SCANDAL at PlayStation Theater, New York City 09/05/2018 REPORT!

Image from SCANDAL's official Facebook

10 years after their first concert in the city, Japan's all-female rock powerhouse SCANDAL finally returns to New York! This is part of their "Special Thanks" tour of North America, for fans who don't often get to see them in a live setting. What follows is my show report, as I've done after all five shows of theirs that I've attended (the previous four in Japan). I had a VIP ticket to this one.

What did that VIP ticket buy? Well, early access to the venue and merchandise, and most importantly, a meet & greet with the band! SCANDAL never do this in Japan, so I couldn't pass up the chance.

You can get an idea of the makeup of the crowd from the above pic of the line. This was the two sections of the VIP line - I was told initially that the other section was General Admission and was a little confused when they were let in first, but no, they were the VIP's too. They're people just like us!

Unlike the past four SCANDAL shows that I've been to, this time I was by myself. I'm fine with going to concerts alone and this is not my first time doing it, but I had nothing but my phone to take my mind off the oppressive heat while standing in line. (The photo above may look like it's indoors, but it's more like an open air garage - actually worse than being on the sidewalk because there's no wind!) I was already drenched in sweat before entering the venue, which didn't help my nervousness about meeting the band. "Luckily" there was still about a 30 minute wait inside before getting to them, in air conditioning.

I'm going to do something I normally don't do here and post a photo with myself in it, because it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime occasion:

Yes, I'm a huge doofus, literally. They look great while I look like the Jolly Green Giant. And what do you do with your hands in this situation?! That's a dilemma I hadn't considered! I had to laugh when I first looked at this picture afterwards (at myself, certainly not them!). I'm 6'4", but I look about 7 feet tall in this photo. It's like a bad Photoshop job. But no, it's real. And it's proof that I met SCANDAL and I am really happy to have it.

There - all fixed!

Everyone had about five seconds at the meet & greet, which I expected. I had come up with some short things to say that I thought they'd understand in English like "welcome back to New York!" and "you guys rock!" and "have an awesome show!" I'd given up the idea of trying to say anything in Japanese because I knew I'd never pull anything out of my head quickly enough. But in the end, all I even managed in English was "Hello!" while walking in and "Thank you!" while walking out. They repeated both back to me with big smiles and waves and were very friendly - they seem like nice people! They'd probably have been ok with me saying a few more things, but I was a little star struck.

After the meet & greet, I kind of expected I'd be handed an "exclusive gift" that I'd seen advertised for some of the US shows, but no - no one got anything, and the staff knew nothing about it. (Other people online seem as confused about this as I am, so it's not just me.) Well, since I was at least satisfied that I didn't miss something, I shrugged it off for the moment, still happy to bask in the afterglow of having just met the band, and took my place on the floor.

This is not much different from where I was when I saw them in Nagoya, about 4 people deep and right between Haruna and Mami. Very close! I didn't think I cared about being so close this time because I've been that close before, but when I saw the space available, I couldn't resist. And once the show started, I was glad I ended up there.

Image from SCANDAL's official Facebook

The venue itself seemed pretty full from where I was by the time the show started, although I couldn't really tell if the crowd filled all the way to the back wall.

Unlike at their Japanese shows, photos were allowed at this venue - though with only "non-professional" cameras, which means no interchangeable lenses. (And no video.) My phone is the best non-professional camera I have right now, so it's the only one I brought with me.

The show started on time and began with a thunderous rendition of "Shunkan Sentimental". A real crowd-pleaser and tone-setter right from the start, and a good sign for the set list to come! In fact, no need for suspense - here's the full set (from Scandal Heaven - I didn't write it down myself):

01. Shunkan Sentimental
02. Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne
03. Stamp!
04. Your song (English ver.)
05. SCANDAL BABY
06. Platform Syndrome
07. OVER
08. FREEDOM FIGHTERS
09. Morning sun
10. Departure
11. Koe
12. Sisters
13. Koisuru Universe
14. Electric Girl
15. LOVE SURVIVE
16. Take Me Out

Encore:
17. Shoujo S
18. DOLL

Great choices, I thought, and a decent length to the show - although it felt very short! It was a rock-heavy set, which suits my tastes. And SCANDAL, unlike many bands, fully embraces their history and never seems to tire of playing their past hits, even while mixing in new ones.

They blasted through the first four or five songs without a break before finally pausing for a short MC. Their energy level right from the start was very high, jumping around as much as I've ever seen them, and they seemed to be in a good mood. The MC segments, if you're wondering, were very short, because they don't speak a lot of English. But they (mostly Haruna) did their best, sometimes mixing English and Japanese, sometimes speaking only Japanese but using hand gestures and sound effects (which was funny!) to make a point. But none of the few MC segments were longer than a couple of minutes.

They did mention their previous New York show several times - the first overseas show they'd done - and said because of that, playing here felt like "coming home". At one point, Haruna asked if anyone had been at that first show - when one fan raised his hand, she asked, "are you a liar?" I personally discovered them just about a month after that show - maybe it was even reading about it that turned me on to them - so I've been a fan for nearly as long as they've been around, but just missed their NYC debut.

