Watches that attract women
I came across not one but three videos specifically on the subject of which watches attract women. All three videos got it wrong.
You can find these videos on YouTube easily just by searching for them; they're not hard to find. But like I said, the advice given is just plain bad.
I'm not claiming to be a master when it comes to what women prefer where men's style choices are concerned, but I know a few things to be true in the "don't" department:
Don't be fat. If you're fat, it doesn't matter whether you're wearing a $10 Casio or a $10,000 Rolex. The first thing a woman will see is the fat. No, your personality won't save you. Lose the weight.
Don't have dirty fingernails. Women notice this a lot. If your nails are grubby, discolored and/or not filed properly, that makes a woman go "Eww!" in a heartbeat. If you have a bunch of dead skin around your nails, yeah, they notice that too. No watch will excuse ugly nails.
Don't dress like a kid. There are a lot of men that dress like they're 20 when they're 35 or older. Don't do that. Dress your age.
Don't dress like a slob. Self-explanatory.
Don't wear ill-fitting clothes. If you wear clothes that are too loose, too tight, too short or too long, you'll look like a clown. Wear clothes that fit.
Basically put, just look presentable. Get in shape, get those damned nails clipped, learn how to use a nail file, wear age-appropriate clean clothes that aren't falling apart and make sure they fit right.
What do women notice when it comes to a watch?
Take the Casio A158WEA. As cheap as that watch is, it does look better compared to what most other men wear for these simple reasons:
- It's shiny but not ridiculously shiny.
- It shows a little bit of gold in the face.
- It's smaller.
- It's not round.
Reason #4 is actually why the watch gets noticed. Wearing something decidedly angular gets noticed more than something round would, because after all, nothing on the human body is completely squared off.
Presuming you're not doing anything in the "don't" list above, all you really need to get attention is a rectangle-shaped analog watch.
The Casio A158WEA I wear is obviously digital and inexpensive. Looks nice enough, but the analog timepieces - even for the ones just as inexpensive as the Casio - look far more expensive.
Here are 6 examples of analog watches with rectangle-shaped cases. They start at under $30 and end at just under $125 at the time I write this.
Starting with the cheapest first, anyone can afford this watch. When you want something that looks rectangular and ritzy but can be had for cheap, this totally works.
With this Casio we've got some two-tone goodness going on with the stainless steel and gold. Very minimalist look.
This one is guaranteed to attract attention for the right reasons. Very square, thick hands and blocky indices - but it carries it well.
Peugeot Vintage Rectangular 14K Gold Plated
The be-all/end-all king of fashion watches when it comes to the rectangle shape is the Cartier Tank. This watch copies that look, and for a lot less than what the Tank sells for.
This dual-time watch just looks cool. Two dials, two crowns. Very simple to understand, but what a cool look it has. And it does it without being pretentious.
Last but certainly not least is this little Citizen model. Don't let its size fool you as it has received many positive reviews. Simple design and well-appointed.
Why do women notice rectangle-shaped watches more?
It's for simple reasons that most men miss.
You'll notice that for every watch model above, each design concentrates on form over function. More attention is given to style, and you'll notice a bit of art deco hints here and there (as in styling cues from the '20s, '30s and '40s).
When you wear a rectangle on your wrist that has a bit of art deco flair to it, yes this does get noticed.
Does the movement matter? No. Does the time accuracy matter? No. What matters is how the timepiece looks, and if the look creates an emotional connection or not.
I'll put it this way. If you're wearing a casual button-down shirt in a muted color (like gray or brown), Dockers pants (again, gray or brown), black shoes, black belt and put a little shiny rectangular thing on your wrist with some art deco niceties to it, then OH YES, the ladies will notice.
You don't need to dress up in a 3-piece suit every time you go out. But if you coordinate your appearance to look like "The Casual Man About Town" and complement that with one of the watches above, yes it totally works and women will notice in a good way.
Am I saying to throw out the watch you wear now?
No, of course not. (It's not like I'm going to stop wearing my Casio because I love that little thing.)
What I am saying is that if you want something specifically to attract the females, put more emphasis on style instead of function and/or brand. If you already have the shirt, pants, belt, socks and shoes in check, put a shiny rectangle on your wrist as the finishing touch.
Which would I pick?
The Peugeot because it looks like a Tank watch, and I do intend to get a Tank-like timepiece in my collection someday. Not the actual Cartier Tank because that's way too expensive, but there are plenty of Tank-like options out there such as the Peugeot above, Seiko SUP880 and several others.
Guitar of the week #72 - Ibanez Artstar Series AM153
This guitar shows how gorgeous bubinga wood can be.
The Ibanez Artstar AM153 is cheaper than a Fender American Stratocaster, and wow does it look nice.
