Black Saturday

Was at Beez's to get pickups fixed into my Ibanez RG521. Was there early to avoid the road closures for the NDP 2025 rehearsal but roads closed earlier than I expected. The good thing - the City Hall-Peninsula-Funan underground linkway facilitated regular pedestrian movements regardless of the road closures. Thank goodness.

The pickups in question are DiMarzio D'Activator X. I have these pickups in my Ibanez Destroyer so I know what to expect from them but strangely, in this guitar, these manifest more low frequencies. It might be due to the direct body mount but I like what I'm hearing.

Of course, a quick re-string before the pickups were mounted. So this pack of Harmony strings were left inside a bag at my storage space since March 2024 - yikes! But Harmony strings, true to its enduring nature, remain usable.

Warrior Dave

Jackson & Dave Davidson continued their collaboration into the Warrior zone. Many conformists out there would find this outline a little repulsive but it's compulsory consideration for all those dwelling in the metal zone.

Those of us who are not into maple fretboards, it's available in ebony as well but with a reverse headstock. Specs are decent; DiMarzio Pickups (Occult) & an FR1000 bridge. This is a Pro Series model FYI.

Pics: Jackson

Y & Y

This year's NAMM announcement saw the resurgence of the Korn-endorsed Ibanez guitars. Unlike its previous iteration, the models this time round are RGD-based despite featuring a 25.5" scale length. The Yin model comes in an all black finish, a pair of DiMarzio Blaze pickups (a very Universe vibe) & an ebony 'board. The body being nyatoh might be the obvious cost-cutting indicator since these instruments are not Japanese but we wonder how much more a mahogany body would add to cost for it to be excluded. The U-Bar whammy is an obvious nod to its roots.

The Yang model, living up to its contrasting symbiosis, comes in a white finish, featuring a rosewood 'board instead. This model features a fixed Evertune bridge, the pickups are also a pair of DiMarzio Blaze but is devoid of a tone control. 

I see the Korn act as being over & done with. It's making a return riding on a generous dose of nostalgia, the guitar brand being a large part of this resurgence. Do you see nu-metal making a come back, am I missing this? So the obvious implication here is that players won't lose their mind & rush to acquire these guitars come Summer. There is also the danger of these guitars being a pair of overpriced non-Japanese signatures & the fact that these are 7-string models mean they would only appeal to a certain cohort of players in guitardom. If there is a real interest in re-booting the Korn affair, then the guitars should be RG-based, not RGD. Further cost-cutting could be observed by re-instating the DiMarzio PAF 7s instead of the more costly Blaze; the PAFs were indeed the original pickups back in 2001 when the K7s were unleashed to the world.

Lest we forget, Brian Welch left Ibanez prior to this Yin Yang introduction & his LTD 7-string was awesome to say the least. We can see why the RGD was chosen for this come-back owing to the LTD Horizon's curved body top & chamfered cutaways. The forces that be at Ibanez might have seen something coming by facilitating the K7 return which we, the lay people at the buying end, do not. There's nothing to be too excited about these instruments as they are not in the upper tiers of the manufacturer's catalog. 

Goodbye, January...

Pics: Ibanez / L&M

Sunday guitar

Another indoor Sunday episode (excluding morning walk). It seems that SG is abbreviating Sunday Guitar 😅 at least for my case. I never did a follow-up to this entry here: CLICK pertaining to the DiMarzio Evolution humbuckers in this guitar so here it is. I took this out to play because I needed to hear good DiMarzios in action. So DiMarzios are bad? Of course not, I personally prefer Seymour Duncans but I do pay attention to the DiMarzios that serve my needs.

The pickups in this guitar are actually an Evo 2 & an Evo. As depicted above, the bridge pickup has a rather flat response save for a little nicked treble. The neck pickup on the other hand has a slightly boosted bottom end & wee bit more treble than its bridge counterpart. There's also a little more high mids on offer.

These may be minor differences but in use, it makes all the difference. The bridge pickup sounds very biting with loads of clarity. The neck also manifests much clarity for solos despite a curbed treble response. Folks, this is strictly a Gibson - DiMarzio chemistry especially involving an SG. Please do not cascade this understanding unto your Jackson / Ibanez guitars sporting a whammy bridge & be upset with the outcome. In due fairness, the EVOs were made for Steve Vai who is using an Ibanez with a dual action whammy bridge so by virtue of this understanding, the chances of these pickups working in such a guitar is a highly likely outcome. My point in bringing this episode to you is to share the fact that the EVOs sound very appealing in Gibson SGs as well. If you kept coming across reviews of the EVOs in shred-esque guitars then let me be the one to tell you that these work wonders in other guitar types as well. 

