Guitar of the week #105: Reverend Sensei Limited Edition
What makes this Sensei special?
Answer: Bigsby vibrato system.
The Sensei is a guitar I've featured before, but the Reverend Sensei Limited Edition (especially in "natural") has that vibrato system which is a very good selling point and I'll tell you exactly why.
This is a guitar with a 24.75" scale length and a neck with a 12" fingerboard radius - just like a Gibson Les Paul.
If you want a Gibson Les Paul with a Bigsby on it, there are 3 models. The Les Paul Joe Bonamassa "Tomato Soup Burst", the Les Paul Recording, and the Collector's Choice #14 1960 Les Paul "Waddy Watchel".
If you have deep pockets, go right ahead any buy one of those Gibsons if you like.
Or you can get the Sensei LE for well less than half that price.
On a final note, there was an Epiphone Bonamassa Les Paul with the Bigsby. Repeat, was. It's out of production, so the only way to get one is used.
Again, get the Sensei LE if you want a Paul with a Bigsby on it. Right color, right features, right feel and right price for what it is.
The fuzz guitar effect and how to use it
It is strange that so many guitar players are afraid of the fuzz effect.
Fuzz, be it from a cheap pedal, mid-priced pedal, expensive pedal or pretty much any multi-effect unit like the DigiTech RP360 (what I use) or the ZOOM G1Xon, is something that's cool...
...if you understand the nature of how it works.
Blare
The absolute best use of fuzz is taking advantage of what I call its blare. Fuzz, unlike distortion and overdrive, really doesn't have a tonal range. It's either on or it's not. When it's on, you know it.
I consider fuzz to be an "ugly" effect that destroys the tonal character of whatever guitar is plugged into it - and that's what makes it so fun to use.
Low treble ceiling
Fuzz is pretty much all bass and midrange with not much top end. You're not going to hear a lot of treble. This serves as a big advantage if you have a guitar with a high treble response. And that basically means Fender and Squier guitars.
I play a Jazzmaster guitar, which is, along with the Jaguar, ridiculously bright-sounding. Both those guitars with traditional wiring have 1meg pots. To put that in perspective, that's 1,000K resistance. A normal Stratocaster has a 250K pot. There's a lot more treble going on with the Jazz and the Jag...
...and the fuzz effect totally kills off that treble even with volume and tone on 10.
How does this benefit the player? If you have a guitar with super-bright pickups, a stomp on a fuzz pedal easily cuts the treble without having to touch the guitar's tone knob. It also makes for a fantastic lead solo tone - even when using the rear (bridge) pickup.
A famous guitar player that uses fuzz often is Eric Johnson. Yeah, that guy who wrote Cliffs of Dover. That guy with the signature Strat. He uses fuzz so much that he even has a signature fuzz pedal. Listening to EJ's sound, you'd never think he uses fuzz, but he does and it's very much a part of how he gets such a "smooth" sound.
One requirement
I only state one rule when it comes to which fuzz pedal to get. If it's a standalone pedal, make very sure it has a treble or tone knob. Without that specific control, you really can't "tune" a fuzz pedal to a guitar.
This is, incidentally, why I don't like Dunlop's Fuzz Face. There is no tone nor treble control present on that effect. I don't like that. Even the itty-bitty (and cheap) Donner Stylish Fuzz has a tone control on it.
When using a multi-effect pedal like the DigiTech or ZOOM mentioned above, both obviously have built-in controls for tone/treble so you don't have to worry about it. But for standalone pedals, that tone or treble knob has to be there or else you're 100% relying on the effect's circuit to have a treble response that "agrees" with your guitar - which it may not.
Why styles of music are fuzz good for?
For soloing that requires a high amount of gain, any style. Switch your guitar to the front (neck) pickup, kick on the fuzz and go.
For rhythm play, fuzz works well with surf (obviously), '60s acid rock, '70s ZZ Top style sound and '70s punk.
For the '80s era, fuzz is best for soloing and pretty much just that.
For the '90s era, fuzz works with just about all grunge music.
For 2000s music and beyond, the genre known as stoner rock (a cross between metal, doom, psychedelic and acid rock) uses fuzz tone quite a bit.
Fuzz allows you to be lazy
Generally speaking, you do not use palm mutes when using fuzz, meaning everything is open-string. And because fuzz blares so much, playing fast while using the effect really doesn't work that well.
The advantage of this is that your sound is really "fat" with loads of bottom end and midrange with no rushing required. You can slow down, be lazy, don't mute anything and just enjoy the sound.
Remember, you play guitar to have fun and enjoy. Sometimes a lazy, fat sound is just perfect.
The Fender '57/'62 might be the best Stratocaster pickup upgrade
You have a ton of options where Strat pickup upgrades are concerned, but this pickup set rises above the rest.
When it comes to Strats, there are 3 things I prefer.
First, I favor the SSS pickup configuration most where all 3 pickups are single-coil. Yes, there are "hot rail" pickups for Strats (which can be had for fairly cheap these days) that are humbuckers, but that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm referring to are true singles.
Second, I greatly favor the classic look of exposed pole pieces.
Third, I favor pickups with good output, but not so loud that it's an unmanageable mess.
The Fender Original '57/'62 Strat Pickup set seen above meets all these requirements. And, fortunately, it is not the most expensive pickup set for a Strat Fender sells. (For the curious, the most expensive Strat pickup set by Fender sold right now is the Eric Johnson Signature). It's a set that Fender states was reverse-engineered out of a '63 Stratocaster. What you get is a blend of '57 and '62 voicing, and this is the kind of clean tone Strat players go for.
