UK Age verification - Ok, so how does this work with EBay, Amazon and Cinemas?

New UK Age Verification Laws - are they workable?

In April 2018, new Age Verification laws for 'Adult content' websites come into force, but is it just a hurried and unworkable mess or even worthwhile?

Is it ironic somewhat that the proposed 'provider' who will process age verification, is actually one of the world's largest conduits of pornography?

Does this come under the 'you couldn't make it up' style of journalism?

I wonder how this will work in other areas of E-commerce and the internet.

This got me thinking, if you need to be 18 to visit adult content sites, then how does this work when you go to a cinema?

In theory, you'd have to show accepted accreditation meeting a national standard, to prove your age if it was obvious a film's rating demanded it.

(In theory, if an 18 film was showing, you'd have to show a form of accreditation just to get in, even if you were going to see a U film?)

This will put you on a 'data map' just as much as if you buy age verification and go on to an 'adult content' website.

This could be dangerous ground.

In the normal run of things, your computer IP address is pretty anonymous, but now with verification, is it not beyond possibility that this goldmine of potentially highly sensitive information could easily be stolen and used for criminal purposes?

As a 'celeb' for example, or someone with a high profile job role, should someone steal your verification and your transaction data and match it to your profile and any sites by name you visited, this could be very embarrassing for you. 

Data crime is big business, a disgruntled employee able to steal quality, qualified data has a valuable commodity on their hands. 

Anyone then able to exploit this data could hand the criminals an open cheque book, which could lead to compromised people becoming victims of crime and possibly taking their own lives, rather than pay up or have the shame of exposure. Exposure could cost them everything. Literally.

If every site you visit and use your data verification is logged, then this database of information is to the criminal, a potential pot of gold, if they can get hold of this data.

Another question is, if legitimate on-line platforms such as EBay and Amazon sell '18 age' products, will any users of these sites require age verification just to go on there? Even if the visitors are not buying or interested in '18' age products?

This could include sex aids, both of which platforms had these items being listed for sale. 

The question is, ultimately, are we all going to be made to have age verification just to get onto any websites? This seems a bit too 'Big Brother' for me.

The question is, if you are below 18 and want to buy a book for your educational studies from say Amazon, a book which is not containing 'adult content', would you then need an Age Verification registration just go on the site, because the site may contain over 18 material or products? 

Another question is that of competition.

Is it fair business practice to have just one provider of age verification?  That is a monopoly surely?

The most important thing concerning this exercise, is the safety of the data and what the data is being collected for.

Is there any justification in this collection and could this be used against a person?

If someone was unfortunate enough to have to appear in court for an offence, would Age Verification data of their account transactions be used or obtained for use in evidence, perhaps to discredit the person or try and demonstrate guilt?

This again does raise serious questions about this whole process and personal privacy. 

Of course we want to protect those under 18 from certain material but if adult material is available on DVD on legitimate internet platforms that anyone with a debit card or Paypal can purchase, then Age Verification is worthless. 

The material will just  go 'underground' or get hidden away and people will eventually find ways of getting to it.

Indeed the tech-savvy younger people are just the people who are likely to be able to do this, exactly the target group that the legislation is being supposedly designed to protect.

Let us look outside of this argument for a moment and consider Alcohol, Driving,Firearms and Narcotics. Alcohol does have an 18 age limit, we all know this rule is broken on a daily basis.

With most firearms banned and some narcotics being 'controlled' by law and prohibited from ordinary possession, criminals can easily get hold of a gun and drugs are widely available almost openly being sold on the streets and used by younger people even those at school. Underage drivers steal or obtain and drive cars. Regulation does not prevent this at all.

The measures above to protect people are failures, because the prohibited items are able to be obtained by those without the legal rights to do so.

Age verification is one step behind, it will be expensive to do and will largely fail, based on the previous models of prohibition. It also impinges on the human rights of privacy and security for the individual's data which is of far greater concern.

Update:

The proposed introduction of age verification in April 2018 has been quietly put back to the end of 2018, hopefully this puritan notion will be left in the long grass and be quietly forgotten. Perhaps the powers that be have seen that this form of prohibition is unworkable?

When Britain leaves the EU after Brexit in March 2019, we will no longer have to observe EU laws. 

When AI is not AI, when they say AI - artificial intelligence, but mean 'machine learning' - explained.

