Locking nut for Vibrato Tremolo double locking Bridges

Recently, a topic came up in one of the local forums asking about the locking nut of the Vibrato Tremolo Bridges (Floyd Rose). This may seem simple to change but as easy as it may seem, there are some important points to take note of.

1. Measure the existing nut and make sure you get the correct measurements. They usually come in 42mm or 43mm. Don't make the mistake of getting the wrong one.

2. Check if it's top mounted or bottom mounted. The top mounted one has 2 screws that screws into the neck from the top while the bottom mounted has 2 allen key screws that go through the neck from the bottom.

3. Make sure to take note of the way the order the pressure pads are being remove during string changes. You don't want to have the bass string pressure pads on the treble strings and vice versa. This actually kills the pressure pad faster than it can last.

Mid Range Ibanez Recommendations Part 2

This year, is a good year for Ibanez lovers. This is a year of change. This is a year where players get choices which they normally don't on previous years. This is a year of Ibanez willingness to break out of it's norm shell and try something different. Lastly, this is the year which Ibanez offer to players out there, a choice of different tone wood, without causing a big hole in out pocket.

Part of this year's brilliance, I present to you the Ibanez RG470AH, a mid range Ibanez that isn't made with Basswood. Instead, this model sports a Swamp Ash body in beautiful natural satin finish. What makes this change so enticing then? Well, Ibanez has long been making RG from Basswood for it's mid range guitars which includes the famous RG550. There is nothing wrong with the mid range dominant Basswood and neither is it a bad tone wood for a guitar. However, not everyone of us likes Basswood or rather, few of us would like to have the option of some tonal differences. Swamp Ash offers more resonance across all frequency and might appear punchy to some. This is the exact difference compared to mid range dominant Basswood.

Coupled with this year's innovation is the introduction of the new mid range Ibanez Vibrato Tremolo bridge, the Edge Zero II.The new design provides tuning stability and gives the player the option of taking out the Zero system turning the bridge into a full floating tremolo. The bridge also has the advantage of buttery smooth action of pulling up and whamming down while the locking studs, which are once again being introduced with this new bridge, providing superior tuning stability.

For the uninitiated, Ibanez created a bridge that has a lot of tuning stability problems known as the Edge III(There are more which I shall not mention). For a list of the Ibanez Tremolo Vibrato bridges, click here to find out more about the different types of Ibanez Tremolo Vibrato bridges.

Ibanez also did a slight revamp on their Wizard II neck shape and equipped with this guitar is the Wizard III neck. It feels similar to the Wizard II however, with the exception of the extra meat at the sides, giving it a chunkier feel. Even though it is chunkier at the side compared to the Wizard II, it does also however feels "thinner" than the Wizard II due to the flatter back. Think of it in terms of a Thin U shape vs a Thin D shape profile. However, this is by no means a baseball bat neck of the Gibson and is by all means very shred-able.

It also features a 400mm radius (16") which is in my opinion the perfect balance for easy chording and scaling. 43mm nut width (the others being 42mm) provides a wider width for the neck giving sufficient string spacing for fast scale runs. Coupled with the maple neck is the rosewood fretboard which are slotted with Jumbo frets which allows almost effortless note fretting.

As usual with all the mid range Ibanez RG line are the pickups. The Ibanez INFs are pick ups with high output but gets really muddy and thin with high gain. As bad as I deemed them to be, they aren't totally unusable. Compared to guitars of similar price bracket, the pickups do sound way better. However with a pickup swap, this guitar will be a decent workhorse for professionals or professionals wannabes.

Generally, the production line from Ibanez's Indonesia plant has proved the test of time and is still producing great quality instruments of the price bracket. If you are in for a change, for something different from the typical Basswood Ibanez, do try one of these at your local Ibanez distributor today. You might just bring home a new member for the family.

The Singapore Guitar Show

An early reminder to guitar enthusiasts out there. The Singapore Guitar show is happening again this year and back with them, more private builders with guitars that leaves lovers like us drooling. However, be sure to go down and support the event, take a look and even try on guitars that you might not even have seen before. More information can be found here. Hope to see you there.

