PRS is now a better deal than a Fender
What PRS is offering right now is great and a better deal than Fender...
...if the price doesn't change.
The Fender Standard Stratocaster was the king of the hill concerning mid-priced guitar value until Fender decided to raise the price of it by 100 bucks. Because of that price hike, a PRS SE ST24 is now the better deal. The version of the guitar without the vibrato system, the SE ST22, has several models for the same price (as in without a "guitar pack" and just guitar alone, although the guitar packs are also really good values as you'll see from the links.)
Long-time readers of my writings know I don't like PRS. However, I do recognize a good deal when I see one, and both the ST22 and ST24 for the moment are better values than the Standard Stratocaster from Fender. You simply get more guitar for the money.
Note however that I said for the moment. PRS could hike their prices for the ST24 and ST22 to match Fender's price for the Standard Strat just as easily and get away with it. And they probably will.
In other words, the time to get a PRS SE, if that's a guitar you like, is now.
Is the Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro worth the money?
Certain guitars released by Epiphone, even while copies, are really damned good.
I can't list this one as a cheap guitar of the week for one reason. It's not cheap. The Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro is a mid-priced guitar.
The Big Question is this: Is this guitar worth the money?
Or more specifically: Is it worth paying more for this particular Epiphone Les Paul?
The first way I can answer that is that this guitar is not just a pretty face (and it is pretty). She's loaded with the good stuff. Slim taper D neck profile, glued-in neck, ProBucker pickups with coil tap on each volume knob, and since it's a "Custom" there's the big diamond inlay work on the headstock. Oh, and gold-tone hardware all around. Everything metal on this pickup - including the pickup switch - is gold.
The second way I can answer the question is that this is one seriously classy Les Paul. It has a total luxury look to it, as if it's all dressed up for a night on the town. The white, black, gold and proper large block inlays really work well here.
The third way I'll answer the question is that this is a true needs-nothing guitar. What that means is absolutely nothing on it needs upgrading. After setup and installing your string of choice, you're ready to go - and that alone for some people is worth paying a little extra for. Guitars that need nothing save you money compared to cheaper models that require changes to make them sound right.
How does the neck feel? If you've played the Epiphone G-400 PRO, then you already know what the neck feels like. If you haven't, get your hands on one to try it out.
If you can't get your hands on either guitar before buying, all I can say is that the Slim Taper "D" is Gibson's famous "fast neck" design that is slim and comfortable for most players.
There is something else that makes this Paul worth buying that just happened recently. It's now cheaper than a Fender Standard Stratocaster (Fender raised their prices). For an Epiphone Les Paul, yes, it's priced fairly for what it is. Don't sit on the fence concerning this guitar if you're considering it, as the price will go up soon.
Finally, is the Custom Pro the best Epiphone Les Paul you could buy? Yes, it is.
5 cheap luxury wristwatches for under $100
Watches are cool, and getting a luxury watch that's cheap, looks good and makes you feel good is even better.
Note: Every watch listed here is under $100 at the time I write this. Prices may go up in the future.
Since I started getting into watches, I've been studying them and learning more about what's good, what isn't, what qualifies as luxury, what doesn't, and so on.
What does "luxury wristwatch" mean?
This term has absolutely nothing to do with features and everything to do with style. Basically put, if it fits a certain look and functions well, it is good regardless of who made it or what you paid.
What does "cheap luxury" mean concerning a wristwatch?
Technically, anything under $2,000 would be considered cheap as far as timepieces are concerned.
However, you can get something really nice for under $100 when you know what to look for.
5 good, cheap luxury watches
This is a solid daily wearer with a simple display with day-of-month at the 6 position, luminous accents, quartz movement and rock-solid reliability.
This watch is unintentionally a super-easy-reader. Time only, no date, and it has thick hands with arrow tips that make it ridiculously easy to tell the time at just a glance.
Granted, the polyurethane band on this watch isn't to everyone's liking, but it's nothing you or a local jeweler can't switch out quickly for something else. Maybe a two-tone gold/stainless bracelet?
This is a super cool looking retro-styled chronograph watch from Seiko. I like how the outer numbers turn with the bezel, and the red band around the crown is a nice touch. The black band with stitching also fits this style very nicely.
