The Casio G-SHOCK DW9052 returns
My relationship with watches has changed, so I bought this again.
I originally bought my G-SHOCK DW9052 in January 2017, then sold it in May 2019.
Here it is now in April 2023 and I decided to buy the DW9052 again.
Why?
Things have changed in what I want out of a watch now.
The reason I sold off the DW9052 I had before is because I thought I wanted a Casio digital watch with more features. Examples of this are the WS1000H (3 alarms, timer with auto-repeat), AE1000W (5 alarms, timer, 4 time zone displays) and SGW100 (3 alarms, timer with auto-repeat, thermometer, compass).
What really changed my tune more than anything else was getting a W218H. That watch for a lot of guys is their go-to Casio. Good size, ultra lightweight, fantastic legibility, great night light, several colors to choose from, and cheap but good. Basically put, a W218H is identical in features to the F-91W but better in all the right ways.
The W218 showed me that I greatly prefer an uncomplicated digital watch. After I started wearing that, I stopped wearing my other Casios with more advanced features.
However, what the DW9052 has that the W218H doesn't is a full month-day date display, a countdown timer with auto-repeat and 200 meter water resistance. I'm not big on water resistance rating, but did really want that month-day date display and timer with auto-repeat back.
I wasn't sure if I'd like the DW9052 as it is 48.5mm lug-to-lug, 43mm diameter and 14.7mm thick. It's the thickness I was worried about.
Once I strapped on the DW9052, my worries disappeared because I rediscovered instantly that this model is the only G-SHOCK that fits my skinny wrist correctly. It is so comfortable and so light at just 59g.
Drawbacks of the DW9052? Yes, there are a few.
The battery used is the CR2016, meaning it has to be changed once every 2 to 3 years.
Beep sound is lower compared other models. I'm okay with this. If I need something with a louder beep I'll just strap on the W218H. Alternatively, I have my W735H that can be switched over to vibration instead of beep (which really gets your attention).
Oh, and speaking of the W735H, yes, that's a great model too that actually fits my small wrist. But it's chunky at 16.1mm thick even though technically lighter at just 50g. It also has month-day date display, an unbelievably good night light and a timer, but... the timer doesn't have auto-repeat. But again, still a great watch.
A drawback of the DW9052 for others but not for me is how simple the watch is. The feature set is time, single alarm (which can be scheduled by date), timer with auto-repeat, chronograph and flash alert. That's it. The flash alert means that whenever an alarm or timer elapses, the display flashes. Flash alert is enabled by holding the START/STOP bottom right button for 2 seconds, the watch beeps once and you see a little burst icon appear. Disabling flash alert is by pressing and holding START/STOP again for 2 seconds.
I think the DW9052 just looks cool. I love seeing that curved G-SHOCK logo on the top part of the bezel and the decidedly older style of the watch as it is part of the Casio vintage/classic range. Sure, it's round and a bit bulbous, but that's part of its charm.
What the DW9052 does is give me just enough features without the timepiece being overly complicated. And, of course, this watch is built to be used. It's G-SHOCK, so it's tough and can handle anything I do with it.
Good to have it back.
The best purple Stratocaster I've ever seen
This Strat is a feast for the eyes.
If you know the Fender lineup at all, you're going to say, "Wait a minute... the Fender Vintera '60s Stratocaster is only offered in 3-Color Sunburst, Ice Metallic and Surf Green, what's the deal with the purple one? Is it a special edition?"
No.
It's a different model, the Fender Vintera '60 Stratocaster Modified, and Burgundy Mist is one of the only two offered colors for this model (with the other being Olympic White).
This Burgundy Mist, a purple color, is without question the nicest version of this finish I've ever seen on a Stratocaster guitar body.
A big reason why this purple works so well on this guitar is because the maple has a nice dark tint to it. The combo of the dark fingerboard, dark-tinted maple, Burgundy Mist finish and white guard is an absolute knockout package.
Believe me, if you get this guitar, you will love staring at it on your guitar stand when not playing it. It's good enough to be a showpiece instrument. The color is just that good.
What's the difference between a regular Vintera and a Vintera Modified?
Vintera: Old-school style build with "Mid-'60s-C" shape neck, 7.25" fingerboard radius, "vintage" size frets, traditional electronics and 6-screw bridge.
Vintera Modified: Two of the three single-coil pickups have greater output, a Modern C shaped neck with 9.5" fretboard radius, medium jumbo frets, 2-point tremolo system and modern S-1 switching (adds the neck pickup for position 1 and 2).
Said another way, "Modified" basically means "Modern". It is absolutely the one I would pick over the regular model mainly because of the larger fret wire and flatter fingerboard.
I am very happy Fender decided to make the Burgundy Mist Vintera '60s Modified. It is the better guitar compared to the Vintera '60s and has the best color of the '60s lineup...
...which isn't to say the other colors are bad. Not at all. Every color in all honesty is great. But that Burgundy Mist is far and away the "wow" color. And it's a factory finish without having to make a special order!
The secret weapon of the Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum
This one caught me by surprise because I didn't know the guitar could do this.
The Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum. It's been around a while. About 5 years. You can have one for well south of $2,000 (sometimes even under $1,000 if you look around).
I got the opportunity to play one of these recently, and discovered that the front humbucker does in fact have a split-coil function by pulling the tone knob...
...but I am pretty sure this guitar did not always have this feature. I believe the Hum originally had a different front humbucker with no splitting ability. Current new ones at the time I write this in April 2023 do courtesy of the push-pull tone knob and what Fender calls a "Double Tap" front dual coil pickup.
Does it play well? Yes. Weight? Not too heavy, not too light, just right. Sound? Good. My favorite sound was the bridge+neck with the humbucker in split setting.
The only thing that might turn some people off is that no Butterscotch Blonde version of this guitar exists. Finishes available are Vintage White, 3-Color Sunburst and Surf Green. Vintage White is my preferred color, but the Surf Green version (which comes with rosewood fingerboard) looks fantastic as well.
If you gotta-gotta have the traditional Tele in a Butterscotch Blonde, the best deal going right now for that is Squier, no question. The Butterscotch Affinity Tele is the winner for low-cost Butterscotch, and after that the Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele. Those two have the absolutely classic Butterscotch-with-black-guard look.
Or, if you have deep pockets and absolutely totally want that classic Tele look with no compromises made, see Fender American Vintage II 1951 Telecaster. Butterscotch nitro finish, black guard, "that sound", it's all there.
Personally, the Hum Tele is my choice, but I understand that others prefer the Butterscotch.
Casio WS1400, a "loaded W218"
A very nice square Casio digital with extra stuff - if you're okay with the way it works.
There are two go-to simple cheap digital watches from Casio that really, really work well. The storied F-91W and the W218H. Both of those have the exact same feature set. Time, date, alarm, chronograph. The better of the two is the W218H because it has a much better amber night light and has a display that's much easier to read.
If you took a W218H, added a fancier chronograph that could record up to 60 lap times, 3 alarms all with optional date scheduling instead of just 1 daily alarm, a countdown timer with auto-repeat and dual time feature, that's the WS1400.
The WS1400's size on paper (47.2mm lug-to-lug, 44.5mm diameter, 13.4mm thick) is larger than the W218H (44.4mm lug-to-lug, 43.2mm diameter, 10.8mm thick) but wears almost exactly the same because of the way it's shaped, meaning it is small-wrist-friendly. Appearance of the watch is G-SHOCK like with its angular lines, but obviously does not have the G-SHOCK price and is very affordable.
I've posted video instructions on how to set the Casio WS1400 so you don't have to deal with the tiny-print manual it comes with.
Once everything is set, you're good to go. But I'm sure there would be a few people that would totally forget how to get the watch to perform certain functions. A few examples of this are mute/unmute takes a long press of the MODE button, switching between 12-hour and 24-hour times requires a single press of START/STOP on the main timekeeping screen, and clearing a chronograph record requires a long double button press of START/STOP and LAP/RESET. Unless you regularly use these features, you'll probably forget them...
...which goes to show why so many people love the W218H's simplicity (or the W219H which is exactly like the W218H but in a more rounded case).
I can personally deal with the oddball interface of the WS1400, but if simplicity is what you're after, get the W218 instead. Or, if you want something a little more advanced than the W218 without going overboard with a larger case that stays in the affordable range, get the W735 or W736.
The only Telecaster with painted headstock I've ever liked
This is the only one that gets the painted headstock look right.
The Fender Aerodyne Special Telecaster. This guitar comes in multiple finishes; the color that works best of what's offered is Dolphin Gray Metallic.
If you've never experienced this guitar, this one comes from Fender Japan, has a C shape neck profile and 12" fingerboard radius. It also has a premium grade Babicz FCH bridge (FCH means "Full Contact Hardware") and locking tuners. Pickups are "Aerodyne Special Single-Coil Telecaster", and I don't know what that means. But I do know they sound like Tele pickups should and have very nice response all around.
Ordinarily I can't stand painted headstocks on Telecasters because they just look dopey. However, the Aerodyne works, and it's for one reason. The logo. It's raised and shiny, which works with the paint instead of against it.
Every time I see a flat waterslide decal against a painted headstock on any Fender shape, be it Strat, Tele, Jaguar or Jazzmaster, I can't stand it because it looks cheap.
The raised/shiny logo on the Aerodyne however makes it look like the premium instrument it's supposed to be. That's the difference.
Does this guitar have an ultra-high premium price tag? Surprisingly, no it doesn't. It's not cheap but at the same time not ridiculously expensive.
The other really nice part about this guitar it that it's a restrained modernist build. Usually it's the case with modernist builds that things get too modern with a really skinny neck and pickups that just sound weird. Not here. The Aerodyne Tele, while modern, actually has a comfortable neck, a great sound to it and is a very easy player.
In other words, were you to mod a Telecaster yourself and built it to have all the good modern stuff, you'd most likely end up with an Aerodyne style build.
Anybody who buys one of these will be really happy with the instrument, that I'm sure of.