The main selling point of the guitar is that it has bubinga top, back and sides.
This Ibanez is a guaranteed head-turner and one you would be very proud to have sitting on your guitar stand. And fortunately, this guitar is not all looks as it does have premium hardware to back up its appearance.
The knobs are all Sure Grip III style, extra attention has been given to the fret ends for smoothness, all the metal hardware is top drawer stuff, the tuners are super-smooth and the pickups are the "Super 58" model, which you can find in several other semi-hollow body Ibanez model guitars. It's a particular pickup set Ibanez uses that works well in several of their semi-hollow series guitars.
If you've been wanting something in bubinga that is not a super-exotic custom order, this guitar is pretty much the only game in town. Again, remember, the cost of this is less than an American Strat. For a guitar with as much exotic treatment in it, it's a steal for what it's selling for.
Ukulele vs. Mandolin - which should you get?
If you play guitar now and are considering the ukulele or mandolin as your next stringed instrument, one choice is better than the other.
Take the Fender Ukulele '52. It's called a '52 because the thing is supposed to look sorta/kinda like a '52 Telecaster, but eh... not really. I think Fender calls it a '52 as more of a joke than anything. You could buy one and brag that you own a "real" Fender '52 and you technically wouldn't be lying.
I show the Ukulele '52 for a reason which I'll explain in a moment.
Example mandolin: Ibanez M510DVS.
Tip on mandolins: If you decide to get a mandolin and it has a bridge that isn't permanently mounted (meaning it comes loose when you take the strings off), the general rule of thumb is to line it up either at or close to the middle of the f-holes. Why? Intonation. If the bridge is set too far forward or too far back, you'll never get the thing in tune correctly.
If you look at each f-hole, you'll see the middle has a "pointer" of sorts. If you've no idea where to set a bridge when installing new strings on a mandolin, you use those f-hole midpoints as a guide.
Does the bridge need to sit exactly where the f-hole midpoints are? No. It just needs to sit wherever the intonation of the strings sounds best to your ears. Most of the time the correct position will be just slightly behind the f-hole midpoints.
If case you're wondering, yes this also applies to acoustic 6-string guitars with non-permanent mount bridges, violins and pretty much any other stringed instrument that has f-holes on it. When you want to know where to set the bridge, the f-hole midpoints are your guide.
Four things against the mandolin
First, it's usually more expensive than a uke. And that includes the cost it takes to restring one.
Second, it's not all that good as a songwriting instrument.
Third, it's a more difficult instrument to play that requires more finger strength.
Fourth, there's not nearly as much choice with mandolins as there is with ukes.
You can totally buy a mandolin if you want, but don't be surprised if you rarely take it out to actually play the thing. Once the novelty of a mandolin wears off, you may find it difficult if not impossible to use it for songwriting.
One thing (a big thing) in favor of the mandolin
One big advantage the mandolin has over the uke is that it's a far better instrument for live performances. A mandolin is acoustically much louder and from that can be picked up by microphones much easier. You can also do simple street performances with one whereas with a uke that would be difficult just for the fact you really can't hear one.
The entire reason the mandolin is louder is because it's more resonant, uses double the strings of a uke and also uses steel strings.
Which should you get?
If you like the idea of busking (i.e. live street performance), the mandolin is the winner, no question.
If you want something that's better as a songwriting instrument for recording at home, the ukulele is the clear winner.
See a whole bunch of ukes right here.
See a whole bunch of mandolins right here.
I especially recommend the ukulele to guitar players who feel they're in a rut and want something that sparks songwriting creativity for cheap. Ukes are fun little things that remind you why you play guitar to begin with.
Can't decide which to get?
Start with the uke first. It's cheaper, easier to play, easier to string up, lighter in weight and arguably more fun to play than the mandolin is.
And again, there are way more ukulele choices compared to mandolins. From the link above you can easily spend hours going through them all.
If you want the choice made real easy for you, get a Kala brand uke. Nearly every single model gets glowingly positive reviews. There's a reason for that. They're built right.
My take on Casio Oceanus watches
I don't talk about Casio Oceanus watches for basically one reason. They're not sold in America.
There are cheap Casio watches and then there are expensive models. Most people think the only expensive Casio watches that exist are upper tier G-SHOCK models.
Well, there's another line Casio makes which are definitely built to be luxurious-but-tough timepieces. Oceanus models. This is a tier (if not several tiers) higher than the Edifice models. Casio Edifice is not top-end, as you can get one for just 30 bucks. Where Oceanus is concerned, they usually start at $400 and top out in the thousands.
