Owning the best budget chronograph watch, Casio MTP4500D
Yes, I bought it. And I'm glad I did.
The first thing I'm going to mention about the Casio MTP4500D are the dimensions since nobody else has posted this information.
Case diameter without crown: 42mm
Lug to lug: 45mm or 46mm depending on your point of view. I'll explain that in a moment.
Lug width: 22mm
Bracelet: 22mm tapering to 18mm then back up to 20mm at the clasp
Thickness: 12mm
In the way the watch case is shaped, the lug to lug measurement is 45mm where the case meets the wrist. However, since the lugs slope down, the top edge is 46mm. What matters more is the 45mm measurement because that's the one you feel.
Lovely complicated simplicity
At first glance, this watch looks really complicated. It's actually the exact opposite.
If you ignore the slide rule bezel and top 2 subdials, what you have is a time-only watch with a small seconds subdial at the bottom. This watch has no date complication at all, which is proper for a chronograph watch as far as I'm concerned.
Even if you have no idea what the other two dials are for, and had no clue what upper right top and bottom pushers (buttons) are for, it doesn't matter. The only thing you need to know about this watch is pull the crown, set the time, push the crown back in, done. There is literally nothing else to set.
How the other stuff works
Let's say you do care what the other stuff is about. Here's how that works:
The long hands are hour, minute and stopwatch seconds. The stopwatch seconds hand only moves when timing something. Regular seconds for time is dedicated to the bottom subdial.
Top right pusher starts and stops the stopwatch. On first press to start, there is a click. On second press to stop, no click. Every press after that, no click until the stopwatch is reset. The reason for no click after the first press is so that the stopwatch and subdials don't reset themselves until you instruct the watch to do so.
The bottom right pusher resets the stopwatch and the top two subdials all to zero. When resetting, there is a click. If everything is already set back to zero, no click.
Top subdial at 12 o'clock is stopwatch minutes, 0 through 60.
Left subdial at 9 o'clock is stopwatch hours, 0 through 12, meaning this watch has a maximum of 12 hours of stopwatch time it can record.
Bottom subdial as mentioned already is dedicated small seconds for regular time.
This watch features a friction slide rule bezel, meaning it can be rotated either way, and rotation is smooth with no clicks. This is normal for how a slide rule bezel is supposed to work.
Can you actually calculate things with this bezel? In fact, yes. But the numbers are quite small, so if you want bigger numbers that are easier to read, you'll need a bigger aviation watch like the Casio EF527D or Citizen Blue Angels AT8020. (The Blue Angels watch is supremely good because that one has atomic timekeeping and is solar powered, which is quite awesome.)
Absolutely fantastic chronograph for smaller wrists
I have a 6.5" wrist, and it's usually true that wearing anything over 38mm is a bad idea. But this 42mm watch fits great, and I know exactly why. There are two reasons.
First, the dial itself is actually fairly small because a good chunk of the width is taken up by the fixed inner ring and bezel.
Second, the lugs do curve down. Not by a lot, but enough to where it counts.
Could a larger wrist wear the MTP4500D? Yes, absolutely. Enough bracelet links are provided so even somebody with an 8" wrist could wear it. However, my point is that even on my 6.5" wrist, it still wears great.
This watch looks expensive
This is not an expensive watch, but it sure looks like it costs a lot.
The small seconds subdial very easily hides the fact the MTP4500D is a quartz timepiece. The only time you ever see the long seconds hand ticking is when the stopwatch is running.
And speaking of ticking, you never hear it. This is without question the most quiet ticking watch I've ever owned. Even with the stopwatch running in a quiet room, when I press this watch to my ear, I hear no ticking whatsoever. I don't know how Casio did it, but they somehow made an ultra-silent quartz ticking watch with this model.
Screw-down case back? Yes! Looks fancy, and makes for easier battery changes when need be.
There is some shine to the hour markers, hands and subdial hands, but done in a nice way that's not too over-the-stop. Just right.
