Purple S

Did another quick re-finish since the weather was good with eventual downpours in the evening. Nothing fancy, just my Ibanez S521. I will continue to hunt for used fixed bridge S-Series because I prefer it to the RG, really. I wouldn't pass the chance to acquire the older 22-fretted version if a good one comes my way but understand the fact that these are usually equipped with a whammy bridge.

As usual, Beez handled the electronics with ease. I tend to replace the default 5-way selector to a 3-way because these days, I do not fancy the split coil option.

That's right, I'm still pre-occupied with the metallic flake finish. Also, those pickups are passive humbuckers given the cover treatment. This guitar was strung with a set of DR 10s & tuned a half step down. It's designated for heavy tunes as the pickups on board are (Seymour Duncan) the Nazgul / Sentient pairing.

SF727

Beneath the boring facade of releasing an acoustic bass & a starter acoustic guitar for the month of May, Ibanez had this SF727 out & it's both good & not good.

Good because it's a deserving addition to the S-Series which, as we all know, is living in the shadows of the RG highlight. 27 frets - yes, it goes beyond 24, Duncan's Nazgul humbucker in the bridge & those reversed shark tooth inlays are just very evil. In a good way, of course.

Not good because it's a Euro only release. Dammit, Ibanez! Why??!!

Pic: Ibanez

The rail way

Finally. Seymour Duncan now offers more pickups in its rail design. Simply put, these are existing models given the pole pieces-less rendering as seen above. The JB & Jazz models are offered individually or as a set (Hot Rodded).

Also available - Nazgul & Sentient (as a set as well).

Prior to this, SD rail models are limited & somewhat costly, the most affordable being the Dimebucker. The Slug, Jupiter & Diablo are custom-based models which retail for more. I bet there would be some peculiar characters who would claim they hear a different tone coming out of these ones due to the absence of pole pieces. 

Pics: Seymour Duncan

HR8

New stuff from Edwards - the Horizon goes 8-string + FR bridge. Not too many 8s sport the FR bridge, the one in this guitars is the FR 1000, 8-string version. 

If you don't fancy such bridges, this fixed bridge version is also available. Pickups for both guitars are Seymour Duncan's Nazgul / Sentient pair. 

Through-neck construction if you doubt playability & upper fret access. 

Pics: ESP Japan

Single hit

Letting off steam with a singular objective. Naturally, the RGR08 was my pick. I still have a soft spot for single pickup guitars, regardless of the brand name. The Duncan Nazgul pickup here is perfect for angry moments but it's acquired taste. In addition to being an all out distortion affair - nothing less than the SH-6 - the Nazgul is injected with some grizzly top end.

This is perfectly reflected in the Duncan EQ chart, note the reduced bass response but it does not equal a poor bass performance, just lesser than the average high output humbucker. If your amp is up to it, chances are, you can dial in a good low end as compensation. My take on the Nazgul is that it's a pickup for the metal camp. Nothing smooth/ prog-esque about it, in fact, it sounds grizzly & menacing. It won't quite supplement all your chug fest either. There's a healthy dose of fuzz going on in here if that's your thing but it's nothing grungy, all out metal. Imagine Darkthrone coming out of your amp & laying seige to everything nice. OK enough already. I think you get the picture.

With greenie

Spent some time with the greenie today. I actually have more than one mean greenie here, this is just something I'm happy I came across. It's an affordable guitar but well made, to me it's worth every cent. I'm also quite averse to finished necks but since I bought a Les Paul, adapting is everything. 

The pickups in this one are Seymour Duncan's Nazgul (b) & Sentient (n) pair. The Nazgul - won't appeal to players who are looking for some dynamic tones because it's not that appealing clean. It's also beyond what the traditional Distortion (SH-6) has to offer. It's a mean pickup with a singular objective of death & destruction. It's named after a malevolent character for a reason. The Sentient, on the other hand, handles both clean & distortion very well. If you think you need good cleans but not in the vintage territory, something like the Polyphia dudes or Yvette Young are chirning out, this is the pickup to get. 

Ignited

Yesterday's playing time saw my Jericho Fusion Ignition 6 out of its slumber & into some overdue aggression. Still couldn't bring myself to play something nice to maybe pacify the time. There's always this draw to aggression that keeps me going. If you do not embrace this kind of music genre, you might think that people my type are all about negativity & bent on destruction. Seymour Duncan Nazgul simply kills.

The local infection cases here are seeing crazy digits & some people we arrested on grounds of defiance. It's an easy instruction - stay home - yet people are trying to prove they are beyond this emergency measures. It's just not worth it.

Deactivated (yet another)

My Ibanez RGR08LTD. I see this as one of the better made ones from the Indonesian factory.

This was the original pickup in it; a factory default Seymour Duncan active Blackout humbucker.

It was removed & the Nazgul took over. I would describe the Nazgul as a mystic Distortion, lots of vent-up anger shrouded by the black arts, ready to be unleashed. Is it a direct substitute for the Blackout? A passive unit will never do an active's job but it can deliver aggression on its own merit. I think I've lost interest in active pickups, they were not my thing to begin with & I see this swap as a sensible move. 

Jericho: Fusion Ignition (2)

The current Jericho Guitars promo offers a pickup upgrade for selected models at no extra costs- DiMarzio/ Seymour Duncan/ Bare Knuckle- take your pick. However, options are limited & I naturally went with my inclinations (pictured above- Duncan's Nazgul).