Purple Sunday

Just got the wiring for this sorted out. On the way home, finally met the guitar GOAT 😅

It's like this - The replacement pickups for this guitar are DiMarzios. This guitar features Ibanez's dyna-MIX10 switching system. DiMarzio pickups have to be wired in another way, not conforming to Ibanez's colour code. In this case, DiMarzio's Fusion Edge humbuckers actually follow the Ibanez color code. So there. We were made to figure out an unnecessary permutation of wirings only to realize that the original combo is the correct one to begin with.

Ibanez: August '24 (3)

One of the new guitars Ibanez released this August is Paul Gilbert's FRM350. This iteration has that fancy tail end Gibraltar model, something you'd see on an AR model, for a vintage vibe. Pickups are DiMarzio's Air Classics which I like. 

So this time, there's a magnetic platform at the treble cutaway to hold a slide. Do you need one for your guitar? No, you don't but Paul Gilbert does. He's on a slide itch & Ibanez is acceding to the endorser's fancy like they did with his mini humbucker & single coil affiliations not too long ago.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your kind contributions: Ryan Woo

Pics: Ibanez

Heavy zone

I have a love-hate affair with DiMarzio's Tone Zone. In some guitars it sounds downright nasal with a semi-useless bass response. That fuzzed-out sound... I hate it. In others, it can really give a good punch to heavy distortion. Depicted above is the Tone Zone in my Ibanez SEW761. It sounds awful most of the time (in this guitar).

Today, I decided to pair it up with the Digital Metalizer (MZ-2). Outcome:

• the TZ has an excessive bass response so the MZ-2's EQ was set past midway to enhance treble
• overall tone was more usable in chorus modes. It seems that the TZ needs some kind of a top end booster to make the overall tone less nasal / fuzzy
• tone sounds more palatable when the drive was set to about 3/4 way. Implication - the TZ might be better for crunchy stuff rather than all out metal

Verdict: Nothing changes. The TZ is more of a miss than a hit for me. Strangely, I would want to hear it in action every now & then 😅

Review quickie: DiMarzio Norton

The DiMarzio Norton is an Alnico 5 humbucker with a strong midrange response. It's meant to be a bridge humbucker with a high output performance. The one you see above is the special order double cream finish which was sold to me for a good price because it's an F-Spaced version; the owner wanted a regular spaced model. It was still sealed in the box when I took over possession.

Likes

• clarity with distortion
• smooth overall performance at high volume settings
• relatively good clean tones

Dislike

• nasal midrange at high gain settings

Overall rating: 80%

I'm not really a fan of DiMarzios (if you've been following this blog diligently) but I make exceptions for models which cater to my needs. The Norton here was spec'd out for a pushed midrange performance which is absolutely my thing with regards to the music I play.  So this humbucker was adept to all harsh settings common in the black metal realm but the midrange gets nasal at high gain settings (even in less distorted situations). A check over at the amp's EQ section is a must. The good thing about DiMarzios - they still maintain the smooth, polished overall tones with excessive processing. If you wish for clarity (especially the solo-inclined geeks) at high gain, the Norton is the way to go, regardless of the music genre.

Thanks: Bothers Kai Jie / Jordan Thiam for your kind contributions. One more time - I'm very grateful to all who had made my December a little more bearable. If you wish to join the cause - for which I'm grateful for - please refer to the QR code on the left shoulder of this page. Thanks in advance!

EX

We begin December with a story of resurrection. Ibanez fans will know this Ibanez is from another era with no current lineage. It's an EX360. All EX Series were discontinued in 1993. It's an interesting guitar as the body ergonomics are a fusion of the RG (scooped cutaways) & Radius (rounded edges) appointments. Also, the inlays were the pre-shark tooth version & the headstock decal sits a little more towards the nut. 

When I took over ownership of this guitar, it was in a beat up condition but still playable. The leather bag it came with was severely flaked & was discarded immediately. The headstock had chipped parts along the edges which I managed to touch up & it looks more presentable now as seen above. Two of the tuners were very loose owing to missing washers so I decided to replace all with Wilkinson tuners instead. One of the truss rod cover screws was missing as well & this was an easy replacement. The fretboard was surprisingly clean but dry. Frets are in players' condition with severe wear at the 7th - 13th areas, especially at the treble side. I didn't bother re-dressing them as my light touches manifest only slight buzzing which is tolerable by my standards.

