My New Ibanez STM1!

Note: I realize I am ridiculously behind on blogging. I guess I've had a lot of stuff other than blogging to keep me busy lately, and having the currently slightly overwhelming Christmas hustle and bustle isn't going to help. I'll do my best to try to stay on top of this, but I'm starting to fear I might not finish the month with my requisite 31 posts...

Anyway, my new guitar finally came! After waiting MUCH longer than the online store's website said it would take (they suggested only 2-3 days when it actually took more like 10), it finally arrived via UPS on Tuesday afternoon. Naturally, after that much buildup, coupled with the fact that I had ordered the guitar without seeing/playing it in person, I was a little worried I might not end up liking it. This said, there were a few disappointments initially that have started to wear off, most importantly some aesthetic issues that aren't quite as I had imagined from looking at the pictures beforehand. For example, I wanted an all black & white guitar, but the fretboard is a medium brown, throwing the look off for me a bit. And, although the black binding on the body looks nice, it's hard to see when looking at the guitar straight-on, leaving the guitar looking a bit more all-white than I had hoped.

These cosmetic issues are all ultimately insignificant when you take into account that this instrument somehow turned out to be the BEST GUITAR I'VE EVER PLAYED! I don't know how I got so lucky, but although I'm not usually a huge fan of the feel of most Ibanez necks, this one is superb! To be fair, I had tried out another Ibanez guitar with the same neck type prior to purchasing this one and was generally happy with it, but somehow this neck blows the other one away: it's just so smooth and responsive...it makes playing notes so easy that I almost have to change my playing style in order to not overdo it. Add to this the fact that the pickups on the guitar are of the highest quality I can recall ever playing (two Steve Vai Evolutions), and you've got a pretty happy customer. In fact, one of my biggest worries was that the lack of a tone knob on the instrument was going to leave me really limited with my sonic possibilities, but it's now obvious that Sam Totman's choice of these pickups was done with enough foresight to provide ample choices with the pickups just as they are in their three different configurations.

Sure, there are a few things to get used to, most notably the look, the feel of the neck, the sound of the pickups (which requires that I change the EQ settings on my amp from those used with my old guitar), the weight of the guitar (and the fact that it's neck-heavy), and the Floyd-Rose-style tremolo unit with locking nut (which makes tuning that much more tedious when compared with other possible bridges), but none of these things are deal-breakers. In fact, the ease of music-making on this instrument so exceeds any preconceived expectations I had for any potential guitar I might ever get that I'm ultimately just blown away by my find. Definitely worth the money (and the wait)! Now I've got to start making some music to show it off! =)

Christmas Song of the Day: Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You