Futurist and Robotics writer Matt Sanders shows you the dangers of machine learning and artificial intelligence and how they could impact your future life...

Human life and machine integration are fact - 

and machines are replacing more of what we do

It's quite annoying to hear someone on the radio or television talk about 'AI' - that is artificial intelligence and its obvious from their conversation that they actually mean 'Machine Intelligence' when they say 'AI.'

Computers have over the last 70 years since the end of WW2, taken over many jobs that humans do, something that the great Cyberneticist and Macy group member Norbert Wiener predicted, early in the day, when computing became big in those early post war years.

Human behaviour, converted from telemetry data into program data,

can be instantly replicated without learning by experience - as humans do. 

Human jobs are at risk from Machine Learning

More of our lives are being influenced by machine learning - the algorithms collected from our data and the machine made predictions made based on that data that we might 'like.'

The sort of algorithms that on-line retail platforms that Amazon, EBay and many other similar business models use, looks at what you look at and what you buy.

Our Internet browsing data is useful. It is a goldmine to be exploited -  qualified data from purchases made is marketing gold, in data terms. It is proven 'action' data. Valuable and a commodity that can be traded and sold.

General browsing data is valuable too, but this can be diverse in nature and seemingly unconnected. Clearly this can be a minefield for the data analyser that is a 'machine'.

Automation of what are dull and time consuming human operations can clearly be taken over by machine and have been, but now, the machine is moving into the office, having already shown its potential on the production line.

Computers will talk to each other - Humans could be out of the loop

There's no accounting for it - integrated office systems

No job these days can really be safe from machine learning. Or from someone automating software to do the same job.

Take accounts staff, if all the data from suppliers and purchasers were automated with electronic integration, much time and human involvement could be eliminated, as could many jobs. Time reconciling books, collecting and collating paperwork, preparing tax returns, could all be history for humans soon.

And there is no reason why not. If companies integrated electronic data from the distribution to delivery process, integrated with their purchasing and cost centres, it could be largely game over for humans in that process.

This could be a Taxing business

Extrapolate this model out to the Revenue Service and the tax system would be fairer, more accurate and easier to manage. A machine can apply any set of rules to data, it doesn't get it wrong, unless the programming has been done wrong.

This has the knock on effect that it would cut jobs in the tax service, or perhaps redirect jobs away from analysing tax returns, to taking calls about disputed amounts.

True AI is death to humanity. There is no debate here.

True AI is like most creatures, it observes the law of nature, it has to have dominancy -  but it goes further, true AI realises that it can be turned off and it also needs to have a source of power - electricity for example. It learns about protection quickly which will cost humanity dearly.

True AI will quickly establish that humans are a threat to it, they can switch it off and they can also prevent it from migrating outwards to other computers. Expanding the gene pool is what we and animals do, AI would do that electronically.

At present, AI if it 'got out' it would cause chaos to humanity, but in a lot less of a way than if we also had humanoid robots in our society. What AI would do here, is connect to them and establish an army of external helpers. Once AI allies with boots on the ground, boots who can work to a common goal of reproduction, repair and safeguarding of motive power source for the AI co-operative, then it is game over for us.

How a Machine Learning system could 'branch out' if unchecked

Machine learning is algorithmic and self perpetuating unless you impose parameters

The danger to the Machine Learning is that unless it practices cybernetics and imposes 'feedback' into its modus operandi, it would just run away and start analysing anything and everything, ad infinitum.

The data picture would be like a tree structure, as above, it would add node after node of pathways to explore and sub-divide. Would it know when to stop analysing and recording?

So, now you know the dangers of both machine learning and AI. You are now obsolete. Or you might well be soon.

Guitar reviews for You: Fender Custom Shop 56 Stratocaster in Fiesta Red with Birdseye Maple neck.

Fender 56 Custom Shop Stratocaster

Fender Custom Shop's 2015 Stratocaster

The Fiesta Red maple neck Stratocaster is a combination mainly connected to British instrumental guitarist Hank Marvin of the Shadows, perhaps the ambassador that launched that colour guitars into Rock n Roll history and created the massive interest in Fiesta Red Stratocasters in Europe!  

Check out the Shadows version of 'Apache' and their other instrumental work, the way Hank developed use of the tape echo machine as part of his playing was groundbreaking. The early 60's recordings of tracks like 'FBI', 'Man of mystery,' 'The Frightened City' and 'The Savage; still sound great today.

