(Meet) The Electric family

Since this topic seems to generate some feedback, I would like to see how far the truth is in this hypothesis. Okay, so you have a guitar... all right, maybe two... or perhaps three, counting the one that your brother handed down... now what?

Unless your collection consists of brands like Gibson, Fender or Rickenbecker, chances are, most of your guitars will sound somewhat similar. It is conventional wisdom that Gibson Les Pauls and PRS guitars are in the same tone category. As are Fender and other brands with similar strat designs. I feel that it's a waste to have redundant guitars so as to make all of my axes equally important, here's what I did.


L-R: Yamaha YG512, Fender Strat Standard, Ibanez RG350DX, Washburn KC-40V, ESP M-107

The Yamaha was recently converted into a baritone guitar (tuned to B-E-A-D-F#-B). Since it is a long-scale guitar, I have not detected any noticable problems with the intonation so far. Note that the second string is tuned to F# and not G, this means, you can use standard fingering.

The Fender is tuned to standard 440 with a hybrid gauge (0.95-0.42). Generally used for clean tones and basic crunch riffs.

The Ibanez is also tuned to standard 440 but strung with mediums (0.10-0.45), used for leads and heavy crunch riffs.

The Washburn is strung with mediums but tuned to E flat. This particular axe is a cross between the Fender and Ibanez. It is possible for me to get both types of sound due to the coil-splitter on the tone pot. Having the E flat tuning shaves off retuning time when I'm in the mood for Gn'R and Simple Plan.

The ESP is a seven-string (tuned B-E-A-D-G-B-E). Coupled with the Yamaha, it makes a great combination whenever someone comes along to jam Nu-Metal.

It's great to have several guitars on the rack and unless you are a staunch believer in monogomy (guitar-wise), be fair to your other babies by giving them specific roles... and only then, the 'switching guitars between songs' is justified. Heh heh.

Things that go THUMP! (all day)

For the past month I have a new wake-up call: a sledgehammer or a jackhammer. It never fails to provide me with this invaluable service every day (except Sunday) at 8:30am. The problem is, the hammering persists until about 10:00am where they break for coffee and continue till lunch, half an hour later.

The real story is, my neighbour is renovating their house rather elaborately. The reconstruction process takes about 3 months to complete and so far, it's been only a month. I have been losing sleep due to this cause I can't possibly work during the day amidst all the hammering, so I have no choice but to work throughout the night. Having done that, as I begin to doze off, it's time for the hammer to start their shift... on and on until April!

Has anyone seen my...?

This is a pic of a STAR Award presented annually by Mediacorp, Singapore for outstanding achievements in broadcasting and entertainment. Back in 2001, I bagged one of these babies for the "Best Theme Song" category for a drama series called The Challenge with a song I wrote called Guang Mang (performed by William So). Here's the sad part: it was accepted on my behalf and I never got a glimpse of it. After much inquiries, I found out that my rep (Universal) didn't have it with them and the person who allegedly went up to receive the award no longer works for them. To date, no one seems to know where the award is... I bet it's sitting nicely on someone's shelf next to their golf trophies and commemorative trinkets. Ah, well, at least I am in their Hall of Fame.

...and now the Newz!

photo courtesy www.newz.com.cn

Finally! After two gruelling years in the studio, my biggest international (and second one to date) project is released. NEWZ has finally been unleashed unto the world, beginning with China as their main target audience. They have spent the past three months in the 'motherland' to promote their self-titled debut album. Check out their website at www.newz.com.cn (and make sure you have simplified chinese fonts installed).

The album was jointly produced by Teo Chen Shin and myself. I arranged two songs off the album (I Want You To Know and X-Men) and played acoustic and electric guitars on most tracks. We are now working on a cover song for the Chinese market as a special release. Check them out.

February already?

I was just warming up to 2005 and next thing I know, the first quarter is ending! Did the Asian Tsunami 'quake really sped up the earth's orbit (as a friend of mine claimed)? I mean, time really flies this time around... I've only begun writing demos for this year's share of production and it's already time to fill in the dreaded LHDN form (and is it my imagination or the new shorter forms are more complex???). Heck, I've not even started collecting dues for last year's projects! Dazed, I am... baffled, I must be...

New kid...

... on my guitar rack. Drool, my friends, drool!

Godin L. R. Baggo (Baggs, actually... thanks, Kuds!) model 12-string electro-acoustic, bought with a price tag that will either make you love me or loathe me.

And while we are on the subject, check this out! (Can't help myself...!)

Keedal at KE

Recently, I had the pleasure of working with one of Malaysia's best guitarists ever to grace the industry: Man Keedal.

Following our stint on New Year's eve, Man Keedal and I collaborated on bringing his music to another level. Pretty bold statement but that was what we did. MK needed two minus ones for his TV appearance on Malaysia Hari Ini on Monday 31st January 2005. As he wanted a change from his usual band-format minus one, he decided to rearrange the music for Sentuhan Keedal and Seruan in an orchestral form. Little did he know, this form was my staple during my years as a music student. The result: simply glorious! We are now in the midst of discussion to further collaborate on a full-length album. Interesting? We hope to redefine the word.