Re-string Saturday: Ibanez RG460

The morning was spent re-stringing my Ibanez RG460. It was the most played guitar for the last 2 weeks or so. Those D'Addario .009s are something; they sound real crispy when fresh. This got me playing unplugged for a while, just to enjoy that moment. It's like wearing a nice pair of fresh socks; you just want to keep wearing them till it's time to stop walking. Anyway, I just wanna share the benefits of playing unplugged as a warm up routine (if you want to try something new):

• playing without amplification compels us to pick a little harder to make ourselves heard, especially with a solid body guitar. This would make us pick 'properly', it makes us put in a little more effort & control to discipline our picking hand.
• ditto the fretting hand; we push down our digits harder to make every fretted note heard & not pick a muted note.
• playing without distortion & especially unplugged, makes us think differently. Shredding is pointless because it makes us tired very quickly. We end up playing 'nice', melodic arrangements because we subconsciously tell ourselves to give into a different objective- one which doesn't emphasize technicality but a routine that avoids mistakes.
• finally, when we plug in, we feel things are much easier to play & we continue playing with less tension coming from both hands. We automatically tell ourselves to ease up a little & realize that those moments when we play without a proper/ dedicated warm up session, we were actually exerting more force than necessary. In addition to affecting our motor skills, it's taxing our minds & tired minds manifest more mistakes than the ones in control.

Mangan Steel

Gave my RG321 a cleaning up:

• oiled the body
• cleaned fretboard
• polished frets
• re-string: CURT MANGAN .009 Steel set

What's the thrill of having a set of steel strings in one's guitar? Steel gives off a bright tone but this lasts while the freshness is in tact. It's also a little stiffer in feel, very rewarding for players who attack their guitars the moment they plug in (especially if you prefer thick picks). Curt Mangan is currently my preferred string brand as it's able to retain the feel & tone despite wearing out. Magic? Maybe but I guess it's the Ernie Ball mojo rubbing off the man- he's an ex-Ernie Ball employee FYI but let not this credit patronize the very fact that CM strings are superb per se.

Come to Steel

Some of us feel the inherent tone coming from our strings are simply too lacklustre; we need that added brightness to make our day, especially so if we dabble in the neck pickup too much (some of us are solo-indulgent, it's all understood...). Short of trying out 'boutique' brand names, you should give the steel strings a consideration. The much added brightness is audible even before you plug your guitar into the amp. However, many of us who are accustomed to our nickel-wound set would feel a stiffer presence but it's still very playable & would not hinder your bends.

I am currently using the above brand name strings in my selected humbucker equipped guitars (currently my Ibanez RG321 & RGR08) & there's some difference to be heard when it comes to churning out those low notes for metal. This is also useful for those of us who pump up our bottom end over at the amp/ EQ pedal.