Crooked

Yamaha's Frank Gambale model features the Fret Wave system at the first & second positions to rectify tuning inaccuracy. Players with very acute tuning capacity, would tell you despite the guitar being in immaculate standard tuning, once you fret a chord, you can hear tuning anomalies for selected strings. The Fret Wave system addresses this situation.

Caparison's Apple Horn guitar features a similar rectification implement however, as depicted above, it's employed across the entire neck. It's actually a patented idea called the True Temperament system, conceived to address tuning accuracy in whole, not just selected frets. Looks overwhelming but if it works, then it works.

Little menace

I had the opportunity to try this bass combo recently, it's Ashdown's TourBus10. As the name implies, a 10W practice unit with a 6.5" driver. The EQ section is a mere 2-band (bass/ treble), together with a volume knob, things are kept simple. What I like about small bass combos are the note clarity. I also hear better definition with smaller drivers as opposed to bigger units; the bass does not need a low-end booster, it is already king in this domain. I'd (highly) recommend this to those of us starting out & in need of a good back up alike. Can a combo of this nature out-volume your drummer? If he stops playing you can... he he.

List: $95.00

Availability: Davis GMC

Hey, dad! (Part 24)

Hey, dad! I didn't know these stuff don't go with your coffee... oops!

amPlug + cab in the house! (Part 1)

If you are wondering how big the Vox amPlug + cab is, you can see it stand up against the Marshall MS-2 here.

Marty's Jukebox

This is the latest offering from Mr. Friedman- Tokyo Jukebox, it's a cover of Japanese tunes but 100% instrumental & I'm absolutely enjoying it.

Why is that so? Because it's not a medium to prove one's worth, it's all too obvious. Mr. Friedman intended it to be artistic, the reason why he chose ready materials for personal interpretations. There are some of the most melodic guitar manipulations here, some of the heaviest/ most furious (opening track is a scorcher!) & the most orchestrated which requires some patience as the guitars do not always take centre stage. All in all, even if it's unintended or appealing to our subconsious, Mr. Friedman's technicalities would leave us asking why we even try when there are other very capable people out there...

Living on the Edge (III)

How do I re-string instruments with a locking, dual action whammy bridge? The bridge in question here is my Ibanez Edge III unit, which many owners say is a nuisance more than a creative implement but I deem it functional; neither superb nor a dud, it just does its job.

If you remove all string from an Ibanez guitar sporting this bridge, chances are, when you begin to tune (standard tuning, please) the instrument:

1. the tuning won't hold, you keep going & the bridge tail end would hinge up more than it should, revealing the under-bridge cavity or
2. the bridge won't come up to sit parallel to the body surface but the tuning is all done.

I'd recommend you start by wedging a flat implement under the bridge as depicted above. Be sure to align a piece of cloth underneath so there won't be unwanted indentations there...

This is the side view of the same procedure. My standard here would be to ensure the tuning tension bar under the fine tuners align parallel to the body top. I find this to be the best measure because the final product would be equal play when you whammy the bar down & up; in other words, it gives the play equal travel to raise/ lower notes.

Leave this wedging be while you tune all strings, hold/ place the guitar like you do when you are playing it. If the bridge springs tension at the rear of the body were set correctly back at the factory, as soon as your instrument is in tune, the wedge would come undone.

If the wedge stays put despite your guitar being in tune, it means the rear springs tension is greater than that of your strings'. So you simply flip the body over & loosen the tension (of all springs, not just one), proceed to re-tune the guitar. Repeat this step till the wedge comes undone as mentioned before & there you have it, your instrument is in tune while the bridge sits in place as it should be.