Holy crap, did Timex nail it with this watch. Whoever designed it should be given an award because it is the best looking Timex I've ever seen, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that.
The Timex T2N700 flyback chronograph is a near-perfect blend of form + function. It has the just-right blend of a busy-but-not-too-busy face and an overall non-shiny look that gets it so right.
This is the cheapest watch on the list, and it's basically Casio's version of a cheap Rolex Submariner.
Why own this? Simple answer: It's pretty much the only cheap diver's watch that you can actually dive with that will work like it's supposed to.
Other watches under $100 claim to be diver's watches. They're not, because when they get wet, the underside of the lens fogs right up and the watch becomes useless in short order. This Casio on the other hand, which does have a true screw-down crown, one-way rotating bezel and screw-lock back truly does act like a diver's watch is supposed to act.
What's the only thing bad about the Casio? It has a cheap resin band. The watch itself is stainless steel all around, so no worries there, but the band is awful. However, that's nothing you can't swap out for a metal bracelet you can buy separately for cheap.
When you want a cheap, fully functional true diver's watch, Casio really does deliver with the MDV106-A. And while the band is cheap, so what? Change it. Problem solved.
Cheap guitar of the week #36 - Jackson JS32 Dinky DKA-M
This is the best cheapest rock/metal maple board guitar that exists right now. Get one before you lose your chance to own it.
One thing sells this guitar more than anything else: A bound, yes bound maple compound radius 12-to-16-inch neck.
A maple board front-and-back with a compound radius is usually only reserved for high-end model guitars with "fast" necks, yet This Jackson JS32 Dinky DKA is cheap, and that's great.
How does it sound? Doesn't matter. Seriously, it doesn't. If you want a thin, fast compound radius neck with maple everywhere, this is it. You buy this guitar for the neck. If the pickups sound awful, swap them out for something else because in the end you're still saving big.
Now while true there are other axes out there for cheap with the binding and compound radius, it is very difficult to find one with a bound maple fretboard. Jackson delivers here.
When you look at this listings for this guitar, you'll see it's available in black or white. Both look great for what they are. The white one, for whatever insane reason, is $30 less than the black one is, even though it's the exact same guitar. And bear in mind the guitar is already selling at a cheap price to begin with.
Even if you never use the vibrato system but really love a thin, fast neck with the maple look, get this guitar anyway.
When I saw this, I thought, "WHOA!" because you never see this kind of neck option on a low-priced model.
Like I said, go get yours now, because once it becomes known there's a fast and cheap maple-fretboard from Jackson, believe me, it will sell out quick.
The weirdness of Jay Turser guitars
You'd think with Jay Turser being part of U.S. Music Corporation that they'd have more of a presence in the guitar market.
Take the Jay Turser Mosman, which is a copy of a Mosrite The Ventures Model guitar.
I received an email recently asking if I could go try out one of these, because after all, I have not one but three Guitar Center stores within driving distance along with a Sam Ash store. Someone has got to have one, right?
Wrong.
Guitar Center does carry the Jay Turser brand, but none of them had the Mosman in stock. Sam Ash doesn't carry Jay Turser, so they don't have it.
This doesn't mean I can't get the guitar, but it does mean I can't try it before buying it.
Let this sink in for a moment:
I live in Tampa Bay Florida, which is an area that has thousands of guitars all over the place in every imaginable price range. There are only two places in America that get more guitars than Florida does, that being Texas and California.
Jay Turser is owned by U.S. Music Corporation, a big company with known distribution lines that's at least supposed to get product into stores in a timely fashion.
Guitar Center is the #1 guitar store in the world as we know it.
It is the holiday shopping season...
...and there are no Jay Turser Mosman models anywhere in Tampa Bay. At all.
Again, if I wanted one, I could order it, but nowhere around here is one available to try. And that's just weird.
What's even weirder is that the Mosman is one of only two Jay Turser models Guitar Center carries. The other is the JT-Res resonator acoustic.
Why is this weirder? Because Jay Turser has a whole bunch of models.
Does this mean the Jay Turser brand is doomed and will be phased out? I don't know.
What I do know is that it's not exactly easy to get your hands on any new Jay Turser guitar these days, so if you like the Mosman, I'd suggest getting one now. Not many companies make a Mosrite Ventures clone, and the Mosman is the best deal going for a Mosrite style shape right now.