This Is Religion There's No Doubt, I'm One Of The Devout

2014 is the year I discovered Reverend guitars.  It started with the Jetstream HB (front) from the Guitar Center used inventory.  The craftsmanship is up with with the best custom shop Fender but the shape is also as unique as it gets.  The korina body of the Jetstream resonates like nothing I have.  I woke up at 3am one morning, started playing the Jetstream, unplugged, and the solidbody wood sings like a hollowbody 335 unplugged.  Of course, these things never end with just one.  About a month later, I saw a used Warhawk 290 (in case, at the back) at the Sam Ash store in Ontario Mills.  The design of the Warhawk has a raised center through the bridge similar to a Firebird.  Think increased sustain.  But the real appeal of the Warhawk is in these two P90-type pickups.  A little hotter on the bridge and it goes very well with a modern amp like a Bogner or a Blackstar.  The 3rd Reverend is an actual semi-hollow, the Manta Ray 290.  I file this under the category of grunge machine, complete with feedback when playing with drums and bass.  I had played these Reverends exclusively for my standard tuning and dropped D songs to the point where my Les Paul and Midtown (in cases on the right) are feeling somewhat neglected.

So Many Bridges, So Little Time

Ibanez Jet King 1

 I had to try this just to see if it will work.  Guitar Center lists all used instruments that they carry in their nationwide network of stores.  I wanted something unique enough and inexpensive enough that it's worth my effort and at the same time, I'm not out too much if it doesn't work out.  Enter the Ibanez Jet King 1 (JTK1) guitar.

This butterscotch Ibanez is at the Guitar Center in Towson, Maryland -- about as far away from California as they get.  First of, I didn't use the online ordering forms.  I had to talk to a live person, a Guitar Center employee who can verify the guitar in that particular store inventory as well as describe its condition.

The Jet King 1 is the first of a series of Jet Kings by Ibanez and my guitar is most likely made around 2004.  According to some online sources, the JTK1 is supposed to resemble the 60s vintage Teisco with the fret markers and pickup configuration.  This Ibanez has coil-splitting switches that toggle the sound from single-coil to humbucker.

Overall, the guitar is 7.6 pounds (Made in Indonesia) but has a less than solid feel -- even though I think it's a very well made guitar.  The overall weight just doesn't give me a balanced feel when playing strapped on.  But it I am to judge this guitar as deserving to be in the collection, it is on the merits of playability and overall sound.  Did I mention the neck?  Yes, I like its overall flat radius and width at nut of 43.5 mm (strat are typically just a little over 42 mm).  It almost plays like an acoustic at the lower frets (1 through 5).

In conclusion, my experiment of online buying of a used guitar seems to be an overall success.  I think being able to talk to a salesperson who described to me every aspect of the actual instrument definitely helps.

Ibanez Talman TC 630

When I looked up Craigslist ads on Sunday morning, I thought there was little chance this Talman was still available.  The ad was asking for $400 or trade for a small tube amp.  I had accumulated a few small tube amps and I think this Talman was worth at least the Marshall Class 5 that I traded the Takamine for.

I took the chance and sent the seller a few pics of the Marshall and by 830 pm, I was driving up the 15 freeway with this Ibanez Talman TC 630.  Not exactly sure what color Ibanez called this but it is a very  creamy white with a complementary red pearloid pickguard.  The pickguard was all scratched up at the neck pickup position which definitely adds to the guitar's character.

There was a slight fret buzz that all but went away as soon as I changed the strings to a hybrid Ernie Ball set (46,36,26,16,11,9).  I also added a 4th spring to the tremolo which stiffened it a little bit more.  The pickup heights were also adjusted to an optimum set -- trial and error mostly, based on what I thought was the proper gain.  The 5-position switch is similar to a strat in terms of pickup combination.

These lipstick pickups were my biggest surprise.  I have never had a guitar with these before and I have to say, the neck pickup has that perfect warmth/twang balance.  Playability is 9 (on a scale of 10) and my only complaint is the guitar's weight at 9.4 lbs.  Other than that, I am content not having the Marshall amp (which I really liked) and instead having my second Talman.

