ザギターオタク The Guitar Otaku

New Ibanez project!

2012-09-29T18:32:00.001-07:00

Recently, the DIY bug got the better of me again. I know I have a spare Ibanez RG570(The gold one in the picture) body lying underneath my bed. One of the surplus parts I have from building guitars. I was just missing a neck to kick start the process. I wanted a MIJ super wizard neck but those are a lot rarer compared to a few years ago. Recently, MII made Ibanez has seen better quality production and I decided to try my luck on one of these.

I found myself looking at a MII SRG420FMZ neck. The main thing that attracted me are the sidedot inlays. Hence, I bit the bullet and ordered one of these necks but when the neck came, to my disadvantage, it was a "used" neck. Mounting holes were pre-drilled and the neck has scarfs all over. The lucky part was, to my surprise the mounting holes actually fit. I decided to fit the neck to my RG520QS body anyway. I left the old electronics in there and as such, this guitar is fitted with "Entwistles Dark Star" pickups.

I have always gotten good results from Gotoh machine heads and this guitar will not be an exception. However, as with all non MIJ Ibanez, the side holes on the machine head has to be drilled. Additionally, I have a spare allen key holder which I decided to fit it to the guitar too. This will allow me to tune the guitar anywhere as I please.

The second guitar which I build this week was a combination of the RG570 body and the RG 270 neck previously. I didn't have much problem fitting them together, as I've pre-dowel the neck to fit MIJ bodies.

Again, I had surplus of "Entwistle pickups" and some guitar electronics. Hence, this guitar is fitted with Gotoh pots, switchcraft 5 way switch and "Entwistle HDN" pickups. More to come on the golden guitar!

Luther-ing morning

2012-09-23T05:48:00.001-07:00

One of my friends gave me 3 guitars (In which I am going to mention 2). All of the guitars are actually replica guitars (No, I DO NOT ENDORSE REPLICAS). However, the DIY bug in me wanted some free guitars to work on and hence, I took all 3 guitars home. So, finally, I decide to spent the whole morning and half an afternoon doing luther work on these guitars. The evident thing about China Replica guitars is, it's either a hit or miss thing. And those that he passed me, are pretty much misses. First up is the Jackson Kelly replica. First off, since it is a floating tremolo guitar, the stock floating tremolo honestly is a piece of crap. Not even worth salvaging. Hence, it's replaced with a Korean Floyd Rose licensed. One thing to note, if you ever want to buy a China Replica guitar (No, honestly, don't buy them), do not buy guitars with floating bridge. This guitar took off extra hours off even after I level the frets. It's honestly hard to setup as well, thanks to the poor craftsmanship. I nailed it in the end though.

Second up is a Gibson Flying V copy. Now, the copy is bad. Really bad. One look and you can tell it's a fake. But besides that besides the point, I did fret leveling on this guitar and added a shim to it. This isn't as hard to setup compared to the Jackson Kelly copy though. All and all, these guitars gave me an eye opener on Chinese copies. Could have swore that my Al Di Meola copy wasn't that bad.

Jack Tammarat

2012-09-23T05:35:00.001-07:00

Jack Tammarat came down to Singapore yesterday. I missed his performance yesterday but instead, I went down to the grand opening of Sound Alchemy music school. Jack was invited to showcase and played there. The only thing I can say about Jack is, he is an amazing player. No wonder on why he won the guitar idol competition.

Steve Vai's Story of Light

2012-08-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, the awaited album is finally here in Singapore and I have finally gotten my hands on a copy! After spending one hour listening to it, I concluded that this is one of Steve Vai's best albums. In fact, I feel this is Steve Vai's second best album next to Passion and Warfare! I urge everyone go out there and get a copy of this. It's mainly rhythm influenced but a superb album nonetheless! Well of course, it's Steve Vai!

Steve Vai's Rig run down

2012-08-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, feeling very drowsy (the effect of how intensive work can do to you) and having the habit of reaching out to my phone and click on the facebook tab (Andriod phone), I saw this video glaring at me, posted by my friend on my wall. For those of you who don't know, I am an avid Vai fan. Yes, read avid.

