GuitArcher

This might be the best deal I've ever had on Kijiji. For $250 and a bit of gas, I took home an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. Considering these go for $300-$450 typically, it's a good deal. But throw in a case and the fact that it is a really excellent example of this particular model, and it's an excellent one. Feel Shame I dislike Epiphone. This will be a recurring theme. Haters gonna hate. One of the many, many problems I've had with Epiphone was with the name itself. An Epiphone Les Paul? Pfft. Fender uses its name on products in the same price range as this, so why not Gibson? Likely something to do with "Made in the USA," but don't quote me on that. That headstock taunts you - you know that shape alone will give away your lifetime of bad choices to all who view it. "Oh, an Epiphone? Yeah, they're nice too," they say in their judge-y-est tone whilst dismissing all future opinions of yours. Feel shame, you unclean wretch.

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

I know. Hardly the most exciting NGD on the internet, but after 12 hours with this in the house, I've come to the two conclusions: The value of buying used cannot be overstated. Opinions based solely on the country of origin can be turned sideways and stuck straight up your candy ass. Not the right Dwayne Johnson picture you say? I would say something to the effect of "kids don't know how good they have it these days," but in a future post I'll explain why "kids" don't take advantage of stuff like this - partly because kids shouldn't be dealing on the secondary market by themselves (under 18 anyway), but mostly because their parents are getting hosed by big stores. For less than a tank of gas... That might be an exaggeration, but not much of one.  I had been following this guitar for a couple of weeks, and two nights ago emailed an offer.  I was expecting the seller to reject it, but to my surprise he came back quickly with a &qu

No Parker isn't Italian.  Stick with me though.  The payoff will definitely probably be worth it.   Probably... If Ferrari and Lamborghini had a baby, and that baby became a teenager and decided to rebel against its parents and become a guitar instead of a supercar, I'm pretty sure you'd end up with a Parker Fly.   I remember Parker hitting the scene in the 1990s and thinking "whoa".  Kind of looked like a guitar, but only in the same way a Lamborghini Countach looked like a Ford Taurus.  Sure they had six strings, and pickups, and four wheels, and doors... Wait, where was I? Like a more typical model, could be tuned to Open D If I had to guess, I would say it wasn't until Parker started to produce far east versions of their models that most of us had a chance to try a Parker, and at that point it was really only the shape that was the same. To continue the Italian sports car theme, it's the guy who tells you his Pontiac Fiero with the

The last trade I made was an unqualified, no regrets kind of trade. This one isn't one of those... We talkin' about practice? I've been on the hunt for a super low wattage tube amp for awhile - something that could be cranked in the basement without disturbing the family. Since being rid of the Super Sonic 60 (which is certainly no practice amp), I've been relying on an older Peavey Envoy solid state for late night noodling. Surely, there had to be better options. Bye bye Two Rock Among my ever changing collection of stuff was a Two Rock 1x12 cab that I had no use for - the heads I had used it with were long gone, so it pretty much sat in the corner collecting dust. Looked damn fine doing it, but still. I posted the Two Rock cab up on Kijiji looking for a trade, but wasn't finding much luck. I had a few cash offers for $450, but nothing that I was willing to accept. Trades are harder to find, but you tend to get better value if you're patient.

You can't swing a cat without hitting something that is "limited edition" these days. Manufacturers are sticking the "limited edition" stickers on everything, from cars to coke (automobiles to Zima?), in the hopes that we'll convince ourselves that we're just as special as the 500 other schlubs down the street. Guitar makers aren't any different. Fender wants to believe that every guitar or amp is the naturally blonde Japanese unicorn - a rare prize reserved for those of discriminating taste, now available for slightly more than the standard model (which is a regular Japanese unicorn , in case you're wondering how the metaphor works). Epiphone is into redheads. Suffice to say, "Limited Edition" production guitars should be taken with a grain of salt. Limited edition salt obviously.  Regular salt is for losers. Hold the salt here though.  This one is actually pretty cool. Gibson SG Limited Edition (1996)

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

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