Ravencult: Temples of Torment

I am currently listening to Ravencult's latest release Temples of Torment. The band is a Greek quartet setting their paces in this music genre & this effort isn't one of novice display. Not many guitar enthusiasts out there would agree to accept the ear assault otherwise known as black metal but this music genre shrouds some of the most talented guitar players out there who would rather fulfill their musical quest rather than play a thousand notes per second just to impress the masses. Ocassionally, they do display technical capacity in their music but this is not an obligation.

MXR: GT OD

I bought this pedal late last year after hearing it in action; forgive the green, Tubescreamer-esque tint but that's what the GT OD is- it's an overdrive unit. I believe the overdrive market is a little saturated & the nature of overdrive itself is one that requires careful listening to discern tonal differences. I wouldn't say this pedal sounds very unique & appealing but I bought it for its dynamic drive sweep; one can procure sweet, smooth drive as well as some raunchy tunes from it.

The GT OD's baseplate is devoid of any grip implementations as you can see form the pic above. This leaves some flexibility in terms of needs- if you are one who straps your pedals down to your pedal board by means of velcro, leave the grip pad unattached.

Full review: MXR GT OD

Anticipation: Tube-equipped effects

This 2008, I'm awaiting the touch-down of these effects pedals:

Seymour Duncan is the name that speaks tone, the pedals from this predominantly pickup manufacturer are worthy of your dollars (& cents) but then again, tone remains personal & subjective. Following the success of the preceding (still in production) Twin Tube Classic, the Twin Tube Mayhem is like a menacing younger brother to the aforementioned stomp box; it still utilizes the 62051 tubes which would dampen the spirit of availability. That aside, it features a 3-band EQ, unlike the Classic, so tone shaping should be adequate. With a dedicated midrange variety (2 voicings avaiable) & booster section, the Mayhem is serious drive business. Anticipations, anticipations...

The other tube laden effect on my list is Ibanez's revamped Tube King. Unlike the the above pedal entity, the TK isn't one which propels intensity although the manufacturer advocates the unit's revised capacity to offer more tube saturation due to its use of higher internal DC. Unlike the TTM, the resident tube here is the likeable 12AX7 which is more readily available in the domestic market. For those of you eager to own this one, please consider how the diamond shape would fit into your beloved pedal board. Anticipations, anticipations...

Amplifiers!

My 3 faithfuls:

Top: Epiphone Valve Jr (Full tube)

A very restrictive amp as it offers a single clean channel & a knob only- how much tone can really be generated by such minimal offerings? Well, the challenge here is for the user to colour the tone through the use of pedals, which is my dislike- I prefer a straight through plug-in but having to use pedals sometimes inspire me to play differently. The head also allows connectivity to various speaker cab configuration signalling the manufacturer's intention of making it a utilitarian player, not just exclusive to bedroom performances.

Middle: Sound Drive SG-612R head (Solidstate)

This is the only head version of the Sound Drive amps in the market the rest being the combo makes. I'm hooked on this amp the day I tried it at the dealer's as it has one of the best on board drive, which is very tube-like but I'm not one to revere the tube tone excessively- a good tone is a good tone, regardless if there are any tubes in there. When I play this amp, it's definitely a straight through plug-in, nothing should get in the way of tone this good.

Bottom: Marshall JVM410H (Full tube)

I would like to thank the good people of Marshall for coming out with this amp as it sounds impressive both at low & high volume settings. To many of us, playing a full tube Marshall is more grievance than elation as majority of the Marshalls sound good only at higher volume settings but the JVM proves otherwise. The drive revison (if there is any to begin with) is also impressive; I had a love/hate relationship with this brand namely due to its drive definition which could have been better but the JVM's got everything right.

Worn picks

These are some of the picks I've used (or abused rather); I've used too many picks along the way, including some weird ones my wife bought when she was away at Vietnam.

The holes you see there are my attempt to create a grip indentation but I guess the one provoded by the average hole puncher is a little too big. Subsequently, I lit up a stick & burn some holes in there as evident from the Fender/ pink Ernie Ball picks but this process leaves bumps on the surface which feel annoying upon handling.

Due to the intense right hand execution you'd notice my picks to disply significant wear at the tip. Also, I file the tip of my picks so they give me this pointed edge, very useful for single notes attack.

Today, I've found the pick which needs no modifications, very good off-the-shelf pick which suits my peculiarities- thank you Stubby!

Ibanez graphic RG

I played this new (for 2008) Ibanez RG320PGP1 recently. It seems the manufacturer is banking on the graphics to sell this guitar as it is a typical RG320 in terms of playability & tone. For those of you who think this one is a resurrection of the US Custom models of the '80s- not quite. The graphic body is satin finished so it's prone to tear if you aren't too careful. Not aware if there's a hot demand for such body finishes.