MOMM (42)

That feeling of receiving new music in the mailbox.

Paul Gilbert: The Dio Album

I stopped buying Paul Gilbert's stuff because he sang in his album. He's one heck of a guitar player but I somehow don't like to hear his voice. Also, he changed his music / guitar philosophy along the way which didn't click with me; single coils, fuzz, thin picks, etc. This Dio stuff is an all instrumental affair. The music was done very tastefully but the vocals were replaced by slide guitar fills, mostly. This, to me, somehow ruined the vibe. 

Ruim: Black Royal Spiritism

Ever since he left Mayhem, Blasphemer had proven his worth; Vltimas, Twilight of The Gods & now Ruim. Ruim is basically his solo outing with CSR on drums &  guest vocalist, Proscriptor for Fall of Seraphs. There is always a guitar inclined appeal to his composition, not the shred type of appeal but it's that subtle technicality that reminds the world he can actually play the instrument. BRS is a bleak album done well in terms of production & composition. When the world thinks black metal had lost its threat & dangerous demeanour, then there's Ruim.

New PGMs

That's right folks, Ibanez decided to exclude these guitars from the NAMM group, opting for a late May announcement instead. This is the new Paul Gilbert PGM1000T (Japan). 

It's a through-neck design with ash body wings. Also, the neck's is a glossed out affair. The guitar features a pair of covered DiMarzio Air Classic humbuckers which I had personally tried: CLICK Ebony fretboard for this one & if you missed it - 22 frets - but the scale length remains unaffected (25.5"). Do note that this guitar is equipped with a set of 8 - 38 strings. 

The other new Paul Gilbert guitar is the PGM50 (Indonesia). It's a bolt-on model with a trio of DiMarzios (Air Classic humbuckers) but the middle single coil is a PGM model. Also - 22 frets, 'board is rosewood & the body, basswood. I would have more respect for this guitar if the 'Premium' label was omitted from the headstock; that's obvious insecurity right there. 

I'm not into signature models so these guitars mean nothing to me. They might be your thing though but 22 frets would be the deal breaker for many fans. I'm into 22 frets in the mean time but I still won't buy these 😅

Pics: Ibanez

Gilbert's DIO

Looking forward to this - Paul Gilbert's instrumental Dio tribute album. I've not been keeping up with PG's solo releases since his inclinations to fuzzy tones & shedding his shredder image. Hope this one won't disappoint.

Pic: PG

RIP: Juliette

Paul Gilbert's cat, Juliette, had passed away (announced 27 Jan). She had always shown a particular interest for musical instruments & I can totally relate to this having a cat in my residence as well. More importantly, the pet & its owner will always share a special bond that will lead to a feeling of terrible loss once the pet passes on. I underwent extended grief when I lost my cat days before we moved out & me getting married. To all cat owners out there, thank you for caring & putting in a tremendous amount of love - we feel your loss.

Pic: PG IG

Ice-pink destroyer

Interesting developments - the guitar you see above is a hybrid Iceman / Destroyer Ibanez model which used to belong to Paul Gilbert. It was actually a legit custom shop model when it was conceived.

Maybe this pic will help you understand where the design got its influence from. Anyway, Paul Gilbert used to own this guitar which was sold off (USD16K) to help ex-Racer X bandmate, Juan Alderete, with his medical condition. Recently, it was back up for sale: USD18,500. Prior to this, I had always thought this guitar was a left-over mishmash from the factory but it turned out to be a custom shop conception. 

Pic: Reverb

PG-14

This is a new release by JHS for shred maestro, Paul Gilbert. It's a distortion unit.

Those of us who are only into his stuff lately, you'd wonder where the shred affiliations came from. In his early days with Mr. Big & notably Racer X, Paul Gilbert was on the A-list of shredders. He was one of the outstanding GIT grads back then so he's knowledgeable & shred loaded, a definite plus.

However folks, of late, Paul Gilbert practices restraint & veers off the shred path for the good part. There are still traces of his awesome finger gymnastics every now & then but that's not the current staple. He favours a less aggressive drive tone, was in single coil mode (but now back to humbuckers - mini ones) & dwells in the Marshall tone to date. The PG-14 pedal here embodies his current indulgences & sound clips out there proved just that. It's a very fuzzy distortion which is definitely not for me but might just work for you, though. Listing for more than $250, I'd rather get pickups for that kinda money. Just me.

333

Ah, so they held back till NAMM. This is Paul Gilbert's 30th Anniversary Ibanez PGM & it's a decent enticement (considering I'm not a signature fan). The Fireman was a distraction & Paul Gilbert went back to his RG roots for this one. The pickups are DiMarzio's PG-13 mini humbuckers. OK, I don't dig that 333 truss rod cover at all. 

