I am the Black Wizards

 

After years of dwelling in this genre of metal, I have always believed that black metal would sound awesome if orchestrated, played on violin or even piano. An example in mind would be Emperor's I am the Black Wizards, the live rendition is attached above.

I am therefore very glad to have come across this piano cover by Catherine Fearns & you could understand, after watching this clip, what I was talking about. The note choices, arrangement & progression are simply suitable for an orchestrated interpretation. So the next time you come across an opinion saying black metal is trash, it's not music, then you know this is a foolish comment.

Nut case

Is there a way to remove a dead, stubborn nut? WD-40 had no effect on it. The dirt & corrosion had virtually glued the nut into place. Unmovable. You have no fancy tool to cut it away; you're not a pro tech.

But you have a file. Nothing fancy, the one that you use to address fret sprouts & some other minor issues. You realized you could actually file the side of the nut & calmly detach it from its supposed resting place. Done.

Fixed

Just seen the new LTD releases. Yes, it's an ESP affair but I don't see any ESP on any headstocks so it's an LTD release (plus some E-IIs in the mix), let's not kid ourselves. When Squier released new models, they didn't say it's a Fender release.

Glad to see non-whammy models amongst the 2026 lineup. While these understandably address ease of use issues for newbies, they do serve the old farts as well. Those of us who get sick of the whammy some time, need something of this nature to sustain our inclinations. On that note, despite these guitars being in the supposedly affordable tier, prices are crazy these days. The Deluxe models (1XXX model numbers) were once in the $1.5K range. These are now pushing the $2K limit further up. The 2XX & 4XX were once affordable darlings but these are nearer to $1K instead of staying in the entry-level figures. What does entry level even mean these days when prices do not reflect what the label suggests.

Pics: ESP

S-Sunday

Spending more time with my S-Series this year as this is my preferred Ibanez model, not the RG. In any case, I will utilize whichever model that would manifest my ideas / needs. This particular model is an S1625 which I bought used for quite cheap because:

• the default D-Tuner was missing
• the default Q pickups were in bad shape, one of which had collapsed into the body & the former owner did not bother to rectify
• 5-way selector was not working in some positions
• one pot was missing a knob
• body was chipped in several places, dents & scratches aplenty
• whammy bar was missing

I did my best to revive this guitar, nothing pristine but more presentable than it was before:

• Wiped-down + polished. There is this car polishing cream you can purchase at the petrol kiosks here & it managed to remove minor scratches + restore some shine to the body. 
• Fretboard was cleaned + moisturized. I actually used a penknife blade to scrape away built-up dirt on some of the fretboard areas.
• 5-way selector made way for a 3-way version
• New GOTOH pots & knobs. FYI, GOTOH pots are now extinct, they stopped making electronic components but hardware (tuners, bridges, etc.) are still in production

The biggest decision was to have these Seymour Duncan '59s in there. These are not known for overdriven applications but let that be everyone else's grievance because till you try these yourselves, you just wouldn't know what they are capable of. I still believe the Jazz is preferred in the neck if you are into distortion, the '59 in this position was very much conceived for clean applications.

Dunlop strings for today.

Ibanez: RG653DX

Regardless of the other distractions, this new RG653DX is a winner in my books (in the RG category). It doesn't stray away too much from its other RG siblings in terms of design. On that note, players out there agree that the big block inlays & that 'shell pickguard might put loyalists off. Both colours feature an ash body & DiMarzio pickups (Norton / TZ). By the way, the 6XX models are not new to Ibanez, there was an RG655 (2014) which was basically a variation of the RG550.

Pics: Ibanez 

Faux gold

I'm actually upset with this finish but in a pleasant way 😅 This is actually an Ibanez S421, I re-finished the top. I bought a can of spray paint which said copper on the label. It looked copper-ish when applied. After some time, it turned into this gold-top type colour. Can you see those areas which sport darker hues from the rest? This was a result of uneven sanding. Of course, I'm not particular with how it turned out. It was meant to be a DIY project & the guitar remains functional. 

This corrosion resistant set will not outperform Elixirs but I'm OK with the lifespan on offer.

Preferred

These images were from Malaysia's music maestro's FB page, Az Samad. He attended the Ibanez 2026 new models launch at Bentley Music, KL on 14th January 2026. FYI, Malaysia's official Ibanez distributor is Bentley Music, not Swee Lee. 

