The "Mobius" rises

Strymon has added one more awesome pedal to its list once again. This pedal is named "Mobius", which is a all-in-one Modulation effect pedal.

As you can see, it follows the similar construction as Timeline. The below is a Youtube Video they uploaded.

Its status is still "coming soon". So if you are eager to get them, please contact the distributors.
If you are in Singapore, it would be SV Guitars.
If you are in Bangkok, check with Pedals' Park Music Playground.

Veelah La Vita

Say hi to La Vita!

This is a Veelah V1-GACE. GA stands for Grand Auditorium and CE means that there is a cutaway. So let's say for a Dreadnought with a cutaway, it will be V1-DCE. Now I prefer the sound of the Grand Auditorium than a dreadnought. A grand auditorium, to me, sounds more open, bright and clear. Dreadnought has a darker and warmer tone. I would go for the brighter tone. I don't know how else to explain. I just like grand auditoriums or jumbos.

Veelah has 4 different series, V1, V2, V3 and V4 with V4 being the most expensive tier and V1 (of course) the most affordable tier. 

One way to bring down on the cost and making the V1 affordable and yet not compromising quality specs is to strip down on cosmetics. If you've seen my guitar, V1-GACE has no bindings at all. None on the fretboard, none on the top or the back of the guitars. Binding can be expensive. There is no fancy roselette as well and not even inlays. Inlay-less fretboards look attractive to me. How much simpler could a guitar get? Oh yes, this pores on the wood are open and this is no gloss finish. Sonically, it adds up more to the mids. Imagine speaking through a mask and without one. That would be the difference between open and sealed pores.

What I get in return is a solid top and the following:

Graphtech NuBone Parts

I think having a quality nut and bridge is as important as changing the strings when they go dead. Graphtech Nubone synthetic bone bridges and saddles. If I'm to get the separately, at cheapest, they would cost me SGD 40 or about a thousand bahts.  So this is a plus for Veelah, for providing even its V1 range of guitars with these parts instead of plastics. You will also find that Swing acoustics do come with Nubone parts as well!

Fishman iSYS-T

 This is a very simple yet useful preamp there. iSYS-T (T stands for tuner). It isn't a ground-breaking awesome preamp but for a default preamp, this is definitely awesome. I played this through a VOX AGA70 and I was sold. That was when I decided to buy the guitar. You don't see any EQ knobs or sliders on this so the colour of the tone is fixed. Well, of course you can readjust the EQs on the acoustic amp or the mixer if you want. It comes with phase and contour buttons to add some colours to the tone. Simple enough? 

 The fretboard of the guitar is dry, a condition you would expect to see for a guitar stored away in the warehouse. So I'm not surprised.

 So I pampered this baby with some Ikea SKYDD. For anyone who's new to this, it is a wood conditioner. And yes I got that from Ikea. Safe to use on instruments? Safe enough to use on open pore fretboards like rosewood and ebony. Maple? I don't know. Most maple are finished and the pores are all sealed up and thus doesn't require reconditioning.

One problem is yet to be solved though. The action is too high. For acoustic guitars, I normally wouldn't adjust the truss rod myself. I would find someone experienced in this. Acoustic guitars can get really messy.


Price: THB 6300
If you are looking for this guitar in Singapore, check with SV guitars!

SV guitars - Swing SS1 Package

Here is (maybe) a piece of good news for anyone who is looking for an all-in-one electric guitar package. The poster above is quite self-explanatory. Worth the $250? Well, let me put it this way:

Guitar: $190

Cable: $12

Gig bag: $25

Picks: $3

That means in this package, you are getting the 15W amp for just $20. It is definitely not going to be great-sounding but at least it is still usable. In fact, it comes with a 3-band EQs so I have nothing to say against it. $20 is dirt cheap for a brand-new amp.

If you upgrade to Sound Drive SG-15, you get the amp for $70 instead of $100.