Anyway, the title reads "Steve Vai rig run down". I was thinking, another one of those? Didn't he do one years ago. Well, I was shock to find the amount of changes he done to his rig. He took out the TC eletronics G system and instead, added in Fractal Audio Axe Fx II. He added a whammy DT to his board as well.

We also get a tour of his room filled with guitars. Do take sometime off to watch this exclusive video by premiere guitar of guitar/gear porn.

Noir, Local Singapore contemporary Jazz Band

2012-08-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

There was one Saturday about 3 weeks ago where I was wandering around aimlessly. Well, actually, that seems to be the common occurrence anyway. I went to the Esplanade and there was this fantastic contemporary Jazz band performing. Well, I am not exactly a great Jazz fan but I do appreciate Jazz. They were so fantastic that I keep wanting to buy their CD. Well, today I gave in to temptation and bought the CD. Although, I have to say that the CD is somewhat disappointing, it wasn't as good as they were when live. Well, at least I did a recording with my phone and going to share with all of my readers out there. Copyrights all rights reserves to Noir, who performed this piece on that day. Well, and they made my day!

Noir It might as well be spring.mp3 by Adrian Goh

Singapore Street Fest DJ party

2012-08-04T19:34:00.002-07:00

Sorry for the disappearance for the past few weeks/months. My new job has been pretty taxing and have been really busy. As with taking on all forms of new job. Anyway, I was at the Singapore street festival last week, at Vivocity, looking for free entertainment. Tons of cosplayers but I wasn't there for them. I wanted to watch the band performances. Two bands kind of shouted out to me to highlight them. Alright, I admit it's not the bands. It's the guitars.

First off the list, is Haruna Tan and her band. Sorry, I don't remember her band's name. Her vocalist has to introduce her in such a dramatic way that I can only remember her name. Anyway, she is a fantastic guitarist. She has the chops and the fluidity. She plays an ESP guitar.

Anyway, her band is a pretty good one. In fact, one of the better ones in the whole line up. I'll definitely watch them again, given the chance. I've attached a video of them for the convenience of my readers. Look at the way she plays! No pun intended.

The other guitarist that I would like to highlight is this girl from this band (Yes, I don't know the name for both) who uses an (ESP) Edwards Horizon III. Yes, you read it correctly. I want to repeat. (ESP) EDWARDS HORIZON III. That's a really beautiful guitar mind you. Her playing is alright, with the standard metal chugga chugga kind of style. But did I mention she has an AWESOME guitar?

Overall, it was an alright experience. The performances were prettey enjoyable as a whole. I'll wait for next year again, for the next street fest!

Yngwie Malmsteen Far Beyond the Sun Live in Lennigrad

2012-07-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

Some people hates him. Some people loves him. I dun hate him but I don't adore him either. However, this is a tune that I can never get boring of. This song also seems to have become the protocol where most technical players will have to know how to play this before they can be considered shredders. Well, enjoy this anyway. This was when Malmsteen actually still has that experimental streak in him.

Guitar Link with TH2

2012-06-23T19:07:00.001-07:00

Just gotten my hands on a guitar link recently. As most of my readers might recall, I was using this guitar simulator effect called the TH2. The guitar link is one of the ways to be able to connect to the computer, other than owning some sophisticated mixer or equipment. This tool is totally no frills and serves only one function. It isn't very expensive to boot! If you are on a budget and limited to not being able to have an amp in your room, this is the key answer to that!

Split coil installed

2012-06-13T07:11:00.001-07:00

New Job started. Less time on my babies. However, I will never desert them. I finally got around in having a coil split switch installed on my Shishinhime. Went down to Beez and got this specially installed. As usual, Beez did a wonderful job and there probably isn't anyone else i would recommend for hardware installation.

Various Ibanez AANJ Neck and Body Fitting

2012-05-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

So, you want to assemble your own Ibanez? You want a real Ibanez you can call your own? Easy! All you need to do is to get an AANJ neck with AANJ heel joint body and put them together. Hey if it fits, it should work right?

Fast forward this after you get the parts and then you realized that, the screw holes for the neck doesn't align with the ones in the body or Vice versa? Why is that so, it's all AANJ! Well, for starters, Ibanez has AANJ necks and body being produced by 4 countries through out these years. Namely Japan, China, Indonesia and Korea.

You can ONLY match a neck with a respective made in the same country body if you do not intend to do further modification. My Frankenstein is a good example. It sports a Korean made neck with a Korean made body. No, the screw holes didn't align at all. I had to fill it up and drill in new holes. Yes, it's troublesome. So the next time you decide to build an Ibanez from parts you assembled all over the world, make sure you get parts that are fitting!

Ibanez and Fender Uniqulo Shirts!

2012-05-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the no action lately. Life has been busy once more. However, I haven't given up on guitar yet. Nope, it's my greatest passion. Anyway, check this out! Finally the Fender T-Shirts from Uniqulo is out! To make it more awesome, there is also a collaboration for Ibanez and uniqulo! Yes, these are limited edition, as per all Japanese products! Show how big of a fan you are to these Awesome guitar brand names. Yes, I have gotten mine!

Steel wool?

2012-05-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

I was taught that I should use steel wool and lemon oil when cleaning fret boards. I was taught to use steel wool and lemon oil when I want to clean my frets. I didn't know what it is for but now I do. I actually realized what steel wool is. My personal stand on steel wool is this. I will NEVER EVER use steel wool on my guitars. I will also not let anyone who uses steel wool to clean fretboard near my guitars.

This is the main reasoning. Steel wool is actually abrasive. It's like sanding down your fretboard a little with sandpaper and lemon oil when you clean your fretboard with steel wool. Do I want more micro scratches on my fretboard? No, I don't think so.

The question is, what do I use then? To clean fretboards, I prefer the application of lemon oil and a soft toothbrush. SOFT! No point using toothbrush with hard bristles. Those are actually abrasive also.

For fret polishing, I will usually tape up my fretboard with masking tape and polish it with metal polisher. Do note that those are actually abrasive too so, it's better not to let any seep into your fretboard.

So the next time someone tells you that they are going to use steel wool on your fretboard, my advice is, take your guitar and go to someone else.

Dream Theater live in Singapore

2012-05-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

It has been a really busy week. It felt like forever since I posted something on the blog. One good thing did happened this week though. Dream Theater live in Singapore! It happened yesterday actually and I was too tired to actually post about it yesterday. Anyway, Andy McKee opened for them and as expected, "Drifting" was the first of his songs. Sorry that I do not have a picture of him.

As expected, the concert was electrifying. The only thing that irks me a little is that my favourite songs weren't played. It felt like a promotion for their new drummer, which also cannot be blamed.

John Petrucci was phenomenal and his mastery of the guitar was simply breath taking. The best part of the concert was when there was a technical fault and John came to the mic and told everyone that they can't hear anything from their in ear monitors. They actually played a song without being able to hear themselves. How amazing is that!

Why is it amazing if it's a technical fault? Well, I know for sure that these guys aren't just air guitaring or lip singing to a CD track. It's the real deal. I honestly don't understand the point of going to concerts where the singer just lip sing.

All and all, it was a pretty good experience. The volume was a tad bit too loud and I actually had my ear plugs on. I know, rock concerts are suppose to be loud but honestly, I prefer to keep my ears intact for time to come.

P.S. There was this kid who was sitting beside me doing Air Guitar/ Air drumming/ Air Keyboarding and vigorous headbanging for almost the whole concert but kept still when Dream Theater played "Pull me Under". Honestly, the whole row was shaking because of him and he kinda hit me a few times which lowered my experience int he concert. At the very least, do your homework before going to a concert and know that "Pull me Under" is a signature song of Dream Theater. Not "On the back of Angels"

Uneven Fret Logic

2012-04-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

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

2012-04-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

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

2012-04-13T21:36:00.002-07:00

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

2012-04-12T10:23:00.003-07:00

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

2012-04-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

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

2012-04-09T00:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2012-04-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

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!

2012-04-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

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

2012-04-05T10:05:00.002-07:00

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

2012-04-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

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

2012-04-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

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.