I'm not reading too much into this event but there are some implications here which, for the most part, is my personal anxiety for all things Ibanez since I'm an Ibanez fan from the start. If you share this perspective, then you can relate to some conceptual concerns.

Ibanez chose Bentley for a product launch ahead of the NAMM 2026 show. Ibanez chose to work with Bentley that observes domestic (Malaysia) operations as opposed to Swee Lee that has storefronts in seven other countries in addition to Singapore. I'm giving this a benefit of the doubt - maybe Ibanez & Swee Lee have other grand plans in the near future but the exclusive treatment of giving your distributor partial ownership when it comes to product launches is hard to beat, even priceless to a certain degree. 

In view of commercial interest(s), there might be a shift in operational trends & Swee Lee would do well to know what these are. I'm not a Swee Lee employee, I'm not professionally related to them as well. I'm just an Ibanez fan who sometimes tried too hard to acquire nuggets of info which are readily available elsewhere. I'm in no way implying there should be a preferential / exclusive treatment for certain distributors in view of how they flex their commercial muscle. These days, we don't go where the wind blows but to where the money flows. 

Pics: Az Samad FB

P - doom

I'm sure there are many of us here who own a guitar (or guitars) that influences what you play due to its inherent tone. I bought the above LP '50s Tribute for cheap. It was in an un-loved condition. There were marked areas on the body that displayed surface wear & tarnish beyond what a bottle of guitar polish & revival fluid could do. The good thing is, the previous owner wasn't much of a lead player so there were virtually no fret wear to be seen, just oxidized frets. I stopped making efforts to revive the guitar to manifest visual appeal, just accepting it for what it is. 

This is my go-to guitar for super fuzzy doom tones. It seems that the default P-90s were conceived for this inclinations & it's definitely the pickups that respond well to my RAT pedal.

A quick re-string before play. Darco this time. 

Used: Nov 25 - Jan 26

Off to the recycling bin - strings replaced from November 2025 to early January 2026. A small container this time round but that's how many strings I've used in less than three months - the reason I don't invest in costly strings.

Ibanez 2026: S-Series

Every year, the S-Series releases were pale shadows of its RG counterparts. There's some respite this year as the new 2026 models are both Prestige offerings. If Ibanez deems the S-Series to be worthy considerations in their catalog, they should make a bold move in reviving some older guitars as Genesis models. The 540S would be a delicious consideration but it would mean going back to 22 frets which will affect the manufacturer's economies of scale, to say the least. 

Pics: Ibanez

Ibanez 2026: Alpha

Pics: Ibanez

Ibanez had released its list of new instruments for 2026 & I'm sure many of you have seen the Alpha models depicted above. This is the hot topic in the mean time & it will continue to be till NAMM happens. I'm an Ibanez fan through & through but the Alpha is a turn off. That's right, many Ibanez apologists out there would say that just because it's not my cup of tea, I need not write it off especially when I have not played it in person.

Many of us could agree that a particular product released to the masses is a representation of the prevailing culture. The iPad for instance, is a marquee product to signal the embrace of wireless connectivity. If Ibanez wishes to let the world know it embraces the lower tunings of today's guitar laden music through a multi-scale instrument, then it's arrival to the scene is belated at best. Strandberg - was there, done that.

Pic: Total Guitar

Ibanez is retaliating against the one that got away; the Abasi proto which later became the Abasi Concepts. Why is this move necessary especially now? Is there a resurgence of sorts that we are unaware of? From a commercial perspective, the Alpha's price(s) might hint at a missing price point that Ibanez is gladly filling in.

Pic: EBMM

Chronologically, Ibanez waited to understand the market for such a non-conventional design especially its commercial viability. EBMM's Kaizen debut signalled the market's readiness & Ibanez latched onto this sector in 2026. We'll wait for the full NAMM experience to see if other brand names are also offering a similarly niche-designed guitar to understand the bigger (commercial) picture.

Pics: Ibanez

I will end this episode by reminding everyone that this is not Ibanez's initial foray into the world of peculiar body outlines. Among others, the Fireman is an example. The Fireman wasn't deemed eccentric simply because its actually a flipped design of the Iceman, no major issues in terms of receptiveness. Come to think of it, the Alpha's overall design philosophy is not too far off the Fireman's, just look at the pics above.