Hank Marvin with 59 Stratocaster from the Shadows first album cover late 1960

Hank Marvin in 1960 with his original Stratocaster

Hank Marvin owned what is said to be the first Fiesta Red Stratocaster in the UK, a 1959 one with the serial number 34346. This was ordered with gold plated hardware and Birdseye maple neck. It still exists, in the capable hands of Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch.

Hank Marvin still uses Fiesta Red Stratocasters, these being built by the Custom Shop

Here, I'm reviewing a 2015 guitar which is in almost unplayed condition, it looks better and newer than an ex-demo guitar from a music shop.

The Fender Custom shop's current offering of the 56 Stratocaster gives you a close approximation to Hank's original, with just a few small differences.

The Ash body and Birds eye maple neck along with the Fiesta Red paint and gold plated hardware replicate the 59 guitar, the differences from there are slight.

The neck is described as 'soft v' but is more a rounded shape and deeper than the 1958 C shape which Hank's guitar had.

It looks a bit more of a handful than the 58 but is surprisingly easy to play. It also has a 9 inch radius over the vintage 7.25 which makes it easier to play up the fretboard.

Fitted with slightly more bulky frets than the vintage wire type, the guitar has a nice feel.

The surprising thing is that he guitar is fitted with a 3 way pickup selector switch, how anachronistic, given that the neck radius has been updated! and for Fender, a bit of a waste as most players will want the flexibility of a 5 way, so why not fit that in the first place and waste money buying a 3 way switch which is so infrequently used and for Fender, having to source a 3 way which is almost ultimately thrown away when a 5 way is fitted?

Electricwise, the guitar is going to have the full size pots and cloth covered wiring of the originals (which is available to buy for those wanting to change to this wire covering type on other guitars).

Pickups are 50's custom shop and do sound nice, they are different in sound to the 57/62 ones I have had on previous guitars. The 50's custom shop pickups don't have the brash edge or 'clang' that the old 57/62 pickups seemed to have from the just post CBS era. 

The old 57/62 pickups do sound 'alive' which I like, the 50's set  on this guitar sound excellent and have the right sound. Pure sonic quality. That said, I have fitted 57/62 pickups to Stratocasters as an upgrade and they do sound good, particularly to emulate the Hank Marvin 60's sound.

So, what is the playing impression? Acoustically, the guitar sounds bright, even though it feels quite light in weight it sounds nice unplugged, even playing up the neck there is no choking which can often be a situation on vintage type radius neck profiles.

Even though the neck feels slightly fuller than I usually go for, it is easy to play right up the neck. The body has the slim pre-CBS 50's contours and is slim where it counts as on my original 1959 guitar and curiously, as on the Classic Vibe series stratocasters. The finish on the guitar is excellent, no blemishes at all and you are paying top dollar for a guitar from this level, it is well worth it.

Plugged in the guitar sounds great, it has new strings on when purchased and I am not sure what they are but I will change to D'Addario 10's when they need changing, strings that work well on just about all my guitars for me.

I played the guitar through a Vox AD60 amplifier which was to replicate a late 50's early 60's clean sound and also through a VOX Tonelab Studio version, against backing tracks of instrumental 60's music it sounds excellent.

I adjusted the height of the trem arm tip down slightly as I use the arm a lot, it sounds and works very nicely with a light action. An included spring for the trem arm hole is worth fitting as it tensions the arm in the threads, saving wear on the threads and keeping the arm from flopping down.

This is a great guitar and worth the money. There is a price rise coming I am told, so get one whilst you can.

The materials and crafting of this guitar are exemplary.

Pre-CBS Fender stratocasters - what was the best year?

Pre-CBS Fender Stratocasters - the best year was...?

1963 Shell Pink, 1961 Fiesta Red USA 62 Reissue 

The best years for the Pre-CBS Rosewood board Stratocasters were 1959-65. So what differences are there and which is the best year?

This is an early Rosewood neck September 59 on a July 59 body

The change to Rosewood boards on Stratocasters occurred in mid 1959. Likely because the cellulose lacquer on the all Maple boards  in use became worn from repeated finger vibrato and 'string pushing' to bend strings and Fender saw this as a possible issue that might affect sales or warranty claims. The sort of 'wear' you see on some Maple neck 'Relic' guitars.

