André Fontes

From 2018 onwards, the Standard 24 line-up is manufactured in the Cor-Tek factory, Indonesia. It has a 3-4 piece mahogany body, 3 piece maple neck with a set neck construction, 24 frets, the PRS unique 25" scale length, two G&B 85/15 "S" humbucker pickups (the same used on the Custom models, as well as the US-made S2 line-up), a master volume and a master tone push-pull pot that coil splits both pickups in order to play in single coil mode. The neck is what PRS calls "wide thin", feeling slightly thinner than a modern Fender Strat but very familiar to those coming from this type of guitars (to me, a sweetspot not overly thin or chunky). The guitar is currently available on see-through blue, cherry and tobacco sunburst. Last year, a limited run of exclusive colors was released, all lacking body binding, one of which is the satin black model I own. There's also two more expensive exclusive versions, the "Schizoid" and the foil special finishes. It's worth noting that, unlike the past models, the current line-up is made in the same factory as the more expensive Custom series, has the exact same hardware and electronics (including the same pickups and coil splitting functionality, an upgrade from the previous, less desirable pickups they came with). Visually, all models have the staple PRS bird inlays, the "Paul Reed Smith" logo on the headstock, body and fretboard binding (the latter is lacking on the Custom models). Overall, the only differences between the Standard and Custom series are the lack of a maple top and veneer, the lack of an included, branded gigbag and nearly $300. Prior to my purchase, I've also played a Custom 24 and this one felt on par in terms of sound, feel and overall quality. The only difference was in terms of weight, being the Standard 24 lighter - a plus to me. The guitar feels very comfortable and well balanced, benefiting from a well-thought and functional design; the upper fret access is really nice and you can easily reach all frets, being the neck heel thing and front-forwarding enough not to be an issue. Tone-wise, this guitar is very Strat-like, being bright and clean. Unlike a Strat, this doesn't tend to get harsh or overly bright, and is also very versatile for clean, light and medium gain scenarios. When coil-split, both pickups sound very clean and pronounced, though getting a noticeable reduction in volume. Quality-wise, this guitar is overall very well built and came almost perfectly set up, only with some very slight buzzing on the lower frets on the low E string; the intonation was spot on, the string action right at 1.6mm at the 17th fret and the fret ends nicely rounded over for comfortable playing. The only quality faults I've noticed was the less than perfect finish around the fretboard binding, the paint going ever so slightly over it while the satin clear coat slightly lower than the pain, but being a very minor issue to worry (even if you have mild OCD like me). The worst aspect in my opinion was the synthetic nut, whose slots were cut too deep, and although being technically the correct string action in relation to the first fret, makes the 9 gauge strings it comes with too loose in the slots - this ends up causing the guitar to get out of tune when you use the trem and would really benefit of an upgrade. Overall, I'm very happy with this guitar. It's built just as nicely and offers just as much as the considerably more expensive Custom model, and even considerably better than similar more expensive guitars I've pondered to buy (namely, an LTD EC-1000).Well worth the price, it's a great option if you want a solid and reliable instrument that is versatile and comfortable to play.

This guitar was mass-produced by Squier and only included on beginners' packs, making it a very common and cheap instrument on the second-hand market. There were two different productions of it, the early 2000s easily identifiable by the letters CAE at the beginning of the serial number (which was a sticker that tended to fall off), a neck skunk stripe and a simple white pickguard, and the latter late 2000s - early 2010s model, identifiable by the letters CXS at the beginning of the serial number (engraved on the back of the headstock), lack of a skunk stripe, satin-finished headstock face and either a pearloid or tortoise pickguard. Both runs were made in China and considered equal in quality, apart the visual differences. In either case, just don't even bother to pick the amp that came alongside them, a Squier SP10, perhaps one of the worst sounding and least reliable amps around. The most notable aspect of these guitars is the fact that their dimensions are the same as of the regular Fender counterpart (43mm nut length, similar-feeling neck profile and the same body thickness), making it a much preferred option over the otherwise equivalent Affinity and Bullet segments. The body is made out of agathis, the neck is made out of maple (some models were granted beautiful flamed maple necks) with a rosewood fretboard. Hardware-wise, this guitar is certainly workable, with decent Squier-branded tuners and a generic 6 screw tremolo bridge, whose main problem is the thin, hollow block that can only hold 3 springs - given the body has the same thickness of a regular Fender Stratocaster, most metric 6 screw replacement bridges will fit, including the Fender Mexican Standard bridge. The electronics department is by far the worst part, with the ceramic pickups all having a resistance in the mark of 3k (I know, I've also found it weird when I've measured it) and scratchy out of the box mini pots. This guitar sounded notably thin and harsh, to me. If you're willing to spend some money, this may be the most economical and promising Squier platform, if you find one for cheap. I've bought mine brand-new and have owned it for 6 years and it plays, sounds and feels great 150€ later. I've recently compared it against a friend's Fender Mexican Standard and, though I absolutely didn't expected that, I've preferred mine over it, having both an identical weight, the contours of the Squier perfectly matching up the Fender and I've even preferred the slightly thinner neck of the Squier - It only lost in the looks department, regarding the not so pretty neck finish and the seams of the multiple body pieces showing through the color.

