Is a 3.5" screen Garmin GPS still usable?
Answer: Yes. I use one myself as a daily driver.
The very last 3.5" screen Garmin car-specific GPS ever released for North America was the nuvi 30 in 2012. The 30 was launched with hardly any fanfare, lived for a short time, disappeared, and we never saw another 3.5" car GPS after that from Garmin.
I own two nuvi 30 GPSes because I like them so much. If my main 30 ever busts, I have a backup.
The 30, just like any 3.5" Garmin GPS, works the same as widescreen models, with the exception all of them have the ABCDE keyboard layout and no QWERTY. But that's literally the only difference. The 3.5" is functionally identical to widescreen models otherwise.
What makes the 30 great are two things. First, just like the 50, it has that glorious daylight-readable screen that was the best generation of screens Garmin ever put on a car GPS. Second, the screen touch response is far superior to that of the 40 or 50 of the same generation. For whatever reason, 3.5" matte screens always had better touch response compared to wide 4.3" and 5.0" matte screen models, and the 30 is no different.
Text too small?
The map text is fine, but in the Favorites list the text is a bit "scrunched".
Because the 30 model has such good screen contrast like the 40 and 50, it's easily read during bright daylight driving. For night driving, obviously there are no problems with legibility there.
Again, on the Favorites list is where the smaller text gets a little annoying. But it's not a deal-breaker.
Map too small?
In Track Up or North Up map display mode, yes, too small. But in 3-D mode it's just fine.
The 3-D display option has big thick on-screen map arrows and increased text size that can be read easily on the 3.5" display.
Works?
Yes, the 30 works very well as does just about any Garmin 3.5" with updated firmware and maps, even if it's free OSM map data.
Good enough for 2019 and beyond?
Yes.
A Garmin nuvi 30 or any other 3.5" model for that matter is a means of car navigation only used by nerdy folk who appreciate simple, reliable GPSes.
You have to be nerdy to use one of these things. If you buy one, it will be old, it will need its firmware updated and will need new maps (usually handled by a free OSM map image).
I was willing to go through the process of doing all the updating to get a nice, reliable 3.5" GPS with a truly daylight-readable screen. The 30 doesn't do traffic nor Bluetooth nor Wi-Fi nor connect to a phone and never did. All it does it navigate. And it does a damned good job at it.
Alternative?
Seek out a Garmin Drive 52. It's a 5" model, but it's the last one with a matte screen that's truly daylight-readable.
Schecter Omen Extreme-6, 3 months later
It's been 3 months, and this guitar is doing well.
Some guitars I buy and they don't even stay with me a month. Some don't even last a week. But this one, the Schecter Omen Extreme-6 in Ocean Blue Burst, has stuck around. I've now had it about 3 months.
Here's how things have fared out thus far:
I still very much appreciate how light in weight this guitar is. I've not weighed it, but it's either at or just under 7 pounds. It's lovely.
Tuners hold tune just fine, the nut string travel is great, the bridge saddles haven't budged, all the electronics still work great, and there's no creaks, squeaks or rattles anywhere.
I think what's amazed me the most is the neck stability. I only had to adjust the truss rod once. Just once. And it stayed put. I've not had to readjust it since.
It took me some time to get used to the pickups, but now I very much like them. When split, this is the most Strat-sounding guitar with a pair of humbuckers I've ever heard. The pickups totally have that Strat "quack" when used in single-coil mode. It's so good that you'd think it was a Fender. I'm not kidding.
Least usable pickup setting for me is neck-only. I find myself using bridge and bridge + middle the most. It's not that the neck-alone setting is bad. I just haven't really found a use for it just yet.
I only have two complaints about the guitar. The push-pull is a bit stiff and requires a firm pull to put it in the up position, and I don't like that volume controls are flipped. The knob closest to the neck controls the bridge pickup and the middle knob controls the neck pickup. I may at some point flip these around, but for now I'm okay with it.
For most players, the flipped volume controls is a plus rather than a minus since so many guitarists live on only the bridge pickup. But I like it the old-school way, so again, I may flip the volume pots back to traditional positions. The only reason I haven't is just laziness since the guitar works just fine.
No issues otherwise. Everything still works exactly as it should. Schecter definitely did this guitar right.
How to avoid guitar shipping damage
This is based on an email conversation I had, and it's definitely good enough to write about since you can avoid a lot of headaches from what you're about to read.
I'm fortunate enough to live in an area where I literally have access to just about any guitar I want to try out. For anything from a cheap Squier to a very ritzy PRS McCarty or anything else you can think of, I can just drive on down to any number of guitar stores to play one.
I full well understand that's a privilege most people don't have. I also full well understand that most people have to literally buy to try a guitar. And one of the worst things that can happen is when a guitar arrives in the mail damaged. That will just ruin your whole week.
Here's the truth about guitar shipments and what you can do to avoid shipping damage.
Most if not all shipping damage will happen at the last leg of the shipment route
Typically, where packages get thrown around most is obviously not at the guitar store, not at the warehouse and not at the shipping distribution center. It happens when the package is fewer than 25 miles from your house. That last leg of the journey is where things can go wrong.
Just about everyone can tell this exact same story:
"I ordered X from Y company. The ordering process went fine, but then the day X was supposed to arrive, it didn't. I called [insert shipping company here], and they said the driver made an attempt at delivery and said I wasn't there. I said I had been home all day waiting for the package and it never showed."
This story always means the same thing. The delivery driver got behind on his route and lied about where he said he was. This means your package was shoved on to a truck, banged around, then shoved back into some holding place at the distribution center.
How does this story end? It involves several rounds of phone calls leading nowhere, the driver making "repeated attempts" (more lies), and you having to have the package redirected elsewhere just to get it. By the time you do, the box is all banged up, package damaged, and your day ruined.
