UNO: T-May

I think I finally know why UNO chose to discontinue its standard series. My guess is that it's to modify it into T-May

The red-tiger looks just like the standard. I can't say if the body dimension and the neck are the same as the standard (UNO Standard has a thinner neck and body dimension) but it looks almost the same. 

The main difference between T-May and Standard would be the manufacturer's inclusion of the original Floyd Rose. Fans of double-locking bridges and tremolos will find this attractive. For me, I still prefer the Tune-O-matic bridge. I'll be getting Standard instead. 

JTV back in stock

The James Tyler Variaxs are finally back in stock at City Music, actually a few days ago. I am lagging by a few days. >.<

DEEPAVALI SALE! @ Swee Lee Katong

Pictures say it all. And yes, its UP TO 50% discount. You will probably get the 50% discount for list priced items. Those on NETT price would be 10% off. 

I can't go. 15 days to A lvl. What do u expect? =.=

HIZAKI and TERU's ESP

Hizaki and Teru from The Versailles now has their own signature models.

ESP Maiden (Hizaki's model)

ESP Geki-Tetsu (Teru's model)

Previously, before they get these signature models, Hizaki will usually a Horizon-III while Teru used an Antelope. Both are customised though (e.g. Teru's Antelope features a H-H configuration instead of a H-S and the body is swamp-ash instead of alder).
The Maiden looks like a combination of Horizon-III and the Antelope. The unique feature of Maiden is that the frets are scalloped from 12th fret onwards. The body is made of alder, just like his previous Horizon-III. For Geki-Tetsu, it is basically a 'forested' ESP EX (explorer shape). Apart from shape, other specs remains relatively the same. Ash body, same Seymour Duncan pickups, etc...
If you wish to know more about the Versailles, you can always listen to them in Youtube. Some of you may find the way they are dolled up rather weird. Well, that's visual kei for you.

S-S-S-S

Fancy having 4 single coils on a guitar. Well, here is a few choices avaiable. 

• This is a guitar with an S-S-S-S configuration and a 4-way switch customised by Beez. It's available for sale (not sure if it is sold out or not by now). 

• You can also ask Beez to customise it on your guitar. Well, for more info, click here.
• A fan of Visual Kei may know about Aoi's guitars. (pic below)

As you can see, the pickups configuration is made up of 4 single coils. It may not be accurate to say it is all 4 single coils. Aoi prefers to have either a single-coiled sized humbucker or a stacked pickup and a pure single coil on both the bridge and neck position. There are 2 switches on the guitars, one allows us to swap between a single-coil or the humbucker, the other 3-way switch functions the same way it would on a typical Les Paul..

Dome-shaped

This is the normal/usual frets you see in many guitars. Take note of the fret ends.

This is another type of frets with a dome-shaped fret ends. I'm sure anyone can guess what guitar it is in the picture below just by seeing the inlay there.

It does nothing to your tone, sustain or anything you can list down. However, it does prevent you from getting cut by the frets while sliding down the neck as you play. A guitar with good quality control may not have sharp fret ends actually but these frets serve as a confirmation that the fret-job is done much thoroughly.

The 'legends' of Artec

This is the Artec Legend series. I haven't been keeping track on these stuffs nowadays so I'm not sure when it was released. 

The Legend series looks like the Artec versions of 'MXRs'. I bet it's about the same size. Nothing digital for the Legends. These Legends mostly consist of drive pedals (4 out of 6) and I wonder why aren't there more modulations instead. Echo Sweller delay and Harmony Blue chorus are the 2 non-drive pedals. And I also want to find out more about it. Artec pedals are relatively cheap compared to others and they are good as well. But so far, I only have one Artec in my arsenal.

The 8s are here

Cioks DC-8 and AC-8 has finally arrived in Singapore. They are available at TY Music Center.

Price: $228

Graphite

Who says guitars must be made from wood? There are guitars that are made of graphite. Rainsong is one.

The benefit of using graphite is rather obvious: more durable than wood. The soundboard will not sink or crack like the wooden ones (although it takes quite a lot of negligence for that to happen). And all-graphite necks like those on Rainsong are definitely more resistant to wrapping. Watch the video below to learn more on it.

Youtube videos usually don't do much justice on the guitar's tone so judging its tone based on Youtube videos would be inaccurate. Maybe you might want to visit Brendon @ BGW Guitars to try them out personally.

Noise canceling

There are many solution for noise canceling. Single coils will always have some noises unless it is a single-coiled sized humbuckers or if it is a stacked pickup. But they may no longer have the feature of a single coil anymore. Using noise gates is also a solution for hums but not everyone prefer to use noise gates. Some may feel that it deteriorate the tone. (maybe? maybe not? well anyway...)

One way to retain the single coil tone and yet eliminate the noise is this.

