Signal chain: Boss TU-3 tuner » Ernie Ball VP Jr volume » Radial PB1 power booster » Boss NS-2 noise suppressor (NS-2 FX loop: Maxon CP101 optical compressor » Maxon VOP9 vintage overdrive pro » Suhr Riot distortion) » BBE Sonic Stomp » TC Electronic Corona chorus » Eventide TimeFactor twin delay w/Digitech FS3X footswitch.

Other good stuff: Diago Showman pedalboard, Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus, Lava patch cables, CAT boots.

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Holy cow, didn’t see this coming!  Vox announced a new Ice9 Overdrive pedal created in collaboration with Joe Satriani.  I was expecting an Octave or Modulation pedal next but this is a sweet surprise.

Love the name and colour, I’m sure it sounds as great as it looks.  Need to create some space on ye olde pedalboard I guess.

Thank you Joe!!

Press release: http://www.satriani.com/gear/2010-03-24-ice9.shtml

Vox product page: http://www.voxamps.com/us/pedals/ice9/

Promo video:

The VOP-9 is basically an OD-820 in a nine-series chassis with the same JEC NJM4558D op-amp and negative feedback loop clipping diode.  I am not a fan of tubescreamer pedals (stock, modded or clones) and the VOP-9 is nothing like a tubescreamer, which is what got me excited when I heard Dave Weiner review it here.  In fact, I was sold on the pedal based on a few of Dave’s Riff Of The Week videos.  Since no retailer in England stocks the VOP9, I could not try it before I plonked the money down for one, so a big thanks to Dave for doing a brilliant job of demoing the VOP9.  I’m completely blown away at the warmth, headroom and clarity of the VOP9.  I’ve owned an Xotic BB and Fulltone OCD before and while they were high quality boutique pedals with amp-like characteristics, they didn’t really bowl me over or inspire.

The CP101 is an optical compressor unlike any compressor I’ve owned or tried, with it’s optical circuit for low-noise operation.  When turned on, you notice this really smooth and transparent compression.  Without the hiss of normal compressors it’s hard to tell, just by listening, whether it’s turned on or not but it does an excellent job of keeping those levels in check.  It was either the CP101 or the Barber TonePress but as I was looking for a compressor with a subtle effect on tone, the CP101 made sense.

Detailed reviews with audio samples to follow, meanwhile you can check out Dave Weiner’s review of these pedals here.

All Maxon pedals feature heavy duty die-cast chassis, high-quality components and mechanical, true-bypass switching.  Based on the quality and tone of these two pedals I own, I’m looking forward to testing other Maxon pedals

A little history on Maxon for those interested/not aware:

Maxon is the name used by the Nisshin Onpa company of Japan for its line of effects pedals designed for guitar and bass.

During the 1970s Ibanez became one of the company’s main OEM customers. Nisshin Onpa designed and manufactured the now legendary TS-808 and TS-9 Tube Screamers for Ibanez, and many other models, including the FL-9 Flanger, CS-9 Chorus, and AD-9 Analog Delay. Nisshin Onpa also marketed its pedals under its own Maxon name during this time. When Nisshin Onpa and Ibanez parted ways in 2002, Nisshin Onpa began to more aggressively market its own line of Maxon pedals. Repositioning itself as a manufacturer of high-end mass-produced effects, Maxon expanded its line of analog pedals, using rare NOS components and classic circuit designs that are to this day highly respected and sought after.

Maxon continues to expand its product line. Although they produced digital delays and reverbs during the 1980s and ’90s, they now concentrate mostly on “hard-to-find elsewhere” vintage type effects such as analog delays, analog choruses and flangers, and classic overdrive and distortion units. Most of the old Ibanez Nine Series is available in Maxon form these days, but the Maxon pedals now include true-bypass switching and circuitry equal to or in many cases superior to the Ibanez originals. The company prides itself on a reputation of quality over quantity.

Pics after restoration & setup:

Specs:
1-piece original Wizard neck (quartersawn maple), square heel joint
17mm 1st fret – 19mm 12th fret
430mm radius rosewood fretboard
43mm nut width
Jumbo frets
Light-weight basswood body
Edge tremolo with die-cast saddles

It’s unbelievable how well this 22+ year old guitar was maintained before I bought it off a Jemsite member in September 2008.  The price wasn’t very wallet-friendly but when you come across an original RG550RF in mint condition, you don’t negotiate :)  It was worth every penny however, considering the amazing condition of the body, neck, hardware, fretboard and frets.  Fret wear was minimal and there were no neck pocket cracks which is common with old RG’s.  The only part of the guitar that showed signs of wear was the neck plate and there were a few minor paint cracks on the body.  The color/finish has aged well and gives it a unique look, unlike the deep red RG20th reissues.

