😇 Geartalk 2026 😇

Geartalk 2026 is a huge update from Geartalk 2025, which shall be left in the past for future references. The biggest change is that I have parted out and sold away most of my pedals, because I'm returning to the Line 6 era of my life again.

Fender American Ultra II Stratocaster in Vintage Sunburst

Retails for $3499 @ Swee Lee // Bought brand new in Japan for $2922 (inclusive of airport fees)

Finally, I own the most iconic guitar in the world, a true blue Fender Stratocaster in Vintage Sunburst. I have nothing to say except that I am extremely happy to own this guitar! Bought in my May 2025 Japan trip from Ochanomizu music street, the best in the world! Plays like a dream to be honest!

Gibson Les Paul Standard 50's in Heritage Cherry Sunburst

Retails for $4590 @ 35 Guitars // Bought brand new in Japan for $2700 (inclusive of airport fees)

I cannot be more proud of being the owner of such an amazing guitar! A Gibson Les Paul is a must-have in any guitar player's arsenal. Unfortunately, I spent a big bulk of my life not having one because it was mostly out of my budget, until I went Japan in January 2025 and got to buy a brand new Gibson at an insanely low price. With stainless steel frets from SWAT Customs, this guitar is here to stay for the rest of my life.

Taylor 314ce J-Spec

A normal 314ce retails for $3549 @ Swee Lee // Bought brand new in Japan for $3000 (inclusive of airport fees)

This is one hell of an acoustic guitar. After playing the Yamaha FSX830C for 8 whole years, I can now truly tell the difference between laminate wood and all-solid wood constructions. The 314ce just rings for days. And to top it off, I got the J-Spec version during my December 2025 Japan trip, perfect for my electric guitar hands! This is the final guitar in my Japan 2025 adventures!

Yamaha FSX830C

Retails for $779 @ Yamaha Singapore // Bought brand new for $662.15 @ Yamaha Singapore

A very classic and affordable entry-level acoustic guitar. You'll never go wrong with instruments from Yamaha. This acoustic combines great looks with great playability, and have served me well for the past 7 years. With a higher-end acoustic guitar on my watchlist for 2025, this Yamaha guitar will hopefully be taking up a backseat soon! Edit: It is already in the backseat!

Squier Affinity PJ Bass

Retails for $479 @ Swee Lee // Bought 2nd-hand for $340

The mandatory bass guitar of my collection. Ever since I played a full-scale bass guitar, I can never see a short-scale the same way. So I got rid of a short-scale I used to own and got this Squier PJ as my bass of choice. Absolutely love this no-nonsense bass guitar!

And then after guitars, we arrive at guitar PEDALS! In the world of electric guitar, we cannot escape the world of pedals. And for 10 years, I owned an analog board. Recently, Line 6 announced the Stadium XL and I'm once again pivoting back to the Helix family.

Line 6 Helix Floor

Retails for $2099 @ Yamaha Singapore // Bought 2nd-hand for $1000

Okay, truth to be told, I have history with the Helix Floor. I owned one for the longest of time and sold it off to return to the analog pedal world. In 2024, I chanced upon a Helix Floor for an absolute crazy price of $1000 and I knew I had to get it. I really miss the times I can mess around with patches and change scenes on-the-go, something analog pedals can never provide. This Helix Floor will ultimately be sold in favour of the Stadium XL Floor.

Line 6 POD Express

Retails for $275 @ Yamaha Singapore //  Bought brand new in Japan for $250

This was one pedal I wanted since its release, but it was always out-of-stock, together with the Boss IR-2. I managed to snag one in the same Japan trip I got the Gibson from. This pedal is more of a plaything for me as I seldom leave house with my guitars anymore. But it's a fun little box that I occasionally use for fresh tones.

Pedals aside, I do have OTHER gear worthy of mentioning as well. These gear also costs quite a hefty sum and shouldn't be left out. Monitors, headphones and accessories, are all things that makes my guitar ecosystem run.

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohms

Retails at various locations for a variety of prices // Bought online from Lazada at $209

Classic headphones for all things guitar. Been a while since I owned this pair of headphones. I have yet to find a good reason to change it or upgrade it. But seeing how dirty it has become over the years, I may have to start looking for alternatives soon.

Fender Mustang Micro Plus

Retails for $169 @ Swee Lee // Bought brand new @ Swee Lee

Honestly, I really don't know what's my obsession with buying all these alternate forms of amplifications. Line 6 POD Express and now this Mustang Micro Plus, even though I already have one Line 6 Helix Floor. Oh wells, at this point, I can safely say my money too much. HAHA.

