Smooth attacks

It's the holiday eve. Time to unwind & spin a movie. But before that, time to reflect on these two which had been my preoccupation the week before. 

Despite the different pickups in there, I could easily employ either instrument for both distortion & smooth drive applications. Let not the physical outlines & different pickup brands make us re-think our intentions when it comes to tone. The guitar with whatever pickups installed is merely part of our entire signal chain. The outcome, more often than not, is more important than the implements. Nobody told Albert King not to strut his Gibson Flying V for the blues. Euronymous got by his brand of black metal toting a Les Paul for good measure. I think we tend to overthink sometimes. Instead of devoting time & effort to ability & tone, we get caught up with fashionable implements. On this note, it should be my working philosophy for 2019 but we have about a week to refine our expectations, resolutions & what not. 

Wishing everyone a good holiday ahead. Stop working already, wind down & let loose. Cheers! 🍻

Glaive- deactivated

One of the reasons why I seldom play this one is because it sports a pair of in-house Ibanez CAP active humbuckers. My ears are a little fatigued listening to such responses not that those CAP pickups were under-performing (certainly not!) but because I don't fancy such manifestations.

Made a quick trip to Beez's yesterday to have these replace the CAPs: PATB Distortion (b)/ Jazz (n). A rather peculiar pairing of a menacing bridge model with a reserved neck counterpart. Not really. Seymour Duncan's Jazz (SH-2) humbucker should not be overlooked to deliver outstanding lead tones just because it's labelled to project a reserved demeanour. It's one of those versatile pickups equally adept in clean as well as driven tones. And then some in semi-hollow guitars.

The X-series weapons model are extinct now. They can be identified easily at the headstock less the early Xiphos models which were cataloged without that specific label. 

A quick cuppa before heading home.

FYI, the rest of the family members seen here. These were definitely interesting additions to the Ibanez fold but there were very few takers & it's all about the outlines. Ibanez fans are still hardcore when it comes to the RG. It remains to be the manufacturer's formidable model in terms of sales & no frills offering when it comes to design pleasantries. 

Shoutout to brother Joshua- good to have met you at Beez's! 

Ibanez: Ghost weapons

I was expecting this to happen- the Ibanez 'weapons' models (seen here T-B: Falchion/ Glaive/ Halberd) have been discontinued for 2014. The only remaining member is the Xiphos whose availability is restricted to regional distributions. Also, Mick Thompson has the Glaive under his name & hopefully it would live on in that line of production. With no firm ambassadors & very limited options, this trio of guitars was destined for the archives. Kinda sad because I see this as the manufacturer's avenue in dealing with extroverted outlines but there's simply no extended marketing for this. I believe many of us prefer to tread the BC Rich path when it comes to such designs. Treasure yours if you have them :-)

Ibanez 2012: Glaive! (Mick's)

The other new Ibanez Glaive model is Mick Thompson's new signature, the current RG-like offerings are discontinued. We can all agree that he likes the BC Rich-esque presence. He, he...

Ibanez 2012: Glaive!

Forgive the pic quality, just wanna get you Ibanez fans started; here's a pair of new Glaive models to be announced soon (NAMM 2012)- a 7-string model & a 6-string silverburst. Really glad the 7 is featuring a pair of passive humbuckers- it's on my 'to-get' list.

Mick... Glaiving again...

Aw, shucks... they made Mick Thompson another Glaive in white. Come to think of it, he could have all the colours he wanted, he just need to say it.

Photo credit: Moocher

Mick's Glaive

Mick Thompson spotted with the (Ibanez) X-series' GLAIVE but it's a tweaked edition- reverse headstock + locking bridge.

Photo credit: Paul Harries

Ibanez X-series (Brief take 3- final instalment): Glaive

The final member of this year's new X-series is the Glaive. It's essentially a V-type guitar with a pair of crucial cutaways for great balance both sitting down & standing up. In fact, the lower cutaway is the reason it's possible to play one sitting down.

As you can see here, I got myself a white version & that bag you see there is part of the purchase package.

The Glaive sports the regular Ibanez headstock, nothing too out-going here. Do note the 'X-Series' label which differentiates it from the regular headstock.

Rear view. Not obvious from the above pic but it seems that this year, Ibanez had resorted to pasting the serial numbers on their instruments instead of printing them. All 2011 X-series instruments are made in China.

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record but just a reminder that the CAP-LZ humbuckers are active & they perform better with distortion. It's a simple affair for the Glaive, just a volume knob & a 3-way toggle switch & I'll show you why there's no tone knob.

It's because the other cavity end is housing the batteries. This is how cramp the situation is at the back.

I'm very happy with what I see & hear from all 3 X-series guitars, more importantly, the Chinese production is definitely holding up in terms of QC. The protrusive fanfare aside, the X-series are indeed practical designs when it comes to posture considerations. The Glaive lists for $970 @ Swee Lee. Thanks to Yadni @ the BB showroom for the assistance leading to the purchase of this instrument.

Summary of 2011 X-series models:

• Falchion
• Halberd
• Glaive

Other X-series models:

• Iceman
• Destroyer
• Xiphos

Ibanez X (Musikmesse 2011) slight return...

Fresh from Musikmesse 2011, the trio of new X-series. From top tpo bottom: Halberd/ Falchion/ Glaive. All models sport a pair of active LZ humbuckers.