whitestrat
Well-known member
Heh... I actually went this time with a very open mind. I tried a whole bunch of guitars, and found out some interesting things about my own tastes.
First stop, was the Rock Inn at Shinjuku. These guys USED to be an EBMM dealer, I think. I've seen balls there a couple of years back, but now, they're mainly Ibby, Fender and Gibby dealers. Went there, and tried a few PRSs and a few Suhrs.
Big surprise. The PRS customs and McCartys weren't as nice as I thought. the feel and sound of the guitars paled in comparison to the gorgeous 513 I tried. I swear, had I had sufficient funds, I'd be back with one! Except, the neck carve was a little thicker than I'd like. This was probably the nicest PRS I've ever tried. that pickup variations were the shiznit!!!! I think PRS really has a winner with this product. But it's bloody expensive, and I'm not sure I'm ready for an investment like this now.
Then came the Suhrs. Tried the Pro series S3 and S4s. Erm... ok... next please!
Really, I was grossly underwhelmed with these. The construction was fantastic. QC was so well done, but the guitar sort of lacked something. The comfort level wasn't there, and the neck was awful for me. It was bulky, squarish and flat. Sort of like a really THICK Ibanez wizard neck. The Suhr was the one that really nailed the coffin shut. I wanted an SSH guitar. There was only one model left to consider. But I'll get that that later.
So I went to another store in Akihabara. Revole. Under the Ikebe Gakki chain. This one was dissappointing. The guitars were oddly NOT well maintained. The necks were dusty, and the frets were mildly oxidised. Normally, for a local store in Singapore, I'd expects this. But for Japan, this was a first! The brand (EBMM) was badly represented, and there was not a lot of effort to make their guitars look good. everything was clutter. I tried a Silo and a Silo Spec. I was in the market for a black Silo Spec with RW. But this one was badly maintained, and it just killed the experience for me. So, I walked over to the Music Vox store opposite, and tried a well upkept JP7. I had always wanted a JP7. But after 10 mins with it, I realised, I wasn't a 7 stringer... Hahahahaha...
But no black or even RW silo spec in this store, though the guitars here were much better kept. This was the store I had bought my very first ball: a JP6MD.
So I moved on. I thought, since I wanted a ball, why not go straight to Ochanomizu where the Ball distributor was? Skip Shibuya, which might also just be another waste of time, and go straight there.
So I did. I went to Ochanomizu (which is really near Akihabara), and walked along the street called Meidai-dori (for those who plan to get there). From the JR line train station, it's on meidai dori, and you have to go all the way down (I think about 2 blocks) until you hit a YWCA, then it's just a couple of stores AFTER that.
Gakki Center. This was EBMM heaven. I asked the sales guy when I went in: "Musicman doko?" He smiled and waved at an ENTIRE WALL. This was a HUGE wall of back to back guitars and basses. There this pretty young thing that served me. Nice girl. Heh. Initially didn't have glasses on, then she suddenly appeared with them. Odd. Hahahaha...
I must have tried like 7 to 8 guitars. From the black sparkle Luke to the tobacco burst Y2D thru a MESA! And they were nothing except patient! I had 2 favs. The Axis, and the Silo Spec. But I didn't want to deal with an FR, so I went for the silo spec. It was a tough choice of colours. Hmm... White? Candy Red? Pearl Blue? Just no black. Hell they even had Mr Horsepower!!!!! (but I didn't ask to try it. I think they'd say no.)
But no, I stuck to the specials. It was a choice between 2 pieces. Both oddly, had some mild but nice flame on the back of the necks. But the one I picked was REALLY resonant. It just rang and rang and rang... Damn!
The other one was odd. I THINK whoever prepped that neck for the other one was a guitarist, who likes to use his thumb to fret notes. The edge of the neck on the bass side was more bevelled than the others, and it was obvious that it wasn't a mistake. It made the neck feel like it had "rounded edges" or so Fender likes to call it. Someone in the ball factory is building guitars the way he likes them. Heheh...
But every, and I meant EVERY ball in this shop was in pristine condition. the frets were shiny, necks were clean (even the maple ones!) CLEAN! makes you wanna buy one or two on the spot!!!! The service was really good, brand was well represented, and they had everything. (though they had more pickguards for basses than guitars ) The guitars felt EXPENSIVE.
I bought my guitar, and they cleaned it up really well even though the only dirt on it was my own finger prints. Bought a few straplocks in chrome and one in gold (my local dealer only has black!!!??!?!?!?!) It was raining, and they even wrapped up my flight case to prevent the guitar from getting wet!
So here it is: My FIRST ever red guitar...