There aren't a lot of Oceanus models (a total of about 15), but every one of them is gorgeous. There's not a single one that looks bad. Every model has a titanium super-light bracelet, of which I believe all are slide-adjustable, like a Rolex Submariner's bracelet is. Every model is true 100m water resistant. Every model is solar powered. Every model has at least 2 subdials. Every model has atomic timekeeping for perfect timekeeping accuracy.
The main selling point of Oceanus is "The World's First Full-Metal GPS Wave Ceptor", which again boasts about its ultra-accurate timekeeping while at the same time offering some luxury with its case and bracelet materials.
I personally cannot wear an Oceanus because they're all big timepieces that are too large for my wrist. Most have a 44mm or greater case size. The nice thing however is that while Oceanus models are large, they're not big-for-the-sake-of-being-big. Every millimeter of size has purpose.
I've never seen an Oceanus model in person because they've never had a North American presence. As far as I'm aware, Oceanus is for Asian markets only. From the links above you'll see them on Amazon, but they're all Japan imports and that's par for the course.
I hope to at least get a look at an Oceanus model someday because they are very high-tech, high-end Japan timepieces. I can never buy it because the size is too large for me, but even in photos you can see a lot of attention has been put into the details of the design. It would be cool to see what a true luxury-built Casio really looks like in person.
Guitar of the week #71 - Fender Deluxe Tele Thinline
Fender makes a good amount of guitars with one-piece maple necks, but some are better than others. This is one of the better ones. In fact, I think it's one of the best electrics they've made in 2016.
The Fender Deluxe Tele Thinline has several things going for it that are just plain cool.
First, the fretboard has a 12" radius. That makes for easier soloing.
Second, the pickups are Vintage Noiseless. I've more to say about that in a moment.
Third, it has a 4-way switch instead of just a 3-way.
Fourth, the saddles are the better block style and not those dopey (and cheap) bent steel things.
Fifth, it has short-post locking tuners.
This is a Swiss Army Knife Tele of sorts. Darned good one, too.
Oh, and just to satisfy curiosity, the fourth pickup selection is the back + front pickup in series wiring rather than parallel. What that means is that on that particular position, you get more output and more midrange tone. I don't know how particularly useful that is, but it's nice that Fender included it.
Do the Fender Noiseless pickups in this Tele suck?
There's more than a few players who don't like the Noiseless pickups from Fender, but this one might appease the naysayers. Maybe.
Currently, there are two types of Fender Noiseless pickups available for the Telecaster. Fender N3 Noiseless and Fender Vintage Noiseless. The pickup set in the Deluxe Thinline is the Vintage Noiseless.
There are several differences between the two sets, but the most noticeable is that the N3 uses Alnico 5 magnets and the Vintage uses Alnico 2.
Explained in the simplest way, the N3 has modern "punch" while the Vintage is more "clear".
The big question however is this: Is the Vintage Noiseless set appropriate for the Thinline?
Yes, it is.
The output of the Vintage Noiseless isn't as in-your-face as the N3; it is a good choice for the Thinline, especially with the 4-way selector where overly loud pickups would ruin the series wiring selection.
If the Noiseless N3 set was in the Thinline, the tone would suck. It would be too "hot," tough to control, and, ironically, a noisy mess. Not the 60-cycle hum kind of noisy mess, but you'd hear way too much string drag, pick noise, body clunking and pretty much every other unwanted noise you can think of. The tamer Vintage set is a much better choice because you get the clarity without extraneous noise nor hum noise, and that's the entire point of having a noiseless pickup set to begin with.
So to answer the question, the Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups in the Thinline do not suck. They genuinely sound good, and with the modern bridge give a nice blend of vintage tone + modern appointments.
To really put a fine point on it, does the Vintage Noiseless "sound like a Telecaster?" Yes. No, you won't get "perfect '52" tone out of it. But what Tele would other than a real-deal '52?
Complaints?
I only have one, and it is unabashedly a personal preference on my part.
I don't like Strats or Teles with 22-fret necks on them.
Being the Deluxe Tele Thinline has modern appointments, yes it makes total sense that the guitar has a 22-fret neck as that is a totally modern thing...
...but I don't like it. I would much prefer to see a 21-fret neck.
There is, however, something that makes having that 22-fret neck worth it. Another modern feature, the heel cutaway. That cutaway makes it super-easy to reach for and bend high notes on the high-fret end of the neck.
The more you look into this guitar, the more you realize it truly does earn its "Deluxe" name in the model title.
I still don't like 22-fret guitars, mind you, but I'm certain this one is a joy to play. And from what I've heard, it also sounds right.
This is a genuinely good player's Telecaster. It's not meant to be a collectible. And by that I mean that this guitar was not built to be a case queen. Rather, this is one you play the hell out of.