Since a New York show by SCANDAL is not exactly an everyday thing and I'd basically paid extra to be close to the stage, I decided to do my part to give them a good show and make it worth the trip for them. I've been in bands and it really is true that the band can feel (and see) the energy from the crowd, and it affects the effort that the band puts in and the way they feel about that show afterwards. So, especially being that I was alone and not worrying about what anybody around me thought, I went pretty much all out with as much energy as my own now middle-aged, lanky body could muster up. (I wasn't middle aged yet when I first started listening to them!)

Image from SCANDAL's official Facebook

I was drenched in sweat again by the middle of the set. Luckily I had brought my old SCANDAL towel with me, and bought a second one at the show to swing around. (I don't want to fling my sweat at the rest of the crowd.)

The first five songs in the set all seemed pretty well known by the crowd, and many people even knew what they were supposed to do - if you've never seen a Japanese band live, there are specific actions for different songs that everybody does in unison. Jump at certain times, wave your hands at certain times, yell "Hey!" at certain times, clap at certain times. In New York, obviously not everybody knew those things, but a lot of people did, and those of us who did led the rest of the crowd.

I felt a little bad for the band during "Platform Syndrome", "OVER" and "FREEDOM FIGHTERS", though, because clearly most of the audience just didn't know them. I do know them but I didn't know what to do during them... so I just did my best. A lot of people just stood around listening, but I think those are some of SCANDAL's best songs ever, so I was still in full bounce mode. I guess most of their US fans just haven't bought those albums. If you haven't, do it!

"Morning Sun" and "Departure" felt like a break for both the band and the crowd, and I definitely needed it. I've noticed that they often put a couple of slow songs in the middle of their longer sets, probably for just this purpose. It's also when I was able to take the few pics that I did - it was one of the few times peaceful enough to do it! Again, I felt like "Morning Sun" was probably over some of the crowds' heads - did some people just stop buying SCANDAL albums after "STANDARD"? But I love that song. I'm not as into "Departure" but I know some people are, and more people seemed to know it.

The back half of the set kicked back into overdrive (no pun intended) beginning with "Koe", which I failed to recognize at first and the crowd took a strangely long time to react to. (In Japan, this song always causes an immediate eruption. According to the band's own fan club poll, it's their second-most popular song there, next to "SCANDAL BABY".) I think the band might have slightly altered the intro, but it's hard to remember. When we all did finally recognize it and began rhythmically clapping during the first verse, Mami smiled, looked around at the crowd and nodded as she sang.

Image from SCANDAL's Line blog

"Sisters" came following a short MC in which Haruna dedicated the song to New York City (I'm not quite sure why), and without an acoustic guitar she created a new quiet electric intro that led to a funny moment when an audience member blurted something out just as the intro began. Haruna abruptly stopped, looked at the audience member and said "Really??"

Throughout the set, being so close to the stage and one of the tallest blades of grass, I got plenty of eye contact from both Mami and Haruna. And whenever Haruna looked at me, she smiled - no doubt because I'm a big, goofy guy who was going nuts. I've been this close to them before but never seemed to catch Haruna's eye; I think this time I was just able to give her something fun to watch. Especially in the songs where not many other people were doing much.

And I like to think I was partially responsible for the little burst of extra energy she seemed to muster towards the end of the show - she was really going crazy herself by the time "Love Survive" and "Take Me Out" came around. I don't think I've ever seen her jumping so much, and the only time I've seen her scream and come to the front of the stage so often was in Nagoya. She was uncommonly aggressive, especially during "Take Me Out" - a song that I have no real feeling for on the album. But it just goes to show how songs can take on new life when played live, as all of the band were bouncing around the stage like Super Balls. It was an awesome close to the main set.

Image from SCANDAL's Line blog

The encores were expected, but the song selection was a surprise. I didn't expect them to do anything with choreography on this tour (not sure why... playing in America plus getting older plus generally de-emphasizing choreography over the past few years, I guess). So when they launched into "Shoujo S", probably their most famously choreographed song ever, I just about lost my proverbial shit. It was the extended version with the solos for everyone - the only time Rina was really able to do anything directly for the crowd, but one of several moments when Tomomi was able to show off her frankly amazing skills on bass. And yeah, they did all the choreography they've ever done for that song live (which is a bit less complicated than the video, but not much), and they still look like they love doing it.

Image from SCANDAL's Line blog

Closing with "DOLL" seemed appropriate but was still unexpected - normally they have only one towel-waving song on a tour, and I'd heard that "Electric Girl" served that purpose on the recently concluded Asia tour. But "DOLL" is the original towel-waving song, and it was their major label debut, so closing with it on this tour is kind of a love letter to the fans, and seemed an intentional book-end to their two NYC shows 10 years apart. By the end of the song, I could barely even keep my arms in the air. I will say that I was the only one in my area of the crowd waving a towel, but goddammit I didn't care. That's what you're supposed to do during that song! I know the band appreciated it.

