Snag

I re-strung / set up this bass not too long ago. The D-string wasn't that responsive upon tuning. Naturally, the nut slot was to blame but after sorting this out, issue persisted. Something told me to refer to the picture of the headstock featuring the old strings. Took me a while but I finally got it; this new set featured those red braiding seen in the pic above. The D-string's braiding did not fit properly into the string retainer slot. The said slot was filed a wee bit & problem solved. So it pays to actually have picture documentation of what you are working with.

Final Day @ work

An emotional final day at work. Managed to attend to two guitars before leaving. This one had a broken tuning peg & one crooked unit which was better replaced than repaired. Was told it fell from storage. Yikes. Replaced both rows of tuners, good clean up & a fresh set of strings.

This one had a broken nut. No accidents, knocks, nothing. Hammered the broken piece out & replaced with a new nut. Surprisingly, the new nut required no height adjustments. Same thing - thorough cleaning & a fresh set of strings.

Done. The thing I dislike about nylon strings - it took forever to be in tune. 

The people here are very accommodating & looked into my daily workload well. They were generous when it comes to lunch time & did not treat me like a temporary contract employee. To them I was family. It's very difficult saying goodbye to such a community of good people. This is especially true when office politics exist in every establishment but to some people, this is not worth their while. They rather keep one another going because it's quite a journey ahead. Respect.

Unemployed once again.

Shimming adventure continues

Friday, indoors... re-string therapy was inevitable. I enjoy playing this Ibanez S621 but this morning, it felt a wee bit off maybe because I seldom travel up the neck to the upper frets which I did excessively today. 

Yes, the pocket there required shimming & it was done twice. As evident in the pic above, I had to add another layer of shimming material to get the action right. That non-aligned layer placement was intentional so that I know how many layers / how thick the shim is. 

A set of Olympia 9s for today's episode. Things are so much better after this re-set up of sorts. As mentioned previously, sometimes, this is necessary due to different factors. This S621 is an example of my preferred S-Series specs. These days, I don't whammy much so I prefer fixed bridge models. Also, a dual humbucking pickup configuration is my thing but I find a single coil in the neck position more likeable for solos. This S621 had the 5-way selector replaced with a 3-way version.

Wishing everyone a good weekend ahead. 👋

Re-string: Takamine D50C

Yes, I still do guitar re-string especially for residents of Choa Chu Kang. The Takamine D50C you see above belongs to Ms Maura who is not a CCK resident but lives in Bukit Panjang, very near to my former workplace. I don't mind making a trip down to a familiar neighbourhood especially for folks who come across my services through a Google look up. In addition to a re-string, a fretboard clean up & re-conditioning was done. Two of the tuners were loose & that's nothing a screw driver could not fix. If you need a re-string but do not wish to head to the stores to get it done, let me know if I could be of help.

Viva olympia

Managed to re-string my colleague's Epiphone acoustic a couple of days ago. Strings of choice: Olympia CTA-1152, corrosion resistant version. These are less than $8 & they sound good. OK, maybe they are fresh strings, devoid of grime & tarnish for optimum performance. My colleague gave his thumbs up; darn good value for money. 

Folks, sometimes the lesser brand names have more in store for us, above expectations so to speak. What's preventing us from buying them? Pride & ego. We tend to judge a product by the brand name. No doubt, some brand names have proven their worth over time; Tupperware & Energizer are easy examples. We also tend to follow the popular choice, not wanting to try something less popular for the fear of not getting the money's worth. 

Melody chopper

I love this guitar (& the rest that I own, of course). It's like built to my specs; no frills, all action. However, it came default with a single coil pickup which I respect but do not favour. I am on high gain mode 90% the time & the single coil hum is something I can do without.

Addressing the issue is not just putting in a single coil sized humbucker in there because the pickguard slot accommodates vintage specs so if it's a covered pickup, it won't fit. That's the reason you see the cover of this DiMarzio Chopper removed before it could be fitted into the pickguard. Before that could happen, the exposed part of the pickup was taped up to prevent the penetration of dirt & moisture. Also, it took quite a while to remove the cover as it was sealed with silicon, I believe. If you just yank it off, the fragile base (that green portion you see there) might crack. Use a hair dryer (heat) to dislodge the silicon & pry open the cover slowly.

Then off to Beez's for the necessary surgery & installation.

Re-string & it's good to go. Wishing everyone a good weekend ahead.

Tele Tuesday

Started early today as well. This is my fav Tele (in the mean time). One pickup, 21 frets - go!