Signatures (LTD - Ibanez)

So we have non-Japanese models from two Japanese manufacturers which might prove to be a little weak in terms of appeal & intention. The first one you see here is the George Lynch Kamikaze variation (LTD GL-KAMI4) for the year. Variation because it's nothing new, just a twisted headstock which is downright hideous. Lynch is an ESP veteran & the manufacturer is perpetuating his embrace of the brand name quite obviously. Staunch Lynch fans might be interested, curious onlookers might bite. 

Moving on to the Ibanez camp, we have another Paul Gilbert Fireman (FRM200) variation with no revisions in outline. I see this being more respectable & less desperate in terms of appeal but having a current flavour in a lower tier offering speaks a lot about intentions; selling looks to be more imperative. 

Having said that, in case you missed it, both models are propelling new signature pickups (Seymour Duncan's Hunter, DiMarzio's PG-13) so that's putting things in perspective.

PG-13

A new one by DiMarzio, the PG-13. It's a collaboration with Paul Gilbert whose current fix is a mini humbucker. 'Mini' here does not imply a reduction to conform to single coil measurements, these are not stacked units, so let's not get confused there. These are the narrower humbuckers like the ones in GIbson's LP Deluxe back in the 70s. From the manufacturer's EQ reference, these should give us a strong bass response with very controlled top end. 

Be informed that mini humbuclers won't mount into standard humbucker rings, you need the customized version (unless your guitar came with minis as default). 

Small victory (2)

Em... Paul Gilbert's take on NAMM 2017, a Mikro version of his Ibanez PGM model. We all want one, yes? 😏

I can choose not to buy

Since:

1. There's so much singing in this album
2. The guitar tones are still too fuzzy to my liking and
3. Paul Gilbert chose to steer clear from his former shred manifestations

I have decided not to buy this release. 

Ibanez: PGM80P

The latest in the Ibanez Premium signature range- Paul Gilbert's PGM80P. I think Ibanez played it safe by opting for a more mainstream RG outline (there are many to choose from the PGM range). The whammy inclusion is a little baffling because Mr. Gilbert doesn't fancy one lately. Pickups on board: DiMarzio Master/ PGM/ Master

Paul Gilbert: Stone pushing uphill man

It's a new one by shred master Paul Gilbert, one which perpetuates what its predecessor offered- fuzz laden guitar attack. There are no Mr. Big or Racer X fanfare here so if you wish for a shred 101 reference, it's not that kind of album. This is the current Paul Gilbert who revels in that single note enjoyment with no hurry whatsoever so it's no surprise that the songs here are mostly blues-based. There are some insane finger works in songs where you least expected them to be so that leaves fans of the great Paul Gilbert fulfilled somewhat. There is only a single vocal track here (thank goodness!) & we know how it is with Paul Gilbert when it comes to singing; it's not his forte but he made it work to his strength. 

Ibanez 2014: Signatures

Tosin Abasi fans, this is the more affordable make of the 8-string model. It costs significantly lesser than the Prestige version (a good USD2,700 difference!). Summary of the differences:

• Neck is maple/walnut as opposed to the wenge/bubinga of the Prestige. To put it nicely- it's a regular neck, nothing special.
• Rosewood fretboard (Prestige version sports a wenge fretboard)
• Non-locking bridge & nut. Black finish as well, no gold flash here
• Basswood body, no maple cap
• Coil tap switch is under the pickguard unlike the Prestige version which is embedded in the body. Implication- it's a standard basswood body meant for the standard RG, no extra cavities in the body equals less production costs
• Fretboard markers- side dots

Periphery's Jack Bowen gets his signature model based on the RGA with a Lo-Pro Edge bridge (yeah!). Pickups are Bowen's signature Titan humbuckers. Together with the ebony fretboard, it should be a sleek player- available in Summer 2014.

Mick Thompson's MTM100 is still in tact with a preserved Glaive-type body shape but his budget alternative reverts to the RG-type outline as seen here. So the MTM20 is new despite reverting to its initial body design.

Korn's Munky is still with Ibanez this 2014 & he gets a new signature; wondering if his band's current status makes this a worthy inclusion but personal sentiments aside, the APEX200/ 20 are there for the taking. The APEX 20 has a blank fretboard & it should be neutral enough to attract non-Korn fans. 

And if that's not Korn-y enough (no pun intended), Brian Welch gets a new signature as well (it's called the Komrad) & hopefully that's not due to his return to Korn per se. I've talked to people about this, the guitar is Ibanez's appreciation of his brand commitment because during his non-Korn days, Mr. Welch stayed true to Ibanez. Despite its RGD looks, the guitar sports a standard 25.5" scale length but it's factory strung with a set of .011s. Debut: Summer 2014.

Saving the best for last- Ibanez's Paul Gilbert Fireman FRM250M, celebrating his 25 years with the brand name. What's new?

