Casio MQ24
Simplistic joy...
...that's what the Casio MQ24 is. Whether it's model 7B or any other number of variants of the same watch (there's something like 10 different designs), it's all good.
The price is usually $9 to $12 for one of these, but I scored one for $7 with shipping included, so yeah I couldn't pass that up.
Size: 35mm with crown.
Tick: Almost silent. You can only hear ticking when holding it almost against the ear.
Legibility: Matte black hands against stark white dial = superior legibility. This thing can be read even in a barely-lit room.
Weight: 19 grams, which is next to nothing.
Small but good
I can get away with wearing this watch because I have a 6.75" wrist. And while true the band could fit up to a 7.5" wrist, bigger-wristed folk would be much better off with the MW240, which is basically the exact same watch as the MQ24 except with a bigger 43mm case.
The only "happy medium" 38mm size watch Casio makes that's cheap and shows all the hour numbers on the dial with no date complication is the V001 model. Nice enough watch, but not as readable as the MQ24. The indices are a proper size but the silver hands are too reflective. If the hands were a dark color, that would increase the readability of the watch by 3x if not more.
For what the MQ24 is, it totally gets the job done. The thing cost me 7 bucks so I really can't complain. It fits my wrist, runs very quietly, keeps accurate time and it's easy to read. Can't really ask any more out of it than that.
Casio W213
This may not the watch for everybody, but it is the right watch for me.
My Casio W213 arrived in the mail and I've been wearing it for a few days. Do I like it? Yes. Will this be my new daily wearer? Also a yes.
Rather than get into the features of the watch and whatnot, instead I'll just concentrate on this stupid little hobby I have of collecting cheap Casio timepieces over the years and why the W213 might be the end of The Search.
Way back in 2011 (6 years ago at the time I write this,) I bought two Casio watches, the F-28W which is no longer made and the W59 which I later returned just because I didn't like it all that much. I bought them for the reason they were retro styled and reminded me of my childhood. I still have that F-28W.
In 2013 I bought an AE1200WHB-1BV. I realized that I actually liked digital watches but needed more functionality, so I sought out that very specific model because I thought it would do everything I wanted. It did. Sort of.
Since that time I've acquired a bunch of cheap Casio watches in the hunt for a digital timepiece that would do everything I wanted. What I came to realize is that I wanted a very specific set of features. I wanted something cheap with time/weekday/month/day on the face, multiple alarms, stopwatch and countdown timer with auto-repeat. Those specific features cover everything I want out of a digital watch.
Three watches fit these requirements. Timex Ironman 30, Casio F201WA, and Casio W213. I went with the Casio W213.
Side note: I did in fact own the F201WA at one point but returned it. The display was great but the case a bit too small, even for me.
It is nice to have one watch that does it all
I used to have to swap watches just to get the things done I wanted to do on any given day. Now I don't have to. The little W213 has all the stuff I've been wanting in a single watch.
The watch measures 45.5mm long by 40mm wide by 11.7mm thick. On my 6.75" wrist it looks fine, but for larger-wristed folk the Ironman would be the better option, especially considering Timex offers an oversize version.
Why is the W213 not for everybody?
Certain Casio watch models are just "kinda there," and the W213 is one of those kind. It's a model originally released in 2009, so it's not old enough to be retro or classic, and it's not the most stylish thing in the world.
Most people would go for the Ironman over the W213, and that's fine. For me, the Casio is the better choice.
Playing guitar in E flat does more than just save your wrists
Not only does playing in E flat put less strain on your hands and wrists, but it also opens up a sonic palette that sounds very different from E standard.
E flat, also spelled as Eb, is when you tune lower by one-half step. Eb tuning is also known as D sharp (also spelled as D#) tuning.
If tuning Eb, the characters for each string is Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb. If tuning D#, the characters are D#-G#-C#-F#-A#-D#. Are both these sets of characters the same notes? Yes. Which you use directly depends on what your digital guitar tuner displays.
The easiest way to tune to E flat is to use a digital tuner with a flat switch for stupidly easy and fast Eb tuning, which of course is the Korg GA-1. You'll see the "FLAT" button right on the front; it doesn't get any easier than that.