Let's take a look under the cover, shall we? Over at the volume pot, we see evidence of re-soldering (arrow), implying that there was a default in-house pickup prior to the Nazgul replacement (OK, so they used Alpha pots). Let's focus our attention on the blue line I've inserted there. If you look closely, the portion of wires across that blue line is a little crinkled, suggesting a binding presence (eg: cable tie) which is now missing. Well, you have to remove the binding to accommodate the new (Nazgul's) wires, yes? No replacement was put in place as you can see here.

Schecter 2016: KM Mk II

Over at the Schecter camp, one of the 2016 updates is this Keith Merrow model. Unlike its predecessors, this MK-II version sports a more agreeable finish, nothing too striking or threatening to glow in the dark. Pickups remain passive- they are the Seymour Duncan Nazgul (b)/ Sentient (n) pairing. There is a very calming visual overview here but we know what it's capable of.

Pic: schecter.com 

Green holiday

It's actually an excuse to break the Gibson monotony- spent the holiday morning with my Jackson Green Meanie made meaner by Seymour Duncan's Nazgul humbucker in the bridge. Despite being set up to manifest some metal mayhem, this guitar was only fed overdrive. Yes, the mild kind peppered with some post-drive boost & it just sang as well. Sometimes the tools that were meant to convey a primary objective could spring some surprises given a chance. 

The green meanie

The default pickups in this Jackson were a pair of EMG HZ. Those had to go not because they were sub-standard products in any way but they were not my kind of pickups. I think it's important for my instruments to manifest what I want, nothing else matters. So here were are: 1) Sentient (n) 2) Nazgul (b).

Nothing fancy, just a Bare Knuckle capacitor in the electronics, everything else was left in tact. You are looking at Beez's workmanship; tidy & very pro.

Poll: Next gen Duncans

Hey, everyone. Thanks for taking part in the recent Seymour Duncan poll. Well, the results aren't surprising. The Black Winter & Nazgul received a fair bit of fanfare because these two are the most featured pickups (by the manufacturer) in the mean time. Thanks to Keith Merrow, the Nazgul is a proven performer, every bit competent when distortion comes to play. It's a very versatile pickup in this aspect. The Black Winter is a surprise package to say the least. Despite being touted to be mean, this humbucker is giving the Nazgul a run for its worth in terms of versatility- every bit competent in terms of distortion & a little extremity in the mix. In fact, Seymour Duncan is currently pushing it for its versatility & not the dark & doom vibe it was conceived under. In terms of control, the Black Winter can be overbearing if one isn't careful with one's overall tone so that's the 'danger' right there- the possibility of losing control. From personal experience, this is true at higher amp volume.

The Pegasus & Sentient are not to be overlooked in this aspect. The former is the geek member in this bunch; it's not averse to drive but if one needs to draw blood, the Black Winter & Nazgul do it better so it takes a back seat. For prog applications, the Pegasus is ace. Also, if one isn't interested in extras in terms of punch, the Pegasus is recommended. That leaves us with the Sentient. This one, ladies & gentlemen, is the spectre of the '59 & Jazz but moving on in a driven direction. I absolutely love this pickup in the neck, it might just be my next fav humbucker in there. It gives that saturation & transparency of a clean performer but once drive/distortion kicks in, the Sentient holds its own.

There you have it, the next gen Duncans in a nutshell. I'm thankful that these are made available in the 6-string version as they started out as 7-string models (less the Black Winter).

It's the end of August, a turn of the season awaits. The final lap of the year is here. That's how time flies.

Seymour Duncan: The next wave

Nazgul, Sentient, Pegasus, Black Winter- these are the next-gen pickups by Seymour Duncan in the passive front. Less the Black Winter, they were initially meant for 7-string guitars & therefore appealed to a limited player base. However, the manufacturer (wisely) developed these in a 6-string format & they were made available this year. These are now in stock at Davis GMC.

Targetting the distortion fiends, these humbuckers have limited applications for clean-loving tone purists. They have a singular objective to manifest drive & distortion in loads but let me point out the fact that the Pegasus & Sentient models have something for those of us who hunger for good distortion or drive tones without treading the metal turf. The Pegasus is able to deliver some of the smoothest drive tones for fusion applications & the Sentient is an impressive performer in the neck position, for both clean & driven modes.

These are my personal take on them. In any case, I have not finished checking them out & have them fitted into 2 guitars so far; one fixed bridge model & another sporting a locking whammy bridge. Along the way I got distracted by the Perpetual Burn model but that's another episode for another day, not to be included here to avoid confusion.

Schecter: KM-7

Schecter's Keith Merrow model (KM-7) is now available at Davis GMC. It must cost a bomb, you say? The KM-7 in both black & gray finishes are kept below the $1.4K mark- this is absolutely fantastic in terms of affordability. Keep in mind that the KM-7 is a signature model with a pair of no-nonsense Seymour Duncan Nazgul & Sentient humbuckers.

Seymour Duncan @ DGMC

If you've been waiting for them, they are now available at Davis GMC. Recommended for those of us who are seldom on clean & pump up loads of distortion. Getting mine, of course.

Sonic pickups of death

Many of us are familiar with this Nazgul- you did watch Lord of The Rings, didn't you?

The other Nazgul is Seymour Duncan's latest addition to the fold- high output, chug-friendly pickups. Currently offered for 7 & 8-string instruments only, it SHOULD be a good alternative for many of us. Some sound bytes here: