Ibanez Japanese exclusive

At the turn of the decade, I think it's worth sharing the fact that Ibanez had some Japan exclusive models in their domestic stores which will not make it here, of course. This stunning example is the S5221 BWE TKS featuring an ebony top & fretboard plus a pair of Bare Knuckle Brute Force. Listing for about SGD1.6K after tax which would have some firm interest here considering the price & unique attributes. The thing with the S-Sereies is that, there are very few attractive models making their way round our market & the dealer has a high chance of disinterest unlike the RGs which are selling by the truckload. Oh, well. 

Last for the decade

OK, so this is the last one for the decade. 😁

In the pink of health

Played my pink paisley Tele yesterday, just needed to hear some single coils in action.

Before that happened, managed to ask Beez to have the Seymour Duncan Hot for Tele set installed as this guitar previously featured the Lil '59/Alnico II pairing. This is one of those Fenders that feature thin, vintage frets much to the dismay of modern players but I managed to have a low action here so it sort of made up for the 'shortcomings'. 

My last set of D'Addario 9s & everything went well.

HybridOD

Final acquisition of the decade. Perhaps.

Selling: Edwards E-ST-90ALR (SOLD)

Necessary release - my Edwards E-ST-90ALR. In 9/10 condition, it's off-white, not flush white as seen in this pic.

• Edwards E-ST-90ALR, bag included
• No mods, all original
• Self-collect at CCK mrt station
• Queries/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• No reservations/ trades
• Final: $750

Item SOLD (1/5/20)

ESP/LTD: 2020 (4)

More stuff from the LTD camp. The Snapper Deluxe models are also having new members & this SN-1000 is one of them. The highlight here is of course its sand-blasted finish & it features the Duncan Pegasus/Sentient pickup combo as well. I'm not a big fan of the Snappers, I prefer the STs. The Snapper's headstock is trying too hard not to infringe a certain other guitar of this nature but implying idea exhaustion. Nevertheless, all the Snappers that I've tried at the stores are above expectations, even the non-Deluxe models.

I know there are limited followings when it comes to semis but the PS is much overlooked when it comes to tone. This new one especially, is equipped with a pair of Duncan Phat Cats. These are essentially P-90-ish but not quite conforming to the P-90 blueprint so the tine there is unique. I have them in my Chinese Jazzmaster & they simply rule! The SN-1000 is another Deluxe model that seems to be punching above its weight. It has to. It's nothing less than a Deluxe model.

Ibanez 2020

Some really late details from the Ibanez camp this year. It's already the final week of 2019 & no firm references are offered to us till now (Xmas, actually). This is the initial disclosure for 2020, the RG1121PB (Premium).

Sure, there's the 7-string version as well (RG1127PB). Matching burled headstock veneer for both models - good.

Some things to note, folks. It's now a 7-piece neck. These people are serious about stability & they know roasting necks for each & every single new model is costly. Anyway, this approach had proven its worth in terms of a successful outcome so why not stick to it, yes?

On the flip side - gold frets. I have no idea if it's merely a coating, we'll get more details soon. Say, does gold add anything to durability or tone? We know it adds to cost, yes?

New bridge - looks minimalist & derivative (might be a variation of the Mono Rail). That's a covered DiMarzio Fusion Edge pickup you see there. They should disclose if this model is really favoured by the fans by an overwhelming majority. I might be the marginal few who finds it distasteful.

Some official promo clip here which includes the whammy version, RG1120PB. If you've noticed by now, Ibanez reformulated the model citation again. Oh, well.

Tuned to '20

The EHX camp will have this mini pedal tuner for 2020 so it's no excuse for you not to have one on your pedal board; space constraints will not be an acceptable pretext. The good thing is, it's affordable, listing for USD39 & comes with a complementary PSU - how about that?

Ho ho ho 2019

Minimalist? Not really. Anti-climax more like it.

I don't celebrate Christmas but it's a holiday I look forward to. It's that final laid back moment for the year before the work cycle is rebooted & meaningless movements happen once more. I plan to have quiet moments this time, maybe some overdue reading & servings of coffee. I actually look forward to some significant purchases at this year end but the windfall was way, way below expectations. Never hope for such things from an entity that depends on economic performance. For goodness sake, the economy is beyond anyone's control. You can sway things but you can't leash it. So that plan bites the dust.