But not before a quick re-string. Ernie Ball - not my preferred strings but this is what I have in the mean time; better than playing corroded strings.

Managed to insert felts for the strap buttons; one of them already fused with the finish. Darn 😕

I still wipe my strings down after each play despite whatever conspiracy theory suggesting the expendability of strings. Screw that.

Re-string Thursday: Ukulele edition

Doing my part to ensure kids get access to functional ukuleles during their music lessons in school. Back in my time, we were blowing recorders for music. It was limited excitement & nobody looked forward to the lesson. These days, kids get to play ukulele, harmonica & keyboards in school. How things have turned.

Didn't know the Mahalo brand equipped their instruments with branded accessories / parts.

One of the ukuleles had its nut dislodged & that's how it is with kids; rough handling is inevitable. Music lessons offer the opportunity to teach them handling responsibilities & also to respect others' property; these instruments belong to the school, definitely not theirs. They have to exercise care so that the subsequent user get to experience a functional instrument. They must remember that this 'subsequent user' might be them.

In addition to a re-string, this care package included a re-moisturizing of the fretboard (some were mouldy), tightening of loose parts & a general wipe down.

Done. All in a day's work & it's been a pleasure to help.

Green slinger

After one Greenie left the premises, spent time with this Greenie this morning. I would wanna play this guitar more but it's been my precious ever since no more BC Riches were offered here. 

Had to hammer in three upper frets before any playing took place. That's right folks, frets do pop out as a result of temperature changes. In most cases, as temperature fluctuations are not severe in this part of the world, they can just be hammered back in. In fact, the first thing to do if you hear / experience fret buzz, is to check if the frets are coming out of their slots. This is especially true if you don't bend much so fret wear should not be the are of concern. 

Today's strings of choice - Ernie Ball 9s.

Re-string monologue

Them: Why are you still using wimpy 009s in your guitar? Thicker strings give better tone.

Me: Different string gauges will manifest different tones, there's no 'better'. What works for you, stick to that. Jimmy Page uses 008s in his Les Paul, Malmsteen has a hybrid 8 - 42 in his Strat, you'd agree that these chaps know what works for them regardless of popular opinions, yes?

Them: Ernie Ball makes the best strings, right?

Me: If that's the case, why are the other string manufacturers still in business? This is subjective as well - go with what works for you. People tend to be swayed by what their idols use - that's perfectly alright. More importantly, the brand name should work for you. Remember, these pros, they get endorsement deals by liking certain products. 

Them: You keep changing strings every now & then, you should try coated sets.

Me: Yes, I tried those before & dislike them - it's personal. They may last longer but they don't sound & feel as appealing along the way. This is my reason for not using them. These might appeal to you but not to others. By the way, majority of the pro players out there are not using coated strings.

Re-string: LP Black

This is my LP Classic, a guitar that I should not have bought because it's black. I've had it with black & sunburst finishes. I don't fancy these colours any more. I find them over-hyped but this one was on a clear-out at Swee Lee's I12 branch back in 2020 & it's an opportunity not to be missed. I particularly like the slim taper neck carve & the '61 humbuckers but only in this guitar. Somehow, the '61s sound good here especially for distortion. The slim taper neck profile is Gibson's take on a fast neck but it's nowhere near what Ibanez has to offer when it comes to 'slim'. This was played last weekend & had a re-string done.

I'm still wondering how dirt got to this part of the bridge pickup mounting ring. During play, this part was clearly blocked by the strings so how do those get there? Hmm...

The only imperfections in this guitar are the tooling marks at the fretboard edges. I'm just showing one part of it. In my opinion this guitar should be a B-Stock. 

This is a common issue with LPs sporting pickguards. The nut leaves a dent on the body but it's invisible, of course, unless you remove it like I did here for cleaning. The nut was covered with sponge & taped up to prevent further physical aggravation. Problem solved.

Strings of choice for this re-string episode - DR's Veritas. DRs are for those of us who are aggressive pickers, not for those who thrive on bends. Metalheads will enjoy DR. My Dad likes DR bass strings, that's what made me check them out.

Re-string Sunday

So it's stay home Sunday & some re-string therapy - Gibson LPJ. 

While I'm at it, I added a pair of metal covers to the DiMarzio pickups (PAF 59). This is one of those mods that adds absolutely nothing to tone, just aesthetics. I'm trying these perimeter covers this time round to give it a more metallic look & matching the chrome hardware on the rest of the body (bridge & hard tail). It's also one of those days when I couldn't get on with a Les Paul, just 15min of play or so. 

