amPlug amplified!

If you own the (Vox) amPlug but sometimes wish you do not have to sport your headphones while playing, well this is the answer- Vox now offers you the amPlug Cabinet so you can now have a pocket stack on your desk top. Do not expect too much from a 3" driver, though. I'm looking forward to acquire one.

Stacking Mustaine

This is the new Dave Mustaine mini stack by Marshall, based on the very popular MG15 MSII model. Unlike the original, this signature offshoot features 4 preset tones so it's like having 4 channels to mess with. What it means to us is really having an affordable variety. As you can see, the amp has a push-push power switch meaning, it's based on the revised MG series technology.

Guitar set up: Simple instructions (maybe) Part 5- final entry

After much tampering with relief & action settings, be mindful of the guitar's overall intonation. Intonation here refers to the guitar's relative tuning at the 12th fret, across all strings. If your open strings are in tune, please check the tuning at the 12th fret; it should NOT be any flatter/ sharper, it should replicate the open string tuning. However, intonation would be affected after a relief rectification/ action adjustments/ both, you should address this by 'neutralizing' the 12th fret tuning. How so? Use a cross-tip screw driver to flatten (move the string saddle back towards the bridge end) or sharpen (move the string saddle forward towards the pickup) the strings accordingly.

After being done here, there is a need to check the action once more because there would technically be a change in action (however minute) when you move your string saddles. Repeat the intonation & action checks until everything is in place. How many times would it take, you ask? As many times as necessary; rather tedious but that's how it is.

Okie, dokie! Your guitar is now set up & ready to manifest your real potential which had been hampered all along by poor instrument presentation. Hey, it's nobody's fault, really. Wood is organic to begin with & it reacts to the environment. More importantly, it reacts positively to positive investments in time & effort. Hope this helps...

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Every Sunday night, insomnia kicks in... Maybe I'm thinking too much.

Slithering Vypyr

I've finally told myself to sit down & try Peavey's Vypyr amps which I did but managed to deal with only the 15W & 30W versions. What made me want to try these amps? These are virtually multi-FX/ amp modelling units with drivers, they are chock-full of details & entice the drive-hungry players; with the 6505/ JSX/ Triple XXX replications on board, who would not want to hear what's on offer, yes?

The 30 watter was what I heard first. It's a deserving amp in terms of drive but I should warn interested players out there not to part with cash just because the Vypyr emulates some of its best amps- it's emulation, mind you, however convincing & good it sounds, it's still within the emulation domain. However, the 30 watter did well to churn out some the most desireable tones this side of LINE6, it very much has its 12" driver to thank for that.

The 15 watter, on the other hand, was as colourful as its bigger brother but it fell short in the ear candy department, much attributable to the 8" driver it's equipped with. Additional low frequency didn't help much as the overall voicing proved to be too shrieky & less wholesome. Peavey should offer the users out there workable volume increments; the big volume jump from 0 to 1 on the MASTER control is a put off. We know volume increments would change the dynamics of tone & picking/ fretting nuances but we are let down by the lack of opportunities to do so in the store (because it's simply irresponsible to play out loud when the rest of the world are there to do the same) & for many of us- at home.

Restring: What I do...

After much playing, my Ibanez RGA121 gets a restring. The numbered items are:

1. Beemis Wood Conditioner
2. GHS strings, .009 set
3. Vaseline

 I insist on removing all strings each & every time I restring my instruments. The nut slots get lubricated first. As you can see, I snipped a little bit off the the fresh set of strings to use as vaseline applicator.

The advantage of string absence is of course, easy access to the fretboard. It's not dirty so no cleaning was done, however, some parts of the fretboard was reconditioned. How often do we re-moisturize/ re-condition our fretboards? We do this as & when we see dryness, regardless of how many times it should be done. In other parts of the world, because the climate there isn't as humid as it is here, people would caution you against doing this too often (twice a year is enough, they say...) as it might soften the fretboard wood & weaken your neck. Well, this isn't the case here, so now you know. Let the moisturizing fluid settle for some time (say 10min or so) & wipe off the excess.

The headstock also got a cleaning treatment, a little dusting off & subsequent wipe down with regular guitar polishing fluid.

Next, the strings come on & the guitar tuned. I make it a point to stretch my strings & re-tune them as many times as it takes. Once the strings do not go out of tune, that's when I stop. This is especially necessary for guitars with a dual-action whammy bridge, we always complain our guitars go out of tune after each whammy action but that's because no stretching was done when the strings are fresh- they aren't 'acclimatized' to their tensioned selves, so to speak.

Before this guitar gets played further/ kept, I give the strings a protective coating. In this case, it's DR's String Life, liquid polymer fluid.

What does it do? It's an overcoat which serves to prolong freshness. Do note it does NOT prevent deterioration, it merely delays it.

I slip an unused string envelope between the strings & the fretboard so that the coating fluid do not come into contact with the fretboard & causes drying. Leave the finished process be for about 5min or so & the guitar is ready for play/ storage. This is the end of my re-stringing procedure, it's usually followed by a chocolate break.

RGA: Prestige vs Standard

Just stopped playing. Had the two guitars (above) out for a head-to-head comparisons in terms of tone.

Ibanez RGA121: This is a Prestige model, it manifests its Prestige quality in terms of feel, through the neck. It gives me a feel-good-play-more experience all the time. The pickups in there also also key attractions, it's a Duncan JB/ Jazz pair, not to everyone's liking but it works very well for me here. My RGA121 will be 5 years old come December & it's going strong.

Ibanez RGA32: The budget derivative is always endowed with quality issues, yes? But not the RGA32. Despite it being made in Indonesia, it very much shows quality production should be free from country associations. However, handling it simultaneously with the RGA121, there's much difference in feel when it comes to the neck. The RGA32 has a strong mahogany acoustics but it's unfortunately masked by the sombre pair of active pickups here (Ibanez's own LZ-3 model). I have plans to replace them but still thinking of I should go passive instead, I'm not too keen with active electronics. The Gibraltar Standard bridge, as opposed to the RGA121's Gibraltar Plus model, prevents it from achieving a very low action but it's not an adverse consideration of course.