D Jr (2)

I have no complaints with Martin's Dreadnought Jr's QC. At least for the one I've acquired, it's in top notch condition in its entirety. Perhaps this is the hallmark of the Martin name; formidable construction for the taking. However, the instrument gave off a pungent stench, akin to that of a dead lizard or some small critters left lifeless in the house for a few days. It's definitely unpleasant & a quick check was done to see if there was indeed something dead in the guitar case- negative. Was there something dead in the instrument body itself? Negative. A closer inspection revealed that the stench came from the strings & fretboard. I have no idea what caused this to happen but it could be:

• chemicals from the strings compounded by the fact that it was left boxed up & stored away prior to purchase
• the richlite material giving off some chemical reactions under humid conditions

Whatever the case might be, I've re-strung the guitar with a fresh set of Dean Markley as seen above. Coincidentally, the strings were left under some books in the house since August 2018 (as documented by the accompanying receipt); a one-year-old set of strings still fresh & crispy. Kudos to Dean Markley for getting it right in terms of preservation.

Moving on to the fretboard, with reference to the pic above, it's very difficult to tell that it's a non-wood material. The grain there is very convincing & they got it tinted right as well. I've mentioned previously that this guitar was a bucket list item for me because I've never owned & do not believed in setting aside money for a compromised component. I strongly believe that the fretboard should be constructed from a wooden material regardless of the pedigree. Putting things in context, the rate of deforestation now is rather alarming. It is inevitable that one day, 50% of the guitar's construction would be attributable to wood substitutes. That would be a sad day indeed. Companies like Martin are looking ahead to incorporate such a material into their tried & tested construction formula. Richlite seems to be a winning ingredient & we have Gibson to concur this commitment; their latest G-45 Standard acoustic features richlite as well. These substitutes also contribute to the lower price tags. 

Okie dokie, the next instalment would be a tone shoot out between the Dreadnought Jr & my Ibanez AW54JR. 

My way

Holiday eve... chillaxing... re-stringing... done 😁

I'm still sticking to my Sigma parlour guitar despite some friends telling me how Taylors & Martins are now more affordable than ever. I'm also still sticking to my preferred 10 - 47 (Dean Markley for today) gauge for acoustic guitars despite friends telling me 11s should be it for acoustics. Simple reason- these work for me, there are no reasons to change. 

Re-string Saturday: Orange

Wanted to hear some DiMarzios in action this morning so the Ibanez RG331M was it.

Slight make-over- orange strips...

But before the playing happened, a fresh set of strings- Dean Markley's coated set. Actually, I dislike the coated strings feel after my Elixir experience. So I thought, it might be the brand name, so giving this set a try.

Brightness

Trying something bright with a mahogany body. Usually for acoustic guitars, I value warmth instead of brightness. I'm of the opinion that the bright stuff are more suitable for chord-dominant players whom I'm not. This might be the only time I'm doing this. 

Cryo cable

Dean Markley's Blue Steel strings, perhaps the most well-known, easily accessible, rather affordable temperature tampered strings which many of us would have tried. DM now has Blue Steel cables, that's right, cryogenic instrument cables. The objective of nitrogen blasting the cable is to produce more definition or clarity in the treble & bass range. Unlike the strings, our tone travels through cables & get affected rather significantly till it reaches the speaker end. However, the audibility of such a reaction remains to be different for many people; some hear it, some don't. Here's hoping this Blue Steel difference will get here soon & maybe be on the more affordable side of prices.

Re-string Friday

The air smells different on a non-working day 😃 A quick Friday morning re-string before leaving the house. I've not been using Dean Markleys for a while now, sticking to the D'Addario & Pyramid stuff for the most part. Guitar in pic: Schecter VE-TE. 

DM Helix: Pure nickel

The Dean Markley Helix is now offered in pure nickel- will give them a try when they get here.

There're so many stuff to check out this 2014 but somehow, the stuff I look forward to get my hands on, don't come my way.

DM Helix: 3 weeks later...

Dean Markley's Helix strings- it's been 3 weeks & they are still holding out. Some parts are beginning to look stained (llain strings, mostly) but no rust detected. A friend of mine tried them the other day, according to him, the wound strings, due to the compressed winding technology, makes them feel smoother. So is this a good or bad thing? Good if you have this need for constant movements. Bad if you tend to peddle some bass notes & you want a firm grip there, it feels 'slippery' but it's not excessively so, of course.

DM Helix: The difference

You know how it is with commercial slants- they make you believe the hype. But I'm in the midst of evaluating Dean Markley's Helix strings, I think I can do you good by giving some frank opinions.

Do refer to the DM literature above, the Helix is a little different due to its compressed winding feature, so over the same string length, you'd get more windings with the Helix compared to other string brands. So what's the big deal?

1. Less dirt: Because the wrap wires are closer together, there are lesser depressions to trap dirt from your fingers. This is the chief reason why your strings last longer. This won't make a difference if your finger fluids are very acidic though.
2. Less scratching noises. If you are greatly disturbed by that noise when you drag your fingers across wound strings, the Helix is less noisy. It's all about having narrower gaps between the wraps.

DM Helix: The week after

It's been a week since I installed a set of .009s Dean Markley Helix in my Ibanez S420. After each play, I did a wipe down using dry cloth only, these strings received no chemical treatments whatsoever.

I played this guitar for at least 15min each day. There were 2 days when the session lasted for more than an hour. There were no wipe-downs in between, only at the end of it all.

No corrosion was detected on the Helix but the strings (especially the plain ones) were tarnished, this is of course, normal. The Helix also felt less fresh (duh!) after a week's worth of hands-on but they could go on for sure; they are not dead yet.

To be cont'd...

HELIXed

Dean Markley's Helix strings come in a sealed black polymer bag. The individual string envelopes are inside.

They are in my Ibanez S420, performance report in due time.

Helix

Got Helix, will restring (tonight).

Smashing Malmsteen

Time to stop for lunch; had been playing my Smash the whole morning. Managed to re-string this guitar with a set of Malmsteen approved Dean Markleys. If you are interested in this string set, do note the following difference:

Regular .009 set: 9-11-16-24-32-42
Malmsteen set: 9-11-15-24-32-42

Phoenix Dean

 

Yes, the first thing I did this morning is to re-string my ESP Phoenix II with a set of .009s (Dean Markley). I also did a wrap-round stringing at the bridge.

Tele Dean

A fresh set of Dean Markley .009s for my telecaster. I used to dislike playing this guitar due to the ash-tray type bridge, makes playing a little excruciating but after the string saddles replacement (Gotoh's brass set + non-protruding action adjustment screws) & a pair of Seymour Duncan Classic Stacks for Tele, this guitar is definitely one of my return-to instruments.

Dean Markley promo

Davis GMC is currently having a Dean Markley promo- 3 packs for $15.50 or $6.20ea.

If you wish for DR's rigidity but require a non-bright response, Dean Markleys are the ones to check out. Recommended for those of us who really dig deep when executing bends.

Dean Markley: Hendrix strings

A cool Jimmy Hendrix sticker comes free with every set of Dean Markley Jimmy Hendrix strings. The manufacturer has so much confidence in the icon to such an extent that no brand names/details were indicated on the packaging- people see Hendrix & they want to try.

Did I fall for that? I bought this set because it's pure nickel as opposed to nickel coating. I need to hear the difference...

Dean Marley: Super V strings

I've not been using Dean Markley strings since they discontinued the vintage yellow packet set (comes with a free sticker) however, the manufacturer has a current offering which is quite parallel to what they used to offer: Super V set (left pic).

This is a collaboration between DM & George Lynch (whose latest ESP incarnations are also named Super Vs, how original...). The strings possess this unique core-to-wind ratio which allegedly produces a stringer output while retaining that vintage mildness of a seasoned string set. In use, they sure feel vintage but as with other nickel inclusive products, do not look forward to logevity.