The previous owner was upfront about the body finish which was done by a non-pro. I find it acceptable but had to give it a thorough wipe down & it looked cleaner thereafter. The electronics - it was equipped with a 3-way selector which was duly replaced with a 5-way. The pickups - the bridge humbucker had to be swapped out as it proved to be too weak for any good overdriven tones to manifest. The one you see here is a DiMarzio Air Classic which I have lying around. The default single coils were surprisingly good so they were kept in tact & the pole pieces cleaned up. Volume & tone knobs were recent replacements so they stayed put. The TRS bridge was surprisingly set up properly so very little tweaking was done when fresh strings were installed. Some rusty parts were unforgivingly sanded off. 

This was actually my black Friday acquisition after I decided against buying anything from the shops as there were really no good deals to be had compounded by my limited purchasing power. 

It's already December. For many of us, it's a wonderful time of the year but for me, it's the most miserable month of the year. Living in this country requires you to be fully employed, otherwise, depression will set in quickly.

Melody chopper

I love this guitar (& the rest that I own, of course). It's like built to my specs; no frills, all action. However, it came default with a single coil pickup which I respect but do not favour. I am on high gain mode 90% the time & the single coil hum is something I can do without.

Addressing the issue is not just putting in a single coil sized humbucker in there because the pickguard slot accommodates vintage specs so if it's a covered pickup, it won't fit. That's the reason you see the cover of this DiMarzio Chopper removed before it could be fitted into the pickguard. Before that could happen, the exposed part of the pickup was taped up to prevent the penetration of dirt & moisture. Also, it took quite a while to remove the cover as it was sealed with silicon, I believe. If you just yank it off, the fragile base (that green portion you see there) might crack. Use a hair dryer (heat) to dislodge the silicon & pry open the cover slowly.

Then off to Beez's for the necessary surgery & installation.

Re-string & it's good to go. Wishing everyone a good weekend ahead.

TZ: Like

 

My DiMarzio love / hate adventure continues & it's the Tone Zone this time. Perhaps the TZ is the DiMarzio I have tried in many of my guitars over the years with various results. I will avoid the TZ if there are other considerations but in this case, the price for the TZ / Air Norton pair was too good to pass. Also, it's in near-mint condition.

Yes, it's one of those occasions when the TZ sounds good. Maybe it might be due to the shorter scale length of this guitar. It doesn't sound excessively mid-range dominant like the one in my SEW761. It sounds just right. I have no idea why this happened, really. Still couldn't pin-point to any particular contributor which would be a hit with the TZ; wood type / instrument weight / bridge type / pickup height / etc. Most of the time it's a hit / miss. Two hits thusfar - this guitar & an Ibanez S-Series which features the TZ as a default pickup. The rest was a wasted affair.

Ghost

The latest Fender John 5 Telecaster is called Ghost; pale complexion with a tinge of blood. Perfect. It has a pair of DiMarzio D Activators on board so it means business when it comes to distortion. Not my thing but I like the blank fretboard.

Pic: Fender

Mirage

A new pair for Jack Bowen - DiMarzio Mirage. The output suggests a very aggressive performance with a ceramic magnet on board. The bridge humbucker sports a cover which means it might not fit a ring mounted instrument. Even Jake's Ibanez is a direct mount version so just keep this in mind before considering get one.

NAMM '23: Ibanez

So Ibanez let loose a bunch of new releases for NAMM 2023. The models on offer are all signature instruments which may / may not appeal to guitar fans in general. This white Talman-esque model you see above is the new Ichika Nito (ICHI100) guitar which is as utilitarian as it gets; nothing fancy, not even branded pickups. Consolation - roasted maple neck.

 

Satch's Chrome Boy (JS3CR) returns to its traditional format - 22 frets but pickups are DiMarzio's PAF Pro / Satchur8. I prefer 22 frets for the JS, it's been this way from the start but saw a 24 fret revision along the way. It's good to see this one keeping it true to its origins.

Pics: Ibanez

Revived: Ibanez S320

Completed this revival today: Ibanez S320. I managed to sell off one of my headless guitars & used the funds to get this for the same amount. I bought it because it's the older S-Series sporting 22 frets. I just have a thing for S-Series with lesser frets especially this model where the fretboard is almost blank save for those dots at the 12th fret.

The body used to be black. This black stain was applied by the previous owner after sanding down the entire guitar to bare wood. I'm not too keen with black so it was re-sprayed to that blue you see in the first pic. It was not professionally done, of course. I didn't apply wood filler to level the surface so some unstained open pores could be seen. Three layers of blue was applied with a final lacquer overcoat.

Only the top surface was stained, the rear remains natural. As seen here, some black spots from the original finish still remain. I couldn't be bothered much as it's not visible from the front. 

When I received the guitar, the neck was attended to first. The fretboard was downright dirty with an awful accumulation of dirt. Evidently, this was never cleaned. The headstock was also very dusty with a missing truss rod cover. That was attended to rather easily. The owner had replacement locking pads & bolts which looked very new so these were left in as-is condition. The tuners were removed & headstock polished.