Anyway, here's wishing everyone some quality time with family & loved ones. Stay safe, promise?

PT '20

Kinda excited that Schecter has this PT model for 2020 (PT Pro). This version sports an ebony fretboard.

Equally delectable is the roasted maple fretboard variant. I'm certainly looking forward to these being available here & the manufacturer classified them as mid-price models. We can expect a $900 - $1,200 price range on that note. 

Holiday Eve- yippee! 🎉

Happy cleans

This is a good pairing. Spent some time plugging the Epiphone Old Glory into the Vox MV50. Absolutely no drive & no pick. I'm not trying to emulate the Jared James Nichols approach. I'm not that kind of a player, not venturing into that territory either. Messing with some tapping ideas, forcing myself to be pick-free for this to happen. When you have the pick around, you tend not go astray.

I also feel that clean settings handle tapped notes better. Less accidents happen in terms of unintentional clicks & tweets. More importantly, I ventured out of my comfort zone & there were many learning points to reflect on. 

Active, pink

Some interesting releases by Solar guitars at the close of 2019. A singlecut design with active pickups - might give the LTDs in this price range some stiff competition. (GC1.6TAW)

Solar joins the Kiesel, Charvel & Ibanez camps, among others, in giving us our all time favourite finish - pink. (A2.6PN)

These are currently unavailable here & we sincerely hope it's a matter of time before they appear at the dealer's. Since June 2019, no other models were available except for the initial few that were offered. At the rate that things are going, the distributor is implying disinterest in bringing in the newer models & it's hinting at the possible need to clear current inventory before stocking the fresh stuff.

PICS: Solar guitars

Review: Ibanez AZ2402

2018 saw the critical move by Ibanez in the introduction of a new series of guitars; the AZ line. Instead of embracing radical elements for a niche market (like the extinct X-Series), Ibanez opted for a utilitarian approach. The AZ line manifested generic features to appease a wide range of players from squeaky clean jazzers to high octane rockers. Details were made outstanding & that’s where the AZ manifests its winning sensation.

Features

Top side, the guitar features a Gotoh T1802 whammy bridge. This is a wise complementary inclusion as a guitar of this ilk should be devoid of fiddly locking mechanism. The manufacturer assures the player of quality, functionality & dependability instead. This bridge in question is a smooth player with titanium appointments to see you through the times. No awkward protrusions here to desecrate your picking hand while playing. We will deal with the Seymour Duncan Hyperion pickups separately with the switching/ selector system.

Moving on to the neck, this is where Ibanez discarded its super thin wizardry (forgive the pun) in exchange for a traditional feel that breeds familiarity instead of a total departure. That’s right folks, no excessively thin neck profile here, a very rounder & much meatier take on things, one of the thickest Ibanez has to offer that embraces a C-profile. However, do note that things remain comfortable & playable thanks to the satin finish & overall roasted treatment. Ibanez takes pride in telling the world that their S-Tech treatment for the Prestige AZ necks is the highlight of this new flagship series. In addition to the comprehensive heat cure, nitrogen is involved to eliminate temperature related reactions. As if this isn’t enough to propel the neck in good stead, frets are stainless steel, nut is bone & tuners are locking Gotohs with adjustable post height. Staggering details indeed & yet, the neck’s overall cosmetics remain very pragmatic. Even the signature pointy headstock is now reinterpreted to be more rounded and practical. Top marks for everything done right & tasteful in this department.

Rating: 95%

Tone/ Playability

Ibanez collaborated with Seymour Duncan for the AZ series. The pickups you see here is the Hyperion model. While the name alludes to a possible sonic exploit, the Hyperion is an Alnico 5, medium output pickup. In action, it is one of the most neutral-sounding pickup the manufacturer has to offer. There’s clarity in all frequencies impartial to any emphasis. The clean applications in this aspect is fantastic in the neck position. The bridge clean is less stellar but remains warm & devoid of the nasal voicing commonly associated with higher output. The Hyperion, under driven settings, is simply an incredible pickup in its own right. Once again, the outstanding performance here is attributable to its clarity impression. Single note definition is simply impressive. As if that’s insufficient to drive the message home, the AZ series is equipped with a dyna-MIX 10 switch. It adds a coil tap (not coil split, note the difference) function & manifests the single-coil-only function in position 2 (neck) & 4 (bridge) of the selector. We can all argue that a split coil from a humbucker won’t really emulate a true single coil but it’s darn close with this one. 

