Pedal power

This is one of those things people warned you not to purchase - a novelty pedal. I disagree. It's meeting my objective of having a simple, no-frills, power section to hook your pedals to. The entire set-up & more insights would come soon. Suffice to say that it won't level up against any small, low wattage tube amp. The guitar-solid state chemistry is a total departure from what you'd hear coming from your 'real' amp, For those on the go, it would just prove to be a crucial standby unit when all else fails.

Wah

One of the new entries into the Ibanez camp this 2020 is this wah pedal. There used to be a wah pedal in the catalogs but that was a good two decades ago. This new VH10V3 retains the original vibes but has updated features.

As seen here, you get to choose the bypass type & the instrument you are pairing it with; either a guitar or bass. Might just check this out when it gets here considering I've not bought any other wah unit since a Vox V847 & a short stint Artec Power Wah. For those of us with high gain set ups, the wah is not a useful thing to have since it does almost nothing to playing fast. Hendrix is perhaps one of the true proponents of the wah unit but he doesn't shred & his wah supplemented his clean tones more than anything else. When we think Sambora nailed the high gain wah tone in Living on A Prayer, we were informed that it's a vocoder, not a wah. 

PICs: Ibanez

Flawed gold

The account for my mismanaged gear expenditure last month must include this guitar. This is a Gibson LP Deluxe, the only one in the entire Swee Lee inventory in gold top finish. When the second swing of the Swee Lee Katong sale kicked in, the 40% discount was too good to pass so it went home with me after an unusual bout of second thoughts. Why was this the case? The instrument in question was a flawed piece not due to careless human handling but prolonged storage. No further discounts were offered, it's a take-it-or-leave-it decision for an as-is unit. I simply couldn't let this one go. More details to come.

Happy March, everyone. Once again, stay vigilant & virus-free. 😎

Okubo & Swan

A couple of new signature models from the Kiesel Camp. The pink 7-stringer is the Marc Okubo model, the singlecut is a Will Swan model. Players from various musical backgrounds are embracing the Kiesel goodness. The Kiesel name offers unparalleled quality in terms of built & feel but may still not be the cup of tea for some of us. I recently met someone who's disappointed with his Kiesel experience not that he got a lemon but according to him, the guitar lacks 'depth' in terms of tone. Folks, if you are looking for a Les Paul-ish kind of deep, thick, bottom end, look away from the Kiesel range.

Pic: Kiesel

Acoustic up

We can agree that in the acoustic realm, Ibanez does not manifest a dominant presence in the market share. People are still into the big three here - Martin/ Taylor/ Takamine. However, we can also agree that Ibanez came a long way when it comes to all things acoustic. The ACFS580CE you see here is the highest in the tier & it's a quality instrument. 

The only thing that's holding you back from forking out good money for one is that under-whelming looks. That aside, an instrument's real forte are performance delivery & tone to die for, regardless of what makes the instrument. The ACFS580CE here has solid appointments (top/ sides/ back) & an important inclusion for all you percussive unplug-ers, Ibanez now includes a block contact pickup to capture all your knocks, taps & scratches which are not fully manifested by the piezo unit. Thomas Leeb emphasized the importance of such a pickup when he was here as a Park ambassador. It's kinda costly if you wish to have one in your guitar so the new Artwood Fingerstyle collection by Ibanez paves the way for such considerations. Might just check these out once they get here.

PICS: Ibanez

Selling: Old Glory (SOLD)

As mentioned yesterday, one more on the to-go list. Nothing hateful about this one, just that it doesn't bring out the best in me.

• Epiphone: Old Glory Les Paul
• 9/10 condition, case included
• Self-collect: CCK mrt stn
• Query/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• No reservations/ trades
• Price: $690 (final)

Item SOLD 😅 (29-2-20)