New saddles

I dislike vintage-type bent saddles. As depicted above, that's how much grip space each saddle has if you need to raise the action. When you shim the neck pocket, the corresponding necessary adjustment would be raising the action to accommodate the new tilt angle. Bent saddles are just unsuitable for this rectification.

Also, the width of those bent saddles are 10mm each. These are not commonly sold at the shops. Most saddles are meant for the super-Strat type string spacing, these are 10.5mm each. The moment I saw these 10mm saddles available online, I knew they would accommodate my needs.

Price watch (107)

Ibanez fans would know, the RG7320EX is a 7-string model. This here is not a 7-string & the details look sus. One more time - let's not waste our time & money dealing with someone who doesn't know what s/he is selling.

GS270 (4)

Decal arrived today. I've stopped using the water-slide version. It's messy & fragile, certainly not for a novice like me. This here is the rub-on transfer version. Material is thicker than the water-slide version & dried up a lot faster.

The set of tuners there is the ARM brand. Virtually unknown & very affordable. I've realized that if you go for the cheaper set, more often than not, they would turn out dodgy. However, if you opt for something cheap but branded, regardless of the brand's obscurity, they would turn out better. I didn't know the ARM brand existed before this episode.

To be continued...

CY returns

The CY makes a return to Edwards' line-up this June with a simpler look.

Once upon a time, the CY was one of the upper-most tier instrument in the Edwards catalog. It had more than 24 frets, excessive binding, Seymour Duncan pickups, gold hardware... the works. The current version is a rather restrained look but equally inviting. The pickups are Seymour Duncan Rails: JB / Vintage / Jazz. 

Good to know that the neck-through-body construction was retained for the current incarnation. Despite the trimmings, expect to pay about $2K if it's made available here.

Pics: ESP

GS270 (3)

Body is ready for a re-finish. I did not remove the existing finish entirely. The idea here is to scratch the surface so that the new coat of paint would stick. That's it. That existing coat there prevents me from having to pore-fill the bare wood before a re-finish would take place. Of course, it's very unprofessional but very befitting for a novice like me. My objective had always been as long as it works. 

These are the trem post holes. I had stuffed them with foam, yes that one that came with the pickup packaging, very spongey. This prevents paint from entering the holes & mess up the screw threads. Also, the cavities in this body had been lined with paper. It's been scorching hot lately so it's a good time to be spray-painting .

To be continued...

CORT @ 10% off

A little late in knowing that CORT guitars are currently on 10% discount (@Swee Lee till 12 June). Cort KX models are direct competitors to Schecter's Omen & Ibanez SZ models once. While Ibanez discontinued the SZs, Schecter's Omen are getting more inaccessible to many beginners. CORT kept prices down & this KX100 is a very affordable bolt-on version currently listing for $296.10.

This GS200SE ($269.10) is one of the better affordable / entry-level instruments out there. Pickups are above-average to me & those single coils are surprisingly good considering I plugged it into a solid state amp. I'd rather you check this out than a Squier.

Do not doubt CORT's craftsmanship, they make guitars for Ibanez & PRS (among others).

Pics: CORT