Sayonara.... Singapore

In 6 hours time, I would be at the airport. In 8 hours time, I would be flying off.
I'm leaving Singapore once again. Maybe after 4 years, I will come back here again.
But for now, Sayonara, Singapore.

The G3 but upsized

Remember the Zoom G3?

Well, Zoom now has an upsized version of the G3, the G5.

This G5 was displayed at Musikmesse. This G5 must have the same "blood" as G3 flowing inside it. I think it is not wrong to say that this is a G3 made into something like a G9.2tt. After all, it has a lot of similar feature like the tube energizer and Z-pedal. (which allows a 4-perimeter control)
I guess this is the new Zoom for 2012. I am kinda looking forward to try it, this and the new BOSS GT-100. G3 didn't disappoint me. In fact, it was quite good so I hope G5 is equally nice.

New music place! (Music Essentials)

Okay.. it is not really new. But I discovered it not long ago. This is the shop.

This is somewhere around Concorde Hotel, which is just beside Istana. There are guitars in the shop but I didn't try them because I was too busy listening to the cello there. I love the sound of cellos. Don't ask me why. I just love it. =D
The shop has a wide variety of music related books like ABRSM, theory books and (for the guitarists) a lot of tab books of various genres. You should check this place out.

Power of Mini (Part 1)

Pandora Mini is really...mini. You can compare the size using the AA battery beside it as a reference. 

Compare to the previous Pandora, this is much smaller. It also runs on a single AA battery. Well, use alkaline batteries so that you don't always have to keep changing them. There is no more 4V adapter jack for Pandora Mini but you can still join it to a computer's USB port as a power source. 

Here's a summary for all its function. There are about 20 different types of amp voicing in this little white box. You also get to choose your 'cabinets' for a wider range of tone. There is a 3-band EQ for you to tweak the sound you want. However, I feel that the range of the EQ is quite limited. So the tone it produces is good enough for home practices but I am not sure if it is really suitable for gig-ing or performances. One of the reason is that Pandora Mini sounds terrible when it is joined to an amp. Trust me, I tried this on many amps and all sounded crappy. It sounds better when plugged into a mixer and blasted through a studio monitor.. OR even with these computer speakers:

It has quite a few drum rhythms in it as well. You now have a built-in metronome to practice your scaling and shredding. Quite neat, eh?

The cool thing about this Pandora Mini is that you can run 7 effects simultaneously. It has all the effects from delay, chorus, reverb, flanger and it even has a smart pitch shifter. Though you can't adjust the blend, the pitch shifting is quite accurate and good. Do take note that pitch shifting only works on single notes. Adjusting all the effects however will require quite a lot of patience since there aren't many buttons on it.

Mini companion!

I have been hunting for a pocket size effect so that I can practice anywhere I want. Well, it's also because I won't have an amp back in Myanmar by the time I go back there and since I never stay there long enough, pocket-sized multi effect is what I need.

So, I have 3 effects in my checklist.

Line6 Pocket POD Express

Korg Pandora Mini

Line 6 Pocket POD

And I've made my choice and this came back home with me!

Kamikaze.... Episode-3

Sometimes, our guitars may end up like this due to unforeseen circumstances:

This is actually my CCA instructor's guitar (SORRY WALTER! =P ). This kind of damage isn't really beyond repair. Some guitar shops are able to fix this. Some provide aesthetic repairs for such damages. I remember that Luther Music provides such services.

Well, it would be the best if we try not to damage our guitar. We should always check the guitar straps to see if it is coming off or not. That is really the cause of the Kamikaze and the 'demise' of the guitar. 

Coming soon: SV @ Jurong

I won't be able to update much about Singapore after 8 more days. So I would love to update as much as I can now.

SV Guitars is opening a new branch at Jurong East! This is the address.

SV Guitars @ JCube Shopping Mall

2 Jurong Central 1 #04-04 Singapore 609731

Here's a few pictures to see how the shop is like (while under renovation)

It... kinda looks like a golf showroom because of the green carpet. XD

I don't think it is ready yet though. Maybe soon. Once it is open, it will be happy days ahead for those staying near Jurong East. You don't need to travel all the way to City Hall or Woodlands! In case you are wondering where JCube Shopping Mall is, CLICK HERE for the street directory.

I am leaving for Bangkok!

Hey everyone!

