Artec @ SV

Artec pedals are clearing out at SV Guitars for $29.90 each. Click HERE to see more on the list.

Pic: SVG 

D3 Jr

Some of the best pedal tones can be had from the VFE brand which is sadly defunct. SV Guitars brought in plenty of these when the shop was still around at Peninsula SC & they cleared for bargain prices during the closing down sale. I managed to grab a few, this Distortion 3 Jr is one of them. It's basically an OD / Distortion pedal just by tinkering with the MODE knob. It's actually a clipping control, more OD-ish soft clipping turned anti-clockwise. Anything past the noon position, you'll be in distortion territory. There's also an internal trim pot to either boost the lower or higher frequencies. Neat.

 

Black Friday @ SV Guitars

Sharing the good stuff by SV Guitars  😎

BK-DCA

Bare Knuckle's collaboration with Duelund Coherent Audio, still the PIO type. Support local, buy from SV Guitars: CLICK

Red special

One of those rare days when I want to play a Strat. This is my red American Special bought from SV Guitars when it was located at Woodlands, just next to the immigration checkpoint. It was called Standard Value then. No major mods here less the tone knobs which died once before; the usual corrosion & rust. Gave it a quick re-string - GHS 009s.

Also did away with rusty pickguard screws. I used to save these screws by sanding off the rust & polishing them back to life because these are the original screws that came with the guitar. There's this sentimentality attached to default features when it comes to Fender but really, such small stuff are replaceable & not worth the trouble.

Replaced these as well - rusty & pitted bolt plate screws & the plate itself. The hard case is supposed to protect the instrument from such deterioration but ironically, the interior lining's adhesive reacted with metal parts. Replacement parts were bought from Davis GMC, the other irony - a non-Fender dealer selling Fender parts.

Have a good week ahead, everyone. Please stay safe 👍

Black boxes

Nothing particularly interesting here, just passive attenuators. Showing, for the record, two generations of the JHS Little Black Amp Boxes with different brand name scripts. The one on the right was purchased from SV Guitars before they did away with their storefront at Peninsula Hotel basement. The one on the left was from Swee Lee. I think I bought the last one; it's been marked as SOLD OUT ever since. I have two amps which are in active use. So to avoid the hassle of transferring the LBAB from one amp to another, it's good to live with two. 😎

Antigua (2)

Nothing major but worth the trouble. I've swapped out the default M-type string tree (L) for the rounded version (R). Fender equips the American models (less the vintage/ era-specific models) with the latter. I prefer the rounded version as it does not snag the string during tuning, giving it smooth travel & a more effective response. 

If you are interested, these are the ones. Can't remember how much (should be slightly more than $10), bought them when SV Guitars still had a store front at Peninsula Hotel. 

SVG online

Would like to take this opportunity to wish SV Guitars all the best as they move online full time. As at time of posting, we understand that repair/ upgrade services are still available by appointment. Glad to see that things actually picked up for them during the CB period as the team attend to online purchases with items being markedly discounted. Cyber business might be the new gear experience for more of us & SV Guitars are heading in the right direction. Onwards!

Flash Swing

Saw these going for good prices at the SV Guitars web store (flash deals). Putting them here for your considerations especially if you are going the Squier way. I'm not dissing any brand names here but these Swings are definite value-for-money deals especially after the current discounts. Between Swing & Squier in this price range, the Swing wins it in terms of: 1) Neck profile/ playability 2) Switching/ tone options 👍

Rally

Folks, the Rally GL-300 are clearing for a good price. Before Epiphone revamped its current line-up, I would recommend the GL-300 to any beginners or those in need of a good back up for live performances. 

Two things: 1) Neck profile. It's something you'd appreciate; neither bulky nor flimsy, just right. If you are new to the electric, it's a very learner-friendly profile. 2) Tone. The pickups here manifest good single notes separation & does not mud-out in the neck position; especially important if you are the distortion inclined type. I personally feel these have a strong midrange presence with enough warmth to go vintage if that is also your thing. 

Flash sale: Pedals

SV Guitars' flash deal this week - effects pedals. The ones you see here are going for good prices + delivered to your doorstep. Do check out price details at their online store: CLICK HERE

Covid FS

SV Guitars are still offering some awesome online deals for us who are cooped up at home. Just head over to their website to know what's offered from time to time. They are also keeping up with the delivery schedule - thumb up to that. Please understand the 5 days - 1 week fulfilment leeway for all online orders. Remember folks, stay home.

Z-sale

Nope. This isn't an April Fool's joke. SV Guitars are clearing these blemished Z-Custom acoustics for cheap. I happened to have tested them out not too long ago & would recommend them for beginners looking for a cheap-but-good guitar. Once again, please bear in mind these are blemished units; cosmetic imperfections but nothing averse when it comes to playability.