The orange stopwatch seconds hand and small seconds hand look cool.
The MTP4500D does look like a man's professional timepiece. Casio styled this one very well and it looks impressive.
Granted, this doesn't look as impressive as the Citizen mentioned above or a Seiko Flightmaster, but I'd argue the Casio is easier to read. It has a busy dial, but not as busy as other aviation timepieces.
Also, you could put the MTP4500D right up against the Citizen and Seiko offerings and it wouldn't look out of place, appearance wise.
This watch is definitely a keeper. Right look, and certainly the right price.
The 7 best Fender guitar colors for 2021
Looks matter when it comes to a guitar. Anybody who says otherwise is lying. Some colors are better than other for Fender guitar offerings, and these are 7 of the best they have.
Fender Deluxe Strat HSS in Blizzard Pearl
On this model the color works mainly because the neck is not tinted, allowing the guitar to give off an upscale appearance, almost like a chandelier.
Fender Player Stratocaster, Buttercream
This is one of the best colors Fender has ever put on a Strat. Most guys who like yellow Strats (and I like them myself) want an aged Arctic White. That's a color that starts off as a little bit yellow and darkens over time. Well, you don't have to wait. Get the Buttercream color.
Fender American Professional II Stratocaster, Olympic White
If Buttercream is a yellow that's too intense and you want it toned down a bit, you go for Olympic White instead. This is a bit of an oddball color because depending on what year the guitar is made, sometimes it has more yellow in it and sometimes more blue. For the current production run, it appears to be leaning more towards the yellow side.
Fender Mustang 90, Burgundy Mist Metallic
I'll be the first to admit that this color is not for everybody, but that doesn't take away from how cool it looks. If you put a bunch of Fender guitars side-by-side next to each other and one of them happens to be in Burgundy Mist Metallic, that's the one that will get looked at first.
Fender Mustang Bass, Firemist Gold
And this is the second color that will get the looks right after Burgundy Mist Metallic. Where Fender golds are concerned, this is way better than Shoreline Gold. That color is meant to look like sand, but Firemist Gold is meant to look like, well, gold. And it totally works.
Fender Vintera '60s Jazzmaster, Ice Blue Metallic
Ice Blue Metallic is one of the more recent offerings, and it definitely does work best with a color matched headstock. Fortunately, most models that come in this color (such as the Jazzmaster seen above), do match the headstock color with the body. It's a distinctive color without being loud and has a nice sense of class to it. A "very Fender" color, if you will.
Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum, Aubergine
This is one of the most elegant colors I've seen Fender use, and it suits a Telecaster with a dark fretboard quite nicely. The brass Tele saddles also agree very nicely with the overall look and makes them look gold.
What is aubergine, anyway? Eggplant. I'm not kidding. Still a really nice color, but I totally understand why Fender didn't just call it Eggplant, because that would have been a bit silly. Calling it Aubergine works.
Casio MTP4500D - a great chronograph watch nobody knows about
It is the lack of a specific feature that makes this watch great.
The Casio MTP4500D is a watch you've probably seen many times and never gave it a second look. Maybe you should.
There are two main problems with the majority of chronograph watches out there. Too big, too complicated.
If you look at the typical chronograph watches available, the first thing you're going to notice is that many are just plain huge, as in physically large. It's very typical to find them starting at a 45mm case diameter.
The next thing you notice is that many have a dial that's "too busy", but that's not the complication problem. The problem is the date complication specifically. Most chronograph watches have the date placed at a weird angle either at the 4 o'clock position or close to it. It just looks dopey. Others have them are the 3 o'clock position and others at 6 o'clock. But I'd argue no matter where the date complication is, having it at all is bad. The date simply doesn't need to be there on a watch of this type. You don't buy a chronograph watch to know the date but rather to know the time and for timing things.
Enter the Casio MTP4500D. This is different. It looks complicated, but is actually really easy to use.
1. No date. This is really nice because that makes the watch a true wear-and-go type. The only time you ever have to set this thing is when adjusting for Daylight Savings Time.