I’ve owned several Ibanez Prestige guitars before this ’87 RG550, and have since bought a J Custom, but the RG550 is still my main 6-string.  It’s unbelievable how the original wizard neck makes the Ibanez Prestige and Jackson Pro necks seem heavier than they really are.  And while you may think the slim wizard neck is prone to damage/warping in 22 years, it is super straight and will probably survive another 10 years.

What I wasn’t sure about before buying this RG550 was the neck joint… I loved the AANJ of newer Ibanez RG’s and feared I may not like the original neck joint but I feel at home with both.  Neck joint may boil down to personal preference because I know Paul Gilbert prefers the original neck joint for some reason.

The Edge bridge:  Hmm… I probably spoiled myself with low profile trems but the original Edge simply feels ‘solid’ and man does it stay in tune!  That’s the only way I can describe it and it’s not due to the locking studs because I upgrade all RG’s with the locking stud mod.

Pickups: It was fitted with a set of colored DiMarzio Evolutions when I got it, but I swapped them out for a Tone Zone bridge and Air Norton neck, removing the mid single coil altogether.  Upgraded the switch to an OTAX VLX91 for some cool coil-tapped and parallel neck tones.  I’ve grown to love the parallel position for it’s transparency, especially for cleans and mildly overdriven tones.  While the Tone Zone has been my usual pickup of choice I did experiment with a D-Sonic since then and it definitely sounded great in the RG550.  Anyway, my J Custom has a Tone Zone in the bridge so anytime I need to be in the Zone I pick her up.  It’s a good idea to have different pickups on your guitars too, especially for recording – recording rhythm and solos with different guitars and pickups make it easier to mix.

Finally, the question that you may have if you’re reading this: is this old RG better than anything Ibanez makes today?  In short, to me, yes!!  The long answer is it really depends on your taste.  The RG2550E I had was heavily customized and set up to play like a dream, and while it was a brilliant guitar for the money I sold it a month after getting this ’87 RG550.  The RG2550E was on par with other high end guitars I played but the RG550 has something magical about it – it sounds and feels “right” and is inspiring to play.

Is the RG20th reissue as good or better than the original?  Their specs suggest there are improvements over the original RG550′s but I can’t vouch for that as I haven’t personally played a 20th.

Keep shredding, and if you see an 87/88 RG550 on Craigslist, eBay, Gumtree or your favorite forums, buy it immediately if you need a player and love Ibanez guitars – I think they’re some of the best guitars that Ibanez built!!  Keep in mind this is coming from a J Custom owner.

Enough of the past: Enter the Eventide TimeFactor.  I’ve only had it a few days so this is not a review, just a list of reasons why I like and bought this unit:

- Two independent 3-second delays in one stompbox
- Studio quality effects (Digital, Vintage, Tape, Modulated, Band & MultiTap delays sound authentic)
- Flexibility: Mono/stereo operation, instrument or line-level inputs/outputs, expression pedal out, aux out for single or 3-button footswitches and full MIDI support
- True or buffered bypass selectable based on your setup
- 100 presets (2 per bank) onboard: I don’t need more than 10 but it’s nice to have
- Global Tap Tempo (optional) so it’s easy to call up presets and retain the same tempo, or dial in a new tempo
- Delay trails when changing presets or going into bypass
- I don’t use much modulation, reverb or filters in my music but if I need some, the TimeFactor can pull it off
- Regular software updates from Eventide with bug fixes and improvements
- Eventide support forum/staff are very helpful

This pretty much sums up why I chose the TimeFactor over the Empress Superdelay which costs the same, £299.  A more detailed review with samples coming up in a few weeks or months :)

RG8470F pics:

RG8470F specs:
Mahogany body with AAA flamed maple top and natural binding
5 piece maple/walnut neck with matching headstock and flamed maple binding
430mm radius rosewood fretboard with abalone and mirror J Custom vine inlay
Jumbo frets finished to the highest standard
Cosmo black hardware and Edge Pro bridge with locking studs
Recessed volume & tone controls
Direct mount pickups: Dimarzio Air Norton neck, DiMarzio Blue Velvet mid, DiMarzio D-Sonic bridge
FE – Fire Agate finish

It’s hardly been a week since I scored this beauty and I can’t wait to swap out the D-Sonic for a Tone Zone, string some 10′s on and wail away!  This is the first guitar I’ve owned that is “perfect” straight out of the case, thanks to the flawless fretwork, awesome setup and brilliant craftmanship.  I’ve played many high end guitars before and never felt the urge to buy one because there was nothing special that made them play better than my modded Jackson/Ibanez super strats.  This JCRG is easily on par with my ’87 RG550 in terms of playability, even though the necks and neck joints are different.

