Uneven Fret Logic

This is my first post in a while. Been really busy with my new temporary job. Anyway, let's talk about uneven frets. I am no math wizard and I do not know how to calculate the uneven-ness of frets. However, i do know how to rectify uneven frets. Uneven frets can be the main cause that makes a guitar unplayable. The epitome of all the frustrations that prevents you from achieving dead low action.

What does uneven frets causes? For starters, fret buzz. Think of it this way, when your action gets too low, the string rattles against the higher frets and prevents it from ringing. Hence, guitar techs will always advise you to raise the action to prevent buzzing. Well, there is another way, fret leveling.

What fret leveling does is that it's a process that levels all the frets making sure that no each fret is taller than the other. Just even 0.005 mm might actually cause the string to buzz. However, this is a nifty little knowledge which I will tell you on how to locate your higher frets. Whenever your action is set low (1mm on the 12th fret) and you receive a buzzing note, it is ALWAYS the next fret that is taller. Nothing magical or the need for complex math formulas. Just file down a little, the next fret and the fret buzz is cured!

Wonder why no one told me this before I killed some guitars trying to find this out....

Cavity Shielding

Chinese knockoffs aren't shielded. Wait, that is pretty expected. In fact, they aren't even painted with carbon shielding paint. I had a big roll of aluminium tape sitting around in my room and decided to do a full make over for the guitar my friend gave me as a souvenir. I took out the pickups and shielded the cavity with the aluminium tapes.

What does shielding the cavity do? Well it prevents microphonic sounds coming from the pickups and reduces feedback noises. However, a well wired electronic circuit is actually pretty quiet. However, since I have a big roll of the tape lying around, why not just shield it anyway. Who knows I might face the problem of microphonic sound leakage one day?

Not too shabby for a DIY job if I must say so myself.

Gift from a Friend who just got back from China

I am sure it looks good in this picture. Trust me, close up, it doesn't look as nice.

My friend recently got back from a working trip in China. He was kind enough to buy me a souvenir from China. A Al Dimeola PRS copy. Point to note; I am not endorsing copies and not encouraging in general but this is what to expect when getting one of these Chinese copies.

1. Expect the frets to be uneven.
2. Expect low end pickups.
3. Expect low end electronics.
4. Expect low end hard ware.
5. Expect painting imperfections everywhere.
6. Even though it looks like Mahogany under the clear, it might just be a veneer on the top. Underneath it can be Basswood or Plywood.

This souvenir was an eye opener for me. I wanted to know how bad these guitars can get to compared to even the Made in China branded offerings such as Squier and Ibanez Gios. Well, these guitars look good from really far. If you aren't one to tinker your instrument, I highly suggest never to step into this realm. As a matter of fact, I don't encourage anyone out there to part their money for replicas unless you want it purely just for the looks.

Anyway, my friend was kind enough to get me one of these knowing of my crazy obsession with electric guitars and my recent new found love for the Latin Jazz Fusion guitarist. I had to at least make it playable. After my tinkering, the guitar is actually pretty playable. Well, at least to my ridiculous level of standard. There are a lot of mods which I have done to it to make it playable. The next few post will purely be about how I DIY and make this guitar playable. To be continued.

P.S. AGAIN, I DO NOT ENCOURAGE ANYONE OUT THERE TO GET THESE AS REPLACEMENTS. THIS POST IS PURELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE AND THE SOUVENIR IS PURELY TO SATISFY MY CURIOSITY.

Selling my Limited Edition Fender Japan Aerodyne Telecaster

SOLD!
I am selling a Made in Japan Black Fender Japan Aerodyne Telecaster.

Neck pickup is a P90 pickup while the bridge is a standard Telecaster Bridge pickup. It sports a 22 fret (Most MIJ are 21 frets now) neck and has a narrow D shape kinda profile. From what I gather, these are limited edition runs and are considered rare by Fender collectors.

