New Arrivals: May 2021

Regular readers are probably bored with me talking about the state of the second hand market here, so I’ll keep that brief. Anecdotally, there still isn’t a lot of second hand gear turning up, and (again anecdotally) it’s becoming more and more common for sellers to list second-hand guitars at above-retail prices. eBay has really cut back on its offers this month too, which probably isn’t helping the situation.

This month, though, there has been a number of interesting (to me) items crop up. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to even think about bidding on them because I’ve been into hospital for an operation, and it’ll be July before I’m fully recovered and able to lift amps and guitars again.

I was able to pick up a couple of pedals off my wish list, thankfully. And this month saw the release of a new guitar that’s completely blown me away. Read on to learn more!

Continue reading “New Arrivals: May 2021”

New Arrivals: September 2020

I think this month is mostly going to be defined by what doesn’t arrive.

  • I’ve cancelled the PRS S2 McCarty 594 SC that I ordered back in January. It’s probably not going to arrive until 2021 now, and I can’t be confident that I’ll have the money to pay for it when it does finally turn up.
  • After months of insisting that it would ship on schedule, Neural DSP has finally admitted that the Quad Cortex is going to be delayed after all. Given the current state of the world, it’s not a surprise. Delivery dates have slipped twice in the last two weeks alone. If this arrives for Christmas, it’ll be quite an achievement.

It’s a good job really, because the car needs some repairs. Whether or not those parts arrive this month or not remains to be seen. [They did not – Ed.] Right now, it’s a really bad time to be repairing or replacing pretty much anything.

Continue reading “New Arrivals: September 2020”

New Arrivals: August 2020

Going into August, it was shaping up to be another quiet month for new (to me) gear.

While the second hand market on eBay UK has picked up (a bit) in the last couple of weeks, I’m just not willing to pay what’s being asked. There’s a growing trend of sellers listing second hand gear for more than it originally sold for brand new. I’m still seeing buyers piling onto the same items that I’m interested in, too.

Did I get anything at all? Read on to find out.

Continue reading “New Arrivals: August 2020”

Squier Contempoary Series Telecaster 2018 Dual Humbucker Demo

Shane’s posted a demo of the new-for-2018 dual humbucker Squire Contempoary Series Telecaster. Check it out.

A Squier with a satin finish neck? That alone is likely to make it a popular choice. Squier necks are known for having thick glossy finishes that can be a little sticky for some players.

It’s hard to say how good this guitar sounds. The clean tones, and the dirt tones with the volume rolled down sound nice and clear. The full fat tones? Not so much. Shane does say that he thinks the guitar does sound clear, so maybe what we’re hearing is the effect of YouTube’s audio munging.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Shane’s video.

Squier Contemporary Series Telecaster Demo

Shane’s posted a first look at Squier’s Contemporary Series Telecaster. This demo is a bit different, as we get to hear it alongside live bass and a live second guitar.

We can’t all play Custom Shop guitars, and the days of “budget brand” guitars being utter trash are long gone. Whether it’s Squier, Epiphone, PRS SE, or other budget brands, these are perfectly usable instruments to learn on and use as a home hobbyist. And they’re getting better and better each and every year.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Shane’s video and Ryan’s playing.

250 Dollar Rig vs 7000 Dollar Rig

Paul Davids (and … er … Paul Davids) is back with a video comparing his first rig to his current rig.

We don’t learn how old his Squier is, so please don’t refer to this when trying to decide whether or not to buy a brand new Squier today!  These kinds of videos are meant to be a bit of fun 🙂

Hopefully Paul will post a follow up where we hear both guitars into the Tone King.

Please head over to YouTube to leave a like and a supportive comment if you enjoyed Paul’s video.