Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy New Year everyone! May the new year brings opportunities for all of us and the upcoming holiday a well deserved rest for those of us who worked really hard for 2011.

ESP Sugizo Signature model

Sugizo from Japanese Rock Band Luna Sea joined X Japan last year officially as their lead guitarist. This year, he gets a new signature guitar from ESP. The guitar is essentially the same as his other mix media models but without the Floyd Rose bridge and the single coils. Instead, he has SD Alnico V and P90s added. The new trend of pickups seems to shift towards P90s.

BODY : Alder w/White&Black Ply Binding
NECK : Hard Maple 3P
FINGERBOARD : Rosewood, 22frets w/Whtie Binding
SCALE : 648mm(Long)
NUT : TREM-NUT®
JOINT : Set-neck
TUNER : GOTOH SG360-20 H.A.P.M
BRIDGE : GOTOH GE101TS
PICKUPS : (Neck) Seymour Duncan CustomShop Staple Pickup Repro "ALNICO-V"
(Bridge) Seymour Duncan SP90-3b
CONTROL : Master Volume, Master Tone, Neck PU Mix Balancer
3Way Lever PU Selector Switch, Dummy Mini Toggle Switch
COLOR : BRILLIANT -MIXEDMEDIA-

Portable Gear Part 1

Sometimes, home can be a bad environment to motivate me to practice. Computer, books, bed and etc. These are just a few of the distraction that is available to stop us form practicing. What I like to do is to go outside and practice. Sometimes in public fast food restaurant and sometimes at the void deck.

This is one of the souvenirs I got from my Japan trip last year. A limited edition Azusa Nakano Vox Amplug. It is actually a AC30 model but with a different casing. It sounds similar to a Keeley modded DS-1 and features a led clip within the circuits. I was hoping for something with more distortion as playing with distortion is pretty detrimental to my playing style but it didn't turn out as bad as I would have thought. Up till today, I am still using this as part of my portable gear. Just this and a pair of earphones with a guitar, I am readying for my practice routine anywhere I choose to go.

ESP Akira Takasaki Signature model

Japan makes amazing guitars. Even so the design. Japanese guitar craftsmanship is one of high detail and quality. ESP custom shop has a new release for Akira Takasaki, the lead guitarist of Japanese Heavy Metal Band Loudness. His previous signature model lines were all from Killer but he recently just switched over to ESP. The specs of the guitar are as follows.

BODY : (Top) Figuerd Maple, (Back) Mahogany
NECK : Hard Maple 3P
FINGERBOARD : Maple , 22frets
SCALE : 648mm(Long)
NUT : Lock Nut (42mm/R2)
JOINT : Neck-thru-body
TUNER : Schaller M6 mini
BRIDGE : Floyd Rose
PICKUPS : (Neck) Seymour Duncan SH-2n
(Bridge) Seymour Duncan SH-14
CONTROL : Master Volume , Master Tone(w/Coil Split Switch), PU Select Switch
COLOR : See Through Brown

Acoustic guitar Brass Pins

I seldom play the acoustic guitar but I do own one. On my guitar, I had Brass Pins installed instead of the usually bone or plastic pins. I found the original tone lacking in treble and hence i decide to replace the pins with brass for the increase in bell like brightness and response. It's a mod that is worth the money spend and it's isn't very expensive either. Do try if it you find the tone of your acoustic guitar lacking.

Ibanez Premium S series

S series fans! Rejoice. You want J custom quality at Indonesian made price! Ibanez will be releasing S Premium in the next batch of Premium series. Premium necks coupled with sleek mahogany bodies and zero resistance bridge. How can one resist that!

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's finally the time of the year! Merry Christmas everyone. Attached is a video of a Christmas song in my book. Enjoy the festive season and holiday. Spend more time with your family and the opportunity to have a good rest and know that this rest is well deserved for the hard work you have put in.

Christmas Gift Part 5

Ok. Let's admit this. Every decent guitarist out there needs a strap. Whether it is for you to do performance with or just to strap on to have a feel on how it is like to play standing up or pretending you are a rock star, every guitarist needs a strap.

