Guild Surfliner - odd decisions were made here
This guitar is cool but some of the design decisions are questionable.
When you think Guild, a solid-body guitar is not the first thing that usually comes to mind. Most players would think of their acoustic models first (like the D-20, always a good choice), hollow bodies second (like the X-175 Manhattan Special, also a good choice) and semi-hollow third (like the Starfire I DC, which, again, is a good choice).
The only two solid-body guitars most know from Guild is the S-100 Polara and S-200 T-Bird...
...but then there's this new offering, the Surfliner. This is a cool guitar but has some oddities to it.
Before getting to the oddities, I'll mention the best part about this guitar first.
The best part is that the Surfliner is very easy to operate. Master volume, master tone, three pickup off/on switches that offer up 7 different pickup combinations, and no vibrato. There's nothing about the Surfliner that's difficult to use, which is great.
The second best part is that the guitar is easy to set up. Install your guitar strings of choice, set the bridge height, adjust the truss rod and that's all you need to do.
The third best part is that even though this is HSS, the balance between the pickups is great because Guild smartly put some higher output single-coils for the middle and neck positions. What this means is that the humbucker at the rear position does not overpower the other two singles. All pickups have a lot of treble response, so the name of the guitar is not just a title as it can totally get the surf rock tone.
So what's odd about the guitar?
Two things.
First are the three rocker switches for selecting the pickups. Stylistically, they look cool. Realistically, they should have been mini-toggles because generally speaking, guitar players don't like flat/wide switches. True, you can operate them easily with a single finger, but it's much more satisfying to use mini-toggles over rockers.
Second, it's a 23-fret neck. That's not a typo. The only guitar I can accept with an odd number of frets is a 21-fret Stratocaster. For everything else, it has to be 22 or 24. Guild instead went for 23. Does anybody have a use for a high D# in standard tuning?
Is the 23-fret neck a deal-breaker? No, because hardly anybody plays up that high on the neck. It's just an odd decision (literally) to go with 23 frets.
What bugs me about the 23-fret neck is that it serves no practical advantage to the player. The 23 frets are there just for Guild to say, "Hey look, we have a solid-body with 23 frets. Pretty crazy, eh?" They should have just went with 22.
Again, not a deal-breaker. Just an odd decision. No other solid-body in Guild's lineup is like this. The Polara, T-Bird, Aristocrat HH, Jetstar and even the Bluesbird all have 22 frets. Surfliner just had to be different with 23.
Some may look at the Surfliner and think, "So this is Guild's version of a Stratocaster?" Believe me, this is not a Strat. Far from it. The body has the offset lean, and the HSS sounds absolutely nothing (in a good way) like any HSS Fender is making. Also note that the controls are kept at a reasonable distance away from the pickups (unlike a Strat where the volume is directly below the rear pickup).
In other words, you would absolutely not be getting "just another Strat" with the Surfliner. You get something truly different and genuinely interesting that's not copying anything else.
1992, the awkward year when glam metal truly died
A lot of bands lost their jobs in '92.
Back in my late teens one late night in 1992, I was watching MTV (Music Television). The show that was on was either Headbangers Ball or 120 Minutes. I don't remember which show it was.
Towards the very end of the show, on comes a video by Roxy Blue. The song was Rob The Cradle. My eyebrows raised, my eyes widened. I seriously couldn't believe I was seeing a glam rock band on MTV... in '92. Even though I was all by myself, to this day I can still remember feeling embarrassed actually watching that video. It was one of those, "Well, there goes 4 minutes of my life I'll never get back" moments.
Nevermind by Nirvana already happened the previous year in '91, and that was the very loud signal that glam rock was dead, dead, dead. Stick a fork in it, it's done. Buh-bye. See ya.
However, glam rock didn't die overnight. Nope. It took some time before it all went away. 1992 was the year where many, many bands lost their livelihoods because grunge destroyed it all.
Roxy Blue was the very last example I saw of The Glam Rock Machine. This machine started around 1984 and came to its very bitter end in 1992.
If you were in a rock band then during The Glam Machine era, it was mandatory that you had to have the "wild party boys" image. You had to have long hair, mouth gaping open every time the camera is on you as if to say, "Oh my God, what crazy thing will I do next?", dress in spandex on stage, wear a leather motorcycle jacket when not on stage (even though you don't ride a motorcycle), SMILE SMILE SMILE all the time, jump around like an idiot on stage with boundless energy, and so on.
