Short takes: Airline Bighorn, Squier Affinity Tele, Fender Mustang II

I went to Guitar Center again this past weekend to waste time while my wife got her hair done, and I ended up trying out some gear. I played an Airline Bighorn and a Squier Affinity Tele through a Fender Mustang II amp. I'll share some quick first impressions of each one, starting with the amp.

Fender Mustang II

Fender's Mustang range of solid-state modeling amps has been very well received in the music press, and I've been eager to try one out. I recently bought a Roland Cube 40XL that I love, but the 40-watt Mustang II was on my short list of amps to buy, and after playing it, I know that its place on that list was justified. It wasn't enough to make me regret my Cube purchase, but if I would've bought the Mustang instead, I wouldn't have been disappointed.

Midlife re-evaluation and gear simplification

When people get to be my age, they go through what most people call a midlife crisis. I don't like to think of it that way. I view it more as a midlife re-evaluation. It's the stage of life where you finally realize that you no longer have all the time in the world to do everything you want to do, so you re-evaluate those goals and figure out which ones are viable and which ones have to be abandoned. It's a bittersweet time as it's sad to see some of your old goals and aspirations die, but it's good to be refocused on the things you really want to do. It doesn't happen at once and the plans often change until you finally figure out what you want.

This re-evaluation happened to me recently. I'm fortunate in that I have a logical, analytical mind, and that I can do a lot of internal analysis without doing anything rash. Many people end up doing crazy stuff like quitting their jobs, divorcing their husbands/wives, and buying outrageous sports cars, boats, motorcycles, etc., only to realize they love their spouse, they liked their job, and the new bike hurts their back. I'm also fortunate because the only part of my life being re-evaluated is music - I enjoy my career, I love my wife, and although I'd love to learn to ride a motorcycle, it's not as important to me as it used to be, so I could take it or leave it.

Gear Review: Epiphone Les Paul Ultra Pro

In typical Epiphone style, the Epiphone Les Paul Ultra Pro is another cheap and cheerful Les Paul rendition for the guitarist on a budget, but now is more versatile than ever! Despite its low price, the Epiphone Les Paul is well recognized as a renowned, respectable guitar. In fact it was used by Oasis' Noel Gallagher in the 90s and has continued to be used by high-profile players in a variety of environments and music styles. Les Pauls are famously versatile, which is one of the biggest selling points, and the new Epiphone LP Ultra Pro gives even more without sacrificing an affordable price tag.

The most impressive feature you’ll notice is the two ProBucker humbucker pickups, which are built around Alnico magnets with Elektrisola magnet wire. The ProBuckers are based upon the iconic BurstBucker pickups from the Gibson Les Paul Standard, which are designed to imitate the original PAF humbuckers. All this results in the classic, rich, powerful Les Paul tone that we all know and love. But it doesn’t stop there. The pickups can be coil-tapped through the push-pull switches on both volume controls so you get a totally different weapon added to your arsenal.

I play everything from classic rock to folk and everything in between, and when you play the Epiphone Les Paul Ultra Pro you notice how amazingly adaptive it is, and it just sounds really full and clean. If I closed my eyes and played this guitar, unaware of the brand, I would honestly presume it was a top of the range Gibson Les Paul, for more than triple the price. It handled anything I could throw at it from ripping guitar solos to complicated riffs with ease. I was expecting the chambered body to have a slightly negative effect on the tone but other than making it noticeably lighter it was almost identical to a solid mahogany.

The construction of this Epi Les Paul Ultra is much more traditional but remains the quality that we've come to expect. It has a standard mahogany body, which is finished with a quilted maple top. The Mahogany neck is a treat behold with rosewood fingerboard and SlimTaper ‘D’ profile. It is then completed in typical Les Paul style with the ever-popular tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, and the classic Grover tuners give added stability.

I'm struggling to find any downfalls with this guitar other than the minor things that aren't really a big deal, like where it is made. the main difference between a Gibson and an Epiphone Les Paul is that Gibsons are made in America, which is a huge selling point for some reason. And lets not forget with a Gibson you're buying a badge as well. So my advice, get one of these beauties and put a sticker on it and it'll save you over a grand.

I'm a firm believer in getting the best you possibly can for your money, so if you're determined to get a Les Paul it has to be Epiphone and the Ultra Pro is probably the best you can buy. It is priced at around £500 ($599 US) and for what you’re getting it's an absolute bargain. It's a joy to play and obviously looks amazing. It's also a perfect gigging instrument as it's light, versatile and fairly cheap. It's the sort of guitar that if it was stolen or broken then you'd buy another, it's that impressive.

Gear Review: Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang signature guitar

The Fender Kurt Cobain Mustang was one of Fender's most exciting announcement over the last few years. His previous signature models - the Jag-Stang and most noticeably the very successful Jaguar - were Kurt’s preferred instruments although it is the Mustang that we associate with him most. This is predominantly down to the Mustang that he trashed in the "Smells like Teen Spirit" video from which he is most famous. So the prospect of replicating Kurt’s guitar right down to his own personal modifications was enough to have most guitarists salivating over it.

Fender's original 60s model was designed as a student instrument as it is smaller in scale, smaller in body, and slimmer but yet still contains Fender's famous build quality. It was probably this compact size and easy playability that persuaded Cobain to play it in the first place. It was also the first Fender student guitar to incorporate a vibrato system, apparently every time Kurt wobbled the arm the guitar kept going out of tune so he modified it to a hardtail.

Fender have rightly kept all of these features in the Kurt Cobain Mustang but have increased the output by introducing a high output Seymour Duncan JB humbucker at the bridge, whereas the original only featured two single coil pickups. This makes the sound smoother yet increases the output and is capable of delivering the powerful tones that made Nirvana famous.

It would be fair to say the Mustangs don’t really excel when it comes to tonal versatility. However the cool on/off pickup sliders produce out of phase, sweet and spiky humbucker tones. As much as you try the JB humbucker will never cross into metal territory, even on the highest gain setting. As much as I like this personally it’s not very authentic and is quite disappointing really.

A cool added bonus is that with the guitar you get a limited edition 10-inch red vinyl edition of "Smells like teen spirit." It also comes in three vintage Fender finishes: Lake Placid Blue with racing stripe, Fiesta red and Sonic Blue. And if you're a lefty, they are all available in a left-handed equivalent.

There’s no getting around it, it is a very expensive guitar and in all honesty I do think it could be more versatile tonally. However visually its stunning and it takes real time and effort to produce an instrument that really does reflect a player’s attitude and tone. All in all I really like the KC Mustang but I would highly recommend you try before you buy.

 

One more shot

I've had another weekend revelation: I've decided to give the guitar one last shot, one more chance to see if I really want to be a guitarist, before I make a potential shift to drums as my main instrument.

This revelation came from my first trip to my new neighborhood Guitar Center. My wife was getting her hair done, which is usually an hour-long affair but in this case would last at least two, and fortunately for me the Guitar Center in Des Moines was on the same street as the hair salon, a quick 5-minute drive. So after a quick check-in with the wife, I headed out.

I gave the place a quick look-around and then averted my eyes from the guitars and headed straight for the drum room in the back. And I do mean this literally - I looked down at the floor and avoided looking at the wall of guitars on the left side. I was hoping they had some electronic drum sets set up, which they did. I had two goals on this trip - to check out some electronic drum sets and to see if I still enjoy playing.

A four-year revelation

Four years ago, I decided to get serious about music again. I had a choice - I was either going to focus on guitar or drums. After a lot of thought and contemplation, I chose to become a serious guitar player.

Now that four years have passed, I have realized that I'm really no better at guitar than I was back then. I may have learned a few new songs (but probably forgot a lot more that I used to know when I was younger) but everything else has stayed relatively constant despite a concerted effort to improve.

I'm also still drawn to the drums. I tap out rhythms when I'm sitting at my desk at work. Or driving in the car. Or anywhere else, really. When I listen to new music, the first thing I notice is the drums. I feel like I have a mental block when it comes to learning the guitar, yet the drums just seem so natural.

You probably know where this is going. I've decided to stop denying it and embrace the fact that, despite all my best efforts to the contrary, I'm a drummer at heart. I still love the guitar and I'm sure I'll still play from time to time, but I won't be as serious about it as I was. Heck, maybe I'll even enjoy it more.

So I'm putting together a plan. I want to get a set of electronic drums (I'm really liking the Roland HD-3 V-Drums). I might thin my guitar collection down a little bit as I won't be playing them as much and there are already some guitars I rarely pick up anymore. I'll keep the bass, because I like the fact that I will have a complete power trio setup and I would still like to possibly do some basic home recording.

I'm excited about this. I feel like I'm finally going down the right musical path, albeit four years too late.