When To Leave Things Alone

Some guitars just have that personality that you cannot help but notice.  This Olympic White MIM Fender Strat sat at the Guitar Center in Covina probably as the least noticed of all the used electrics.  It was missing two knobs, the fretboard was filthy and worn and the pickguard was dirty and scratched.  On the other side of that equation, people pay top dollar for relic'd strats so why was this only selling for $225?

When I plugged it in, I knew it had a strong sound.  Played "State of Love and Grace" and it roared.  Played "Prayer of The Refugee" and the fretboard is fast.  Did I need another strat? No.  Did I need "this" strat? Yes.  And it came in Olympic White.
When I finally got it after a week hold (California State Law), I was on the fence whether to clean it up and replace the missing volume and tone knobs with matching ones.  After a day of deliberation, I finally decided to leave it alone with the exception of adding a couple mismatching knobs.  Now, the guitar has such a distinct personality that it easily is my favorite MIM strat.  Sometimes, leaving things alone is the best action to take.

Gibson Midtown Custom

Possibly the nicest guitar I have in the collection.  I like this Gibson Midtown Custom so much, I'm considering parting with my Gretsch 5420T.  Although they are different guitars, the playability on the Gretsch seems really low compared to this perfectly set up Midtown.  Currently out of production, I found this one used on Craigslist last week.  I had all my requirements -- black, Custom with the intricate headstock inlay and binding, used.  The previous owner had installed a Lollar single coil pickup for the neck and a PAF for the bridge.  The combination has a very wide range of tones although the warmth of bridge PAF is probably my favorite setting on this player's instrument.

I will post some more pictures later when I put it down long enough to take photograph it's features -- including some belt buckle rash in the back of the body.

Fender Jaguar Blacktop

This is one of two guitars I bought at Best Buy when they were closing out their music department.  I've seen this Fender Blacktop Jaguar with 2 humbucker pickups at the Duarte store hanging up on the wall (about 10 feet above ground) for the past couple years.  I didn't even bother trying to play it because the $499 tag was just a lot more than what I was willing to pay for an HH Jaguar.  Until last week, when I visited the store three times to look at what deals were available.  I ended up paying half the street price which is easily still a hundred below typical asking prices on Craigslist.

This is also my first black guitar and it was definitely a challenge photographing it as dust, smudges and fingerprints show up really nice.  The HH combination almost makes it sound non-Fender like.  Perfect for long solos or overdriven power chords, this Jag has everything but twang -- which is just fine.  I have a whole wall of twangy axes if that's what I wanted.

The shorter 24-inch scale makes chord transitions in the first five fret super fast.  The downside is solos at 15 and above are not as clean because of the closer fretwires.  The other feature I like about this is the fixed bridge -- not a big tremolo fan so this suits me just fine.  The guitar came setup with 9 and it feels a bit light given the shorter scale as well.  I'll leave it with the factory strings until I decided to change them -- at which, I will try the next higher gauge.

The guitar is made in Mexico but has all the quality features of Japanese Jags.  I played it 2 hours the first night I took it home and the light strings and lighter weight body effectively eliminated any fatique from playing the instrument.  Overall, the guitar is definitely worth the price I paid for it.

Representing Guitar Producing Nations

I finally hung all my red guitars in the studio and only after putting them up, did I realize that each one of them is made in a different country.  From left to right: Yamaha SC300T (Taiwan), Fender Mustang Pawn Shop Special (Mexico), Italia Maranello (South Korea), Peavey Falcon (USA).  One red short of a flush.  What's missing?  A red Japanese-made guitar.

1993 Fender Precision Bass (Post-Restoration)

Not much to say other than this bass had the good bones that I had originally suspected.  Fully functional and tuned.  About the only thing I wasn't able to fix cosmetically was the broken off pickup housing.  The epoxy I used to put it back together is holding but there is a small crack (see last photo collage, upper left) that show.  The pickup works perfectly.  Also, the tone pot is a bit noisy so if and when I replace that, I might upgrade the pickups as well.  We'll see.