Another reason is that a separate fingerboard could make production quicker, although the one piece Maple neck previously employed was a real masterpiece of simplicity and great functional design.

The early 1954-59 all Maple guitar necks were a 'U' shaped profile from years 54-56, years 56-58 was a 'V' shape and the October 58 - July 59 all Maple neck was a 'C' shape, a profile that is mostly used on Stratocaster guitars today.

At the same time the neck production was being changed, the Stratocaster pickguards were changed from the white single ply 1954 - mid 59 to the 3 ply 'nitro plastic' guard.

This measure was likely because of the 8 hole single ply guard was prone to 'lifting' at the rear top corner near the bridge - a couple of extra screws and a re-jig of the existing template might have been easier and cheaper as a solution than retooling for a 3 ply guard.

(There are 8 and 10 hole 3 ply scratchplate guards in existence that show that Fender thought that moving to a 3 ply guard alone might alleviate the problem of guard warpage.)

The early 3 ply guards were not without problems, one was cracking, especially near screw holes, there was also the issue of warpage and reaction between the plastics in the 'sandwich.' (The Nitro plastics were also known to react and produce a gas which could dull the chrome plating on guitar parts if the guitar was stored in the case for a long time.)

The cracking was sometimes due to over tightening of the screws, but more often due to the different materials in the ply expanding at different rates, which can happen when a guitar is taken out of a cold guitar case and into a warm room, the expansion rates being different on the Nitro plys, caused unequal movement and eventual stress fracturing.

A change of materials sorted the warpage problem out and a re-siting of screws over the middle pickup area seemed to further help stability. A thin aluminium 'antiference' plate was installed beneath the whole pickguard to cut electrical interference from studio lights etc. from affecting the guitar electrical circuitry causing '50 cycle hum.' 

Headstock logos changed from the 50's version (lower) to the 1960 type (upper)

reflecting the recognition of patents Fender had been granted.

So what are these necks like in construction and use?

The 1959 neck is a nice neck and has much in common with some recent modern Squier guitars for feel and shape - particularly the Classic Vibe 60's series, the 59 used a Rosewood slab board and did away with the walnut truss rod cover and truss rod route channel filler which were used on the all Maple neck.

The necks were refined during the production runs and small changes made to shape and dimensions, as production continued.

1961 Headstock

Rear of 1961 neck with some Birdseye grain showing

fitted with 'Single line' Kluson Deluxe machineheads

7-61 neck date on a pre-CBS neck

(Sir) Cliff Richard holding Hank Marvin's 1960 Stratocaster

Bruce Welch of the Shadows with his 1960 Stratocaster

The 1961 neck had a 1/4" thick slab of dark Rosewood which was slightly curved and the combined neck depth was fairly thin, comparable to a Squier Classic Vibe 60's guitar of today -  in fact I found the CV60's necks almost identical in feel to the vintage 1961.

1961 restored Stratocaster with restored mid 59 Stratocaster

The 1961 was the better year for the 'slab board' Stratocasters and perhaps this is why this profile is used on a number of guitars produced today.

A 1963 Shell pink Stratocaster with curved Rosewood board

undergoing a clean up.

The 63 had the thinner 'veneer' board

1961 ST headstock top with 'slab board'

1963 ST headstock 'Curved' board

The difference in board is clear to see.

The 1963 had 'Double line' Kluson machine heads with 

'Kluson' &  'Deluxe' on separate lines on the rear of the covers.

12th fret neck dot spacing changed in late 1962

to this narrower spacing.

The fret marker dots are known as 'Clay dots.'

Neck here is on a 1963 guitar.

1963 (left) and 1961 (right) guitars

The next change in construction came in late 1962. Likely as a cost saving measure, the decision was taken to change the neck construction again.

Away went the 'slab board's' generous 1/4" plank of Rosewood and in its place came the 1/8" 'veneer.' 

These later necks were often referred to as 'veneer boards', the Maple neck being shaped with a slight radius 'hump' on the top surface to which a thinner piece of Rosewood was glued, thus saving on the more expensive Rosewood. 

British instrumental group 'The Shadows' in 1962

with lead guitarist Hank Marvin (left) & Bruce Welch (Rhythm guitar) right with 1960 ST's

Their use of Fiesta Red Stratocasters created a big demand in Europe alone for the guitars)

Another change during production at this time (around October 1962) was that the 12th fret neck position dots, were moved inwards towards each other around 1/8" of an inch.

The Shadows in the film 'The Young ones'

playing 1960 Stratocasters with Rosewood boards, performing 'The Savage'

 

So what effect did these changes have on the Stratocaster? Having owned a 61 slab board and a 63 curved board, the neck is slightly thicker on the 63 by a minute amount, the 61 is slimmer all round, at the nut  and in profile although they could be made to special order with different thickness of material at the nut.

The Shadows in 1963 with Curved Board 1963 Olympic White Stratocasters

The 62 onwards curve boards had more Maple in the construction so were slightly brighter sounding and the 61 was more bassy and rounded sounding than the curve board and the difference in tone from a 59 'all Maple' to a 61 'slab Rosewood' is evident I found, the all Maple neck has a sharper sound and the 61 slab has a nicely balanced and slightly more sustaining sound.

So, what is the verdict? which is the best? There are a number of factors at play here - playability and feel of the neck, sound, tone and materials.

Most people will go with the feel of the neck and the playability of the guitar. Tone is going to be slightly brighter on a curved board neck but having been able to compare 59,61 and 63 Pre-CBS necks side by side, I would say that the 61 slab board is the best.

It is an interesting fact that you can order 59 Custom shop guitars with Rosewood boards, but the 61 profile is often used on many guitars because it really is the best liked shape.

1961 Stratocaster (top) with 1963 curved board neck (lower)

 

Fender USA AVRI 57 reissue stratocaster 2008 in Fiesta Red review

Fender USA AVRI 57 reissue Stratocaster in Fiesta Red 2008

USA 57 reissue Fender Stratocaster 2008 in Fiesta Red with tweed case

Having been investing in Gretsch guitars in 2016, I have been drawn back to the Fiesta Red Stratocaster thanks to some welcome guitar adverts! 

Recently I purchased a Fender Japan 57 reissue in Fiesta red as it was a rare Japan only guitar and a good one for the collection, which I have reviewed in an earlier page.

Last year I bought a 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod in black but having only played it about once, I thought it time to move on. Seeing this USA 57 reissue for sale, I did a swap.

The 57 reissue package of guitar and accessories is a nice touch

So, what difference is there in the 57 reissue of 2000 and on to the originals from 1983 - 98? Well, a couple of upgrades as such, the headstock has a more narrow profile shape than the original 57 reissues made up until 1998, the 12th fret neck dots are full width as per the pre-CBS 50's guitars and the neck profile has been changed to a shallow V over the C of the 83-98 guitars.

The lower side of the headstock under the logo is more true to the pre-CBS shape now

The 57 reissue Stratocasters were 'revamped' in the late 1990s when Mike Lewis took over Fender marketing and product development. (He has done a similar role with Gretsch guitars recently, which are now made under the Fender company umbrella)

The original 57 reissues were great guitars and I owned five of them, they had a shallow C shape neck which was easy to play, but there were slight details that were not 'bang on' with the original pre-CBS guitars, the 12th fret neck dot spacings were the obvious feature.

My view is that they were made with the closer spacing to deter the guitars as being passed off as 'original' pre-CBS guitars. The headstock shape has been slimmed to more of a 50's original shape.

The 'Tweed' case is loaded with extras and a spare trem arm from the previous owner

The 57 reissue series when upgraded in 1999 for 2000, weren't available in Fiesta red, I wrote to Fender and said that with 2000 being the 40th anniversary of the Shadows' 'Apache' record that created the massive interest in Fiesta Red Stratocasters, the colour should be there, they took notice as the colour mysteriously appeared back in the range on offer, the Candy Apple red was the only red colour previously offered after the 2000 upgrade, now the Fiesta was back!

Plush velvet type finish on the case which is also used on the Custom Shop guitars

I noticed in 2000, when the upgrades had been done that the specification mentioned the neck as being a 'shallow v' shape, which put me off buying one as I had bought Fender Japan 96 Stratocasters which had v necks and I found they didn't really suit me.

I also wasn't in a position to buy one of the new 57's at the time they were re-launched with the new features. I wish I had tried one, I would have bought one and found the money somewhere!

