SV @ JCube

This building is officially opened now- it's the JCube @ Jurong East. It's next to the bus interchange & MRT station, you won't miss it.

Proceed to the 4th floor & you'll see the new SV Guitars JCube branch.

There you go; the familiar attraction but please be reminded that there's a store-wide 10% discount going on till the end of April. However, there are no bass stuff in the mean time- these will be brought into the store a little later in the month.

This is the coolest store feature; the artificial turf test area; sit down, face your amp across the aisle & shred your stuff. Thanks Mike for the invitation! All the best for your JCube branch.

SV @ JCube- official opening

Received a message from Mike moments ago- SV @ JCube shopping mall is opening today: 10% discount all round. Here's the official address: SV Guitars @ JCube Shopping Mall, 2 Jurong Central ,  #04-04 Singapore 609731. It's next to Jurong East Interchange/ MRT station, you won't miss it.

LTD: AC-5E

This is a gorgeous singlecut LTD acoustic (especially this silverburst finish), it plays real fine too considering its price (List: $259) & non-solid top construction. I'm not a keen acoustic fan but this one's a great performer especially plugged in, just love how the upper fret notes don't thin-out too much if you solo. ESP's own piezo unit sounds a little nasal but add chorus to this baby & it becomes more than acceptable.

Les Paul, minimalist

Rammstien's Paul Landers has a new signature Les Paul, I'm for the minimalist approach; just one volume knob there to rule the active pickups.

Special pot

Not too long ago, my friend Riko bought a Fender American Special Strat & had one of the pots replaced with a super smooth YJM (Seymour Duncan) pot. The one you see above is the default pot. It seems that Fender recently used a brass shaft pot for their guitars.

LTD: H-330NT

I've referred to this guitar before (white finish) which is now available at Davis GMC. This is the manufacturer's take on affordability (List: $680) without trimming quality. It won't hurt your wallet (too much) because it's a bolt-on make & the pickups are ESP's in-house units. I deem this as a top-of-the-line blot-on LTD before the selections move into the set-neck models (about $200 more for the H-351). 

No hidden agenda when it comes to the QC here. I certainly like the weight offered, it's suggesting a very resonant response if you choose to do away with those active humbuckers. While still on the subject of ESP's in-house pickups, these are great pickups if you do not wish for too much gain but require that active push to increase presence. I'd say they're not as overpowering as EMGs but still perform differently compared to some passive units; something unique here, you'd know after trying. The test model I messed with didn't come with a smooth set of knobs but I don't see this as a hindrance, I'm very happy with everything else offered. For a moment, I'd forgotten it's a bolt-on make because ESP makes it a point for majority of their guitars to be bolt-free less the M-Series. In terms of playability, this is definitely above-average but the manufacturer's thin U-neck profile shouldn't be confused with Ibanez's Wizards. Recommended for those of us who wish to dwell in the active zone but not too keen with overpowering pickups, also for those of us keen on a super player without having to spend too much- you'd need some $$ for a bag anyway, it's not included.