Thursday, June 17, 2010

Smashing GIO

Spent the morning with the above 2 darlings:

  • Ibanez: GRGR010
  • Smash: S2 Lite
Default vs replacement
The Ibanez has a Duncan CC in there. This is one of my guitars which proves a point- when the default pickup fails to please, do not hesitate to replace it. When I used to play this guitar with the default covered Powersound humbucker, my mind kept telling me to stop & choose another darling because the tone hurts (as in, it's not what I wanna hear) despite the very appealing playability. So this is indeed psychological & it warrants some attention; the guitar which keeps you going in terms of playability & tone is the one for you, not one which bothers you with either issue. The Smash, on the other hand, has a point to prove too- default electronics doesn't always equal repulsive electronics. I've been very happy with what the S2 Lite offers me tone-wise so it remains as it is. Thumbs up to this one.

D vs C
The GRGR010 sports a rather flat D-shaped neck; it's typical Ibanez this one so playing fast stuff is a breeze, almost effortless with the right action & amount of distortion. The S2 Lite is very Fender-y; a rounded C-affair with practical depth for lots of bends & shred alike. When I play too much of one guitar, I'd switch to the other & this gives a relief of sorts to the fretting hand as it adapts to a contrasting profile with every change. Sometimes I feel I've had enough of a certain neck feel & it bothers me, mistakes were inevitable. The constant swap here is yet another psychological remedy.

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