Don't forget (to play)

All the latest NAMM feeds in social media will make many of us rooted to screens everywhere, fixed on some serious new gear out there. Let's not forget to play, seriously. I'm taking a break from gear updates just to hear myself in action which we sometimes take for granted. 

The whole of yesterday saw me playing this Edwards E-MA on & off trying to figure out some ideas ringing in my head & it went past midnight. I rained for the most part anyway so staying indoors & hearing myself in action was the wisest thing to do. These days it's not about keep my technicalities up there but it's about proficiency; the ability to translate what one's thinking about immediately onto the instrument. I'm moving onto this focus because it's more gratifying than being frustrated trying to learn someone else's music or ideas & making a tremendous amount of mistakes along the way. However, this approach is not exclusive & might take a back seat once I have some other needs to attend to. It's about addressing the immediate concern. How long do I spend doing this? As long as it takes until the objective is met. 

Here's wishing you a good Sunday ahead & enjoying every guitar moment that comes your way 😸

Played this week

All guitars played since Monday (L-R):

1. Yamaha RGXA2-  I'm paying more attention to guitars with hollow/ semi-hollow bodies as these instruments sound different with intense distortion. They manifest this different kind of thickness as well but the RGXA2's default pickups have to go. Waiting for replacements to be available...
2. Gibson Les Paul 50s Tribute (humbucker)- still trying to like Gibson LPs, still trying. PFFTTTT.
3. Jackson DK2T- One of the most rewarding guitar in my possession, those Duncans in there sound... I've loved Duncans all along so I have nothing negative to say :-)
4. Schecter Omen 6- I'm really glad to have this guitar in the house, it goes to show that you can have a good guitar without spending a bomb. Also, the pickups in there are superb: TESLA's Opus2/ Nitro. I think the Nitro is my most rewarding discovery.
5. Edwards E-MA-100SD/QM- I'm rather averse to singlecut designs, namely because it alludes too much to the Les Paul- play any singlecut guitar & the other person in the store would go, 'Oh, it's a Les Paul'. But manufacturers like Edwards know what they are doing when it comes to a thoughtful design, regardless of the outline, of course. People like me wouldn't mind owning a singlecut if they are appealing in terms of playing ergonomics. Janet said there'd be more Edwards to come (@ Davis) & I'll definitely be on a lookout for them :-)

Edwards: Price truth

Yes, it's another shot of my Edwards E-MA-100SD/QM but this is the price tag which I've left in tact at the control cavity cover. 

So the MSRP for this guitar is Y105K, in SGD it would be $1,675.88 (as at today's exchange rate). Previously, Davis tagged the E-MA models for $1.3k which is a very fair price but the latest shipment saw a drop to $990...

I recently bought this guitar- do I need another guitar? No I don't but I saw a good bargain which I couldn't put away, I guess that's me- weak willed when it comes to a good guitars with an exceptional price tags. I saw a bargain more than anything else so it was a confirmed purchase.

Many of us walked into Davis GMC & then left empty handed after discovering there were no further discounts for any of the items there but we need to check if those prices are indeed fair or bordering on the ridiculous. I have to give them my thumbs-up for price considerations.

Edwards: E-MA-100SD/QM (Part 3)

The pickups in the Edwards E-MA-100SD is a pair of Duncans: JB (bridge) + '59 (neck). I'm totally happy with this pair so they will remain residents in this guitar. As the guitar per se is light, both pickups benefited from good body resonance, much clarity could be heard when intense distortion/ drive is in use. I'm gonna visit Beez soon to have the volume pot swapped; currently, the one nearest the bridge pickup controls the bridge volume, while its farther sibling does the neck. I'm not used to this arrangement, so I would have it swapped to a nearer-neck-further-bridge configuration.
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Today is the final day of June, we bid farewell to the mid-year... Hope the later half of 2012 would be promising to many of us.

Edwards: E-MA-100SD/QM (Part 2)

The hardware for the Edwards E-MA-100SD: Gotoh. I have utmost respect for Gotoh parts because they are no-frills stuff & they have proven their worth time & again. That's the tune-o-matic + hard tail type bridge assembly you see there.

There are Gotohs over at the headstock as well. These aren't heavy tuners so they keep the tone in check. Great.

Edwards: E-MA-100SD (Part 1)

The new darling is an Edwards E-MA-100SD quilted maple top version. When I was at Davis to test them, I chose the blue version, I thought they were both identical save for the finish- I went with the blue version, I didn't handle the red darling. It was definitely an above-average guitar but it didn't 'speak' to me so I went home empty handed. Days later, I told Janet I wish to try the E-MA-110 as it features a pair of Duncan Blackouts. I was at Davis after work & tested the aforementioned guitar & was rather surprised with the lighter being, the blue E-MA-100SD I tried previously was more massive than the 110. My gut feeling told me to check the red 100SD to see if there are any weight variation & true enough, it was the lightest & the most 'singing' among them- the reason it went home with me :-)

My thanks to:

• Janet (@ Davis GMC) for letting me try the guitars with a simple Marshall amp to hear the true worth of the Edwards in terms of tone
• Edmund for setting up the simple Marshall amp despite attending to another customer- thumbs up, bro!!