Zakk Wylde Les Paul MODDED

Yo people~!
Yesterday I just spend a couple of hours modding Chan's Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul.
He wanted Pickup swaps and Spin-a-Splits!



He got himself a Seymour Duncan Hot Rodded Set in black which consists of the SH4(JB) and the SH2N(Jazz neck).

Threw the pickups in, made his 2 other pots into No-Load pots using pliers and nail polish!
So now there's added versatility! He can split his JB and/or Jazz into single coil mode!

After all the installations I did some testing. And wow! It sounds great. Not a guitar for metal though, but awesome for Blues to Rock! Fat, thick and warm sounding even with the JB/Jazz inside (they're known for bring bright pickups).

Here's a clearer picture of his guitar with the Duncans in them! Enjoy



Peace out people!

1993 Yamaha RGX621D

1993 Yamaha RGX621D

During the hair-metal/rock revolution, guitars like these were being made! In my opinion, these are the best kinda guitars to get for those kinda music!

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This is number 6. I got this in Singapore from the SOFT Forum classifieds. When I saw it, I thought "Woah, classic looking guitar! Gotta get it!". And I did get it.

(Pic on the left was modded around Feb '07, the one on the right is from April '07)

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Specifications:

Made in Japan
Alder Body
Maple Neck
Rosewood Fretboard
24 Frets w/ Dot Inlays
Last 5 Frets Originally Scalloped
Licensed Double Locking Tremelo
1 Volume Control
1 Tone Control
5-way Pickup Selector
Bridge Pickup: Seymour Duncan JB (SH-4, White)
Middle Pickup: Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Single (APS-2, Black)
Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan Jazz (SH-2, White)
Bright Yellow Finish
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This guitar plays like a dream too! Thin neck and light body. lets you run up and down the fretboard easily. Love the last 5 scalloped frets. Gives me a lighter feel so that I can bend more easily.

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(Pic on the left was modded around Feb '07, the one on the right is from April '07)

Had a few pickups lying around, so I decided to throw in some Seymour Duncan Pickups. mainly, JB, APS-2 and Jazz neck.

I know how the JB sounds, so no issue there. Cuts thru the mix with a mid-highs boost. It can get too trebly, so I changed the pots to 250K for volume and tone.

As for the APS-2, it has a warm yet slightly glassy kinda tone to it. Not that warm but not shrill as well. Very Balanced sounding pickup in my opinion. Looks cool too, being black to contrast the white humbuckers.
Seymour Duncan Single Coils were new to me. I had no idea how the APS-2 would sound like at all when I got it. But I had to try and believe in Seymour's pickups. I love the tone of it! Warm sounding with a slight bite. Does solos very well, and it gives off that vintage kinda tone which I never have in most of my guitars.

In the neck, the Jazz fits the spot. It's very open sounding with a decent amount of highs. But in the neck it warms up alittle due to string resonance in that area. Very versatile pickup. Does very nicely for cleans which are key to my playing. For blazing leads it gives a very nice clear sound without being close to muddy.

If you want more information about this guitar, feel free to drop me an e-mail or add me on MSN so that we could discuss.

1987 Ibanez RG550

1987 Ibanez RG550

This can be argued as on of the best guitars Ibanez has ever made for its time!

It's the 5th guitar I bought. Got it in 2003, off a Seymour Duncan Forum member (sorry I can't remember who it was). Best deal ever!! I had always been GAS-ing for this and I finally got my hands on one!

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Specifications:

Made in Japan
Basswood Body
Maple Neck and Fretboard
24 Frets w/ Black Dot Inlays
Edge Double Locking Tremelo (I think that's what it's called)
1 Volume Control
1 Tone Control
5-way Pickup Selector
Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio Steve's Special (DP161, Black/Pink)
Middle Pickup: Agi-Lace Blue Sensor (White)
Neck Pickup: Dimarzio Air Norton (DP193, Black)

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I chose the Steve Special and Air Norton because it was a John Petrucci (of Dream Theater) setup. I liked his tone, especially the neck, so I went to check up on them and got it. This guitar is a dream to play! It just feels good whenever it was in my hands, very comfortable feel and of course it looks cool as hell too!

To me the Steve's Special's tone was a bit scooped. However it because of that, it provided lots of clarity even under high gain, which was a plus for me. Tight bass response and lots of treble to provide the crunch I like.

