Flash Swing

Saw these going for good prices at the SV Guitars web store (flash deals). Putting them here for your considerations especially if you are going the Squier way. I'm not dissing any brand names here but these Swings are definite value-for-money deals especially after the current discounts. Between Swing & Squier in this price range, the Swing wins it in terms of: 1) Neck profile/ playability 2) Switching/ tone options 👍

Fastening

If you read in my previous entry some days ago, I bought this cheapo strap & Ernie Ball strap blocks. Let's put them to use; the flimsy strap could surely use some security. Verdict:

• strap proved to be uncomfortable due to no cushioning  but easy to use
• strap blocks are effective, secure strap slits easily after fastening
• strap block - not easy to instal/ remove due to tough rubber material. Best for players who would want their strap to stay secured in their guitar for some time, not for constant removal

I still have the unused black pair & I'm giving it away to the first person who email me with the following subject matter: I want strap blocks!

With that, folks, we say goodbye to May.

*Strap blocks - taken 👍

Steer Jr

I've been spending time with my Les Paul Jr due to Bill Steer. Many of us know him for his remarkable Carcass materials but he's also that heavy blues rock guy who is not all shred & grind. FYI, Steer's other band, Firebird, is now defunct but the releases had an impact on me. It taught me to observe restraint & deliver the music according to planned structures, not just bent on chaos & anger. Also, Steer, together with Holdsworth, showed what a single pickup guitar could do & this re-inforces my belief that pickup choices are definitely personal. 

Subtle difference, if you notice at all. Have a good weekend, everyone. 

Rally

Folks, the Rally GL-300 are clearing for a good price. Before Epiphone revamped its current line-up, I would recommend the GL-300 to any beginners or those in need of a good back up for live performances. 

Two things: 1) Neck profile. It's something you'd appreciate; neither bulky nor flimsy, just right. If you are new to the electric, it's a very learner-friendly profile. 2) Tone. The pickups here manifest good single notes separation & does not mud-out in the neck position; especially important if you are the distortion inclined type. I personally feel these have a strong midrange presence with enough warmth to go vintage if that is also your thing. 

Crack

I can never come to terms with the default Gibson strap buttons (right). They made way for the D'Addarios. 

I don't know why Gibson could not include a strap button felt cushion to prevent this from happening. Folks, if you pressure a metal contraption against a lacquered surface without any cushioning, over time, if this pressure is released, the surface will crack. 

This, to me, is a necessary supplement to any guitars featuring strap buttons. It's not a costly investment, folks, so do consider.

The guitar in question is my LP Junior.

Standard affair

It's Tuesday. The holidays (despite the restraint) are over, bracing for work soon. Decided to re-visit this Standard because it possesses the most attractive tone this side of Gibson. The pickups there are a pair of Burstbucker Pros. Usually, the 500T gets my vote for being the all-out, distortion-inclined beast but there's something about the BBP that is both menacing & vintage without turning me off. So today, I've lowered the pickups a little in the hope of hearing some early Led Zep-esque tones, you know, those single-coil-ish affair. These did not disappoint but I'm not a Led Zep fan in any way. My dad would have enjoyed their music tremendously.

From this angle you can see that the body binding had lost all hope of still being creamy. So to all those Gibson owners with body binding, please do not lose hope or think that your instrument is now of lesser significance due to this occurrence. The body binding is the most susceptible as it is being treated together with the entire body in the finishing stages. The extra chemicals there will cause it to change differently over time. Next in line would be the neck binding but mine still looks a little creamy but not for long. Compare all this to the cream pickup mounting brackets & the the poker chip & toggle switch cap, despite them being made from a different materials. Note that the inlays are browning off as well.

A fret set of La Bella strings for the Standard as it accompanied me till the sun set today trying to emulate the Dissection (Reinkaos) tone. That's right, even the 'Les Paul' label there is fading into obscurity. 

El Cheapo strap-o

All cooped up at home & bent on trying - so I ordered this from a popular China-based online store. It's less than $5 plus shipping. 

It doesn't feel like a guitar strap. By this I mean to imply that it's like getting a spare utilitarian messenger bag strap. You can somehow feel the difference. It's also very thin, threatening to scratch or tear once in contact with any sharp, pointed object. The thin material also means that the buckle doesn't stay put & moves easily. Moving on to the strap ends, these are by no means leather. The material is rubbery, very similar to those faux leather belts sold at the local night markets but much thinner. As you can see there, the slit stretches easily & won't retain form. 