In 2026, I'm expecting way lesser changes than back in 2025! I have very little things to sell off now and very little on my wishlist. Although I have to say, I'm saving up quite some money so who knows?

Edwin Ang

I've Been Gone For Awhile

I was sad, but today, I am happy.

Today is new guitar day. And it's the final piece of the puzzle I need in life. Welcoming the latest addition to my gear, the Taylor 314ce J-Spec!

Walked into Osaka's Shinsaibashi, Miki Gakki Acoustic Inn feeling hopeful and walked out feeling grateful. It wasn't my intention to buy the guitar this early in my overseas trip, but when I chanced upon this particular guitar, I heard it calling my name.

Deep down, even after seeing all of the nice MIJ Yamaha guitars, I know for a very fact I'll be bringing home a Taylor. I just didn't know which model. I know I don't want a 214ce or below because of the laminate wood, which my FSX830C at home already is.

A normal 314ce would set me back well below my SGD3K budget, so I was really looking at getting a 414ce or spend a little more for a nice 514ce. Both of those guitars didn't appeal to me as they are just a 314ce with different tonewoods.

When I laid eyes on this 314ce J-Spec priced a huge chunk higher than the normal 314ce, I knew this is it. Looked it up on Google and found out J-Spec literally means made for Japanese hands. The neck is much thinner compared to a standard 314ce, almost the same as my Fender electric guitar. Crazy!!

Other than neck size, everything else is a standard 314ce. Dayum!

Compared this guitar with a 314ce Studio and a 414ce Studio. The Studios are nice, but I hate the look of them. Summoned my brother from his shopping spree to come test out the guitar as well. We both love this 314ce J-Spec, so I made it mine.

This model comes with the Aerocase but I added on a hardcase cause I really don't trust airlines with cases, however soft they are.

It was a tumultuous journey since I got my first acoustic guitar, some Aria guitar. I switched to a Maestro Protege soon after. Then after 2 years I upgraded to the Yamaha FSX830C and it's been a solid 7 years with it.

Today I did the final upgrade to a 314ce and I think this is my end-game acoustic. I'll just advance on the electric guitar side from here on out. So so excited to put this acoustic guitar into action soon!

2025 was such a great year. I saw 3 new guitars enter my life, each from a different trip to Japan. With this, my life is complete (says Edwin Ang since 2014)!

⏩ The Way Forward

It’s the 4th quarter of 2025 and I’ve yet to make good of my music journey. One post per quarter on average isn’t looking good, but at this stage of life, I’m not aiming to look good.

For all of you (if any) following this blog till this post, you will know that I spent many, many years building pedalboards. The latest iteration, was my final build, for the last 4 years. Pretty insane to not change anything on my pedalboard considering it is the way of life for us electric guitarists.

I had a plan to never ever dismantle this version of my pedalboard because I loved it all so much. Oh, and also because I am in no need of money at this stage in life. My next stage of life does include plans to move out of Singapore, to live in the bigger world out there. In order to do so, a rule I have to follow is to have very little belongings. A pedalboard essentially breaks that rule.

I have sold away a lot of things in the recent months, and this pedalboard is one of the final few. I am no longer service for church, so it’s natural my gear sees very little use these days. Time to move on with life I guess.

Below is the total (predictive sales included) amount I can get back and transfer to the new Helix Stadium once it is released:

Line 6 HX Stomp - Sold for $700

Pedaltrain Metro 16 Frame - Sold for $60

Dunlop Mini Volume DVP4 - Sold for $120

Boss WL-50 - Sold for $180

Xotic SP Compressor - Sold for $150

Fulltone OCD-Ge - Sold for $180

Zvex Distortron - Sold for $70

True Tone Onespot CS6 - Sold for $90

Line 6 Helix - Selling for $1000 (yes I plan to sell this as my final sale)

Patch Cables - Sold for $70 wholesale

Total: $2620 if all goes well

Of course, I do have a backup plan, and no, it isn’t the Line 6 Helix Floor. Close, but it’s not. In 2025, Line 6 announced the Helix successor, the Line 6 Helix Stadium. That, my friends, is the way forward. 

The Stadium is listed at USD 1800 for now, so converting to SGD will set me back around at least $2300, which is not too bad considering I still earn some money from this big sale. Moving forward, this will not only get me another (hopeful) 10 years of Line 6 support, but will also let me easily port my tones over to another Stadium system overseas if ever need be.

I do plan to only get the Stadium instead of the Stadium XL for simplicity sake. I've recently learnt to live with less and in doing so, do more in life. Till the next update, goodbye!