What artists, songs, models, quirkiness do you like about Offset Instruments?
I'm always curious, for guitar sub groups, what about it make the culture the culture to a member.
For me it was metal groups with things like;
- tubescreamer in FX loop.
- Putting EMGs in everything, including telecasters.
- Psychopathically tremolo picking to specific BPMs.
- Scooping the mids.
- Quad tracking.
- Pointy guitars. More pointy, more better.
- Metal Zone and line 6 spiders.
- Tasteless and unnecessary sweep picking.
- "It's harder so it must be better"
- Down tuning below 20hz.
- Floyd Rose locking up our nuts.
- I wrote a new song, do you have Guitar Pro? You'll need it to listen to it.
- You get a super strat, you get a super strat, you get a super strat!
I've taken a cursory look at offset content, beyond the guitar being rhombus like in presentation, and here's what I've noticed.
- A lot of offset guitarists are not using stock pickups. Curt Cobain's signature Jaguar has humbuckers, J Mascis Jazz master has p90s instead of jazzmaster pickups. This can be viewed as inauthentic, even though the artists album work is done with mini humbuckers or just humbuckers YOLO.
- We've got some typical equipment swaps, trashmaster bridge for a master's bridge, MIC/MII tremolo units substituted for American Vintage, or based off my recommendation MIJ bridge (I do have a few Jazzmasster customers). Tuner headstocks that are vintage correct, needing specific drop in replacements (just ream it friend).
- I'm honestly surprised none of you have put vocaloid modifications on some of these larger circuits.
- It's refreshing hearing some of the 24" scale users experimenting with thicker strings and utilizing up-tuned tuning systems. Very different than my infinite down tune metal experiences.
- There's a lot of indie, surf, and more artists. One of the more confusing parts is, if you're not in the ingroup, the headliners like Dick Dale "Misirlou" is shown live on a Strat near constantly. From an outsiders perspective, it doesn't appear that offsets had an impact on the genre.
- Fender doesn't seem to show the love for their offset customers (Jaguar / Mustang / Jazzmaster). At least not right now. 2500$ for a Jaguar, that doesn't come with a bone nut, feels like highway robbery and many of their models forgo the traditional circuit for something more akin to a Strat. The Vintera 70s models look alright, but it feels like pretty slim pickings.
- Once you get out of Fender, Guild Surfmaster, Bilt, St Vincent signature, YY10 & Talman Ibanez offerings, G&L Doheny, Reverend(?), Supro Hamilton(?); the variety is pretty decent, but you're missing a lot of things the metal community has been enjoying like Stainless steel frets, torrefied necks, multi-piece necks, carbon fiber and I don't think locking nuts fit the offset aesthetic, but most offsets (even premium priced) are not coming with bone nuts. YY10 from Ibanez being an exception, along with the ICHI00, Reverend, and the Surfmaster breaking the mold with torrefied necks.
So for you, what's does Offset mean to you?