Parnis mechanical and Parnis automatic watches

Parnis Chronometer - Power Reserve automatic watch

There's that old saying 'you get what you pay for' and that is often true. 

But sometimes what can surprise you, is what you actually get for something you didn't pay over the odds for. Welcome to the world of Parnis watches.

Parnis 44mm Military Aviator Vintage style hand wound watch

You can see any number of 'big name' watches on sale in shops or on-line with often 'big price' tickets hanging off them. But you don't have to pay big money for a nice looking watch. These examples show that.

Parnis 44mm hand wind Bauhaus style watch

With the demise of the majority of mechanical Swiss watches in favour of quartz movements in the 1980s, the industry discarded much of the tooling associated with the 'old' way of making a watch. So where did this technology go? Mainly to Russia and the Far East.

Parnis 44mm hand wind watch with 6497 style movement

With the lower wages and costs of the Far East, this has allowed makers in China to produce watches which look quality pieces at a fraction of the cost of a Swiss made one. The big names survive in Switzerland with their quality and price making some very nice pieces.

Parnis 6497 movement 46mm hand wind watch

The Chinese brands can suffer from rather 'indifferent' brand names, that sound quite comical to the Western purchaser. Parnis, although French sounding might be comical to some. However, joking aside they are nicely made and great value for money.

Another factor that has been overcome by the Parnis brand is the metallurgy, the material in these watches looks very good quality, the casings don't look 'brushed' there are no sharp edges on any I have had and the 46mm above looks even better than the photograph.

Parnis 43mm Power Reserve automatic watch

So the big question is - are they any good? The short answer is yes. The quality and price are there, at the moment these watches are way, way underpriced for what you get.

Parnis 43mm Power Reserve Automatic movement

What you get is a well designed, well made timepiece that is great quality. I have bought a Sewor tonneau watch before and it was cheap, it didn't keep time well. It may have been a bad one but after a few weeks it was not worth me wearing it. 

So I was a bit wary about buying another Chinese made watch, but I bought the silver power reserve at the top of the page used in the UK for about £50 and was surprised how good it was.

Parnis 44mm Hand Wind military style watch

I've run a selection of Parnis watches, most of which are from this page for a few weeks and they are all keeping great time, with each other and a 35 jewel Elysee I tend to wear a lot. 

Another good thing is their customer care is good, having not got the face colour in stock, I was offered a choice of hands on the watch I ordered, you'd have to go to someone exclusive for that otherwise. Most mainstream brands don't give you that.

Parnis 47mm Aviator style watch

The conclusion I have come to with these Parnis watches is that they look good, work nicely, are made and finished nicely and look more expensive than they actually cost. I must say I am very pleased with the ones I have purchased. 

With Elysee watches now going up steeply in price and many of them being made as quartz watches instead of using the Citizen Miyota movement as previously (Parnis uses this movement too), I am left with the thought - do I buy a Parnis watch I like or pay perhaps 5 times more for an Elysee?

I am a convert to Parnis, although I still have a few Elysee watches too. For everyday wear, I think these watches are underrated and unless you are a watch snob with deep pockets who can afford a big name Swiss watch, I'd say that you'd be on to a winner with one of these.

Check out www.mywatchcode.com for best prices on these watches plus also on Corget and other brands, some of the products on this site are not on Ebay, many are though. There are more on Ebay but they are more expensive. 

Fender Mexican Standard Stratocaster Maple Neck review

The Mexican Standard Maple neck - 2018 example

The Mexican Standard Maple neck rear - 2016 example

The Mexican Standard Maple neck peghead - 2018 example

The Mexican Standard Maple neck was retooled at the end of 2014 and the profile was improved and made easier to play, I noticed this on a 2015 Sunburst Standard that I swapped for a 50's Mexican Stratocaster. It was much easier to play than a 2013 standard.

Gloss face on the fretboard and peghead

The Mexican Standard as above is styled on the 1980 'Smith' style Stratocaster redesign necks. These were part of the Stratocaster 'back to basics' type of design that occurred when the infamous '3 bolt neck' guitars were discontinued in 1981. 

The old '3 bolters' suffered from a cost conscious compartmentalised CBS Fender, the 3 bolt guitar quality reputation led many to rediscover the old Pre-CBS guitars or the new impersonators - guitars made in the style of the early Pre-CBS instruments by Tokai, Fernandes, Columbus and many others.

The problem was that the impersonators were making great guitars! Fender CBS wasn't which is why it almost died as a company. The guitars had heavy bodies, U shaped necks, and the contours were not cut deeply, plus the Poly paint was trowelled on thickly.

But in the last glow of fire in the Fender ashes, Dan Smith revamped the guitars to go back to what Fender CBS should have been producing and the so-called 'Smith era' guitars were produced, but it was too late in the day to save Fender CBS.

 Staggered height locking tuners eliminate the need for a string tree

 The 'Smith' style of neck has largely remained in production since, that being a one piece maple neck with skunk stripe and with the small headstock, (bigger CBS type logo in recent years) and truss rod adjuster at the nut end. Essentially the evolutionary next step of the old pre-CBS 1958 neck.

