Is buying used guitars totally dead?
Used axes just aren't the good deals they used to be.
An example of why there really isn't any point to buying used is the Ibanez GRG121DX. The price? Cheap. Simple guitar, fast neck with cool inlays, probably has a decent sound (I've not played it personally so I don't know that part for sure), and ready-to-rock. But the point is cheap. At this price point, there isn't a used guitar that can compete what what you get for the money with this Ibanez.
I browsed my local guitar store's used inventory online recently. At the time I write this in April 2018, the used section had 24 solid-body electrics, 3 semi-hollow electrics and 1 lefty electric. Out of literally everything listed, there was only 1 guitar in the $200 to $300 range, and it wasn't even one I was particularly interested in.
I also browsed the Clearwater Florida GC used guitar inventory. Only 17 electrics there, but they had 4 guitars in the $200-$300 range, 2 of which I would actually be interested in... but even so, they were priced too high for what they were.
Is a used guitar a good deal anymore?
Easy answer: No.
Used guitar selection these days is meager, and from what's there the choices available aren't that great. Most importantly, you simply don't save that much compared to buying new. In fact, there are times when you don't save anything at all.
Bear in mind I'm not talking about vintage guitars here. I'm talking about used guitars that are under 10 years old. Years ago there was a huge price difference between new and used. But as guitar building technology gets better, cheaper and easier, the prices for new guitars keeps going down to the point where buying used doesn't make any sense anymore.
When you examine the $200-$300 range for new guitars, you find some nice surprises...
...and you also find a lot more choice compared to used. You're better off just skipping the used guitars entirely these days.
The best "raw" presets for DigiTech RP360
When you want to go "raw" with one of these, certain amp models are better than others.
If you own a DigiTech RP360 (or RP360XP) and want to wrangle a sound out of it that gets back down to basics, this is how to go about it.
In the most basic state, an RP360 preset can be just an amp model and absolutely nothing else. No compressor, no EQ, no effects.
When you edit a preset down to this basic level, this really makes for a nice "raw" tone.
How to prepare a preset
- Select a preset. Doesn't matter which one.
- Press down and hold the large Select dial to the right of the display until MODEL MOVE DELETE shows at the bottom of the display.
- Scroll to the left or right with the Select dial to select what you want to remove.
- Scroll to the left or right with the dial below the Select dial (the smaller one,) and the RP360 will ask if you want to delete or not.
- Click (as in press down once) on the Select dial to delete.
- Repeat this for everything except the amp model.
- When done, click Select again.
The best "raw" amp models to use
These are modeled after popular guitar amplifiers.
Note: Each amp has a separate gain and master volume that's an editable selection per model by clicking the Select dial.
- 65 Fraternal - Set to be quiet so the gain and amp volume have to be turned up for this one, but produces a very nice amplified clean tone.
- 68 Plexi - The stock settings as-is for this amp model work well. Light overdrive that has a natural-like speaker breakup to it.
- Master Volume - Gain and volume need to be turned up for this too. Like the Plexi but with more treble to it.
- 800 JCM - Like the Master Volume with different midrange.
- 900 JCM - Like the 800JCM but with some treble rolled off and deeper midrange.
- Mark 4 - This is where some real overdrive starts happening. If drive is what you need, start here.
- Tri Rectified - Need even more gain? Go here.
- Heritage - Probably the best "needs nothing" amp sim with great overdrive there is on the RP360
- Matched 30 - Works very well for clean, also suits nicely for semi-hollow electrics
- Citrus 120 - Some very good overdrive here with nice bark to it.
- Spank - Some light speaker breakup on this one, very good for guitars with single-coil pickups
- Stoner Rock - Good classic rock overdrive on this one.
There are of course other amp models, but the above 12 would be the most usable to most when you disable everything else. Using the RP360 this way gets to the most "true" sound you can achieve with it.
Peavey Session has a secret hidden weapon
If you want the best gigging guitar for the cheapest price that has a better-than-average level of build quality, it's the Peavey Session for one very specific reason...
...the neck.
Before I get into that, Peavey has absolutely one of the coolest headstock designs ever put on an electric guitar. The "wave" at the end really sets it apart from other designs and it's very well thought out. Also, the Session has a beveled body, recessed control knobs (you'll never hit them accidentally,) and body binding.
But the neck is where the magic happens. It's a 5-bolt, but it gets even better than that. There's a graphite composite nut and a compound fingerboard radius also. But that's not the cool part either.
