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. 

Yellow Saturday

Someone saw my yellow RG elsewhere & asked if it's the same butchered RG featured here: CLICK 

The answer lies in the picture above. These are two different guitars albeit the same model - RG550 (Genesis Series), which were both played this morning. It's an indoor Saturday for me as I stayed home to oversee some kitchen makeover. Also, my skin had been acting up since yesterday so home is the best place for some rest & healing. Why the sudden urge to play both? Just to hear DiMarzio (top) & Seymour Duncan (bottom) pickups in action. I made less mistakes with the DiMarzio fellow because there was no urge to switch pickups while playing. Also, I tend to play more riffs due to the single pickup offering. With the Duncans, I resorted to the neck pickup for solos (simply love the clarity there) & single coil for cleans. This isn't conclusive but true for most cases - the gear we play influences what we play. 

Pickups in the above guitars:

• TOP: DiMarzio D'Activator X
• BOTTOM: Seymour Duncan Distortion (n/b) + Quarter Pound Staggered (m)

Ash

I managed to re-string this one during the CNY holidays. My TL71 has creamed off after four years & the ash grains are beginning to rival my floor laminate. Despite being ash-bodied, it remains light with the typical pronounced lower midrange coming from this wood type. The thing about Japanese Fenders, most of them feature a glossed neck & it might put off the purists. However, I deem mine to be as playable as my other non-glossed necked guitar; it's a matter of familiarity. I bought this one at Sound Alchemy when Beez was still their neighbour at Excelsior Shopping Center. 

That's right, I swapped out the string retainer for this rounded version for this guitar as well. 

Pickups: Hot Stack (b)/ Quarter Pound (n). These Seymour Duncan pickups are really something. So I have the Hot Stack in my TL-Rose as well & I love the stinging tone & it's more pronounced here due to the brass saddles there. The hot neck pickup was intentional just to underscore the fact that I don't do country music with this one - no disrespect to country music proponents out there.

Harmony strings are good albeit under-rated. If you wish for a neutral-sounding set (nether too bright nor too mellow), this is the brand to get. Together with Martin's Darco range, they are absolute value-for money. 

Pounding Jaguar

Wasn't too happy with this one due to the default pickups- not hot enough for high gain stuff. OK so the Jaguars were meant to be as such.

So these took over- Seymour Duncan's Quarter Pound for Jaguar (SJAG-3). Not available at the shops, an online purchase. If you are interested, be informed that they don't come with the cover & claw. The default covers were not compatible with these Duncans as the bobbins for the QPs are slightly wider to accommodate the bigger pole pieces. Again, these are not available locally & the online order + wait delayed the installation. 

If you are after a more aggressive, fatter sounding Jaguar tones, these are the ones to get. I enjoyed the fatter cleans as well despite a less frequent usage but those who dislike excessive high end, be warned that things could be a little extreme especially when the guitar's Mid Tone is set to CUT. Whatever the case may be, I'm glad the SJAG-3s are serving my needs. 

Another positive episode with Seymour Duncans- my kind of pickups. 👍

Orange bite

Had been spending time with this guitar (Schecter VG-TE-A-SM) for most of the days last week. Its weight is substantial so the bottom end is rather healthy with this one. Despite having Duncan's Quarter Pounds in there, the tone is pretty much smooth & threatens to mud out with overdrive (especially in the neck position). So out came the DS-1 to remedy the situation & true enough, it's all the guitar needs to manifest its true potential.

I have other Tele type guitars here & they don't prove to be troublesome when it comes to the tone's top end. It's all about the weight; with heftier wood, there's not much bite when resonance comes into play so a smooth overdrive response won't sweeten things up. I'm also glad I have a good range of effects here with me to help supplement my needs when the situation arises. So folks, if it's within your means & you pretty much have decided on your guitar-amp choices, do invest in some pedals for tone shaping. It's about what you wanna hear for yourself & the best person to make it happen is you. Make it count by having some effects at your disposal. 

Have a great final November week ahead. 😎

Pounding

A day after I gave this guitar a set of fresh strings & swapped out dead parts, the middle pickup died. Bummer. Brought it to Beez to confirm the status & it was established that the pickup indeed met its mortal end. Grabbed a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound at Davis & this was the final line up. Thanks to Beez once more for overseeing this make-over.

If you are interested in the QP, be informed that it's a high output unit which necessitated a deeper location into the cavity. Not sure if it's a clear presentation here but the QP sits much deeper than its other humbucking siblings to balance out the volume difference. 

Biting coils

Single coil mode still on. Getting ready to put aside menacing distortion for creamy drive. I've been putting the single coils through too much distortion for the last week or so, I still need the saturation to manifest acceptable legatos but it's time to abandon the amp & pedal boost this time round.

I like the Jaguar. I used to hate it a life time ago due to pickup squeals & unnecessary switches. I failed to fully appreciate the tone per se & that shorter scale length. With the American Pro Jaguar now available, I should be heading for that option but the price is simply a deal breaker. Really glad I grabbed whatever came my way. That Schecter VE-TE is another glad-I-bought-it instrument; simply great tones with those Duncan Quarter pounds in there. 

Back to singles

I was at Beez's last Sunday for this make-over. There used to be a pair of humbuckers in there but was inspired to return to single coils.

The new pair taking care of tones: Seymour Duncan's Quarter Pound single coils. Loving the thick, honk coming from these 2, fat cleans in there as well. FYI, this is Schecter's Neo Vintage Veda (VE-TE) model in the style of the Telecaster, ash body & rather heavy.

Stacked & pounded

I have always had a thing for Teles but it seems they don't make too many Teles to my liking. The one you see above is something I fancy & it was featured here prior to some make-over: The TL71.

The default string retainer was done away with. In place now is the American Standard version featuring rounded parts to reduce string snapping.

The Gotoh tilt-friendly  saddles are superb in keeping things vintage-looking with a contemporary twist. I didn't know such things exist in the first place until I did some window shopping. The objective here was to keep the tone single coil but I can use something a little hotter. So the pickups on board:

• Neck: Duncan Quarter Pound
• Bridge: Hot Stack

I hear lots of angry distortion coming from both pickups & they don't sound rounded at the top end unlike some other manufacturers' manifestations. All this while keeping the true single coil tones in tact & that's the reason I fancy Seymour Duncan single coils above others.

Wishing everyone a good February :-)