1993 only. There were Fender USA Custom Shop versions of this guitar made in the very-early 2000s (the USA-made year range is supposedly 1994-2002), but I don't know if they're the same as the 1992-1993.
Would Fender Custom Shop make one of these new if you asked today? I honestly don't know. You'd have to write or phone them and ask. Given they did in fact build this guitar at one point, I'd assume they still have the measurements somewhere in the archives over there.
The Robben Ford model is interesting because it has a 24.75" scale and those little black things on the tailpiece are fine tuners. I actually owned a guitar with those once, and yeah they are really nice to have.
I don't know the pickup type in the Ford. Older Esprit models labeled as Master Series guitars from Fender had "developed by Schaller" pickups in them, but for the Ford they are some kind of Japanese made pickup. What I do know is that the bridge pickup is 19K and the neck 8K.
The guitar does have a set neck with rounded heel. No bolt plate on this one.
Premium guitar? Yes, absolutely. Maple neck, ebony fingerboard, fancy inlays, alder back, spruce top and chambered body. But I do not know what the little toggle switch does near the rear of the body. Could be a split switch or a boost-signal or cut-signal. Not sure. If anybody has info on that, email me and I'll update this article. A reader contacted me and indicated it's a coil tap switch.
Does it sound like a Fender? The best way I can answer that is that I seriously doubt you would get Strat or Tele tones out of it. The overall sound to the best of my understanding is it's like a mix between a Les Paul and ES-335. If you look up YouTube videos of the Fender Esprit, you can get an idea of what the guitar sounds like.
Of the '90s guitars that are out there, if you happen to spot one of these for a decent price, it's a good buy because you really do get something good. These were made well.
If you can't find one, or just don't want to deal with vintage electric guitars (and I wouldn't blame you for thinking that), see the PRS SE Mira. Two other options that are sort of close to the shape of the Ford model are PRS SE CE 24 and Gretsch Electromatic CVT.
Fender Player Telecaster Limited Edition - CHEAP
This is $100 less than the regular Player.
The first question you have is why this guitar is selling for $100 less than the regular Fender Player Telecaster.
Answer: Fender does this sometimes when they clear out their parts bin.
If you examine the headstock, it has the older Fender logo on it, yet this is a 2020 guitar. It's the older (and by that I mean previous generation) neck with simple Player series pickups and standard Telecaster electronics.
In other words, a nice basic Fender Telecaster. Absolutely nothing about it is substandard. And it's in a great color.
However, be aware of this: You may get the older "transition" Fender logo as seen above or the "spaghetti" Fender logo. You take that gamble with this specific guitar. Maybe you'll get one logo, maybe the other.
Either way, it will come in Lake Placid Blue with the all-maple neck.
Worth the gamble? Yes. Either way you still get a great Tele for $100 off, and it's new, warranty and all.
Garmin nuvi 56 is best, not the 50LM
I said a while back that the nuvi 50LM was the best GPS ever made, followed by the DriveSmart 50.
I was wrong on both counts. Since I wrote those, I've owned a few more Garmins, and finally found the two that absolutely and totally are the best models Garmin ever released.
Second banana: Garmin nuvi 2599LMTHD with Garmin GTM60 power cord with traffic
I bought this one because of the top banana model 56, which I'll talk about in a moment.
When running a 2599LMTHD with the GTM60, you get the best of everything the 56 is plus HD traffic. This is an absolutely fantastic unit, but has one fatal flaw that made me stop using it. For every favorite you save, it will show an icon on the map and there's no traditional way to disable it.
I say traditional because there is a silly workaround. Before the start of any trip, touch the map (not the vehicle icon,) wait until the screen changes, then touch the back button. That's it. And it works. It makes those stupid favorites icons disappear. But you have to do this every time you start a trip. This was so annoying that it made me stop using the 2599.
The DriveSmart 50 does not do this, but the DriveSmart 51 does as does the 2599.
"Use the DriveSmart 50LMTHD then, right?" No, wrong, because both the nuvi 2599 and nuvi 56 (and nuvi 55) have one major super-awesome thing going for it.
Top banana: Garmin nuvi 56LM (or 56LMT) with TA20 power cord
I bought a 56 on a whim just to try it out specifically because of what you see in the screenshot above. BIG EXIT NUMBERS. You have no idea how great this is until you experience it. It exists on the nuvi 55, 56, 57, 58 and 2599. However, the 57, 58 and 2599 have that ridiculously annoying Real Directions garbage, which changes the voice prompt from "Turn right on Main Street" to "Turn right at the traffic light" instead of telling you the street name. In effect, that makes the two best models the 55 and 56. The only difference between the two is the 55 is US-only maps and the 56 is US+Canada. There was never a US+Canada+Mexico map released for the 55/56/57/58, but does for the 2599.
When locale is changed from United States to United Kingdom via a system reset, that's how you get the red circle speed limit you see at the bottom left of the screenshot.
Using a 56LMT + TA20 with the UK locale set gives you the best of almost everything. Bright matte screen that doesn't glare, nice big fonts, big readable speed limit, colorful map with great contrast and RDS traffic for areas that have it.
This is as close to perfection as it gets with a Garmin automotive GPS. It's June 2021 as I write this, and had I known how great the 56 was before, I would have bought it years ago.
There's only one thing missing from the 56 (and 2599) that would make it a perfect UI design. No Turns feature like there is on the DriveSmart 50. On the DS50 you can bring up a list of turns that show on-screen at the same time with the map. On the 56/2599, you have to touch the top text bar to get the list...
...but that is literally the only thing missing from it. Everything else is absolutely wonderful. The menu design is simple and easy. Matte screen is great. Touch response is great. Legibility is amazing, day or night. I like the UI and big fonts so much that I was willing to give up the Turns feature in the DS50 just to have it.