2. Larger numbers for the ones that matter on the subdials. The top subdial at 12 o'clock indicates how many minutes have passed after you start the chronograph. The 9 o'clock is how many hours have passed (up to 12) after you start the chronograph. The 6 o'clock subdial is a small seconds subdial for the current time. The bigger numbers on all these dials make them really easy to read even for a smaller case size.
3. This is a 42mm watch and not a gigantic 45mm or greater. The dial is also smaller due to the slide rule bezel (which is bidirectional), and that's nice because it doesn't make it look like you're wearing a pie plate on your wrist.
4. Screw-down case back. This is a quartz watch, but getting to the battery is easy with a cheap case back removal tool. Also, you will not mind this is quartz because of the small seconds subdial. The longer second hand is only used for the chronograph.
5. Fly-back chronograph seconds hand. When resetting the chronograph, the hand sweeps back to the 12 instead of just clicking back. Looks cool. Also, side note on resetting this should you need to do it: If that hand ends up not resetting back to the 12, that's an easy fix. Pull out the crown, then press the start pusher. You'll see the chronograph seconds hand advance. Keep pressing it until it's back to 12, then push the crown back in, done. Now the chronograph seconds hand will reset back to 12 like it's supposed to. Many chronograph watches usually have the seconds hand reset in this fashion.
It's not exactly easy to find an affordable, good looking no-date chronograph watch
The ridiculously expensive way to get a no-date chronograph is, of course, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. No date on that. But I doubt you're ready to spend $13,500 to get one.
One of the very few companies that offers no-date affordable chronograph watches is Fossil with the Townsman and Grant models. Invicta is another, and I'll talk about that in a moment.
The Fossil offerings do look more elegant, but the Casio is more functional because of the slide rule bezel. Even if you use none of the mathematical stuff, you can use it easily as a second timer, literally meaning you get 2 timers in 1 with the MTP4500D.
Do I have a problem with a date complication? No. But a chronograph looks so much better without one.
For example, take the Invicta Speedway. That's a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona homage watch, and firmly in the affordable range. It's the right size, looks great, and I even like the name of it. But that date complication at the 4:30 o'clock position looks so tacky. If the Speedway didn't have that date complication, I'd seriously consider getting one.
However, look at the Invicta 1768 model. That's a "diver chronograph", which is weird, but no date on those. A little on the large side at 43mm, and it looks pretty darned good. But, again, large.
When you browse what else is out there and compare that to the Casio MTP4500D, that's when you realize how good the Casio actually is. It's got that just-right blend of usefulness, convenience a proper look for a chrono watch.
I bought an Ibanez AS73, and then returned it
This guitar had issues.
I bought my Ibanez from a very reputable seller who shall remain nameless because what happened with this guitar wasn't their fault at all. There were two issues with this guitar, one of which was Ibanez's fault, and the other having to do with my fret hand (left hand).
I said recently that of the guitars I've not owned yet, I wanted an ES-335. The Ibanez AS73 is really close to that, as it is a true semi-hollow, and the size of it is slightly smaller than the ES-335 but still larger than the ES-339. Or said another way, where the body size is concerned, the AS73 would be in that "just right" size for many players. I had no problem with that.
The sound of the guitar was good. Not great. Just good. The AS73 comes loaded with Ibanez Classic Elite humbuckers, which have a ceramic magnet type instead of alnico. In a semi-hollow application, I found these did work well.
Overall feel of the guitar was good, the nut was cut correct, tuner action was nice. I was very surprised to find it had absolutely no neck dive when playing it standing. All the control knobs have rubber rings on them, making adjustments ridiculously easy. The knobs definitely qualify as some of the best I've ever used. Pickup selector toggle also felt great.
The look of the guitar was fantastic. It's just a gorgeous instrument.
However, there were two things that were deal breakers for this guitar.
First, a factory flaw. On the guitar I received, the binding on the inner curve of the top horn wasn't done right and looked "smudged". And it was literally under the urethane sealant, so there was absolutely no way to fix it.