Once again, going with the logic of if every guitarist needs it, what's stopping one from getting it right? Levy's have a nice range of guitar straps that cost from S$6 to S$30 and beyond. So if you know a guitar player who doesn't own a strap, time to get them one for this season of giving.

Christmas Gift Part 4

Have you ever hated winding the tuning pegs of your guitar and hope that things could go smoother and faster? Have you ever hoped to have brought your cutter out to cut the extra ends of the string? Planet Waves designed a string cutter and tuning peg winder together as a tool. It's cheap, convenient and very useful to a guitarist. Consider one of these niffty gadgets as a Christmas gift for your guitarist friend.

Ibanez Premium in Desert Yellow and Shocking Pink

First leaks from Namm show 2012. Ibanez premium series now comes in Desert Yellow and Shocking Pink. These were the colors that once set the glam metal color scheme of yester-years. They still look very attractive to me and would definitely consider getting one.

Christmas Gift Part 3

A capo is probably one of the most useful thing you can give to a guitarist friend. It allows the player to freely utilize his open chords without the need of using only barring and change the key of the song without immediately transposing.

If you have a performing friend, especially a guitar player who utilizes alot of strum and sing, a capo will be a perfect gift this Christmas!

Boss Pedals Installation Art Piece

Interactive Guitar Pedal Art Installation — by David Byrne from Todo Mundo on Vimeo.

David Byrne created an installation art piece out of Boss pedals that so many of us swear to. The floor is stacked with Boss pedals and people can step over the installation as though it's a carpet. It's a rather interesting installation isn't it?

Christmas Gift Part 2

Second on the list of things which I would give to people as Christmas gift is 3 packets of Daddario strings. Now, what is something that all guitarist will always need. Strings!
Strings are probably the most practical of all things to give out as Christmas gifts!

If you have totally no idea on what to get for your guitar player friends, please do consider greatly on fresh packs of electric guitar strings.

Christmas gift part 1

So, Christmas is around the corner and people like me are probably rushing to buy Christmas gifts. So, I asked myself, what can I get my guitar player friends a good and useful Christmas gift with a rough budget of $15 SGD. Yes, I am a cheap individual. But hey! It's the thought that counts right?

Now, i would always like to give people something that is actually useful. No, I don't want to give people a cup or photoframe. That is just stupid. Sorry if you are reading this and this is exactly what you gave someone. It just is.

Anyway, first and top off my list is a Snark Tuner. The Snark Tuner is a cheap and yet very effective tuner in the market of clip on tuners. It is actually very precise and accurate despite it's price. So if you have a guitar player friend whom you need to give a Christmas present to, do consider the Snark Clip On Tuner.

Speedster Travel guitar

Wonder if you should bring your guitar around when you go for a holiday. Why would I want to bring my guitar around I hear? Well, considering that you are going to enjoy yourself on the trip, why not bring along something that you like to do the most and get to fill in the time on the thing you like to do the most?

Introducing the Speedster Travel Guitar. It's small size and revolutionary design allows you to bring the guitar anywhere and everywhere as you like it. Have a gig at a neighbouring country and you don't want to carry your full size guitar? No problem. Need to use the Jet and fly off to another country to perform a gig for? No problem.

If you think that this travel guitar is just some bolt on guitar and is of lowly quality made, well you are in for a surprise. It sports a maple neck through body and a humbucker single coil. This means, you can do from Metal to Jazz without much of a problem.

Check out on the video below. A test drive of the guitar and enjoy it's wonderful tone.

Rusty Pickups Affect Tone

I remember when I was just starting out playing the guitar, after changing my pickups to Dimarzios and shortly after, the pole pieces on the pickups started rusting. I panicked and was wondering if I could do anything to stop it. So I went around asking the "Guitar Gurus" if the rust does anything bad to my pickups and especially the sound.

Well, good news for all you paranoid people such as I. It doesn't affect the tone at all. First of all, we have to understand that a pickup is actually a piece of electro magnet and magnet loses it's magnetic properties over time. The losing of the magnetic properties does alter the tone a little bit and chances are, the magnet will lose that magnetic properties before your pickup loses it's tone to rust.