If you can help it, refrain from buying such accessories online, especially those listed for dirt cheap. There are very affordable guitar straps sold in the local stores here which are also offered online. These don't cost much either but if you choose to skimp on essentials like a strap, you know that your instrument would suffer along the way. By the looks of it, this strap of mine might give way soon. There's a very good reason why leather or compound leather is used for strap ends; elasticity matters. 

Eid 2020

Blessed greetings of Eid-Ul-Fitr to all Muslim blog readers, friends & acquaintances. It's an indoor Eid for many of us, an estranged celebration devoid of many cultural/ traditional routines. This pandemic  certainly taught many the true meaning of Eid. While many clamour over the statutory restrictions, they failed to understand the over-riding emergency concerns. Conditional celebrations were not instituted for marginalized restrictions, these were never meant to attack your faith & devotion but some people continue to believe so. 

That aside, here's wishing you a meaningful reflection of Eid & heightened commitment to faith in time to come especially during these testing times. Take care, think before you act.

Holiday eve...

It's the holiday eve. On past occasions, I would have been super busy with chores or running errands. This indoor episode had opened up some time for me to just lay away the time playing guitar. Work was cut down to a minimal. It's Saturday with my SGJ.

Everything is good, less the dry fretboard but that was easily attended to. I'm not a big fan of Gibson due to the playability factor. Some people thrive on fat, round neck profiles but I'm not such a player. One of the important reasons I bought this SGJ was due to the fact that it's gloss-less from head to toe. I also kinda like a pickguard-free look. I think some of the more attractive things in life are the simple, distraction-free ones. 

Solar bolt

Hot off the press - Solar guitars now offers a bolt-on option (Above: AB1.6S). That's right folks, the new model even features a roasted maple neck. However, I am waiting for a non-Evertune model, not that I dislike this type of bridge but I want something simple.

Bill's Monty

If you've been into intense music long enough, you'd know Bill Steer. Yes, it's that guy credited in Napalm Death's Scum inner sleeve, also the founding member of Carcass. 

Bill teamed up with Monty pickups recently to release his signature model. I believe it's a deserving move in view of his contributions to all things intense music especially during the formative years. Some convincing here:

PICS: Monty pickups

SE Parlor

This was slated for a Summer NAMM release & we know it's not gonna happen so it's finally released online instead. The PRS SE P20/ P20E is a parlor type acoustic. PRS also reduced the scale length a tad to bring out the mahogany warmth in addition to the midrange sting. I'm definitely looking forward to this being here but there's no telling when it will actually debut in stores. How much? USD499 (MSRP) - definitely reasonable asking price. Words from the horse's mouth:

PIC: guitar.com

Wear

Had been playing these two since last weekend: V-Pick (L) Traditional/ Gravity (R) 003 Custom.

I think I am rather merciless when it comes to pick attack. The Traditional had this much wear after only a day's worth of play. Someone told me to ease the picking hand but compromised pick attack just doesn't produce the desired note articulation, especially for angry riffs. The Gravity fared slightly better. It might be down to the materials used. 

With greenie

Spent some time with the greenie today. I actually have more than one mean greenie here, this is just something I'm happy I came across. It's an affordable guitar but well made, to me it's worth every cent. I'm also quite averse to finished necks but since I bought a Les Paul, adapting is everything. 

The pickups in this one are Seymour Duncan's Nazgul (b) & Sentient (n) pair. The Nazgul - won't appeal to players who are looking for some dynamic tones because it's not that appealing clean. It's also beyond what the traditional Distortion (SH-6) has to offer. It's a mean pickup with a singular objective of death & destruction. It's named after a malevolent character for a reason. The Sentient, on the other hand, handles both clean & distortion very well. If you think you need good cleans but not in the vintage territory, something like the Polyphia dudes or Yvette Young are chirning out, this is the pickup to get. 

Reclaimed glory

This one got me excited when it appeared at Davis a while back. It's not an extraordinary PRS model, top of the line affair but it's limited edition, definitely. PRS used reclaimed wood to get this one going backed by some amazing stories of how the wood was salvaged & what it used to be. These are not important to me. What's important was the fact that it's the first featuring a non-gloss neck. It's a different experience & it matters. The guitar is a light player, 2 things: 1) No gloss removed weight quite considerably from the instrument 2) It's semi-hollow. Despite these features, the guitar sings & note clarity is all present, it's something that I look for in default pickups. 

It's not for fussy owners as the reclaimed wood was used in its as-is condition. Mine has insect-bored holes in them & I'm absolutely fine with this considering its background. No sweat at all.

A quick re-string, 9.5s of course. 

In between

If you are a frequent visitor here, you'd notice that I have a thing for these gauges. Unlike those hybrid gauges where they offer thinner top end strings and thicker bottom strings, these are standard increments. The 9.5 sits nicely between 9 & 10 while the 10.5 sits between 10 & 11. I refer to these as the in-betweens for obvious reasons.

