“Only they who believeth in their guitar quest shall be granted passage”

Tag: guitars

Yamaha APX500 II for your acoustic rhythm sound

this Yamaha APX500 II is quite famous and i like it. i tried this guitar last night on stage performance and i think I’ll put this guitar to my recommended-gear list. when you’re on low-to-mid budget, this guitar may could be on your top list.

the APX500II model

check out these pics i organized for this post, we can see that it has a nice modern look and finish. you might want to perform some acoustic style and you don’t wanna look too old with classic guitar, then this Yamaha APX500 II is going to be the guitar you are looking for.

Yamaha APX500 II acoustic guitar steel strings

take a look to this black color one. we can take this onstage and perform it live and on standing position. its cutaway made us possible to reach high notes easily. last night’s performance was great, i was being able to perform well.

how does Yamaha APX500 II sound?

my last night performance was using a Roland JC 120 as monitor and the stage output was through behringer g100 DI box. it sounded beyond average but actually what i want is to have one direct mic output and i didn’t get it last night. the JC 120 wasn’t able to get the rich acoustic tone but it caught the notes clearly and the DI box delivered the tone successfully to outputs. i guess the Yamaha’s system 65 onboard preamp will work nicely through PA speakers. what i suggest you, (which i haven’t done it yet 😀 ) is, try to get the direct mic output for this guitar. this Yamaha APX 500II has a wide treble sound and tone clarity and we will get this sound by using direct mic output, while you can solve the lack of bass tone by equalize it through the on board preamp output. actually the preamp works fine and the other parts is nicely crafted.

Yamaha APX500 II acoustic guitar anatomy

here you can take a closer look to its head-stocks, on-board preamp (powered by 9volts battery), the oval hole and its saddle bridge. i made brief video shootout so you can make a comparison >>

overall this guitar will meet your standard. it is highly recommended for singers who want to perform their vocal style with playing acoustic guitar on stage. this guitar will enrich your band performance while you don’t have to worry about your band’s mate tone get ruined by additional acoustic rhythm sound. I can assure you that Yamaha APX500 II guitar sounds pretty good on stage.

if you are a solo performer, this guitar is one of good options. its playability makes possible to play speed guitar-solo, while for me, i love to strum it hard, playing some rhythm and riffs. ( it was difficult to play some solo /speed-picking with this guitar when you play it in standing position, need more practice i guess 🙂 ). see you next post..
March 22, 2014
Zakk Wylde lost his Gibson Les Paul custom on tour

Zakk Wylde is one of the great guitarist known world wide. He is the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and everybody know his bulls-eye-painted Gibson Les Paul custom guitar. Equipped with EMG hum bucking pickups and raw, unfinished maple necks, this guitar is one of best Gibson series ever made. the guitar suits to his character, a distinctive lead guitarist who has amazing solo outings, scorching riffs and remarkable stage performances. He also known as the founder of the Black Label Society.

what really excited me is when he appeared on 2011 American Idol, he was the guitarist for James Durbin’s performance of “Heavy Metal” by Sammy Hagar. it was a great performance and I’m sure that America and the world wide saw one of the best about heavy metal. it was the time which everyone think that heavy metal will still rule for the next decades. it never goes off. there in the video you can see his infamous bulls-eye gear and his hilarious stage presence.

did you know?

once he lost his 1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom “The Grail”. Zakk Wylde lost the guitar after it fell from the back of a truck transporting equipment as he was traveling between gigs in Texas. somehow he got it back by trading it with a black double-neck Gibson.

latest news

then i read the latest news and found out that he lost his gear, again. this time is his one of two aged Pelham Blue Les Paul signature guitar with bulls eye pattern. A $10,000 worth guitar was stolen from his tour bus Friday night(March 14, 2014) outside The Chicago Theater while he was on the Experience Hendrix Tour.

as you can see on his twitter @ZakkWyldeBLS :

Message me if you are in Chicago and know the whereabouts of this guitar: pic.twitter.com/fPeK3U4Eps

— Zakk Wylde (@ZakkWyldeBLS) March 15, 2014

i hope he get his guitar back soon.

latest updates:

this guitar is returned to zakk wylde. this Pelham Blue Bullseye Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar — which was stolen March 14 from his tour bus in Chicago — has been found. a man came in to sell the guitar on March 24 – about 10 days after it was reported stolen- at Royal Pawn Shop, 428 S. Clark St. an employee originally paid around $50 for the guitar… more details at Chicago tribune
March 17, 2014
Is It That Great Gretsch Sound?

