Yellow Saturday

Someone saw my yellow RG elsewhere & asked if it's the same butchered RG featured here: CLICK 

The answer lies in the picture above. These are two different guitars albeit the same model - RG550 (Genesis Series), which were both played this morning. It's an indoor Saturday for me as I stayed home to oversee some kitchen makeover. Also, my skin had been acting up since yesterday so home is the best place for some rest & healing. Why the sudden urge to play both? Just to hear DiMarzio (top) & Seymour Duncan (bottom) pickups in action. I made less mistakes with the DiMarzio fellow because there was no urge to switch pickups while playing. Also, I tend to play more riffs due to the single pickup offering. With the Duncans, I resorted to the neck pickup for solos (simply love the clarity there) & single coil for cleans. This isn't conclusive but true for most cases - the gear we play influences what we play. 

Pickups in the above guitars:

• TOP: DiMarzio D'Activator X
• BOTTOM: Seymour Duncan Distortion (n/b) + Quarter Pound Staggered (m)

Heavy mods

Spent some time with these two this morning. These are currently my Ibanez RGs that underwent severe makeovers & turned out likeable:

GRGR010

• Re-finished body, colour taken from a car paint catalog - copper + removed pickguard
• Replacement pickup - Seymour Duncan Custom Custom (SH-11) with plastic cover
• Low-friction volume knob
• Grpahtech String-Saver saddles (black)

RG550 Genesis

• After-market pickguard - single humbucker / volume knob only
• Replacement pickup - DiMArzio D'Activator X

The GRGR was bought for its single humbucker feature. I was still hesitant to own a single pickup guitar at that point in time so when this affordable Gio model was available at Swee Lee, it was a done deal. The intention was to make it a reference guitar for pickup testing since it's a single humbucking model. However, I chanced upon a Seymour Duncan Custom Custom & decided to try it in this guitar & it stayed put ever since. Simple reason - it's a deserving pickup in this guitar. The body was re-painted at a car workshop hence the 'car-coloured' finish you see there. The default string saddles were corroded / oxidized & the Graph Tech are simply wonderful replacements here. 

The RG550 Genesis started out as someone else's mod project. It was acquired by the former owner with a horrible body routing to accommodate a kill switch. I undertook the make-over on the owner's behalf who became uninterested in owning the guitar citing the dual action Edge bridge not being his cup of tea. Guitar was sold for cheap to me. I really like its simple looks & the D'Activator X there sounds awesome in this one. 

These are examples of second rated guitars, in my personal assessments of course, turning out to be unexpected gems. I think for those of us who have been playing for a while, there is this subliminal calling for us to simply acquire a budget guitar & mod the heck out of it to see if some things work for us. It need not turn out well, more importantly, the learning process would have taught us something when it comes to gear perception & appreciation.

Wishing you a good midweek (whats left of it). 😎

Damage control (2)

I proceeded to advise the owner of this unfortunate guitar to just invest in a new pickguard & get the electronics looked into. The neck (Super Wizard) & bridge (Edge) are still in very good condition. In fact, there was no fret wear to be seen & the bridge is showing no signs of neglect either. The guitar might have been kept away for some time after the gouging episode. The owner asked me if I could handle this project considering my conditions. I told him it's possible but I will take my time & he has to agree to some limitations with regards to spares availability.

First thing -  purchased a single humbucking pickguard for a no-frills look. FYI, it wasn't a perfect fit for a Japanese Ibanez, three screw holes are totally off the mark. This pickguard was meant to fit an RG350 hence the misalignments (Japanese RG550 vs Indonesian RG350 specs). I have a DiMarzio D'Activator X in the house so that became the pickup of choice. 

The guitar received a thorough cleaning, frets were polished & all screws were replaced. The Edge bridge was dismantled for a good wipe down & the innards were surprisingly oily - no idea what took place. The battery enclosure you see above was left in tact to cover more gouging horror. The block heel indicates a recent RG550 iteration - the Genesis model. This was confirmed by the serial number on the headstock; it's a 2013 model, the first batch of the Genesis RGs.

Very happy with the neck, only needed to raise the string retainer to a more optimum level since it was screwed too much into the headstock. 

To be concluded...

Pickup talk: DiMarzio D'Activator X

At the first instance, you'd be thinking this is DiMarzio's X2N but it's not. It's DiMarzio's other high output menace, the D'Activator X. Yes, they look identical, both devoid of any polepieces.

This isn't my first encounter with the D'Activator, I have another in my SA1620. Unlike the SA, my DTT700 came equipped with them. What's so special about these pickups? Nothing special, really but the manufacturer claims they have that extra ferocity which brings it up to standard against an active pickup. After hearing it in action I'd say it's just liberal marketing- yes, the D'Activator X is one heck of a high output pickup but it's not a pseudo-active model, not quite. 

In the bridge, the D'Activator X has all the distortion compliance you need, no compromise here. It's very protrusive to such an extent that there's indeed an active-like voicing to be heard but this pickup does not possess the cold, in-your-face manifestation of an average active pickup. To me, this is a good thing because you could still dial in some warmth in there should the need arises but the reality is, nobody would play any tame music with these in their guitars. In the neck, expect the same aggression to unfold but it's a little creamier & more polished. If you have clarity issues during a solo, the D'Activator X is useful. 

Do we need extra high output pickups to supplement our distortion? No, we don't. In fact, distortion sounds more appealing with medium output units. However, if you wish to address a voicing concern- you'd like to sound more upfront while plying your heavy metal- the D'Activator X is it.

Domestic destruction (3)

Yes, the DTT700 suffered from a dry fret condition, I think you can tell which fret areas were re-moisturized & which ones were not.

A fresh set of strings, GHS .009s. Other rectifications/ adjustments done:

• Neck was straightened. Not that it was severely warped but I needed that bit of leeway to complement a lower action
• Action was lowered, not the lowest I could achieve but it facilitated my quirks, that's more important
• Pickup heights were lowered 

The Destroyer, finally up to scratch & removed from its previous neglect. I love this guitar for the tone & playability, not quite the outline. The excessive tail end has no elbow relief feature, I find this annoying but all in all, the DiMarzios in there interacted well with the overall weight of the instrument to give that fantastic low end rumble. As the D'Activators were conceived to be pseudo-active units, it means that your neck pickup tones won't go limp on you in times of need. More on this in subsequent episodes...

Oh, this is the current alliteration after the DTT700's acquisition: Destroyer's DiMarzio D'Activators.

New pickup- Ibanez SA1260

So this is the latest pickup trio in my Ibanez SA1260:

• Neck: DiMarzio True Velvet
• Middle: DiMarzio Area 67
• Bridge: D'Activator X

Initially, the neck Area 67 stayed put but after some time, I feel I can do better with a more twangy pickup in the neck, especially with lots of distortion so the 67 migrated to the middle position. I have a non-stacked unit in the neck, the True Velvet, which is the best for this guitar. It's frustrating hunting for the right preferred DiMarzio for the SA1260 due to its heaviness. Also, I'm not a DiMarzio fan, the selections I made are less fruitful, I'm more familiar with the Duncan selections but I would want to keep the pickups here an all DiMarzio affair.