Ibanez: August '24 (4)

One of the new Ibanez signature models released this August is the ATZ300. Andy Timmons revisits the days when his signature model features a full sized humbucker in a mahogany body. Back in the day, his signature guitar was modelled after the SA Series. In the mean time, Mr. Timmon's new baby is still rooted in the AZ family. Just a reminder that the bridge in his signatures is the Wilkinson - Gotoh VSVG hybrid & that his volume control is equipped with a high pass filter by default.

Pic: Ibanez

Aged

Bacchus has relic'd models in their lineups. This one here is the TACTICS24 AGED/RSM, available now at Davis GMC ($1,100). The price is a little steep for something equipped with in-house locking tuners & pickups but it's definitely a winner with that roasted maple neck / fretboard + steel frets. Yes, that's a Wilkinson bridge. 

 

Pic: Deviser

Thank you & goodbye: Epi SG Special

Preparing this one to leave my estate; re-string, re-condition fretboard & a good wipe down. It's one of my go-to guitars for doom, fuzzy stuff, especially so after the pickup swap; those Wilkinson P90s are definitely recommended for drive-inclined indulgences. It's also a testament of how Epiphone instruments have seen revised standards in craftsmanship. 

I won't be employed next month & going back for treatment (2 sessions). If you are the bread-winner with bills to pay, mouths to feed, it's very difficult with no money coming in. It makes you re-think priorities. To all sick Dads out there with your own passion to drive you through your illness - things happen for a reason. Heads up & move on. 

Special arrangements

It's doom Tuesday & time well spent with the Epiphone SG Special. Yes, I'm not averse to the Epiphone brand name, just that not many appeal to me. 

As you can see there, this guitar came default with B500K pots (as indicated); all four of them. This is perhaps why they sound a little restrained when it comes to clarity. To me, single coil pickups go well with 250K pots & the P90 is a single coil pickup. 

Brought this down to Beez's today to have A250K pots in there. As the default pots were CTS ones, I made it a point to get CTS replacement pots as well. Also, the capacitors are a pair of HOSCO .047uf ones, unlike the .22uf that came with the B500K pots. CTS pots are available at TYMC, Hosco capacitors are available at Davis GMC.

While I'm at it, a pair of Wilkinson P90s are the new pickups here. These are easily available through Amazon & they are very affordable.

A fresh set of Darcos 10s for today's doom adventure - available at City Music. 

Selling: Yamaha PAC510V (SOLD)

Thought long & hard but decided to let this go. The P-Rails in the bridge position is something I should consider more often. In coil split mode, it's a P-90 & it's a constant reminder of how commanding a single coil could be. 

• Yamaha PAC510V (no mods, bag included)
• Self-collect @ CCK MRT station
• No reservations/ trades
• Queries/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $450 (FINAL, non-nego)

EZ does it

This Ibanez RGA32 is one of my fav. Not because it's another Ibanez but the neck is something. It's not Wizard thin by any means which led me suspect if they actually made a mistake with this one; it has a rather substantial U profile that's found on sone Gibson LP Traditional. Flat but not too thick.

These are not default Ibanez units but replacement Wilkinson EZ Lok model. Each machine head has 2 slots to let you tuck in the excess tip so technically, it 'locks' the winding.

Super Stock-ing

Something for the '80s dweebs among us- the shred-worthy Charvel Super Stock 1888. Based on the Model 88, FR 1000 series bridge, DiMarzios & that iconic old school logo at the headstock; this will definitely be enticing for many of us zooming down the shred super highway. 

Do you know that Swee Lee still brings in Charvel stuff? Now you do 😎

Selling: Wilkinson tuners for reverse headstock/ LH guitars

It's been a week. I'm trying to locate a set of misplaced Seymour Duncan pickups, did some cleaning-up this morning & found a set of Wilkinson tuners instead. I have no use for this in the mean time as they're for guitars sporting a reverse headstock/ left-handed guitars. I wanted them for my Ibanez GRGR010 which sports a reverse headstock but Ibanez tuners do not require the external screw. So here they are for sale:

• Selling: Wilkinson tuners for 6-a side headstock type, reverse headstock OR left-handed guitars
• Condition: 10/10... have not opened the packaging since the day of purchase
• Asking price: $25 (note original price tag on package: $40)
• Self-collect: Details to be disclosed upon confirmation
• No reservations/ trade
• All confirmations/ queries through e-mail: dark1349@hotmail.com

Thanks in advance.
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Item SOLD as at 12th May 2011.

Jeff Golub

All you smooth jazz cats, Jeff Golub isn't a detached name to you. Mr. Golub is one of the most captivating guitarist when it comes to all things smooth... I first saw him in an early '90s Hamer guitar advertisement & after checking him out, discovered he wasn't the shredder type but his command of the instrument was really absorbing.

Mr. Golub's clean Strat tones are very likable to me; it's not an excessively bright voicing but the twang retention was there to behold. There's actually a very simple formula at work- a rosewood fretboard Strat. Mr. Golub's prized possession is his '65 as seen above. He is a bold & respectable player in my books because he showed no hesitations to modify his instrument to suit his needs. While the rest of the Fender world would deem this a grave perversion, especially in view of how much a '65 article would fetch today, the practical player is more than willing to turn his instrument into a sensible enhancer. As evident above, the original bridge made way for a Wilkinson replacement & a Duncan Lil' Screamin' Demon humbucker is resident in the bridge position. The other invisible mod here are the Sperzel tuners & Mr. Golub fancies a set of D'Addario .009s in there with the G-string lowered to a .015 (default: .016). This only heightens my desire to acquire a rosewood fretboard Strat. Darn.

Wilkinson: E-Z Lok

I am currently having a set of Wilkinson locking tuners in my Ibanez RG321. Unlike other locking mechanism, the WJ-807 actually requires the user to wrap-lock the strings so it is devoid of any rotable parts when in use (of course, the tuner itself must be rotable- duh!). This is also the reason why it's affordable.

The tuner post actually features a pair of holes. The user passes the string through one hole (you choose either the top/ bottom hole), make a wrap round the post & insert the remaining length through the other; the string is now locked & ready for tuning.

Like my other locking tuners (Sperzel/ Gotoh), the tuning in this guitar becomes more stable, more notably after deep bends & much thrashing of the lower, thicker gauged strings.

• Product availability: Standard Value
• Price: $46 per set
• Variation: Available in both 6-a-side/ 3+3 arrangements, in black/ chrome