These look like normal backplates but they are not. They are noise canceling back plate by Ilitch Electronics (they dubbed this BPNCS - back plate noise canceling system). This may not be entirely new. Suhr has similar product in its list but it is originally designed by Ilitch Electronics. Installing is pretty simple since it only requires a few soldering but that is if the pickups are all in the same polarity. In most cases, the middle pickup in a SSS-configuration is a reverse wound...

You may check with TY Music Center for this product. Do note that this is not cheap at all. However, if you see this as a necessary upgrade, then by all means.

The 'Colourful' argument

I'm sure that every Les Paul fans would probably know what a heritage (cherry) sunburst finish looks like. Here's the story:

A friend of mine bought a Rally GL-300.

Judging from the yellow/orange to red sunburst, you can probably tell that it is a heritage sunburst. However, my friend thought it was a honey sunburst. So I corrected him that it is heritage sunburst, not honey sunburst. He didn't believe me but he still said 'Sorry, my bad'. A while later, he replied that it is not a heritage sunburst and he's pretty much sure that it is honey sunburst. 

"A heritage burst doesn't have a yellow/golden centre. The whole thing is brown...": that's his justification.

Sunburst get their names from the colour it spreads to, not the centre. It is called heritage (cherry) sunburst because the outer colour is a cherry red colour. Likewise, a honey sunburst is named that way because the outer colour is golden brown like that of honey. In fact, most of the sunburst starts with a yellow/golden centre like my dear friend suggested.

Actually, not knowing what colour it is is not a sin. However, I believe that a guitarist should at least know about the instrument he is using, if not in depth, at least the fundamentals like what colour it is and what kind of guitar is it (strat, tele, etc...)

I'm not here to insult my friend or whatever. In fact, he's still my very good friend. However, what pisses me off is that he didn't even bother to google (Google wasn't created for nothing) before arguing back and he was adamant with his beliefs. 

Sometimes, I think I care too many things and often gets me into troubles.

Checkpoint: 20k!

Forgive me for my lousy drawing. Haha.. but at least this is something new!

And I haven't been able to post consistently. A level is coming up soon...

Alternative solution for messiness

One of the main reason why people get Pedaltrain is because they can't stand messy wires.

The above picture is a random picture I grabbed from Google. I just want to show what I meant by messy wires. It's not very messy up there but I've seen worse cases especially when you have so many units on the board. I've been through that once so I definitely understand it. For pedaltrain, you can easily connect all the cables and power supply from underneath so at one glance, your rig will look rather neat.

But you don't always need to get pedaltrain for this reason. You can still keep your pedals neat and tidy without wires snaking around them... if you uses a Pedal Riser.

How it works is rather self-explanatory: picture describes everything. 

Again, this isn't some great invention. People just thought of something which other haven't. In fact, this is DIY-able...

'Crystal-isation'

Take a closer look at the frets. They are glittering, isn't?

That is because the fret wires aren't made of metal. There are frets made of ceramics and glasses. For this one, it is made of quartz crystals. It is 'claimed' that quartz crystal frets give more sustain. The hardness of the quartz could be the reason for more sustains. Quartz crystals are harder than metal and can only be cut or polished using diamond cutters. This also means that the metal strings cannot wear down the frets, just like glass. It is not brittle like glass as well.

Here's what the producer has claimed:

Metal frets and a metal string create a natural distortion due to metal on metal contact.

It sounds logical but maybe I'm too deaf to hear that noise as it is mentioned above. And I bet this is not going to be cheap at all.

Blacktop Tele @ SV

The Blacktop Teles are now available at SV. Here are the finishes available. 

Oh, only maple fretboard versions are available.

I've tried this Blacktop telecaster at Ebenex (don't know how long ago). Blacktop Telecaster may seem similar to Classic series '72 Deluxe telecaster (humbucking teles). In my opinion, the pickups mounted on the Blacktop are hotter units compared to the Wide Range pickups in '72s Deluxe. It doesn't mean '72 Deluxe can't handle distortions well though; it does. I would say the Deluxe has a nicer cleans. It can be considered more versatile. Oh, the '72 has a flatter fretboard (Fretboards are never flat, they are curved to a certain extent). The fretboard radius is 12", giving it more of the Gibson feel and making it more friendly for bending and single-note playing. However, at the end of the day, it is just a matter for personal preferences. No guitarists have the same fretting hands anyway. Blacktop telecaster follows the traditional 9.5" fretboard radius.

2 in 1: Guitar stand, seat or both?

Everybody loves 2 in 1 stuff (let it be coffee-mix, tea-mix or whatsoever) all for a common reason: they are convenient. If we guitarists can have a guitar stand that can also be converted into a comfortable chair, wouldn't it be nice?

The above shows a AxSys 1.0. The number '1.0' implies that this is the 1st edition of this product. As the picture suggests, it can be used as a seat as well as a guitar stand.

This isn't some great discovery or invention. Iconic Metal (the producer) simply thought of something simple which others haven't thought of. I agree that this is indeed convenient but... would you pay $195 for one?