I may tune my Telecaster to Eb permanently
The strings in standard tuning felt too tight on my Tele, so I pitched it down to Eb. When I did that, the guitar felt much better, so I just left it that way.
Now that I've been playing in Eb, I actually quite like it. It's distinctively different compared to E standard.
The looser feel of the strings makes string bending much easier, and snapback (a finger pull on a string where you pull, let go and let the string purposely strike the frets) has greater attack.
Bass frequencies are heard more clearly, certain chords sound fuller and the guitar seems to stay in tune much better when a capo is attached.
Who uses Eb tuning?
The most famous Stratocaster player I know of that used Eb tuning pretty much always was Stevie Ray Vaughan. Fans of his tone who study it believe his tuning preference was a huge reason his guitar sounded the way it did.
Other players and bands who use Eb regularly are Jimi Hendrix, Guns N' Roses, B.B. King, Danzig, Disturbed, Extreme, Green Day, Journey, Slayer, The Smithereens and many others.
Does Eb tuning work on all guitars?
Your #1 enemy with Eb tuning is string flop. Flop means "to fall heavily due to lack of energy." When tuned a half-step down, string tension is lessened and your strings may literally flop around in an unwanted way.
The general rule of thumb is that the shorter the scale, the more you have to accommodate for string flop when tuned to Eb.
On 25.5" scale guitars (ex: Stratocasters and Telecasters), you can usually get away with Eb tuning without having to adjust anything.
On 24.75" scale guitars (ex: Les Pauls and SGs), a bump up in string gauge is usually necessary (such as increasing from 10-46 to 11-49 or a "bottom heavy" set such as 10-52) and possibly a small truss rod adjustment.
On 24" short scale guitars (ex: Jaguars and Mustangs), this is where you would have to put in the most effort to get rid of string flop. Short scale guitars already have string flop even in E standard tuning, so when tuned to Eb, a bump up in string gauge, reintonation, adjustment of string saddle heights and truss rod adjustment is pretty much mandatory.
On any guitar that uses a vibrato system, that absolutely has to be set up again for use with Eb tuning. Whether it's a Stratocaster "tremolo" system, Jazzmaster or Jaguar vibrato system or whatever you have, the tension set either by screw(s) and/or claw springs will have to be tightened slightly.
How will you know for sure if your guitar needs adjustment or not in Eb tuning?
Tune to Eb and check for buzzy frets, fretted out notes (i.e. when the string "squeaks" on a note bend), strings that go out-of-tune easily from your fret hand grip (thicker strings usually fixes that), and so on. Also check your vibrato system to make sure that's working the same as before.
Believe me, it will be very easy and obvious to recognize if your guitar needs adjustment while in Eb tuning.
If however you tune to Eb, play the guitar for a while and think to yourself, "this guitar pretty much plays and sounds the same in this tuning, just with slightly looser strings," then you probably don't need to adjust anything. But I'd still check the neck relief to be on the safe side.
Does Eb tuning affect songwriting?
Yes.
The entire tonal character of your guitar changes when tuned to Eb. It may be only a half-step lower than usual, but it makes a huge difference when coming up with guitar riffs.
Think of when you first tried drop D tuning. That only required the detuning of a single string from E to D, and it made a big difference of how things sounded on the low end.
Think of when you first tried a capo (and if you haven't used one yet, get one). Your guitar sounds like a completely different instrument when using one of them.
I consider Eb tuning the same as using a "capo in reverse," so to speak. In Eb, you will play things differently and riffs will sound different. It does affect how you write songs.
Eb tuning does save your wrists
There are many guitar players who detune to Eb simply for ergonomic reasons. Easier to hold chords in Eb? Yes. Easier to solo in Eb? Also a yes.
Lastly, if you've been bouncing around string gauges where one gauge set feels too thin, the other set too thick and you can never seem to find that happy medium, sometimes a thicker gauge set tuned to Eb is just the thing you need. But mind that scale length. If you own multiple guitars of varying scale lengths, Eb may work fine on your Strat but feel awful on your Les Paul. Fortunately, it's easy to try, so give it a go and see how it feels. You may like it.
Incoming Casio watches, MQ24 and W213
Two cheap Casio watches are inbound.
Neither of these have arrived yet, but I'll explain why I purchased each.