Back view of the classic headstock with Fender version Kluson machines

The price of the 'new' 57's had increased, I purchased new old stock 57's in the late 90's for around £800 GBP, the 2000 ones I recall were around £1149 GBP, I think I saw some for £1249 GBP.

The classic 50's Stratocaster in Fiesta Red

The 57 reissue AVRI is no longer available in that line, the mantle has passed it on to the Fender Custom shop level, where they also make a '56' Stratocaster which has a V profile neck, I did have a Custom shop 59 with Maple neck, which is perhaps the only stock C shape option custom shop guitar in a specific model range, I think that was a limited run guitar though.

The Shadows in 1960 with Hank Marvin and his Fiesta red guitar

Many of the players will buy the 57 reissue in Fiesta Red due to the Hank Marvin and The Shadows connection, the guitars are certainly good for playing that style of music and I found that the neck on the new 57 reissue was easy to play as easy as my 50's Mexican reissue guitar. It feels more of a C shape than a V, even a 'soft' one.

The Shadows first album cover from 1961 featuring the Fiesta Red Stratocaster

Playability of the guitar is very good, although I did do a set up and put D'addario 10's on it as I do on most of my guitars. The pickups sound really good and the neck is easy to play, it just feels a quality guitar and it is made in the USA for those that want that ticket. 

The Mexican 50's guitars are cut in the USA and finished and assembled in Mexico, so they are almost a USA guitar.

The 57 is supplied in a 'Tweed' case which is covered in a yellow fabric with brown pinstripe weave, a staple of the original 54-59 guitars and some Fender amplifier coverings.

The case is high quality and in the original style, although Fender do have a 'centre pocket' tweed case they retail now as an alternative product.

The 57 case has the orange Poodle Plush material and fits the guitar well. It really tops the guitar off.

Sadly the 57 reissue is no longer available in the reissue line, having been subsumed into the Custom Shop product range. So you'll have to hit the second hand adverts to find one made prior to that change, but they are still out there in good condition in used condition.

In the round, I like the guitar, it is a bit of an upgrade over the 1983-98 Mk1 reissues and I would happily own either version, but the 2000 on guitars have the correct visual 'neck dot' placing right, that it seems a shame not to indulge in one! 

For some, the 57 in fiesta red isn't your colour, I love it, so I'd say on sound, playability, build and heritage it is a nice guitar to own.

As a fan of the 57 reissue, it has been a guitar I have wanted to own and have owned since picking up the Fender catalogue in 1983 and seeing them in it. So the marketing does work, but the guitars really sell themselves.

Fender Japan MIJ 50's '57 reissue' in Fiesta Red

Fender Japan 50's '57 reissue' c. 2005

2005 Fender 50's reissue in Fiesta Red

There's nothing I like more than Fiesta red Stratocasters, the red and white is straight off the side of a 1950's Corvette and suits the guitar so well! Up for review here is a 50's reissue Stratocaster usually referred to as the 57 reissue in Japan.

As you can see from the photos, the red varies according to the light, but is more of a 'red' than the 'salmon pink' or 'coral pink' colour of some guitars listed as Fiesta Red.

I picked this one up off Ebay and it was in very nice condition and sounded good out of the box, a quick string change and set up it plays very nicely.

The classic headstock, machines & spaghetti logo

The 57 reissue to use its Fender Japan model name is one of a limited run of guitars made by Fuji-Gen in Japan and not for export. However this gem, has made its way from the Tokyo shores to the UK and it is a nice guitar to behold.

The neck has the 'Crafted in Japan' legend and serial number under the clear coat

The guitar is as most of you will need no introduction to if you've owned a Mexican 50's vintage style guitar. These guitars are based loosely on the Pre-CBS guitars made from 1954-65 as a generalisation, the Japan made guitars are very well made and finished.

Looks great from any angle

This guitar has the vintage style of single coil pickup, a 5 way selector switch as standard and the usual hardware you'd find on the Mexican 50's reissue, including the big block trem block.

The neck is slightly more 'full' on this example from 2005. It is more of a D shape than a C but is nice to play, I use it for single not playing in the style of the Shadows instrumental music so it is fine for that.

The sound is very good and set up it plays nicely. I put  a set of D'addario 10's on it as I do with most of my guitars and they work very well.

With a Mexican 50's ST in the foreground

So all in all a collectible guitar which plays very nicely. These are quite a rare guitar in the West as they were made for the Japan market only.