APC (acronym for António Pinto Carvalho, the brand's founder) guitars are all made in Portugal, in their factory in the city of Braga. This model corresponds to the mid-range line-up of classical guitars of the brand, and features a solid cedar top (all the instruments made by the brand feature a solid top, the price range only dictating the wood's quality) with laminated walnut back and sides, a mahogany neck and an African blackwood fretboard. It has the traditional Torres scale length of 25,6". It comes with an APC-branded pre-amp, though the brand offers a Fishman Presys as an option for an extra cost - the base system includes a pretty decent tuner and both a regular jack as well as a XLR connectors. The guitar is very well built and aesthetically pleasing, with multiple-pieced wooden binding in the body and fretboard. I play the classical guitar on a college group and this guitar is very identical to the Alhambra 3C guitars we have, both specs and sound-wise. The action is what I'd consider normal for a regular classical guitar; the neck feels quite chunky and certainly not the most comfortable I've played. The frets are vintage-styled low and thin, making the fingertips touching the fretboard. I've had mine for over an year, but was purchased second-hand from the first owner, who had it for 2-3 years. Though it's been played outside (and at night-time) numerous times, it has no signs of neck twisting or bowing. It comes with a plastic nut and saddle, which were upgraded to bone pieces by a luthier and made the guitar noticeably louder, clearer and more resonant - quite an advised upgrade if you buy either this or an equivalent guitar. Overall, I find this a very good playing and sounding guitar and, despite having Alhambras and other guitars made by local luthiers to my disposal in the group, I always prefer to take mine for presentations and festivals. Overall, this may be a great purchase, though the beefy neck, thin frets and longer scale length may be deal-breakers to some players. The best part is, it sells new in Portugal for about 260€, almost 1/3 of the cost of an equivalent Alhambra 3C CW around here, plus it's made in an European country in the same brand's factory that makes the custom-ordered luthier guitars, rather than in some Chinese factory building guitars for a dozen different brands.

As a fan of the brand since my college days, I jumped right into the opportunity of buying a rather rough around the edges Dinky XL - the top of the range MIJ model of the early 90s. For reference, mine's a '92 by the serial number, sold in '93 and spec'd accordingly. For those hunting 90s MIJ Jacksons, be aware that, as most guitar runs from Japan in the 80's and 90's, specs got more and more frugal as time passed by. I'd say mine hits about jackpot of desirable features - besides the J-92C humbucker on the bridge, the second hottest humbucker Jackson has ever made, a ceramic magnet model that sounds great, it's also paired with the Schaller, made in Germany JT-590 Licensed Floyd Rose bridge (a very rare spec, limited to the '93 run, downgraded to the in-house built JT580 the following year), uniquely stamped Charvel (properly Jackson in some models), only used on their very high-end offers. The necks on these are also some of the thinnest of any Superstrat, though that also comes at the cost of increased risk of twisting - make sure to check for that prior to your purchase. Being from before they looked at expenses, you also get a feature you can only dream of getting in Custom Shop models, these days - real mother-of-pearl inlays. Do they make your guitar sound any better? No, though they look super neat and, next to any other guitar sporting the now mass-produced pearloid alternative, you'll grow to appreciate them. Those also pair to usually beautiful Indian Rosewood boards, which you can enjoy resting assured nothing's more sustainable than a second-hand item. After adjusting and setting it up properly, it stays in tune very well. The Floyd Rose bridge is very durable, judging by the amount of wear on my guitar while it remains in impeccable mechanical condition; any parts can be directly replaced with Schaller replacements, too. The single coils deliver a very welcomed punch that pairs well with the humbucker that I've praised enough. The whole thing is pretty lightweight, balances well and provides great upper fret access, thanks to the extreme front and back relief carvings. Mine required some TLC, yet still plays great with uber low action, remaining all original besides the tremolo arm, originally lost to time, and some plastic bits. Even the least nice parts, namely the plastic blade switch and output jack, are original and functioning fine 30 years later. The prices of these are reasonably skyrocketing, so don't miss a chance to one out if you find a good deal. I've owned and played several other Jackson models, from a '96 DX2 (which feels familiar and has the same thin neck profile, though much more barebones), a '07 Fender-era DK2M which was great, yet not on par with this, and even a JS30, which despite not being a bad guitar at all, played in a whole different league - the XL, however, was the keeper.