Saturday sky

Got up early today to give this a quick re-string & play. It's one of those days when I want to hear some single coils in action but I do not wish to play a Fender.

I love these Pure Blues but I don't buy them often (price considerations), always grabbed some when there's a seasonal discount. To me, these go very well with the Silver Sky's single coil tones especially for those mild overdrive settings. I'm quite of oblivious to the strings' material type because when you play with excessive distortion, you can't hear the material contributions to your tone. One more time - DR strings are great for those of us with a hard attacking picking style, regardless of the genre.

Rubber

I have great respect for Musicnomad for making quality tools & maintenance accessories. This neck rest here is largely rubber, it promotes friction & helps keep things in place. However, the neck rest part is also rubber & not good for organic finishes; it sticks to the neck & might cause a burnmark / chemical blemish. I will only be using this for satin finished necks (Ibanez, Jackson, etc.). I sincerely hope this had been thought through at the factory.

Unravelled

Broken string. This seldom happen to me. Looks like the coil unravelled & weakened the overall structure of the string. It didn't help that this end of the string was located at the bridge, in contact with hardware that might further strain the situation. Oh, well.

KX600

Neil Zaza's back with Cort. This KX600 is his doing. It's a simple design with delivery in mind. Pickups are Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers & we hope there would be passive options along the way. If only that headstock finish matches the body. Also, those inlays are too big for some of us. Anyway, looks aside, this guitar was conceived to not get in your way of achieving great tones & maximum playability.

Pic: Cort

PO Origin prices

Jackson's Pro-Origin 1985 models are in stock at Swee Lee, prices are documented above. Some of us would refrain from buying non-American products in this price bracket. Strangely, guitar players are a strange breed, price justifications are strictly personal. This is why Squier got away with the Hello Kitty guitars. But it's your money anyway, you call the shots.

Pics: Jackson

Pickguard

Solar guitars are featuring pickguards on some models, the one you see here is the A1.6DBOP. Not a fan.

Pic: SOLAR

Badder

This debuted last year. Waiting for it to appear in the stores here. There are more features in this one compared to the previous iteration. Let's see if this is riding on its predecessor's hype.

Pic: Digitech

Green P (4)

Just reached home from Beez's. This guitar had its electronics overhauled (90%) & ready to rock.

The pickups in this one are DiMarzios less the middle one which is a factory default Ibanez single coil: Crunch Lab (b) / Breed (n). I don't really fancy DiMarzios but since I have these lying around, they were put to good use. The sparkle finish isn't really obvious in this pic.

I nearly threw this away without realizing there's one more set left. Summary of what took place with this Ibanez RG2570Z:

• Body re-finish. Only the top part was done to cover the worn out surfaces & countless scratches. Green sparkle (mild) finish with a final lacquer overcoat. Took a few days to cure, leaving it in the sun helped. 
• Cleaned bridge. Thorough cleaning, wipe down + polish.
• Replaced pickups, pots & selector switch. Only bridge & neck pickups were replaced. Middle default pickup was left in tact. New, smoother & non-scratchy pots were installed. 5-way selector was also replaced. All pots + selector switch are Japanese products. 
• Removed all corroded screws. So many rusty & oxidized screws, all replaced.
• Clean other hardware. Thorough cleaning, wipe down + polish top lock & tuners.
• Fret re-dress. Some were re-crowned.
• Action set up. After shimming the neck pocket, a low, shred-worthy action was achieved.
• Cleaned fretboard. A good amount of gunk was removed & fretboard was re-oiled. Happy with the outcome.
• Cleaned headstock. Headstock was wiped down & polished. Love the shine.

So much work done but it's a fulfilling task for me. I am very happy to be occupied & applying my know-how & witnessing a dead instrument come back to life. It had been a good Saturday.

JT Micro

This was my final purchase of 2025. The beat-making adventure continues...

2026

Best wishing to everyone for 2026. May this be better than the last.

I've since stopped looking forward to this so called renewal chapter due to persistent uncertainty. My life took a turn after the cancer happened & it's been predominantly inhibited by despair more than anything else. Someone told me this excessive pessimism is a choice - I choose to make myself miserable. Well I certainly did not choose to make the cancer happen & the way I see it, everything happens for a reason. I'm at the receiving end with very little authority to the narrative. I have learnt to just accept things as it unfolds along the way & be grateful because there are others out there with worse in hand. Don't complain. Accept & move on.