Disastrous experience with a G-SHOCK DW5600E
The experience with this model of G-SHOCK was actually worse than the G9100.
If you're not aware of my experience with the G9100, you can read up on that and find out why I think that watch sucks.
Before I get into why I think the G-SHOCK DW5600, know that one of my favorite watches is the DW9052. That is a fantastic watch. I'm telling you this so you know there are in fact G-SHOCK watches I really like...
...but the DW5600E is definitely not one of them.
Recently, I decided to pull the trigger and bought one. But I didn't even own it a day before returning it because of three very annoying problems.
First is the LCD contrast. Unbelievably bad. The display washes out very easily even with just a slight tilt of the display.
Second, the EL nightlight was poor. I have EL on both my DW9052 and my A168WEC and both perform fine. But the DW5600 nightlight just wasn't up to par. It should have at least been as good as the A168, but wasn't.
Third - and this one floored me - the watch wasn't comfortable to wear. The strap is spaced in such a way where the notch that fits my wrist is slightly too tight, the next notch is too loose, and a "just right" notch just doesn't exist on the strap.
If the LCD contrast was at least decent and the EL light good, then I would have kept the watch, bought some strap adapters and installed a fabric strap on the DW5600. But the display and the nightlight were both crap.
What does good LCD contrast look like?
I'll start with bad contrast.
For my AE1000W, the regular view looks fine, but when you tilt the display back, the display washes right out and becomes unreadable. That's bad LCD contrast.
Where the DW5600E is concerned, its display would wash out even with the slightest tilt angle.
For my F-91W, the regular view is fine. When tilted back, it's still still readable, and the display doesn't wash out. Time and date can still be read fairly easily.
The F-91W is an example of fantastic LCD contrast; it is the gold standard for LCD legibility on a wristwatch. Try to find a digital wristwatch with a non-backlit screen that reads as well as the F-91W. You won't find one.
Now consider the fact the F-91W is 80% less than the cost of a DW5600E. This means a 9 dollar watch not only outperforms but obliterates the G-SHOCK in legibility. That's just plain sad.
Did I receive a dud DW5600E?
Yes. It had to be. I purposely went looking for complaints about the watch, and as far as I can tell, nobody has ever complained about bad screen contrast. Mine must have been one of the rare and few that had a bad screen on it.
The screen contrast was just as bad as a crappy no-name digital watch. Walmart sells those. The next time you see one of those in a Walmart, pick it up and examine how fast the display washes out when you tilt it back even a little bit. It's ridiculous. That's how bad my DW5600E was with its display.
If you happen to be a DW5600E owner with the same LCD washout problem, send it back and get a refund if the watch is new.
Gibson Modern Double Cut Standard
This is really expensive, but looks fantastic.
Usually whenever Gibson tries something new, different or reimagined, they fail and fail hard. That's not the case here. The limited run Modern Double Cut Standard, while expensive, is something new that actually might be great.
This guitar comes in several finishes, but it's the Bullion Gold that caught my eye (I'm a sucker for a goldtop Gibson).
The Modern Double Cut Standard has a solid mahogany body with 2-piece maple top, nitro lacquer finish, medium jumbo frets, 24.75" scale length, rosewood fingerboard with 12" radius, pearloid trapezoid inlays (I'm also a sucker for those on a Gibson)...
...which is all good, except for one thing I don't like. The guitar has 24 frets. On a 24.75" scale, that's pretty much useless. If you want to know what that feels like, play an Epiphone Tony Iommi SG. That guitar also has 24 frets on a 24.75" scale. You run out of room real fast after the 21st fret. Once you experience that, you'll understand why it is an absolute requirement that if you have a guitar with 24 frets on it, it must be at least a 25.5" scale for that extra space up there.
Am I saying the Modern Double Cut Standard would have been better as a 22-fret? Yes. I've no issue with the styling of the guitar as it looks fantastic, but 2 frets need to go away because not even soloists would be able to get along with it.
My only other complaint? Price tag. Way too expensive.
Keep your fingers crossed that an Epiphone version of this guitar is released. I could see this thing selling real fast if a version of it came out for the same price as the Tony Iommi SG.
My 6 favorite guitar chords
I find some guitar chords to be more pleasant than others. These are the 6 that sound best to my ears.
C9
I almost never play a straight Cmaj. Adding in the 9 just makes the C sound so much better.
Dsus2
This is again something I play instead of straight Dmaj. Leaving the open 2 on the high-E string makes this chord work.
Gmaj7
Although not heard in most songs I play, I use Gmaj7 all over the place when practicing.
Am7
I first learned this one from listening to the intro for White Room by Cream. Right before the first lyric "In the white room" happens, that's when you hear the chord. I was hooked ever since I first heard it.
Em7
I like this one because I can incorporate a lot of open strings and change it up in several ways at whim.
