They apparently released the Randy Rhoads MXR Distortion+ pedal today w/the limited edition graphics. I'd been waiting for this, but honestly, I'd forgotten it was coming out. I checked my local dealer - they weren't showing it. I saw it on Sweetwater, then it was gone from there. Don't know if they're getting more, but they're now showing the page that they show when something is no longer available, not just out of stock. I found one at Chicago Music Exchange - and the wait begins!
ETA: My local dealer updated their page, and they have one in stock. I told my wife I was still glad I ordered from CME because I'd have hated to get ready, drive to my dealer, then find out they'd sold it, and then driven home to find CME was sold out. On a whim, I looked at CME's page - sold out. So really glad I got in when I did.
ETA: Never mind. Headed off to the ZZ Top show tonight, checked e-mail after the opener, and I had an e-mail from CME that said they "may" have had an error in their system that allowed them to oversell what they had, so they don't have a pedal to fulfill my order. MAY???? Either this successful business couldn't handle a simple inventory task, or I'm not getting the truth. Either way, I'm not getting the pedal, and I'm pissed because I could have had one elsewhere. I know several folks on the PRS board who've had very good things to say about CME, but they're 0-for-1 with me, and it's going to be a long time, if ever, before I give them a chance to go 0-for-2. I never thought I'd say this, because Randy is a long-time influence of mine, but right now, I don't want anything to do w/anything Rhoads related.
Man that’s too bad! I did buy a PRS SE Paul’s Guitar in Red that was a demo for a good price from CME a few years ago (also have one in greenish blue).
I also love signature pedals and have EVH ones and a Malmsteen.
_________________ "Every day a little sadder, A little madder, Someone get me a ladder."
ELP
“You can't have everything. Where would you put it?”—Steven Wright
Another update. The day after ZZ Top, after I ranted and raved on the PRS board, somebody posted in DMs that their local store had not received their shipment yet. He'd confirmed that they were coming in, and he had dibs on one, but there were more available. Shortly after, he posted that the pedals were physically in the store. So I called, but they contract their mail orders to another company, so they couldn't sell one over the phone, but they should be on either the Reverb store or their eBay site later that day. With mixed feelings I opened both pages on my phone before I headed out to see Dweezil Zappa. About 15 minutes before showtime, I decided to one last check even though they hadn't shown up all day. Sure enough, there on the eBay site was the pedal - with the notation "last one". So I pumped my fat little thumbs as fast as I could, and I got my order in. Saw a confirmation e-mail later that night. As soon as I completed it, I texted my wife and said I had mixed feelings - glad I got one, but I also felt like maybe I should have sat it out because the whole experience left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. My wife texted back almost instantly - "No, you did the right thing."
I'm not going to believe it's happening until the pedal actually arrives (tracking says Monday), so, fingers crossed.
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
Much like the Mayer Silver Sky, I'm going to be very curious to see what they come up with. I have the Myles Kennedy model mentioned, but it's not really what I'd call a Tele model. It's got the superficial appearance similarity, but it doesn't play or sound like a Tele to me. I've never been able to find a Tele that I can get along with. But I felt similarly (but to a much lesser degree) about Strats - I had one, but Strats never really grabbed me. There was always something missing compared to what I heard in my head. The Silver Sky blew me away, and I ended up buying it. Maybe that'll happen here, too.
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
I'm not going to believe it's happening until the pedal actually arrives (tracking says Monday), so, fingers crossed.
How did this go? Are you happy with it? I hope so.
I realized when I posted the PRS thing that I never followed up on this.
The pedal actually arrived!!! I didn't fully believe until I opened it and looked at it. Unfortunately, that's as far as I've gotten with it - I've been working on something else that was basically all acoustic guitars, so I haven't even taken the pedal downstairs yet. Hell, I even have a new amp that's been here for about two months and hasn't made it out of the box because I need to shuffle some things around.
But I did see a "used" RR pedal listed for $700!
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
Guitar Player magazine is going digital-only. Sad day for me - I've been reading it for over 40 years.
Quote:
It is with regret that as of the date of this letter we are having to make a difficult decision regarding the future of Guitar Player magazine. We will be closing as a print title to focus our efforts on bringing you the best in guitar-related content every day at our website. Visit GuitarPlayer.com, where we will carry on the legacy we’ve built over the past 58 years. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your loyalty and support of Guitar Player magazine.
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
Hmmm. Got an email from Fender, mentioning they're celebrating their 70th anniversary. Apparently they think that means people want to buy an $80 sterling silver guitar pick?
Me: Ken, let's try Words That Will Come Back To Haunt Me for $600 please.
Ken: The answer is "If they make one of those in purple, I'm probably going to cave."
