Tagima TG-530, the next great cheap Strat?
Squier Strats are great, but the Tagima TG-530 is also pretty darned good too.
Tagima is a company out of Brazil, and it just so happens they make a Strat that's under $200 you can buy right now. That's squarely pitted right against Squier's price point for their lower-end models.
What's the best thing about Tagima's TG-530? Choice. Lots of great colors with the all-maple neck. Squier also has a lot of choices but the majority of the time you have to take a darker wood for the fingerboard. There are a few lower-priced models from Squier that do have the all-maple neck like the Vintage Modified '70s Stratocaster, but you're not going to get anywhere near as many body color choices with the all-maple neck as you do with Tagima.
How does it sound? Good. Sounds like a Strat is supposed to.
From what I could find out about this guitar, the body is basswood and the electronics are just your typical Strat style.
Yes, Surf Green is a color choice offered. And that's just cool.
I very much like that there's some good competition to Squier in this price range. Tagima really seems to be delivering with the TG-530. If you're sick of waiting for Squier to release the color you want, Tagima most likely has it right now.
Guitar gear that is not worth saving
Sometimes when old guitar gear breaks, it has to be thrown out.
While I understand that some older guitar gear is valuable, when something starts falling apart so badly that there's simply no way to repair it, the decision has to be made whether to keep or toss it.
An example of this is my old 1993 Fender Stratocaster case. It has 3 latches. Left, center and right. The center latch plastic broke off years ago, but the case could still be used since the left and right latches still worked. I discovered today the right side latch plastic is now broken as one side lifted away from the case; that doesn't allow it to securely close anymore, and now it's at a point where it can't even be used.
In the early 1990s, standard Fender hardshell cases were terrible because the molded plastic does not stand the test of time. The inside foam and carpet held their shape well enough, but what would happen is that the outside latches would simply break off right out of the plastic. It's not the latches that would break but rather the plastic itself. Cheap plastic? Yes.
My case spent almost its entire life indoors. But even so, the latches rusted (surface rust, no rot) and as the years went on, the plastic became brittle to the point where it started falling apart right where the latches were installed.
There is no fix for this. Superglue will not hold the broken plastic in place.
If this were a tweed case, then yes, it could be repaired, but not this. A case of this type was never designed to be repaired when it breaks.
Do I feel bad that my guitar case has broken to the point of no repair? No, because I knew it sucked when the center latch broke off years ago. It was only a matter of time before one of the other latches did the same thing, and it finally happened.
Was this "user error" on my part? No. This literally happened from the case just sitting in a room. The case was not jostled or slammed around in a way that would break the thing. Again, cheap plastic.
Granted, the plastic is 25 years old now, but still, this is a case, so to see it do this all on its own is a bit disappointing.
Some may say to hold on to the case anyway since it's the original issue from Fender in '93, and it may be worth something even in broken condition...
...but nah, I don't think so. I'm okay tossing this crappy case out and buying a replacement.
Fender waterslide decal replica - is it wrong?
In my possession I do I have a replica Fender waterslide decal. I do intend to use it at some point.
I have not used it yet because I still have to source a neck that is good enough to my liking, because once this label goes on, it obviously can't come off.
I own a 1993 USA Fender Stratocaster. I am the original owner of the guitar, but the neck is broken beyond repair (truss rod issues). In the early '90s, Fender was still using a silver "transition" logo with black outline, so a while back I ordered a replica decal to put on another neck.
Do I ever intend on selling the guitar once the new neck and decal are applied? No. The '93 Strat was an 18th birthday present from my father so it is never getting sold. Not happening. In fact, one day I will in fact take the original neck (yes, I still have it) and have someone with the necessary skills take out the old truss rod, install a new one, refret whole thing, install a new nut, and so on. Basically, the entire neck needs a full restoration. And that's not exactly cheap, so I'll do it when I have the cash.
For now, a non-Fender replacement neck with the logo I bought will do once I source a neck I like.
Why not buy a new Fender USA replacement neck?
I could buy a new USA Fender neck right now. 100% legal, 100% legitimate, 100% correct...
...except the logo doesn't match what was originally on the guitar.
As I said above, the original logo is the '90s silver with black outline, and Fender does not sell a replacement neck that has that specific era of logo. The three types available at the time of this writing are black transition logo, spaghetti logo and '70s era gold with black outline. The '90s silver with black outline is not available.
Yeah, I could have just installed a neck with the wrong Fender logo type and nobody would have cared, but I care. And it's more important to me to have the correct 1990s logo treatment because that's how the guitar is supposed to look.
Am I splitting hairs with this? Yes. But it matters to me.
Is it wrong to use a replica decal?
My answer to this is, "Only if you intend to sell the guitar as a fake Fender."
