S-pop

Played this one in the morning. Didn't give it too much thought - just grabbed & played. Plain strings were corroded & the neck was slightly warped. 

Decided to give it a re-string before resuming play. Was thinking of only replacing the plain strings but there were no loose strings around so it was a complete re-string in the end, might as well. The fretboard got a little treatment & the neck attended to as well so now it's to my preference once more. The pickups you see here: Perpetual Burn (b) / Quarter Pound (m) / Jazz (n). Despite looking rather captivating, the veneer poplar top is not holding too well, it's starting to come off round the pickup cavities. 

Burly

Re-stringing continues. Might as well since I have the time, before work beckons. This one- Ibanez S771 with that poplar burl top which is a mere laminate cap. If you wish to invest in an instrument with a very thin laminate top, do consider a gloss finish unlike this one, which is satin-finished. The reason- it will start to flake off over time.

A little upgrade done- String Saver saddles. If you are interested in a set, do check the string spacing before purchase. It's available in standard & Fender spacing. I really thought an Ibanez required the standard spacing version, then again I should have measured before heading to the store & not make convenient assumptions. In fact. many of the fixed bridges in Ibanez instruments are actually sporting a Fender/ Trembucker string spacing. 

Final pack of Darco 9s for this guitar.

I've been using Darcos for some time now (but not on a frequent basis) & it's only this time that I felt a difference. Maybe it's the relative freshness of the strings that influenced my touch but the Darco set features a slightly thicker B-string. The .0115 is not standard in a set of 9s, it's from the 9.5 set & I'm beginning to prefer the feel of it. 

The pickups in this one: Perpetual Burn (b)/ Quarter Pound Staggered (m)/ Jazz (n). The PB is a scorcher, very distortion inclined but not as boomy for the metal mongers. It'd probably favour the black metal camp because here, the brand of metal is not bottom end reliant. I should be paying more attention to the QP in future considerations because it's a mean single coil for angry people's music- my type of pickup. 

Perpetual burning Ibanez

Greetings, guitars folks. This one had been probably done to death- me covering how Duncans sound like in an Ibanez guitar. I'm at it again simply because I am a fan of both brand names. They are awesome together (for me) & I'd do well to retain this combination to prevent any tone adversities (for me at least).

As related before, the Duncan Perpetual Burn (PB) is an Alnico V pickup, it wasn't conceived to do an all-out metal manifestation but it has the potential. As seen above, it's in my Ibanez S771 bridge position & the guitar sports a mahogany body as well as a fixed bridge. Despite being a fixed bridge unit, the spacing here is that of an F-spaced bridge so the Trembucker PB is in use. The complementary pickups are the Quarter pounder single coil in the middle & the Jazz in the neck.

The PB is a good clean performer namely due to its Alnico pedigree despite sporting a stronger V core. That's the likable characteristic with alnicos; there's a higher probability of them sounding good, clean. The PB was conceived to be a medium output humbucker & that's the reason it doesn't muck up at higher distortion settings. I set my EVH 5150 III to stun during test time & the clarity was impressive at any volume settings. I heard a spiked top end coming from the PB with an acceptable response from the midrange. However, the bottom end need a little jerk from the amp's EQ section to get a convincing metal-type chugging. This is a Jason Becker specified humbucker, it's not meant to appease those treading the metal turf exclusively. Nevertheless, the application is there for the taking. To put it straight, the black metal guys would be more at home with this pickup as opposed to the scooped-EQ type players. Jason Becker fans would highlight the fact that (most of) his guitars were alder bodied but rest assured, the PB is a great pickup to have in a mahogany guitar.

Ibanez: S771

My first Ibanez for 2014, the S771 is from the Standard series. Nothing special about this one less that poplar burl top. If you wish to acquire this guitar, be informed that the poplar top gives off a very strong timber smell, so strong it smells like leather. More on this in subsequent episodes.

From the rear, the S771 is as normal as it gets; an oil-finished mahogany body, maple neck. Those pickups are gonna go soon...

Ibanez @ Swee Lee

A couple of new Ibanez guitars at Swee Lee (BB branch). First up is this gorgeous RG721 with that stunning maple top plus a matching headstock. I already own the rosewood top version so playing this today was a checking exercise. Everything is as good as it looks, just a reminder pertaining to that pair of default CAP-VM pickups; nothing too different from the INF models in the standard RG range. However, the sweeter alnico voicing makes the difference.

The other equally captivating (albeit acquired taste) guitar is this S771 sporting a poplar burl top. The instrument is incredibly light due to its aerodynamic body design & an absence of a heavy whammy bridge. Initially, played unplugged, the guitar is rather insignificant tone-wise but that's not the highlight of the performance. The amped tones were something else, very cutting edge & it'd give something to think about when it comes to the default INF pickups.

Prices have yet to be confirmed. Thanks to Mr. Faizal @ Swee Lee BB for the update & appraisal invitation.

Ibanez 2014: S771

The Ibanez S771 you see above isn't new, it's a 2013 model which didn't make it here- regional exclusive *bummer*

But this year, the S771 is still in the catalogue with slight revisions: 1) Simple dot inlays 2) Standard fixed bridge. This could signal the discontinuation of the Gibraltar Standard bridge (the 2013 model) not that I dislike the Gibraltar Standard but the standard fixed bridge means replacement parts are more readily available :-)