The neck per se is a joy to play. Another gentle reminder - it’s not that shred-only Super Wizard profile but a much beefier proceeding with a C carve instead of the usual D. once again, it’s that familiar embrace of a certain F-brand guitar but a very refined rendition. I dare say it’s much thicker as well. Does this effectively delineate this guitar from the Super Wizard camp? Absolutely not. My experience with Ibanez had always been the thinner neck serving but this move in the opposite direction is a very welcomed change. In fact, I have no complaints in terms of adaptation; I can easily bring things up to speed & generate intense bass note peddling without an obvious onset of lethargy. So the crucial learning point here is that if you have your neck right, even the naysayers would embrace it readily. It’s all about the approach, not the end product.

Rating 95%

Conclusion

The AZ Series are not a simple conception despite the final product looking simplistic. Ample time & references to professionals were made to get things right. The outcome is a perfect understanding of what a desirable guitar should be, devoid of niche inclinations & a tremendous appeal to the masses. There was no particular breakthrough to behold in terms of design manifestations but a refinement of what is already out there. So is the AZ a flawless discourse by any means? A simple answer to that would be a no but it’s a darn near-perfect exploit. I have nothing specific to scrutinize but not everyone would deem the Duncan Hyperion pickups a favoured feature for this instrument. The Ibanez purists would put the manufacturer on trial for omitting a DiMarzio consideration for this one. The way I see it, the pickups' sonic personality is deserving for a guitar that refrains from being marginal to any particular music genre, regardless of who made it. I’m just glad it wasn’t an in-house version that would disrepute the guitar’s standing (the defunct S5470 & S5521 among others). As for the AZ affiliates out there, they wish for this model to be blessed with longevity & not suffer the fate of the SZ series where strong sales figures & outright popularity meant absolutely nothing in preventing them from being put to death. 

Final rating: 95%

Ibanez: AZ2402

Availability: Swee Lee Co.

List: $2,699

PICS: Ibanez

Goodbye: Musicark

Musicark is closing their doors for good after 7 years in the industry. The instruments featured here are the final few they have in stock.

Do visit their website to secure the guitar online: Musicark clearance

Nu-clean

My bout with Vox continues. It's the year-end sale anyway 😁

Yammy time

This is a great guitar. The Yamaha PAC510V has everything I like; single pickup, locking tuners, good whammy bridge & a pair of good string retainers. It was on sale at Sound Alchemy some years ago, was unexpected but it's a worthy catch.

I appreciate locking tuners. They keep tuning in check & make re-string an enjoyable engagement. This is especially useful for the newbies among us who would want to avoid the hassle of coiling strings round the posts. Those Graph Tech Tusq string retainers are wonderful. They don't snag strings & they don't rust. The Pacifica headstock design has to be one of the more likeable ones out there. They look prim & proper, nothing obnoxious. 

OK, my final pack of Darco older pack strings. They are good + affordable. The 500 series of Pacificas sport a Wilkinson whammy bridge. These are absolutely great for the money with no protrusions to ravage one's picking hand. Ah, yes... the Seymour Duncan P-Rails; it's one of my reclusive favourite. It's wired to manifest three modes, full humbucking/ P-90/ rail single coil. So if you think it's a one trick pony by virtue of just a lone humbucker in there, know that it's wired to thrill.

Scour power

This was the Ibanez JPM neck which was under my care recently. Click here to know what I'm talking about: JPM revival. Take a look at how much gunk accumulated over the years. On most parts, you can barely see the wood grain. Removing this layer of dirt was a challenge. A mere rubbing off with mineral oil/ fretboard conditioner didn't work. It's been there for some time & turned stubborn. Several attempts were insufficient to solve the problem.

Enter the scouring pad. That's right folks, it's what Mums use in the kitchen to fight tough stains, including the effective removal of rice that had hardened overnight in the pot. Similar applications? You bet. If you are interested, please stick to the delicate version as indicated above. Luthiers would resort to zero grade steel wool but I do not believe in using a metallic supplement to get the job done because metal is still tougher than wood & it might result in scratching instead. The idea here is to preserve the fretboard's top most layer & only deal with the blanket of dirt.

