i feel like the best value in the whole line is the squier classic vibe series, which is like… kind of weird that there’s no fender that’s the go-to
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I still play a Mexican Fat Strat (HSS) I got used in 2003, and I still feel like it’s a lovely instrument and I don’t feel held back by it at all or anything like that—it’s one of the objects I keep closest to me day-to-day, it’s within inches of my left hand right now. I used to have a Japanese Fat Strat that my uncle gave me which had a “Floyd Rose” locking tremelo, but that guitar was stolen out of my trunk when someone smashed my car window in NYC at like age 19 
…I miss it because I use the floating tremelo constantly for vibrato and with a normal tremelo it drives the guitar out of tune fairly quickly, but it would take like 10x longer to happen with that locking tremelo. Also it had a pretty sunburst pattern, whereas the Mexican Fat Strat I have is just black with a white pickguard (which I still like the style of, the sunburst was just nice…by now the Mexican one has fading stickers of birds and flowers on it and the black varnish is chipped off in several places from years of wear so it does have its own nice atmosphere 
).
I like Strats in general because of their glassy tone (surely they still have that today…?), and Fat Strats in particular because of the versatility they gain from the humbucker bridge pickup. I actually really like the sound of the middle single coil and bridge humbucker together; I think it’s in a neat middle ground between the rough coolness of the single coil and the quackey brightness of the humbucker. If I was given a have-a-guitar wish by a guitar fairy, I might get an HSS from G&L, because of their fancy pickup selector that lets you split the humbucker into its individual single coils and select non-adjacent pickups and things. I’m curious to know what that’s actually like to have around day-to-day. I will admit though that I often just leave my guitar on the same pickup setting for days though and don’t think about it really…so much of the sound of any guitar just comes from what you do with the strings I feel like ultimately. The knob I think I fiddle with the most is probably the spring reverb on my amp, because I feel like that affects the “mood” of my playing a lot.
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digitakt 2? sounds kinda cool but 1k is a whole lot for it, we’re reaching octatrack levels almost
maybe they’re looking to do away with the octatrack form factor? but it’s such a workhorse that people will still use it i bet
not exactly this but my strat type thing has a series/parallel switch for the bridge humbucker and a blend knob to mix the non-adjacent pickups, the neck+bride parallel combo is actually really useful for rhythm playing cause the phase cancellation gives a slight mid scoop that helps you sit back in a mix a little
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Cool! Yeah, I’ve watched videos of people demonstrating the G&L pickup hardware and it does actually seem really useful, like it has a lot of “clear practical applications” so to speak like you’re saying with your similar setup It’s hard for me to predict how I would actually come to relate to something like that if I had it available, but I’m curious to find out if I ever get the chance. Probably if I was playing in a band right now I would be thinking about it more; if you’re just playing by yourself I feel like you can kinda find things to do with any configuration of the guitar controls but if you need to find a place in a larger mix like you’re saying it can become a greater technical challenge with the electronics (although of course your playing style can do a lot even there).
the upgrades are good, but i think it has me more interested in seeing what the price on the original digitakt drops to.
my one wish from elektron is just do another octatrak but with some CV outs
meanwhile the custom built blackface head i’ve had for like a decade on the cheap has finally revealed its cheapness
wobbly cracked plastic power tube sockets, cracked polyester cap, cracked ceramic cap
all easily replaced with better parts but of course as soon as i get in there i’m scrutinising all the other components and lead dress and shit eyeing upgrades
cool hobby
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i would expect something fairly magical of a 5 grand bass
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My friend did this to his blue Mexican Stratocaster and has not touched another guitar in 15 years
great success, though i think a tube rebiasing wouldn’t hurt
Did it sheer off!?
I’ve had slipping strings where bending a note will take them down a whole tune, so I tightened the string locks, and this one kept turning, by the time I realized my mistake the lock head was cracked and stuck to my allen key.
I really like the Flamingo Pink Mustangs Japan got a few years back.
Another cool Japan-exclusive – a reverse headstock Mustang with a Shawbucker in the bridge.
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doing some research on shortscales for the next build and reading up on Gibson Byrdlands
23.5" seems like something i can make work
I was looking around eBay and saw that Fender Japan is producing Fender Cyclones this year.
That second color is White Blonde, which I believe is the one color out of these that the Cyclone was never available in.
The Made in Japan Limited Cyclone™ is a reissue of the very popular Mexican model that was first introduced in 1997.
Like the Mustang®, the Cyclone features a small offset body, a 24.75" medium scale, and the same vintage tremolo unit as the Stratocaster®, giving it a distinctive appearance.
Incorporating the Made in Japan Cyclone Humbucking and Made in Japan Cyclone Single-Coil pickups developed exclusively for this model, produce powerful, articulate tones and offer a wide variety of tones fit for any musical genres.
Other features include a Modern “C” satin-finished maple neck, 22 narrow-tall frets, and 9.5" radius maple or rosewood fingerboard providing long hours of comfortable playability. The satin-finished neck is meticulously handmade for a smooth natural feel.
This unique limited guitar will only be available in 2024.
Specs for the White Blonde (only difference from the other colors is it has a maple fretboard vs rosewood)
It’s too bad they aren’t doing a model based on the Cyclone II, but it’s rad to see the Cyclone revived at Fender as opposed to being relegated to Squier.
ETA: Fender Japan website is showing a Butterscotch Blonde variant, too…
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today was a very soldering iron sort of day so i finally took the 1meg out the vol hole on the white whale, really didn’t need all that treble after all; good experiment though
at some point i should stick up audio clips of that thing because it does sound particular but probably ought to learn to play better first
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