My personal opinion? If you have a very fixed and rigid budget, just go along with this package. Or if you have more cash to spare, please go for something like Nux. 

Good news for those in Singapore #2

Here is another good news, my dear friends.

Hmm, Swee Lee got their prices revised and opening up a new branch and now SV is having a sale. Is this just a mere coincidence or is it more than that? *shrug* Heaven knows. But do you notice that the brands that are on sale are actually those that are available at Swee Lee? =)

But customers like us are definitely at an advantage. Too bad, I'm stuck here in Myanmar.

And the story of the little ones continues...

I've always been talking about Modtone stuff since I started writing this blog. I've tried a fair share of its products, owned them and sold some of them. One of them which still remains and I have no intention to sell is the green Speedbox Distortion.


I know this is kinda late but I don't care anyway. I will still post them. Here are the new Mini-mods after the 1st five little ones.

The mini-Buzz Boy. Sadly, I am not really a fan of fuzzes (or fusses as well =P).

Mini-Clean booster. This is an ideal size for a booster pedal because one doesn't want too much space to be eaten up by just a booster alone on his/her pedalboard. Maybe it's just me, maybe this is a common preference.

High gainer is just another drive pedal. An alternative for you to choose between its mini-overdrive and this. Sadly, Myanmar is not 'blessed' with a large variety of equipments. Needless to say, I doubt there are Modtones around here. Well, good news for those in Singapore is that SV Guitars carries this brand. An awesome guitar shop it is. It was my favourite shopping place when I was still in Singapore and one day when I come to visit Singapore again, I will definitely go there again.

Here's Lemon Squeeze compressor sustainer in a smaller chassis. 

And last but not least, the mini-Colosseum reverb with all the same controls as its bigger sibling. 
I think all the above apart from the compressor and the fuzzer are available in Singapore. Do correct me if I am wrong because I'm physically present in Singapore to go and check at the shop itself.


How I wish there are more guitar shops in Myanmar. Oh yes, I remember that there Sinamax and Guitar 77 here. I have yet to check them out!

SV @ JCube opening

Today is 2nd of April and SV Guitars at JCube is officially opened.

I heard that there is a 10% discount all round. Sadly, I am no longer in Singapore. But I hope this helps those back there!

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.

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.

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.   

Nux offer @ SV

If you are looking for a practice amp (and a portable one), Nux Mighty 8 should be put into consideration. This busker amp is not that heavy. I think your guitar would probably weigh more than it. 

Sound-wise, I would say it is rather amazing for an 8watt amp. It doesn't have the best cleans. You can't really get warm clean sounds from small amps like this. But if you are metalhead looking for decent distortion, Mighty 8 will not disappoint you. The drive channel is very similar to Line6 Spider IV amp modelers. This will roughly give you a rough idea of what it sounds like.

If you are looking for a larger one, you might want to look into the Might-ier ones like 15 or even 50. There is a piece of good news for those who are interested in Mighty 8 and 15. SV is currently offering the 8 for $99 (U.P. S$129) and 15 for $125 (U.P. S$139). How long does the offer last? While stock lasts! 

Indo Swing!

Indonesian Swing are now available at SV Guitars right now. Well, if you ask what the difference is, it would be the price. Cost of production in Indonesia is definitely lower than in Korea. Well, the list below is taken from SV's webpage. I posted it here for everyone's convenience.

