Cat @ Excelsior

That cat spotted at the entrance to Excelsior Shopping Centre (leading to Davis' pedal store)- he's still there. Asleep. At peace with himself.

Guitar annoyance

It happens every now & then. The guitar in action- annoyance.

I'm put off by he sound of the guitar. Hearing the guitar for the past few days had been a bother, it didn't inspire me to play.

What triggered ideas, on the contrary, was hearing the bass. Drums & percussion were great inspirational catalysts as well. The irony here is that not hearing the guitar propels the urge to have the guitar fill in that emptiness. I guess it's what inspires the artist as well- seeing a blank canvass is every reason to pick up the brush to paint than seeing another art piece.

I think it's important to manifest music from an artistic perspective. Use the guitar as a tool of expression but on many occasions, we use the guitar to showcase our technical abilities. This is why, sometimes, listening to Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) is very inspiring to me.

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It's the beginning of the end... It's past midnight now- the beginning of a new day. It's also the last day of May- the end of the month.

Listen to your pedal board- no kidding...

Here's a neat little ditty by SKB (the makers of that indestructible guitar hard case, among others)- the Footnote pedal board. It lets you hear you pedals (yes- integrated driver included) before you actually hook up the entire board to an amp. This way, you can mess with your knobs before performing knowing you have that limited tinkering time when your turn is up. As at time of posting, this product is not available here (yet).

Selling: EHX Double Muff

Another muff pedal of mine in search of a new owner- the EHX Double Muff.

• Condition: 9/10
• Box included
• Self-collect (venue to be disclosed upon confirmation)
• Price: $69 (final)
• No reservations/ trades
• Confirmation via e-mail only: dark1349@hotmail.com (kindly leave a contact number, will text you)

Pedal SOLD 31st May. Thanks.
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Still available: EHX Little Big Muff ($55) Little Big Muff sold off as at 9.53PM

LTD unplugged

LTD's X-Tone acoustic- just tried one recently, it's the AC-10 model. I wouldn't say it's up there & chiming with Martin, Taylor, et al but they sound above average. Some acoustics sound dead unplugged, they are only worthy after plugging in, but the AC-10 fared well in both worlds.

Product availability: Davis GMC

Price: Call for quotations 6337 5092

Offer in the war zone

UNO's Warzone I & II are on offer at SV Guitars: $599ea. Offer good for 2 days only, 28th & 29th May.

Ball's BFR

This immaculate looking & sounding (EBMM) Petrucci BFR... isn't mine. It belongs to my friend Dhalif who is putting it up for sale. You can negotiate a deal via e-mail: dhalif@gmail.com

Enjoy the pic, deal's off...

GJ6: Rear look

GJ6's rear look, the cavity there is spacious enough for a battery accommodation should you decide to have active electronics in the system. Also, Mr. GJ had opted for the non-conventional by sporting the input jack away from the main cavity. In fact, it's also the instrument's strap button.

No...

For the 34, 766th time, I am not working in any guitar stores. Have a good weekend ahead.

LTD: Snakebyte

LTD's Snakebyte is in stock at Davis GMC now. It's another EMG equipped guitar & it definitely sounds like a typical guitar equipped with the same pickups. The factors that will draw you to this guitar are most probably your personal admiration for all things James Hetfield. Please call Davis GMC for price quuotations.

GJ6: More body exposures

Here's another take on the GJ6 body; note the mini toggle switch in use as well as the further location of both the guitar & volume knobs.

This is how thick the body is, if you have the chance to handle it in person, you'd realize that it's rather slender, almost a neck-like dimension.

A look at things over at this end & you'd note how generous the elbow relief is.

This is my favourite feature- the neck-body depth difference is only slight. Your fingers wouldn't reject the feel over this area so making upper frets travel very pleasant.