Casio MQ24-7B
I wanted the MQ24-7B because I sometimes like to wear a minimalist watch that only tells the time. I only spent 7 bucks on it. The price usually bounces around from $9 to $12, but I saw one for $7 and jumped on it because it's probably true I'll never see the price for one new that low ever again.
The Casio MQ24 is a minimalist runner that's simple, analog, cheap and super-legible. It's a 35mm timepiece that comes in many styles. The bigger 43mm version is the MW240.
Casio W213
The W213 (which cost me $16) is intended to be my new daily wearer.
Right now what I do every day is put on the G-SHOCK DW9052 (which does have a timer auto-repeat function) for my morning workout use, then switch to the AE1000 for the day, then switch back to the DW9052 again for my evening workout.
Basically, the W213 is the AE1000 without the "world time" stuff, which is fine. The face shows time, weekday, month and day, it has 5 alarms (one with snooze,) timer with auto-repeat, stopwatch and dual time. It should, hopefully, eliminate the need to switch watches just to get the specific functions I need.
Do either of these score style points?
Not really, as these are just cheap watches.
I suppose the MQ24 being a minimalist timepiece has a little bit of style to it, but not much. And as for the W213, that's obviously a tool watch i.e. a sports watch, so style isn't the concern for that one.
In my experience, you can't have tool + style at the same time with a watch. You have to go with one or the other. I already have a few fashion watches and don't need any more of those, so both of these were bought just for function. One for simplicity and the other for functionality.
The final word on Stratocaster vs. Telecaster
This is my take on the rather old argument of Stratocaster vs. Telecaster and which I personally think is the better guitar.
Back in my teens, I wouldn't think of even touching a Telecaster. I saw that guitar as something only country guys played, and at the time that was largely true. Music videos of the day on MTV almost never showed that guitar. In fact, one of the very few instances I can distinctly remember seeing a Telecaster just because it stuck out so much is one that Elliot Easton was playing in the video for the song Magic by The Cars. That is genuinely the only instance I can remember seeing a Telecaster on MTV. It stuck out, because seriously, how often do you see a hot pink Tele?
I'm telling you this so you know that it took me a very long time to come around to even thinking about trying a Telecaster guitar, much less actually buying one.
Now that I have a genuinely good Tele guitar I can finally talk about Strat vs. Tele and discuss the positives and negatives of each.
Output jack plate
Strat wins here.
Often overlooked but nonetheless a very cool thing is the top-mounted Stratocaster output jack plate. This is sometimes referred to as the "football" or "teardrop" plate. Much easier to get to compared to the side mount output jack of the Telecaster.
Volume knob
Tele wins here.
Arguably, the most annoying and most infuriating thing about a Strat is its volume knob position. It will get hit during play and the volume will get knocked down accidentally. This is the reason so many Strat owners purposely rewire the guitar so it is one-volume/one-tone for the two lower knobs and either take the top knob out completely or leave it there unwired as a dummy knob just for appearance.
The Tele volume knob position is exactly correct. You won't hit it. Maybe with super-aggressive play you'll hit the pickup selector blade, but not the knob.
Rear (bridge) pickup tone control
Tele wins here.
Traditional Stratocaster wiring has no tone control wired in when only the rear pickup is selected, and yes that is by design.
Telecaster wiring has always had tone control for the rear pickup.
Pickup selector blade
Strat wins here.
The 5-way Strat pickup selector is easier to use because it's smaller and angled towards the player. The 3-way Tele blade selector isn't angled at all and is 100% horizontal, proving to be slightly more difficult to get along with.
Playability ease from pickup configuration
Tele wins here.
With a Strat, it's very common that players will bash their picks into the middle and front (neck) pickups, which is why some Strat players will lower the top half of those two pickups almost flush to the pick guard just to get them the hell out of the way.
The Tele doesn't have a middle pickup, which for playability is a plus. And being the front pickup is a mini-single with a cover that has smoothed edges, even if you do whack that pickup from time to time, it's easier to recover since you're not hitting a sharp edge. And of course you can lower the top half of the pickup just like you would on a Strat.
String installation
Tele wins here.
The reason most Strat players leave the back cover removed is to make for easier string changes.
Even to this day, such as seen on the Fender American Professional Stratocaster, the rear cover somewhat blocks the 6 string hole.