Sorry I haven't been posting up anything lately. I have been busy meeting up all my friends, preparing my portfolio and audition to get into the school I want. Why do I need portfolio and audition? Well, because I am finally pursuing my dream, to study music!

Art WillemXSM on deviantART

Sadly, in order to do so. I have to go Bangkok to study; it's just too expensive to study in Singapore. I am going to miss Singapore a lot. After all, I've been studying in Singapore for 6-7 years. I am going to miss visiting guitar shops in City Hall and trying out various guitars, talking with all the friendly staffs at the shops there. I am going to miss my band, my friends in Singapore and there will be someone who I will really miss. 

But don't worry. When I am in Bangkok (that's around August), I will be writing again. This time, I would have more things to write about (hopefully). Thank you for reading my blog once again! 

How to play by ear?

I was reading through the local music forum and I see this post by one of the people, asking for tips on how we play by ear. I read through it and I think that the replies given are very useful. I thought it would be nice if I can share with the rest here as well. I've been through this before and had difficulties in trying to transcribe a song. It took a while for me to actually manage to transcribe my 1st song (I remember the song was Haunted).

Anyway, here's the link to read all the replies:

http://www.soft.com.sg/forum/showthread.php/224898-How-to-play-by-ear

OR, you can just read this. I think this guy really explains almost all the crucial thing. 

1. Figure out the key of the song by finding the root chord. This is the chord that every other chord in the song will feel like changing to eventually. Very quickly breeze through all possible root position major chords to find one that "sits" with the song. Pop songs are easy because the root chord is normally very strong, in fact, for this song it's the first chord. And to make it easier, they hum the triad of the chord for you (0:00-0:04). This song is in Eb.

2. Know what are the "normal" chords in that particular key (in music lingo, you're looking for chords diatonic to the key). For brevity, I'll just mention that there are 7 diatonic chords in every key, numerically notated in Roman numerals: the Root or I chord, minor ii, minor iii, IV, V, minor vi, half-diminished vii, back to I. Pop songs don't want to scare listeners with weird chord progressions, so they tend to be easy and stick to every possible permutation of I, IV, V, minor vi. In the case of the song, it's Eb, Ab, Bb, Cm.

3. Find the intervals of the chord changes. Long story short, when Eb changes to Ab, there's a certain "sound" to that space between the two chords. That space will sound different between Eb to Bb, Ab to Bb, Cm to Bb, etc. At first, I can assure you the process is quite laborious; I fondly remember having scrapbooks of notes I took while figuring out chords to a song. Since a guitarist can only really play one chord at a time, it's a process of elimination to find out what the next chord is (assuming you've done Step 2). In time, you'll be able to hear I-IV, I-V movements, then extend that over longer chord changes, like I-IV-vi-V.

4. Then figure out how long each chord lasts (ie does the chord last for one measure, does it play over two? Is there half/double time chord changes?) according to the time signature. Neon Trees isn't Dream Theater, so it's strictly 4/4 for the entire song.

In order to do things like playing by ear and improvise, we do need some knowledge in music theory. There are many guitarists out there who play guitar by relying a lot on Guitar Pros and tabs. I am not saying that they are not helpful resources. You may be able to play a tough song through reading tabs and GP and from that you will definitely gain some skills. But I believe that skill and music knowledge must increase at the same pace. Without any knowledge in music theory, you might find yourself only covering songs that already exist and never try to write your own. In conclusion, when we play guitar, we can't neglect the theory part as it is needed in order for us to go to the next level in our guitar-ing.

The UNO tryouts

This is a continuation of my 'reports' on UNO. On the same day I tried the UNO Standard, me and my instructor also tried 2 other UNO guitars:

They are identical to each other in terms of neck profile, body, build and wood. The only difference is that D-Classic comes with Seymour Duncan 59' and JB' while the Original is mounted with Tesla VR-60 Classic. Oh, there is another difference I forgot to mention. The Original comes with a matte finish while the D-Classic is gloss-finished. So appearance-wise, these are the similarities and differences.

As for the tone, D-classic has more of the midrange response, which I think is probably due to the SD JB on the bridge. The 59' gives a glassy tone in cleans. I find that the the mid frequency for the 59 is scooped unlike the JB on the bridge. Due to the fact that both are uncovered pickups, they sound rather bright and I would say that you don't really get the 'vintage' tone if you are looking for one. However, if what you are searching for is a guitar that can handle high gains for your music, D-classic may be the one for you. In lower gains, it doesn't sound that appealing to me. However, there is always the amp EQs for us to adjust and tweak the sound we want. So it is nothing our Amp EQs can't deal with. 

For the 'vintage' tone seekers, UNO Original may be your friend. I believe that the covered pickups are one of the factors to get the vintage tone. The covers make the tone less brighter and more nasal. The VR-60 Classics is also made to achieve the vintage sounding. If I remember correctly, the 'VR' there stands for "Vintage reviewed'.

Both pieces are very well-made. It is almost flawless. For the price you are paying ($1.25k for D-classic, $1.1k for Original), it is definitely worth it.

I wouldn't say which one is a better guitar; it is a hard question to answer. As long as the guitar is suitable for whatever you are playing, I would say it is the guitar you will like. 

UNO Standard is back!

Remember the UNO Standard? They have been nowhere to be seen since half a year ago. I remembered that there were quite a lot of people who were hunting for them on local forums. I was one of them. At least I was among the lucky ones who managed to get it (once again, thanks Sub!). 

Well, here's the good news. It is back! I saw the Red Tiger hanging on the wall when I went to visit SV 2 days ago. There are a few changes though. It now comes with flamed top instead of the quilted top. I played with it for half an hour and it feels just like my Red Tiger. It means that the quality control is being maintained. It is still priced at S$599 but do take note that it doesn't come with a softcase anymore. So assuming that you will purchase a bag at the shop, it will probably cost you about S$599+25.

Angel anyone?

I've been away from guitars for quite a while. So I decided to visit the shops to update myself with 'Guitar-world Singapore'. And I saw this at Davis.

The art is magnificent, no doubt with that. Is it playable? ESP wouldn't make a non-playable guitar. I'm a bit amazed by how the strings are passed through the angel.. But will it be comfortable playing that? That I don't know but I highly doubt so. I'm just sharing my thoughts. These are more for display than to be played. But would you buy a guitar like this for show?

Tuning trick

Many people may experience problem with tuning a guitar which was just recently restrung with a fresh set of strings. We all know that we have to stretch our strings so that the tuning would be much easier. Some of us will pull the strings with our hands. Well, it works perfectly fine but not all of us know how hard we are supposed to pull. This is how I stretch my strings.

When I tune the guitar for the first time after its strings are changed, I will always tune half a step up for the 3rd to 6th strings, and a 'quarter' step up for the 1st and 2nd strings. According to my experience, this is the fastest way to tune a guitar with fresh set of strings. Tested and proven. 

This trick isn't my creation and idea. It was someone else's but no harm sharing them here!

And yet again... Guitar shopping!

I went down to City Hall a few days ago to accompany my friend choose his first electric guitar and amp. He's new to guitar but maybe I influence him a bit too much, he wants to get an electric guitar of his own. As usual, I take him to my favourite shop, SV Guitar. These are what he got for himself.

This is a Swing. You might have heard that there are now Indonesian Swing guitar as well. The above picture shows one of them. This is a Swing P-2 made in Indonesia. I was told that Swing replaced the Smash guitars with Indonesian Swing guitars instead. By switching the country of production, it makes the new Swing guitars very affordable. Swing P-2 is only $240 (MIK one costs $500). I tried both the MIK and MII versions and I don't see any big difference between the two. Both versions of P-2 sport an alder body each and similar electronics. DO NOTE that the guitars do not come along with softcases. So guitar bags have to be purchases separately.

The hardwares for this P-2 in the photos are actually Korean and based on my experience, I have faith in Korean guitars and hardwares. If you find any difference in the two versions, please feel free to share. I would love to know more about it. As you know, I've been away from blogging for months. 

This is the next thing he bought from SV: Nux Mighty 15. I recommended that to him. I've tried it and written about it HERE. I think this is a very good practice amp. I wanted to get Mighty 8 for myself on that day but sadly, they are all sold out. Good stuff never stay. Mighty 15 is still on offer though (S$125).

My friends keep getting new guitars while my family (of guitars) is growing smaller. I just sold my Fernandes and several other pedals.   

Once in 4 years - The Leap Year.

Leap Year... Once in every 4 years. Swee Lee has some promotions for this special year..

The offer is on Mustang Amps but ONLY if you buy either Fender Road Worn Vintage, Road Worn Players or Blacktop. In other words, it is considered a bundle. Please contact Swee Lee for more information.