Item & Description			Price
S-1 White/M		Electric Guitar	$235.00
S-1 3TSB/R		Electric Guitar	$235.00
S-2 LPB/R		Electric Guitar	$240.00
S-2 MRD/R		Electric Guitar	$240.00
S-2 Plus TBK/R		Electric Guitar	$260.00
S-2 Stage TBK/R		Electric Guitar	$260.00
S-100 Plus WH/M		Electric Guitar	$360.00
B-1 WH/R		Electric Guitar	$265.00
B-1 MRD/R		Electric Guitar	$265.00
B-1 BK/R		Electric Guitar	$265.00
C-1 BK/R		Electric Guitar	$330.00
SS-1 BK/R		Electric Guitar	$190.00
SS-1 WH/R		Electric Guitar	$190.00
SS-2 2TS/R		Electric Guitar	$190.00
SS-2 MRD/R		Electric Guitar	$190.00
MG-105 WH/R		Electric Guitar	$350.00
MG-105 BK/R		Electric Guitar	$350.00
MG-105 LPB/R		Electric Guitar	$350.00
MG-105 MRD/R		Electric Guitar	$350.00
MG-505 TBK/R		Electric Guitar	$390.00
Classic DC 100 WR/R		Electric Guitar	$465.00
Classic-X 100 BK/R		Electric Guitar	$520.00
Korina-X 100 Gloss Black/R		Electric Guitar	$510.00
SB-1 MRD/R		Electric Bass	$265.00
JB-1 3TSB/R		Electric Bass	$265.00
JB-1 Active BK/R		Electric Bass	$300.00
MK-1 BK/R		Electric Bass	$330.00
MK-1 MRD/R		Electric Bass	$330.00
MK-1 WH/R		Electric Bass	$330.00
SB-4 Active BK/R		Electric Bass	$330.00

See the one I've italicized, bolded and underlined? That's the bass I am interested in. But it's okay. I shall be a good boy and be satisfied with what I am going to get tomorrow!

Loki 

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.

Go LP with Swing

Swing's LP-shaped guitar, Classic II. I always see them in the product list at Swing's website and finally it's in SV. 

I have yet to try it and I've only seen it in photos. There are 4 choices of colour altogether. It is priced at $640. More expensive than the Rally GL300/400 but it is still cheaper than an Epiphone LP Standard Top Plus. Some may find it rather expensive (compared to Rally) but I believe you are not paying that price for nothing. I am sure Swing's craftsmanship is worth paying that amount. 

What I am more interested in is  Swing Korina-X.

It is in satin black finish but looks aren't what I really care. I just need more exposure to korina guitars. I have so far only tried 3 guitars made of korina.

Digitech @ SV

Digitech effects are now available at SVGuitars.

They do not have a whole range of Digitech pedals such as the stompboxes but there are Digitech RP-series multi-efx available at a very tempting price. HERE IS THE LIST OF RP-SERIES THEY HAVE.
And guess what, they also have the famous Whammy DT.

One of its famous feature is the drop tune feature. Choose how many steps you want to shift down or up and there, you get your drop tuning without messing with the tuner. Quite a neat pedal for those with Floyd rose bridges. For those with a very tight budget, Whammy DT is out of the league. ($510) 

Modtone MT-RV Coliseum Reverb in SG!

Modtone MT-RV Coliseum Reverb is finally in Singapore. This is one of the reverb I've been wanting to try out. 

I think MT-RV is the first Modtone pedal with a toggle switch on it. 

It is available at SV. Please contact them for more info or check the SVGuitars website.

Homecoming

I am supposed to update this 3-4 days (or even 5) ago but I just couldn't find the time. Well, anyway I've got my Squier back, safe and sound.

I may have mentioned this before but mounted on my Squier is a set of Tesla Plasma-1. They are not a high-output pickups. It is not very twangy (as some single coils does), which is a factor I like about it.

Action is set to low as you can see from the picture below. The setup is made for gauge-9. The set of strings used is an Ernie Ball coated Slinky. It is a nice set of strings which I would say is 'bend-friendly'.

Previously, I mentioned about fret buzz. It is due to the unleveled 12th fret. It was higher than the rest so it needed to be re-leveled. Mike did a great job on that.

Lastly, you can now find a Tesla Vibration Damper between the tuners and the nut on the headstock. Did I buy it? No. Tesla Vibration Damper is FREE whenever you purchase Tesla Pickups (regardless of humbuckers or single coils). If you can't find one in your box of Tesla, it is probably the old batch of Tesla.

