Guard & gates

Was restless, decided to give this one a makeover:

1. Mint pickguard. Added contrast, together with the burst body, it now has a Strat vibe. Wasn't going for that but it happened.
2. New pickups: Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates set. Had second thoughts initially knowing how bright the PG could be & my Mira here isn't a full solid instrument so it might go into treble overkill but it didn't happen. The PG has good clarity with a rather spongey overall tone, close to what a Custom Custom has to offer.

Fresh strings while I'm at it.

But this is my main highlight for now; the guitar is F-spaced / Trembucker-spaced. We assume guitars with fixed bridge, tune-o-matic, hard tail & other iterations that don't whammy, to manifest standard spacing instead but this proves otherwise. There shouldn't be convenient assumptions any more, measure & know your instrument's features, it doesn't take much effort.

Low rider

Another re-string weekend. I have since equipped all my extended scale Ibanez with a set of 11s. This is my RGD2120, one of the best in terms of construction & value-for-money. I have no obligations to keep all RGDs in my possession to the same tuning. This one is in D.

The only letdown were the default Ibanez pickups which had been removed & replaced by the Seymour Duncans you see here: 59/Custom (b) / Pearly Gates (n). This pickup was conceived to churn out lesser lower end responses so naturally, we would instal one in a guitar with an already massive low end response such as the typical Les Paul. Having this in the RGD was a bit of a risk because an Ibanez RGD has very little similarities with a Gibson Les Paul. However, this guitar is about belching out lower end frequencies to begin with so my take on the situation here is that it should work well; a bright pickup with a string A5 magnet handling lower tunings. True enough, the TB-16 was up to it with lots of clarity to spare. That SH-PG1N there works wonders for solos if you wish to avoid excessive rounder top end in the neck position.

So that's pretty much how the Sunday went with a glorious distorted bottom end by a guitar that was meant to deliver just that. Not forgetting the Rugby World Cup matches in between.

Here's wishing everyone a good week ahead. 👍

In a heartbeat

Last Sunday was also about my Ibanez SZ520FM. The SZ Series were once Ibanez's best sellers appealing to the general guitar-playing community instead of just the shred dweebs. These were set-neck monsters with great sustain (there were through-body makes in the Prestige line up) & a meatier neck. They were simply good.

If you think Nita Stauss' Jiva model started it all, be informed that the SZ520 was there first albeit a slight variation going into the upper frets area. The heart beat/ cardiac waves are indeed unique & appealing. 

Last Sunday also marked the end of my relationship with Bare Knuckle. I shouldn't compel myself to like pickups that don't appeal to me just because of the hype. I'm in the Duncan camp for sure with occasional distractions only to return to my first love. The Dimebucker works fine for a slightly sharper response when peddling bass notes so the black metal tendencies remain healthy if need be. The neck there is a Pearly Gates with lots of definition during solos; I'm definitely not into the woman tone in any way. That kinda tone only sound pleasant to my ears for clean, jazzy applications. 

On that note (forgive the pun) - hello, October! 😎

Selling: Ibanez S420 (WITHDRAWN)

One more for the clearance list. I spent the whole day looking for the whammy bar but some things are not meant to be found:

• Ibanez S420, bag included
• 8/10 condition
• Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates + in both positions
• Queries/ conformation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Self-collect at CCK mrt station
• No trades/ reservations
• Price: $400 (final, non-nego)

Sale withdrawn as parts of the guitar had been sold off. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

Unlocking

Got my Ibanez S-Series out early in the morning: S420 (t) & SIR70FD.

The S420 is equipped with a pair of Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates while the SIR70FD has a default set of DiMarzio Tone Zone/ True Velvet/ Air Norton. 

The S420 is so much heavier due to the ZR bridge in there but the overall tone is crunchy without excessive treble. I'm saying this because the PG is associated with raunchy Texan sizzle but if you could manage your set up well, it'll give you that modern heavy metal tone which is suitable for prog as well.

The SIR on the other hand is a light guitar with that smooth top end response, instant Dream Theater tone on call here thanks to the DiMarzios on board. I'm not a fan of this pickup brand but there are some models that I fancy. The Tone Zone is not one of them but previously mentioned, it's something that's appealing once you figure out your set up in its entirety and not just banking on pickup performance for your tone ideals. 

Anyway, I like both guitars for their blank fretboards; ironically, I make less mistakes when dealing with chromatics & legato.

As you can see here, this episode was conceived at CBTL in the late morning as I was waiting for my daughter to finish her morning supplementary class. Despite its early operations, the air-conditioning here will only function at 10.00am, so it's sauna mode offset by a serving of sparkling ice tea. 

Have a great weekend, everyone. ☮

At the gates

Ibanez S420- gave it a re-string.

