UFO Show Review (4/16/08, Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville)

Although this UFO show occurred over five months ago, it fits in with the theme of my new blog. I thought I'd share a review I posted earlier over at the Jemsite forums:

"I had the chance to go up to Nashville yesterday to see UFO play the Wildhorse Saloon downtown. Although Michael Schenker (original guitarist, great player) isn't with UFO right now, Vinnie Moore is now the main guitarist in the band, and he's been a big influence on me in my relatively short playing-span. As a result, I was thrilled at the opportunity to see him, not to mention Phil Mogg and the rest of the band. We got to sit/stand right in front of the stage. However, we were unable to get the meet and greet tickets, as they were already sold out. Anyways, we had to endure two warm-up bands, the first of which was a decent pop-country band. The other band, however, wasn't too good, and IMO, wasn't suitable for opening UFO (they were a cheesy cover-band). I guess it made UFO sound that much better when they came on. When they hit the stage, it was much louder than the warm-ups, but it was loud in a good, beat-your-chest kind of way (not in the Yngwie, split-your-eardrums-type loud). They opened up with "Mother Mary," an all time favorite of mine. Vinnie's tone through his ENGL heads (SE and Classic Tube 50) and two 4x12" cabs (Celestion V30s) was extremely thick, smooth and, crunchy. I could hear every note he was playing with ease. His pedalboard was fairly simple too (see picture below). Vinnie also played his new Dean signature, as well as a Dean Z and a Dean acoustic of some type. I must say, as simple as it looks, his signature model left me wanting one of my own. Before the show, I knew that Vinnie was a good player. But wow, after seeing his playing live, I didn't realize he was THAT good! The guy can flat out play, and his phrasing was really tasteful! Forget the shredding, he can hybrid-pick like a beast! Vinnie handed me his pick too, so that was really cool. I can't remember the exact set list, but they played all the classic UFO songs, like "Too Hot to Handle," "Lights Out," and "Rock Bottom." Phil Mogg's vocals were dead on, especially for someone of his age. I strongly recommend that any fan of hard rock (not just UFO or Vinnie Moore) to see this band when they roll around. They put on an incredible show, and I doubt you'll be disappointed."

I managed to get a nice shot of Vinnie Moore's pedalboard before the show, for anyone who is interested in the effects he uses. From what I could tell, he was using an Analog Man-modded Ibanez Tube Screamer, an Arion Chorus, a T-Rex Replica, and one of the new MXR Carbon Copy delays:


Surprisingly, Vinnie Moore himself sent me a nice little message on his forum thanking me for my review and pictures. I was pretty stoked! If you want to view the rest of my pictures I took at the show, you can see them here.

Ibanez RG550 Restoration Project

Back in early 2006, I acquired my first Ibanez, a 1990 RG550 in Laser Blue. At the time, the original owner had put a custom S/S/S pickguard on it, but I swapped it back out for the original three-ply, black H/S/H pickguard. I also opted to put a DiMarzio X2N in the bridge and an Air Norton in the neck. I kept them in there for a while, until recently I realized that I needed a change to suit my style of play more. The Air Norton was all right, I suppose, but the X2N was just WAY too much gain for what I needed. As a result, I decided to go with the classic PAF Pro/PAF Pro combo in order to get that early Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert (etc.) sound.

However, the guitar also needed a bunch of other minor operations for me to get it exactly the way I wanted, so this ended up being a sizeable project.

My first order of business was the neck. The Ernie Ball necks have always felt great to me, and I learned that they use a special combination of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and Gun Stock Wax to achieve that superior, worn-in feel. After some research, I felt pretty comfortable with performing the operation. First, I sanded down the neck to its bare state using a variety of sandpaper grits (600, 400, 200). Following that, I used Murphy's Oil Soap (diluted 3:1) to give the neck a thorough cleaning from its built-up grime and sweat. The next night, I applied the the coat of Tru-Oil with a paper towel and old T-shirt, distributing it evenly down the neck. A lot of this stuff goes a long way, so I only used a small amount. It also becomes extremely gooey within a matter of minutes, so I let the oil sit on the neck for about thirty seconds, wiping the excess off immediately afterwards. Then, the neck was left to dry overnight. The next day, I buffed the neck with some fine 0000 steel wool and then applied a coat of the wax. With the wax, I simply poured a little on the neck and rubbed it across the neck until its surface was covered. I opted to apply one more coat, but this is merely a personal preference as to how "sticky" you want your neck. The result is the one of the best feeling necks I've ever played. If you've ever played an Ernie Ball guitar before, you'll know what I mean.

With the neck having been perfected, I moved on to the trem cavity. Most of these Ibanezes came with some sort of foam in the trem cavity, yet for some reason, mine was missing. I went to my local Hobby Lobby and picked up the perfect material to solve the problem: a $.79 sheet of adhesive-backed "Funky Foam." I traced the cavity area on a sheet of paper and used it as template to cut the foam. After cutting the appropriate shape out, I placed it in the cavity and glued it down with some Gorilla Glue for extra-security. Voila, instant trem cavity foam!

Next came the pickups. As mentioned, I went with the DiMarzio PAF Pro for the bridge, another PAF Pro for the neck, and the DiMarzio ISCV2 JEM singe coil for the middle. Using some handy schematics from DiMarzio's site, installation was a breeze. If you are a beginner, Magnus Olsson's pickup installation guide is very helpful and informative (not to mention the guy is an extremely gifted player!). Of note, I used CTS 500k potentiometers, a Sprague .022μf "Orange Drop" capacitor for the tone control, and a Switchcraft 5-way switch. The PAF Pros still retain that classic, humbucking vibe, yet they are just hot enough to handle heavier material. They have fast become my favorite pickup.



Finally, I installed one of those handy Gotoh allen wrench holders that you attach to the back of the headstock using my drill. This tool is invaluable whenever you forget or misplace your Allen wrenches, especially at a gig situation.

And finally, this guitar is one hundred percent complete (for now). I'll make a short demo video sometime soon to show what it sounds like.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!

Granted, as much as I'm into technology and the like, I must admit that this is my first venture into the ever-growing realm of blogging.

Anyways, guitars and music are two things I absolutely cannot live without. As a result, I thought it would be neat show some of the various encounters/adventures I have with the two on a frequent basis. What better way to do so than by blogging? Whether it be an in-depth review of a new guitar, pictures from a recent concert/event, or just my thoughts on music in general, I hope you enjoy!

I'll be posting some more "stuff" here in the next few days, so check back soon!