There’s an MTV-U? And Kevin Smith’s on it?

Yeah, really. There’s MTV, MTV 2, and now MTV U. Considering that the last time I ever actually watched MTV with interest was in 1991 (I never really liked MTV even when I was the age at which I was supposed to like MTV), I’m not suprised that I was unaware of MTV U, a new MTV station focused on the college student. I was also suprised to find out that Kevin Smith, director and writer of great cult films like Chasing Amy, Clerks, and Clerks 2 is writing and producing webisodes for the MTVU website. They’re basically comedic shorts reporting on cool things you can do on the weekends when not studying for class. The segments focus on things like a Haunted House in Arizona, a nerdy computer rapper, and Roller Derby with hot chicks. You can check out all the webisodes HERE. (The topics really don’t apply to me anymore since I’m getting ready to hit the big 3-0 in February, but I like Kevin’s self-depricating humor.)

Strat-Alternative Explanation

I’ve had a couple people ask me, “if you wanted a ‘Strat-like’ guitar, why not just buy, well.. a Strat?” (Meaning a FENDER strat since “Strat” is actually a trademark of Fender.) I have several answers to this question, but the ones that matter are 1) Fretboard Radius, 2) Tremolo design, and 3) String Trees. Let me explain in greater detail below :

1) Fretboard Radius – the fretboard radius is the roundness that the fretboard has. It is measured in inches, based on an imaginary circle in which the fretboard is a section of the circle’s circumfurance. The lower the fretboard radius, the rounder the fretboard. The higher the radius, the flatter the fretboard is. Rounder fretboards are more comfortable to play, but flatter fretboards are more precise and intonate better. (Bending a note on a rounder fretboard can cause the string to “fret-out” killing the sound, this doesn’t happen on a flatter fretboard.) For the most part, modern Fender Strats have a radius of 9.5″. Over the years I’ve become accustomed to a 12″ radius neck, and prefer it. So, that’s strike one against the Fender.

2) Tremolo Design – The Fender synchronized tremolo (tremolo is actually a Fender-created term for Vibrato) was revolutionary for it’s time, but hasn’t really changed since its creation. The tremolo connects to the body and pivots via 6 screws. Unfortunately, this causes tuning problems because using any aggressive vibrato can cause the tremolo to bind on its screws knocking your tuning out of wack. You’ll notice that when Leo Fender left to create G&L with George Fullerton that one of the first things he updated was the tremolo to a 2 stud design that holds tuning better. Strike 2 for Fender’s strat.

3) String Trees – Their primary purpose is to guide strings toward the tuning pegs, and to keep even tension across the guitars neck’s nut. The problem with string trees is that a lot of times when the tremolo is used the strings can become snagged on the trees (and sometimes the nut) creating tuning problems. Many moden guitar manufactures get around having to use string trees by angling the headstock back thus keeping even tension on the nut and preventing string-snag. Strike 3 for Fender.

Now, please don’t take this post as an assualt against Fender. Fender makes an excellent guitar, I’m just making note of 3 things about the Strat that bothers me. There are a bunch of other things about the Strat that I love. (It’s versitility for example. I also love the “C” neck shape.) Many people (if not most) that buy a Strat buy it because it’s exactly what they want. They want to buy a guitar that was around in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and for the most part is exactly the same. They want a true representation of a “Classic” guitar. (It would be like being able to go to the Ford dealership and still be able to buy a new 1969 Mustang.)

So, about my purchase… I bought a Parker P30, which is essentially a lighter weight, differently shaped Strat. It remedies 2 out of my 3 Strat complaints. 1) Fretboard Radius : The Parker has a 10″ – “13″ compund fretboard radius. 2) Tremolo Design – This one didn’t get remedied. The Parker has a 6 screw trem, but I don’t plan to use it much anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. (I have other guitars for hardcore Trem action.) 3) String Trees : The Parker has an angled headstock which eliminates string trees. So, for $519 I get the great verstility of a Strat without 2 of my 3 Strat peeves. I think I made out well.

New Guitar

I’m selling my Peavey Wolfgang hardtail on eBay, and it’s already had its reserve met. So, I went ahead and purchased its replacement, a brand new Parker P-30. It arrived today and it’s an excellent guitar for the price. It has a single-single-single pickup configuration with a traditional Fender-style synchronized tremolo. The pickups have great tone, and the action on the compound radius neck is smooth.

It does have a couple quality issues, but neither have anything to do with playability. (On one spot on the body, the pickguard doesn’t sit flush against the body, and the volume and tone knobs are pretty cheap.)

All in all, this is a great guitar for $520. It’s just what I was looking for as a Fender Strat alternative.

MySpace – Yikes

I created a MySpace account today. Several of my friends have a MySpace account, and I realized if I want to be able to read their MySpace pages, I need an account. While I was in there I went ahead and filled out my profile, even though that’s not really required to look at other MySpace members’ pages. Let me just say that MySpace.com must have one of the most horrendous user experiences of any web service I’ve encountered. Aside from the fact that the site is just plain ugly, it’s UI is laid out very poorly, and is very user-unfriendly. Switching between your Home page, and viewing your profile requires that you use your browser’s back button. There is no link from your profile page, to any of your profile settings. Inviting people to be part of your network is a huge hassle. I spent probably 15 minutes just trying to figure out how to do it, and once I figured it out I thought that the process was bloated and inefficient. Also, the search engine used for searching for people on MySpace isn’t very powerful. You can search by name, and then can only narrow your search by geographic location. How about further narrowing your search by keyword? Or age? That would come in very handy. I found myself clicking through pages of search results for my friend April, because I didn’t know where she lives now, but new she was a couple of years older than me. Narrowing the search by age would have helped a lot. (I’d also like to note that in all my searches, probably 80% of all the people that came up were in the 14-21 year old age group.) I don’t like MySpace at all. For the most part I feel that it’s just the new web-trend for exhabitionist teenagers.

Geez, I’m getting crotchity and old. If I’m not careful I’ll be yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn…