It's not just Kpop...

I believe when many people talk about music in South Korea, I believe all would say that Kpop is dominating their music market, which I think it's true to some extent. Do correct me if I'm wrong though. =P I'm not born Korean so I don't know about their culture much.
In case anyone is thinking music in Korea is all pop, I guess I can prove you wrong. =)

To be frank, I wouldn't know this guy if I hadn't look up for Swing artists.

Selling Daneletro Milkshake chorus & Daddy O

Selling my two Danelectro pedals.

Left: Danelectro Daddy O. (overdrive) with 3 band equaliser. (Condition 8/10) for $40

Right: Danelectro Milkshake Chorus: Oh well, SOLD

Both pedals do not have any boxes since I got them without the box. Both in total working condition and cosmetically fine as well.

Contact No. : 84050766 

Still available: MIJ Fernandes stock humbucker. 

10K views~~

I realised that my humble blog has hit

10k views!

When I first started blogging, I thought no one will ever read. I started writing this blog so that i can record my guitar journey and my personal reflections. It is also my cousin who suggested me this idea

Anyway, thank you very much to all the readers. (especially those regular readers like my cousin, bro GZNG and bro sub) I really appreciate for correcting my mistakes along the way. Thank you very very much.

(supposed to post this 4 days ago, but I didn't)

LTD in ESP's clothing

I was talking with a friend (someone who I have sold one of my pedals to). The good man was telling me to be cautious of scam since he had friends who recently got scammed. So he shared with me one of the stories.

There is a certain guy, who was selling an ESP guitar. I'm not sure if he is on Soft or not. However, the ESP he was selling is actually a LTD. Apparently, he sanded the LTD logo on the headstock and then paint it back black. Then, he got an ESP headstock decal (probably from online like eBay) and pasted it. The decal was of some quality that it could fool anyone. But what he couldn't change about Ltd was its 12th fret. ESP guitars do not have their model names on the 12th fret but just a simple 'ESP' or some doesn't even have that.. For Ltd, if it is a Viper-300, it will be written there.

ESP Viper

ESP VP-L-FR-CTM

LTD Viper-300FM

So he was selling an ESP guitar with the model no. on the 12th fret.

However, he eventually managed to sell it to some gullible guy for S$ 3k. According to my friend, that guy didn't know anything much about Ltd or Esp, so the suspicious 12th fret didn't alarm him at all.
Moral of the story? I think we should make some researches on the guitar we wish to buy first. A few things this guy could have done is to go to the net and check the model of that 'ESP' he was buying. Or he could have gone to Davis, which is an authorised dealer for ESP.

(I think there are a bit of grammar mistakes here and there since i wrote this in a rush. Please help me point out if you've spotted one.)

Middle Child Syndrome: Dream

A little bit of introduction of MCS: it is a local band. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THEM.

This is their new EP, Dream, and also their very first. It is available for purchase at a pre-sale price of $6. This $6 is effective until 1st of July (I think since it's the release date). I can assure you that you would not regret buying their EP if you are a fan of punk, rock and alternative. 
To purchase one for yourself, please drop them an email at McSyndrome@live.com or text Joshua 82981493.


Facebook
MySpace
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Please go to their MySpace to listen to their sample songs. =)

What is the definition for 'Plasma'? Episode 2

Taking a closer look at the Plasma-1:

Plasma-1 is equipped with 2 wire leads. The white one is the hot wire and the shield (silvery) one is the ground wire. 

By the way, Tesla gives a free Tesla Vibration Damper in their new batch of Tesla pickups (all pickups). They are actually giving away an item that costs $12 if you are to buy it 'a la carte'. 

Now, anyone would like to guess which one is the neck pup and which is the bridge? xD

Hint: The length of the wires. =) 

Actually, I tried very hard to figure out which one is bridge or neck when I could have just look behind them. -.- Stupid me.

The saddles story

Here is what I mean by my bridge being rusty. The picture says it all.

So all the rusty saddles are removed before cleaning the bridge plate. There is hardly any rust on it though. Just a few scratches and rust stains from the saddles.

This is where the stuffs (to my mom, they are rubbish) I retrieved from the dustbin come in handy. After cleaning all the saddles, they look as if they are new. I prefer this type of saddles more than the vintage-style stamped bent ones. I find them easier to play palm muting with these saddles.

After all the installation done, I went back to check the damage done by the rust. The springs are all deformed thanks to the rusting.

So, I guess the below are the real rubbish. (not the clip! That's supposed to be a present for a friend.) 

Or maybe not. The saddles are not too rusty and still usable (as long as you have the screws and the springs). If anyone wants it, do let me know. I won't mind giving them away. I hate to throw stuffs away. But I think it is better to get new ones though. Each saddle costs about $5-8. 

================================================================

Math today was a total screwy.

Dissembling

I changed my Squier's bridge to Wilkinson WVCSB when I broke my tremolo inside the bridge (I know that sounds stupid). That was 3 weeks after I got my first electric guitar, which is the Squier. It used to be white like this (in case you are interested).

I found the old bridge in the dustbin today. Apparently, my mom thought it was some junk and she stepped onto some screws. So she dumped them in the dustbin. I retrieve it and try to scrape as much useful pieces as possible. After all, only the bridge block would be the one which I won't be using.

Just when I need to change my saddles (the old ones are rusting), it saves my day.. and my $30 dollars. And a few other parts will save $4 to $5 I guess.

Gibson at SV (Peninsula)? Yes Episode 2

I checked the price of the Gibson in SV guitars when I went to get my Plasma-1 yesterday. The price tags are similar to that of BGW Guitars.

For the prices, please call SV guitars. Click here for more info. I'm sure the SV website will be updated soon.

So guys, you can choose to get your Gibson either at SV or BGW. It's your choice. Don't ask me which one is better. I don't want to affect anyone's business. xD However, I can assure you that both have excellent services.

What is the definition for 'Plasma'?

If you ask a Bio student what plasma is, his answer will be this: the yellow-colored liquid component of blood, in which blood cells are suspended
For Physics and Chemistry students, their answer would be this: a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized.
However, if you ask me, here is my answer:

FRESH FROM SV GUITARS. 

I am not God

To the 'anonymous' who corrected 'borrow'. Firstly, thank you for correcting me. I really appreciate it. However, I am not God to not make any mistakes at all. So please forgive my imperfections. And for your information, I come from a non-English speaking country.

Pointing out others mistakes is not wrong but you could have done it nicely.

Anyway, thanks for reading my blog. Maybe you might want to use a name instead of "Anonymous" so that I can thank you properly.

Selling my Fernandes Stock pickups

As stated. There are too many things.  Basically, it's more of a clearance sale. They are from the MIJ Fernandes, which are long discontinued. 

Neck Pickup. Single Coil. Do note that this is not an active pickup and just looks like one. It is like any other normal single coil. It does its job as a single coil well. Not really a high output but mid. But it's clean are awesome. Which is why I am keeping the middle pickup.

This is the bridge pickup. I'd never try this pickup. VR-Extreme replaced it already. Manufacturer said it is a high output pickup. Both the pickups can be spotted on a Fernandes The Function FST55.


Single coil: SOLD
Humbucker: $20


Contact: 84050766

Gibson at SV (Peninsula)? Yes

Ladies and gentlemen. There are now Gibsons available in SV Guitars. I am just a regular customer of SV Guitars and it is also my favourite place for guitar servicing. So I'm just doing a bit of promotion for my favourite shop.

FREE Velcro Loops

I have a set of Velcro Loops here. Industrial grade. It is just a half a metre long. It is useless for me but doesn't mean it may not be useful for all. I am not selling. It's for free. Anyone who are thinking of making their own custom pedal board or have a pedal train, this might come in handy. =) It is 2 inches in width.

Please contact me at 84050766. And please refrain from sending advertisements to this number. I give my contact number so that communication would be easier. I don't care whether there is any ghost at anywhere. And I also don't need any tution of any sort. 

Update: IT'S ALREADY TAKEN! THANKS FOR THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSES.

Temporary blog skin change

Oh well, I like my previous blog skin very much. However, many of my friends complained that there are a few problems with it.

• Links are broken sometimes.
• They can't comment through their cellphone/iPhone.
• They can't 'follow' the blog.
• The 'archives' keep moving when they are reading the blog in a BB or Nokia. (I didn't know BB got such problems).

One of them said that he doesn't like Beatles. Well, screw him. At least, I like it. xD

I will change it back after some changes are made. =)

Combo

I am sure everybody is familiar with Jemini Distortion.

I remember seeing a guy trying the Jemini at SV. I won't comment on the tone since I did not try it personally.  It has cool LED lighting though. When you switch on the overdrive (left), there will be green LED around the knobs. For the distortion, it is red. 

If you are looking for a 'combo' pedal like this, this is not the only one. Wampler Brent Mason Hot Wired is also a 'combo'.

Do take note of the price difference though. Both are available at SV.

Gibson at SV (Peninsula)?

If any of you have Facebook and have liked SV Guitar Page there, you would know this. There are a few Gibsons in SV. However, I think it is just a few pieces.

This red colour is so sexy. It reminds me of UNO Red Tiger.

It seems that Swee Lee ISN'T the only one who has Studio '60 Tribute.,

I don't remember that there is a relic finish for this model.

Cleaning the board

Pedal case easily collects dust and dirt and we can't be taking off all the pedals and clean it all the time. So the collection of dust can be horrifying.

My friends use brushes to brush the dirt, dust, etc.. off the board. It does the job but it also damages the carpet on it and may eventually tear (especially if you are using some monstrous strength to do the job). My way of cleaning is totally harmless to the carpet. This is what I use.

I don't know what you call this but it is used to remove hair, fur and dust on clothes. You can use the same on the pedal board. And it does its job pretty well.

This is my partially-cleaned pedal board. I am just cleaning it before I actually pass it to the buyer. The below is the fully-cleaned pedal board.

As for the corners, I use a soft-bristled brush and scoop them out. This method is nothing genius. In fact, it may be lame. Well, as long as it doesn't spoil things, it is still a good method. I take less than half the time of what my friends took to clean their pedal boards.

Mini Speedbox

I tried the Modtone Mini Distortion the other day when I went down to grab a few stuffs. My main purpose is to compare it with Speedbox.

To be frank, this mini distortion sounds almost like Speedbox. In fact, I think Distortion is the only one which is very similar to Speedbox, compare to all the other Mini and their pedals. However, if that is really the case, why would anyone want to get Speedbox already? There must be a difference, which I later found out. Speedbox has a large 'tone' range than its Mini and the same goes for its gain. Speedbox has more sustain than Mini Distortion as well.

The Squier Scenario

People said I am very anal when it comes to guitars, regardless of mine or others. I can't stand it when people fail to handle guitar with care. I just hate douchebags like that.

The below is a picture of my Squier.

As you can see, there are no strings on it. I cut them off. Here is the scenario.

I lent
 my Squier to someone. When it returns to me, I didn't make a thorough check but keep it away. It was only until 3-4 days ago when I felt that the action is too high. After a quick check, it confirmed my doubts; the neck has wrapped. 

I use gauge-9 for my Squier and 10 for my Fernandes. It seems that the one of the strings might have snapped and the person, without even asking me, bought a string of a larger gauge and changed them. I suspect it to be a 10 or even 11 (he uses 11). THIS could have cause the excessive neck relief. He seems to think that it is harmless. I think he is just plain ignorant. All I can do now is to cut off all the strings. 

If you are lending a guitar and the string snaps while playing it, please do call the owner of the guitar and ask him what gauge and brand he uses for the strings. Everytime you change a gauge, you need to readjust  the anchor screws and the truss rod according. 

Other problems after borrowing the Squier:

• Volume knob was loose at first, but now all the knobs are loose.
• The cable jack is loose

Lessons Learnt:

Never lend your guitar unless it is someone you can trust your instrument to.

I can hear it crying. It needs to visit the S.G.H (SV Guitar Hospital). 

Inlays Stickers

There are more choices of inlays stickers for you to choose now. I hope you like puzzles!

Metallic version

Or if you want to have your name on the 12th fret,

Personally, I think it's too expensive for a single sticker. It is expensive because it is customised.

Please contact Music Ensemble.

This is not new, but I think it's very nice.

SOLD: Pedal Case. (18" x 12")

Selling my pedal case.

• 3 months old
• Perfect condition except for minor scratches as shown below.

Price: $40


(SOLD AT 6.27PM, 21/6/2011)

Speedy~~

Well, those flames belongs to Modtone Speedbox.

General
Speedbox is not a high output distortion. In the Modtone family, such would be Extreme Metal. Like many other distortions, Speedbox comes with 3 knobs.
'Gain': the intensity of the distortion.
'Tone': controls how bright or dark the pedal will sound but it also affects the intensity of distortion.
'Level': controls the volume of the pedal.
Speedbox is rather bright sounding. Those who want a brighter DS-1 and do not wish to get a modded DS-1, perhaps you can consider Speedbox. It is also a true bypass while Boss pedals aren't.

Sound
When you turn down your tone knob and with your gain at 12 o'clock, you will get a very vintage sounding distortion, similar to that of a vintage tube amp. If you increase the gain, the sustains improve. But as you increase your gain, your tone should increase as well, or vice versa. Otherwise, you will end up getting some muddy tone.
As your tone knob increase, the distortion will get more coarse and brighter as well. When both Tone and Gain are maxed, that is when you will have a rather edgy distortion. At the same time, you get a lot of feedback as well.

NOTE: How it sounds also depends on your amp's setting and what guitar you are using.

Overall:
★★★★★


-True bypass
-Easy to use
-Brighter distortion compare to DS-1
-Relatively good sustain 


I seriously can't think of anything bad about it yet. Well, maybe the colour. It's green (and I hate green)

Stolen...

It seems to me that there are more and more thieves around nowadays.
Bringing you back to November 2009.

This is a very familiar place to all of you (SV guitars). The fat dude stole a Swing Prism from the shop. Perhaps music shops should use anti-theft alarms as well.

A friend of a good friend of mine has lost his guitar as well. Anyone can get a new one but when the instrument is bonded with you, it is almost irreplaceable. 

And now, this. SOMEONE LOST HIS BASS AS WELL.

Guitars are BIG but it doesn't mean it can't be stolen.

Please do not leave your belongings unattended (echoing the MRT announcement). Whenever we shop at City Hall, Bras Basah or any music shops, we tend to leave our instruments at a corner, hoping that it wouldn't be stolen. You will be disappointed if proven otherwise. There are two alternative ways to prevent this:

1. When you shop, don't bring your instruments.

2. If you brought along your instruments, give it to the cashier at the counter instead of leaving it at a corner.

Daddy O.Daddy

Here is another pedal that came home with me as well. I got this through a trade.

Danelectro Daddy O. (overdrive)

I traded this with my Zoom Driver.

The unique feature of this overdrive is that it has a 3-band EQ and not a single tone knob (at least unique for a pedal of its price.)
I still haven't try it out. Haven't got the time to do so.

Gibson promotion

This is a good news for those looking for a Gibson.

Mind you, this is NOT Gibson LP standard. I know a few people who will take any 'Gibson Les Paul' to be a standard and expect a humbucker sound. -.- These Studios are single coils Les Paul. 

And there is an alternative out there. It's up to you to find it out. 

Flames in green.

This fiery flames accompanied me back home today.

No prizes for the correct guess for what's inside this 'mysterious' flaming box.

NEW BLOG SKIN

Well, after using that same black blog skin for 4 months, I decided let my blog. So do let me know if you have any difficulties reading the blog. =)

I didn't do anything for the new look though. All these hard-works goes to my friend.

THX BILLY!!! xD

Bare Knuckle @ SV

If you would visit SV guitars, you will find that one of the shelfs at the counter is cleared. It is to make space for the newly arrived Bare Knuckle. They should fill up the space very soon.

Price is still pending. 

---Maintainance---

Dear readers,
This blog is currently under some maintenance.

Apparently, I am trying to change my blogskin with the help of my friend (since I totally suck in it). Will resume posting when it is done.

Loki

Dealing with loose screws

Sometimes when you screw or unscrew your pickguards, cavity cover, strap lock, etc.. the screw holes will wear off overtime. This is the problem with my Vendetta you see. Considering its age, which I myself am not aware of, it is normal to result in a loose strap lock. So I went to Home Fix and get myself this.

Wood filling cement. To some, it may smell horrible. However, it is very effective in dealing with that loose straplock. Make sure to avoid contact with skin and eyes. It is an irritant.

Modtone Mini in Singapore!

After 3 months of waiting, Modtone Mini is finally in SV Guitars!

I am glad that the manufacturers decided to make them true bypass, making them much similar to their big brothers. I wonder what is the difference between the mini OD and distortion compared to their Brother Dynodrive and Brother Speedbox. =/ 

NOTE: There is NO FUZZER available.

Speedbox VS Max Distortion

I am not feeling well since last Wednesday and supposed to be at home taking a rest. Instead, I went out to study and (of course) 'tour' City Hall. This is also the reason why my flu never recovers.

On Thursday, I went down to City Hall to get back my drumsticks. Of course, I will still end up in guitar shops. It would be strange if I don't. =/

Anyway, I tried two distortion pedals of the same tier.

Biyang Baby Boom Max Distortion (DS-10)

Modtone Speedbox Distortion

They are both true bypasses; there is no tonal loss through it when you are connecting it in series with other effects.

Speedbox isn't new to me at all. I've tried it quite a number of times. But Biyang DS-10 is. It has that extra toggle switch on it like any other Baby Boom pedals.

In my opinion, Speedbox is still a better distortion than DS-10. What I like about Speedbox is its bright sounding distortion, which DS-10 failed to give even in its 'Bright' mode. No matter how I tweak the knobs, it still doesn't satisfy me. At least for me, that is.