Squier Affinity Stratocaster is a "cheap '69"?
This guitar is arguably the cheapest way to get a "Modern '69 Fender Stratocaster".
The Squier Affinity Stratocaster model has been around since the '90s and always had the big headstock. It took a very long time before they finally got it right with the current version.
With the big headstock there are basically three style choices to go with for logo treatment. Mid '60s, late '60s and '70s.
The one Squier used and stuck with for the longest time was the worst of the three, the mid-'60s. If you look up a '66 Fender Stratocaster and look at the headstock, you quickly understand why most Strat fans hate that design. That's the one Squier chose to use.
Squier used a flat black logo and it just looked terrible. The logo then had a minor refresh where it changed to gold with black outline, but still looked stupid.
In the late '60s however (and technically very-early '70s also), Fender had a much better design going on, and in fact is my favorite Fender logo treatment of all time, the 1969 Fender Stratocaster.
The reason this design works so well is because of the larger logo, much larger STRATOCASTER "swoop", and there are wider, flatter mounts at the base of each tuner instead of skinny rounded edges. The combination of large logo and larger bases for the tuners suit the large chunk of wood nicely.
Squier, after all these years, finally redesigned their logo the right way for the Affinity model and copied the '69.
Obviously, it's not an exact copy of what Fender used, but for the large headstock, it's a genuinely a good looking design and far better than anything the Affinity had before this.
What I mean by "Modern '69 Fender Stratocaster" is that the Affinity has what most players want. There is tone control wired to the bridge side pickup, it does have medium jumbo frets, the back of the neck is satin urethane finished and the front is glossed, the bridge is a modern 2-post, and color choices are good.
There are two things about this guitar players don't like, but I'm totally fine with. First is the slim body, meaning it won't fit a full sized tremolo block replacement. Second is the ceramic magnet pickups. I actually prefer ceramic, but Strat purists like the alnico.
Is there such a thing as a "Modern '69" in a Fender flavor? No, but you can get one that's very close to it, the Fender American Performer Stratocaster. You'll see SSS and HSS versions available from that link.
The reason I don't call the American Performer a Modern '69 is because that guitar takes styling cues from '70s models. On the headstock, you see two string trees and fully rounded oval tuner buttons. The late '60s has a single string tree and tuner buttons with rounded top but with flat sides - which is what the Affinity has now.
Yes, Squier does have the Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster, but that is a much different guitar compared to the Affinity. The CV '70s headstock treatment is "very '70s", has the fully rounded oval tuner buttons, the entire neck is finished in tinted gloss urethane, the frets are narrow-tall style, the bridge is the older 6-screw style, and the pickups do have alnico magnets in them.
My preference is the Affinity over the Classic Vibe, even though the CV is technically the "better" guitar, specification-wise.
I played an FMT (Flame Maple Top) HSS version of the Affinity, and I liked it.
The Affinity, at least in my hands, just felt better compared to the CV. But I will admit on the HSS that the volume punch when using humbucker-alone is just too loud for me. This doesn't mean the guitar is wired incorrectly, because it's not. Unless there are some fancy electronics inside to compensate for the greater output of a humbucker in an HSS guitar (like on the Fender American Ultra Stratocaster HSS), that humbucker will always be louder as that is the nature of how HSS guitars work...
...but don't let that stop you from trying one out. Most players of HSS guitars get used to the volume punch that happens when humbucker-alone is selected and come to appreciate it.
Class for cheap, Casio MTP-V005D-2B5
Casio charges under $35 for what others charge over $200 for.
It is rare to comes across a steel 3-hand no-date watch that looks this good for under 35 bucks, with the MTP-V005D-2B5.
When I say other watch brands charge over $200 for something like this, I am not kidding. You may be thinking, "Others charge $200 plus for a quartz steel analog no-date? Seriously?" Yes, seriously, and routinely.
These are the things that make this particular Casio an absolute knockout watch:
Dial color. Blue burst. Absolutely gorgeous.