Where the song material was concerned, there were only two types in the glam rock genre. The party song and the ballad. That's it. Party songs were about drinking, loose women and being a scofflaw for absolutely no reason at all. Ballads were written for women listeners to push more album sales.
Now of course, all of this was a totally dead market by '92. But The Glam Machine was a very established way of doing things in the rock music industry for almost ten years. As such, dismantling that machine wasn't just something where a switch was flipped to change it all to something else...
...which is why I saw that Roxy Blue video one late night in '92 on MTV. The Glam Machine was well on its way out, but MTV was most likely obligated to show that video due to record label agreements or something along those lines. It was a business decision to show that video. MTV, knowing that particular style of music was a dead duck but had to show it anyway, purposely placed it in a throwaway time slot just so they could say, "Yep, we played the video and the obligation has been met."
Just imagine for a moment seeing music videos of all the more somber, heavier music of the day, and then WHAMMO, a train wreck of glam long after its heyday had passed. Loose women, spandex, hairspray, annoying guitar solos, SMILE, jump-jump-jump around...
...which left me thinking, "What is THIS garbage?"
I think it's comical now that a search for Roxy Blue ends up showing you mostly women's underwear products.
Somehow, that seems appropriate.
The boys in Roxy Blue did what they thought was the standard to be a successful rock band, but the standard had changed, and by '93, they were done.
Does Roxy Blue still exist today? Yes, but with different band members.
Fender Cyclone II (it exists today as a Squier)
Time for a trip back to the early 2000s when this almost-short-scale guitar existed in a Fender flavor.
In the Fender range there were 3 models of the Cyclone guitar. Cyclone, Cyclone HH and Cyclone II. All the II models appear to have competition stripe graphics on them.
Squier also did have Cyclone models back in the '00s as well as Vintage Modified Series Cyclone guitars. As far as I'm aware, two models existed from this era. One was S/S an the other H/S, with the vast majority being H/S versions.
"Almost short scale?"
The Cyclone is technically not short scale, although it looks like it. The scale is 24.75". Yes, like a Gibson.
The Cyclone II is actually amazing
With the II, you get an alder body, vintage style tuning machines, maple neck with satin urethane finish on the rear, rosewood fingerboard with 9.5" radius on top with 22 medium jumbo frets. But where the magic happens is with the pickups. They are Fender "Special Design" American Vintage Jaguar pickups. All three of them.
And while there's a Cyclone decal at the end of the neck, the headstock is in fact a Jazzmaster shape.
Summed up: What you get with the Cyclone II is, more or less, a Mustang body, Jaguar electronics with a THIRD pickup in the middle like a Stratocaster, Jaguar knobs, Stratocaster bridge/tremolo, on a 24.75" scale neck with a Jazzmaster headstock on it...
...which is nuts, but it all works.
Is the modern Squier Paranomal Cyclone the same thing as the Fender Cyclone II?
Almost.
On the modern Squier Paranormal Cyclone, the body is poplar, the fingerboard Indian Laurel, the rear neck finishing is gloss polyurethane, frets are narrow/tall style, pickups are alnico single-coils...
...but I totally understand why Squier chose to pattern after the Cyclone II and not another version of it. The II is the best one, so it's nice to see that Squier released what is unquestionably the top Cyclone model.
My only knock against the Squier? They should have put the competition stripe on it like the Fender had. That stripe just totally works on this guitar.
Even so, given the Fender Cyclone II is tough to come by, the modern Squier flavor is no slouch. Still a great guitar.
The reissue nobody knew was a reissue, Epiphone Genesis
This was a top tier model electric Epiphone was making in the early 2010s, and it's still great.
You know how I just mentioned the Epiphone SC from the '70s? The Genesis was also from the '70s too. You didn't know that? Neither did I until I looked up information on this guitar.
What I'm specifically talking about here is the reissue Genesis from the early 2010s. The models were Genesis Deluxe, Genesis Deluxe Pro and Genesis Custom.
I have fuzzy memories of this guitar - the reissue, that is - back when it was new. It was just kinda... there. In reality, this guitar offered a lot of bang for the buck and still does.
Specifically talking about the Pro model:
Body and 24.75" scale set neck (yes, set neck) are both mahogany, and the body has a maple cap. Nice trapezoid inlays, real rosewood fingerboard in a nice color, and it even has real Grover tuners on the headstock.
Binding on body and neck? Yes, indeed. The headstock has no binding, but that's okay.
