Darkthrone: Plaguewielder

I'm currently digging into my Darkthrone collection in search of that personal favourite release & it turned out to be one of the band's unenchanted release, Plaguewielder. The typical black metal fan out there would cite Darkthrone's holy 3- A Blaze in the Northern Sky/ Under a Funeral Moon/ Transilvanian Hunger- to be the conclusive releases if one embraces all things Darkthrone but followers of Fenriz & Nocturno Culto would know the duo's cyclical occupation so these 3 releases are indeed authoritative but not conclusive. The band started out as a death metal act after all & the current releases being punk-tinged are proof enough.

Tube overdose

Do you really acquire tone nirvana upon plugging tube laden effects into a tube amp? Not quite, I tried this set up today: Ibanez Tube King + Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem + Epiphone Valve Jr head.

The TT Mayhem doesn't really need a drive-type booster to bolster its performance, I just did it to convince myself that some pedals are better left alone. What I hear from this line-up is an excess of bottom end even when my EQ for both pedals had the lower frequencies reduced.

However, I subsequently replaced the TK with a TS7 & it really made quite a difference in terms of definition; we now understand why the tubeless Tubescreamers are effective in this application.

Also, the TK's in-built noise reduction (that VOID control) unit is very effective to such an extent that my BOSS volume pedal was unnecessary in this set-up.

BOSS: FV-50

My latest pedal is battery-free; a volume controller, BOSS FV-50.

My ZOOM volume pedal couldn't cut volume entirely because it's quite aged & the pot requires some looking into. Rather than parts replacement, it's wiser (cost-wise) to invest in a fresh unit. I prefer eliminating volume during play than utilizing a noise suppressing pedal these days as the threshold control does affect tone, also, when I lower the guitar's volume knob for some vintage tone crunch, the weaker signals from the guitar get totally gated-out during play.

Dean Marley: Super V strings

I've not been using Dean Markley strings since they discontinued the vintage yellow packet set (comes with a free sticker) however, the manufacturer has a current offering which is quite parallel to what they used to offer: Super V set (left pic).

This is a collaboration between DM & George Lynch (whose latest ESP incarnations are also named Super Vs, how original...). The strings possess this unique core-to-wind ratio which allegedly produces a stringer output while retaining that vintage mildness of a seasoned string set. In use, they sure feel vintage but as with other nickel inclusive products, do not look forward to logevity.

Ibanez: Re-issue RG770

So you thought the Anniversary RG550 (2007) was downright attractive- this year, there's the RG770 to consider. This will definitely make the shred-era '80s Ibanez lovers drool.

Stylus pick

This is the Stylus pick up close, the highlight is of course that ridiculous diamond-edge tip which might hinder play, so you thought...
However, in use, the Stylus is able to focus much of the string contact at the tip thus promoting precision picking- good news for all you speed mongers out there...