What ultimately matters on a Strat is how good the clean tone is because that's your foundation. If the guitar sounds good clean, you know it will sound good overdriven or distorted later. You also know it will take well to effects such as reverb and delay.
This set has been out for a while now, and oh yeah, it's good. Definitely gets my stamp of approval.
Guitar of the week #104: Schecter E-1 Standard
A while back I featured the Custom Special Edition of the E-1. This is the Standard.
What are the main differences between the Custom Special and the Standard? From what I can tell, cosmetics and price. The Standard is $300 less in price, has inlays with a different shape and no pick guard.
Is this still the best Explorer type guitar you can buy that's not a Gibson? Unquestionably, yes. Great electronics (with push/pull), fast neck, great Explorer style looks.
Like the Custom Special, the Standard is a true player's guitar. This thing is made to be played and not be put in a case and sit in a closet for 20 years. I also dig the fact it has a nice blend of vintage '80s + modern looks to it. The balance is just right on this guitar.
My only complaint is that the only finish offered is Honey Sunburst. Granted, it's a really nice burst, but it would be great to see this guitar in red or maybe even a matte gray.
This is a great guitar and the fact it's priced lower than the Custom Special makes it even better. And bear in mind the Custom Special's price was already good to begin with.
Sinobi S9538G may be the best cheap analog watch ever
While the Casio F-91W rules as the undisputed best cheap digital watch, this Sinobi just might be the best cheap analog watch you can buy.
Take the Sinobi S9538G. There are 3 variants of this. Light/silver, light/gold and dark/orange. You'll notice the watch is usually only listed as the 9538 without the S or the G, although that is technically in the model name because it states so on the case back.
What makes this watch so great?
1. Size
This is a dress watch in a 40mm size with a 20mm strap lug width that fits my 6.75" wrist very nicely. While that doesn't sound all that exciting, it's almost impossible to find a cheap dress watch with these very specific dimensions that actually looks nice.
2. Numbers on dial
For whatever stupid reason, it is very difficult to find a cheap dress watch that actually has numbers on the dial. It is easier to tell the time when numbers are present.
3. Date complication
I wish this were a day-date, but the fact it even has a date is nice.
4. Signed buckle
Not the best signature in the world, but hey, it has it.
5. Signed strap
The faux leather strap actually has the brand on it. You never find this on watches this cheap.
6. WORKING seconds subdial
This is also something you never find on watches this cheap. The subdial is not decoration-only. It actually works and counts the seconds.
7. Very quiet tick
You can only hear the tick when brought up to the ear. I am so happy about that.
8. Easy-to-read and not a reflection monster
Indices are read easily, hands aren't "lost" at any time and the contrast is good.
Also, although the photo doesn't really show this, the indices are printed on the dial using raised ink. It's a very light raise, but they are raised for easier reading.
9. The price
It's 9 bucks. Yes, really. This watch actually sells for less than a Casio F-91W.
What's bad about this watch?
Not much, to be honest.
I had to wait 20 days for it to arrive in the mail because it came from Malaysia. But the shipping was free, so I really can't complain.
The date complication, while clicking over at midnight like it's supposed to, only seems to be set by spinning around the hands. I tried pulling the crown to a mid position but it doesn't seem to have one. I consider this a minor annoyance given the price.
The faux leather strap is crappy. Thin, but it works, is stitched correctly and isn't falling apart, which is pretty much the best you can get for 9 bucks.
30m water resistance, which means no water resistance. But again, this was 9 bucks.
Nothing with this case size and price point is as good
There really is nothing else for this cheap that's this good.
The two things that set this watch apart from other cheap analogs are three things. The dial, the quiet tick and the seconds subdial.
Dial: Usually when you go with a watch this cheap, there's something about the dial that looks tacky. An example is if the dial had the word "QUARTZ" printed on it. That looks so cheesy. That's not on this dial, nor is there anything else that looks cheesy or tacky. It's actually designed just right.
Quiet tick: Timex and Swatch are notorious for having annoyingly loud ticks on their analog timepieces. This Sinobi's tick is there, but as said above is nice and quiet.
Seconds subdial: I've got a few things to say about this.
The #1 complaint from quartz analog watch owners is that the seconds hand does not line up with the minute track. Incredibly, the 9538 does line up with its little subdial markers.
Cheap analogs by Casio and Timex never have a seconds subdial. If such a subdial exists on any timepiece either of those two brands sell for under $20 new, I've never seen it.
The subdial is a total luxury option. It really is. This is what makes a quartz analog movement actually look upscale. When you see a one-tick-per-second hand moving, it just says "cheap" - even on expensive timepieces. But when it's put on a subdial, it says "luxury". An example of this is the Timex Weekender Chrono 40. That, while more expensive than the Sinobi, does have a seconds subdial. It looks nice (and supposedly is one of the few Timex analog pieces without a loud tick).
I liked it so much that I ordered another one
This watch is so cheap and good that I went ahead and bought a second one, gold version.
As far as cheap analog watches are concerned, I honestly don't think you can do any better than the Sinobi 9538.
I own a 37mm Orient Tri Star and a 38mm Timex Weekender. But this Sinobi 40mm is just right.
Lastly, I'll say the watch is cheap. It has almost no weight to it. Some guys like something with some heft. But I'm totally okay with the 9538's light weight. It's just a nice, simple everyday dress/casual watch that looks way more expensive than it is.
Total winner of a watch. Truly.