Thousands of players over the years have tried to get along with installing strings through that plate, only to just remove the thing out of frustration and leave it off.
I've never quite understood why Fender doesn't just make the hole cutout slightly larger. Absolutely nobody would complain if they did that. Seriously, how difficult would it be to enlarge that plastic cutout by a few millimeters?
And if you think getting a more expensive Strat like the Elite Stratocaster gives you a better rear plate cutout, you'd be wrong. You get the same not-quite-big-enough cutout crapola whether it's a cheap Squier or top of the line Fender.
The Fender American Professional Telecaster, of course, has easy access to every string from the rear.
The majority of Telecasters made by Fender and Squier are thru-body where the strings are installed from the rear. My Squier Bullet Telecaster is a thru-body. However, the Affinity Tele is a top-loader, but that's really not an issue since the top-loader is by far the easiest of the easy where string changes are concerned.
Knob material
Tele wins here.
Tele knobs are metal and are easy to clean. Strat knobs are plastic, get stained easily and are never easy to clean.
Gig bag fit
Tele wins here.
How well a guitar fits in a gig bag is something a lot of guitarists don't take into consideration.
A Telecaster is one of the few guitars that I can say with absolute certainty will easily fit into any standard electric guitar gig bag.
Stratocasters do not fit all gig bags and I'll tell you exactly why. It's not the length of the guitar that's the problem. It's the top horn where the strap button is. On some gig bags, you will not be able to zip it up past that point. The Telecaster has a smoothed curve where the top strap button is while the Strat has a horn that sticks out.
Body contact
Strat wins here.
On the back of every Stratocaster guitar is a rear contour cut so the guitar feels more comfortable to play seated or standing. The Telecaster, traditionally, does not have a rear contour cut.
I say "traditionally" because some Teles do have the contour cut. The American Elite Telecaster does have the rear contour. The more affordable Fender Modern Player Telecaster Plus and Squier Deluxe Telecaster models also have the contour.
Many Tele players consider the contour cut heresy on the Telecaster guitar, saying that it makes it too Strat-like. I have to admit that yes, I consider Teles with the contour cut to feel weird just because I totally expect that plank-of-wood body style. So even though the Strat is the more comfortable body shape, I do agree with Tele purists that a rear contour cut breaks too far away from what a Telecaster is supposed to be.
Usable tone
Tele wins here.
The Telecaster has tone control when the rear pickup alone is selected. As said above, traditional Stratocaster wiring does not have this. Not having tone control on the rear-alone setting makes the Strat unusable for a lot of players.
Staying in tune
Tele wins here.
The Tele doesn't win by much here, but the fact it has no vibrato system is what makes it keep its tune better. Yes, you can "deck" or "block" a Strat vibrato system (which Fender calls a tremolo system), but unless you specifically know to do that, the guitar will lose its tuning fairly easily.
Least weird noises
Tele wins here.
A thing that happens on Strats is jokingly called "Stratocaster reverb". It's the unwanted noise heard when the rear springs ring on the back of the guitar. Telecasters don't do this because there are no rear springs to ring.
Cool factor
Strat wins here.
For most guitar players, one or more of their guitar heroes played a Strat so the star power of the instrument can't be denied. It is that star power that give a Strat its cool factor more than anything else.
At the time I write this, Fender has 15 different Artist series Strats with the Eric Clapton Stratocaster being the most recognized. The Telecaster only has 6, with the James Burton model arguably being the most popular.
Which is the better of the two guitars?
Telecaster.
The Stratocaster isn't a bad guitar by any means, but the modifications most players make to it is to specifically make it operate like a Telecaster more often than not.
What makes a Telecaster great is its simplicity. Two knobs and one switch is all you have to work with.
I've also owned a few Stratocaster guitars and still do, but the Telecaster is simply the better player's guitar. There's no worries about knocking the volume knob. Maintenance of a Telecaster is stupidly easy. And there's no need to rewire anything to get the control you want over the sound. Set it up, plug in and go. It pretty much doesn't get any better than that.
Yeah, I own Jazzmaster guitars which are very complicated, quirky instruments. But it is oh-so nice to put the Jazzmaster down and pick up a Telecaster sometimes. Telecasters don't get "moody". They just work.