Image from SCANDAL's Line blog

The band did an extended goodbye like they do at one of their big special shows, and when they walked off stage, I could see them high-five each other backstage. They may always do that, but like everything else at this show, it looked particularly forceful and with real emotion behind it.

Overall, this was the most raw and most into it I've seen SCANDAL in some time. I wrote in my last show report from Tokyo in 2015 that they'd almost become too polished for a live house setting, but at the NYC show they seemed to embrace the casual venue and let it all hang out. And no one can connect with a crowd like they can. Seriously, no one. Even across the language barrier. Rock music is a universal language anyway.

Let me close by saying (admitting?) that after all these years - and it has been a lot of years now - SCANDAL can do no wrong in my eyes. Trust takes time to build up, and I admit that they almost lost me a few times, what with their occasional forays into rap and pop. But I've grown to trust them completely as a rock band - after 10 years, it's obvious that there's no one more genuine. They've come a long way and done a lot of different things since that first NYC show in 2008. And I know that whatever they do in the future, I'll always be a fan.

As usual, a couple of random notes that didn't really fit in elsewhere:

• The actual sound at the show wasn't great. This was almost certainly a venue problem, not anything the band had control over. If you were there and it was your first SCANDAL show, just know that they usually sound better from a technical perspective. In fact, their great live sound is something I've talked about in my other show reports.
• The merchandise available at the show can be seen on the SCANDAL official Facebook. They also had "HONEY" CD's, but nothing else extra. (If you're going to a later show and don't have it, buy "HONEY"! It's great!) I personally bought the XL black t-shirt and a towel. I recommend buying a towel, unless you have a SCANDAL towel already. As mentioned, there's always at least one song, and in this case two, where you're meant to wave your towel around.
• Haruna's short hair actually looks pretty badass live. It bounces around and gets in her face and makes her look even more like a rock star, if that's even goddamn possible.
• I was pleasantly surprised by their tour outfits! Last time in the US, they wore what looked like street clothes. Their current outfits suit their image better, and look more "designed" and coordinated. I don't ever expect them to go back to stuff they wore in the distant past, but their current outfits are an improvement over jeans, overalls and football jerseys.
• The old Squier signature guitars were mostly absent - though I was happy to see Haruna break out "Skullsilver" for the encores. I think she still likes it! Mami only played her black Strat, from what I remember, while Tomomi played her navy blue P-bass and her white Yamaha BB2024X.
• The band has to bill themselves as "SCANDAL from Japan" here, because of a certain other Scandal that's been around a lot longer in the US. Unlike some people, I don't mind this and I honestly doubt the band does either, because the American band is still active and has been since the 1980's (and there is no better example of the 80's than that link). I probably would have preferred the simpler "SCANDAL Japan", though (similar to "X Japan", who took that name for the exact same reason). The "from" just makes it sound like it's part of a sentence. It's kinda weird, but ultimately doesn't really matter.

This is my fifth SCANDAL live report - read them all!

• SCANDAL at PlayStation Theater, New York City 09/05/2018 REPORT!
• SCANDAL at Tokyo International Music Market 10/21/2015
• SCANDAL at Fujita Hall 2000 (Nagoya) 10/25/2014
• SCANDAL at Tokyo NHK Hall 11/07/2013
• SCANDAL vs. Budokan (Tokyo) 03/28/2012

Scandal US tour!

Has it been almost a year since I've written anything here? Well, that changes now!

It's also been a while since I've written anything about SCANDAL, but I've got a couple of good reasons to now. The first is that they're coming back to the US, and more helpful for me, to New York City this time! If anyone hasn't heard, here's the list of announced dates on what looks like a very hastily written up (or just intentionally lo-fi) official flyer from the band's Facebook:

For the image-averse, that's:

Sep 5/PlayStation Theater/New York, NY
Sep 7/The Regency Ballroom/San Francisco, CA
Sep 9/House of Blues/Anaheim, CA
Sep 16/The Bomb Factory/Dallas, TX

I've already got my VIP ticket to the NYC show - couldn't pass up that chance, because it may never come again.

You can get tickets to the NY and SF shows here; the Anaheim show here and the Dallas show here. I've previously written about how they're the best live band I've ever seen (something you can see for yourself on any of their many live DVD's and Blu-Rays), so don't miss them if you have the chance to go.

Also, have you heard their new album Honey? It smokes! Buy it!

Platform Syndrome (at top) was released a couple of months ago, but it leads off the album and it just goes on from there. I love this song, and the album. They are not slowing down. If anything, they've gone in a lot of different, more extreme directions as they've gotten older and been unleashed to write all their own songs. Their punk songs are even more punk than they used to be, and their heavy songs even heavier. But at the same time, there's a full-on R&B song on this album (and it's actually kind of great).

I do think it's mastered way too hot with audible clipping all over the place and a bit of a transistor radio-ish overall sound. Kind of a shame and a disservice to the band, but the music's pretty incredible if you can get past that. (And I suspect most people can.)

Bring on September!

