January 2016 Roundup: (Archive)

Couple of things I've noticed lately:
  1. The Canadian dollar going down is driving used prices up.  $1200 average for Fender American Standard?  Insane.
  2. Bar level wattage isn't cool.  I'm still seeing Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12s for less than Blues Juniors.  Maybe folks are waking up to the realization that 40 tube watts is a bit of overkill for the basement.
  3. The neck IS the guitar.  Don't take an American Standard (for example), put a Squier neck on, and expect to sell it for 80% of the Standard.  It's now a Squier.  Deal with it.

Here's what caught my eye recently.

PRS CE22 - $1400

Originally, the posted listed this as a Standard, and was asking $1800.  Whoops. The giveaway here is the bolt-in maple neck as opposed to the set-neck of the Standard. someone must have sent him a friendly (or otherwise) note about correctly identifying the product you're trying to sell.

Now, at $1200 this would be a steal based on color and condition.  As I noted above though, exchange rates are driving prices in the used market up, as sellers look to new prices to determine used price.

This one has definitely given me some pause. I've always wanted a guitar in this color, and this one has me thinking about listing the Les Paul Studio...

Mesa DC5 - $650

This might be the best deal out there right now. A bona-fide Mesa for the same as a Blues Junior is currently going for new?  Sold.

I lusted for this amp back in the days when Metallica was still a band worth liking.  two channels, graphic EQ, and 50 watts of Mesa. Loud doesn't  begin to describe what this 1x12 is capable of.  This amp is basically the Black Album on a budget.







Fender Deluxe Reverb II - $850

This may be a case of buyer beware, but you can't help but dig the aesthetic.  The Deluxe Reverb 2 isn't quite the red-headed step child many perceive them to be.  At any rate, not much to say here other than "2 channel Fender amp designed by Paul Rivera that looks swanky."

$850 is a bit steep if you ask me (I recently saw a DRRI for $550 that was just a bit of a drive away).


Vantage Super Strat - $280

Nothing wrong with this guitar.  In fact, I bought one a few years ago to strip down and redo.  While I didn't get it finished, it's a reasonable guitar with a terrible paint job and one pickup.  Chalk it up to having a guitar that "screams rock and roll cred".  Right? Crickets?

Here's the rub though - I paid $50 for it.  Got a gig bag and a tuner out of the deal too.  When you keep in mind that I got a pretty decent Epi Les Paul Standard for $30 less than the ask here... Well...

Pass.  All the pass.

Mack Heatseeker - $850

Certianly an "off-brand" amp, but something interesting nonetheless.  There are a few Youtube videos out there, and to my ears this would be something worth considering.

Buyer beware though - you'd better love it, and you'd better talk that price down.  When you grow tired of it, or find a new object of affection, you'll have as much trouble selling it as this guy is having.

Gibson SG Faded - $600

It just goes to show that you can easily get a decent USA made guitar for a reasonable price.  No, the faded finish probably doesn't blow sand up your skirt, and no, one can never be sure with Gibson and their questionable commitment to quality control.  

This listing included a case.  Good enough for me.  Offer $500 and see what happens.


Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister 18 Combo - $550

When you consider what the new head goes for, $550 for this 1x12 combo is a steal.  I owned the head version for about a year (though paired with a Two Rock 1x12) and really enjoyed it.  No, it didn't end up being my forever amp, but there is a lot to like here.

2 Channels with a boost on the lead channel. Attenuator taking it from 18 watts to 5 to 1 to silent recording?  This is great value if for no other reason than it can hang with a light drummer and serve as an at home amp.

Only draw back is the lack of reverb.  Without it, the cleans are a bit sterile for my taste.  Buy a cheap reverb pedal to throw in the loop and you're set.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Squier Jaguar Review - What do you mean, modified?

Image
Quick Update:  Restringing the Stratocaster with the System III requires the patience of a saint.  I'm not going to go through the many stages of anger, frustration, denial, acceptance, and final victory, but suffice to say there might have been a bit of crying.  Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar I bought this guitar on a whim.  Over some holiday gathering, I went to a music store with my brother.  This caught my eye, and the price was right (Less than $300 out the door).  Sure it had issues right off the bat, but it was soooo cool. Let's get something out of the way - I have no idea why this is part of the "Vintage Modified" series and not the "Classic Vibe" series. You see, the Vintage Modified series is supposed to be a collection of classic designs with a few modern popular updates. This definitely isn't that. WTF is modified here? As Lee Anderton rightly pointed out (see video below), this is pretty much a spot on recreation of the orig
Read more

Pacifica 112 vs. Squier Standard Stratocaster

Image
My recent Squier Standard Stratocaster has me thinking about entry level guitars, and specifically the first new electric guitar I purchased, a Yamaha Pacifica 112.  They're great guitars if you ask me, but for obvious reasons don't get the exposure a "real Stratocaster" does (as real  as a Squier can be I suppose). A comparison of the two may be apt. A Squier Stratocaster lists for $289.99 on L&M , while a new Yamaha Pacifica 112J will set you back $239.99 plus tax.  I seem to recall that the Yamaha and a hard case ran me just over $400, so we're about exactly where we were 20 years ago in terms of price.  Weird. Don't expect a comprehensive review of either guitar - that really isn't the point.  I want to talk about a few differences that indicate where your money is going and hope you can figure the rest out yourself. Yamaha Pacifica 112 / Squier Standard Stratocaster The Yamaha was my second electric, purchased sometime around 1995.  Th
Read more

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar: Trade Bait?

Image
I bought my Squire Vintage Modified Jaguar on a weekend while visiting my parents. I had decided that I needed to get out of the house for a little while. Aside from going to the mall, there's not much more to do than visit the music store, which is all the excuse I need to wander around Long and McQuade for an hour.  This was back in the day when I still knew most of the people who worked there, including the owner. Well, I say the owner; he wasn't the owner anymore, but he WAS the owner, and then the manager prior to his retirement retirement. At any rate, I went there with my wife and poked around. I saw these Jaguars and Jazzmasters that I had recently watched reviews for on YouTube. Lee Anderton and Rob Chapman had raved about them, except for the bridge, which was the same as the original design and didn't lend itself to bending. But they had a solution: if you ordered a Musicmaster bridge (I'm not sure if that's the model from Allparts anymore), it would fit
Read more

1985 Contemporary Stratocaster Review

Image
I'm really not looking forward to this... Despite being an overall fantastic guitar, I'm a little apprehensive about restringing the damn thing. This particular Stratocaster came into my possession strung with 9s, and strung poorly at that.  The locking nut eliminates this from being much more than a minor gripe from a tuning stability standpoint, but I'm accustomed to 11s on most of my guitars, and playing this just isn't comfortable. There are a lot of things to like about the Fender System III tremolo, but the process of restringing doesn't seem to be one of them.  I haven't taken the plunge yet, but it seems that the online community is universally in agreement - It is a total pain in the ass, and there's no good way to do it.  I'd have to imagine this was a contributing factor to Fender not continuing to use this system (though I bet the introduction of the roller nut on the USA Stratocaster Plus models was the real culprit/hero). Mor
Read more