This bass plays just fine.  Not as perfect as one made in Corona, California but it meets my needs.  It had stayed in tune after a day of playing and plugged in, it has enough of the mid-range I'm looking for.  Also, at some point, I might try flat-wound strings but that'll be a while.

1993 Fender Precision Bass (Pre-Restoration)

This is a Fender P-Bass that is made in Korea (denoted by the serial number beginning with "CN").  I got this bass from some kid who advertised on Craigslist and it did not come with any strings.  From my internet research, the 3 in the serial number denotes the date of manufacture, around 1993 that is -- which puts this guitar at 20 years old.

It comes with Schaller tuners on the matte finish headstock.  The bass was in a pretty ratty condition as evidenced in the photos below.  But I recognized that this bass has some pretty good bones and most of the stuff are cosmetic in nature that I can fix up with some simple cleaning.

What's a used guitar without a sticker right?  The pickguard is in excellent shape and the oxidized screws give it some character.  During the restoration process, I will keep the original screws but definitely will remove the sticker.  The pickup (closest to neck) housing is cracked and busted so I needed to work some magic with epoxy to piece it back together.

The bridge is in good shape with no rust, just dust.  This was the fairly easy to clean but I had to undo the five screws that hold it so I can check the grounding wire.  Obviously, the springs to preload the string saddles are in good condition as well.

Underneath the volume and tone knobs were small pieces of the original pickguard plastic covering.  I had to clean remove the pots and output jack anyway so I can wash the pickguard thoroughly.  I some point, I will need to replace the pots, as the volume one has some noise when turning it up or down.

There are hardly any deep scratches on this 20-year old cream body.  In fact, after cleaning it, the body is somewhat flawless.  Again, I had to look past all this when I decided to buy the guitar.  And finally, to really give it an aged look, I buffed the body with chrome polish -- which easily removed these surface-only scratches.

Next post...photos of the restored instrument.

Italia Maranello

This is one of the more unusual guitars in my stable.  Visually, it definitely has a 60s surf guitar vibe but that's just part of the story.  Italia is a guitar maker that started putting out these retro-looking axes in the early 2000s.  This particular model I have is the Maranello and looks very much like the Hagstrom Standard 80 -- a 60s era guitar.  Very few of these Maranellos come up for sale in the used market in LA and when the ad for this one came up, I jumped on it within a couple hours.  Thankfully, the seller is from Glendora -- only about 4 miles from my workplace.

The sparkle red finish is nicely complemented by the art deco tailpiece and an antique white plastic pickguard that houses two Alnico V Wilkinson humbuckers.  The guitar setup wasn't too bad when I got it but I'll probably experiment with a couple string gauges before I decide on what to use on it long term.  The neck is larger than a standard Strat c-neck and plays almost like my Tacoma acoustic.

The back side of the Maranello is just as beautiful as the red sparkle top.  A pearloid finish from headstock to neck to body is quite impressive and like no other guitar I've seen. The country of origin (Korea) is probably the only reason this guitar sells for only $779 (MSRP).  It sells discounted online for about $579.

This guitar is also featured in the book "Guitar" by Michael Heatley as shown in the photos below.  And finally, the one other unique feature is the orientation of the output jack -- which, unlike every other electric guitar I own, points up, toward the strap button.  The idea is to use the guitar strap as a strain relief for the instrument cable as most everyone does playing live.  The one thing I am hoping for is for all pearloid surfaces to yellow over time, thereby giving this guitar a really unique look.

The Art of Relic (Fender 50s Reissue Stratocaster)

The more I think about the concept of relic-ing a new guitar, the more I find human behavior strange -- including mine.  Why are we obsessed with the vintage, the old and worn?  Is it because anything that is worn has a more personal feel to it?  Warmth, a personal connection to some past.  Whereas the new feels cold and detached.  That used guitar in the pawn shop may have played thousands of songs. If only there was a way to audition a used instrument before I buy it.  This 50s Reissue Fender Stratocaster did not have much of a history when I bought it off some kid in La Puente.  One small nick in the sunburst body is all.  The fretboard was perfect.  Too perfect for my taste.