That being said, please also bear in mind that pickups will also settle down to a stagnant state where it doesn't lose any more of it's magnetic properties (Unless you do something drastic to it). This is also the main reason why there are people out there trying to prematurely age the pickup, to settle for that broken in tone.

XOX Audio Tools: The Handle Carbon Fiber Electric Guitar

XOX Audio Tools produced a very cool looking guitar, also known as "The Handle". It is designed by Peter Solomon and from the looks of it, we can tell that it is of an interesting design. The guitar is neck through and is tough, with the properties of the carbon fibre. What is amazing is, with majority of the body being hollowed out, it is also a very light guitar. Thanks to again the carbon fibre body, the guitar also has a tone, once again unique to the properties of Carbon Fibre. I wonder if I will ever get to see cool guitars like this in Singapore.

Aluminium archtop guitars?

Have you ever heard of Aluminium archtop guitars? The thought of a metal guitar already weights you down but Normandy Guitars brilliantly came up with an amazing concept and build an instrument on aluminium. The only thing that isn't metal on the guitar is the neck but the idea of a metal guitar still rocks!

Jeffry Yong's Guitar Design wonders!

Jeffery Yong guitars was one of the exhibitors in the Singapore Gutiar show 2011 and looking at his works is honestly awe inspiring. One of the first thing I notice on his Blackie guitar is that it has Fan frets instead of the traditional straight frets. Of course, to measure the slots of Fan frets isn't an easy thing to do and I think Jeffery done a great job at it.

Another recurring characteristic of  Jeffery's guitars is an additional sound hole that appears at the side of the guitar. This actually enhances the sound of the guitar and was proven to me by Adam from Sozo. From the picture, you can also see the inner bracing and the quality of the craftsmanship of Jeffery.

Finally, another noticeable trait of the Blackie is the shimmed angle of the neck joint. This actually helps to lower the action of the guitar and in terms of playing ergonomics, it makes the guitar a breeze to play with, especially for an acoustic guitar.

Another noticeable difference of Jeffery Yong's guitars is that it is considerably heavier than other acoustic guitars. However, this doesn't mean that the guitar has a lack of tone but on the other hand, it has a full bodied tone. Jeffery Yong's guitars are well crafted instrument and any serious guitarist should consider owning one of his finely hand crafted guitars. They are definitely not the instruments to disappoint.

Polishing the Matt Finish on the Neck to Gloss finish

Have you ever bought a guitar with satin or matt finished neck and wished that it can be gloss instead? I personally am not a gloss finished neck fan but there is a way to buff out the lacquer on your guitar to gloss instead.

Get a bottle of Brasso, apply some of it on the cloth and start buffing (Rubbing up and down) the back of the neck. This will buff the lacquer and make it gloss instead. This is also useful if you feel like rebuffing own and dull lacquer on the guitar body.

Nightwish Imaginaerum!

Today, I received a phone call from Inokii telling me that my Nightwish order has arrived. Collect it and I must say, Nightwish just lives up to it's name and it's a very nice album indeed. As the songs goes by, I can imagine the scenes in my head. This might be the reason why this is called a "movie". I was hoping for a DVD with a real movie instead but this is nice enough.

For those of you who don't know where Inokii is. It is located in far east plaza, 03-30. The owner of the shop is a friendly guy and I get my metal/rock CDs regularly from him.

As for my favourite song in the whole album, it will definitely be "I want my Tears back". It is a song inspired by celtic/folk like melody lines with bag pipes constantly playing the main riff. Overall, I quite enjoyed the album and I hope everyone out there will enjoy it as much as I have.

New Maple Fingerboard Ibanez J customs

Ibanez has a new RG specification added to their ever famous J.Custom line. J.Custom RG now comes with Maple Fretboard. A new set of pickups has also been developed for this guitar. The Neck pickups features less coil windings and Alnico 3 pickup while the Bridge pickup features an Alnico 5 magnet with more coil windings compared to the neck pickup. This is employed for note sustain and warmness.