Pink treatment

Had this Bacchus BST-2 sent over for a re-string / set up two days ago. It's that wonderful model featuring a roasted maple neck & it's a smooth player indeed, especially after a set-up for a set of 10s. The guitar is light, it might be lighter than an Ibanez S-Series, no kidding but it's a darn resonant instrument.

The strap buttons were corroded & replaced with a set of Dunlops. 

Frets were attended to as well. Showing you the contrast between a cleaned, polished set (right) & those which were not. This guitar is a display unit so being left out of the bag & exposed to the elements & human handling, the lacklustre frets were expected. It's nothing a good polishing fluid could not handle.

Just so you know, it's an F-spaced string spacing. Guitar belongs to my cousin, it's a birthday surprise from close friends.

Harmonized

This happened yesterday, actually. Had not played this guitar since March so took it out for some metal assault. That's right, despite being not a heavy metal-type guitar & fitted with a set of rather demure Seymour Duncan Psyclone humbuckers, this thing is dope when it comes to heavy stuff. It's all about the set up, really. The Psyclones are deep sounding, they have that good bottom end response despite what they are touted for by the manufacturer. My amp has very intense overdrive on board & it gives my the aggression at the upper drive settings - PRS' MT-15. So coupling these two considerations will give me my metal fix all the time. I didn't buy the Psyclones for metal-type tones to begin with, it's an unexpected bonus. The LP Special, in my opinion, is a no-frills Les Paul, just delivering good tones with incredible sustain. Never under estimate the Lesser Paul, especially the flat top ones.

A set of Harmony strings (10s) for this episode, kindly sponsored by my cousin, Syahid. He said he accumulated so much Lazada points & used them to buy strings before they expire. That's a good thing to do.

Gold covers

I've been giving this guitar some TLC & it received a new pair of pickups plus some other minor changes. This is my Gibson LP Studio Premium Plus which made it to Davis GMC somehow, 21 years ago. I remember them telling me they have just displayed the guitar before I walked into the store & bought it on the spot. No questions asked.

The main highlight here are the new pickups in this guitar; a pair of Gibson 490 humbuckers. These were originally uncovered, double black units. I purchased a pair of gold covers to match the other gold hardware of the instrument. As you can see above, these are simply add ons, no extra wax potting were done, the covers were not soldered to the base plate as well. It's a tight fit but still allows pickup height adjustments. 

The strap buttons are now a pair of Dunlops. These are significantly bigger than the original buttons equipped by the manufacturer. I encourage LP owners to do this swap as we read horror stories of how straps gave way during movements on stage resulting in countless broken Gibson headstocks. I just wish Dunlop would supplement gold screws with their gold buttons. The one depicted here is the original screw that had been polished & showing its true nature; a chrome finish. 

The truss rod cover was also replaced with a black version so it looks flushed against the headstock. If you know me by now, I dislike the cover displaying the guitar's model. It adds some expectations relating to the guitar's performance which should not be the case to begin with. A fresh set of Harmony strings this time round. 

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.

Black guard

It's a re-string Friday. Guitar in question - Schecter VE-TE. I've been quietly disliking this pickguard.

Black 'guard (single ply) & a fresh set of Dunlop 009s. I'm a big fan of D'Addario but time & again, I would digress to check out if other brands are worth the bother.

Aria C-16

I recently returned this Aria C-16 classical guitar to its owner. Coincidentally, he was my wife's ex-primary school teacher who is my current colleague. It's a small world after all.

The entire fretboard was thoroughly cleaned. I have a feeling it wasn't attended to since day one. Ditto the frets, some of which turned green at the edges. As you can see here, clean frets will give a new lease of life to seasoned instruments.

Strings were dead (left), the wound ones were corroded so off they go. D'Addario Classic Nylon set (normal tension) to the rescue, available at Swee Lee ($8).

I was also given the permission to replace the tuners which had turned stiff due to corroded metal parts. No amount of polishing could save them so replacement was the answer. I believe in lubricating the open gears occasionally to keep them smooth & functional. These are not costly at all, the ones you see here (right) are the Maxtone brand ($15), available at Davis GMC.

I enjoy doing light guitar maintenance time & again. This keeps my interest relevant & I gain important experience & knowledge along the way. All this know how was self-taught, most of it involves common sense & the right tools to see things through. I am the firm believer of knowing what to do with my possessions which include simple plumbing & electrical tinkering at home.