• Humbuckers for neck & bridge
• Flamed maple top
• Bound neck

Let Mr. Gilbert do the talking:

2012: Hits & misses (2)

Hit- Duncan's 59/Custom hybrid pickup is a great addition to the fold; nothing really refreshing here, just a successful surgery of two already established pickups, housed in a single unit. It's not the manufacturer's original idea either, it's a product of one of the fans' tinkering. I'm happy with this pickup namely because it lives up to its fused reputation; in part a sweet clean player but a staunch distortion proponent given the drive settings. And then some great harmonics.

Miss- Shred meister Paul Gilbert showed everyone yet again what he could do with the guitar, a trio of single coils at the helm, mind you. However, with this one, he's putting a stop to the firm belief that he's abandoned his singing & song competency to splatter scary notes in your face full time. The shred is still there but it's riding on what Gilbert wanted them to do; to help manifest his ideas, mainly. It's a wonderful release this Vibrato album but it tested my patience in terms of guitar embrace. Nice, just not my type.

Poll results: Fuzz

Once again, thank you for participating in the fuzz edition of the poll installment. I'm trying to 'see' how's the fuzz climate like here. The fuzz, unlike its close relatives, the drive & distortion, doesn't command an immediate following. The way I see it, it's largely due to definition; the lack of clarity & the propagation of sonic sludge, especially in the lower frequencies, would put players off. I find the fuzz rather repulsive but over the years, I appreciate its application despite not favouring it for my kind of playing. If you own a fuzz unit & totally hate it- keep it. Over the years, as your ears become more attuned to drive & distortion, especially the ones which are tube-based coming from amplifiers, you'd understand what the fuzz has in store for you- warmth. You won't find this degree of warmth with your typical overdrive or distortion units due to different clipping responses as well as the lack of transistors (or the lack of specific ones in there).

This is my recommendation quickie, definitely not exhaustive, but an arguably sufficient intro to what a fuzz can do in terms of application, mind you, not immediate appeal:

1. Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff Despite being an EP & recorded in the early stages of the band's career (also notwithstanding the fact that the album was named after 2 of the industry's most celebrated fuzz pedal names), this is, in my opinion, the best intro to all things fuzz. If you are a fuzz fan & you know nothing about Mudhoney or Superfuzz Bigmuff- you are probably a nobody.
2. Paul Gilbert: Fuzz Universe OK, the name suggests the obvious but take note of how the fuzz could be applied tastefully to shred.
3. Korn: Self-titled debut And this is how the fuzz could be made relevant to tunes which are peddled by the 7th string.
4. Sepultura: Roots The Sepultura chaps bunked in the same recording studio as the Korn chaps & decided to use the same effects to different results. So this, essentially, is a bold statement of intent- it's how you use the fuzz.Very metal fuzz, this one.

Happy weekend, every one. Happy last-day-of-November as well :-)

Got new CDs?

2 more acquisitions from Inokii, a little delayed update but nevertheless:

• Abiotic- Symbiosis What can I say but this is a stunning release, a proper LP from this Floridian quintet. Another proof that technicality doesn't get in the way of brutality if there's much thinking in the process. For fans of  The Faceless/ Job For a Cowboy
• Paul Gilbert- Vibrato What can I say but this is a sub-par release by the fretboard maestro. I have the following tracks left on my playlist: Rain & Thunder & Lightning/ Put It On the Car/ Blue Rondo a la Turk/ The Proghorn. The rest of the tracks had been deleted because they contain vocals, not dissing Paul Gilbert for his singing abilities but they have nothing for me, to say the least. This is perhaps the fuzziest Paul Gilbert release ever, as such, Gilbert did the wise thing by not focusing on the shred but more on the melodies. So be advised if you are looking for some inspiring guitar technicalities & come across 'Paul Gilbert' in planet Google- this album is certainly not one to look forward to guitar-wise.

Yellow fire

So the Fireman now comes in a Mustard Yellow finish. Pffftt...

The (fuzz) universe in your hands

This is Paul Gilbert's current squeeze; Majik Box's Fuzz Universe. The fuzz boxes of yesterday had a singular objective of churning out those woolly, fuzz voicings in the attempt to imitate the product of an amp driver's torn effect. There's limited appeal in terms of clarity but it was a hit, even Jimmy Hendrix favoured one for himself. The situation today is such that fuzz boxes have undergone refinements in terms of clarity & intensity/ gain, as typified by the MB here. The dual channel offering means there's more than one tone to be had & that's before you put it in use with your amp's drive. If you are into gobs of distortion, maybe this one's not for you. Don't forget, this is an official Paul Gilbert-endorsed product so the $420 price tag might be too much for some of us. Available at Davis GMC.

Gilbert's 103

This is Paul Gilbert's customized Ibanez AS103...

... for his Beatles tribute band.

This is how the original AS103 looks like. The fact that the current Artcore motif is there, we know Mr. Gilbert is holding a new (2011) guitar.