Indoor Sunday

It's one of those days when playing some guitars don't work. Was playing singlecuts before settling down with this one. Was working on some doom-type riffs; lots of bottom end & slightly fuzzy overall voicing. On other days, those singlecuts worked fine, especially the heavier ones but not today. This one saved me the frustration of trying to figure out what went wrong. So the next time something doesn't work for you, try switching guitars. 

G & JS

Because my chemo had turned me into a partially disabled person for the most part, walking is the only exercise that is considered safe for me. On some mornings, I would travel East to just walk by the beach & enjoy some morning air. It's not a cure for cancer, of course, but it makes one think less about dying.

As for the rest of Sunday, it's indoor time with my two reds. OK, so the Ibanez is a copper finish but it's leaning towards the red side, so ... there. I ended up playing the Jackson more due to its inherent tone as it helped me manifest some riff ideas I had in mind for a while. Sometimes, the right tone will get you through. Another typical day for the ill health & budget stricken individual. 

Out

Back when I was still having chemo, I would hang out at the coffee joint at Esplanade on my off days. I often bought a drink & sat by the waters to look at the sea. I would be sitting near these two bronze kids & that's how the interest to place objects here to be photographed started. My chemo days are well over now (but not my post-chemo meds) but I would drop by to say hi to these kids whenever I am having coffee here. Today, I was at Beez's to get the input jack sorted out & managed to drop by to let the kids see my guitar.

I have Olympia 9s in this one & you'd see more Olympia in my posts in days to come to give you a hint of how much money I have left to keep my interests going. In this country, working to see the days through is not an option. It's downright difficult for sick people like me to just chill, focus on recovering & not think about bills, food, housing loan, etc. This is simply not the place to be if you have plans to take a long term break from work (unpaid leave) to focus on other priorities. It's documented in the media that we are the happiest country in Asia (CNBC, March 2024). Quite possibly, those who were rich & not sick took part in this report. 

Works

I seldom play at night during workdays but this time, it's a triggered occasion. The guitar in question was my GRG010LTD because I already had a certain tone in mind.

The trigger factor - Burzum's Alfadanz, which you can check out above. I was texting a good friend, the usual gear conversation, when he mentioned this song which, despite not being my favourite, is something I took note of for its strong doom & folk essence. Despite his political / left-wing folly, Varg Vikernes is a good song writer. He has this penchant for including the right ideas to deliver the song through. My GRGR is adept to this kind of burly treble tone, not abrasive but a fuzzy treble serving. I feel good keeping something that works / serves the intention. The GRGR is not an expensive instrument, it's something I tweaked for a certain intention & it delivers every time.

Indoor Sunday

Not much happening today. Stayed indoors with those two (above) keeping me occupied. When you are sick(ly) & having your expenditures curbed, keeping yourself occupied / distracted is the way to go.

GRGR010LTD: I sometimes forget how good this one sounds. Simple guitar & I'm still loving that copper finish. Shreddy stuff on this one & I'm sticking to legatos lately; the smooth, connected notes sound addictive. Trying to play in the Olympia strings which still feel new & unseasoned. 

S370 (mod): This one went out of tune despite not being played for a few days. Got the tuning sorted out & keeping watch of the blocked bridge which, I think, is the suspect. Lots of doom ideas with this one. It's not about what guitar it is but what it inspires you to play. 

Wishing you all a good week ahead.

Re-string Friday...

Another guitar receiving a set of Olympia 9s. Will be testing / using this brand in the mean time as I impose a stricter gear expenditure measure on myself to address my poor finances in the mean time. Weekend is here - have a good one.

Easy

Had been taking it easy for the last couple of days or so. Not really playing the guitar but forcing myself to manifest what's ringing in my head. Here's the list:

• Simple lick based on a trap beat backing track
• Flashdance  - just the chorus bit as an instrumental manifestation
• Heavy metal version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Top Gun theme tune (pre-chorus)
• 4-notes per string legato lick played up to speed

I feel this passage of play is necessary as opposed to sitting down & figuring out songs from start to end which never happened with me. Never. I just don't look forward to play songs. Taking Enter Sandman for instance, back when it was released, it's the most playable Metallica song ever & everyone was playing it. I was the exception. I just don't feel accomplished playing other people's songs. I feel more fulfilled playing what's ringing in my head. It's that ability to convert an idea into a tangible form which is free from popular consensus. It just goes to show how much one had bonded with the instrument throughout the years. The guitar becoming an extension of one's self as opposed to something that requires overcoming.

Anyway, to keep things simple, the GRGR010 was used for this occasion. This is the guitar that made me like the Custom Custom & triggered my willingness to look beyond Seymour Duncan's JB in search of tone identity.

Corroded balls

I treat my guitars equally. The entry-level models get the same TLC as the others. The Ibanez GIO here got a re-string today plus some fretboard & fret attention. 

The former strings in there were blue coated DRs & they were still very much alive but I noticed this at the ball ends; corrosion. These had to go before they snap. I wonder how moisture got there to begin with since this end of the strings were not in contact with bio fluid from the hand / arm. I have a feeling I handled them during re-stringing so this might have precipitated the corrosion. 

Fresh set of Darcos & it's good to go. Darcos are out of stock @ City Music in the mean time. Darn.

Singles attack

Had been spending time with these two for the last few days or so. Why? Single focus + Seymour Duncan tone. Both guitars sport only one pickup to give maximum attention to playing. Also, I like to hear these pickups in action when aggressive music is the order of the day - JB (blue) / Custom Custom (copper). Coincidentally, these two represent a re-finish adventure that turned out real well. For both guitars, the bodies were originally white. Whatever the distractions, I still return to my preferred Seymour Duncan tone.

DuRability

I somehow knew I had this lying around in the house somehow. I bought colour variations to match some guitars but this blue one was (again) stashed away in a guitar bag somewhere & forgotten. In fact, it's now discovered about a year later. OK so the strings were coated to begin with & upon opening the pack, everything was as good as new. My GRGR010 happened to require a fresh set so it now has a proud blue set to see things through. I have ceased buying DR colour coated sets as I simply do not see the need for them in the mean time but I still buy the 10.5 set & occasionally, the flatwounds. You can get DRs at Davis GMC. 

Copper

This was yesterday's lockdown guitar of choice: Ibanez GRGR010. It's the cheapest Ibanez I currently own (bought new) & certainly one of my best. It's one of those guitars I can't play 'nice' songs with, the playability & tone just screams heavy metal & beyond.

TV & practice

Was watching TV two nights ago, had this set up going:

• Blackstar FLY 3. Nothing beats this one in the mean time in terms of the most desirable tone coming from a portable unit.
• BOSS DS-1. Giving the Fly a little boost, nothing extensive.
• Ibanez GRGR010LTD. The only Ibanez GIO in my possession. It's the one that keeps me firmly in check; it's not about the bling or the label, it's totally about what you must do with your talent.

I was actually watching the news but got pissed after 10min. From the very beginning, political figures made their presence felt. It was a live news coverage, they did a special on-location broadcast from a festival market here. If they are indeed inclusive, the programme would have included other prominent local figures & not just those political few. Switched the set off & played guitar for the remaining 20min. TV vs practice, practice wins.

Hey, dad! (Part 59)

Hey, dad! It's still me!

Yes- same girl, same guitar but years apart. Today is her birthday. 🎂

Still Gio-ing

Every now & then, I would make it a point to play this Ibanez Gio. It's one of those inexpensive revelations I did not regret getting. It is every bit an RG as a standard model but not as costly, not as flashy as well. The single pickup offering would have relegated this model to a novelty appeal, compounded by that skeleton fingers inlay. Despite my intention of making this a carefree reference in terms of handling, I had made it a point to give it a mindful handling instead, after that awesome copper re-finish. I've never mistreated any of my instruments & I guess I could't bring myself to do it on this one despite it being a bargain acquisition.

One of the highlights of this guitar is a Seymour Duncan Custom Custom hiding under that black cover. It's shrouded for a simple reason- it's white. That was my valiant $2 effort in making it look flushed with the rest of the instrument's black hardware & I must say I did well 😁

When playing this guitars, only two things matter: 1) Tone 2) Playability. Having a single pickup means it's a make or break moment during play. Since it's a Seymour Duncan in there, a brand name well within my inclination, it's always a make moment. Break moments happened when I employed the 'wrong' pedals or amp to supplement what the pickup has to offer. An inviting playability for such an instrument is critical, in my opinion, because it helps overcome the psychology of playing something very low in the manufacturer's pecking order. If my music sucks along the way, I know it has to be me because my priority criteria in this case, are well in place. 