The dial does not have WATER RESIST printed on it. All you see is a logo at top and a small JAPAN MOV'T at bottom, and that's lovely. With that text not there, it makes the watch look much more classy. Any time you see QUARTZ or WATER RESIST on a dial, that makes it look toy-like cheap instantly. Better to just have nothing there to keep it classy.
It's thin. Just 8.1mm.
It's light. With all links, it's 90 grams in weight. With links removed to adjust for wrist size, the weight starts dropping real quick. If you switch out to a leather strap, the watch weighs next to nothing.
The case is strap friendly.
It was a no-brainer to get this watch. I've been waiting for Casio to release something without that dopey WATER RESIST at the bottom in a simple 3-hand no-date variant. They finally did, and I'm happy to own it.
On a final note, Casio was even smart enough to make a numbers no-date version, so if you have to see numbers for hours, you're covered. Same great blue dial.
If you haven't tried a guitar pick variety pack, you should
A pick I never would have bought outright is one I actually like.
Every now and then I will try new guitar things just to see how I feel about them. My latest venture into this was something very simple, the Dunlop Variety Pack of guitar picks.
Ordinarily, I play medium thickness celluloid picks, i.e. the "flappy" kind. The sound I get from those works for my playing style and I just like the feel of them.
Out of the entire variety pack, the one I liked the most was the Dunlop Ultex Sharp 2.0.
The last time I tried Ultex picks, I didn't like them. But for whatever reason, a 2mm thick version of it actually feels great to play with. The pick has barely any give (it will bend but not easily) but the sound I get from it is good.
Before trying this pick, I never would have bought a 2mm thick pick. I usually stay firmly within the 0.70mm to 0.90mm thicknesses. But this 2mm in particular felt right. I also never liked a sharp tip pick before either. But I liked the Ultex 2.0...
...and it was all because of the variety pack of picks. Had the Ultex not been in there, I probably never would have tried another.
If you haven't tried a variety pack of picks lately, get a pack. It showed me that thick sharp-tip Ultex picks is something I can actually work with. I'm not saying that's the one you'll like, but you may have a similar experience where a certain pick you wouldn't think would work for you actually does.
Unapologetic: Jackson X Series Soloist in Multi-Color Camo
This guitar is so loud in appearance that it screams even standing still.
Back in the early '90s when I was in college, I met another guy who played guitar. He was big (as in overweight) and very plain looking. But this guy absolutely loved "neon" color Ibanez electric guitars thought that was The Best Guitar On Earth.
Said again, this was back in the '90s when "loud" looking guitars were extremely out-of-fashion where most wouldn't want to be caught dead with one. However, that guy, somebody who if you saw him playing a loud-color guitar you would say, "Dude, why are you playing that ridiculous thing? Seriously?" Guys like that are who the Jackson Soloist in Multi-Color Camo are made for.
This guitar isn't just multi-color camo on the body. Oh, no. The camo is all over the front and yes, also on the headstock.
To be honest, if Jackson didn't match the headstock, I would have accused them of copping out and not going all the way with this. But they went all the way, and I applaud them for it.
Guitars with this type of appearance are for players who know exactly the type of look they're going for. And that look can be summed up in one word, "mine".
Absolutely nobody will have a guitar that looks like yours should you get this particular Soloist, and that's the whole point. You will be known as that dude with the crazy looking guitar. It becomes part of your identity because it has such a brash and in-your-face look.
What's the specs? It's a Jackson Soloist. Speed neck, ballsy dual humbuckers, Floyd-Rose tremolo. That's all you need to know.
If the look grabs you, then you grab it and play happy.
gen-x state of mind
Still getting older, but at least I'm wiser.
Every single person who is in Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) is middle aged at the time I write this in 2022 and only middle aged. No Gen-Xer has crossed over into being a senior yet, as that won't happen until 2030 at the earliest.
I do watch many YouTube videos and read many articles. And no, it's not just about guitars and wristwatches. There are certain things I learn about. Here are three of them and my opinion on each.