The locking nut is 42mm instead of 43mm. This also means that the neck is 1mm narrower than the standard RG neck and obviously, there is a different in neck shape profile compared to the standard J.Custom RG. Specification wise, the guitar looks very viable and is probably a top notched instrument. However, my only qualms about the design is, why didn't they inlay the maple with the standard J.Custom inlay. It would have look gorgeous with these specifications.

Light weight doesn't = Tone

I was having a chat with Adam from Sozo and while letting me test Jeffry's guitars, I commented that this guitar is quite on the heavy side. His immediate comment was, "Does the weight of the guitar affects the way you play? Does the Weight of the guitar affects the tone?"

My answer was naturally no for the first question and yes for the second. He urged me to strum a chord and I did. The sound of the guitar swept me away. I was kind of dumb folded. The truth is, often, we are paying to much attention to the insignificant details that might cloud our judgement. The truth is, for an acoustic/classical guitar, the heavier the weight, the better the tone. However, one might argue that for standing performers, it might be taxing. However, the truth is, how often does one stand performing with an acoustic/classical guitar? In the end of the day, it will not be as heavy as a full solid body guitar.

Well, the same cannot be said for a full solid guitar as I have had basswood guitar that is heavier than my alder guitar and the alder one definitely has a more define tone. I urge all my readers to go ahead and test your favourite instruments or at least those that you are about to buy. Let your ears be your judge. Do not let your judgement be clouded by insignificant details.

Rosewood?

Brazillian Rosewood

Do you know there are different species of rosewood that are being used for guitar construction? When you look at the specification of the guitars in the catalogue, it is usually stated that the fingerboard is made with Rosewood. But there are really different species of rosewood. Speaking to Ashok Parekh from Parekh Exports, he taught me how to spot the difference between the 3 major types of rosewood that are being used in guitar construction and how they affect the sound.

The first most important one to take note is Brazillian rosewood. It is an endangered species and probably the most well known of all rosewood type, due to it's sound. According to Ashok, the Brazillian rosewood is a very dense wood and produces a very warm sound on the guitar they are build with. The notes are very clear and the sustain is amazing. However, due to it being endangered, it is getting harder and harder to find guitars build with this wood. Even if you are able to find one, they probably cost a lot.

Indian Rosewood

Second up is the Indian rosewood. It is actually a slightly cheaper option to the Brazilian rosewood but it looks different from it's Brazilian sibling. It has narrower grain lines compared to the Brazilian rose wood and is usually darker in color.

Visual aspects of course aren't the only thing that is different. Of course, the tone is different too. Indian rosewood compared to the Brazilian rosewood is a little softer and produces a sound that isn't as hard or screaming. Technically, that will also makes it higher on the bass side compared to the Brazilian rosewood. However this wood is by no means strictly on the bassy side.

If you own a Japanese made electric guitar with a rosewood fretboard, chances are, the fretboard of your guitar is made with Indian Rosewood.

Sonokeling

Lastly, over the years of guitar production, we have began to see less of the Indian Rosewood but more of the Sonokeling. Sonokeling looks visually closer to Brazillian Rosewood but is slightly darker in color and grains are a lot more open. It is actually the same species as the Indian Rosewood. Once again, visual appearance isn't the only thing that is different.

Tone wise, Sonokeling is similar to Indian rosewood but due to it but once again, more towards the bassy side compared to the Indian Rosewood. However, both tones are pretty similar in that sense.

Sonokeling is also cheap compared to Indian and Brazilian rosewood and is favoured by builders from China and Indonesia (It is from Indonesia after all). If you own any guitars with Rosewood fretboard that is made in China or Indonesia, chances are it is Sonokeling.

Do take note that although there are difference in Rosewood, it does not necessarily mean that each species of Rosewood is better than other. In the end of the day, it is just something different and dependant on the player's preference. Next time when you buy a guitar made of Rosewood, do remember to take note and make sure that you gotten the correct type of Rosewood that you wanted.