It would be quite unfair to attribute to one of the first mass-produced distortion pedals, used by countless artists such as David Gilmour, John Fusciante, Kurt Cobain and many others alike and, to this day, what is said to be the best-selling effects pedal of all time, anything other than a solid 5 stars. While this pedal stood the test of time and its capabilities have been proven for over four decades, it still faces some criticism online and, regarding those, it's important to figure two aspects: first, its ideal uses and limitations - this pedal can pump so much distortion until it gets a bit out of hand, so you should think of it as a pedal best intended for Hard, Punk and Pop Rock, rather than Metal. Unlike other distortion pedals that can boost more distortion, this best works in complement to your amp's own tone, achieving the best results if its gain is in that point where it's beginning to clip, rather than having it achieving the dirty tone all by itself. Secondly, all the artists who have used it over the years give you a great base ground to its capabilities, and so if you like the tone of a particular DS-1 user and want to enter into that territory, a DS-1 is an affordable and plentiful pedal you can get, and then make use of the widely available resources online regarding specific settings to achieve different tones out of it, given its sensible nature (one of the reason some players give it bad credit is exactly due to setting it up poorly, given the more sensible controls), and then experimenting from that point. In the same sense, that info also gives you an idea what sort of tones it's best suited for, and whether a different distortion pedal would be more appropriate for your intended use. Finally, it's worth mentioning the DS-2, usually priced just a bit over the original DS-1, that can emulate it, as well as taking advantage of the "turbo" functionality. Before purchasing this one, I had tested its sucessor from a friend and while the DS-2 can definitely pump out more distortion, allowing you a whole new range of possibilities, if you desire to play among the tonal range of the many aforementioned players, the regular DS-1 would serve you just fine.

A tuner pedal is, by my experience, a must if you play gigs. Easier to read and less susceptible of vibration interference from other instruments (looking at you, drummers), they can also double as a kill-switch to swap guitars, for instance. If you're on a budget, though, the price of the more popular contemporary options - Korg's more recent Pitchblack, Boss' TU-3 or the well known Polytune - can be scary, yet affordable no-name options can be of dubious quality and longevity. These older DT-10 models can be found for very cheap second-hand and provide the best of both worlds, being attainable while proving themselves as dependable and accurate. This unit is made of solid aluminium and said to be as accurate as the Pitchblack. It's also very easy to read under sunlight and - the cherry on top - has a built-in buffer, great to compensate for your long-ass cable. Compared to the usually equally priced TU-2, it's more accurate and easier to read. It does have the major downside of being overly large, taking up about 1-1/5 of a typical pedal's footprint. Besides, it also lacks the possibility to daisy-chain power cables, if that's something of your interest.

The main concern one would have with this unit would be that, perhaps, its claim it offers 5 **isolated** outputs isn't true at all - well, according to some bloke who did one for the internet and tore one of these apart, it offers exactly what it promises! This isn't particularly small - not unlike the slightly pricier HB offerings - it doesn't offer any higher voltage above 9vlts of power, and the power cable is built in, so you'll have to wrap it around some bit of your pedalboard, or else have it tangling around. However, its simple nature and reliability to what it predisposes to offer are great and honest, and so is the small price tag for someone who doesn't need a very complicated setup nor carries around a huge stomp box apparatus. If you only have a couple of pedals - the tried and true, 9vlts of power kind - and wish the extra reliability of not having to deal with disposable batteries, this may be a no-brainer for you.