LTD: Vintage 204

The relic finish of LTD's Vintage 204 is the flavour of the moment which does nothing to tone. In any case, it's a pseudo relic implement; you can't feel the bare wood as there's a layer of finish over it. I give the 204 a thumb's up in terms of tone, it has a great boomy voicing despite the single coil pickups in there. The rosewood fretboard did well to inject some warmth in the mix.All for a sub-$500 price tag.

Product availability: Davis GMC (please call for a price quotation: 6337 5092)

GJ6: Headstock

Here's a close-up of the GJ6 headstock, it's in the image of the Strat but a more trimmed make of it.

A view of the flip-side; a row of Sperzel locking tuners. The neck rear is merely a stained finish from one end to the other.

From this angle we can see the beveling which complements the tuner alignment. In addition to the visual attraction, it's a way to alleviate some weight here.

Good deal

Swee Lee Katong branch is currently offering 3 guitar/ bass packages at clear-out prices. I've snipped the guitar package away from the other 2 offerings because, in my opinion, it's a good deal if you are hunting for a guitar-amp bargain.

Nevermind the amp but the guitar per se is an above-average player despite being an entry level member in the Cort range. Of course, the Gibson Les Paul symmetry there should NOT be the reason why you will decide to purchase these goodies- it's just a simple bolt-on guitar which sounds above average.

Pigtronix: Philosopher's Tone

Some of us swear by a compressor, we believe the pedal's sustain inducing ability as the ultimate ingredient in our tone reverence. Pigtronix's Philosopher's Tone is a little different because it also offers some fuzziness in the mix. Do be careful because the compression & clipping going on simultaneously would manifest a fluctuation in volume once you start playing unlike a tremolo unit. But one thing for sure, if you are disturbed by your current compressor's noise inducement while in use, the PT is a quiet servant.

Product availability: Davis GMC

Price: Please call 6337 5092

LTD: MH-1000

The LTD MH-1000 is a wonderful guitar. Well, it has to be. It sits at the highest tier in the LTD range. The highlight of this instrument is of course its almost heel-free neck-body construction. It induces the player to travel up the higher frets regardless of one is seasoned in that vicinity. Some things are meant to be together & those EMGs in there (81/85) are deserving pickups to propel the tone. I'm not a fan of active pickups but the instrument-electronics combination here gets my thumbs up. 

How much? Please refer to Davis GMC for price references: 6337 5092

PS: Thanks Janet @ the good people of Davis GMC for letting me try this one.

Wish it was back: Schecter 006 Deluxe

Schecter's 006 Deluxe was a simple guitar, much in the veins of the current Omen series; well-made & very affordable. In fact, it used to list for less than $300 when I tried it at Ebenex years ago. Back then, Ebenex was located at Roxy Square II, Beez was still the employee there. The body outline is preserved till this day & manifested as the Stargazer model but I'm rather thankful Schecter has the Omen range to perpetuate the 006's good vibes. Wish it was back...

GJ6: Intro

You've seen the 8-string version, here's the 6. Unlike its behemoth sibling, the GJ6 is more meticulously conceived. Em... I like it more than the 8.

To be continued...

Jaden Rose: Spider

On the subject of 8-string guitars, UK's Jaden Rose Guitars recently introduced the Spider model. The maple fretboard is something other 8-string manufacturers should consider offering. An instrument of this ilk could really use some clarity impetus, counting on the pickups to do the job entirely is quite a limitation.

GJ8: Body features

I'm still with the GJ8, here. The body is not a departure from the traditional designs we see in the market. The pickups you see there:

• Neck: Bare Knuckles- Cold Sweat
• Bridge: Bare Knuckles- Miracle Man

There are 6 bolts here & the screws are slightly smaller than the traditional, say, Fender/ Ibanez units. That's right, that line there is the wood's 2-piece division line not concealed by any finish, ditto the working stain.

This is the flip-side view of the treble end cutaway. The beveling there aims to promote upper fret access, Herman Li & Rusty Cooley (among others) would love this feature.

This is how much top material the instrument is equipped with. It's not about having an attractive cosmetic top, the wood is there to help achieve the end in mind- good tones for the taking.

