Leaderboard

OK, it's not all in the fingers. The Little Grey Cells play a part, too.

I've seen a surprising number of gigging musicians wielding Squiers over the years; JHS's Vintage brand are also fast gaining a gigging following in the UK. There's something to be said for the utilitarian - "It's a tool" approach. Especially if you, like me, prefer Fender styles for the most part - much easier upgraded, or returned to stock / parted out without great loss if you need/ want to move them on. There is certainly a danger in falling into the trap of replacing bits here and there to "upgrade" if you buy with the notion that it 'needs' "better". Unless buying specifically for a project to put together something not commercially available, I have learned to get used to a guitar and let its personality bed in first. This is where I go all woowoo, but I've seen over the years one too many guitars that just had... something.... lose that mojo once bits started getting replaced to "upgrade". I won't be precious about replacing parts on my HBs if and when something breaks or I find in use I want something more. The real test of my resolve on this will be if I ever pick up one of their Strats; I'm not planning that right now, but if they did a left handed version of the Anniversary model Strat except in a more 50s vibe, 21 frets, skunk stripe and all - the ST-62DLX would be a very good base for this, just add stainless steel frets and a LPB body.... I'd likely buy one. The test of my resolve would be to give that thin trem block a fair shake before trying to put a bigger one in there. In practice, though, I keep hearing from players which have experienced one that it really loses nothing for the slimmer block... In terms of getting cheaper - yeah, advances in CNC production have really benefited guitar manufacture for sure. I remember guys thirty years ago marvelling over the Squiers that were then £120 new (about £250 now) compared to more expensive guitars they started on, and now I'm doing that myself. Of course, HB also benefits from basically being able to offer wholesale prices at retail due to the business model, which helps! And, I think, without the "Heritage" brand to play on, they also need to be a bit better than the direct competition to find the market. In my experience they are succeeding because they are. I've got no time at all for the common sneer, popular on particular US guitar websites, of "Guitars for lawyers and dentists". Possibly partly because I *am* an academic lawyer, and I'll never be able to afford / justify a guitar at the sort of money 99.9% of those bearing to Gibson name, or any US Fender nowadays, go for. Nonetheless, what I do see in practice is a lot of expensive guitars being purchased as luxuries by guys working in various, high-paying jobs who play and, quite rightly, want to enjoy their money (if I was on Beckham's money or a Court of Appeal judge's salary, I'd have two or three Gretsch 6210s, including the Brian Setzer models. Given the sort of money a Musk or a Zuckerberg has, I'd quite probably have the Fender custom shop build me a dream Strat - though just to be an awkward cuss I'd want them to label it as a Squier!). Working musicians, however, save for those who have hit the real big time, I increasingly see playing mid-tier guitars. Fender Players, Vintage brand guitars (sometimes their 'proshop' versions, an interesting concept itself - It would be fascinating to see how a Harley Benton take on that concept would go). Even some who do have the big money guitars prefer something more 'affordable' to play live. I've come myself back to the mid-price stuff, with Harley Benton a real prize find for both their excellent value and - significantly - the sheer range of left handed options they offer. When I started playing, I wouldn't really have noticed the difference between a US Fender and a Squier. Then I got to a point I could. There comes a time in life, however, when I realise I'm never going to be a rock star, and saving for two years to buy "the best" isn't always the best course of action. I think with experience I've just developed the confidence to know what does the job I'll need it for, to know that, yes, spending x more will give me Y improvement / difference, but knowing whether that difference is worth it to me. It's a nice place to be. Sure, if the lottery win came in, after the big house in Zone 2/3, the new leather jackets and the motorcycle, I'd buy a couple of dream guitars, but there's a certain joy in finding I have as much fun with my HB Junior as I do with my Fenders, at a much lower buy in. Maybe - to circle back to your comment above - it really is as simple as it sinking in that a more expensive guitar won't make me any better a player, and it's all about enjoying playing it rather than any cachet it might have in and of itself. Perhaps it also comes into the mix that although I have (with some to be sold, and others to replace them) about a dozen guitars (including basses and acoustics), I'm buying to have fun playing them rather than to 'collect' as such. If I were looking to 'collect' I'd possibly be more focussed on a specific, maybe bigger, brand - or on keeping some of what I'm letting go (Westones and a Steinberger Spirit in particular) as those are perhaps much rarer than what I have chosen to replace them with.

My loyalty sale HB DC Jnr. At £128, it cost less than I've seen tgem go for used.... I did wonder if QA might be a little more flexible at this reduced price, but the sole flaw I can find is that one of the screws on the back of the bridge is cery slightly angled. As with the MR Classic, the bridge feels a little cheap but perfectly functional; I'm not anticipating replacing it in the foreseeable. In the medium term, I want to add a totey guard for a Johnny Thunders vibe. I'm halfway tempted to switch the knobs for dice knobs as well. Overall, It's ridiculously impressive for the money. Great set uo out of the bix just needed tuning. Not a sniff of fretsprout or a sharp fret anywhere. This is what impresses me most at this sale price. Back when I started playing in 1991ish, the most basic, plywood Strat type cost more than this new (even without taking inflation into account), and wasn't always as good as this. I'd put it on a par with the Epiphone model. To really go a step up, I'd need to be looking at sonething like Maybach or a Gibson; the problem with those is that it always felt inherently 'wrong' to me to take what is by design a simple, budget instrument and inflate it to "luxury" level. The one thing that I'd like to see Thomann do better is to get the TV yellow colour right. I *might* have paid full rather than sale price over this one for that (throw in stainless steel fretsand it would be a given), but all other things being equal, if it was just the colour I wouldn't replace this one with another for that, which auggests it's not really that big a deal.... Thomann dodo a small range of "tribute" guitars, basically unofficial quasi sig models.... if the MR Classic is a great base for a Johnny Ramone tribute, this and the Fat version should surely provide a great option for a nod to both Johnny Thunders and Mick Jones circa 1976/77 especially. One thing I'm really impressed with, as on the MR, is the neatness of the finish around the headstock, where the black facing meets the colour on the rear.