The pickups are ProBucker-2 (neck) and ProBucker-3 (bridge), and they are Epiphone designed pickups, meaning not Gibson.
Push-pull electronics? Yes! Both pickups can be tapped. It came like that from the factory.
Originally, the Pro model sold for $500 new. It hasn't appreciated much in value since it was new for three reasons. Too young to still have any high collector value, it's a reissue, it's a model most people totally forgot about...
...meaning this is one seriously good "workhorse" guitar. Genuinely good build, genuinely good parts, and great for studio or gigging. You get all the best stuff Epiphone had to offer in the early 2010s without the high price tag.
One last note: Yes, the poker chip for the pickup selector switch is sideways on purpose, and that is how the guitar was delivered originally.
Is there a modern new equivalent of this guitar?
Yes. See the Gretsch Double Jet. You'll see that Epiphone took a lot of inspiration from that guitar to make the Genesis.
Setting up a Garmin nuvi 660 in 2022
I bought a Garmin nuvi 660, and wow did I learn some eye-opening things by actually getting one of these.
Before getting into that, this is how to set one of these things up:
- Understand that the maximum map file size allowed on either the 660 itself or any memory card (up to 32GB) can be 2GB maximum.
- Understand the 660 will only recognize two map file images. The first is gmapprom.img which MUST reside within the Garmin folder on the nuvi itself, and the second is gmapsupp.img which MUST reside within the Garmin folder on the memory card.
- Understand the 660 never had lifetime maps, so you have three options here. Either a) pay Garmin for maps and then use MapSource or MapInstall from BaseCamp to specifically create under-2GB map images for the nuvi and its memory card, b) use one or two (your choice) OpenStreetMap map images from OpenMapChest, or c) use the full United States BaseCamp map image from OpenMapChest and create your own under-2GB map images using MapSource or BaseCamp to send to the 660 and its memory card.
- Understand that for full screen brightness, the power cradle must be used. Powering it from the mini USB port on the side does not get the screen to full brightness.
It is not easy getting a 660 all set up and working.
However, once it is working, it is a genuine joy to use.
Back in 2006, the 660 sold for over $800. Yes, it was grossly overpriced in '06, especially considering the 360, a 3.5" model, was under $400 at the same time the 660 was being sold. In '06, a $400 price tag was normal for a GPS back then.
The 660 was not the top model as there were two others. The 670 had transatlantic maps, and the 680 featured an optional Microsoft MSN service (which was not free) to provide additional local travel info such as gas prices and weather. The MSN service has been discontinued for a long time now.
All three 600 series models had Bluetooth, an FM transmitter to transmit the audio to your car stereo if so desired, MP3 player, and Audible audiobooks. Traffic reporting was also available via a GTM20 or GTM21. You can still source a "lifetime traffic" version of one of those on eBay, however, it only works if you have Garmin-issued maps loaded on the nuvi. If it's OpenStreetMap, the traffic reporting doesn't work.
When used strictly as a navigator (meaning no Bluetooth and no traffic reporting), the 660 still works great even today.
The matte screen it uses is super-bright, back when Garmin actually gave a crap about putting in decent screens in their automotive models. It may be only 4.3", but oh yes, very bright and can be read in daylight without a problem.
Nearly every font displayed on the 660 is big and easy-to-read. Yes, there is a decidedly mid-2000s look to the UI (the PDA and Windows XP influence of the era is obvious), but the low-res screen and big fonts allow for better legibility compared to any smartphone and most infotainment systems.
The ability to send the audio out from the 660 via 3.5mm cable or FM transmitter to a radio frequency is amazing. And the fact you can load up MP3s on the memory card (all you have to do is create a folder called MP3 and drop the .mp3 files there) where you can use the 660 as the navigator and the music player seamlessly?
Very good stuff.
Because this is an early Garmin navigator, it is 100% nag-free. The only thing that could qualify as a nag is one agreement prompt on boot - but that's it.
A bit of a chore to get working, but once you do...
...it's great. Truly.
It is easier to get a nuvi 50LM up and running. No question about that. Getting a 660 working in 2022 does require some rather nerdy procedures just to make it work.
However, what the 660 has shown me is that in the end, it's all about the map data. If the maps are current, that's all that matters. The 660 is dinosaur-era as far as tech is concerned, but with modern maps, it not only works but works very nicely.
Using a 660 (or 50LM for that matter) also just goes to prove that simple navigation totally works.