Green day

This was my final re-string for 2018, the Brian Moore i91 guitar (Korea). It's an 8-year old, still going strong & sounding good.

Thanks to this trio of Tesla pickups which will stay put here: Nitro (b)/ VR-1 (m)/ Plasma 3 (b). 

Final Darco pack of 9s went into this one. The Darcos were clearing for less than $5 each during the 2018 year-end sale. If you aren't too fussy with regards to feel & durability, these are very acceptable guitar strings. 

Hope it's been a good 2019 you so far (a little early to say isn't it?). 

Nitro Arc 6

I went to Beez's to get my (Tesla) VR-Nitro installed in my Spector Arc 6 Pro yesterday. Rico & Faizal were there as well & we talked for at least an hour... The former pickups in this guitar were the VR-60s; nothing wrong with them, they absolutely thrill when it comes to vintage crunch but I'm in need of distortion overkill.

I hear a balanced output from the Nitros, that's one of the reasons I like this pickup model (have it in 2 other guitars) & a closer look revealed the above- staggered pole pieces.

I've included the Orange Drop cap & a push-pull coil split switch in this guitar as well.

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TESLA's VR-Nitro humbuckers are also in these other guitars of mine:

• Schecter: Omen 6
• Brian Moore: i91

Schecter: Omen 6... mine

This is a reiteration that I don't dismiss the budget guitars out there. I own a few of them, I will continue to keep a look out for these gems.

As clearly stated on the truss rod cover; it's an OMEN 6, one of the most affordable model offered by the manufacturer.

This is how it is at the rear, one of the reasons why the OMEN 6 goes for a very affordable asking price is that it's a bolt-on make. The heel there is angled to promote upper fret reaches but the bulk is just a put-off if you wish to rest your thumb there. Not saying this guitar has poor upper fret access but it's a fair offering, definitely.

The body's top surface features sumptuous beveling to such an extent it manifests a curved-top feel.

I don't fancy the default humbuckers so they were replaced by the above Tesla pickups:

• Neck: Opus 2
• Bridge: VR-Nitro

These darlings brought much life to tone. Due to the lacquer-free body, the Omen 6 gives off a bright default acoustic tones. This, in my opinion, would provide the perfect snap for a single coil pickup so the Opus 2 option was rather clear. I require a crisp sounding Tesla in the bridge which has a tamed midrange emphasis- just a little bit, not a grand truncation- so I chose the covered version of the VR-Nitro. This is a happy combo for me. I bought this guitar more than a week ago, still fiddling with the pickups height.