Gibson: Les Paul Traditional Bigsby

Em... here's something 'new' by Gibson, the Les Paul Traditional Bigsby. It's a Traditional series Les Paul, sporting a B-70 Bigsby whammy unit & a pair of '57 Classic humbuckers. I've nothing against Bigsby-equipped guitars (or its derivatives), just that it's a pain choosing a case/ bag for them- fitting issues.

Ibanez PGM500

Are you a Paul Gilbert fan? Fancy owning that PGM500 he's holding there?

This is NOT my guitar (I have yet to own any signature series Ibanez... I'm not into any)...

...but it's in a very good condition & up for sale.

So if you are interested, do make further queries: flamable93@hotmail.com

GJ8: Headstock

This is the GJ8's headstock up close- a simple design, very appealing to say the least.

This is how it is over at the flip-side. The headstock-neck heel there ensures enough bulk to resist the angled profile. Those are non-locking tuners in use, excuse the stains there as this guitar had seen about 3 years' worth of play & storage.

A look from this angle reveals a uniform wood hue extending from the fretboard right up to the headstock face.

James' EMG

James Hetfield gets his signature EMG set. The difference here is that his humbuckers feature a set of pole-pieces unlike the traditional EMG rail type- it you ever removed the cover to look what's underneath, that is...

GJ8: Intro

This 8-string behemoth isn't mine, it's on loan for an appraisal here. This installment serves as an introduction to what my friend, Mr. GJ Kung, has to offer. 

The guitar was crafted in Singapore, it's definitely a product of sweat & toil. However, it's not a recent addition, the instrument was made 3 yrs ago. It sports a 30" scale length so it's as good as dealing with a short scale bass. The neck is also a little wider than what you might come across in the stores here but still very playable. Mr. GJ Kung told me this is strictly a prototype for some introverted moments but in the mean time, he's ready to take orders from you if you wish to customize a 6/ 7/ 8-string guitar: gjkung@hotmail.com

Watch this space for more disclosures.

Capacitors- do they matter much?

It seems that the cryptic component in our electric guitars are the tablet-sized capacitors which are hidden away at the tone pot. To those of us who had not ventured into the body cavities of our instruments, you might not know what is actually being discussed here... Anyway, a capacitor is an electrical component that stores energy in the electric field between a pair of plates (conductors) whose role in many electrical equipment is to store energy. To the average guitar dweeb, you need to know that this energy storage affects the output of your instrument. We hear this output over at our amp as the sound of our instrument so having a capacitor in our guitars affect the sound even when they are left wide open ie. your tone pot dialled up to the max. 

However, do note that the 'energy storage' function is a fundamental understanding of how the capacitor works. In our guitars, the energy storage is used to differentiate frequencies & the general rule here is, the bigger the capacitor value, the deeper sounding it gets. But let's not head to the shops fervently to acquire these capacitors because we know they are indeed affordable components for our guitar mod adventures- some of  our ears cannot detect the tonal differences.

My dear neighbours... (Part 2)

This is a follow-up to this posting: CLICK

Apparently, 2 suspects were brought in for questioning but were subsequently released, police refused to confirm if this was of any help. I'm sure they have the records, if they are interested to pursue the matter, those individuals would have been kept on the watch list.

More importantly, if the crime was to take place today, the current standards & state of criminal investigation would mean that the evidence(s) discovered on that fateful day, would have been meticulously saved & referred to time & again. There were strands of hair in the hands of the eldest sibling, long hair, possibly belonging to a female.

Could the re-assessment of the evidence today be of any help?

Ibanez: GRG150DBX

This is one of the new Ibanez guitars @ Swee Lee (BB showroom) going for a good price of $299 (Nett). The yellow bits in there are the main repugnance, otherwise, this GRG150 is a very decent offering for the price &, more importantly, the QC. The overall tone from this one is surprisingly more full-sounding cpmpared to the RG350M- you can hear the low end from the in-house Powersound pickups despite them not being impressive in this consideration. However, do not expect a slim Wizard experience here but the neck's is still shred-worthy.

Depth differences

When we scrutinize LP-type guitars, many of us would like to assure ourselves of the instruments' body depth. This feature determines how much a copy detracts from the original LP hence the tonal difference. Of course, this isn't the end all determinant, other tone shaping factors do come into play as well; electronics, wood type, finish, etc.

A quick look at my Edwards & Grassroots above shows a clear depth difference, the Edwards sporting a thicker body than its Grassroots counterpart. The clearance at the neck heel is a good visual guide. Also note how the neck heel profile differs as well; the Edwards sporting a bulky make while the Grassroots' slimmer version is more akin to the ESP Eclipse model.

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PS: EHX Little Big Muff $70- good for today only (17th May '11)

Carl Martin Tuner

Carl Martin has a fresh, sleek tuner in their offerings. The new CM tuner offers 2 modes- standard or strobe. The MUTE switch you see above means you can have your tuning moments muted & rely just on the visual read-outs or hear yourself in action if that makes you happier while making sure your instrument is not out of tune. Neat.

Separated at birth (yet again)

This is the wonderful but discontinued Ibanez SZ model, wish it was back...

Conceptually, Schecter's C1 model & the Ibanez SZ are only slightly differentiated.

We can say so for Yamaha's (discontinued) RGX model here as well.

Not forgetting Cort's Katana offering- they are all fundamentally similar with slight differentiation to respect the design/ copyright threshold.

When a particular guitar design establishes a forte in terms of appeal, it will be imitated. Many of us will not hesitate to embrace the design fundamentals in other manifestations because having an experience with one, we know what to expect from the other. Ibanez's SZ & Yamaha's RGX are sadly extinct; they were both very good guitars for the money but the manufacturers have their reasons to do away with them.

Selling: EHX Little Big Muff

I've been checking out my fuzz line-up, this LBM is better off with a new owner.

• Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff, box included
• Condition: 9/10
• Asking price: $79 (final)
• Self-collect, venue to be confirmed
• Queries/ confirmation through e-mail only: dark1349@hotmail.com
• No reservations/ trades

Thank you for reading.
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PS: Also for sale- Danelectro Black Coffee (heavy distortion), $29 (final). Pedal SOLD OFF.


Good for VESAK DAY (17th May) only: Little Big Muff = $70

PEDAL SOLD OFF as at 29th May- thanks.

Les Pauls?

Are the guitars in the above pic Les Pauls? No they are not. They are merely copies (my Edwards & Grass Roots singlecuts- I favour them to the Gibsons). I talked to someone recently about Les Pauls & the lad was whining endlessly about the instrument quality & body chambering until he mentioned the Japanese Les Pauls being more worthy in terms of craftsmanship proportionate to the asking price. So my natural question to him was, which Les Pauls are made in Japan? The answer was Edwards, so I duly told him they aren't Les Pauls, they are merely copies. We, lazy folks, find it convenient to refer to them as such. Only Gibsons are Les Pauls. But he insisted they are by virtue of design. So there we have it; insistence based on a personal interpretation. 

Spector-cular Arc6 Pro!

I've acquired myself a Spector ARC6 Pro after being much attracted to Stuart Spector's basses.

As documented on the headstock, the manufacturer's name & brand emblem. The design in whole is devoid of any sharp edges/ protrusions, the headstock included.

The ARC6 Pro is a reflection of its bass siblings, sporting a curved top...

... & rear. In my opinion, this is the signature Spector feature making it less ordinary & very attractive.

6 bolts to secure the neck to the body, a little overkill but these add much to sustain.

A pair of Tesla VR-60s; these give off a mixture of vintage growl but they are not averse to high drive/ distortion settings.

Please visit Musicark @ Parklane shopping mall to check out Spector basses & guitars. Thank you Mr. Lance for all the considerations in acquiring this instrument. Not forgetting brother Firdaus (aka SicBarney) for the stellar customer service. Kudos!