Swing: MG-103

Mike (SV) told me Swing's M-103 is one of his in-store favourites due to its simplicity. I was at SVG yesterday to give this guitar another go & it's simply good (no pun intended). The instrument was well set up which contributed a lot to playability & if you like what Ibanez has to offer in terms of neck profile, the M-103 will have something for your pleasure. However, I'm of the opinion that the manufacturer had the right pair of humbuckers in there, Swing's own Dual Max pickups did well to accentuate saturated distortion for some good definition but they are not to be well-liked in clean mode. Nevertheless, it's not the reason to be ignoring this good player. The M-103 is available in red & white finishes as well.

List: $450 (10% discount still applicable @ SVG sale)

StarGazer: A Great Work of Ages

AC/DC & Inxs are probably the most well-known super star exports from Australia. For us guitar-inclined dweebs, we know Frank Gambale & Brett Garsed to be the other reason why we look Down Under. StarGazer is a secret export of sorts, well-kept under the radar only to be discovered by those who bothered. In my books, this trio of death metallers rank up there with Cynic & Atheist (among others) as the proponent of intricate intensity. I was introduced to this band by my childhood friend, Zahid, in the late 1990s where we would sometimes meet to swap CDs at the neighbourhood McDonalds late at night- those were the days. I clearly remembered it was the StarGazer/ Invocation split release.

There's no simplicity in A Great Work of Ages (also the third track of Mayhem's Ordo Ad Chao release- coincidence?), lots of intricate riffing & phrasing. The bass work here is particularly outstanding, it doesn't stand in the band as a mere rhythm anchor but another prominent instrument to underscore the music in whole- the reason you hear bass solos & tapping frenzy all over. The music is also a tight composition from beginning to end. If you like your death metal simple, then this isn't one to look forward to. I only wish the guitars had more solos or licks to make the music more complete but A Great Work of Ages is not merely a continuation of the band's previous effort but the deconstruction & re-engineering of the music.

Orange vs Mallory

I'm an avid Orange Drop fan. Heard good tones coming from its application & didn't look back ever since...

...but I'm always open to options, never to shut out the competitor just because I embrace a certain product or brand name. I've acquired the Mallory cap after talking to a bass player who has one in his bass. He asked me if I fancy an overall brighter tone for my instrument even after having the tone pot turned down some notches. My reply was a practical response- some of the instruments I possess will benefit from such a tonal manifestation so I decided to give the Mallory a try but had misplaced it for nearly a year. That's how it is with my grey cells these days; unless there's a specific documentation to help me locate some things, I'd most probably forget where they were placed in the first place.

Anyway, I'd like to share the performances of these capacitors in anticipation of such queries, knowing there'd be interested parties, of course. The Orange Drop will benefit those of us who prefer a wide tonal sweep; from very bright to very woolly. The Mallory on the other hand, introduces the woolly factor in liberal doses only. That would mean the Mallory has a limited tonal application, yes? It all depends on the intended application. If your instrument is inherently boomy sounding, the Mallory would help attend to some balance so that your tone won't mud-out once you put your tone knob into action. Maybe that's the reason why the bass player I talked to has a Mallory in his instrument- to ensure the bass benefits from some brightness since churning out bottom end isn't a problem.

I'm also not ruling out the fact that some of us can't really tell the difference after hearing these capacitors in action.

Wish it was back: Heartfield Talon

Fender did a take on the super-strat theme which was an excellent effort. There wasn't any 'Fender' decal on the headstock because the HM Strat, which was the prior effort to this guitar, saw a comprehensive death- when one deals with 'Fender' shred appointments are put offs rather than attraction. The Heartfield Talon guitars were allegedly a tweaked Ibanez to many fans.

The Talon's high profile ambassador was Vinnie Moore who used the guitar in his Meltdown album. But despite this backing, the Talons couldn't get a hold (no pun intended) on the shred guitars market & were discontinued in the mid-1990s. Hopes of resurrecting this guitar is rather remote now that Fender has taken ownership of Jackson guitars so all shred manifestations by the aforementioned manufacturer has a current avenue.

But I wish this guitar was back.

Ibanez: SA1260... the deviation

It's another pickups overhaul, this time my Ibanez SA1260 received some significant make-over. The default pickups were retired for good & as you can see here, the cavities are some of the neatest the manufacturer has to offer.

No whammy applications with this guitar so 5-springs in there, as usual.

The reason why this post is tagged as a 'deviation' is evident in the pic above; I chose to have a Mallory capacitor instead of the usual Orange Drop routine. I was doing some spring cleaning for the last few days or so & discovered I had a Mallory stashed away in one of my guitar bags. The numeric on it had faded & I thought it should be used as soon as possible before some further deterioration takes place. I also had the volume & tone pots replaced; despite the guitar being very new, the pots were stiff. All these done at BEEZ's.