BP, you guys have gotten yourselves the RIGHT guys to represent you in tokyo. Kudos to Gakki Center...
http://www.gakkicenter.com/
First stop, was the Rock Inn at Shinjuku. These guys USED to be an EBMM dealer, I think. I've seen balls there a couple of years back, but now, they're mainly Ibby, Fender and Gibby dealers. Went there, and tried a few PRSs and a few Suhrs.
Big surprise. The PRS customs and McCartys weren't as nice as I thought. the feel and sound of the guitars paled in comparison to the gorgeous 513 I tried. I swear, had I had sufficient funds, I'd be back with one! Except, the neck carve was a little thicker than I'd like. This was probably the nicest PRS I've ever tried. that pickup variations were the shiznit!!!! I think PRS really has a winner with this product. But it's bloody expensive, and I'm not sure I'm ready for an investment like this now.
Then came the Suhrs. Tried the Pro series S3 and S4s. Erm... ok... next please!
Really, I was grossly underwhelmed with these. The construction was fantastic. QC was so well done, but the guitar sort of lacked something. The comfort level wasn't there, and the neck was awful for me. It was bulky, squarish and flat. Sort of like a really THICK Ibanez wizard neck. The Suhr was the one that really nailed the coffin shut. I wanted an SSH guitar. There was only one model left to consider. But I'll get that that later.
So I went to another store in Akihabara. Revole. Under the Ikebe Gakki chain. This one was dissappointing. The guitars were oddly NOT well maintained. The necks were dusty, and the frets were mildly oxidised. Normally, for a local store in Singapore, I'd expects this. But for Japan, this was a first! The brand (EBMM) was badly represented, and there was not a lot of effort to make their guitars look good. everything was clutter. I tried a Silo and a Silo Spec. I was in the market for a black Silo Spec with RW. But this one was badly maintained, and it just killed the experience for me. So, I walked over to the Music Vox store opposite, and tried a well upkept JP7. I had always wanted a JP7. But after 10 mins with it, I realised, I wasn't a 7 stringer... Hahahahaha...
But no black or even RW silo spec in this store, though the guitars here were much better kept. This was the store I had bought my very first ball: a JP6MD.
So I moved on. I thought, since I wanted a ball, why not go straight to Ochanomizu where the Ball distributor was? Skip Shibuya, which might also just be another waste of time, and go straight there.
So I did. I went to Ochanomizu (which is really near Akihabara), and walked along the street called Meidai-dori (for those who plan to get there). From the JR line train station, it's on meidai dori, and you have to go all the way down (I think about 2 blocks) until you hit a YWCA, then it's just a couple of stores AFTER that.
Gakki Center. This was EBMM heaven. I asked the sales guy when I went in: "Musicman doko?" He smiled and waved at an ENTIRE WALL. This was a HUGE wall of back to back guitars and basses. There this pretty young thing that served me. Nice girl. Heh. Initially didn't have glasses on, then she suddenly appeared with them. Odd. Hahahaha...
I must have tried like 7 to 8 guitars. From the black sparkle Luke to the tobacco burst Y2D thru a MESA! And they were nothing except patient! I had 2 favs. The Axis, and the Silo Spec. But I didn't want to deal with an FR, so I went for the silo spec. It was a tough choice of colours. Hmm... White? Candy Red? Pearl Blue? Just no black. Hell they even had Mr Horsepower!!!!! (but I didn't ask to try it. I think they'd say no.)
But no, I stuck to the specials. It was a choice between 2 pieces. Both oddly, had some mild but nice flame on the back of the necks. But the one I picked was REALLY resonant. It just rang and rang and rang... Damn!The other one was odd. I THINK whoever prepped that neck for the other one was a guitarist, who likes to use his thumb to fret notes. The edge of the neck on the bass side was more bevelled than the others, and it was obvious that it wasn't a mistake. It made the neck feel like it had "rounded edges" or so Fender likes to call it. Someone in the ball factory is building guitars the way he likes them. Heheh...
But every, and I meant EVERY ball in this shop was in pristine condition. the frets were shiny, necks were clean (even the maple ones!) CLEAN! makes you wanna buy one or two on the spot!!!! The service was really good, brand was well represented, and they had everything. (though they had more pickguards for basses than guitars
) The guitars felt EXPENSIVE.I bought my guitar, and they cleaned it up really well even though the only dirt on it was my own finger prints. Bought a few straplocks in chrome and one in gold (my local dealer only has black!!!??!?!?!?!) It was raining, and they even wrapped up my flight case to prevent the guitar from getting wet!
So here it is: My FIRST ever red guitar...
BP, you guys have gotten yourselves the RIGHT guys to represent you in tokyo. Kudos to Gakki Center...
http://www.gakkicenter.com/
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