The previous owner kept this guitar in excellent condition (thanks Andras), there were only 2 small nicks in the body that is visible at a specific angle.

A detailed review will follow in a month or less so Merry Christmas and I hope 2010 holds another J Custom for me…

Now I’m planning to start repairing and setting up guitars part-time and know that I will need a very accurate tuner for intonating guitars, so I ended up selling the CT-04 and TU-2 and turned my attention to the Peterson StroboStomp 2 which is regarded as one of the best tuners – fast, accurate and easy to use. I could not justify the £150 price tag, however, so I looked for alternatives and remember reading good reviews about the Korg Pitchblack series and DT-10 last year, which are reasonably priced. Their accuracy is pretty good (+/-1 cent) but the Pitchblack+ was more tempting for it’s accuracy that was on par with the StroboStomp and it’s price that was a small step up from the Pitchblack and DT-10.

Korg Pitchblack+ Tuner
If you’ve always want a high precision tuner like the Peterson Strobostomp without spending that kind of money, I would recommend getting your hands on a Pitchblack+ for £95. The price is lower in the U.S. (as is the case always) but it would cost the same after shipping and duty had I imported one.

Right out of the box I was impressed by how Korg thoughtfully included a 4-way daisy chain to power other pedals with the Pitchblack+. A 9V DC output is common on pedal tuners but none of the manufacturers bundle a daisy chain so buyers can use this feature right out of the box.

What I love about the Pitchblack+:

» really intuitive and easy to use
» tuning accuracy of at least +/-0.1 cents, as good as the Strobostomp
» brilliant dual LED meters making it so easy to tune
» true bypass that doesn’t color your tone
» dual inputs to connect 2 guitars simultaneously, each with their own tuning profile
» muted tuning

Check out Korg’s product page for detailed specs and information on the Pitchblack+.

You will notice the Pitchblack+ is larger than other tuners but that is a small price to pay for a professional tuner that has some very cool features. If and when I do find time, I shall follow up this brief review with a video of the Pitchblack+ in action because seeing is believing.

Finally, while conducting research for a new tuner, I did come across the Turbo Tuner from Sonic Research which is the most accurate tuner to date – someday I might buy that, but the Pitchblack+ is perfect for my needs at this time.

The last quarter, in particular, was a real struggle trying to balance work with my illness and getting medical help, and things were looking gloomier each passing day.  I was scheduled to be in India December, so my wife and I felt it would be wise to see a doc during the trip.  That was a life-saving decision!  After meeting this brilliant doctor and surgeon, the only sensible option was to undergo emergency (and experimental) surgery – which I did, on Dec 1, and now that a month has passed I will bravely claim it was highly successful considering the complications and how well I’ve recovered.  It’s amazing how “one” surgeon, based out of a small town in India, single-handedly fixed me up after a “panel” of doctors and surgeons in England said my condition was inoperable and recommended a drug that had a list of side effects spanning 2 pages.

I was fortunate to have recovered in just a few days, but I guess part of it was me preparing for the next big event waiting to play itself out – the birth of our son.  My little boy was born on Dec 10 and I’ve literally been on top of the world since :)  I’ve decided to extend my vacation and spend time with my son the next 3 months while I recuperate here in Kerala, India.

I have lived my life with no regrets and always believed that whatever happens, happens for a reason, so I’m not going to let my recent illness distort that belief.  Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, so I’ll be back in action in a couple months to complete development of this guitar site and finish the instrumental demo I started recording in 2008.

Thanks for dropping by and bookmarking the site, new content and articles should start rolling again in March.  You can subscribe to the RSS feed (once I fix it) to get notified of future site updates.

Cheers to good health, shred guitar, more great music in 2009 and unlimited funds for those with terrible G.A.S.

EDIT: RSS feed fixed, so you can subsribe now.

Anyway, I spent the last month evaluating other hosting companies, and found one that deserves my business after all the help they’ve extended while I tested their server and network performance.

In short, the site will be inaccessible for 8-12 hours between today and Tuesday.  Once it’s back up, everything should work but if you run into a bug or bad link, please send me a quick email.