Monday, February 2, 2026

Nut job


My SCA220 after being given some due attention. I just love this guitar, it sits between the S & SZ Series in terms of design. The SCA is not to be confused with the SC, the difference being the former's thicker body that allows the input jack to be located at the edge of the body.


This was the ongoing issue with this guitar; there's corrosion going on at the G, B & E nut string slots. The G slot manifested the worst corrosion & it persisted even after a good cleaning up / sanding down.


Decided the old nut must go, I don't see the point of dealing with this issue repeatedly. The nut is expendable & quality replacements are available at the shops. Before the nut was knocked out of place, both the fretboard & headstock surfaces were taped up. At the headstock side, a slit was made (using penknife) between the nut & headstock so that, when the nut is knocked out with a hammer, it won't dislodge the headstock finish.


The replacement nut is a TUSQ, for an Ibanez neck, the correct length measurement is 43mm. Do inform the shops you need an Ibanez version to prevent them from selling you the Gibson version which is slightly shorter. Also, a fresh unit requires some sanding down, do keep this in mind.


Finally, a set of Dunlop 9.5s because the SCA sports a shorter scale length compared to a regular S-Series.

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Modern gain

The last time I tried an EVH-related pedal, I was disappointed. It failed to capture the proverbial EVH high octane, no holds barred type distortion but then again, I failed to put it in context; it wasn't an amp (which is the primary source of EVH's distortion tone). Essentially, it lacked that crucial element that made it a menace - a tube. With this Modern High Gain pedal, I really don't know what to expect. No significant revision took place, only that bass frequency shift option; does this make things sound better? I reserve judgement till it's here in the shops to defend itself.

Pic: Dunlop