Pandemic Problems
Despite the fact that apparently I can't be bothered to write anything here, I haven't let the GLOBAL PANDEMIC OF DOOM AND ENDTIMES put a damper on my desire to own as much gear as I possibly can. In fact, 2020 may represent the most significant run of gear acquisition, at least in terms of transactions.
Here's a brief rundown of the gear I've acquired in 2020 so far, with my quick take on why I bought it and what I think of it.
American Professional Jazzmaster - $1,200
Everyone has a price. Everyone. For anything. Really.
Apparently mine is $1,200 and a few (too many?) drinks on a Friday night. For a Jazzmaster anyway.
Truth be told, I'd been thinking about a Jazzmaster for awhile - it's the hole in my modest Fender collection, though I suppose a Squier Jaguar doesn't really count (or does it?). I was browsing Kijiji on a Friday night while visiting with friends. I'm either a terrible guest or there was a lull in the preceedings.
We both know it was the former, but I'm blessed to have some very dear friends with whom I am able to be unapologetic about my idiosycracies.
At any rate, the seller listed this for $1200, barely played, with case, and happened to be near a place I had plans to be at the following day. I quick "I'll take it. Here's my number:" made it so.
Finished in a tranlucent white over an ash body, this Jazzmaster does away with the convoluted controls of the original in favor of a 3 way switch in a Les Paul-ish position. I think it's brilliant, as I've always found all the additional controls too much to deal with.
Sound wise, it sits somewhere tonally between a Telecaster and a Stratocaster, with an almost fretless quality to the lower strings. This may have something to do with the bridge being set into the body with plastic surrounds, and where some of the thudiness on lower notes it coming from. It doesn't really kill sustain across the spectrum, but sseems to for specific frequencies.
Mesa/Boogie Single Rectifier Rectoverb - $1,000
I have wanted one of these since I was 18 years old.
Wandering around the local music store with a friend, I got into a conversation about amps with a member of the staff who was always friendly with us, having seen us around town playing festivals. We were talking about what amps covered the widest range of sounds.
So I had to ask: "What amp would you buy if you needed to cover the widest range of sounds you could?"
"Rectoverb combo," he replied.
Now, some of this may have been salemanship: In the 90s, Murch Music lived Mesa amps and PRS guitars, and the Rectoverb combo has just come out. Still, he knew that high school students, didn't have the money for an amp that ran the wrong side of two grand, so there was probably some truth in his answer.
I owned the Single Rectifier Solo head for a short time, and I remember that being a KILLER head. I'm not as blown away with the lead sounds out of this example, but I've yet to hit it with powerful pickups at a volume befitting a 50 watt Mesa/Boogie amp.
In short: It's much too loud.
Keeley DS-9 - $80
Eight Zero dollars for a Robert Keeley pedal?!?! In my little one horse town?
That's why I bought it.
Keeley's take on an Ibanez SD-9 and a Boss DS-1 in a single unit, this pedal has switchable modes, but leaves a unique bass control active in either mode, meaning the flubby bass can be tamed on the SD-9 by introducing more DS-1 character to the low end, and vice versa.
Do I love it?
Maybe. I need to spend more time with it. It sounds great with the Jazzmaster, but compared to the amp like quality of something like the JHS Angry Charlie, this is a bit sterile to my ears. For what it's worth, I've never thought much of the DS-1 either, so a grain of salt should be taken with this opinion.
Ibanex RG350EX - $120
If a Mexican Stratocaster is the first "big-kid" step for the more traditionaly inclined, the Ibanez RG350 is the hard rock/heavy metal equivalent if it's omnipresence on used markets is rivaled only by the ubiquitous Mexican Strat.
The ground may be shifting though, with the new Mexican Fender stuff approaching 2000s American Series features and build quality, and a tsunami of better choices from Charvel, Jackson, LTD, Fender, and PRS at this price point. A quick trip over to L&M seems to support my theory - the RG350 occupies a price point with some pretty impressive instruments. It doesn't have a chance IMHO.
At $120 though, none of that matters. A "good enough" shredder with a cheap locking trem, three"whatever-I-guess-they're-ok" pickups, and a finish/pickguard combo that says "I want to rock and roll all night AND apply my lipstick on the go", it's the neck that is the real story here. Unlike the JEM Jr which has the Wizard III neck, which is mammoth, this RG350's neck is a much more predicatable affair. not thick by any means, but not hofner thin either.
The binding is a nice touch.
Too bad I'm going to strip it down and remove the finish so someone can paint it with unicorn paint...
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