Badder

Is Badder better? We shall see...

To be continued...

AEWC

It seems that Ibanez prides itself with acoustic guitars featuring captivating tops. This AEWC16QA (Swee Lee: $499). These look great if you wish for a commanding presence. We can agree that the true measure of a good sounding acoustic guitar is its inherent tone. This, in most part, is the role of the guitar's sound board. The basic understanding here is that a solid top acoustic guitar does wonders to tone, first & foremost. The guitar captivates the audience if it sounds incredible, nevermind if it looks plain & boring. This is the reason why you see the specialist names in acoustic craftsmanship - Martin, Taylor, Takamine et al - do not feature gaudy tops but focuses on making the instrument sound good.

I'm of the opinion that Ibanez makes too many acoustic models with very little intent in offering the buyer a good sounding instrument as opposed to a good looking instrument. That said, Ibanez has other series of guitars with dedicated tops to propel tone. Here's hoping the average Joe out there gets to own an affordable Ibanez acoustic with a solid top to say the least. We refer to names like Tanglewood, Sigma & Cort among others, that are able to do so.

75th UII

In the mean time, Fender has some 75th Anniversary stuff going & this Ultra II Tele is quite a stunner. That flip-flop finish is something that I like. As you can see, these are not meant to emulate the traditional Tele single coil tones as the bridge pickup is a humbucker (Fender's own Fastlane pickup). This one also sports a compound radius, together with the D-profile neck, the guitar moves away from traditional specs. Downright desirable but it's gonna be costly.

Pic: Fender

Grateful

I'm always grateful to colleagues who remember me for who I am; someone who is very gear-inclined. Guitar spoon: Was given by a colleague who was away in Japan for a holiday. She thought of me the instant she saw this. Clip-on tuner: My previous clip-on tuner which I kept at work had become dodgy over time. My colleague acknowledged the situation & secretly bought me this BOSS version. This was given to me during the end-of-year / Xmas gift exchange event before I said goodbye to the organization. It's good to have such colleagues.

Aidilfitri 2026

Only the passing of Ramadan would make me reflect on life's hits & misses. Nothing else. Time & again, I would give thanks to the fact that I got the change to see many Ramadans after my cancer bout. This year, I am grateful that I am needed for 10 more weeks at work & offered a new contract to see this through.

Wishing all Muslim readers & friends a blessed Eid. Do make time for your loved ones & remember those who have departed before us. We are next in line.

MoMM (63)

Holiday eve. Me time, music time.

• Panic: Epidemic. A friend introduced me to this band back in school (1991). I was already quite sick of the usual metal bands hogging the magazine's front pages - Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament et al. Nothing special, just a thrash band, a good one. Just couldn't quite come to terms with the '80s distortion sound; brash & semi-unlikable.
• Imperial Triumphant: Goldstar. Not everyone's idea of black metal especially when it includes some very jazzy & prog elements forcing you to shift into intellectual mode instead of getting lost in the drone. This album made it to the top 10 list of black metal releases in 2025. Was a little late to check them out. 

Holiday eve... what's everyone doing?

AZ ash

These are currently Japan-only releases; the AZ2402 sporting ash bodies. The fact that the ash grains were made visible & manifested a sand blasted look, they look darn cool. In any case, sand blasted looks were done by Schecter & Charvel among others, way before Ibanez did. By the way, the AZ2402 is just a whisker off $3K these days. By the time these are made available here, these would probably be in excess of $3K.

Pics: Ibanez Japan

Duncanized

Was at Beez's today to get pickups wired up for this one - RG565.

Nothing wrong with the default Ibanez pickups actually. In fact I've kept it in tact since Day 1 & tried my very best to like it. Unfortunately, after countless bitter episodes (tone-related), having my preferred pickups in there would certainly end this misery: Seymour Duncan Cool Rails (N) / PATB-2 (B). There is a dichotomized embrace out there with regards to the default pickups. Some say they sound more than decent, while others lobby for an immediate replacement. I agree with both opinions. The deafult Ibanez pickups sound perfectly acceptable if you run your guitar into a Quad Cortex / Tone Master or any of the contemporary digital processors. However, if you are the plug-&-play type (like yours truly), the pickups sound very underwhelming. 

Do note that the PATB models have this TREMBUCKER etching on the underside of the pickup's baseplate & does not sport the three holes in the mounting flap unlike its other TB siblings.

G290 Modern

If you are not too particular with brand names (I know many people today are still insecure playing stuff with an unknown pedigree) & choose to embrace quality instead, do check out the G290 Modern (Swee Lee: $699). It's a well-spec'd guitar; locking tuners, SD humbucker, roasted maple neck, SS frets, stuff like that. The overall design is also very simple & presentable. These aside, have you noticed that Cort prices are moving up to unfriendly / unattractive figures?

Pic: Cort

SC Monday

Yet another episode of staying indoors. The guitar if choice today was this PRS S2 Singlecut Standard in gold finish. Nothing fancy / special, just a singlecut with a limited run finish.

While playing, the knobs were rather stiff. A quick check revealed no deterioration / anomalies. A quick contact spray treatment did the trick. Those huge orange drop caps were replacement units for the default ones. The two volume pots are Gotohs while the tone pots (with default push-pull coil split options) are default units.