Specs are as follows:

Model name: Aerodyne Telecaster
Series: Deluxe Series
Colors: black (polyurethane finish)
Body: basswood (unique radius/carved top)
Neck: maple, C-shape, (polyurethane finish)
Fingerboard: rosewood, 7.25 in. radius (184 mm)
No. of frets: 22 medium jumbo frets
Pickups:
-- 1 Vintage-style single-coil Tele pickup (bridge),
-- 1 Vintage-style single-coil Soapbar pickup (neck)
Controls: master volume, master tone
Pickup switching -- 3-position toggle:
-- Position 1. bridge pickup
-- Position 2. bridge and neck pickups
-- Position 3. neck pickup
Bridge: standard with 6 cast saddles
Machine heads: Fender/Ping Vintage-style tuning machines
Hardware: chrome
Pickguard: none
Scale length: 25.5 in. (648mm)
Width at nut: 1.650 in.

Unique features: unique radius/carved top, cream binding on top of body, knurled chrome dome control knobs, rear mounted controls, matching painted headstock, silver applique logo

There is a small paint crack near the input Jack at the cream binding. There are some rust on the saddle height screws but it doesn't affect the performance. The saddle height screws can still be adjusted. The volume knob is frozen and buyer will probably have to get that changed.

Other than the above-mentioned problems, the guitar is in near perfect condition. As a matter of fact, the guitar was probably played less than 10 times. This is a first hand guitar. Meaning, the buyer will be the second owner.

Guitar has been setup and neck is straight as an arrow.

Looking to sell at $1150 (Buyer change the volume pot) or $1200 (I change the volume pot for the buyer). Both prices are negotiable. Low-ballers WILL BE IGNORED. A Fender soft case will be provided and I will restring the guitar for dealing.

Please drop me an Email @ fae.kildare@gmail.com to deal

SOLD!

Very Cramped Cavity

Went visiting Beez today. It has been a long time since I last spoke to him. About 9 months ago. He was doing wiring for a Tokai single cut model and it's interesting that his customer wants it wired with 2 9V batteries instead. Yes, the EMG 18V mod. As you can see in the picture, how cramped the cavity is, with 2 9V batteries. Also, note how professional and clean Beez's wiring work is!

For people looking to have their guitar well setup or electronic works done well, and by well, I mean WELL, look for Beez at "Look for Beez" in Roxy square 2, first floor. His shop maybe small but he gets the job done.

The New Elixir strings

This news isn't really new news but I just manage to read this recently. The new batch of Elixir strings are only coated on the low E, A, D strings. The E , B, G strings aren't coated and they are no longer using anti rust steels for their strings. You can note it from the new packaging. Without coating on the high strings, it kind of defeats the purpose isn't it? Wouldn't stainless steel strings do the same job of not rusting and longer lasting life?

RIP Jims Marshall!

Jim Marshall is the founding father of the modern rock sound, creating a brand of amplifiers and left a legacy that is in the heart of rock. You will always be remembered by all of us!

Stainless Steel Strings on!

Finally got my act together and all my guitars are strung with new strings. My stainless steel strings went to Benihanahime. On first glance, the strings have higher tension even though they are .009s. The wound strings are significantly brighter compared to nickel wound strings. Feel wise, the stainless steels are much rougher, which makes sliding around the wound strings much harder. Other than that, so hard, they seem awesome.

No, I don't think you can tell much difference from the picture. I just want to use this chance to show off my personalized artwork for this guitar.

The Jem neck and the Wizard II neck

The two guitars that accompany me for today are my Jem and my RG470FM. Here is a little myth buster. If you go to the Ibanez website and check out the measurements for the Jem neck and the Wizard II neck, they have the same measurements but the radius being the only one that is different. The neck measure first fret at 19mm and 12th fret at 21mm. Jem's radius is 430mm while the Wizard II is 400mm.