The Air Norton is probably one of the best neck pickups I've ever tried. Thick, smooth, warm and punchy! It works great for lead playing. That was the main reason why I got it and I am very happy till this date that I choose that pickup.

If you want more information about this guitar, feel free to drop me an e-mail or add me on MSN so that we could discuss.

2002 Jackson KVX10

2002 Jackson King-V X Series AKA Jackson KVX10

This is the 4th guitar I purchased in 2002 at Gutiar Center Boston. I walked into the shop, walked around and then I saw this! I'm a big Dave Mustaine fan so I knew I had to get this, plus it's screamin' "BUY ME!"

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Specifications:

Made in Japan
Alder Body
24 Frets w/ Shark-Fin Inlays
Tun-O-Matic Fixed Bridge
1 Volume Control
1 Spin-a-Split Control
3-way Pickup Selector
Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio X2N (DP102, Pink)
Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan Hybrid (Sh-5/6 Hybrid, Black)
Black Finish
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When I bought it, I thought to myself, "This will be my all out metal guitar!", and it is now. Since it was gonna be a purely metal guitar, I decided to throw in Dimarzio's fiercest pickup (my opinion), the X2N! It does great for metal! High Treble and Mids with lots of crunch. Very Thrash-Metalish. Plus I managed to snag one off E-Bay for a good price, plus its pink!

After while I didn't know what to put in the neck position. Just then a Seymour Duncan Forum bro posted a Hybrid for sale, so I bought it just to try how good it sounds as he described it. I never tried this in the bridge so I wouldn't know how it sounded there. But in the neck, its a very thick, full tone, with very nice mids. Kinda like a sweeter Air Norton with slightly lesser mids. Tried it once, loved it and now its in there permanently.

Few months later, I was reading up on how to split humbuckers, so I got some advice from a friend, KC, and proceeded on to making a No-Load Pot for the Spin-a-Split. I got a very good single coil tone! Just enough 'twang' and brightness to make this guitar versatile.

Then few months later, I was invited by a friend, Robert, who was then studying in Berklee to go visit Joe Stump! He signed the headstock of the KVX for me and played some stuff for us. I will always remember that day!

If you want more information about this guitar, feel free to drop me an e-mail or add me on MSN so that we could discuss.

1998 Epiphone Les Paul Slash Custom

1998 Epiphone Les Paul Slash Custom
Some call it the Snakepit Les Paul as well.

This is the 2nd guitar I bought in 1999 I believe. Got it from EM Short Music (I think that's the name) in Witchita, Kansas. Ordered it through the phone!

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Specifications:

Made in Korea
Mahogany Body
22 Frets w/ Trapeziod Inlays
Tun-O-Matic Fixed Bridge
2 Volume Controls
2 Tone Controls
3-way Pickup Selector
Bridge Pickup: Dimarzio Virtual PAF (DP197, Nickel Cover)
Neck Pickup: Dimarzio Humbucker From Hell (DP156, Red/Yellow)
Transparent Red Finish
Slash's Snakepit Logo
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My sister bought this for me actually. I was the one who ordered it though.
It was an impulse buy at first because I was a huge Slash fan. So I told myself, what the heck, just give it a shot. I never regretted this purchase at all. Thanks Liz for giving this to me as an early Christmas present.

At first I wanted to put in Seymour Duncan Alnico 2 Pro Hums in both positions. However at the point in time, the Virtual PAF models were new, and there was somewhat of a hype going on about how good it was. Very smooth tone with PAF qualities yet modern sounding at the same time with a certain presence to it. So I decided to try it.

As for the Hum From Hell, I had it as a spare lying around. I tried that in my Jackson but it sounded too thin, so I thought, in a Les Paul it might be pretty good with Les Pauls sounding very thick and all. And I was right, it worked awesome in my Les Paul so it's gonna stay there for good.

If you want more information about this guitar, feel free to drop me an e-mail or add me on MSN so that we could discuss.

1999 Jackson PS6T-KE

1999 Jackson Performer Series 6 Transparent Finished - Kelly
AKA Jackson PS6T-KE

This is the 3rd guitar I bought. If I remember correctly, I bought it at Guitar Center Boston in Year 2000.