One of my fav guitars in terms of clarity & I have the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Plus to thank for that. These humbuckers are touted to be twangy (especially in split coil mode) & country-esque so putting them into the S420 was a real risk. Guitars with a heavy dual-action bridge like the ZR seen here, robs it of a good low end response, we do not wish for a bright sounding pickup to be there as it complements nothing. Surprisingly, the PG does well here because the S420 in its entirety is rather heavy. This wasn't the case with the S-Series of the '90s; those guitars were some of the lightest Ibanez had ever manufactured (I still own one). 

Gibson: SGJ14 Duncanized

I'm not a Gibson pickup fan so the default '61 humbuckers in this SGJ14 made way for the Seymour Duncans you see here: JB (bridge)/ Pearly Gates Plus (neck).

JB & Distortion are winners in Gibsons. I find the SG benefits from a JB in the bridge because they are complementary; each has some midrange focus to manifest. The PG Plus wasn't made to sound smooth in the neck so the vintage character was quite absent in there, ditto the woman tone upon dialing down the tone control. Everything sounds rather protrusive in this guitar so I need not worry having some muddy notes in there.

Once again- thanks, Beez for the fine electronics handling :-)

Face-off: DiMarzio vs Seymour Duncan

I've been playing these 2 guitars a lot lately:

• Left: Ibanez S470- Dimarzios: Air Norton (B)/ Area '61(M)/ PAF (N)
• Right: Ibanez S420- Seymour Duncan: Pearly Gates (B/N)

Ibanez dweebs prefer DiMarzios because majority of the endorsers embrace this pickup brand- Vai, Satch, Gilbert, Timmons, et al. Estranged individuals like me, had an initial rotten episode with DiMarzio so I went with the competitor's brand & I had to say that I was lucky- I bought the pickup that suited my needs so it was no turning back.

So it boils down to this- which pickup brand do I prefer? Simple answer: Both.

These pickups have something different to offer. DiMarzio has this peculiar adaptation to effects & other signal processors; the   more you add to them, they don't seem to be undone by gain overdose. Seymour Duncan has this signature bite that you'd hear if you plug straight through to your amp. Once you get hooked, it's the only thing you'd want to hear. I'm living with both tone options, there are no rules saying I should stay true to only one brand name. It's about liking what I hear coming out from the amp regardless of what were used to make that happen.

Knowing & using

It's the Lunar New Year eve & I've got some guitar playing time in hand so it's grind-shredding till sundown with my Ibanez S420. It's not about the guitar, really. It's about hearing the suitable tone for the task. I was basically trying to fuse some black metal ideas with lots of solos (Abgott style if you will...) so I know there is a need to address this aggression cum  & I restricted myself to passive pickups. As I've virtually tried/ owned every passive Seymour Duncan pickups out there (the ones that made it here, that is) I know my Pearly Gates pair are up to it.

But hey, the manufacturer says these PGs are meant more for high octane Southern rock, features a polite Alnico II magnet & was EQ-ed to manifest a curbed bass response but excessive treble. How could this serve the average metal maniac who needs a thumping low end for the meanest distortion delivery? But it's not about what's specified on paper but what you hear in action. The PG has this cutting top end that sizzles with lots of distortion. It might be the Southern rockers' staple but it definitely works for metal. All I needed to do next was turn up the bass at the amp & I'm done. The weight of my S420 also did its part in pushing more bottom end at the amp side. Yes, many manufacturers out there conceived certain products for a specific purpose but if you are inclined to your gear, you know what works & what won't. It's all a matter of knowing what to use, how to use them.

Ibanez RGD2120: Duncanized

I got my Ibanez RGD2120 Duncanized late last year, but Beez did a fine job as usual- 59/Custom (bridge) + Pearly Gates Plus (neck).

The 59/Custom is a great pickup, it possesses the vintage warmth as well as a commanding distortion voicing. I had it in my S970 & accidentally did a de-tuned idea while I was playing & it sounded splendid. So I thought it would (big gamble) do well in a longer scale instrument like my RGD2120 & presto- it does mighty fine! The Pearly Gates is slowly becoming my preferred pickup in terms of solo applications. This is my second PG, the first one still resides in my S420.

Played yesterday

Guitars played last night (L-R):

• Ibanez S420
• Schecter Omen 7

I started with the 7 first, it's got the extra string & the extended scale length, perfect for warm-up. Then on to the S420, as expected, it felt a little 'easier' to play. It's psychological, really.

My S420 is fitted with a pair of Duncan's Pearly Gates, the least expected performer for intense distortion but it's not about expectations, it's about knowing what it could offer- lots of top end poke. Adding adequate bass to that & it's a great voicing to work with for all aggressive ideas.

At the (Pearly) gates

The latest guitar to feature Seymour Duncan pickups- my Ibanez S420. These are a pair of Pearly Gates. If you can't stand extra treble responses, chances are, you'd dislike the PG but it's one of those medium output performers I favour because of its added top end- my ears find this acceptable but I simply can't stand high output pickups in the same likeness.