Want your guitar to arrive undamaged? Never have it delivered to your house.
If you have a delivery driver that you can't trust, don't trust him. Go around him.
How? Have the package redirected to a pickup location.
Which are the best pickup locations?
UPS Stores, UPS distribution centers, FedEx Office stores and FedEx distribution centers.
Using a store instead of a distribution center is usually easier for most people.
How to redirect a package in transit
Some places you order from online may not allow to specify the option to ship to a shipping store or distribution center.
Not a problem. Have it redirected while in transit.
Perform the following steps:
- Before ordering your guitar, find out what shipper will be used.
- Locate a local store or distribution center (whichever is closest to you) and get its address. You'll need this later.
- Order the guitar.
- Get the shipping tracking number.
- Monitor the shipment and wait until it's actually in transit, because you can't ask for a redirect until the shipment is "in the system", so to speak. This usually takes about a day.
- Once the first leg of the shipment has started, call the shipper and request a redirect to a local store.
- Monitor the shipment via the tracking number.
- Once the shipment arrives at the store, print out all the tracking info.
- Go to the store. Have some form of ID with you (driver's license usually is enough).
- Give the guy at the desk the printout and your ID. He will get your package.
- Inspect the box before leaving. Look for damage. If you spot any, grab your phone and take photos of it. Make sure those photos are time-stamped (it is worth it to look up how to do this with your phone as they can all do it).
- No damage? Cool. Take your package and go home. But if there was damage, you have photos proving absolutely it was the shipper's fault just in case you find anything busted when you open the box later at home.
Should you always have guitars shipped this way?
If there are no guitar stores near you, yes. Always pick the guitar up at an official shipping store or distribution center and never have it shipped to your house.
If you do have a guitar store near you that has the guitar you want to order, always have it shipped to the store and not to your house.
I've been doing this for years with Guitar Center stores. I never have a guitar shipped to where I live to specifically avoid lost packages and shipping damage. In addition, I can inspect the guitar at the store once received. If anything is wrong with it, I just refuse the instrument and get a refund, take store credit or have a replacement ordered. GC is not only very OK with this, they encourage it because it's actually easier both for you and them to handle everything in-store.
Have freight packing tools just in case you need them to ship the guitar back
If you don't have packing tape, get some. The really good stuff for cardboard boxes is reinforced gummed tape.
Buy some king size chisel tip Sharpie markers. You'll need these to cross out old stickers. Great to have.
Get yourself a heavy duty packing stapler. Just about all guitars come shipped in stapled boxes. Yours won't be as large as the brass ones the box has, but will be good enough to repack the box in case the guitar has to be shipped back.
And remember, unpack any guitar out of its box slowly, save all the packing materials, and TAKE PHOTOS with your phone to see exactly how it was originally shipped so you can repack it exactly the same way, if need be.
When guitar effect pedals get too complicated
Sometimes the simpler pedals are just better.
Take the BOSS DD-200 delay pedal. It's big, and has 7 knobs and 2 buttons on the front.
This thing has 32-bit AD/DA with 32-bit float processing and a 96kHz sampling rate. It also has 12 modes, a phrase looper that records up to 60 seconds (meaning yes it can do double duty as a looper), has full MIDI I/O with mini TRS jacks, a micro USB jack for firmware updates...
...and can even run on just three AAA batteries, which I think is a nice touch because 9V batteries suck.
This is a crazy do-everything delay pedal. Every single thing you ever wanted a delay pedal to do plus things you didn't even know one could do are in this pedal.
But holy crap is this thing complicated. Powerful, yes, but complicated.
But then there's the "Waza Craft" reissue DM-2w.
DM-2w Delay is a reissue of the famous original DM-2 from 1984. It's 100% analog. It has the original 20 to 300ms delay time, but also has a custom mode for up to 800ms. It does accept an expression pedal for delay time via foot control. There's not much else to it.
Given the choice between the DD-200 and the DM-2w, my choice would be the DM-2w.
While the DD-200 has everything and the kitchen sink, the DM-2w would be more fun to use.
Granted, the DM-2w is nowhere near as clear and clean as the DD-200 is. Not by a long shot. But in the end, the simpler DM-2w with its quirky simpler nature is more fun.
On a final note, I'm not saying the DD-200 is bad, because it isn't. It's actually awesome. You can do a whole lot with that pedal and get some insane delay tones out of it. But again, the fun factor point goes to the DM-2w for me.
Jackson almost has a winner with the Dominion DX2
This is closer to being the Dominion that needs to exist, but not quite.
I said back in 2018 that Jackson has this cool curvy Dominion guitar, and that they really needed to release a sub-$500 version of it.
Why did I say that? Because it's one of the best guitars Jackson has that's unique to the brand, and a more affordable version would put this axe in the hands of more players.
The price for a DX2 from Guitar Center at the moment is not $500. But it is less in price compared to the similar 2018 model, so that's at least a little good news.
This guitar could have been $499. If the DiMarzio pickups were dropped for plain Jackson-branded, and the quartersawn neck was dropped for bolt-on plainsawn, it could be that price.
Yeah, I know this is a "signature" guitar. Whatever. Don't care. What I see is something from Jackson that's not a Dinky, King V or Soloist that's unique and cool... but priced too high for younger players to afford.
Why do I think this is such a great axe from Jackson?
It's a 24.75" scale hardtail like a Les Paul but with a 12"-to-16" compound radius fingerboard, a full 4-knob electronics layout, simple 3-way switching, a neck with a silky smooth satin rear finishing, and a body with a contour cut on the rear for extra comfort.
In other words, a really good combination of things many players, myself included, would like.
The Dominion is genuinely a good guitar.
Or it would be, if it were more affordable.