Guitar of the week #53 - Hofner Ignition 6-string guitar version
Hofner might have committed heresy with this release, but it could be good news for guitar players.
The Hofner Ignition is a shape ordinarily associated with the Beatle Bass, as in the bass guitar Paul McCartney of The Beatles played. Where the heresy comes in is from the fact the Hofner Ignition model is not a bass. It's a regular 6-string guitar.
This guitar is good news for basically one reason. It's an ultra-lightweight as it is a semi-hollow body instrument. I don't know exactly how light it is, but I'm fairly certain it will be the lightest electric you ever pick up. I'd say probably as light as a classical acoustic.
I've no idea how the mini-humbuckers sound and no idea how it plays, but the big sell here is the super-lightweight body. If you have back problems or you just like a guitar that has the strap barely pulling on your shoulder when standing, well, this Hofner is what you want.
If any of my readers out there buy one of these, please let me know by emailing me. I'd love to get more information on this instrument from someone who has played one since I've no experience with it. Heck, I'll even interview you personally and feature you here in a full article. Yes, really.
Pulsar PJ6007 "Railroad Approved" watch review
Yep, I bought one.
I hinted in this post that I had my eye on the Pulsar PJ6007, and since I received a $25 Amazon gift card for my birthday, I decided to put it toward the purchase of this watch, making the total I paid after that just a tick over 35 bucks. That figure is the most I've paid for any single watch since I spend very little on timepieces. What I got for the money was quite good.
Pulsar is a Seiko brand, and as I mentioned before, the Seiko version of this is the SNE045.
Here's the specs, and then the pros and cons of the PJ6007.
Specs
- 36.8mm case diameter without crown, 39mm with crown
- 44mm lug-to-lug
- 19mm width bracelet
- 10mm thick
- Flat crystal
Pros
- Proper sized case, meaning not oversized, thank God.
- Ridiculously easy to read.
- Absolutely silent.
- Seconds can be hacked.
- Second hand does line up with markers.
- Brushed steel bracelet, meaning not overly shiny.
- Quartz movement.
Cons
- Without a link removal tool, it's annoying to remove links.
- Micro adjustment only has 3 holes.
- No instructions on how to remove links in the manual.
- Lume is a novelty at best. The photo at top shows the lume and it's "okay" at best.
- Dial is too white(?) The PJ6007 has the "railroad approved" (as it states on the dial) look of a mechanical stopwatch.
Best low-end "railroad approved" watch there is?
Yes, no question about it. It is very difficult to find a watch that isn't oversized, is very readable, has a white dial with black numbers and black hands and day-date complications. The only other watch I know that has these specific features is the Timex Easy Reader T20041 - however - the Timex does not have an inner ring of 24-hour numbers like the Pulsar does. In addition, the Timex ticks loudly while the Pulsar runs totally silent.
The weak point of the Pulsar is the bracelet. Once adjusted, yeah, it's fine, but if you don't have watch tools, it will be required to take it to a jeweler for size adjustment.
Overall, yes, a good watch. Really easy to read, really easy to set the time, looks classy.
Will the PJ6007 be my new daily wearer? Maybe. I've another watch on the way that was gifted to me that I talked about recently, and it will be my first self-winding automatic. It was bought right around the same time as when I bought the Pulsar.
I'll talk about that watch once I get it, but for now, the Pulsar has become my daily wearer.
Guitar of the week #52 - Gretsch G2655 Streamliner Center Block Jr.
Nice digs for a nice price.
The Gretsch G2655 Streamliner is a lot of guitar for little money. There are models with Bigsby vibrato system and without. The model without Bigsby is, of course, the less expensive version.
Specs:
- 24.75-inch scale
- 1.6875-inch nut width
- Thin "U" shape neck
- 12-inch fingerboard radius
- Neck wood: Nato
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Body wood: Laminated Maple
- Top: Laminated Maple
- Pickups: "Broad'Tron"
- Frets: 22
Is this a Gretsch pretending to be a Gibson?