I have replacement RATIO tuners installed. The original set had one crooked peg with another missing a washer.

The original pickups had to go as well; they were scratched & the pole pieces were very rusty. I have these unused DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell lying around; they are the deserving replacements. I also have plastic covers installed so they look like active units from a distant but this was not the reason why they were there. I just wanted to make sure the pickups are well protected from sweat & dirt. If you are interested, you can get these covers at TY Music Center, less than $6 for a pair.

Of course, Beez did his magic for the electronics. A500K Alpha pots are used, together with a GOTOH 3-Way selector. The original input jack was retained as it's still in good condition. 

To be concluded...

Ibanez 2023: RG2550 - back

An interesting find - the RG2550 has returned to the fold but in China only. That's right, for some strange reason, it's not made available everywhere. The RG2550 bowed out of the catalog with an Edge Zero bridge & DiMarzio IBZ pickups. Looks like it has gone one up with the Edge bridge & DiMarzio pickups (Air Norton / True Velvet / Tone Zone).  

Pic: Ibanez CN

Evolutionized

 SG Special... nothing really special. Felt like playing an SG today so this was it.

Was at Beez's earlier; my first trip for 2023. I prefer going on a weekday, not too keen being in the City Hall area on Sundays, too many people out & about. Majority of these people are workers on their day off. Hanging out, getting in the way. I prefer not to make up the numbers.

Got these installed - DiMarzio Evolution. To be continued... 

Ibanez 2023 (2): AZ does it

Moving on with the new Ibanez 2023 offering, the AZ is now offered in a triple single coil configuration. Like the Mantovanelli signature, the dynaMIX switch was not included & replaced with a blend knob. Fretboard is rosewood & frets are stainless steel.  Gentle reminder - this is the N version so there is no cavity under the bridge to make it rest in a permanent floating position. Seen above: AZ2203N

The AZ2204N has a new finish this year; dark tide blue. It's dark enough to pass off as black from a distance but once the body catches light, the blue will be more prominent; subtle flip-flop effect.

So DiMarzios have officially crept into the AZ line (EDIT: These were already available in the Premium models). The HSH configuration & flame top are exclusive to the DiMarzio equipped models. Body is however basswood, which IMO, is a good match for the pickups. This is not an N model so the cavity under the bridge means it is resting in a permanent floating position. No dynaMIX switch here as well but no blend knob either, it's a standard 5-way selector. This model is a very close competitor to the RG in terms of features (mostly) with the latter having the upper hand in pleasing the shred purists due to the thinner neck profile. Seen above: AZ2407F

Pics: Ibanez

It's... Monday

It's one of those Mondays when things didn't quite work out as intended. My string muting today was almost non-existent even when playing slow. I would usually switch guitar if that happened but the demotivation today was intense. I stopped playing altogether.

I like to play this guitar because of the DiMarzios on board - the Air Classic. I have a love-hate relationship with DiMarzio pickups but the ACs have been pleasant all round; they just sound good clean & distorted. These are not really what I'd go for when shopping for DiMarzios - low output & a little wanting in the midrange. Sometimes you really need to hear these pickups in action to know if they really have something for you.

Hope it's not too late to wish everyone a good week ahead. 

Red revival (2)

I had second thoughts about these pickups but these are the fabled DiMarzio IBZUSA trio. This means very little to me as I'm not a DiMarzio fan, I will only embrace the ones that give me what I want to hear.  Also, I have no budget for replacement pickups in the mean time so they were given a thorough cleaning & left in tact. The volume & tone pots were replaced as those were dead. After Beez re-wired them, they sounded alright. In fact, they sounded good to me, the midrange & top end responded with good clarity & not rounded off like many DiMarzios out there. However, after a few days of playing, the split tones were not heard when selector position 4 was engaged. Darn. 

So back to Beez for a diagnosis. Both humbuckers were functional in split mode at position 2 but not 4. Conclusion - the 5-way selector was dysfunctional. What a relief. Replacing a 5-way selector is definitely more financially viable than getting new pickups. So as you can see above, a new GOTOH YM-50 took over proceedings (shiny new terminals) & the pickups were back in business. Yes, I only had an oversized Orange Drop cap to spare for this guitar & it was put to use as depicted above as well. Folks, the thinner S-Series body could not accommodate the Strat-type 5-way selector; the curved & extended terminal would extend beyond the cavity, the reason a GOTOH was used instead. Also new - input jack. The older one was still functional but it crackled way too much, Beez advised a replacement now would be a good idea instead of returning subsequently to get it done; it's a matter of time.

To be concluded...