The 'vintage' one piece neck is still made for the 50's vintage and Custom Shop guitars. The vintage is a shallow v and is a nice easy player, not far from the feel of a C shape.

The 'modern' Smith style neck is a shallow C shaped neck, nice to the feel and finished in satin poly lacquer on the back with a gloss finish to the front and the headstock face, the best of both worlds.

The frets are medium jumbo for easier fretting and the radius is a 9.5" somewhere between the vintage 7 1/4" and the modern 12". I find the 9.5" radius an easy to play neck, it is the neck that should have been made from 1973 rather than switch to the U shape, Bullet truss rod style of neck.

 Staggered height locking tuners rear view

I really find no fault with the new Mexican Standard neck, for my recent project guitar I'm using one on I purchased some locking tuners made by Fender and they fitted perfectly, as you can see above.

The price of the Fender neck was high when compared to other Fender lookalike necks on the market, but at least the Fender decal is genuinely applied by Fender and it has other Fender parts that fit without any modification.  

I have found the 2015 Mexican guitars whether Standard or Vintage reissues, of high quality and the feel and playability is excellent. Whether you are a serious part-time player or earn money from your playing, you'd have to go someway to beat these guitars and I've played pre-CBS instruments too. 

If you're looking to build a custom Stratocaster, then these necks are well worth using, the vintage counterparts being made in Mexico likewise if you seek that style for your project. 

Hosco Vintage Pre-CBS type Hank Marvin Fender Stratocaster replacement body review

Hosco Vintage Pre-CBS type Fender Stratocaster replacement guitar body

Bare Alder Hosco Stratocaster body

There are many pattern Stratocaster bodies out there whether you're replacing one or building a replica of an old Stratocaster from the Pre-CBS 1954-65 era.

That old saying 'you get what you pay for' is certainly true, but also to bear in mind that in some cases you are merely paying for the name too. Over the last 35 years I've built and repaired a fair few guitars, mostly stratocaster types including work on Pre-CBS guitars.

To mark my 35 years of guitar work, I decided to build the guitar I had specified and drawn up in 1983. And for this project I chose a Hosco Alder body. So, here's my review of it.

Beautiful wood grain on the rear of the Hosco body

I was no stranger to the Hosco brand name, a few years ago I did a project with a Mexican 60's reissue neck on a Fiesta Red Hosco Stratocaster body. A few years on and I chose a Hosco again as my project basis.

New Mexican Standard neck - a great player and 2018 made.

2015 onwards necks were from retooling and play and feel better than the previously

I had decided to use a Fender Mexican modern standard stratocaster neck for this project and had noted from my research that the Standard and 50's Classic player / 50's Reissue Mexican bodies and necks were interchangeable for fit.

Mid 59 - 65 Pre-CBS Hosco Fiesta red body

In my 62 reissue project a few years back, the Hosco body in this was a very good fit to the Mex 60's neck. With that in mind, I decided this was the way to go for this job. With no finished bodies to hand, I chose a bare Hosco body in Alder and Rothko and Frost paints, their White sanding sealer spray, Fiesta Red spray and a clear gloss in Nitro cellulose.

Right colour and nice finish - undrilled bridge screw location

The body purchased through Axecaster on Ebay was a nice example, it was sanded smooth and would take a minimal final sand to be ready to spray, or you could likely use spray it up with a high build filler and be ok. It has the bridge holes for the vintage Stratocaster bridge already drilled which is useful.

Body primed in white sanding sealer and Hycote hi build white primer

The machining on the body is nicely done, the shaping of the contours is first class and the neck joint is a nice fit to the body. It was slightly less tight than with the 60's neck but within acceptable limits. 

First coat of Rothko & Frost Fiesta Red on

The depth of the body is acceptable as are the contour cuts. I'd started the project a while back with another guitar of which the colour didn't suit what I was looking for so I sold that on and decided to start with a fresh body.

Great colour, looks like Hank's in the daylight

My project is half vintage, half modern, my 35 year old 'design' if you can call it that was to use a more modern 'Smith' Stratocaster neck with the adjuster at the nut end and the larger Fender logo, but in the general style of a modern Hank Marvin Custom Shop Stratocaster.

Start of assembly

The recent Mexican standard neck fits that brief, it is a nice C shape, slim and easy to play with modern radius of 9.5" and slightly more meaty frets.  Pickups would be Kinman Impersonator pickups Hank Marvin style with Gold hardware on the guitar.

Ideal for my project - Fender locking tuners

The Tuners I chose were Fender locking tuners, made for the neck so no need to have to re-drill any holes, they fitted perfectly - always something to be aware of when building a custom guitar.

Kinman Impersonator pickups fitted

Having used many bodies over the years on project guitars, I'd say that the Hosco really does the job for me, they are well made, well finished, certainly for the price they are a good buy. There is always the issue of neck to body fit, I have found that a standard Stratocaster neck by Fender fits which is always the ideal situation. 

Building up in progress - 

Kinman Impersonator Hank Marvin pickups wired

I'd certainly recommend these bodies if you're looking to do a build.

A great resonant guitar - plays nicely and

the Kinmans sound great.