The cool part is the neck has dual carbon fiber inserts for added reinforcement.
Let me explain how important this is.
A problem that anyone who gigs regularly faces routinely are neck shifts, be it from humidity, hot stage lights and so on. This is what makes the Gibson Les Paul such an awful gigging guitar, as the mahogany set neck on it shifts so easily that at times it's almost unplayable.
With Fender guitars, you have the option of blowing a bunch of cash on a model with a quartersawn maple neck, such as the Eric Johnson Stratocaster.
But then there's the Peavey Session. It costs way less and actually has a neck that is better suited for gigging compared to a Fender that costs hundreds more.
There are not many of these out there, and the Session is without question a gem of a guitar because you get so much for the money.
Yes, the Session is an out-of-production instrument, but there are still a few out there selling for new. If you can locate one, grab it just to get that oh-so sweet reinforced neck. As I've said before, a neck is ultimately what makes a guitar any good or not. The Session has got that great neck on it.
What's the next best thing if you can't get a Session?
Another diamond in the rough is the Jackson JS22 Dinky. It doesn't have carbon fiber inserts, but does have a neck with graphite reinforcement.
Is the JS22 as good as the Session? No. The Session has way more going for it. But if you want a cheap axe with a neck that can handle the rigors of gigging relatively well, JS22 gets the job done...
...but try for that Session first. It's worth getting.
Not all gold is good
Sometimes gold is tacky and good, while other times it's just plain tacky.
I said before that gold works with a watch. True? Yes. It's tacky but catches the eye when done right.
This is the quick story of gold done wrong.
There was another gold watch I very briefly owned, the Casio A159WGEA-9. It's basically a slightly-larger A158.
I returned the watch originally because I found scuff marks on the bracelet right out of the box. This was actually a blessing, because the particular style seen here just doesn't work for me.
The checkerboard pattern on the dial is unique and different, but what I was hoping for is that the darker squares would be more of a brown than an orange in person. That didn't happen. The darker squares are decidedly orange. Also, this is one of those models where Casio purposely used a yellowed LCD panel instead of light gray, which I don't like.
The gold was standard Casio fare for a digital, but that dial and yellowed LCD panel just wrecked the look of this one.
Why did I originally want the A159 in gold?
Model A159 is not a North American release watch but rather only seen in Japan and Europe. To see anyone wearing an A159 model is rare in the USA, but to see anyone wearing a gold tone A159 basically never happens.
When you don an A159, you have exclusivity through obscurity. You can't just to go Walmart and pick one of these up. Getting that kind of exclusivity in a very reliable timepiece is just plain cool.
Unfortunately, this one didn't cut the mustard because of a few scuffs. But again, that was a blessing in disguise because even though this is gold with exclusivity to it, it steps over the line from tacky good to tacky bad.
However, if you don't mind the look of this one, grab it. Instant exclusivity for cheap. It didn't work for me, but might work for you.
GPS Test Plus Navigation is totally worth the money
This is a phone app I actually consider worth its $3.99 price.
I've said before that GPS is one of the best things ever as a driving assistant. For driving, I'm still of the opinion that the dedicated GPS is the best thing to use because it's built for cars. This is why I use a Garmin DriveSmart 66 regularly and keep a Garmin Drive 52 in the glove box as a backup.
On the phone, I have a secondary backup GPS, the HERE WeGo app. It's free, but I'd only use it if both my Garmin GPSes failed.
There is however another GPS app that I liked so much that I bought it. The free version is GPS Test. The paid version is GPS Test Plus Navigation.
The name "GPS Test Plus Navigation" doesn't mean the app has maps, because it doesn't. But it will navigate "as the crow flies." No map loading whatever is needed with this. It's instant.
What this app does is basically turn your phone into a trail GPS, because sometimes all you need is a simple, fast loading pointer. That's what this little app does very well.
Where this works best is marking things that do not have an address, such as marking where your car is in a large parking lot, or marking a camp site, or beach site, etc. This is so good for marking stuff like that. Yeah, there's Google Maps and the aforementioned HERE WeGo, but those are best used for addressable locations you drive to. GPS Test Plus Navigation is for the stuff that doesn't have an address where you need to be pointed in the right direction and get there by foot.
Is the app as good as a true trail unit like a Garmin eTrex or Garmin GPSMAP? No, not even close. A 4-dollar app is nowhere near as good as an actual rugged trail handheld GPS...
...but for what it is, you get a lot for 4 bucks with the app. I can honestly say it's money well spent.