No. This is still an all-Gretsch guitar. Everything from the neck feel to the electronics controls to the pickups is Gretsch all the way through.
From what I've seen and heard of this guitar, it does have a good "spanky" tonal character to it, but not quite a spanky as other Gretsch models. This has more of a modernized "flatter" sound to it. I suppose that's understandable as some players would want that.
I like the fact that on the non-Bigsby version seen above there is a boomerang-shaped bridge. That's just cool and gives the guitar some cool visual personality.
I think for many players this will be a nice pick-up-and-play guitar. It has the 24.75-inch scale like a Les Paul, a light weight because it's semi-hollow, easy-playing thinner neck, and a double-cutaway body that allows easy access to all the frets (single-cutaway Gretsch Electromatic models made it difficult to get access to all frets.)
Overall, good guitar for the price. It sits just below the Fender Standard Stratocaster's price tag.
Should I start playing metal again?
I got a request to play some metal music, so I did. I have a few thoughts on this subject.
Metal music is one of those things that while it cannot be defined (seriously, nobody can define what it is), it is still around.
The metal music genre should have died about, oh, 20 years ago. Metal should have the same popularity now as, say, doo wop music.
Why hasn't metal died? Gaming.
Yeah, I am saying that gaming, at least for the time being, is what saved metal from total extinction.
Metal music actually does work well in first-person-shooter, racing and action games because the style does fit. I mean, what better music could there possibly be when playing a shooter and blowing stuff up?
On the rare occasions I post a metal music video, such as the one seen above I did recently, I get likes. Both kid and adult guitar players really like it when I grab a cheap guitar and wrangle out metal tones from it. It's especially impressive on a Strat because getting that metal sound on that particular guitar isn't easy.
But should I start cranking out metal music regularly again?
I'll be totally honest here.
If I (or anyone else for that matter) post metal guitar videos to YouTube, the views come easy because a lot of guitar players like metal music - especially since more cover song videos are getting "content ID" flagged left and right on YouTube these days. Now is a good time to get on YouTube if you can riff.
My biggest problem with metal as a guitar player is the same as anyone else who plays the style knows all too well. It is very easy... almost too easy... to get really bored playing metal.
Should I start playing metal on video more? Let me know. Email me.
5 easy read watches that are NOT oversized
This is a list of watches with legible displays that pass a very specific test.
The test is this:
If, while driving or walking, you can tell the time from your watch at a glance in less than 2 seconds, the dial passes the legibility test.
The vast majority of watch dial designs fail this test just because they're designed more for fashion than function.
Before listing off some watches that are actually readable and aren't too big for their britches, two questions answered.
How big is too big (what does oversized mean)?
An oversized man's watch as far as I'm concerned is any non-diver over 39mm in case size. For me personally, it's anything over 38mm because I have smaller wrists. For larger wrists, add a millimeter.
How small is too small?
It depends on the watch shape.
For round watch cases, 35mm is the bare minimum for a man's size these days. While it's true that vintage men's watches go to as small as 33mm, 35 is the minimum from what I see these days.
For the rectangle shape, the Cartier Tank pretty much sets the standard. The Solo model has a 27mm case. Most men would consider that women's size, but the rectangle gives the illusion of the case being larger than it really is. The women's Cartier Tank is actually 24.5mm (or less) in case size.
In other words, yes, you can totally get away with a 27mm case if the shape of the watch is rectangular. Remember, Cary Grant wore a Tank in North by Northwest. If he can wear one, so can you.
An example of a man's round 35mm watch with an easy-read dial is the Timex Easy Reader T20041. This is a cheap watch and if you're in America, it's probably at your local Walmart. You'd think 35mm would be really small for a man's watch, but it really isn't.
What's the problem with the Timex Easy Reader? It totally looks like an old man's watch. Simple, basic and functional, but with an uninspired, boring design to it...