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Specifications:

Made in Japan
Poplar Body
24 Frets w/ Dot Inlays
Licensed Floyd-Rose Double Locking Tremelo
1 Volume Control
3-way Pickup Selector
Bridge Pickup: Seymour Duncan JB (SH-4, Zebra)
Neck Pickup: -
Transparent Red Finish
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I left the neck spot empty because I had seldom used it. It was a Dimarzio Paf Pro Double Cream pickup. Someone wanted to buy it, so I off-loaded it to him. No regrets on that.

As you can see, the bridge, tuners and neck pickup have been removed. They were removed because I decided to retire this guitar after Marty Friedman signed it when he was holding a clinic in Singapore. Well, if she resurfaces again, I'll let you guys know

If you want more information about this guitar, feel free to drop me an e-mail or add me on MSN so that we could discuss.

Chan's New Gear!

As some of you guys might know. I got a friend named Channy who plays the guitar as well. As of today he's the proud owner of an Epiphone Signature Series Les Paul. more specifically, a ZAKK WYLDE Signature Series BullsEye Les Paul.

Congratulations Channy!!!

Here's the pic of his new axe. Apparently he's gonna throw in a Seymour Duncan Dimebucker in the bridge and let the Dimebag and Wylde rip the music scene here! Woohoo!

The BullsEye Zakk is in the middle, Between his PGM3 and JEM555

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Once again, Channy! Welcome to the Les Paul Club!
Now Louis, Channy and myself have Epi Les Pauls...

For the next jam i'm sure it'll be a fierce battle between Slash and Zakk!
Here's the Epiphone Slash/Snakepit Les Paul

Slash/Snakepit Les Paul equipped with Dimarzio V-PAF Bridge and Dimarzio Hum From Hell

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PEACE OUT PEOPLE!! WOOHOO!

Ranting about something and showing old pictures of stuff

Ok, it's been awhile since I last posted anything. Now it will just be a rant on how much I dislike Floyd-Rose/Wilkinson Bridges or also known as 'Floating Bridges'.

So I decided to probably sell off all my guitars that have these Floating Bridges and get maybe just one more that has a 'Non-Floating Bridge' (e.g Tun-o-matic, Fixed, Vintage Tremolo bridges)

First up is the Floyd on the top and the Wilkinson Floating at the bottom

Firstly, for floating bridges, it's troublesome as hell to change strings, do pickup swaps, or just maintain. Sure it's cool to use the whammy to wail or dive-bomb. But hell, I'm sick of it, plus I don't really wail or dive-bomb when I play either. So no issue for me here.
Back in the 80's and early 90's it was cool to be using these just because you can add 'creativity' and 'cool sounds' to your playing. So end result for me = Screw Them, I don't need them.

Next up are the Non-Floating Bridges. Left is the Tun-o-matic Stop Tail bridge, which is found on most Les Pauls and other guitars and on the right is the Vintage Tremelo bridge, which comes with most Fender Stratocasters.

For these guys, changing strings is a flash. Simple and straight forward! Sure you can't wail up and down the scale but heck, it's a breeze to maintain! Plus they don't flatten your tone as much as floating bridges do! That's a big plus there. I've grown to prefer these more because they are of lesser hassle for just about anything.

So I'm basically gonna try to sell my floating bridges guitars. Look at the number of guitar cases I have....

...... all these have guitars in them!! Too many, some might say, but I think it's ok. Just gotta get rid of the ones I can't take anymore...

So here's one guitar I'm actually gonna let go of soon. I will be changing the Duncan pups back to stock Ibanez ones even though its a Yamaha. I changed all electronics inside and it works like a dream now. Presenting the Yamaha RGX621D:

Yup that's all folks.
That's all I'm gonna rant about today.

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Now I'm just gonna show you guys the picture of the amount of Bleach, Transformers and Dragonball Z figurines I've collected over the past 2 months or so.
Here they are, sitting on top of my desktop computer.

Nice figurines huh? Some look really cool whereas some are just ok.

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And this is a picture an old friend of mine drew, his name is Khidir, but I haven't seen him in years. Not sure what he's up to now.



I'm supposed to be the shortest one with the long straight hair, holding the Jackson KE. Cool huh? Looks a little like Paul Gilbert back in his Mr. Big days.
Heh...I'm just dreaming!!!! LOL!!!

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Ok that's it, I don't really feel like typing anymore....nor do I have anymore interesting photos to post up. Have to go search my stack of photos somewhere in one of my harddrives.
Take care people.
Peace Out!