The humbuckers here are also replacement units, the 57/08 models which, as the name suggests, micmic the Gibson 57 models. I hear more treble coming from these pickups so they are my kinda pickups. Costly pair but worth every cent.

A pack of fresh SIT .0095s for the playing experience today.

S-Sunday

Another day of staying indoors & playing guitar. This is the SML721 featuring tilted frets. Tilted, not fanned because the first few frets are not tilted so there's no fanning out.

I happened to come across a pair of DiMarzio Fusion Edge pickups which were purchased (for a good price) & installed here. The FE has a hit / miss reputation & these are definitely a miss in this guitar. The last time I hear good stuff coming from the FEs were from an extended scale RGD. These have to go soon.

My final pack of DR 9s went into this guitar. For the kind of music I embrace, DR strings are the best but they cost a little more than the other strings brands out there. I will only purchase them during seasonal discounts.

S-Saturday

Nothing much today, staying indoors, had been having bouts of vertigo. This usually happens when they review my meds & prescribed an alternative medicine to reduce the dosage or address some concerns (nerve related). Anyway, the guitar of choice on this tipsy Saturday - S621. This guitar is tuned to fourths so that less thinking is required as I move across the fretboard. The downside - need to re-think my chords but I seldom play chords, maybe a few times a year at most. Hope your Saturday was more exciting than mine.

Sadowsky: Metro Express (2)

Tried this at Swee Lee - impressed. Yes, it's the more affordable Chinese Metro Line P Bass but it's one heck of a player. Surprisingly, despite its standard scale length, this bass is somewhat a tad lighter than the average Mexican P-Bass from the big F brand. It's an okoume body, by the way. I see this as a no frills, value for money bass ($999). 

Pic: Sadowsky

Artec @ SV

Artec pedals are clearing out at SV Guitars for $29.90 each. Click HERE to see more on the list.

Pic: SVG 

C-1 50th

These are now available at Davis GMC. Ash body & ebony 'board for both, the FR bridge there is the 1500 version & pickups are in-house Sunset Strip Anniversary edition less the Sustainiac.

Pics: Schecter

MoMM (62)

Finally, received these 2 in the mail...

Mayhem: Liturgy of Death

Personally, it's an underwhelming album compounded by the fact that it's too close to Daemon. I will continue to support them for their musicianship.

Dokken: Under Lock & Key

Yes, I'm still looking out for those glorious '80s releases. For this particular album, George Lynch, in my opinion, up his game guitar-wise. My go-to Dokken album had been Tooth & Nail but this one is slowly growing into me. Also, the guitar ideas here had been re-manifested elsewhere. If you are a Lynch fan, you'd know which one.

Ultra-core

Fender has new strings. They call it the Ultra Core. When was the last time you bought a pack of Fender strings? More importantly, when was the last time you bought a pack of Fender strings & actually like them? As for me, the last time I bought a pack of Fender strings were the bullet end ones, which got stuck in the trem block holes.

Pic: Fender

Strobo

Really hope this one isn't a hyped up tuner pedal. It's always good to have strobe tech in tuners to enhance accuracy. It's already sold out in Japan...

Pic: Fender

Raya deals @ Swee Lee

Swee Lee is having a Raya promo (block discounts) for many items on their list till 29 March.

Recommended: Jackson JS22 - no frills, affordable. That curved top is a touch of class.

Pic: SMusic

 

Prism mini

Positive Grid, JBL, Blackstar... & now Laney. The model you see here is the Prism mini, joining the aforementioned brand names in offering app-based amp portability. A quick check with Davis GMS - stocks are coming in soon.

Pic: Laney

Friedman @ SG

This isn't a guitar clinic, it's a full show featuring Marty's band. Click HERE for ticket details.

Pic: Sistic

Coconut

Was talking to someone yesterday about fretboard maintenance. He was asking if organic oil was the way to go for hydrating purposes. I told him I prefer this as opposed to other synthetic fluids which feels oily but dries up real fast. Implication - oil content might be lesser than marketed. He then asked if I have tried using cooking oil & told him heck, no. Cooking oil is formulated for cooking & geared towards temperature tolerance & taste, certainly not for instrument maintenance. On that note, Dunlop now has coconut oil for us gear geek if we are really picky with the organic content. I just bought myself a small bottle to try. Of course, please do not spray this onto your hair & think it's just coconut oil anyway.

EHB600

Would like to thank Ibanez for making the EHB basses more affordable this year with the introduction of the the 600 Series. Catch - the fretboard is now jatoba instead of roasted maple. In stock at Swee Lee now.

Pics: Ibanez

8620

Nothing really refreshing at the Ibanez front for March. The RG8620 is now available in the new finishes depicted above - Anvil gray burst flat (top) & Ghost fleet blue burst (bottom). Both are now available at Swee Lee ($3,999)

Pics: Ibanez

TJAMC @ Esplanade

If your music revolved round the alternative genre back in the mid-'80s or so, The Jesus & Mary Chain would be a familiar name. Notable others in this era include Sonic Youth & Cocteau Twins, among others. TJAMC will be performing here in April for those interested.

Pic: Esplanade