Learning about woods from the expert!

Parekh Exports is one of the exhibitors for the Singapore Guitar show 2011. They aren't a guitar builder but instead a producer of raw wood. I spoken to Ashok Parekh, the man himself and was asking him the difference between woods and of course, how to spot the woods. As I can only spot maple, mahogany, ash, alder, rosewood, ebony, basswood, purple heart and a list of others. I don't know the non common woods well enough to spot them.

Ashok was kind enough to educate me on the woods and the difference. Not only did he educate me on how to spot them, he described to me the difference in sound. He also took the time to show me the different types of wood (those that he already have there) and most importantly of all, what contributes to the grade of the wood. Ever heard of grade AAA quilted maple? That was what I learned.

Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and learning journey for me, talking to the expert to satisfy my curiosity. Parekh Exports are also able to provide various grade of high quality, well dried, exotic wood for hobby builders. For more information, please click here.

Prim's Guitars!

Prim's Guitars is one of the exhibitors of the Singapore Guitar Show 2011 and they are an Indonesian company with primarily one Luthier and a helper building the guitars. Hence they take usually about 6 months to produce a guitar. All guitars are handmade and exhibit superior quality comparable to even expensive Martins. The picture above is the picture of the Luthier who is working on all the guitars.

I was going around testing all the acoustics, playing around meddling with the ones on the stand. Both the classical and acoustic range already blew me away. The resonance and sound quality of each instrument is evident and more so on the finish quality of all the guitars. There weren't any hidden flaws in the inside and all guitars are well glued that are also given ample time to dry. Each guitar has a unique Serial and model number, written by hand ensuring it's uniqueness and of course, authenticity.

Ratih, the main person doing the marketing and communications on the guitars prompt me to try the PA14-3A, which was resting nicely in the case. I didn't know what to expect of the guitar and the only thing she said was, it has a different characteristic. She handed the guitar to me and I plugged my first chord and the resonance of the guitar blew me away. The sound of the guitar screamed out at me. It was an Eureka moment for a short period of time. I proceed to playing some basic F.Carulli and F.Sor pieces just to hear how well it sounds on the guitar and true enough, every note plugged ringed out clear.

The only thing I can say about Prim's Guitars is that they are a truely bunch of people who are passionate at what they do and this shows evidently in the quality of their instrument. They are also able to do customization to any of your existing guitar, for a price of course. Overall,  I enjoyed interacting both with the Luthier and people from Prim's Guitars. Two Thumbs up for them.

To find out more about Prim's guitars, please click here or drop them an email at info@primsguitars.com .

Singapore Guitar Show 2011

So today, I decide to fill up my Sunday by visiting the Singapore Guitar show 2011. I would sum it up as an amazing guitar experience. Especially being in a room of constant sound of guitar playing in variety of genres, ringing in the room. The show was ran by Terence which I think he did an amazing job in running the show.

My only qualms about the show is, there weren't any solid body electric guitars in the show and it was dominately hollow bodies, Acoustic or Classical guitar. That being said, there was a gathering of good luthiers and players from all over the world, showcasing both their craftmanship and showmanship.

What was amazing in the event was that everyone spoke the same language or Jargon. Looking for someone to talk to you about wood types and characteristics? Someone is there to guide you. Looking for someone to ask regarding tips on doing a certain DIY job on your guitar? Someone is there. Looking for an overseas builder to help customize your existing guitar? Well, guess what? Someone is there.

I've never at one point in my life seen so many types of exotic woods being used for guitar building and today was one of those "Lucky" days. Jeffry Yong, a Malaysian Luthier uses a lot of exotic woods to build his guitars and the grains of those woods are ravishing. It is definitely a work of art and this makes me wonder if any builder has actually use those woods to build a solid body electric guitar. 

In addition to just show casing of gorgeous guitars, there were also performances by artist from all over the region (Sorry no pictures). Most of the pieces played were either Classical or Jazz pieces but they are definitely pieces that leaves lasting impression on the listener.

