Re-string Friday

Not a working day for me, decided to spend some time with this purple menace after my morning walk. 

I had a set of 10s installed previously & the neck bowed despite the guitar tuned down a whole step. Switched to 9.5s this time, guitar was tuned a half step down. I have decided that this guitar should not be in standard tuning to serve my needs for heavy riffing. Looking forward to more gear time this long weekend.

Purple S

Did another quick re-finish since the weather was good with eventual downpours in the evening. Nothing fancy, just my Ibanez S521. I will continue to hunt for used fixed bridge S-Series because I prefer it to the RG, really. I wouldn't pass the chance to acquire the older 22-fretted version if a good one comes my way but understand the fact that these are usually equipped with a whammy bridge.

As usual, Beez handled the electronics with ease. I tend to replace the default 5-way selector to a 3-way because these days, I do not fancy the split coil option.

That's right, I'm still pre-occupied with the metallic flake finish. Also, those pickups are passive humbuckers given the cover treatment. This guitar was strung with a set of DR 10s & tuned a half step down. It's designated for heavy tunes as the pickups on board are (Seymour Duncan) the Nazgul / Sentient pairing.

S-Sunday

Another day of staying indoors & playing guitar. This is the SML721 featuring tilted frets. Tilted, not fanned because the first few frets are not tilted so there's no fanning out.

I happened to come across a pair of DiMarzio Fusion Edge pickups which were purchased (for a good price) & installed here. The FE has a hit / miss reputation & these are definitely a miss in this guitar. The last time I hear good stuff coming from the FEs were from an extended scale RGD. These have to go soon.

My final pack of DR 9s went into this guitar. For the kind of music I embrace, DR strings are the best but they cost a little more than the other strings brands out there. I will only purchase them during seasonal discounts.

Saturday sky

Got up early today to give this a quick re-string & play. It's one of those days when I want to hear some single coils in action but I do not wish to play a Fender.

I love these Pure Blues but I don't buy them often (price considerations), always grabbed some when there's a seasonal discount. To me, these go very well with the Silver Sky's single coil tones especially for those mild overdrive settings. I'm quite of oblivious to the strings' material type because when you play with excessive distortion, you can't hear the material contributions to your tone. One more time - DR strings are great for those of us with a hard attacking picking style, regardless of the genre.

S-Tuesday

Unemployed, indoors with some time in hand; I'm taking this opportunity to play & look after my gear. Just wanna hear an S-Series in action today so this was the guitar of choice - S1620.

I just love playing solos in the neck position, the Seymour Duncan Distortion is an awesome pickup for this intention. Good definition & won't mud-out under intense distortion. I dislike neck pickups that churn out muddy notes at high gain despite sounding good clean. Many Gibson pickups are as such. A quick re-string & a little set-up (bridge related) before playing.

BFDR

Got access to Swee Lee's Black Friday (BF) deals. Nothing too enticing, a little upset that only Sterling guitars (selected) are subjected to the discount. This event is curated unlike other BF deals elsewhere, discounts are store-wide. So if you've been saving for a Fender guitar & hoping there's a good deal waiting come BF - it's not happening. 

I just got myself some DR strings, prices are good after the BF discounts.  I used to be a big fan of this brand (till prices simply turn me off) because it somehow caters to those of us peddling aggressive music. The strings feel solid, the tone, above expectations. These are not for those who embrace boomer bends, though. Just being upfront.

10 relief

Not really a big acoustic fan but I will re-visit the guitars that I like. While that happens, I usually will tweak the experience to suit my needs. In this case, it's the string gauge. I can't really play acoustics with anything thicker than 11s. We are aware that most of these instruments are equipped with 12s by default. My skin / fingertips are susceptible to wear & tear since chemo days so I have a set of 'wimpy' strings in my favoured acoustics. It's about addressing needs more than complying to conventional practices. Beginning to like the DRs for acoustics.

New G (3)

The G45 Studio gets a new set of string. The factory default were 12s which is beyond what I can handle. I'm the type who will fumble if some playing conditions are not meeting my needs. Preferred string gauge is certainly one of them. It's a DR Veritas Rare 11s in the mean time, it might go to 10s next time.

The Studio features a walnut fretboard which looked a little dry but after oiling it, it still looks dry namely due to the inherent hue of the wood. As such, the darker streaks within the wood itself is more visible & purists would consider this undesirable in terms of looks. The woodwork camp would describe it as having a rich brown colouration but many non-wood lay people's take on 'rich' is that of darkness. That aside, I hear lots of crispy tones coming from this guitar. It's quite removed from the mahogany warmth or that familiar spruce top edginess. Not surprising as the back & sides are also walnut. 

Received

Bought this online since there was free shipping offered. Sometimes, it's just more prudent doing so & save the hassle of travelling down town to grab strings, provided you know what you want & don't mind a little shipping mishap along the way. This arrived crushed but the strings were in good order, of course 👌