Sunday, August 21, 2011

Ibanez S420 Guitar


I freaking love this guitar! Its the Ibanez S-series S420 Guitar.

I have had this Ibanez for 2 months already but hardly played it because I have been busy with Gibsons - trad pro, std 08, SG robot, junior. Yes I have a few Gibsons which have been keeping me busy. I love the sound, design and construction of Gibsons. The average guitarist can make adjustments to the guitar without going to the guitar tech. I do my own setups for the Gibsons. I can do the string action, neck truss rod adjustment, intonation etc. I love grover tuners as the make life so easy. Now thats for another story.

I don't know how to setup an Ibanez. I used to hate floyd rose tremolos because I can never get them done nicely myself. I don't even know how to restring an Ibanez. But my god, this guitar plays really really well. I used to think that if 2 guitars with similar string action (height) and with a relatively correct neck setup will play the same but... no. I understand different neck profiles as well - in Gibson's terms 50s neck, 60s neck, tapered neck, asymmetrical etc. but this Ibanez's wizard II ... my god its good. Its slightly wider and longer than a gibson neck but playability is unparalleled. Its only weakness - the pickups are nowhere as nice as any gibson pickups. This is also probably my Ibanez is quite the bottom-of-the-line indonesian model. The pickup output is weak and no where as 'ballsy' or dark as Gibsons 490s. Get an Ibanez you will NOT regret it.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Denon AH-D7000


I got this pair of headphones from Jaben - 4th floor of The Adelphi.

As the story goes, I figured I needed better headphones to enjoy music from my iphone. I will need this to be powered on its own or from the iphone itself. My google search led me to the Beats headphones - all 3 versions of them from http://www.beatsbydre.com/. They cost a bomb in Singapore. The Beats Pro cost a whopping S$820?!?! and they said the US$355.96 Amazon price is over-priced!?! The limited edition black version sells for S$999 in Singapore.

My visit to Jaben is fruitful indeed for I believe I have found the headphones that will last me for life. I tried many pairs from Audio-Technicas, Beyer Dynamic DT770Pro and DT150 (which has excellent clarity!) but finally settling on the Denon AH-D7000. Why? Treble clarity and a nice bass! The thing about headphones (I figured) is that you need to try them out for yourself. Not much help there I am afraid.

Welcome

Welcome to the first post of my new blog. This blog is originally meant to be our band blog documenting the band's music and pursuits, but we seriously lack material. I will be filling some of the (yet to be named) band's activity and also my growing obsession with G.A.S. Gear Acquisition Syndrome. I think I will update real soon... after the next purchase.