SCANDAL at Tokyo International Music Market, 10/21/2015

So I saw SCANDAL for the fourth time in four years on this trip, which is pretty unbelievable, to be honest. I never plan it out; they just always happen to be playing when my wife and I go. This time they were doing some kind of special show for the annual Tokyo International Music Market with Androp, who I'd never previously heard of, and FLiP, the guest opening band.

By now I've been to several Japanese concerts but this was my first "live house" (aka club) show as a member of the general audience. (I'd previously seen Aldious as a guest of the band). It was at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo, not to be confused with Zepp Tokyo (where the "Everybody Say YEAH!" DVD was filmed), although they are literally a few hundred feet apart. (We went to Zepp Tokyo the night after for Chara's Yen Town Band, although that's another post.) Both venues are in Odaiba, one of my favorite areas in Tokyo, and within walking distance to our hotel, which was pretty awesome.

Zepp DiverCity is right behind the giant full-size Gundam that the area's sort of famous for. It's literally inside a mall, with a giant food court right next to it. How many rock clubs have a food court? It feels kind of like going to a 1980's mall multiplex. We did have to wait outside for the show, though - and I'll write up a lot more about the general Japanese club show process and experience in my Yen Town Band post. Things were pretty chill at DiverCity because the crowd wasn't actually that big, but Zepp Tokyo was a lot more hectic.

We got our tickets to SCANDAL from e+, the official ticket seller, and by the time we did we had a pretty high number, so we were lucky to get pretty close to the stage (about 8 heads deep) with a railing to lean on. The venue was not full, which was surprising for a couple of big bands. I don't think SCANDAL advertised this show all that much, and anyway their fans would know it's a small show and probably a short one. Still, these days you don't get a lot of opportunities to get really up close at one of their shows without getting very lucky, so I'd have thought the place would have sold out.

As always, photos inside the venue were not allowed. I tried to grab a snap of the stage but the venue staff were staring at me the entire time - I was right at the side railing with security sitting right next to me (and I'm a westerner so I draw more scrutiny). Luckily the band themselves posted a few shots to their blog and Facebook:

The band looked exactly the same as they did at Rock in Japan Fes. 2015, if you can't tell by the photos.

Some thoughts on the opening bands:

FLiP: To be honest, I didn't know who they were the entire time they were on stage! I've heard of them and seen pictures, but I don't know their music and I'd never seen them play. They rocked pretty hard, though. They feel a lot more like an American indie rock band than SCANDAL does these days, and I dig that. They're raw and unpolished, but in a good way. They only played three songs, but they extended the last one for some audience participation, with the drummer coming out to rile up the crowd the same way Rina sometimes does for SCANDAL.

Androp: There were actually quite a few people in the crowd who were there just for Androp - I saw a lot of Androp t-shirts being worn, and more than a few people left after they finished. But I just didn't get it at all. To me they sound like any generic Japanese rock band you could name; they're a walking stereotype. I suppose their distinguishing feature is supposed to be that they mix electronic music and rock (that's "genre-defying", apparently), but a lot of bands have done that over the past 20 years - it's not unique. I found their melodies unsatisfying, their songs mostly boring, and their stage act predictable. They're like a Japanese Jesus Jones.

SCANDAL
As for the main event, let's start with the set list:

M1.Stamp!
M2.EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!
M3.DOLL
M4.Shunkan Sentimental
M5.Shojo S
M6.Kagen no tsuki

MC
M7.Sisters
M8.Your song
M9.Image

ENCORE
EN1.Awanaitsumorino, genkidene

When I saw SCANDAL on the STANDARD tour, they practically blew the house down with their opening song (the title track to STANDARD). "Stamp!" does not have that same effect, and in fact the mix was strangely quiet - I'm used to them being very loud but this was almost like listening at home. Thankfully they got louder as the show went on. I will say that the crowd was into it from the start - now that I've seen a few more Japanese bands (in fact seven bands in two nights on this trip), I can definitively say that SCANDAL's fans are easily the most nuts about the music. SCANDAL somehow can get the whole place jumping in a way that no other band can.

From "EVERYBODY SAY YEAH" through "Shojo S", it was like the SCANDAL of old. In fact I was a little surprised at how many old songs they chose to play at such a short show, but I was happy that they did. "DOLL" served as the towel-waving song at this show, and luckily this time I managed to buy one so I finally got to participate. It's surprisingly tiring!

All of their old songs sounded heavier than they do on the albums, and I think "DOLL", "Shojo S" and "Shunkan Sentimental" sounded better than I've ever heard them before. They were very crisp and had that nasty attitude that the band used to have but that you rarely hear from them anymore. Haruna's voice has also just gotten better and better since her pre-Budokan vocal troubles, and she's easily hitting all their high notes now with no problem at all. Maybe for the first time, I felt like I was really seeing the same band sing these songs as I saw in their original promotional videos.

Even the choreography for "Shojo S" looked better than I've ever seen it - and it's always one of the most fun things to watch anyway. Haruna obviously loves to do it - I wrote in my Budokan report that she seemed a little over it, but this time she got completely giddy when they started doing those kicks, and all of them were in perfect unison and really put their whole bodies into it. With a short show, no need to save energy!

I missed a bit of the MC but what I did catch sounded like the standard stuff they say at every show, with nothing extra except a couple bits about the HELLO WORLD documentary and their upcoming arena tour. They hadn't prepared any little skits or special announcements for this short concert. Haruna dominated the MC; I don't even remember the others talking at all. Rina fans would have been really disappointed by the entire concert - she was basically invisible from start to finish. At smaller shows the band seems content to just let their leader do all the talking.

The second set was all newer songs, although they all sounded really good - even "Sisters", which is... not my favorite. It works a lot better live than on a recording - if you've seen the video, it really is like that (except their concerts have a lot more guys in the crowd). It's a song tailor made for pogo dancing. And they played it perfectly.

"Your Song" was used for audience participation, as it was last year when I saw them in Nagoya. The "whooooa" parts were extended, with Haruna coming out to fire us up, but it wasn't quite as energetic as Nagoya and it was also a bit shorter (I wrote last year that I felt like Haruna led us into many more "whoas" than planned, just because she loved it). She also hit a couple sour notes on her guitar duet with Mami, which I could see her frown a bit over before shrugging and laughing it off.

Overall it was a really good set for a short show, although I'd always rather see "SCANDAL BABY" in the set list somewhere, and preferably as the encore.

Some random thoughts:

* It was fun to see them in a live house setting, but they really "feel" like more of an arena rock band at this point, unlike FLiP. They're just really polished and professional, and they project seemingly beyond the walls of a live house.

* The rest of the band is always consistent from show to show, but Haruna seemed happier, more relaxed and more confident at this show than at any other I've been to, including Budokan. Maybe it's the effect of getting the braces off?

* SCANDAL's live and recorded personas are definitely diverging. Their releases over the last year have been pretty poppy, but live they are still a really straightforward rock band. In fact, at this show I felt like they had even finally found a way to channel their younger, more aggressive selves a bit to better fit their older songs.

I have a feeling this might be the last time I see them for a while, barring something unexpected - I don't have another Japan trip planned for next year, and anyway my luck's going to run out at some point. I've now seen them play at least one of every type of show - arena, hall, live house. (I guess I haven't seen them play a festival, but that's ok with me - festivals are always a nightmare.) I wish I could have seen another of their big arena shows, but if my last time turns out to be seeing them play these songs this well, and this close to the stage, I can't really complain.

This is my fourth SCANDAL live report - read them all!

• SCANDAL at PlayStation Theater, New York City 09/05/2018 REPORT!
• SCANDAL at Tokyo International Music Market 10/21/2015
• SCANDAL at Fujita Hall 2000 (Nagoya) 10/25/2014
• SCANDAL at Tokyo NHK Hall 11/07/2013
• SCANDAL vs. Budokan (Tokyo) 03/28/2012

Finally - the Haruna "Skullsilver" Telecaster reviewed!

Closing out my reviews of the three Scandal signature guitars is what for me was the holy grail - Haruna's "Skullsilver" Telecaster! See my earlier reviews of Mami's Stratomaster and Tomomi's Bluetus.

HARUNA'S SOUND
The first time I saw Scandal in person, I was shocked by how thunderous Haruna's tone was. You get this a little bit on the albums but her sound is just murderous in person - it shakes your whole body. This doesn't usually come through even on their own live DVD's.

Mami plays higher up on the neck and mostly uses her bridge pickup, which gives her a trebly, twangy sound. Haruna's sound is bassy and powerful - in person it's like a kick in the gut, but that's hard to reproduce on video. Haruna's sound is the foundation of the entire band, and it's a lot heavier live than it is on the albums.

Haruna's said in interviews that she intentionally picks guitars with humbuckers for that thick sound. But after debuting at Budokan in 2012, the signature "Skullsilver" has become her main guitar. She always opens and closes shows with it, and she uses it for all but a few songs. Mami and Tomomi, by contrast, seem to only play their Squiers as much as they're contractually obligated to. Of all the signature Squiers, Haruna's is the most iconic simply because she really plays the hell out of it. It's rare these days to see her without it.

DESIGN AND PICKUPS
The design of the Skullsilver Tele seems loosely based on the Blacktop Telecaster but with a 21 fret neck and a basswood body. It also has witch hat knobs with numbers facing the right way, which the Blacktop does not, and oddly enough Haruna's prototype doesn't either! (Hers uses amp knobs; the production Skullsilver Tele uses aftermarket guitar knobs.)  Otherwise, though, the production guitar has the same unique "backwards" control plate and the same pickup configuration.

About those pickups - Fender's spec page lists Blacktop pickups as "Hot Vintage Alnico Humbucking" pickups, and these at least look the same. It's possible Haruna's using the stock Blacktop pickups. These guitars are part of a marketing deal with Fender so they'd want to keep them at least looking stock, but the high output of these pickups do match her sound.

This is the contents of the box from Ishibashi. Guitar, allen wrenches and product card, and mostly useless Squier gig bag that's good for storing your guitar in the closet and not much else.

Haruna Tele Dark Silver Sparkle. More on that color and finish in a minute.

The guitar removed from its protective covering. The plastic had started removing itself from my pickguard, so I immediately took it the rest of the way off. Incidentally, the plastic used in these pickguards is extremely soft and will scratch if brushed by a stiff wind. This is definitely not the case with Haruna's own guitar, but mine became unsightly after only a few weeks of playing. I haven't yet found a replacement that fits either - if you're curious, the Blacktop pickguard does not.

DAT SPARKLE FINISH
I was happy to see that there were no major finish blemishes or other problems with the look of my guitar. I saw one of these hanging on a wall in Japan with what looked like a damaged skull decal under the clearcoat, and I've heard from others who have had minor problems with theirs as well. Sparkle finishes are not easy or cheap, and in a $400 guitar it's almost amazing to get one this good. Mine is completely perfect - I see a couple spots in the photo above where it looks uneven, but that's just my shadow on the guitar. It's a surprisingly flawless finish.

Here's a closer look. It probably goes without saying, but in case you're new to electric guitars, all of Scandal's signature guitars are clearcoated in poly. (I'm not sure if it's polyester or polyurethane, but there's not much distinction there.) This is typical of cheap guitars - it's an easier top coat to apply than the more traditional nitrocellulose, which has a more refined look.

It's hard to see above but the bridge saddles are all actual Fender bridge saddles. That makes me wonder if the bridge itself is too - I don't have enough experience with Teles to know for sure. My old Squier Standard Strat definitely did not come with Fender saddles or a Fender bridge.

I've been lucky enough to see Haruna's own guitar in person three (update: four!) times. I wouldn't say the production model finish is an exact match, but it's closer than I imagined when I saw the initial PR photos vs. the real thing.

Haruna's own guitar has big sparkle flakes, which makes it almost blindingly bright in direct light. It's like a mirror when it catches the light right. But those big flakes are harder to do, and consequently more expensive. For the production model, Squier seems to have gone with smaller metal flakes on a grey base, which dulls the finish a little bit but keeps costs down.

OTHER LOOK & FEEL
The front of the headstock. The maple is nicely tinted and, like my other two Scandal guitars, they picked a nice tree from which to cut mine. It has a much classier overall look than my Squier Strat.

Back of the headstock complete with Haruna's stamped signature. I'm guessing these are the same Gotoh-made Kluson-style tuners used in both my American and Japanese Jazzmasters. (It looks like there's a tiny chip right at the middle bottom of the headstock above, but it's actually just a spec of dust.)

Here's one annoyance - Squier used rusty fret wire to fret my guitar! I'm going to need a fret polishing before this thing is even fully playable. It's also a bit unsightly just hanging on the wall. Again, as I mentioned in my Bluetus review, I don't expect high-end specs or features in a $400 guitar, but some basic quality control would be nice.

If you're interested in how I dealt with this, check out my Planetwaves Fret Polishing System post.

The neck itself is surprisingly chunky. I'm not sure how this compares to the real thing and I'm not normally a Tele player, but it's almost a Gibson-like neck profile. I personally prefer a flatter neck profile and I'm surprised if Haruna really prefers such a fat neck with such small hands, but every guitarist has their own tastes. (My wife is the same - small fingers, fat guitar neck. I don't get it.) The guitar itself also feels quite thick and brickish, which I don't remember other Telecasters I've played feeling like, or at least not to this extent. It feels like it would make a really good life raft in an emergency. The body is at least contoured on the back for comfort (like the Blacktop).

The fretboard radius looks like 9.5", which isn't my favorite radius, but it's common to most modern guitars.

FINISHING UP
This is the one guitar with Gibson-style humbuckers that I own and I'm glad to have just one. Give it some distortion and it sounds like a pointy metal guitar (or a Les Paul) but without the 80's styling. And it does sound very much like Haruna really sounds when played loud enough and with enough distortion.  (And the right kind - see my OCD below!)

Scandal tribute concert at my house!

I doubt any of these signature models will take over from my Jazzmasters as my own main guitar, but I am happy to have them. They really look very close to the real guitars, and they all play well in their own right depending on what you're after. They do all have some minor QC issues and interesting specs married to mostly low-end hardware and electronics. They are beginner guitars that look really cool and mostly sound good (I'm still iffy on Mami's bridge pickup, which is supposed to be that guitar's big selling point). I think they're all good values even without the Scandal connection, but as a fan, I almost feel like the band themselves are here whenever I look at them. I'm a happy collector!

UPDATE 04/06/2015: Shock and horror!

I keep discovering weird random problems with all of these Scandal guitars. The latest one with the Haruna Skullsilver Telecaster is this - notice that one of the ferrules above seems empty? The string end has literally punched right through the ferrule and is now resting against the back of the bridge. It seems to have been this way since manufacture, since I've never changed the strings and the A string appears to still have its original "wrap" around the tuner peg. They did this at the factory, and nobody bothered to check or fix it.

I've got some new ferrules on order, but this is a serious annoyance that I shouldn't have to deal with. I've never heard of a ferrule failing like that.

UPDATE 05/08/2015: Fixed.

First, this is a normal ferrule on the left, the defective one on the right. They somehow made it that way, and nobody noticed it when they strung the guitar up in Indonesia.

I had to try two sets of replacements before finding one that fit. (For the record, American Standard Tele ferrules are too small.) I ended up buying a cheap set from Ebay that were listed specifically as 8mm. They're a little more chrome than the nickel they should be, but I don't really care, and if I ever sell this thing, I'll keep the originals in case anyone wants them.

Incidentally, getting the original ferrules out was a bitch, and getting the new ones in was too. I finally jury-rigged a system made up of the straight part of a thick wire hanger, which I cut with a Dremel, and a rubber mallet. I then removed the bridge and tapped the ferrules out from the front. Some of the new ones fit the existing holes perfectly, but a couple required shaving the inside of the hole a little bit (again with the wonder-tool that is the Dremel).

Well, anyway, everything's sorted now and this is finally a playable guitar.

05/09/2016 UPDATE: I sold my original Skullsilver (the one detailed above) as part of the full set, and wanting to still have one Scandal guitar, I bought another from the second production run. One change is that the standard gig bag is much better now.

That's Skullsilver #2 in the new gig bag. I'd call this gig bag actually usable. They may have done this because there was no special run just for the Kitty store this time, with the upgraded gig bag featuring the Scandal logo. (See my Mami Stratomaster post.)

This is the only gig bag you can get with these now. It just has the regular Squier logo, but it's a nice bag.

I'm not sure, but I feel like something's different about the finish. It may just be that a larger number of flakes in this one are standing up at odd angles, which leads them to look black unless the light is hitting them just right. (You see some of these in the photo above.) But I also feel like I see more grey in this finish. It's a little less striking than my original one, somehow.

I also don't remember my original one being quite so noisy, like it's missing some kind of shielding that the first one had. I'll need to take care of that if I ever decide to play this guitar enough to even take the plastic off!

Then again, it doesn't have the quality control issues of the first one. There's just a lot of variation in these in my experience, including what I've seen on my trips to Japan. Maybe you'll get one with an amazing finish and some defects, or no shielding and no defects, or an imperfect finish but perfect sound. It's just kind of a crapshoot with this Indonesian factory.

Tomomi's signature Squier Jazz Bass "Bluetus" reviewed!

I've finally received both of my remaining Scandal signature guitars! I'll be reviewing them individually, to let me dive a little deeper and post more pics of each. See my earlier review of Mami's Stratomaster here.

Tomomi's "Bluetus" seems loosely based on a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass, although it's kind of an amalgam of several different sub-models and has regular vintage (not "modified") Jazz Bass knobs on it. Like the other Scandal signature instruments, this bass made its debut at their Budokan show in March of 2012, and it's been a staple at their concerts ever since. I saw it in person again just last month at their show at Fujita University. She doesn't use it for every song - unlike Haruna with her Skullsilver Telecaster and Mami with her black Strat, Tomomi doesn't really have a "main" bass, and if she does it'd probably be her navy blue Fender Precision Bass. But she still uses Bluetus often.

I started out as a bassist, playing in bands in high school and even recording a couple self-produced albums on bass and vocals. But it had been close to 20 years since I sold my embarrassing old Cort P-Bass (it looked exactly like this but with a lot more duct tape holding it together) before buying a second-hand Epiphone Thunderbird Bass a year or so ago. I've been exclusively playing six-string guitars in between. That Thunderbird was a huge disappointment - so uncomfortable and poorly balanced that I sold it as soon as Scandal's signature models were announced, knowing I'd be buying all three come hell or high water.

I can already say that as a "cheap" bass, this thing's about as good as it gets. It might even be my favorite of all the Scandal models. It feels like coming home.

THE SHIPPING PROCESS
Ordering this thing was a saga. Long story short, I had to ship both this and Haruna's Skullsilver Telecaster to my in-laws in Japan, who held them until my visit a couple weeks ago. My wife and I then had to take them to the post office ourselves to ship them to my house in the USA. This is the condition the box arrived in - I was a little worried when I saw it because I know these guitars are packed to pretty much just flop around in the box - there is nothing much holding them in place. The entire top third of the box was bent, and the bottom was crushed. Gee, and I wrote "FRAGILE" on it and everything! (I'm convinced that makes the USPS treat a box worse.)

WHAT'S INCLUDED
Above you see the contents of the box. Everything was fine. Squiers aren't really Fenders but they are Fender designs and Fender designs don't break. They're tanks. I ordered mine from Ishibashi and they included a point card (which I technically can't use from the US - they changed that policy a while back) as well as a cheap Squier gig bag that'll protect the bass from a stiff wind and that's about it. That foam bag it shipped in provides more protection - and it's ripped! Only orders from the Kitty Web Shop came with the nicer heavily padded Scandal-branded gig bag and strap.

The product card. Tomo Jazz Bass Sky Blue!

FINISH & CONSTRUCTION
The bass unsheathed. My first reaction upon seeing it was that this is a far more beautiful bass in person than I expected! The color really pops without looking cartoony; it's more tasteful than I thought, and it has a depth to it that you don't expect in a "cheap" bass. And while competition stripes are always pretty polarizing, I happen to like them, and they are not some new thing Tomomi invented. Fender introduced them in 1969. Tomomi's actually very traditional in her tastes.

The back. It is a Squier so it's not strange to point out that the finish on this otherwise simple paint job is perfect. If you look very closely at the right angle, you can see the body joint - it appears to be a two-piece body. (You're not seeing that above - that's just a reflection of my wall and ceiling.)

The matching headstock. (The color is actually the same as the body; the light was a tad different.) If there's any complaint I might have with the finish, it's here. It's a little hard to see and in fact I didn't notice it until later, but it looks like whoever painted it was using a brush meant for the side of a house. The paint's very uneven and it runs over the edge onto the sides in a bunch of places. But again, hard to really notice unless you're looking.

There are a few more minor imperfections around the guitar, like sloppy cutting of the pickguard and some good old fashioned dirt around the edges, like whoever installed it forgot to wash his hands first. Nothing that couldn't be fixed by removing it and just sanding a bit, I'm sure. But this is the kind of corner that gets cut in an Indonesian Squier - you wouldn't see this (or you'd hope you wouldn't see this) in a more expensive model. I don't expect maximum refinement in a guitar like this, although simple cleanliness would be nice.

Of course the back of the headstock has Tomomi's signature (stamped, not real). My headstock had gear oil all over it when I first tried to take this photo - I cleaned it up and everything seems fine. Seems they just lubed the tuners a little too much at the factory.

I do like the maple they chose for my neck and headstock - it has some interesting figuring.

PICKUPS AND HARDWARE
Bluetus comes with Duncan Designed JB-101 pickups that are meant to sound "vintage", whatever that means in a bass. (To be honest, I don't think there's a hell of a lot of difference in how a modern Jazz Bass sounds vs. a vintage one.) Squier uses these in some other specific models of the Vintage Modified JB. They sound pretty good to my ears, and basically Tomomi-like. That said, they are not what she actually uses. (Note that hers don't say "Duncan Designed" and I seriously doubt she'd be using them with a different cover. She'd be using something a little better.)

The bridge saddles are height-adjustable but the action on mine was just right from the factory - a few weeks later it did need a little truss rod adjustment (no doubt affected by the dry, harsh winter we're having) but then it was back to normal. I have long and violent fingers, so I like medium action on basses (low action would just make for a lot of fret buzz). The Vintage Modified JB's have a neck radius of 9.5" and Bluetus seems to match that. I hate anything over a 7.25" radius on six-string guitars but I like a flatter fretboard on bass - flatter radii are better for single-string playing, not so good for chords.

My main six string guitar is a Jazzmaster. I like (and am used to) the offset body shape, which is made to be comfortable playing sitting down - when standing up, it just looks cool. If it wasn't for Scandal, I'd have probably sold my disappointing Thunderbird and bought some kind of Jazz Bass anyway. Granted, it'd probably have been a low-end Fender rather than a high-end Squier, but honestly, I doubt there's any real difference. The Made-in-Mexico Fenders all use the same poly finish as the Squiers, along with the same electronics and very similar hardware. They charge a little more for the name. You've got to move up to an American model - and spend a lot more money - to get something noticeably better in any objective sense. But then you wouldn't have the cool color scheme!

I'm gonna close by answering the only two questions that really matter, which are:

1) How does it compare to Tomomi's own Bluetus?

2) Is it a good bass in its own right?

The answer to the first question is that it certainly looks pretty much right, judging from the three times I've seen the real thing. The color looks dead on, the finish looks the same. If there is a noticeable difference, it's that the fretboard is actually somewhat darker on the production model. Hers actually has a couple chips in the finish from use that look like the way poly chips, so I think she's even got the same clear coat. That said, no doubt she has high end wiring, hardware, shielding and electronics underneath.

It's a pretty awesome bass in its own right too. Even if you're not a Scandal fan, I think your head would turn seeing this hanging in a store - but it's not so crazy or specific that you couldn't use it in pretty much any band. It's really comfortable as all Jazz Basses are, it's well balanced, and it sounds like you'd expect a Jazz Bass to sound. I'd totally gig with this bass - I've gigged with a lot worse!

I have a feeling this bass probably sold the least of the three Scandal guitars just because fewer people want to play bass. That makes me feel kinda bad for Tomomi, but on the plus side for you, it might still be a little easier to find this one than the others for that reason. If you can still get one, grab it!

MARCH 2015 UPDATE: After sitting in its gig bag all winter, I picked up my Bluetus to find that its neck had bowed badly. The early truss rod adjustment mentioned above should have been a red flag - the maple used for the neck in this bass is way too soft and was probably wet when the bass was manufactured. After a professional setup it's playable again, but it'll never have the low action of a high-end Fender.

Well, it is a cheap bass. But this is a little disappointing.