Monday (laser) blues

Monday with nothing much to do. Brought this out to play. I have very few Ibanez guitars with original pickups in tact, this is one of them - RG565 in laser blue finish. 

I seldom buy coated strings, I must have bought this one some time back. It was in one of my guitar bags. A quick re-string.

I'm back to using a slightly smaller pick in an attempt to change my picking ergonomics. Seems to work on days when I'm not angry. Anyway, this is the Mini Coffin pick, custom made by Northern Ghost guitar picks (Canada).

New ghost

This is perhaps my favourite SG in terms of playability. Tone - it lacks that black metal touch. I like the wider neck profile which is a trademark of the 2015 models but these were plagued by the rubbish robot tuners which I did away almost immediately.

Actually, today's session is about trying the new Northern Ghost pick - the Coffin mini... 3mm & as hard as it can be so it's my kind of pick. Deliberately opted for a smaller pick to test my picking efficiency. Update in good time.

Some things

After the Satch-inspired post a few days ago, I made a personal reflection of why I go with the stuff I prefer:

• Pickups. I'm still a firm Seymour Duncan camper. People would tell me time & again, if you like Ibanez, DiMarzio would sound better for you. Yes, I have an Ibanez inclination but I still stick to what I like to hear, not some commercial guitar-pickups hype endorsed by the respective brand's artists. Duncans give me that brash but clear tone for intense music & this is my tone domain, primarily. I'm also a pedal minimalist & Duncans give me the most effective guitar-to-amp experience thusfar so I stick to what works for me. Yes, I do keep things open & have other pickup brands in other guitars on days when I need to put things in perspective, tone-wise. The pickups you see above are Seymour Duncan's Custom & '59 in a G&L Skyhawk. Regardless of which guitar they are in, Duncans will always give me what I wanna hear & that's important.
• Picks. Over the years, my experiences with picks got a little too personal. I reject certain brand names & thickness, once again, to fulfil my needs. As mentioned above, I tend to remain in the intense music domain so wimpy picks that would flex when in use are totally out of my consideration. Also, I have grown accustomed to a certain pick thickness therefore anything too thin & do not contribute to my picking style / effectiveness (even on days when I don't play aggressive music) are also out of the question. The pick you see above is the Northern Ghost Planchette. It's not available off the shelf & takes time (3 weeks or later via normal, untracked mail) to reach me once I've committed to purchase. Why bother? Because they make picks according to my preferences. Simple.
• Pedal. Yes, as mentioned above - pedal minimalist, that's me. The irony is, I keep buying pedals to keep me entertained on days when I am bored. OK back to the point, on any playing occasion, I only have the tuner pedal & one drive / distortion unit to boost proceedings. All the primary aggression comes from the amplifier, the pedal is there to make me feel angrier 😅 I've cycled through may pedals but have recently stood by the Elektrik Head Snakestortion you see above. No, you can't get this anywhere, it's custom made by good friends over at Malaysia 🇲🇾 Anything extra special about the pedal? Not really, other than the fact that it offers 4 different clipping modes which I find very useful for various applications. More importantly, I need those features for my playing style.

Over the years, I've learnt to let go of this feeling of insecurity; I don't feel out of place by not playing a certain brand name when it becomes the flavour of the moment. I enjoy being me more than joining the next guy in exalting the hype. 

Being picky

 

These days, when I play, I do not stick to a particular pick. I will have a few on standby & go with the one that I click with for the rest of the session. 

For instance, I will start with that glittery one (above: Northern Ghost Planchette, glitter edition) as this is my current preference. This will make me play with the least mistakes, it's the most comfortable. 

Then I will switch to the black one (Dunlop Flow 3mm) which is the trickiest to deal with. It's also downright slippery & will glide from string to string rather effortlessly & made me fumble. I will drop the pick the most times when I am dealing with this dark menace. 

Lastly, this clear wonder pick (V-Picks Mummy) is a cheat pick. It's my most enduring reference when all else fail but it's not the one I play the most. It's almost too precious to be played. So between these 3, one will make it till the end while the other two would return to the storage box to rest.

Indoor Sunday

Nothing much today, staying indoors & spending time with the Ibanez SIX6FDFM. I believe this is one of my better sounding S-Series with DiMarzios: Andy Timmons (b) / PAF 36 (n). If you wish for ultra smooth tones without the treble bits prickling your ears, the AT-1 is the one to consider. If you like fat bottom end, this is the one to get as well. I have been spending almost the entire week with this guitar actually, wondering why it sounds way more appealing than some of the more costly Ibanez I have. 

I'm also having a good time with my current fav picks, the Northern Ghost Planchette, seen here in 3 different incarnations. I firmly believe that the pick you play has a large influence to your playing efficiency. Psychologically, it means having something that contributes to positive moments so you play better.

Am I watching the World Cup opening match later? Well, I have not subscribed to any WC package in the mean time & looking forward not to. The most anticipated football event is currently a platform for disgruntled factions clamouring for attention. Quoting Pantera: No good, For no one.

Ghosting...

One of my fav pick brands, receiving them in the mail makes me happy. This is my preferred pick shape in the mean time, it promotes effective picking for me. Also,  pick thickness are customized to my preference. It's always a pleasant transaction with construction progress updated through IG. 

The red special

Brought this one out to play for Tele Tuesday. It's not exactly a Tele but it's definitely a Tuesday. This one is on the heftier side of things & lately, I've been avoiding the heftier ones; they are beginning to affect my blood circulation. When I bought this way back when it was priced to clear, it actually cost less than its Mexican counterpart today. That's how crazy prices are in the mean time. I've stopped checking out certain guitars from a certain brand name as the products are becoming unreasonably priced without a matching mark up in quality.

I would refer to this combo as my cheat code; a proven, good-sounding pickup + the pick that makes me play with the least mistakes. The pickup in question is the Seymour Duncan JB (TB-4) & the pick - Norther Ghost Plectrums Planchette model. 

Blue eve

Had been playing the blue one this New Year's Eve - wet weather since morning. Indoors & feeling blue. The simple genius of Kiesel is manifested in this Type X; it's more manageable in terms of handling. Make it smaller & headless - simple formula. 

That's right, blue selector tip & volume knob for this one. That see-through blue pick is a Northern Ghost Cloud model. Notice it has lots of grip space which tapers to a pointed tip. Darn good for super fast riffing as it helps you move quickly across strings. I have a thing for picks because they contribute to playing efficiency. I urge you to explore the different picks available out there, especially those not offered by the stores here. These are relatively affordable investments to fine tune your playing finesse. 

To those celebrating & counting down to the new year - stay safe. Cheers, everyone!

Clouds

Received - my second custom order from Northern Ghost guitar picks. It's just their Cloud model with a hole in the center for better grip. The finishes were a surprise by them, I only specified one to be in a glitter version, colours & whatever else were their end of the artistic manifestation. Made in Canada with lots of dedication.

Ghostly

Nothing much folks,  just spending the Sunday with my new picks - the Uno (l) & Planchette (r). I can no longer play thin picks; these are 3mm. Any thinner & it would make me flop. OK so I use thinner picks for acoustic stuff. That's something else. If you are interested in these picks, do check them out here: Northern Ghost picks