Ibanez: Halberd (Part 3)

This was what became of the Halberd's innards after the active circuitry was removed. The scratches you see at the input jack area were present when I snipped the wires off. The battery compartment was also removed (tell-tale sings: 2 screw holes there) but it wouldn't get in the way should it be left in tact. Sparse controls? Definitely, there's only a 3-way pickup selector in the middle of the cavity & a push-pull coil split switch which doubles as the volume control. No Orange Drop cap needed here as there are no tone control for its application. Do note that the wood at this part of the instrument is rather porous, no amount of white paint could quite cover & level the surface.

The push-pull coil tap switch- since there is no tone control here, this switch proved useful in keeping some tonal variations in check.

But I am enjoying my pickups' very open tone in the mean time, good to hear something different at work. The pickups in there: Duncan's Distortion (bridge) & Jazz (neck). I could dial in much bass for both pickups & still obtain note clarity. I would say it's partly attributable to the pickups' default voicings as well as the absence of any capacitors in the circuitry. I get the 'right' results having Duncans in my guitars, this is no exception.

Ibanez: Halberd- the real finish

This is the Ibanez Halberd- pic's taken off the manufacturer's homepage. You'd thought that the darker hue surrounding the body bevel was a lighting effect.

But it's actually a shade of grey, not quite apparent from the manufacturer's online snapshot. You didn't see wrong, I swapped the default pickups to Duncans.

Laney: Ironheart 60W head (Wattage variant)

I'm giving the (Laney) Ironheart's wattage variant control a thumbs-up for matters pertaining to practicality. This means you can tame the Ironheart down to the lower wattage range for smaller performance venues (which includes your bedroom) if you wish to keep the volume in check without losing the power tubes saturation. However, there is a need to re-tweak your EQ once you do just that (not a drastic change, yes?); the amp's voicing would be affected by the different wattage levels. This is a mark of a good amp, one which responds to power (supply).

-----------------------------------------

A belated thanks to the good people @ Sound Alchemy for the acquisition of this amp.

Animal drive (Way Huge content)

This is a new one by Way Huge; the Red Llama overdrive. The RL pedal was already in existence some time back (that point in time when we were not into guitars YET). If you have bought the Green Rhino but felt that you are in need of a more up-front, less EQ-tampered drive, the RL might be it. Wait till it's here, of course. No, there's no Camel Distortion in the works.

UNO: Warzone 2 (Part 5)

This is how the WZ2 body looks like flip-side:

1. Generous upper fret access
2. Extended chest area bevel

The standards set by this simple guitar are admittedly very high. The manufacturer chose to focus on not letting owners down by focusing on the instrument's fantastic QC. At the very least, after walking away with this guitar, you'd feel that it's money well spent.

 

I would reiterate the fact that I'm not into guitars featuring locking whammy bridges these days. This contraption get in my way of playing enjoyment more than anything else but this purchase proved that I'm not averse to good instruments regardless of the features (colour & brand name too) on board. A good instrument is a good instrument, this is the way it should be appreciated.

Thanks to Mike @ SV Guitars for making this purchase a very pleasant episode (beyond pleasant actually). He knew I prefer a set of .009s in there & made my day by substituting the default .010s with my preferred string gauge. Kudos, Mike!

Your pick...? (LTD content)

What have I been up to lately? I've been bothering Janet & company at Davis GMC by returning to the store premises to try LTD guitars. The model you see above is the manufacturer's top of the line Horizon offering, the Deluxe H1001.

I've been pitting the Deluxe against its little brother, the H-351. As you would have observed, the instruments, at a single glance, are identical but let me just highlight to you the differences because there is a $250 gap between them:

• the H-1001 features a more defined flamed maple top
• the Deluxe's neck binding spills over to the fretboard
• locking tuners (ESP brand) in the Deluxe
• locking TOM-type bridge in the Deluxe
• Deluxe- made in Korea, H-351- made in Indonesia

The remaining features are identical. Feel wise, there are hardly any marked differences to highlight. You'd thought the Deluxe would be a little heftier due to the locking tuners over at the headstock but those tuners were careful selections so as not to make the situation a little too complicated in this category. They are also equally responsive, hence likeable. Both models are incredibly light, in fact, my Schecter Omen 6 would be considered heavy after handling these babies. 

Tone? These guitars are equipped with a pair of EMG (active) pickups; the 81 in the bridge, 85 in the neck. You know how it is when you have actives in an instrument; you'd hear the pickups' performance more than what the guitar itself has to offer; akin to spreading very sweet honey on 2 different slices of bread brands only to taste the honey more than anything else. So my friends, the H-1001 & H-351 performed on like terms in this category.

What would your pick be in view of the perspectives presented above?