GuitArcher

Here's a roundup from about 2 years ago that for some reason went unpublished.  What interests me the most is the SGJ, which go for much more than $400 currently. Fender Esquire GT w/EMG 81 ($450) I'm not including this because I think the price is particularly good (it isn't).  Still, this (along with the Esquire Celtic) were very cool Korean variants with a single volume/humbucker set necks with unique finishes (the GT had the Shelby Cobra finish, the Esquire some inlay that the Lilith Fair crowd goes for).  Made in Korea - not that it matters.  People ascribe too much value on place of manufacture rather than the quality of the instrument itself. I don't feel one way or the other about the EMG 81 - they're good pickups, but they're a one trick pony... They're really good at that one trick, but still.  That finish is killer though, with the matching headstock, and $100 less would be a steal.  I'm watching this one carefully. Digression:

Since acquiring my Eric Johnson Rosewood Stratocaster, it's been pretty clear that I need to move an instrument or two.  This isn't so much a money thing, as it is a guilt thing. And no, it's not my wife making me guilty. With eleven guitars now in the collection, only a handful get played on a regular basis.  Given the limited amount of time I have to play everyday, making a point to play each one would restrict me to no more than 10 minutes or so with each instrument, and at that point it feels like you're just making sure  each one gets played on a given day to justify it. The result is obvious.  There are only 3 or 4 guitars that get played regularly.  The rest are ignored to varying degrees, or looked at as nice "wall pieces", and little else. My Gibson Les Paul Studio, sadly, falls into the later group. Why you no love Gibson? It's no secret, especially if you read previous posts, that my attention is firmly drawn by the Fender cam

I re-posted the Contemporary Stratocaster. Despite provenance, I'm not bonding with the guitar - too many similarities to my Eric Johnson Stratocaster make it uninteresting - an HSS setup, the 12" radius (but a much shallower neck), etc.  It's a great guitar, and the "not long for this world" locking setup is actually quite clever and easy to use. But it doesn't help that my wife is no fan, regularly commenting that it "looks dirty".  I suppose the 30 year aging of an off-white doesn't speak to everyone.  God help me in 20 years or so... I might be described as "off white", so I sympathize A couple of days in and I've received an offer that I may not be able to refuse, even though I'm not sure I'm getting value... The offer? An Edwards E-SN-145. Edwards, for those who don't know, is an ESP brand made for "Japan only".  My first experience with the brand came while living in Japan, and wandering

I went to Portugal - specifically the birthplace of Nuno Bettencourt. No, that wasn't why I went, though there was a signed N2 in a glass case at the airline office in the middle of town.  Nobody seemed to care. I also did not take a picture of said guitar, so here is Nuno instead, looking Portuguese-y Doesn't matter though, because this isn't a post about a trip to Portugal.  We're here to talk about guitars and amps dammit, so let's get back in the saddle. An aside: I wonder why "back in the saddle" is a thing.  Something to do with bull riders spending 16 months in traction and finally getting "back in the saddle", only to spend the following 17 months in traction? Guitars though, right.  Focus. Some updates to get us going. The Marshall DS1 I can't believe that in 20 years of playing this is the first Marshall I've owned.  I've grown to love this amp - the more I use it the more I'm finding subtle

Here's a post I saw come up locally yesterday: "Squier Teley - $200 - Made in Japan Squire Teley sehs a beauty. 200.00 or best offer may consider trade. Pictures don't want to load will send" Made is Japan you say?  For $200 bucks you say?  "sehs" a beauty you say? Too good not to ask, I say:

As I'd mentioned previously, I'm on the lookout for a Fiesta Red Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster.  L&M sold them for dirt cheap awhile back, and they're starting to come up on Kijiji at around the $300 mark - not great, but given that most of these were purchased new for less than that, an offer of $250 should seal a deal. Seal, because obviously. I missed out on an early deal because I was gun shy on selling something before I had a deal in place, and making a stupid attempt to get a set of transactions in a particular order, for your benefit, pretty much never works out. Yes, I could have fronted the money and worried about the sale later, but I dislike doing it, and these guitars aren't unique enough for me to jump like that.  Plus, motivation to sell either evaporates or insistance on getting maximum dollars does - you'll settle for covering costs.  In either case, not a great move. In any case, one of the sellers got back to me, willing to d

I've owned a handful of Gibsons over the years, but none of them seem to stick.  They're not bad guitars, but I always find myself gravitating back to Fender. So when the time comes to move something, the Fenders are dear, the Gibsons are expendable, and there is no shortage of teenagers who want to own their first real Gibson. This was the first one I owned - A 1996 Gibson Les Paul Studio in Wine Red. I bought it in Japan, from Ishibashi , when I was a guitar-less gaijin and itching to start playing again.  When you live in an apartment that is the size of a single car garage, having a hobby can be pretty important. For the low price of 63,000 yen it was mine.  Japan is amazing for used gear, as there seemed to be a stigma around buying something used.  There were ( are?) entire department store sized floors filled with used guitars, many of which are the kind you see selling for far too much, with tags like "lawsuit years". I really liked this Les Paul

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

New Guitar Day! ( UPDATE: Read the review here )  In my never ending carousel of trading guitars and amps for OTHER guitars and amps, I've come into possession of this at the expense of a very common amplifier and zero cash - A 1985 Fender Contemporary Stratocaster Deluxe. Made in Japan, this guitar was produced during the period Fender USA had ceased production (85-87). FMIC (composed of Fender employees) had purchased Fender from CBS , but had yet to set up production facilities. This meant the only Fenders being prod uced came from Japan, and this model was the top of the range. Close up of the System III Bridge  Couple of things beyond the age and condition make the guitar interesting - A cam-style locking nut and " System III " bridge were Fender's in house answer to the Floyd Rose systems so popular during the hair metal era. A three screw humbucker that is bolted (not screwed) directly into the guitar body rather than the pickguard makes