Why do I bother? My PRS guitars are sporting a 25" scale length. Despite a small difference between a PRS & an Ibanez RG (25.5"), I can somehow feel the tension difference, so that why I bothered. The 10.5s go into my Jaguars which are 24" but people told me to use 11s instead. Since I am in standard tuning, the extra tension offered by 11s won't do for me. I'm more comfortable with 10.5s in there. I also have 10.5s in one of my Les Pauls since I tune it half a step down so that pretty much compensates the tension. There is no hard & fast rules stating a certain guitar sporting a certain scale length should be equipped with a certain set of strings of a certain gauge. It's all about feel. Jimmy Page has 8s in his Les Paul, Malmsteen does 8s for his Strats as well. Stevie Ray had 11s in his Number One Strat all those while but we shouldn't go with their flow if it feels all wrong after trying. We have no obligations to copy because we are not these people. Our needs are different.

There are some interesting observations after using these gauges for quite a while & it's strictly personal. Thicker string gauges lose lots of warmth & midrange appeal in humbucking guitars, active pickups would rectify this anomaly. Also, thicker gauged strings sound so darn good with single coil pickups with moderate to low amounts of gain/ drive. 

The D'Addario 9.5s are available at Davis GMC, the 10.5s you see there, I bought them online. However, Swee Lee has the EB 10.5s you see here in store since March 2020 & that would mean the end of my purchase of 10.5s online. I don't fancy EB strings but domestic purchases would me saving shipping costs. Anyway, only 4 of my guitars need those. 

Hope this entry propels you to try these gauges not because you are obliged to but because you know you need a (slightly) thicker set of strings without embracing something out of your comfort zone.

MOMM (3)

Something new & old this time round.

Tulus: Old, Old Death

They are still around & at it. It's the same lineup as Olm Og Bitter but the production this time round is very clean cut & dare I say, clear. What I like & respect about the band from the start (till now) is the ability to diversify the instruments during dedicated moments. The bass is still that adventurous element with much presence & no obligations to double the guitar - that's what got me into the band. This album did not sit too well with some reviewers namely for its predictability but in my opinion, the essence of raw black metal is still here & marked. 

Morbid Angel: Illud Divinum Insanus

I have all Morbid Angel albums in my phone less this one. I revisited it today in the hope of liking it for a peculiar appeal but it's a difficult affair. This is supposed to be a come-back release of sort but failed in many ways. The key displeasure here is that odd integration of samples & absence of real drums in some songs. Listeners, especially cult followers, are confused trying to figure out what this album was trying to put forth. The Morbid Angel element is quite present, leaving many to believe that it's a get by offering to welcome David VIncent back into the fold. I didn't bother much & it won't make its way into my phone's playlist any time soon.

Special

Gibson just released these LP Special Tribute models, in P-90 & humbucking options. Special because back then, these were known as specials & the monicker spills over to the current manifestation. The body is mahogany but neck is maple while the fretboard remains to be rosewood. These are not the usual carved top models so they cost way less than the standard LP. The simple wrap over bridge also hints at affordability. 

Big deal? Not really. But in the mean time, this remains to be one of the more affordable Gibson out there. Quality issue - this can be scrutinized once they are available here. 

Clean

This was unplanned, I wanted to play the acoustic. However, I have not really played this clean since the day I got it. So it was plugged into a clean setting throughout. Not very inspiring. The mini humbuckers do not possess the thumping tone of the full-sized counterparts. They lack bass. The midrange & treble were more audible but this isn't something you'd want to hear coming from a clean tone. Even the average acoustic guitar, unplugged, has more depth than these pickups. 

I love these pickups for overdrive & hard distortion. The lower frequency's less prominence helped with single note definition. As such, you won't hear the Clapton-esque woman tone much. Also, it's good for those brash sounding black metal numbers ala Darkthrone. I have no plans to swap these pickups out in the mean time. 

JJN combo

Not new, just the combo version (20W) of Jared James' fantastic Blackstar amp. If you are after more distortion but do not wish to enter heavy metal territory, this is the one to get. I tried the stack version I I believe that it will appease those blues rock fans who are after more intensity in the style of JJ himself. Particularly appealing if you have a fat single coil pickup to spare (P-90 is best). Hearing is believing:

Gold?