All and all, I feel that the guitar show is a must go for every guitar enthusiasts or lovers. It doesn't matter if you would prefer an electric or acoustic guitar but it is definitely an experience worth having again, given the chance. It is overall a very positive experience

Aren't these the coolest Gig bag you have ever seen? Well, at least to me, they are. I hope to be able to attend the Singapore guitar show again next year and will be praying hard that there will be Electric guitar builders who are willing to come down and show case their works of art.

Something... Metal

Alright. I was surfing around youtube and I found this. It's actually very enjoyable and I urge all my readers to take a look at this. This is a good example of the mastery of an instrument. This guy can probably make any songs sound good on the guitar. Ok, maybe almost all songs. Anyway, enjoy the video!

Over 10K

As per the counter, this blog has over 10k views. Thank you everyone for your support and I hope to gain more views for times to come.

Greatest guitarist in the world!

I am sure most of you have been presented on this question and most of you, including myself will answer with utmost confidence, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen and etc. Sure they are good but, are they the greatest? It's true, there isn't a correct answer to that or probably no answer to that. However, Gutiar magazine did an interesting interview with 30 famous guitarist in the world asking them to cite their greatest guitarist in their hearts and justifying why. It is of course a very interesting read, especially seeing interesting names popping up here and there. Do take a read at the article. It is definitely an interesting read, especially coming from guitarists who are already up there on the hierarchy level.

Cheap Guitars for modding recomendation part 2

I confess. I am a total geek and probably considered an addict when it comes to guitar customization. I find the utmost joy in customizing guitars, no matter the price tag. Customizations are not cheap. However, that should not stop us from getting guitars that doesn't come with a hefty price just for the sake of modification.

What if you are one of those who likes guitars to be of non-conventional shapes but yet a quality instrument? The first one that were to pop up in my head are the LTD F series. They don't cause a bomb and are a joy to play with. So far, among all the lower end LTDs that I have tried, they all seemed to have pretty good QC and are a joy to play with off the shop.

What makes this guitar a nice foundation for modifying is that it spots a tune-o-matic bridge which in my opinion is by itself a pretty solid bridge. However, if you aren't too happy with the stock bridge, it is always very easy to switch over to a Gotoh one, which is well known to be solidly build. At the same time, there is less hassle of having to drill bigger holes for the Gotoh stud anchors.

The Tuning pegs that comes with the guitar is pretty decent but I still would prefer a set of Gotohs to go along with it. The 42mm nut can be easily converted to one made of either bone or graphite. My personal preference however would be to go with Brass for that brighter bell like response for the open strings.

The only thing that are bad in the whole equation are the stock pickups that come along with the guitar. They are muddy and noisy, when clean or driven. However, in my opinion, pickups should be the least of your worries as they are easily changeable and usually does great wonders to your tone after swapping. My suggestion will always be Dimarzios or Seymour Duncans in this case. However, if you want to save some money, you can always head over to Guitar Fetish and get yourself a pair of their in house pickups which in my honest opinion fares pretty well, comparing to higher end pickups.

The neck of the guitar is somewhat a smaller and flatter version of a C shape neck but still fat by ESP thin U standards. However, the neck is well finish and is baby butt smooth. For players who aren't too fond of the fatness of C shape necks, the neck is of course can be easily sand down with a palm sander. That being said, the neck isn't Les-Paul fat but more of Squier Fat.

I was able to push the action to 1.5mm measuring at 12th fret without the need to further file down the frets. This to me is already an amazing for guitars of this price range. Usually, I have to settle for 2mm, which is already high by my standards. However, for players who prefer that sick 1mm action, it can be easily rectified by filing down the frets from the 13th fret onwards. This is also commonly known as compound radius.

The guitar also sports a basswood body, which is once again not common for brands such as ESP (LTDS) or Ibanez. Usually, guitars of this price range sports an Agathis body. I personally have nothing against Aghatis body but I do however prefer the neutral mid bass dominant tone of the Basswood.

Do take consideration of this guitar as your starting or project base guitar when you have something in mind. The quality of this guitar isn't one to disappoint.