I used to think that the Japanese Wizard neck is very close to the Jem neck as it actually has 430mm as it's radius instead. So theoretically, the measurements are the same! Well, after I got a Jem, and having my RG470FM with me, I did a side by side comparison and I can debunk the myth. They are 2 different necks. Guess Ibanez isn't that stupid to offer the neck with the same measurement on a lower model.

The main difference is the back of the neck. Jem neck feels somewhat flatter behind. And due to that, the radius of the neck feels somewhat flatter too, almost concave. So, next time someone claims that the Wizard II is actually a Jem neck, well... not so.

New set of coated strings and Stainless Steel strings

I was looking at the product line at one of those American guitar stores and I saw the word Stainless Steel screaming at me. Stainless steel strings. Really? I was intrigued. I didn't know they exist! I have been using "Good Strings" and it says made with Korean steel on the packaging. I presume that's just regular steel. But, Stainless steel! Really? First thing that came to my mind way, how do they even work? Stainless steel isn't magnetic by nature, so there is no way the pickups can pick up any wave signals from the stainless steel strings.

After further investigation, apparently, only the wound strings are stainless. The first 3 non wound strings are just regular plain steel. There goes my hope of finding an alternative for elixir strings. Well, nonetheless I head down to Davis and asked for the cheapest set of stainless steel they have, which was SLT stainless steels. I shall test them and see how long they can last against Korean steel.

Taking a turn to SV Guitars, I decided to step in and see what range of strings they have. They have brands that I never even seen before in my life. Dr Duck strings and D-tuned strings are such examples. Do note that just because of my ignorance on string brands doesn't mean they are crappy strings. As a matter of fact, they aren't that cheap and with that price tag, I presume they aren't cheap get by strings like "Good Strings".

I saw Elixir hanging on the shelf, with out the "Made with anti rust steel" tag. Meh. I saw GHS Coated Boomers. Wait a minute. Did I read coated? I've tried DR. Those are really bad by the way. Never get DR color coated. Those are the worst coated strings ever. They sound like rusty strings even freshly from packs. Elixirs on the hand sounds new even when rusty (the irony). So the helpful staff from SV Guitars gave me a comparison of Elixir and GHS Coated Boomers. Apparently, these GHS coated last longer than non coated strings (They are coated for a reason you know) but not as good as Elixir. However, the objective review of the current batch of Elixir is that it rusts really fast. So, I guess that might actually bring them down to equal. I decided to just buy a pack to try them and see how they fair against Elixir.

Wait for reviews for both sets of strings!

Swing Korina X

Another lazy day of heading down to SV guitars to try out some of the stuff they have. By the way, for those living near Jurong, they have a branch within the new mall "Jcube". The shop is brightly lit and as grass like carpet on the shelf. Customers can sit there and test the guitars. Meaning, there is a lot of sitting space.

Anyway, this time I tested the Korina X by Swing guitars. Well, it was more of the staff prompt me to test the guitar. I didn't really pick it. Plugged in, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this guitar sounds. It's almost like they put the wrong pickups into the guitar (a better one instead of the stock pair). Or rather, the Swing Heart Breaker set is that good. The pickup was punchy and tight with a lot of definition and pick attack. Clean, the note is clear with a lot of sustain.

It is neck through and hardware are the tuning pegs are genuine Grovers. No worries on guitar going out because of sucky tuning pegs. The neck is kind of like a thin C shape. It isn't wizard thin but still comfortable to grip. Even though it has a single cutaway shape, the cut away side is beveled for easier access and in-addition to that, it has 24 frets! It's not a super strat. It's a super single cutaway.

One of the best part of the guitar is the body wood make. Instead of the usual mahogany, alder or basswood, this guitar sports a Korina (That's why it's called Korina X) wood body. That might be the main cause on why it was so punchy in tone. The most important factor of this guitar, is the price range it is priced at. It can easily beat a lot of other guitars at this price range in terms of body wood and make.

If you are looking for a good guitar priced at the mid level guitar price range, I urge you to head down towards SV guitars to try this unit out. It can wow even the most seasoned of the players. Good playability and good price range! For more information, click here.