Flash sale

Good to see some enticements during this bleak period; these gorgeous acoustics (Left: MT-110C/ Right: MTD-110C) are going for $279 $99, a recommended buy for those of us who are spending more time at home now. (Available as online purchases from SV Guitars). On that note, it would be good to see stores here offering discounts - clearance, one-off, B-stock/ discontinued model blowouts - to address this downturn. Remember, both sellers & buyers are now affected by the pandemic. For buyers especially, we are re-thinking our to-get lists, we are finding that one outstanding reason to fork out money for non-essentials. That's the buying sentiment in a nutshell. 

Link to SV Guitars: CLICK

Pics: SVGuitars

Haunted acquisition

Managed to grab this on Deepavali holiday. Happy. The coffee was good as well. ✔

Good horsie

I've given this horse a good ride & it's time to share the good bits.

The Pale Horse (PH) is a TS-ish pedal, there's no hiding that. It's even conceived in a TS colour scheme, there's no hiding that either. The VFE philosophy is not solely about cloning & riding on the originator's runaway success, now that, is worth not hiding. What the PH retained from a certain mid-bumped mild overdrive is the value of transparency. In fact, I believe the PH is one of the best in redefining this transparency (whatever it means to you)  which I understood to be unhindered clarity. Theoretically, that's impossible; once a signal is made to go through a clipped processing, the output would be coloured, however audible that may be. The PH, after a personal encounter, is indeed one of the best when it comes to positive intrusion.

Having that in mind, the voicing of this pedal could be manifested into three interpretations- Asymmetrical, LED & MOSFET. Sounds familiar? Of course, these are the standard approaches in regulating intensity in terms of drive. I'm hearing the most transparent of responses in the A mode, leading to more aggression in the L & M modes, the last of which is the thickest in terms of bottom end & closest to a fuzzy response. There are two more EQ related controls in addition to the master tone control defining bass & treble. These shouldn't be too hard to figure out especially when they are rather sensitive in terms of the sweep on offer.

I'm actually not really interested in the details especially so when there are more hidden controls once the base plate comes off. Indeed, there's a pot to control the LED brightness for the battery-conserving dweebs out there. I'm interested in the pedal's overall performance; is it really a clever re-interpretation of a certain other green pedal or just another clone riding on shadows. So here's my understanding of why the Pale Horse was conceived as such- it's a wonderful stand alone unit if you need quality transparency in your signal chain. I'm very happy with it in this aspect especially with the single coil tones- one of the best. In M mode & a little combination with a booster unit or maybe - dare I suggest - a distortion unit, you could have a faux fuzz tone going. Personally, it has the push to drive my amp's dirty channel into dark, black metal territory, with lots of shredder harmonics to boot.

Sadly, the Pale Horse is out of production. Peter Rutter did away with the later series of his effects series, only retaining a key few units for his resume. The Pale Horse was one of the highlights of the initial series of effects units, still featuring that comic-esque graphics; horses, dogs, bees & company. He returned to teaching (his other passion) & spurred students into his electronic engineering track. He is currently funding his newborn son's upcoming surgeries to correct a cleft lip. Do some good & check his stuff out over at his webpage (CLICK). The Pale Horse is still available at SV Guitars going for 50% off if you are still interested. 

Pale in

Supporting the good people @ SV Guitars in their SALE/ promo/ pre-reno clearance. This is a discontinued, older version of the Pale Horse. It's an OD unit & it's in that colour scheme so no prizes for guessing what it does. 

Pre=reno clearance @ SV

Happening now- SV Guitars' mark downs, clearance & deep discounts before the store gets a facelift. 

Jag-la

Was at Beez's yesterday to get this pair of Teslas into my Fender MP Jaguar. The default pickups were above-average clean but not that enticing when it comes to overdrive. By the way, Teslas are going for 25% off at SV Guitars this sale season.

Did a capacitor replacement as well- it's a Montreux Retrovibe this time.

Last but not least, a quick re-string with the no-frills D'Addario XL set of 10s. Thank you Davis GMC for keeping prices reasonable! 

I'm very happy with this guitar not that it bears the Fender name, in fact, it means nothing at all. I'm fortunate to have come across a mahogany-P-90 pairing which is more meaningful to me. The bolt-on construction means there's more snap than what a Gibson could have offered in terms of tone, with the same combo. The Modern Player series were deemed a pathetic attempt by purists in selling the Fender name. This camp prefers to own a high end Squier than forking out money for any basement dwelling Fender model. But a deeper reading would reveal the fact that those people who handled the afore-mentioned glorified Squiers were indeed the ones handling the Modern Player series. 

Sale @ SV Guitars

Good start to June 😁 Happening at SV Guitars now.