The 84 month auto loan is for idiots
The only reason anybody thinks they can "afford" a new car is because the 84 month auto loan exists. That's 7 years. It's a bad idea, but there are morons aplenty out there signing up for them.
My Gen-X senses are telling me there are going to be a ton of auto loans defaulting in a few years. Especially the trucks. Watch how many of those big stupid trucks completely fall apart before 75,000 miles while there's still 2 to 3 years left of payments remaining, with most (if not all) of those trucks with the original tires on them. Why? Price out a set of new tires for a big SUV. The lowest price is about $700 before tax, installation and disposal of old tires.
My car is over 10 years old, but I actually own it. I can claim this accurately because I physically hold the title to the car in my possession. And when I say physical, I'm not kidding. I have the state-issued paper saying yes, the car is 100% mine. My car may be older with dents, chips and dings and not worth that much, but I own it.
Gen-X state of mind: Let the morons finance the big SUVs for 84 months. Drive something smaller instead, pay it in full and own it outright. If your state says "We only do E-titles", bug them anyway until they send you a physical copy. Get that paper. It matters.
I type with one hand on my phone because I'm not an idiot
It's supposedly some great sin to type on a phone one-handed. Most Gen-Xers including myself do this, and I'll give you a few reasons why:
Gen-X grew up before smartphones existed. Television remotes were and still are operated one-handed. Telephones were operated one-handed. PDAs (remember them?) were operated one-handed.
And the part that everybody forgets: We used to operate mobile phones two-handed until they got stupid. A flip phone using T9 style text messaging was a great thing to use two-handed, as it didn't hurt your hands, wrists or fingers to use it at all. It was tactile where every button press made a physical click. Those who were really good at T9 style messaging could type up messages ridiculously fast. The phone handsets were also thicker, which gave proper support so your hands didn't, you know, hurt while typing.
Double-thumb typing on a smartphone is an ergonomic nightmare. Absolutely nothing about it is proper positioning for human hands.
Those who double-thumb type on phones often are headed straight for any number of pain problems later in life. Carpal tunnel, tendinitis, trigger finger, muscle strain and so on.
Gen-X state of mind: I type with one hand on my phone, and if you don't like it, I can raise that hand and flip you the bird; this is something you won't even be able to do when you reach my age because your hands will be destroyed.
I still use GPS in the car
When I say GPS, I mean "a dedicated navigation device", meaning not the phone.
The best navigation experience on the phone is when you have a solid and strong data connection. But when that connection breaks, even for a moment, the navigation app goes straight to hell.
I read user reviews on the Google Play Store for navigation apps just to see what people say about them. One of the most common complaints - and this is for the majority of the apps by the way and not just the major ones - is the the navigation suddenly stops and the app starts "spinning in circles".
I'll explain to you exactly what's going on when that happens.
You're driving and the app is telling you where to go. Right. Data connection drops. It was a brief drop, but it happened. You'll of course not be notified about this. Right. The app did buffer some map data, so it tries to figure out where you are while waiting for the data connection to establish again. Right. Well, the accelerometer isn't calibrated properly on your phone and almost never is because sometimes it's in your pocket, sometimes flat on a table, sometimes face up, sometimes face down. The app "trusts" the accelerometer has north calibrated correctly. It doesn't. It "thinks" north is facing some other direction because the calibration is all jacked up. Then the data connection establishes again, but uh-oh, the accelerometer says north is one way but the data connection says it's another and WEEEEEEEEEEE circle-circle-circle! Around and around she goes, where she stops, nobody knows.
The app crashes after that, either with a lock-up or the whole phone goes dark. Fun, right?
GPSes don't do this. They stay in one place (in your car) in one orientation and full attention is given to its position while the phone is trying to juggle 10 or more different things at once, and doing it poorly.
When the trip matters - and it always does - use GPS for car navigation and not the phone.
Gen-X state of mind: My navigation actually works and your phone sucks.