Also, the case is thicker compared to the DS50 and 2599, meaning it can handle heat better. It's a well built, solid feeling unit.
All the bugs the 55/56/57/58 had were worked out and fixed by Garmin years ago with system software updates. The thing works exactly how it's supposed to. This is the type of Garmin that made people fall in love with the brand.
The 50LM is great, as is DriveSmart 50LMTHD. But the 56... wow.
Pros and cons of 2599LMTHD vs. 56LMT vs. 56LM
The 56LM, which is the one I bought first, works amazingly well. No traffic in this one, so any Garmin charger can power it. It's the most basic of the three but requires the least to get up and running. The only two things you have to do when buying one used is get a new battery for it (750mAh is fine) and a new 32GB microSD card.
The 56LMT is exactly like the 56LM but with traffic, and to use traffic, a TA20 cord is required. Same thing as before, new battery and new microSD card.
The 2599LMTHD is a glossy display and is basically a 56LMT on steroids. What you get here that the 56LMT doesn't have is Bluetooth for the phone, voice command and US+Canada+Mexico maps instead of just US+Canada. However, to take full advantage of everything the unit can do, a GTM60 cord is required. You get "HD" traffic and "HD" simple weather 5-day forecast reports and current temperature for where you are in areas that support it similar to RDS coverage. No, you don't get weather radar. The battery replacement for this one requires a 1000mAh, but the same 32GB card for the 56LMT will work here.
In my experience, HD traffic isn't any better than RDS, the voice command is so-so at best, connecting the phone via Bluetooth is also so-so. Seeing current temperature and weather forecast is nice but adds nothing to the navigation experience.
More often than not, the 56LM is all anybody needs because the traffic reporting is barely adequate.
I'll explain.
Both the 56LMT and 2599LMTHD have the option to auto reroute you to get around traffic. You can also set it to prompt for rerouting instead of automatically doing it, but let's say you just kept it on automatic to keep things easier.
I am in one of those areas with full RDS/HD traffic coverage. Yes, the Garmin traffic reporting does work most of the time. Sometimes it doesn't. I have encountered traffic that the GPS should have told me about but didn't.
Does this mean you should use a smartphone app for faster traffic reporting? No, because that's not going to be any better. The best way to avoid traffic is knowing where you are and using common sense.
Knowing where you are: If in familiar territory, know alternative ways to get to places.
Using common sense: If traveling during peak commuter hours, of course traffic will happen. If traveling on a holiday, near a major event, or the like, of course traffic with happen. Expect this.
If you encounter the situation where the traffic given to you by the Garmin simply isn't working for you the way you'd like, don't use it. Disable the feature, and use your brain instead. Plan ahead.
When you know where you are and use common sense, a no-traffic model like the 56LM will work just fine.
I use the 56LMT because even though the traffic reporting isn't on the mark 100% of the time, when it does work, it's great for getting around traffic. But even if I had to use the 56LM with no traffic, that's still a great navigation experience.
Spalted maple wood guitars - why is this still a thing?
I've never understood why anybody thinks this looks good.
Spalted maple is not a wood species but rather the result of fungus breaking down the wood. This doesn't mean the wood is unstable, as the wood is dried thoroughly during guitar construction so it doesn't break down any further, and obviously sealed properly. But I do wonder why anybody thought this looked any good to begin with.
I remember when luthiers started using this wood type for guitar and bass construction. It was only seen on high end instruments, and obviously commanded a high price. But these days, you can get it for cheap, such as with the Jackson Soloist as well as with other examples. The days of this look being high-end-only are long gone.
Even though the price is low to get this look now, not once did I ever think this type of look was worth paying extra for to begin with. But for some stupid reason, there are many guitar players out there that think having a guitar that looks like a coffee table to be an exquisite fancy dan look.
It's not.
I've long held the opinion that guitars looking like furniture is a bad idea. While I don't mind seeing some wood grain here and there, spalted maple looks unfinished in a bad way. Even when the body is completely finished and all shined up, it looks like it's in a to-be-painted state instead of completed... yet it is completed. Not a good look.
Wood grain that looks good to my eye is the subtle type, like Fender Vintage Blonde. Any time you see that finish, such as on the Fender Vintera 70s Telecaster Deluxe in Blonde, the guitar is painted but in a way where there's just enough transparency on the body to see the grain come through - and that's a great look.
Spalted maple, on the other hand, is just right in your face. A "loud" grain, if you will. Nope. Does not look good. Never has and never will.
Half a terabyte of tiny storage is cheap now
If you haven't bumped up to 512GB microSD yet, you can now.
Getting a 512GB microSD card is now under 100 bucks. Well under that, actually.
Why? Because 1TB microSD cards are widely available. One made by a reputable manufacturer punches above $150 currently, but the point is that you can get one right now.
512GB however is still quite a bit of storage. At the time I write this in June 2021, most people don't even have phones that can support storage that large and only have a maximum limit of 256GB (which by the way is super cheap now).
My phone can't support 512GB, but for laptop backup storage, it's certainly smaller and more convenient than using an SSD or even a USB stick. Small and tidy. Very nice.
How long before 512GB microSD becomes the price of a sandwich?
It's going to be a little while yet before that happens because 256GB still hasn't quite reached that price yet. I'd estimate it will take a year before that happens...
...which means 512GB will be the price of a sandwich in probably about 2 years.
If you need 512GB, just get it now. While not selling at a rock-bottom price, it has busted well under the 3-figure mark.
The only thing I would check is that if you're buying one of these for a phone or tablet, make sure your device supports it. My phone, like I said above, doesn't support 512 and at most will support 256. But my laptop reads the card fine so that's where I use it.