...but don't let what I say deter you from getting one. If you like that Timex, by all means, get one. It is a top seller because a lot of guys like it.
Here are 5 easy-to-read watches that aren't oversized and actually look good
Frederique Constant Slimline FC-245M4S5
I'm starting off with a ritzy (as in expensive but not too insanely priced) Frederique Constant model. It's labeled as a slimline and they mean it, because this watch is just 5mm thick. Really thin is usually 7mm, and this goes 2mm below that.
The FC-245M4S5 is a 37mm size day-date that has a white face and black hands which makes for great contrast. This thing can be read very easily.
I would not call this an everyday watch. It's pretty much for dress use only. It would look silly wearing this while, say, buying a lotto ticket at the local convenience store.
You'll find several versions of this watch, including a black dial version. Obviously, this watch is stupidly easy to read, and does so in a way without looking ridiculous.
This watch with its 35mm case does address a very common complaint by watch wearers. On any watch with a date window, if there isn't a magnifier lens on it (or "cyclops" as Rolex calls it,) wearers will say the date is too small to be read. The Mondaine is one of the very few analog watches with a truly big date window with big numbers.
I wonder why more watch companies don't do this? It's actually a really good idea.
This watch, unlike the Frederique Constant, can be used as an everyday wearer. However, you have to like the dial design to want it; it's a style that's not for everyone.
An automatic self-winding watch with day-date that you can read easily and has a nice 37.5mm case size for under 65 bucks? That's an Orient Tri Star.
One of these days I am going to buy one because it's too good of a deal to pass up. The Tri Star has a look and style that the more you look at it, the more you want it. From the link you'll see other dial colors. Black dial, gray dial, red dial, green dial and so on.
For some strange reason, the gold really works on the dial of an Orient Tri Star. I can't even explain why. It just does.
This watch is absolutely good as a daily wearer. Buy it, beat the hell out of it and just use the thing. Just make sure to get one with some good contrast between the gold hands and the dial. I suggest getting one with black, dark polo green or dark navy blue dial.
Does an Orient Tri Star stand the test of time? Many owners of them say that yes, they do.
Guys who know Hamilton will pretty much agree that this brand owns the field watch segment. When you want something very readable with a military flavor to it and nice fit and finish throughout, you get a Hamilton. This one in particular has a 38mm case size.
I call this a "cowboy watch" because it looks like something a rancher would wear. That, and I can't really see this watch working well for dress. For everything else, yeah. But not for dress. Military field watches aren't meant for that sort of thing.
This watch has an interesting story behind it.
"Railroad approved" is a real thing. It's supposed to be an established vision standard where a train conductor who wears one should easily be able to read the dial very easily, day or night. Ball watches are famous for this with their Engineer and Trainmaster series (with super-high price tags included.)
It has been said that the Pulsar is one of the best railroad style watches for the money, simply for the reason you get exactly what you pay for; it's priced very fairly for what it is. While the luminescence isn't top drawer, the rest of the watch is.
Here's the really interesting part. Pulsar is owned by Seiko. Seiko makes the SNE045, which is almost identical to the Pulsar and uses an automatic movement (the Pulsar is quartz.) But for some ridiculous reason, Seiko put silver hands on a white dial with the 045. This makes absolutely no sense because it strips away all the readability of the dial.
In other words, the Pulsar, even though it's half the price of the Seiko, is the better watch because it has a white dial with black hands.
The case size of the PJ6007 is 36.8mm, just shy of 37mm. This can easily be a daily wearer, and you could even get away wearing it with a suit if you had to.
Which is the best all-around of the 5 above?
If you haven't guessed by now, it's the Orient Tri Star. Easy to read, right size and a right style that works anywhere, whether casual or dress.
Like I said, I'm probably going to get one someday. Tough to beat what you get for the money...
...although that Pulsar is looking mighty good, too.