Guitar Straps

Looking for a guitar strap? There’s a huge selection out there, here are some manufacturers with a decent amount of options. There are in fact so many options that it’s almost impossible to view them all, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to find something you like. Fender If you […]


Superstrat Shopping

I recently got to visit Guitarking in Boekel, the store where I got my Les Paul. It’s a really nice guitar store with a good assortment of higher-priced gear. As I’ve developed an interest in Superstrats, that’s what I wanted to try. I started out with an Ibanez AZ 2402 […]


It’s all about the Neck

To me, the neck is the most important thing about a guitar. It’s the part that’s always in your hand and governs how a guitar feels to play. A neck that is warped or bent will make a guitar unusable. Neck shapes In the early days of guitar building, the […]


State of the Superstrat

Lately I’ve been learning and playing several songs that use high gain and the vibrato – not ideal for single coils and blocked vibratos. This has gotten me interested in Superstrats. While there’s no formal definition of what a Superstrat is, I’d consider the following points to be pretty much […]


Fender American Vintage II Stratocaster

Fender has just announced the American Vintage II series, including of course Stratocaster models. The American Vintage was Fender’s vintage-spec range from the 1980s until early 2018, when it was replaced by the American Original range – a somewhat controversial move, as the American Originals eschewed strict vintage specs, going […]


A look at the landscape of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras

If you take a look at the current digital camera market, it’s clear that DSLRs (digital single-lens reflex) cameras are on their way out. Modern sensors that allow continuous readout at high frame rates and on-sensor phase detect auto-focus have eliminated the need for the mechanically complex and large mirror […]


Wildlands Emmen May 2022

Some pictures taken during a visit to Wildlands Emmen, the Netherlands’ newest zoo. It is divided into three areas (jungle, savannah, and arctic), with all of them having been given a nice thematic look and feel. I still feel that it struggles a bit with wanting to be both an […]


Blue Stratocasters

Blue is my favorite color, the Stratocaster my favorite guitar, so it’s time to take a look at blue Stratocasters. The original custom colors Upon the Stratocaster’s introduction, the standard color was what is now known as Two-Tone Sunburst (black and yellow). In 1959, this was changed to three-tone sunburst […]


Fender 2022 Stratocaster lineup

US-made (“MIA”) US-made Stratocasters are built in Fender’s factory in Corona, California. The finish is generally polyurethane, except on the Originals, which are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer. With the exception of the American Performer, they all come with cases. American Performer The American Performer Stratocaster is Fender’s entry-level US-made Stratocaster, […]


Painting Tau infantry

The Tau (or T’au, as they are written now) are my favorite Warhammer 40K faction – as a matter of fact, they are the only faction that interest me both from a lore and a visual standpoint. I’ve long resisted the urge to start a Tau army (I even own […]


Airbrush essentials

I’ve got a bit of a love/hate relationship with airbrushing for painting models and miniatures. You can get great results, but you need quite some time for preparation and especially cleaning afterwards, so you probably want to plan an hour or so for an airbrush session. There’s also a learning […]


Review: AK Interactive weathering pencils

I recently stumbled upon AK Interactive’s weathering pencils. They look like normals pencils, but are made of a waxy substance that is water-soluble. To get this ouf of the way: The ads make it sound like they might be The Best Thing Ever, but they are certainly not magic. Getting […]