Take That: The Ultimate Tour

I own one of Take That's compilation album which features a live track from their Manchester Tour. I heard a backing band in there so the chances of seeing live musicians performing in a DVD offering is real.


True enough, there's a live line-up of very competent musicians, Lee Pomeroy (bass) & Milton McDonald (guitar) among others; the extended solos in the selected songs are reflective of the musician's capacity- great, to say the least.

Smash the RGR08

Gotcha! Nothing was smashed last night, I played my Smash & RGR08 with the inclusion of VOX's curly cable...

SMASH S2 Lite

• the more I play this guitar, the more I feel duped by the ones I own which cost more than 2x its price. Darn.
• planning to re-string it with a different string brand to confirm if this accounts for the current feel factor
• also, this guitar's heavy... the 'Lite' in its moniker is rather deceiving
• I simply love the default pickups
  

Ibanez RGR08

• this guitar served to test the VOX cable; I heard a curbed treble response plugging it into the SMASH. Knowing how treble-inclined active pickups are in general, it proved the VOX cable to be as I suspected; bass rich.
• I also gave this guitar a fretboard re-conditioning today
  

The smooth operator

This is my 2nd purchase for 2009, another great, soothing release by Gerald Veasley. It's not a fresh offering though, a live capture of his 2005 performance at the Jazz Base. The music on board isn't one of purist origins, it's more easy listening than anything else. I'm a fan of Mr. Veasley not because of his affiliation with the Ibanez brand name but for his great, catchy melody coupled with an unmistakable sense of tranquility.

String tree

One of the causes of tuning instability is the string retainer/ string tree/ string guide over at the headstock. This hardware is installed in this part of the instrument namely because the headstock is not an angled make ala Fender. Traditional string trees are that of the 'M' type, the one you see undone in the pic above. This design is rather crude & causes snags upon tuning. I've changed my default Smash's string tree to that of the circular/ roller type to reduce friction hence making tuning more responsive.

Q: Is this the ultimate cure for tuning-related problems?
A: No. This contraption is a mere enhancement. If your guitar's nut isn't cut/ slotted well, that should be addressed first.

Q: Can I install this in my guitar?
A: Of course you can but bring along your default string tree to the stores to match it with a replacement of the same width.