Enter the Art of Relic.  For about a week now, I have vowed to make this guitar worthy of its 50s pedigree.  I haven't put it in a case, hang it nor even cared where I set it down.  Next to the fireplace, on the kitchen counter, on top of the pile on the desk.  Call it accelerated aging.  Bumped it a few times.  Didn't care.  But most importantly, I had played it every day for the entire time.  I even put the original pickguard back, the one with a couple small screw holes the previous owner had done, the one I had temporarily replaced with a new pearloid one.

This guitar had also somewhat been a little more frustrating than most other Strats I've owned simply because the truss rod adjustment is at the neck heel.  I take pride in being able to setup my own guitars but the sweet spot on this one had proven elusive.  I've had to loosen the pickguard to get full access to the adjustment screw.

And finally, the finish on this Strat body is so durable, aging it will take a little more than I initially anticipated.  From the above picture, one can almost see the thick lacquer coat (see tremolo spring cavity photo).  So what seems like a 1-mm thick protective coat works really well.  I've bumped it against some sharp objects (screws, keys, etc) and all it got was some very minor scratches.  At the very least, the high-gloss finish is becoming more matte after a week's effort.

Aspen Green Gretsch 5420T

I needed a hollowbody guitar for playing some jazz standards so it was a justified need.  I didn't want to pay more than I have to for one so when this became available on Craigslist on March 19th, I sent out the email response at around 7am.  By 2pm, I had it in my possession, a very nice instrument that surpassed expectations.  How much can you really tell about a guitar during a quick 10-minute test drive, right?  The initial impressions were enough to take it home but I continued to be surprised for several days with some of the tones I can get from this Gretsch.

There are several important attributes of this guitar starting with the Aspen Green gloss finish -- which is most unique among all my other green guitars.  Very light and subtle shade is shows best with the color temperature of daylight hours.  At night, under fluorescent lighting, it almost looks plain gray.  The Bigsby tremolo means it also functions as a decent surf guitar.  But the most important feature in my mind is what Gretsch refers to a Blacktop Filter'tron humbucking pickups -- which seems to have the range from jazz to 60s-style rock solos.  I discovered this when I put plugged it into my standard effects/amp rig normally setup for Strats and Teles.  I suppose the hollowbody gives it that really warm 60s punch that solidbodies don't.

I do have one thing I need to get used to on this axe and that is the set of volume controls.  There seems to be a strong non-linearity of the volume pots where most of the gain is in the first 1/3 of the knob rotation angle.  Usually doesn't bother me since when I play, the volume and tone are near max anyway.  I like the ability to manually mix the pot signal levels of each Blacktop as well.

The guitar did not come with a case so I ordered one from Amazon.  I normally keep all my electrics out to give it a natural relic feel over time but this Gretsch is about as fragile as my acoustics.  The model G6241FT case fits perfectly.

Three Fenders and A Talman

I used to have a couple paintings hanging on this wall in the studio but when I got the Lake Placid blue Tele, I decided that I have enough guitars to make a nice installation.  The 3 Fenders (from left to right) are my Telecaster, Stratocaster, Marauder with the Ibanez Talman and the recognizable Bigsby tremolo.

Sage Green and Aspen Green

There's the famous Seafoam Green -- also known as Surf Green but as these two guitars show, not all greens are the same.  Sage Green Metallic Fender Stratocaster on the left and Aspen Green Gretsch G5420T hollowbody right show the differences.  In person, the Sage Green strat is actually more subtle compared to the Lake Placid blue guitars I have.  Without adequate lighting, I mistake one for the other.  The Aspen Green hollowbody, however is a very mild finish, giving the hollowbody an illusion that it is even lighter than it actually is.  Which green?  All green.

Sage Green Fender Stratocaster

Not all green guitars are surf green.  This particular Fender Strat is a sage green metallic with a maple neck.  That combination of color + neck makes for one beautiful guitar.  I bought this one used off Craigslist and has a couple nicks and some fret wear -- which is exactly how a used guitar should be.  That way, I'm not too worried about getting is all scratched up and just leave it in the case most of the time.  Not this one, though.  From the serial number, it is a 2004 model made in Mexico.