PRS SE CE-24 Sandblasted series. They sold the first one they got in before I even had a chance to think about it, then got a couple more. This year, though, I exercised rare patience and willpower and waited to see if they ran a sale like they did last year, when I bought an SE about three weeks before they announced a 20% off sale for the rest of the year. Seems there may be something to that whole patience thing because they announced a 15% sale last week, so I went to the store, tried it out, and brought it home. It's a pretty cool guitar, and the SE pickups don't bother me so far. Even the SE trem seems better than I remember. So, for now, no upgrades, but subject to change in the future. And I love how this store treats me - the guy asked me if I played 9s or 10s. I forgot that the SEs ship w/9s, so they put 10s on (my choice of strings) and set the guitar up for those, which I'd have had to do myself when I finally realized. The guitar played better than when I tried it. Very cool.
The other development was that I asked if I could try it through the MT-100 - 100w Mark Tremonti signature amp. I've been wanting to try one because it has three channels - the clean and lead are essentially the same as the MT-15, but the middle channel is based on Mark's Dumble amp. I wasn't sure if I'd like that because Dumbles were very much personalized for the player buying the amp, and I think Tremonti has said that he's had two and one was great and the other didn't fit him at all. So they set me up in the big amp room and closed the door and said, "I'll be back to check on you." At this point I should say I don't really need another amp. I should also point out I don't need another 100w amp.
I think I need this amp. It sounded glorious. The clean and lead were exactly what I expected, so no surprises. But the "Dumble" channel - my god. It was so good. And, true to Doug Sewell's usual designs, it's very responsive to touch and guitar volume. It would be very easy to run this channel as a one-channel amp and control the dirt and grit with just the volume knob on the guitar. No, it doesn't get as clean as the clean channel that way, but definitely clean enough. And the dirt very nicely fills that lower-gain/classic rock grind area that the lead channel doesn't fully grab. And with a boost or overdrive in there, I'd imagine it would sound fabulous.
I have a feeling it's going to be difficult to wait to see if there's an Experience next year before I cave on this one.
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
PRS announced two 40th anniversary models today. First up, the 40th anniversary Custom 24.
Quote:
Built on the tried-and-true foundation of a mahogany back and neck with artist grade maple top, the 40th Anniversary Custom 24 boasts a retro violin top carve, PRS “Old School” birds with outlines, and PRS “Pre-Factory” headstock eagle, all of which pay homage to early PRS guitars. Outside of these aesthetic attributes, the 40th Anniversary Custom 24 is looking ahead with its all-new PRS DMO Treble and Bass pickups. DMO pickups (DMO standing for Dynamic, Musical, Open) were spec’d by Paul Reed Smith and the PRS New Products Engineering team to have a wide open sound with vocal character.
Other classic Custom 24 appointments include the PRS Gen III patented tremolo, PRS Phase III locking tuners with wing buttons, and PRS Signature 10-46 strings. This limited edition also features a ziricote fretboard and headstock veneer.
I have not seen a price on these as yet, but they're limited to 400 pieces.
The other is the 40th anniversary Dragon.
Quote:
The PRS Private Stock 40th Anniversary McCarty Dragon embodies the spirit of PRS, showcasing stunning visual design and uncompromised playability and tone.
“When I was a teenager, I had a dream about a guitar with a dragon inlaid down the neck. That dream became reality for the first time in 1992 and has since become an important part of our history. For our 40th Anniversary, we have chosen a McCarty model as the foundation of the Dragon, which is only fitting considering the original 1992 Dragon was the beginning of what would become the McCarty model. I’m proud to bring these two, now-historic, PRS designs together.” – Paul Reed Smith, Founder & Managing General Partner, PRS Guitars
The PRS McCarty model was first introduced in 1994 and was essentially PRS’s first 22-fret, vintage-leaning instrument. Featuring a slightly thicker mahogany back, stoptail bridge with brass inserts and steel studs, and PRS’s new McCarty III pickups, the Private Stock 40th Anniversary McCarty Dragon is not just a work of art, it is a professional-grade, musical instrument. Every inch of the stoptail bridge is designed to maximize the transfer of the strings’ vibration through the instrument and the McCarty III pickups amplify that tone with a lush, vocal quality that is warm, clear, and open.
The visual draw of this guitar is the extraordinary dragon inlay drawn by Jeff Easley, a fantasy artist famous for many Dungeons & Dragons rulebook covers, and designed and recreated as inlay by the team at Aulson Inlay. The Dragon is comprised of more than 200 pieces of inlay in an array of materials, including Blue Pacific Opal, Brown Scale Juma, and Gold, Black, White, and Brown Mother of Pearl. The inlay extends onto the truss rod cover and visually leaps off the pale moon ebony fretboard. The Private Stock Eagle inlaid on the headstock is made from Black with Gold Web and outlined in Gold Mother of Pearl.
I've long wanted a Dragon, but unfortunately the availability and finances have never lined up. $17,500 for this model, limited to 165 pieces. I am glad to see this version returns to the aesthetics of the earlier models - some of the later models got a bit too garish, with the inlays covering a large portion of the body of the guitar.
FWIW, Brian's Guitars in CT just got in a collection of 12 Dragons from the early runs. Those are selling in the $27,500-50,000 range, so they do appreciate in value due to the rarity.
_________________ Alan
"This is a true story, except for the parts that didn't happen." - Steven Wright
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