Shopping (again)^4

This time, I didn't buy anything for myself. It is mainly for my church back in Myanmar. The two items they wanted are:

• A decent amp below $100 to replace the one they currently have right now. It seems that that small Fernandes amp is starting to sound like mud (according to them). 
• A pedal. And it must not be expensive (about $60).

It was such a pain though. Firstly, $100 dollars is a very tight budget for an amp. Plus, I wasn't told what wattage they want. So assuming that they want the same wattage as the Fernandes, which is a 15W. Since they never mention about the need of a reverb, I introduced MK Tone EG-15. I can't think of anything else apart from Marshall MG15 but... not a real fan of MG15, you see..

It is nothing special in terms of look. However, never judge a book by its cover. Despite its plain look, it has a lot to offer an 15W practice amp. The clean channel of EG-15 produces a lot of warmth (which is what I like about this). It's drive channel is rather good as well as the gain can give different tone, ranging from mild overdrive to intense distortion. It is very versatile indeed. After all, it is designed to cater different needs for various genres. In my opinion, this EG-15 is the best value for $$ within all the 15W amps I've ever tried. 3 band equalisers, Aux in, headphone jack. So what does it lacks? This is an awesome amp made by Mike himself (but most of you already know this, or so I think xD). I just hope the guitarist back there know how to extract its full potential out of it. 

Next, the pedal. This is a hard one. I wasn't told what type of pedal, if they want a multi-effect or what but the budget and the hint "the most useful". Since it is for church, definitely no metal distortion of anyway. So I thought of Boss BD-2 Blues Driver and other Boss pedals. None of them are in the budget and Beta Aivin is the only pedals that is below $60. The look doesn't really seems to appeal him so I introduced the Modtone Mini Distortion.

I think I've mentioned this before. Among all the Modtone Mini, this Mini Distortion is the closest to its non-mini Speedbox Distortion. Now, I hope that this fits in the category 'most useful pedal'. -.-

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My results were a total disaster. I really need to start working hard. So I might have to trade off some of time blogging. =(

Homecoming? Not really.

My dear Squier is back (for one day and I still haven't got a name for my Squier yet).

My results for my Prelim-1 were rather discouraging (I'm not sure why we have 2 prelims). However, my Squier cheered me up quite a lot (and of course all my friends who have been cheering me up). The new pickups that 'dwell' in my Squier is Tesla Plasma-1 (but you already knew that, don't you?). And the wrapped neck is already reverted to normal. Action is set to relatively low but not too low. I tend to hit the other strings during a bend when the action is too low.

It was pretty much of a gamble when I decided to install these pups. I have little prior knowledge about them. I was told, "Tesla sounds good with almost any guitar". Based on this statement alone, I decided to change the pups. And I'm not disappointed at all. Plasma-1 gives the exact sound I want from a single coil (not too twangy).

I decided to give my Squier an Orange drop as well. Many people said that orange drop improves a guitar's tone. I believe orange drop gives a guitar a wider range of tonal control instead. 

All 3 pots, one volume and 2 tone, are changed to Tone Drive pots. The old pots were unresponsive. I had many troubles because of that during the Stardust 2011. I should have changed it since then but I somehow managed to survive with that this long. Anyway, the knobs are now more responsive and this is very important for me since I use all the knobs. 

And do you notice something here?

Well, no more rusty screws! Mike replaced all the rusty ones with a set of fresh screws instead, and it is F.O.C. Thanks very much, Mike! :D 

UPDATE (7.21pm): The Squier is back at SV. Some fret problems to be fixed. Only God knows when it will be back. Not that SV takes that long but I don't know when I will be able to collect it. 

P.S. Bro Z, I promised to give a sound sample but apparently, my sound guy isn't free and I am a total noob when it comes to recording and stuffs. xD Will try to get it done soon.