Today is a cloudy day and i can’t get bright picture of silver sparkle of my new guitar (but it’s okay though, my old cellphone camera can handle this), oh yes it’s a Gretsch guitar. The Gretsch G5236electromatic pro jet 125th anniversary with silver sparkle finishing. It’s a beautiful pre-owned guitar with nice deal, no scratch and made in China. here are bunch of pictures about it:

Gretsch G5236electromatic pro jet 125th anniversary

Gretsch G5236electromatic pro jet 125th anniversary

Gretsch G5236electromatic pro jet 125th anniversary

And I like it!! this electromatic pro jet defines overdrive and distortion effects in wide range although it seems i’ll never get tele twang sound or strat glassy tone from it (of course, it’s a Gretsch!). it has unique sound, yes that great Gretsch sound does exist. Its pickups and chambered body deliver tones nicely through amps, even direct input to mixer.

Gretsch G5236electromatic pro jet 125th anniversary

Gretsch mini humbuckers pickups

Gretsch mini humbucker pickups

well, this series isn’t the perfect one actually. my first negative review is about the fretboard craftmanship. it has deadnote on 9th fret and it bothers a lot. i had to take it to my luthier shop to repair it. some say that the Gretsch quality decreases after they put their factory overseas and i think this is the prove. It’s made in China. but enough about it since that will be my only negative review.

overall this Gretsch came with gorgeous looks. it’s Gretsch 125th anniversary guitar, you can see the logo on its headstocks:

Gretsch 125th anniversary guitar logo plate

Gretsch 125th anniversary guitar logo headstocks

Gretsch 125th anniversary guitar headstocks

beautiful vintage accessories in affordable price. i should put this guitar in “on budget guitars” list.
can’t wait to take it on stage with me 🙂
November 15, 2013
Old Fernandes Revolver still rocks!
While until now i still keep my saving to get a fine Telecaster, i currently use Fernandes, a 90’s guitar japanese made. Old enough with good treatment. i bought it from my friend’s store about a half year ago.

Fernandes Revolver FR-55T Made in Japan 90’s era

It is a good guitar with stratocaster tone. with a reasonable price, i got a worth maple wood guitar japanese made. the pickup is Fernandes’, the nuts and the bridge are Gotoh. this is Fernandes Revolver FR-55T Made in Japan 90’s era. Sugoi !

hmm.. what can i say more about this guitar? it well-suited on my hands although i prefer my other custom-made guitar which has smaller guitar neck.
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yes, i'm a little guitar guy with bunch of difficulties in learning guitar and still wondering how to play it in best style i can get.
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But, indeed it is an old guitar. it has noise as i guess it’s because the circuitry needs to be repaired. renew them with the newest technology. yes, DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan’s stuff would be the best i can get to optimize this guitar performance.
well, i might need to change the bridge, it rusted a little bit. and a lot more i want for enhancements.

but,… on the second thought, i’d like to keep it classic. it would sound like that i have something valuable from the past. i won’t try to make it a “worn-out guitar” by scratching it here and there. i don’t have a heart to do it. when i need a new one, I WILL get one.

here I upload some pictures of it, and what I got form digging information about this guitar is very interesting. Fernandes guitar has been evolving rapidly. they have fine-crafted guitars with good woods and fine materials. Here are some the newest Fernandes products you might be interested in.

nowadays, Fernandes guitar is claimed as rocker’s need while I have the old one with the blues tone. and I think it’s because the pickups evolution. Fernandes Guitars have sustainer system inside them which is likely similar to an E-Bow. I mean the latest ones have them.

I’m still using this guitar because i like the tone its created. that’s enough for now i guess. Another model of fernandes guitar I own goes here >> Fernandes FR55 MTV guitar

and one more model i owned is a Fernandes strat style:

and probably the last thing happened with them is they’re gone for good! please check my article about the Fernandes guitar newest update .

I’ll see you around
April 27, 2013