Almost any 6/9 (6add9) chord
I never played a 6/9 chord before I owned a Jazzmaster. Although I can play the chord on any guitar, the Jazzmaster inspired me to look into things I never played before, and the 6/9 chord was one of them.
6/9 just has an amazing sound to it.
Need more chords? There are plenty of books that show them. And yes, the book is better than watching videos since you can learn more chords much faster that way.
Casio A168 camouflage special edition
To my pleasant surprise, this really is a special edition that delivers.
How it delivers is not so much with the watch itself but rather the packaging.
Before I get into this, there are some Casio collectors that are real sticklers for details. If that sounds like you, the exact model of watch I have is the A168WEC-1EF.
Now as far as the functionality of this watch is concerned, if you know the F-91W or the A158 with module 593, you already know this watch. And if you know the regular A168 or the F105W (both of which have the EL nightlight), the A168WEC-1EF is functionally identical to those models.
When I got this watch in the mail, I noticed the package was a bit flat. This immediately disappointed me because I thought the seller did not include the box. But then I got real happy when I opened the package and saw the special teal colored sleeve.
The sleeve is just felt material and nothing more with a stamped silver "CASIO". It's not expensive material by any means, but this is the first time I have ever seen an official Casio sleeve. In the US, Casio watches are never sold like this. Most of the time all you get is a box. Sometimes you get the upscale G-SHOCK tins, but only if you buy a high-priced model.
I purchased this watch direct from a seller in Spain, and this specific EU model (you can see EU on the hangtag) does come delivered in the sleeve.
Yes, I know, it's just a cheap felt sleeve. But it's little things like that which make this model of watch special and separate it from a regular A168 model.
On the back of the watch, Casio does use a different model name for this edition. Instead of A168 there is A168WE.
But of course the main reason to own this watch is for the face.
I do not like the look of the regular A168. Yes, I like "retro" Casio design as much as any other fan of the brand, but I've never cared for the A168's face.
The A168WEC-1EF face obviously has the gray camouflage pattern, but also has a few things removed. Nowhere on the face does it state ELECTROLUMINESCENCE, ILLUMINATOR or WATER RESIST. That text is thankfully gone and makes the watch look far more appealing.
As I said before, the only reason I never bought the A168 before now was because of the styling. This one is styled better.
Real-life appearance
The gray camouflage pattern works well with the stainless steel bracelet, and I consider the watch best used as an everyday casual timepiece. This wouldn't work with a suit but does work with a t-shirt or polo shirt easily.
The case size of the A168WEC-1EF is also about as good as it gets. Corner-to-corner, the case measures a little over 38mm. To put that in perspective, that's a full 2mm wider than the F-91W, which for all intents and purposes makes this A168 a slightly-larger-than-midsize timepiece.
According to official Casio measurements, the A168WEC is 38.6mm tall x 36.3mm wide x 9.6mm thick. I measured the case myself and yes the measurements match if you include the little "shoulders" where the buttons are.
Negatives
The only negative I can give this watch is the display panel. While the watch is larger than the F-91W, it's not as readable. This is something most people wouldn't notice, but I notice it. The F-91W has a perfect digital display and it's just a genius design. It might be small but it's ultra-readable and can be read at almost any angle. The A168 however has a display that's slightly countersunk with slightly smaller digit segments. It totally works and there's nothing wrong with it, but the F-91W is still the readability king...
...except where the nightlight is concerned. The EL nightlight of the A168 is spot-on perfect and that is the biggest selling point of the watch, functionally speaking, since the feature set is identical to the F-91W. The EL has perfect illumination with a perfect aqua blue color while the F-91W's backlight is terrible.
Overall
I wanted the A168 but hated the style. Then I saw the A168WEC-1EF, its styling suits me and yes, I'm keeping this one.
Fender Special Edition Noir Stratocaster and Telecaster
I'm not sure how I feel about these...
... but at least Fender is doing something different.
There is the Fender Special Edition Stratocaster HSS Noir Satin. There is also a Telecaster version.
As far as I can tell, both these guitars are just appearance packages. The Strat is a Mexico-made Fender Standard Stratocaster and the Telecaster is a Mexico-made Fender Standard Telecaster.
The body finishes on these guitars appears to be satin black, which results in a dulled gloss and not a high gloss. And I believe the satin urethane finish is on both the body and headstock.
As far as what the pick guard is made of, I've no idea. It has a brushed texture look to it with red outline. Whether it has actual texture or is just a print, that I don't know.
The logo treatment on the headstock appears to be in red text, with the Fender transition logo in either a silver or gold outline (probably silver).
The only weirdness I find here is that the Strat has a half-blackout treatment. The output jack is black but the bridge and saddles are not. As for the Tele, the hardware was kept all in chrome there.
Cool? Not cool? You can be the judge of that.
As for price, each is priced $50 higher than the regular version, which for this appearance package is fair since you never see the red pick guard outlines nor red Fender logo/model text on the headstock.