8 not enough?

Another lazy day of random surfing and I came across this. A 9 string guitar. I am never a fan of extended strings guitar and I've always thought that 8 strings are more than enough. Well, Rondo music made a 9 string for players who wants to play the guitar like a bass or that extra low end grit. Anyway, this is for you guys.

Canare cables and Neutrik Jacks

I've written recently about how having a bad cable can be the weakest link to the destruction of your tone. However, I firmly do not believe in spending atrocious amount of money just for cables. If there are any cables out there that I couldn't recommend more, it will be Canare cables. These cables are made in Japan and are as noiseless as they can be. Canare make cables for microphones, audio equipments and of course guitars. The best part about the cables are, they don't cost a bomb either. The only problem with the cables is, they are usually sold without being wired up.

The good thing however is we get to choose the type of jacks we want to go with the cables and the amount of length we want. In this case for my cables, I chosen Neutrik plugs which I've always gotten good results with.

These cables are also great to be used as pedal connectors. For Singapore readers, Beez is the guy, located at Roxy Square II to look for who custom make these cables.

Noisy Cables?

Today, I plug in Benihanahime for a short practice and I noticed that there is this irritating hissing noise coming out of my amplifier after turning the gain knob to full (I usually play with full gain). Knowing for a fact that my amp is grounded with all my electronic parts in my guitar well wired, there is no way that it can be noisy. After going through a series of checks, I narrowed down the problem to the cable.

We often try to get the minimum best in our quest for our tone but due to my laziness, I just plugged in the nearest cable to me, which was the planet waves classic series cable. After changing the cables (to Canares cables with Neutrick plugs), the hissing immediately disappears.

Sometimes, the smallest things might be the weakest link to the destruction of your tone.

ESP 3D Angel Guitar

Was down at Davis Guitars today and they were show casing the ESP 3D Angel guitar with Storewide 10% discount. I didn't get anything with discount but I got a Push Pull Gotoh Potentiometer. Nonetheless, the 3D Angel guitar is a sight to behold. A true piece of artwork. However, the question that pops in my mind is, is this thing actually playable? I can't help but wonder.

Different in Pot sizes

All Parts Potentiometer

Do note that the Pots shown in the picture above, an All parts potentiometer is of the American size. If you are buying it to replace the Pots in your Ibanez, ESP or other Asian made guitars, it probably won't be a direct fit. You will probably need to drill a larger hole (or whatever creative methods you have to make holes larger) to make it fit.

Gotoh Potentiometer

For Asian made guitars, the one above which is a Gotoh potentiometer is a glove fit. Please do take note that there are different in sizes for potentiometers, usually in either the American or Asian size. Make sure that you make the right purchase when buying replacement parts for your guitar.

Disclaimer: All Parts isn't the only brand that has American sized pots. There are probably other brands out there which I haven't heard of.

Reminiscences of the past: ESP Custom Shop

I was just going through my past photos of my Japan trip and I happen to find these photos. These are ESP Custom shop limited models which showcase the creativity of the Japanese Luthiers. These guitars are extremely limited but the Japanese sales person was kind enough allowing me to take a picture of these finely crafted artworks. These guitars are at the ESP Guitar Workshop, located in Ochanomizu (御茶ノ水). If you ever get a chance to visit Japan, be sure to drop by there. It's a place that will leave you with nothing but good memories.

Sale at Davis guitar on 24th September 2011 and Showcasing of ESP Custom Shop 3-D Angel Guitar

Davis guitar is going to showcase the ESP Custom Shop 3-D Angel Guitar a guitar art piece made by ESP customshop this Saturday from 1pm to 4pm. Fans of ESP will know that ESP is constantly breaking new boundaries in terms of guitar shape and design.

However, the most important part of the news is There will be a STOREWIDE
SALE and also a chance to Win an ESP Alexi Katakana Guitar and free tickets to Children of Bodom Concert with purchase of any ESP / Ltd guitars, draw date on 11 Nov 2011. If you are free on Saturday, why not take a trip down to Davis and see for yourself the Art piece or take advantage of the sale and buy the parts or guitar you have always wanted to?