If you own or are looking into getting yourself a Yamaha PS-20, odds are you - much like myself - want to reach the kind of tones that define the first albums of the band Beach House, that used one of these extensively. Because - again, much like myself - your potential purchase will likely depend on that factor above any other criteria, I'll segment my review in three paragraphs: the first regarding my experiences with this synth as fan memorabilia, secondly in regard to how well it serves me as a musical instrument in terms of expressing myself in the vibe of Beach House and, finally, a more objective standpoint on how it compares with newer and/or cheaper gear you could've gotten yourself instead. Despite never having learned how to play the piano prior to this purchase, I've always been interested into it and finding a hot deal on the iconic instrument behind one of my favorite bands proved to be the ignition to get it and learn it. The different voicings offered (as well as some of the drum machine beats) have, obviously, the Beach House tunes ready at your disposal. However, as it happens with most vintage synths, you'll come to find it doesn't sound exactly as you hear on the recordings - built-in effects was something unheard of at this time, and Victoria Legrand herself was seen using effects pedals in her signal chain, so do expect a drier and more sterile sound out of the box. Besides that, it's still a relatively easy keyboard to find floating around, the quest to get one yourself depending more on how much you're willing to spend. In the end, it's not everyday you can own an identical instrument, made within the short timeframe and in the same plant as that used by one of your favorite artists. Given my point in regard to the lack of built-in sound processing, some post-production or, at least, the inclusion of effects pedals is expected if you want to accomplish the reminiscing tones that likely brought you here in the first place. It's pretty easy to record this one, with good quality audio coming out of the headphone jack, and in my experience with my band, you can easily tweak its sound at your preferred DAW much to your liking. Finally, in a purely objective regard, if you just want to sound like Beach House but don't want to drop the ridiculous prices these go for at your typical online sales sites, you may very well be better off using any MIDI keyboard and a well-known, relatively cheap plugin that mimics it very well. This synth won't take a lot of space (perhaps just a tad more than a typical 49 key organ, due to its side-mounted speaker), but be mindful it's rather heavy in comparison to modern digital keyboards (there's an ongoing debate on whether this is digital or analog I lack the expertise to answer). It seems very well built and mine help up fine over 40 years of use with nothing more than a noisy volume slider that went away with use, but be mindful it was still, in essence, a lower-end learning keyboard which is way past the presumable expected lifespan - yours may need some TLC from a competent tech, as with anything its age. All in all, it serves well if you wish for what caught Victoria's interest, according to some of her interviews: some cheesy, lofi 80s voicings that, while not sounding great or even like the instruments they intend to simulate, do have the nostalgic feel of what we imagine of the music back then. It's an old, fairly limited instrument that offers no more than what affordable plugins can give you much more conveniently - but it does so in a rather classy and amusing fashion that some will certainly appreciate and be attracted by its charm.

I've briefly owned and brought back to life a 2007, made in India model, that was in pretty good condition, though had been neglected by the original owner; later having sold it to a friend. I'd say this is a really good playing guitar with a lot of potential after a setup (for some reason, someone at the plant considered it was a good idea to have the high E saddle moved all the way back, completely messing the intonation). The hardware is okay apart from the bridge, which feels quite cheap and poorly made in comparison to higher-end alternates by OFR and beyond, though it did serve the job. Other than that, everything feels solid and only the output jack needed replacement. The pickups were surprisingly good, these unassuming ceramic, passive humbuckers can be incredibly versatile and sounded very pleasing to my ears. They can be coil-split, which I did through a push-pull pot during my ownership and do consider a worthy mod to do. The bad: for starters, the cedar body was very heavy, which is surprising because that's supposed to be a lightweight wood. it was also cut as a simple slab of wood, lacking the front and back upper fret access carvings Jacksons are known for. Also, the choice of a 22 fret neck to spec it out may turn away some players wishing to downtune this one. Finally, and the biggest letdown for me, was the neck profile, which is on the thinner, modern C style and very familiar to those coming from the Strat world, but definitely not the ultra thin kind of deal classic Jacksons had to offer. All in all, I'd say this is a worthy pick if you find one for the right price, perfectly suiting in stock form and only benefiting from some mods, though don't expect to get the full Jackson experience out of it, instead feeling more like a generic Superstrat guitar.