I didn't use the entire piece for this assignment (each pack contains 2). Smaller, pinch-sized portions were used instead. Dab each piece into mineral oil/ fretboard conditioner before scouring the dirty surface. Add more as you go along. Judging by how black each piece is, you can tell how much dirt was successfully removed. These five pieces lasted me from the 12th fret to the 24th. 

Here's the end product of this assignment. Please invest in the necessary TLC for your loved instruments. Of course, you can trash one guitar & buy another but there are some things that are worth your time & effort, especially the ones that mean something to you. If you are clueless about how things should be done, send it to someone who knows. 

Son of

Behold, Son of Beast. 👹 The Beast model refers to that body outline there which used to be one of  BC Rich's proud designs before being put to death by the new management. I wasn't a fan of this very protrusive outline which looks like an offset Warlock of sort with a hint of the Explorer. Whatever the case might be, I bought this one because it's not a full sized Beast but a shrunken version (hence 'Son of') while retaining the scale length. Also, I'm quite a sucker for a single pickup guitar 😁

I find that truss rod cover rather annoying; Avenge means nothing to me, really. However, the Beast headstock is a real looker & it's often mistaken for the Widow headstock. 

A fresh set of Darco 9s & yes, it's the former generation of Darco strings quite evident from the package design. The fact that they are still in usable condition is a testimony to the efforts made by the Martin camp in making them last. Remember, this version of Darco strings had been discontinued & re-introduced as the ones seen below.

Orange justice

Decided to have a set of 10.5s in all 24" guitars. Was actually alright with a set of 10s but 10.5s handle aggression better. There's no mellowing out even with single coils, I am aggressive 😎

I am a firm believer that strap buttons should not come into contact directly with the paint job.

For a small price to pay, our instruments should get some due attention. These are available at Davis GMC/ TYMC.

This was taken near the front door yesterday. That's how much sunlight we get at noon. It's been cold the last few days, folks. 

ESP/LTD: 2020 (3)

I'm putting two more models in the spotlight for LTD's 2020 releases. There will be others along the way, the manufacturer assured us this is only its Phase 1 of their new model announcements. The model you see above is still part of their top tier Deluxe range, the Horizon H-1001. That see-through quilt top is simply the highlight of this guitar.

It's also good to see a Viper making the numbers. Over the years, this model had been sidelined somewhat, dwelling in the shadows of other more popular outlines like the Eclipse & Mirage. It seems that the Seymour Duncan Pegasus/ Sentient pairing are the feature pickups in many of the Deluxe models, these two included. I must say that the Sentient is indeed one of the formidable passive neck pickups in the SD lineup but a little under-rated in the mean time. The Deluxe models are doing this humbucker a big favour by having it there to carry the tone through. The Jazz & '59 are the tried & trusted go-to models but these represent the old guard of Duncan pickups not that they are out-dated but the Sentient is the future that should be embraced. 

Mark the combo

Not too long ago, Mesa Boogie released the Mark Five: 25 1 x 10" combo. It got people excited. We know how a simple, scaled down stack version bearing this brand name would easily nuke a hole in our wallets. There's also the 1 x 12" version but for many of us, we are happy with a compact amp. Not that the 12" isn't compact enough, we know some sweet tones could be had with a 10". More importantly, the 10" would manifest some trimmings in terms of price. That's right folks, the Mesa Boogie label is simply exorbitant & it would be a permanent wish-list item for the average Joes.

Do we have a local dealer here for Mesa Boogie? Yes, we do but Davis GMC used to inventorize these amps & I was way happier with their prices compared to the current dealer's. A case in question would be the head you see above listing for more than $3K. I got mine from DGMC for way less, dare I say, more than $1K lesser than the figure shown here. Do not bloody scream inflation into my face, please. I'm well aware it's happening. But it's also possible that some people somewhere out there are trying to milk you dry for a top dollar branded commodity & their numbers are way off the international listings online. More so if they are the only ones distributing them within your geographical boundaries. 