Finally, a fresh set of GHS .009s in the guitar & my preferred action set up. Played this guitar after watching CSI last night for quite some time. The other reason why this is a 'deviation'- DiMarzio pickups in here. Despite being a hardcore Seymour Duncan fan, I digress occasionally as a check of sorts; I don't mind having other brand name pickups in some of my guitars as a tonal reference. The newbies here are:

• Neck: DiMarzio Area '67
• Middle: DiMarzio Area '67
• Bridge: DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary

Where death is most alive

I went to see Dark Tranquillity with Insomnium and Cypher16 at the Underworld last night and I had a lot to say about it, so I thought I'd share my wise and well-informed opinions with the rest of the world.

First of all - Cypher16. J hates the name, but I don't think it's so bad, although numbers with any name just make it look like a bad email handle. Terror 2000 remain my exception to the rule, because I love that band :D

So, crappy name...and crappy band, for me at least. I think they have a lot of potential and some people may well think what they're doing is cool already, but they were not my cup of tea at all. If I'm honest, I checked them out on MySpace, decided I didn't like them and so only bothered to turn up right at the end of their set. A little unfair, but I'm hardly Lady Justice.

Moving on...Insomnium fucking RULED. They owned that place; every song was awesome. It's the second time I've seen them and both times they've blown me away - I'm not saying they're technically the best or they have the best sound or whatever, but overall, they are one of my favourite live acts. They had a lot of fans there, which was great to see and they had an incredible atmosphere for a relatively unknown band here in the UK. I got one of their albums after I saw them the first time and didn't think much of it, but I'm definitely going to try again. If not then hey, I only like Immortal live, there's nothing wrong with that.

Dark Tranquillity were really really good, despite a few technical difficulties, but overall, I think Insomnium won the day. DT are one of my favourite bands, but in terms of what they play they can be very hit and miss. More than half their set was songs I really didn't care for at all - although the upsides were two from The Gallery (my favourite album - they played the title track and Punish my Heaven) and ended with Terminus, for me the setlist wasn't that great. My highlight would have to be Punish my Heaven as it's one of my favourite songs ever.

The other highlight of the night, I have to say, was Michael Stanne himself. Obviously I don't know him, but he comes across as a really, really nice guy. There was a lot of crowd interaction - he surfed, didn't mind holding hands or holding out the mic to people and generally seemed incredibly happy and at ease with everything. At the end he said the band were going to be at the merch stand and would be sticking around for a couple drinks after the show, which is great to hear from a band that's big enough to get away without doing that shit nowadays.

In terms of venue, I'd say they could have done with a bigger place. The Underworld is small and has many pillars and last night was probably the busiest I'd ever seen it. Even the merch stand could have done with more room - the bar just ain't big enough. Had the Astoria not been razed (bastards), that would have been a perfect venue, but without it, London's really lacking a great medium-sized venue. Last time DT played the UK it was at the stupidly small Barfly in Camden, so I don't know whether the band's management are too cautious with the bookings or just undervalue their commercial appeal, but I'd say they could easily play Islington and with a little more advertising, they could even fill Brixton or Shepherd's Bush.

My final point - oh dear god, £4 a pint? I spent almost a tenner, wasn't even close to drunk then decided I couldn't possibly afford to get drunk. Doesn't make for a fun night, Underworld (and all you other venues charging stupid amounts for watery beer). Improve please!

Seasons in the Bathroom

J: Slayer Guitarist's Food Poisoning Forces Tilburg Cancellation - from the comments;
> Seasons in the bathroom
i lol'd XD

M: >... maybe this will help Kerry to shed a few pounds. In fact, maybe he can give the bug to Hanneman...When I caught the Big Four movie, I was amazed to see they made leather pants that big.
:D

J: > When I caught the Big Four movie
what is this :?

M: >what is this :?
ohh, the first set of it, they showed in cinemas across europe, tickets were bear dollar tho :3 i don't think that many people went, i don't know any that did. i only knew it was happening 'cause P told me...

J: so it's some film about the big 4 now? :O

M: no, not a film, they literally screened the sets in via satellite link so you could 'watch as if you were there' sort of thing...

J: oh that, i've noticed that on other gigs.

M: orly? i never seen it before :O

J: yeah, read about it on the nme (i think), some band have a proper director involved in doing it :/

M: omg that's lame :(( what's the point? i hate live stuff unless i was there, someone i know was there or....well yeah, that's about it. apart from s&m, which most people hate anyway...

J: just in case you didn't feel like showing up :)

M: :DDDDDDDDD yeah hehe :)