Vox SDC-33 Guitar

After I tried this guitar at the Guitar Center on Sunset, I was pretty convinced I needed one.  Vox is better known for amplifiers that axes and I've seen it before but just hadn't been too inspired to try one.  Until the SDC-33 caught my eyes walking in the amp aisle at GC.  The electronics alone is interesting because besides the usual pickup selector switch, it has a Mode Select switch (close to the bridge) to toggle between Clean and Lead.

The other thing that makes this guitar different is the neck width (at the nut) at 1.7" which is a bit wider than my Strats (at 1.625") making it a little bit easier to fingerpick that most electrics I own.  But there are a couple more design features that I really like.  The first being the specially designed bridge finished in a brushed alloy just like the tuners.

The Vox SDC-33 has a set neck and CoAxe pickups. Some additional info on the CoAxes are found on this site.

http://www.planetz.com/vox-coaxe-interview-with-vox-rd/

I ended up ordering the guitar from Amazon through a vendor Music123.  When it arrived, the guitar wasn't setup at all.  Fret buzz on the low E, 2nd through 4th fret so I had to adjust the bridge height and play with the truss rod a bit.  Not sure it's perfect but it's playable for now.  Also, the fretwires weren't smoothed out so I always feel like I might get a finger cut when I play around the 12th fret.  Again, something I can mess around with to fix.  So although, I saved some money buying online, the aggravation of having to set it up properly is going to make me think twice about buying online again.  (This is my 3rd online guitar purchase after the PRS Tremonti and Fender Marauder).  Overall, I'm happy with this Vox as it gives me several tones not achievable through my selection of Fenders.  My only worry with this guitar is the fact that it's the lightest (6.4lb) of all the electric I own and with that light weight comes the question of how it can withstand getting dropped or some other kind of abuse.

And last but not least, the goldtop finish is flawless.  Form and function.  Sound and style.

Body: Mahogany

Neck: Mahogany w 22 frets

Neck Width at Nut: 1.7 in

Scale Length: 25.125 in

Weight: 6.4 lb

60th Anniversary Fender Telecaster

I think a Fender guitar made in Mexico in the last 5 years is better than any Fender guitar made in the US 15 years ago.  This Lake Placid Blue Telecaster is proof that US-Mexican relations had been good in the area of collaborative guitar manufacturing.  Any blue guitar is worth looking at so when I saw this used 2011 Tele on Craigslist, I knew it would be a short courtship.  The neck plate on the back states the year of manufacture -- which is 60 years since the introduction of this Fender product in 1951.  Couple the Lake Placid Blue with a fast maple neck and I'm sold.

The third selling feature (of all Teles) is the fact that it doesn't have a tremolo bridge.  I hardly use the whammy bar on all my Strats and quite frankly, I find it visually cluttered.  The pearloid pickguard does add an air of elegance to this piece of functional sculpture.

Fender Modern Player Marauder

This is the second guitar I ever bought online. I saw a similar guitar but in black at the the Guitar Center in Rancho Cucamonga but they didn't have the Lake Placid Blue color that I was looking for.  Amazon.com to the rescue.  The guitar's main feature that I was interested in was the triple-bucker pickup (bridge) and the interesting combination of sounds I can get out of it.  The neck pickup is effectively a Jazzmaster pickup.

This guitar is made in China and the headstock is relatively simple.  A Fender label.  No model number.  The guitar shipped with a really decent setup. After all, any guitar purchased in the internet has that added burden of being playable off the box -- otherwise, the buyer will have this tendency to just send it back.

This in the only made in China guitar in my collection and it had earned its way to sit alongside my Americans, Japanese and Mexican axes.  The pearloid pickguard and the jazz bass knobs are definitely  nice touches and complement the Lake Placid Blue finish, which by the way is flawless.   Doing some research, the Marauder was initially attached to a Fender from the 60s and I suppose only time will tell if Fender continues this product line.