Size matters

This is pretty much the only Black Friday deal for me this year. Good discounts happened at Gravity Picks so it was an easy decision since I'm a fan. I'm currently favouring the 003 XL version (left), this time I spec'd a smaller manifestation very close to a Jazz III, devoid of any grip enhancing features. The objective was to find out if size enhances grip. If it does, grip enhancements are unnecessary.

Verdict: Size influences grip. Two things: 1) Psychology 2) Picking style. 

• I'm too used to bigger picks so half the battle here was telling myself it isn't difficult dealing with something smaller, something out of my comfort zone. I failed miserably. Even before any picking happened, I dropped the darn pick.
• Many of us get along with the Jazz II-esque picks (regardless of the brand) because of our playing style. If you are not peddling bass notes furiously all the time, it would be a winning outcome. It was definitely not the case for me. More energy was expended trying to hold the pick in place & I got tired very quickly.

The circumstances discussed above might not hold true for some of us because we were conditioned to prefer a certain pick type regardless of our music genre. This is especially true if we started with a certain pick type & went on with it for a very long time before trying something else for variety's sake. For my case, I was with the Stubby 2mm for a long time & moved on to the 3mm version. Then on, I couldn't get along with something thinner or smaller. 

Might be giving away those failed picks 😔

Goodbye: JPM

Finally bid farewell to the Ibanez JPM as it made its way to its rightful owner, Mr. Amin. This instrument was under my care for a makeover of sorts. Here's what took place:

• Complete fretboard clean up + re-moisturizing
• Fret polish
• Pickups clean up
• Bridge clean up
• Tuners clean up
• Replacement of entire top lock nut assembly & string retainer
• Re-string + action set up

My take-away from this episode

1. Clean vs replace. We shouldn't be too quick to replace parts. The initial approach is always to clean them as parts are salvageable, it's a matter of knowing how to clean them. If you are dealing with Ibanez parts especially, off-the-shelf replacements are likely to fail. Many of us assume that Floyd Rose spares & its derivatives would work but no. Even the Japanese Gotoh parts do not conform entirely to the Ibanez specs. Replacements need to be exact & American parts should never be in the equation.
2. Strength in limitation. OK I'm not a qualified luthier by any means but I got away with out-witting the conventional approach. The clean up process here for instance involved simple, user-friendly products some of which are non-guitar related. For the metal parts for instance, Autosol & Mr. Brasso are commercial affairs that manifest limited reliability. If you notice, over time, Autosol treated parts would turn green. I had since resorted to vehicle care products & the Turtle Wax range of buffing & polishing compound are currently my go-to brand. These were formulated to be weather proof so treated parts would withstand moisture attack better than the general, household brand. Also, pitted & mouldy surfaces could be easily restored using these products as opposed to scouring them with sand paper. I have the above tuners as proof. 
3. Try & keep trying. I had a hard time dealing with the fretboard as a thick layer of gunk threatened to make its residence there permanent. The specifics of this will be discussed in details soon but suffice to say that a few attempts were necessary & it involved some improvisation & the embrace of, once again, non-conventional supplements. This came about because of an initial failure. I am so used to cleaning the fretboard with just a cloth & oil approach but these were insufficient to deal with stubborn stains. 

The top lock nut assembly & string retainer bar were replaced entirely. The painful lesson here was that, some online Japanese stores are mere brokers, they source for what you need from the Western countries & that would mean one thing - incompatibility. It took me about two months worth of correspondence & repeated purchases to get this right. Please take note of specific measurements when dealing with online purchases. Be ready to quiz the seller (politely, please) on what you need precisely. No, any replacement unit of similar make won't work, especially for Ibanez parts. These people take pride in the fact that they are not reliant on after-market replacements to furbish their instruments, it's all about being self-sufficient & to hell with what others have to offer.

Not a big DiMarzio fan but the Air Norton/ Steve's Special pair are deserving pickups here. The Air Norton, to me, should be the benchmark for those who are neck-inclined when it comes to solos - lots of clarity & very good cleans. The Steve Special might not be everyone's cup of tea but it has a good bass response for guitars featuring tone-robbing bi-directional whammy bridges. 

The JPM100 is a simple guitar that works extremely well for high octane rock & beyond. Despite being a signature model, it's actually a no frills player. The neck isn't a Super Wizard but it's a very addictive affair, still very shred-y & speed inducing.