Red Monday

I'm still in love with the 22 fret S540 models. It is perhaps a silent acceptance of adequacy amidst the shortcomings - obviously those 22 frets. I seldom venture up to the 24th fret while playing but often manifest touch harmonics there. This is the reason why the older, 22 fret S-Series are my thing. Gentle reminder - Malmsteen needs only 21 frets to turn heads.

Anyway, this guitar was brought out to play today to also remind myself how good those IBZ USA pickups are. These were manufactured by DiMarzio so the good tone pedigree is there. Not that I'm a fan of the aforementioned brand but I tend to go with what my ears like & these are definitely likeable.

Red revival (3)

Battle worn headstock of the S540. For the older generation Japanese Ibanez guitars, the decal was applied after the lacquer overcoat. This means it's very vulnerable to polish fluids & cloth abrasion. Should this be entirely worn out, I'm ready to re-decal it, thanks to my RG560 experience (CLICK). If you look at the string retainer there, it's crooked. I have no idea how this passed the QC.

There should be a serial / i/d number here, particularly in that blank strip there. As you can see, there's none.

Stress crack, not quite clearly depicted here - apologies. Many of us would freak out seeing this in their instruments but this is a a superficial breakdown; the paint is affected, not the wood. This is common for bolt-on necks if left carelessly unsupported. Examples would be lying it flat on the ground without a neck support or leaning it against the wall. Also attributable to constant removal of the neck for adjustments or rectification. 

These are what I have to deal with after taking ownership of this guitar. It would be unreasonable to expect a mint condition property considering this one was gigged significantly. I don't mind a certain seasoned look but the instrument has to remain functional. My objective in such situations is that of restoration, not repair. 

Episode1: CLICK

Episode 2: CLICK

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... 

Red revival

Alright folks, this is something I got from the after-market; an Ibanez S540. The ex-owner is an old-timer who gave good mileage to this guitar for sure. We had a good chat. He told me he bought it in 1994 but S540 fans would know that '94 was the year, Ibanez had the Quantum (Q) humbuckers in the S540 so this one is definitely a pre-'94 as it featured a set of DiMarzio IBZ USA pickups.

Let me share with you how much I got it for. It was listed for $700. Upon personal inspection, there were many dings, scratches & the gash you see above was the deal-breaker for me. However, this was located at the rear of the elbow relief of the body so it's invisible from the audience view point. These were all undeclared in the listing so folks, if you are dealing with a well-used instrument which looks fine in listing photos, you are the wiser if you take time & see the instrument in person. Sometimes, the seller might deem it unnecessary to declare because it's a well-used instrument anyway but the buyer needs to know & it will inevitably be the decision-making factor. Together with the worn out frets, I managed to talk the price down to $600.

In the listing photos, the rear of the guitar cavity, where the whammy springs reside, was uncovered. Then I realized the bridge in this guitar was not the Lo-Pro Edge it was supposed to feature - darn! A cheap Chinese product was in place. As such, the trem block was not catered to match the thinner body depth of the S-Series, the reason it could not be closed & left exposed. I thanked the seller for his time & was about to walk away when he asked me how much a replacement bridge would cost - at least $200 was my answer. He told me he really had no use for this guitar any more & wanted to let it go to the first person showing real interest, so the price was further marked down to $400. Final question before I make my decision - are the electronics working? He could not assure me so the price was further marked down to $350. It sounded like I had squeezed dry a senior citizen of his prized possession but as you will see in further episodes here, despite its Japanese pedigree & DiMarzio manufactured pickups, it's not worthy of its $700 asking price. The guitar was purchased for $350 & I wasn't sure if it's a steal or daylight robbery. 

To be continued... 

Red alert

Saying goodbye to July with this unexpected acquisition. 

To be continued...

Price watch (35)

Ibanez S1675 in as-is condition with a removable Roland synth pickup.

Ibanez S540 which is undoubtedly a Prestige level instrument in its heyday but currently with chrome GOTOH tuners, chrome locking nut assembly, replacement GOTOH Floyd Rose type locking bridge (yes, in chrome finish as well) & covered Seymour Duncan humbuckers. Which one would you choose?

The S540 is a wonderful guitar but giving it a personal makeover might extinguish genuine interest in the instrument. In this particular case, putting an option to offer in addition to an asking price (which doubles as a price floor) might do the guitar some good. Why? The S-Series is not an active interest amongst the Ibanez enthusiasts, the RG is preferred. Currently, the RG is backed by a revival; the Genesis models are popular choices & of outstanding value-for-money. If you own any older Japanese  RGs, you can definitely ride on this demand trend. Remember, I'm not the price police, you have no obligations to agree, just some food for thought. 

Not custom

We often read claims in ads / forums that the Ibanez S540 is a custom made model; it's clearly indicated on the fretboard as seen above. 

Contrary to popular belief & owing to that misleading label, the S540 is not a custom made model. In fact, it's featured in the catalogs (in this case, a 1997 reference) as a standard model. This has led to many confusion & denial by countless uninitiated owners. Do not despair though, the S540 is every bit an elite, Japanese made guitar out there. The Ibanez of the 80s / early 90s were the stuff of legends when it comes to immaculate construction, fit & finish. I just wished I was already a working individual back then & could have acquired more of these instruments. 

Re-string Thursday

Spent time with this woody. It's one of my preferred guitars not because it's better than the rest but because it brings out my better playing moments.  I love everything about it as well; unfinished body, 22 frets, wide neck, Seymour Duncan pickups & a very wield-friendly weight. Kinda regret not paying more attention at the S540 guitars when they were available. A fresh set of D'Addario 9s for this one. FYI, the pickups in this one: PATB (b) / Hot Rhythm (m) / Full Shred (n).

3 reasons

Just stopped playing. Today I had my Ibanez S540 for company, plugged into my Peavey XXL combo. 3 reasons why I dig this guitar...

1. Seymour Duncan: PATB Distortion

My Ibanez S540 had seen different pickups in the bridge position, many failed to capture the depth & clarity of the guitar until I had the PATB. Initially I was skeptical as this humbucker is devoid of the regular, circular pole pieces. I thought these smaller, parallel whatever pieces the manufacturer calls them, were incapable of capturing the string vibrations effectively as opposed to its aforementioned counterparts. But back then, I was too judgmental & dismissive just because things were not made they way I wanted them to be. Never, never judge a pickup by its pole pieces. Lesson learned.

2. Seymour Duncan: Hot Rhythm

Many of us are bothered by the need for our single coil- in an HSH pickup combo- to be on par with its neighbouring humbuckers. This defeats the point of having a single coil pickup in there; it's supposed to differentiate your predominantly humbucking tones. My choice for the Hot Rhythm was indeed a blind pick; I was reliant on the manufacturer's product literature as no guitars at the time of purchase featured this model as default. There was no way of hearing it in action to influence my decision, I went with gut feelings. But it was a rewarding plunge as the HR manifested one of the best clarity/ twang, this side of Fender & it's noiseless to boot. It responds tremendously well to (guitar) volume play even when there's excessive distortion in use.

3. Seymour Duncan: Full Shred

This was a particular pick to address the neck voicing; I previously had the '59 in there but it lacked the poke for clarity under intense distortion, despite that unrivaled warmth. It don't want excessive output either as this would affect the neck's 'wooliness'. Was it too much to ask for the best of both worlds? The Full Shred gave me what I wanted & remains as one of my favourite neck humbucker.