Mine will never be sold, so my conscience is clear.
Can you get alternative "legal" decals?
Yes, of course you can, and should if you're doing your own custom build.
Tube-type guitar amps are not louder than solid-state
There is a common misconception that since tube-type amps don't require as many watts to output the same volume as a solid-state amp with double or more the watts, tube-type must be "louder".
Not really.
Understanding why solid-state has more watts compared to tube-type can actually be summed up in one word: Overhead. But it takes some explanation to understand what that means.
When a tube-type guitar amp has its volume increased, a change in sound occurs called "breakup." As the amplifier and loudspeaker get driven more, they become overdriven, and what you hear sounds like a "breaking up" of the tone.
The breakup noise heard from a tube-type amp is a good sound. Nearly all electric guitar players agree on this point. The natural breakup sound of an overdriven tube-type amp is pleasing to the ear - if you're okay with never being able to play "clean" loudly. More on that in a moment.
On a solid-state amp, its overdriven sound is terrible. When the amp is pushed to its limit, what you hear is best described as a jarring "flappy" noise. Guitar players all agree that this sound is just plain bad.
Solid-state amps have more watts to specifically avoid being overdriven at higher volumes. With a tube-type, its overdriven tone when pushed is desirable, so a lower wattage where you overdrive earlier is totally okay. With solid-state, its overdriven tone when pushed is awful, so a higher wattage where you overdrive much later is desirable.
In very basic terms, solid-state amps have more watts to give it more overhead so it doesn't overdrive as much when compared to tube-type.
I said above that it's not possible to play a tube-type "clean" loudly. That's the #1 drawback of tube-type. If you always prefer an overdriven sound when playing loud, tube-type always works. But for music styles where the guitar tone can't be overdriven or distorted when playing loud, solid-state is the better choice.
Fun fact: Many guitarists who prefer tube-type amps that need to play clean will purposely use a chorus effect, as that helps mask the overdriven breakup sound at higher volumes.
To note, guitar players do not want "clean" tube-type amps. What they want is something like the VOX AC30, or maybe a different tube head connected to a cabinet with Celestion speakers in it. These amps and loudspeakers get the breakup sound very easily when even moderately pushed, which is exactly how guitarists like them to be. That is the rock-and-roll guitar sound, after all.
Solid-state does in fact give you more control for the reason it will basically sound the same at any volume. When tube-type amps are pushed, the sound changes. When solid-state amps are pushed, the sound doesn't change but instead just gets louder. In addition, you can trust that solid-state will sound the same every time, all the time. With tube-type, those amps change in sound depending on tube temperature, how new or old the tubes are, and so on.
"But tube-type sounds louder to me"
Yes, it does. But that's because the overdrive happens sooner with tube-type, tricking your brain into thinking it's louder when it isn't.
You hear that distortion sooner, and your brain thinks, "This is louder!" It's not.
The 24-fret Strat exists, and it's a Charvel
"Gee, I wish Fender would make a 24-fret Strat..."
If you've ever wished that, your wish has come true in that you can get it with the Charvel DK24.
In reality, Charvel has been making 24-fret Strat style guitars for a long time now. How can they get away with such a Fender-looking guitar? It's because the parent company of Charvel is, you guessed it, Fender itself. This basically means that Charvel can borrow designs from Fender. More importantly, if Fender were to ever build a 24-fret Stratocaster guitar, the Charvel DK24 is pretty much exactly what the guitar would be.
The DK24 is a Dinky alder body (yes, Jackson, whose parent company is also Fender) that has a "speed neck" with rolled fingerboard edges, 25.5" scale length, jumbo fret wire, TUSQ nut, 1.6875" nut width, Stratocaster headstock, urethane neck finish, "caramelized maple" fingerboard with compound 12-to-16 inch radius. Pickups are all Seymour Duncan with the bridge being a super-hot SH-10B and the middle and neck being "flat Strat" style. Standard 5-way switch and master volume and master tone controls. The knobs are literally the same as on the Stratocaster. The bridge is a Gotoh custom 510. Tuners are Charvel die-cast locking.
The truss rod wheel at the butt of the neck. This makes for very easy adjustments. Nice.
The DK24 is totally a hot rod guitar, but done so in a very clean way. This is the guitar some guitar players (notably soloists) have been wanting Fender to build for years. Well, there's no need to wait for it. You want a Strat with hot pickups and a neck with 24 frets? There's no waiting because Charvel makes it right now.
Also, consider this: If this had a Fender decal on the headstock, it would be selling for over $2,000. But since it's a Charvel, it's way less than that. And bear in mind this Charvel is "as Fender as it gets" without being Fender-branded. Again, if Fender were to build a hot rod 24-fret Strat, it would literally be this guitar.