It's the final weekend of the year, hope everyone's in an upswing to welcome in the new year. 😉

Grateful

I'd like to thank Beez for having this done on time. The pot of this Ibanez GRGR010LTD went dead but it's the usual diagnosis- corrosion. I had been keeping it alive via contact spraying but there's only so much such temporary remedy could do. Despite closing at 4.00PM on some days, Beez would make it a point to wait up for customers who are delayed by inclement weather or held up by traffic jams so thumbs up to Master Beez.

I'm not a collector- honest. I don't go all out to invest in collectibles, special editions, limited releases, etc. I don't purchase instruments in the hope that they would appreciate in value over time; that's not my primary concern. I pay good money for guitars that connect with me, the ones that become the extension of my ideas, regardless of the brand name or the standard that they bear. Take this Ibanez you see here for instance, it's an entry level GIO model. When it was in its original incarnation, the default pickup wasn't fantastic. It sounded awesome with high wattage, high gain amps but clean-wise, it was beyond bleargh! So I had a Duncan Custom Custom in there & had that cover installed as novelty. The default pot also made way for a smoother alternative & it instantly became an appeal as opposed to an excess. 

For many of us, we wouldn't dare spend on entry level instruments especially after we have acquired our dream machine; an up-there model with lots of drool-worthy appointments. My take here is to embrace an honest, economical guitar, one that got you thinking in terms of performance above other considerations & keep it as a second fiddle (OK maybe you have more than 2 guitars thereafter). Come back to it on days when you think you are at the top of your game only to be humbled by that secondary implement that requires you to focus on the things that you have taken for granted; bends, left hand vibrato, muting, picking accuracy & the list goes on. This will complete you as a player, the ability to check & correct yourselves with the instruments you own because you had put some thinking into your purchases instead of spending everything on snob appeal.

The copper kind (2)

This is perhaps my fav Ibanez GIO model. Em, actually, it's the only GIO model left in my possession, the limited release GRGR010LTD. Nothing special, this one, less the fact that it's a single humbucker guitar which Ibanez doesn't do much.

Here it is after the make-over. As mentioned before, the finish is a copper-ish hue which isn't quite apparent in pics. I gave up the pickguard as well, it's a pointless inclusion from the start since the pickup is ring mounted. The guy who did the paint job helped me cover up the screw holes & it was a superb touch-up. Also, since the humbucker is white (Duncan CC), a simple cover helped blend the looks. Ha! :-)

What's the point of spending money on a cheapo? I like my guitars to appeal to me so any money spent on making them look the way I want them to be isn't a wasted effort. All this make-over... it's becoming addictive :-o

The copper kind

Collected my re-finished body this morning. It's my Ibanez GRGR010LTD, finally decided that very juvenile graphic should go. It now sports a metallic copper finish, not as striking as an up close & personal encounter. More updates after Beez applies his master touches :-)

Graphtech-ed

The guitar in question is my Ibanez GRGR010, a budget GIO model with no bling factor at all. Recently, the bridge saddles turned dodgy due to rusty action adjustment screw. I could have easily replaced the affected screws only but went all the way to replace all saddles with the Graphtech version. Some would deem my decision wasteful; why spend too much on a budget guitar but I treat all my instruments with respect. I give them due attention because they serve me well regardless of the lower tier the are in. Imagine having a child & giving him/her secondary treatment just because he/she isn't as smart or capable as his/her siblings. It reflects very much on you- are you stroking your ego or treating your property with due care because you know it's your responsibility to do so?

Single is good

Spent some time with my GIO today. It's called, 'Working with limitations'. Sometimes I find it difficult to conjure some original ideas & it's times like this I am grateful for having the GRGR010LTD here with a single pickup to prove my worth. You are more productive working under pressure.

GRGR010: Back to life

My Ibanez GRGR010 is finally back to life.

This is the culprit- a dead pot. It's also a a push-pull coil split switch, I couldn't even pull it up to activate the split mode, let alone turn the knob at all. The crust you see at the base of the shaft thread is actually extreme corrosion, too extreme to be remedied by contact spray. The freaky thing here is that, it died almost exactly a year after it was installed. Since I take good care of my guitars, how did this happen? Answer: Sweat. I sweat too much while playing guitar, some of the sweat from my picking hand might have dripped under the control knob and into the pot's gap/crevices. Every time I wipe this guitar down after play, those inaccessible area under the knob got over-looked hence the corrosion.