Had this been on the bottom horn, then it could have been something I could deal with. But every single time I picked up the guitar to play it, that "smudge" was staring me right in the face.
I can understand the seller not seeing this before selling me the guitar, because it's small and something you don't notice at a passing glance. But once you see that flaw, you can't unsee it. And knowing there's no way to fix it makes it even worse. This isn't something a quick buffing will make look right again. That flaw is there forever. Quite unfortunate.
Second, a neck shape issue.
I've gone into detail before about how I can't stand thin necks. Well, there's a funny thing about the AS73. Its neck is certainly thicker but still too thin at the same time.
The official measurements of the AS73 is a 21mm (0.83") depth at the 1st fret and 24mm (0.94") at the 9th fret. By the numbers, this neck has some chunk to it, and I had looked up the measurements before I bought the guitar, so I knew what I was getting.
What I didn't (and couldn't) know before getting the guitar is that while the neck depth is fine, the neck shoulder drops off early and feels thin, almost like a soft V shape.
The end result of this is that the neck just felt wrong. Or to be more accurate, it felt wrong for me. Many guitar players like the AS73 neck, as it is the same neck used on the upper tier model AS93.
Bad neck? No, it's a great neck and I was able to set up the action exactly how I like it. But that lack of shoulder just didn't feel right at all.
In the end, the combination of a factory binding flaw that could never be fixed along with an odd-feeling neck was enough of a deal breaker, and I sent the guitar back for a refund.
This is a shame considering how great the guitar looks, but sometimes looks aren't enough.
The Fender Modern Player Marauder needs to come back
This was the right guitar but at the wrong time.
Modern Player was a series of guitars from Fender made in China - but don't let the manufacturing country of origin fool you, because all the Modern Player guitars were truly great.
This Marauder model was very short-lived and only existed from 2011 to 2013. I never got the chance to play one of these things only because I could never find one back when they were new.
Two things about the MP Marauder make it very unique. It has a body made of koto wood, and the Fender Triplebucker pickup at the rear (bridge) position. The front (neck) position is a Jazzmaster pickup.
When you throw distortion at the MP Marauder, it doesn't sound that great. But for light overdrive and clean tones, that's where this guitar really sings.
Imagine a Strat with simple two-knob controls (that stay out of your way, thank you very much) that has great treble response without being "ice picky" and the addition of some midrange and bottom end for a "fuller" sound. That's the MP Marauder.
Triplebucker + Jazzmaster pickups make this possible. Everybody passed off the Triplebucker as a novelty back when this guitar was new, but they wish they had it now because this thing is a total tone monster on the clean side of things.
I think the biggest problem with this guitar was just the timing of it. When the Squier Vintage Modified series appeared with the Jazzmaster and Jaguar literally right after the MP Marauder came on the scene, it was quickly forgotten. Who would bother with the Marauder when the Jazzmaster and Jaguar were so much cooler (hence the reason I bought a Jazzmaster myself back then)?
At the time I write this in 2021, guitar players are now very well familiar with the Jazzmaster and Jaguar, as they've been around in both the Squier and Fender lineup as standard models for years...
...which is why I think it's a good time for the MP Marauder to return, be it Squier or Fender model. It would just be cool to see it again. And I think it would fare out much better since it wouldn't be competing against the Jazz or the Jag this time around.
Would I change anything about the guitar? Yes. Two things.
First, the original MP Marauder just said "Fender" on the front of the headstock and nothing else, which made it look unfinished. The next one, should it come to be, should say "Marauder" next to or under the brand logo, be it Squier or Fender.
Second, ditch the vibrato system entirely and make it a top-loader with tailpiece.
Is there an alternative?
Yes, and it's cheap, Squier Mustang HH. Two humbuckers instead of the triplebucker and Jazzmaster single-coil, but the guitar is cheap enough to where you can create a Marauder-like pickup layout (such as installing a P90 at the neck side).