PRS SE: Marty Friedman

Guitar dweebs know who Marty Friedman is & his place in shred history. Over the years, Marty Friedman had embraced many brands of electric guitars but nothing changed the fact that it kept his style of play in tact. To Marty Friedman, guitars are just tools of the trade, they shouldn't change the musician.

PRS is the latest name in the Marty Friedman adventure, choosing simplicity over esoteric details, it was a deserving partnership. I had a chance to play the PRS SE Marty Friedman recently, it's a simple pleasure. Simple because the guitar presented itself as a no-frills instrument. Maybe the star fretboard markers are a little overboard but they are the Marty Friedman choice, it's his name on the guitar anyway. The neck profile is his preference for a grab-worthy instrument; meaty & wide but very playable. In fact, the low action right out of the box greatly helped the playability of this instrument. The urge to play fast was inevitable. The other note-worthy inclusion here is PRS' adjustable bridge; the raised saddles mean it's a much simpler muting affair. 

Tone-wise, the pickups on board are not excessively hot but they are there to deliver all manner of cleans & driven tones. In fact, they are typical PRS affair nothing too Marty Friedman about them. Despite not being an American, the SE Marty Friedman manifests impeccable QC from end to end. It's all about manufacturing philosophy, PRS does not embrace a stark difference in quality between their American & non-American instruments, the evidences are all here for your scrutiny. If you wish for a quality instrument with minimal endorser affiliations, the SE Marty Friedman would be a good consideration. The price- it's a very fair tag.

PRS SE: Marty Friedman

Availability: Davis GMC

Price: SGD890

May the 4th

May the force be with you.

But when it comes to string preference, you shouldn't force yourself to like what's trendy. Look deep inside yourself you must, believe it's true.

T-Rex: Moeller 2

I had to check this one out. I'm currently into pedals that reinforce themselves, the Moller 2 enables the user to activate both its drive & booster functions. That's quite a feat considering its other siblings sporting 2 buttons won't allow a simultaneous operation to occur. Let's understand that the M2 here is an under-drive pedal, so to speak. It contains nothing that could put its mild-mannered nature to disrepute. The job of the booster function is to add a clean boost to proceedings. For a more throaty drive manifestation, the boost levels must be pumped way up but it won't give you a definite distortion performance, just some re-inforced drive settings. This one's aimed at the type of player who is content with some dirt in the signals, nothing excessive. The clean boost offers some saturation without pushing anything into dark & dirty places.

T-Rex: Moller 2

Availability: Davis GMC

Price: $265

Lakland @ Swee Lee

A little heads-up here- Lakland's Skyline basses are now available at Swee Lee, do check them out. I'm averse to full-scale basses but if you play any Lakland bass you'll be impressed.

Ibanez @ Swee Lee

A couple of new Ibanez guitars at Swee Lee (BB branch). First up is this gorgeous RG721 with that stunning maple top plus a matching headstock. I already own the rosewood top version so playing this today was a checking exercise. Everything is as good as it looks, just a reminder pertaining to that pair of default CAP-VM pickups; nothing too different from the INF models in the standard RG range. However, the sweeter alnico voicing makes the difference.

The other equally captivating (albeit acquired taste) guitar is this S771 sporting a poplar burl top. The instrument is incredibly light due to its aerodynamic body design & an absence of a heavy whammy bridge. Initially, played unplugged, the guitar is rather insignificant tone-wise but that's not the highlight of the performance. The amped tones were something else, very cutting edge & it'd give something to think about when it comes to the default INF pickups.

Prices have yet to be confirmed. Thanks to Mr. Faizal @ Swee Lee BB for the update & appraisal invitation.

First impression: ISP Theta

We are now in May, time flies when your gear & guitar shenanigans keep you occupied. At least this applies to me. Trust that everyone had a good May Day holiday today.

I've been busy today with a single piece of gear- seen above, the ISP Theta. Nothing evolutionary, just a pedal incorporating a pre-amp section as well as a 2-channel distortion. To top it all off, there's noise gate to keep things at bay because the amount of gain on offer is obscene.

The real initial impression is the one at the store when I first tried this pedal (that would be Davis GMC) but the more applicable account would be the one today when I get to use the Theta with my own gear. The 14 knobs on board might scare many of us especially when we want something functional & to the point but I'm glad ISP did it this way. The controls ensure the pre-amp & distortion sections keep the 2 offerings detailed, not overlapping & dedicated in the delivery of tone. They are in fact, standard EQ, gain & level knobs which are details familiar to us, nothing new, yes? With this in mind, especially the pre-amp inclusion, you would only need a good clean channel to propel your preferred tone. I tried both tube & solidstate amps for this one & both manifested fine tones, nothing averse to report. 

I've only tested the Theta with a humbucking guitar today so hopefully, the next installment would disclose some single coil chemistry, I hope to plug in a P-90 equipped guitar in there as well.

Some closing words: The Theta is worth it if you wish for a dedicated gain source. It's made pleasant by that noise gate which the ISP name is renowned for- no-brainer combo goodness, this one.