Fender FMT HH Custom Telecaster and its greatest strength
The best part about this guitar is one thing that makes the rest of it even better.
So you want a Fender Telecaster, but want something different. Something with no pick guard, a flamed top and a really nice set of Seymour Duncan humbuckers that sound great. That's what you get with the Fender FMT HH Custom Telecaster, and the best part is...
...the price. It's literally just $25 more than the Fender Player Telecaster at the time I write this. That's a steal.
Think of it this way: You're getting the flame top, color matched headstock, pick guard delete, control plate delete, dual humbuckers, abalone dot inlays (might be plastic, but even so, who cares?) AND A CONTOUR CUT IN THE REAR like a Stratocaster for just $25 over the Player model.
The extra 25 bucks you spend for this Tele goes a very, very long way and doesn't get any better. This is a no-brainer buy, especially for a Fender brand guitar. Bear in mind this comes in 3 colors. Amber (seen above), Black Cherry and Crimson Red. All awesome, all the same price.
State of the watch collection 2020
Still riding the Casio train.
I said to myself that I wasn't going to buy any watches this year. Well, that didn't work out and I bought two of them, and went back to wearing one that was sitting in a box for many months before that.
Casio A178I bought this in 2017 and then returned it, then bought it again and kept it. The A178 is what you get when you take an A158, add the ability to see the full date (weekday + month/day) on the home screen and a night light that actually works right.
A178 is thicker than the A158, but having the full date with the better night light is really nice to have. It also looks better than the A158 does too.
Casio F200WThis is a simple sports watch which, like the A178, shows a full weekday + month/day on the face in additional to the time. Functionally it's almost identical to the A178 as well with a similar feature set and proper green night light.
I like the buttons on this watch. A lot. Bigger, longer, easier to press and very responsive. It's also very lightweight as well. My only complaint is that the strap is a little too long for my small wrist, which I'll have to attend to in the future, and this leads me to...
Casio W213I've had this watch literally for years, and I love it - but the strap on this one is so bad. Or rather, bad for me. Way too long. It's for that reason alone I just chucked it in a box and kept it there for years.
I then finally decided to say screw it, I'll try to customize a cheap leather strap I have to see if I can make it fit the W213. The way this watch works (as is the case on many Casio digital watches) is that while the strap is a normal width, it turns into a "short U" at the lugs. This means no standard replacement strap will fit it unless you cut out small corners right where the strap meets the lugs.
Being I had nothing to lose, I grabbed a utility knife and did the cuts on the strap. It worked.
I was able to fit the strap to the watch. Finally. And now I'm wearing the W213 again.
The reason I love the W213 is because like the other two watches I mentioned above, it has full time + weekday + month/day on the face. But in addition to that, the digits are thicker and easier to read, it has 5 alarms, and it has countdown timer with auto-repeat. On top of that, the side buttons are all textured. The F200W has really easy-press buttons and the W213 is even easier.
I'll totally admit that a black leather strap doesn't exactly suit the W213, but the fact I'm actually able to wear this thing now is great.
Had I known all I had to do was cut a leather strap where it meets the lugs at the watch just to make it fit, I would have done this much sooner.
I'll be looking into other leather straps to see if I can find one that better suits the watch, but for now, again I'm just happy I can wear the thing.
Sometimes guitar string brand does not matter
When all you need are strings that just work, brand really isn't a consideration.
Some guitar players spend a lot of money on strings. For example, one of the more popular expensive offerings is D'Addario NYXL. D'Addario claims that they stay in tune 131% better.
Do they? I have no idea. Maybe they do. But ultimately I buy whatever is cheap and readily available.
An example of this is seen above. I have a pack of Fender and Ernie Ball strings. Yes, they are both in 8-38 size because that's the string set size I like. But the point is the reason why I bought them. Cheap - for the moment.
I always go for the cheapest decent strings I can find since I know they will be used, wear out and need to be replaced. And it's usually true that the lowest prices (at least in the USA) are commanded by D'Addario, Fender, Ernie Ball and sometimes GHS.
When going cheap, catch a wave
I've learned over the years that guitar string pricing comes in waves.
A particular brand of string in the size you like will stay at a good steady low price for a year or so, but then suddenly become difficult to get and spike in price. I have absolutely no idea why this happens, but it does.
When the wave is good, the string is readily available and the price is low. When the wave has passed, availability drops and the price goes up.
Whenever a wave ends, I jump ship and catch a wave from another string brand. Rinse and repeat. I've been doing this for years.
Some waves don't return
Bigger string brands like D'Addario, Fender and Ernie Ball that are used widely by many guitar players all have pricing waves. Whenever a point comes when the price goes up for that brand, it will at some point come back down.
But then there are other times when a wave happens and it just never comes back.
I won't mention any specific brand here, but there are certain American string brands that were decently priced with good availability. These brands stopped doing that, started using fancier packaging, didn't improve the strings at all, then jacked the price up. You literally just pay for a fancier box the string set comes in.
Paying extra for packaging? Stupid. I don't do it.
Yes, all American brands
Since the strings are made in America and I live in the USA, they're cheaper to buy here.
For example, I would buy Rotosound strings if they sold for cheap here, but they don't. And I'm 100% certain the reason for that is because they're not made in the USA. All Rotos are manufactured in England. If I lived there, then it's probably true that brand would have the best price.
Where you are in the world does dictate how much you pay for guitar strings, and there is no denying that.
Some truths when it comes to electric guitar strings
Bad string sets sometimes happen. But if the string was cheap to buy to begin with, I don't get as angry as I would if I had paid more for an expensive set.
I buy strings 3 sets at a time, but bounce back and forth whether I buy 3 sets individually or as a bundle. Sometimes the bundle is cheaper while other times buying sets individually is cheaper. It's still the same string in the end so it's best to just get them as cheap as possible.
In my experience, a new set of guitar strings never feels nor sounds correct after just being installed and stretched. It takes about a day for the steel to settle.
Also in my experience, I've found any string labeled as being cryogenic or reinforced or whatever just breaks quicker. The standard nickel-plated steel sets always work best.
Ugly Fenders of 2020 - Electron Green Strat, Tele and Precision Bass
Yes, these guitars exist. Unfortunately.
Take the Player Stratocaster in Electron Green. Bleah. And if you can believe it, there is a Telecaster and Precision Bass in this same color available as well. Double and triple bleah.
Okay, yeah, these are "rare", so it does make them collectibles - but only because of the color. These are otherwise regular models just with a color you never see them in.
This is basically the same color you see on fleece clothing (hoodies, jackets, etc.) and fleece blankets except really shiny.
The good part is that these guitars sell for no more than models in other colors. The bad part is... well... the color itself.
I suppose there is another good part. You could claim you have a "Custom Shop" Fender guitar, and nobody would disagree with you since Electron Green is obviously not a regular run finish option.
Fender Lead II does a loud green a whole lot better
Strats simply do not look good in green. It doesn't work. But the Fender Lead II in Neon Green? Yes, that works. Why? That is a guitar you would expect to be in a loud green color considering the era from which it originally came from. It has a shape and style to it that takes to the bright green much better than the Electron Green Strat does.
Also, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The Neon Green of the Lead II is a just a touch darker than the Electron Green which has more yellow in it.
Both colors are loud, but given the choice between the two, the Lead II's Neon Green is less annoying.
Personally, I'm not into green guitars. Just look how much better the Lead II is when finished in Crimson Red Transparent or basic Black. Night and day difference.
But if you gotta go for the green, consider the Lead II first. Strats are cool and all that, but again, the Lead II just carries the color so much better.
How to get the country slapback guitar sound
Getting the country slapback sound for guitar is easy, and you probably have all the gear you need to do it right now.
Quick note before explaining how this is done: This sound also doubles as a rockabilly tone. The only real difference between the country and rockabilly version is that rockabilly uses a heavier mix. I'll give more detail on that in a moment.
What is the country slapback guitar sound?
A delay effect done in a specific way. This means you will need a delay effect to get this sound. If you have a guitar amp with built-in effects, you most likely already have the delay effect you need. If not, you will need a delay pedal.
As far as I know, every delay pedal can create a slapback sound because the effect is simple to get.
How to set your delay effect
First, set up your delay to have a single repeat. That's the "slap" part. On most delay pedals, making a delay have a single repeat means setting the "feedback" to 0%.
Second, mix in the delay effect to 50% or less.
Third, set your delay time to about 130ms. If your delay effect doesn't show millisecond numbers and only has a knob to change the delay time, set it to a short delay.
For a rockabilly sound...
If you want more of a rockabilly sound, it's almost the same as country slapback. Turn the delay mix up to 60% or greater, and increase the delay time slightly. If you have it set to 130ms, try 150ms or slightly more.
Playing style
This is the only part of the slapback sound that takes some practice to get right.
Slapback works best with shorter, quicker notes and chords. It also helps to not use overdrive or distortion as that makes the "slapped" delay sound much better.
If you've never tried a slapback delay effect before, the easiest way to start is muted single notes on the wound strings (low-E, A and D). For chords, the easiest country style progression is G major to C major and back again. To add some "flavor" to that later, you can change to G major 7th and C major 7th.
I made a video demonstrating this so you can have a listen.