There was that time when someone asked me if I have ever bought a used guitar. At that point in time, every guitar I own was new. I was averse to buying pre-loved instruments namely because of how people have no TLC for their instruments. Once these deteriorate beyond their liking, they would offload it to someone else who doesn't mind inhering dirt, grime & rust. However, this particular Ibanez S470 was in pristine condition. The owner gave up trying to cope with a dual action whammy bridge namely dealing with tuning frustrations. Folks, make it a point to mentally shift into adversity acceptance if you wish to embrace such bridge units. This is especially so if you have been the hard tail/ tune-o-matic  lover prior to this migration. Back to the story - tone major downside to this guitar was that the whammy arm tightening bushing was missing. So this was perhaps my first ever guitar bought used. It was indeed hardly used & was originally black.

There was also a cosmetic issue seen here - discolouration due to a possible reaction to rubber parts/ adhesive. This was no major setback for me as it does nothing to playability. I ended the deal with a winning feeling, especially so when I paid peanuts for it. 

Quiet jazzer

That sudden urge to play a semi-hollow so this was the pick: Ibanez TM-71

But before that, a quick re-string.

Some parts of the binding are beginning to show age-stains. This is one of those guitars with finished necks that I like. The wide-thin profile also caters to my type of playing. 

Goodbye: Edwards 7

Saying goodbye to my Edwards 7-string (E-HR-135III-7S). One of the best neck profiles I've come across but severely underplayed. I prefer a down-tuned 6-string these days. Handing over to the deserving owner soon.

Epifluence

Get ready, everyone. These were meant for the Summer NAMM release - Epiphone is in the Fluence game. And why the heck not. We can agree that Epiphone is having a splendid 2020 so far following its re-launch & it's the right time to add 'new' stuff to the fray. We can agree that should these Fluence pickups made it into Gibsons instead, there would be limited appeal. The smart move here is to have them into something within reach & the Epiphone range makes sense. 

PIC: Guitar Player

Fast

It's fast approaching midyear. Under normal circumstances, it would mean Summer NAMM is just a peek away. We would be greeted by another wave of new gear but that's not meant to be. Nevertheless, manufacturers are still releasing new stuff & Schecter is certainly one of them. Really glad that the PT model is resurrected this time with a touch of vintage goodness (those Tron-type pickups). Maybe - just maybe - it would make its way here.

Leading here

OK folks, the Fender Lead II...

... and Lead III are here, both retailing for less than $900 each. Not an appropriate time to buy since we don't get to try them in the stores but hey, they are here. At this price point. my money goes to the revamped Epiphone models, especially after trying a few in person. OK, just me.

Twang Tuesday

One for Tele Tuesday. Have no obligations to play this on a Tuesday, really, just a coincidence. Anyway, purists are still putting this down for not being a Tele. There is a sizeable following that says it is. As the dichotomy continues, we sometime failed to see the culprit - Fender. That's right folks, the manufacturer named it as such so don't blame people for calling it as such. 

S2 Studio not here again

The PRS S2 Studio was brought back to life again recently (discontinued in 2018) but it's only heading to Europe. I'm keen to check out a mid-priced HSS model but some things are simply not meant to be. 

Blackened in a ghost town

So people are busy making music indoors. I think if your Youtube feeds consist of the latest happenings in music, you would have probably watched Metallica's 2020 version of blackened. I see it as a confused offering. We have 3/4 of the band very enthusiastic in seeing the new version of this 33 year old song through while 1/4 of them rests in the fact that he participated and most probably owned the song more than any of the other three members. 

Now compare that to the Rolling Stone's Living in a Ghost Town. Nuff said.

Antigua

On the eve of the circuit-breaker/ semi-lockdown enforcement, I managed to make a quick trip to Swee Lee to get this charming mistake. It was supposed to be a birthday present for myself but it wasn't my birthday. Today is not my birthday as well. Whatever, I don't celebrate my birthday but I do reward myself time & again when reward is due.

Anyway, FYI, the antigua finish was an accident when Fender first created the Coronado model. The burst effect turned out to be a burnt effect during manufacture & it was saved by having a mustard-ish background to create that signature look. It's not a  popular colour scheme as it reminded players of infant turd back then. The '70s saw the demise of this finish but it re-sirfaced every now & then for nostalgia's sake. The model you see here is a limited edition 2019 run & strictly Japanese. I have a thing or two when it comes to unloved & marginalized finish. 

Labour power

This might be one of the bleakest times to be celebrating the labour movement. In the mean time, labour is crippled & living on borrowed time. The economy is turning & the ones to suffer in time to come - unemployment, wage freeze, wage cut - are the people out there who toil to put food on the table. The authorities must not forget the importance of labour here, the coming together of our forefathers, regardless of their skin colour & beliefs, to build a nation, strong & free. On that note, Happy Labour Day dear blog readers, regardless of who we are, we are working to make ends meet, some of us working harder than the rest. Take care, stay home & stay safe.