***TRASHED DID IT AGAIN!*** $50 Squier Blues Shredder

OK guys we all need that a shredder needs 24 frets, but the way that this fine bitch plays so sweet it makes up for it in spades. 

I got this Squier Affinity Strat brand new from a guy on CL. The plastic wrap still on the stock pick guard. $50. It literally hadn't been played. Freaking cool, isn't it?

I got the GFS pick guard for $20-ish.

I used pickups out of an Ibanez Prestige. $0.00

Total investment $70.

I rolled the edges of the fretboard, which really makes it more comfortable to play. I dyed the fretboard with leather dye, and cleaned the inlays. I prefer that look more ebony-esque and classy.
This is standard procedure on cheap guitars with rosewood fretboards. I did do a little filing on the ends of the frets with a needle file, nice and smooth, which we all want. Neck feels great.

The pickups came from a RG-2570EVSL that I pulled out (in favor of a Dimarzio Crunch Lab and Liquifire configuration for Petrucci tones). These pickups are the Dimarzio/IBZ pick ups, NOT to be confused with the "V" or"INF" as found in other Ibanez guitars.

The Dimarzio/IBZ  are still made in the USA as all of Dimarzio's pickups, and are pretty damn nice overall. The bridge slightly reminds me of the Super Distortion in the bridge and similar bite in the neck. The neck pickup is not low output wimpy shit here, it is full of sweet screaming leads.

I used the switch, jack, and pot from the Squier and rigged it up. Two things to note is that the five-position switch works fine. The only thing is that it is silent in positions 3 and 4. I don't mind that.. not to mention that it saved me $10. The pot was a CTS which was kind of odd to find in a bottom of the barrel guitar.

I set it up and put it with some D'addario .11's and HOT DAMN was it something sweet. I tweaked it a little bit, and it plays insanely well. Freakishly low action, great sound, I found a sweet guitar here.

2016-10-22 BONUS RANT!!! Moral Dilemma

Here is a straight up rant. LET'S GO BITCHES!

It is well known that i am a flat out guitar and gear whore. Most of you know this. If you don't, maybe you should check this blog more often.

I have a collection of Ibanez Prestiges'. Number six will be here in January.

Ibanez Prestige's are Ibanez' flagship models- not cheap. They typically come with Dimarzio's (if you know that great, if not maybe you should do some soul surfing). All five of mine currently do have Dimarzio's. I love Dimarzio's and they make amazing pickups. I have a variety of Dimarzio's on them. Single coils and humbuckers of all sorts. Mid to high output. etc. etc. etc. They do what I want and I love them. but...

I want to get some Seymour Duncans,

HOWEVER I cannot morally put Seymour Duncans in an Ibanez. It just seems like I would spontaneously combust. I can't do it. It is like putting a Mustang emblem on a Camaro. They are both nice cars, can be fast, I have owned both, and would buy either again at some point down the road.

So... Want Seymour Duncan's... Can't put in Ibanez...

... Need new guitar for new pickups. Need Jackson?

Yes, yes, yes, need Jackson. They make fantastic guitars, good all across the board. THEY come with Seymour Duncan's (not cheap Jackson's, the nice ones), they are great with Seymour Duncans. I have owned three which are long sold (ironically for Ibanez'). High end Jackson is on par with Ibanez Prestige, and Dimarzio's are on par with Seymour Duncan's. They are just a little different. There are other reasons to get a Jackson, slightly beefier neck, but still really slim and fast. Slightly different dimensions and vibe to them. I am looking for hard-tail models specifically, because their tremolo's are a weak point (which is why I own the Ibanez', those fuckers never go out of tune).

I could never put Dimarzio's in a Jackson for THE SAME REASON that I wouldn't put Seymour Duncan's in a Ibanez. It would throw off the time space warp and open a black hole. Not a good thing.

So needless to say, next year will see a Seymour Duncan loaded guitar or two. Kind of excited.

So am I crazy?

Most likely.

I better go take my meds...