Screw it

With effect from 2019, I will not attempt to save dead screws. These will be trashed immediately. No use being sentimental when replacements are readily available. 

The guitar in question is my Ibanez S970 which was brought out for re-stringing. Nothing fancy this time, just a trusty set of D'Addario 9s. I was removing the rear cavity cover to check if the electronics are in good shape & those rusty screws simply had to go.

It's also good to hear the 59/ Custom in action; this should be one of my fat-sounding pickup that doesn't mush-up at higher gain settings, thanks to the hybrid vintage components in there to keep things in check.

A good wipe down & lots of love for this guitar- one of my favourite S-Series because it's good-sounding & good-playing, as simple as that.

Seymour Duncan: TB-16 (59/ Custom hybrid)

This is the flavour of the moment for many Seymour Duncan fans; the 59/Custom hybrid (SH-16/ TB-16). It's only the second standard production model following a cult following of a fan-tinkered product which made it big online. Thanks to the receptive nature of the Seymour Duncan brigade & fan persistence, the 59/Custom hybrid is now a standard production model.

The 59/Custom hybrid, or the trembucker version you see here (TB-16) is a mix-and-match end product of Duncan's '59 & Custom models. However, I don't hear a distinct contribution coming from the '59 because the polite, warm, PAF-type responses were limited in attendance. On the contrary, the Custom's fat bottom end was present & commanding. The result isn't exactly a 50-50 fusion from both models but in my opinion, a perfect derivative for fans looking for some traditional warmth & sturdy bass response to cure their wimpy guitars featuring locking whammy bridges- the reason I have it in my Ibanez S970.

I had initially wanted to fix the TB-16 into a fixed bridge guitar but I went with my gut feelings & have it in this Ibanez instead. So my first take on this guitar, after listening to its performance having my S970 plugged straight through to my Laney Ironheart, is that of great satisfaction. But that may just be me.

To be continued...

Ibanez S970: Foiled

OK, let's take a look at what lurks under the Ibanez S970 cavity. We see a treble bleed capacitor for the volume pot, it's not a standard feature in Ibanez guitars so expect a difference if you roll your volume knob down. What does it do, really (if you are new to this)? It retains the top end if you choose to have your instrument volume at less than maximum levels. This means your tone won't mud-out, especially useful for the neck pickup applications. The other prim & proper treatment here is that additional shielding foil; we can clearly see adequate shielding (black) paint there so the foil inclusion was (to me) unexpected.

I'm wondering why Ibanez still chooses to equip the guitars above the standard tier offering with cheap, below par tone caps. ESP has Oranges in there, the rest of the manufacturers could learn a thing or two in this aspect.

Ibanez: S970

Yesterday's catch was a Premium S970. Everything's great about this guitar but the action requires a personal tweaking, Ditto the pickup height. More pics soon...