Clean singles

It's one of those days where I'm not inspired to play but needed to manifest some ideas ringing in my head. Playing time today was a two-episode affair; before & after I re-strung my Strat. Before the re-string, I was really not in the mood because the strings were quite dead to the touch. Might be a case of not wiping down the last time round & letting the strings die in storage. No amount of intense distortion could reconditioned my mind to play something meaningful so the playing stopped.

Strings were quickly removed. Noticed some stained fret surfaces which resisted the polishing fluid. Some erasing took place. Folks, don't be afraid to erase stubborn stains on your frets, the eraser won't eat your frets away, it's very different from using sand paper. Just make sure the grit number is kept to the fine grain. 

Had a pack of D'Addario 9s close by so that was the choice for today. Never under-estimate the power of a fresh set of strings when it comes to inspiration. My post-re-string playing moments were strictly clean tones with a heavy dose of chorus & finger picked all the way. I'm not trying to emulate Ichika or Yvette in this realm of technicality but those playing styles were employed to manifest ideas. I might just need a good clean amp for such playing moments in time to come. Hmm...

From dead end to fulfilment. It had been a good Thursday. 👍

Modern re-string

Had been spending time with my offsets lately, this one got the most play time.

This isn't an upgrade but just testing to see the benefits of a less resistant set of string saddles. Yes, these helped. Yes, these promote a comfortable hand placement on the bridge. Yes, the strings stayed in place due to the notch / slit. FYI, the Chinese Modern Player JM was equipped with a tune-o-matic type bridge, not the traditional Fender offset version. This is the wrong bridge type if you often whammy, if you don't then it's good. Nothing expensive, this roller version is a Chinese product that works. 

I also like the Seymour Duncan Phat Cats in this guitar. I thought these would be closer to the P-90s in its strict translation but they sound humbucker-esque instead, very suitable for heavy, distorted stuff.

GHS 9s for this one. Old packaging means it's a leftover pack with the freshness still in tact. I believe this was from a June 2020 purchase.