Ibanez RG7321 7-string Electric Guitar

Hi again.

A new review for you! This is about my 7-string guitar, which is the Ibanez RG7321. It is an electric guitar, obviously with 7 strings, with a fixed tremolo. It's a great guitar that can be used for many genres, especially rock and metal.

Sound

I play a lot of different styles of music, metal, rock, blues etc, and the guitar fits all of those genres. The only thing is the fixed bridge which makes it more suitable for the heavier riffs. The guitar can't make dive-bombs and Satch squeals because it doesn't have a floating tremolo. But if you play mostly heavy riffs, then this guitar is right up your alley. The fact that this guitar is so versatile makes me love it so much more. If there is anything to complain about, it's that the low B string can be a little muddy. 

When I play this guitar, I use the same setup as I use for my 6-string Ibanez which I also wrote a review of here. The guitar has a 5-way level, and with that you can chose from a variety of sounds. Mixed with my amp and ZOOM-pedal, the result is so awesome!

Action, Fit & Finish

It has a nice black finish. No factory flaws. I have it tuned in the factory tuning, which is BEADGBE. But without the locking mechanism, tuning it to different tuning is very easy. When it comes to the action, it's set fairly low, which fits the players that has a delicate touch when they play. If you are a guitar player that hammers heavily on the strings, I recommend raising the action a little bit.

Reliability

The guitar is very stable with the fixed tremolo. It has a in-your-face sound that the RG-models are famous for, without the hassle of the locking nuts. The guitar is awesome! Have used it for years, and it still plays great, the neck is still straight, the pickups sound awesome and the finish is still free from any damage and scratches.

Specifications

- Neck Material: 5pc Maple/Walnut
- Neck Type: Wizard II-7
- Body: Basswood body
- Frets: Jumbo Frets
- Fingerboard: Bound Rosewood
- Inlay: Pearl dot inlay
- Bridge: Gibraltar Standard 7 bridge
- Neck Pickup: AH17
- Bridge Pickup: AH27
- Hardware Color: BK
- Finishes: BK

At the current time, I don't have any videos on youtube that I use this guitar. However, when I make one, I will share it with you so you can listen to the awesome sound!

Cheers!

-Kianul

Ibanez RG350EX Electric Guitar

Yo!

This entry will be about my Ibanez RG350EX. This is one of my two Ibanez guitars.

Finish and material

It's a guitar model that came out in 2005 and features a basswood body with the Edge III tremolo and Infinity pickups. It has an aluminium style pickguard that completes the finish of the guitar. It has a 24 frets long bound rosewood fingerboard with shark-tooth inlays.

As for the controls, it has one volume and tone control, as well as a 5-way lever that lets you choose the pickups you want active.

Sound

The pickups perform very well. I use a ZOOM G9.2tt pedal to a Randall RH50T head amplifier and a Marshall 1960A cabinet. This combo makes a loud sound and it brings out the nice sound of the guitar. This guitar fits for the multi-style guitarist, with the 5-way lever switch you get a big range of tone. The tone has plenty of crunch, but are still able to play the delicate sounds. Especially when having a great pedal as the Zoom G9.2tt and a great amplifier, the sound of this guitar shows its true nature. The result is great.

Reliability and Durability

My experience is that the guitar can take a lot of heat. You can play it for hours and hours and use the tremolo actively without the guitar getting out of tune. This is due to the locking mechanisms on the strings. I bought locking straps to this guitar which prevents the strap from falling off. I had some problems getting it tune in the beginning. This because this was the first guitar I had with a floating bridge.

A floating bridge mean that the bridge is not fixed to the body of the guitar, but it floats because of the tension of the strings of the guitar and some springs that is located inside the body of the guitar. These are accessible through a plastic cover on the backside of the guitar. By adjusting the tension on the springs on the backside of the guitar, you tighten the strings and visa versa.

Impression

To my use this guitar is perfect. It has a broad sound spectrum, it stays in tune when I use the tremolo a lot and the finish is great. I have had this guitar since the summer of 2007 and I'm very happy i bought it. it has been used for practicing as well as recording music. You can hear me play this guitar on my video on youtube which you can watch underneath. In this video I used direct input to record and the sound and tone bears notice of that. 

If you have any questions or comment, leave them in the comment section below or send me a message in the "Contact Page" here.

Hope you enjoy it!

-Kianul

Ibanez Electric Guitars

Hi people!

I have been busy the last couple of days and I haven't been able to post anything. As I am writing this, it's almost midnight here so I'm not going to post a long entry.

Tomorrow I will make a review of one of my guitars, the Ibanez RG350EX. This was the second electric guitar I bought, and the first Ibanez.

I have had this guitar for approximately 6 years and I have played it regularly since. It's a great guitar.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the full review!

-Kianul

Roland TD-9KX2

Hi

This entry will revolve around my electronic drum kit, the Roland TD-9KX V-Drums. I have had the set for a couple of years and it's very fun to play on. There are many neat functions like the play-along function, where you can play along with many prerecorded songs, in which you can change the tempo. There is also a quick record/quick play practice function which comes in handy if you are a beginner or even a seasoned drummer.

When you buy the set you get a box with the following content:

• TD-9 percussion sound module 
• PD-105BK dual triggering snare drum
• 3 x PD-85K dual triggering toms
• CY-12R/C three-zone cymbal
• CY-8 dual-zone cymbal
• CY-5 single-zone hi-hat
• KD-8 Kick pad
• 1 x FD-8 hi-hat pedal
• The drum stand

In the picture to the right you can see my set. Keep in mind that I bought and extra CY-8 cymbal.


TD-9 sound module is packed with hundreds of sounds which you can mix and match into your own personal drum-set. There is 3-way triggering available. The module has two extra jack inputs which mean that you can connect two extra cymbals, two extra toms or one of each. It also has MIDI connectors, a mini jack input and a USB port. The USB port is there so you can backup your settings performances and to play back WAV files.

The cymbals have a nice sound to them and they have the ability to choke the sound via the edge trigger.

Out of the four drum pads included in the kit, there are one that stands out. That's the PD-105BK. It's the largest and the coolest of the pads. It has very accurate sensing in the rim and head meaning that you can do both rim shots and cross sticking with ease. All the pads are fitted with Remo-manufactured mesh heads and they have a nice shell finish.

The kit is easy to set up, even if you have never done it before. The kit has so many different sound you can put together into your own drum kit. The mesh head pads makes the drum kit easy and quiet to play on. I have played this at home at 3 am without anyone complaining.

The drum stand is solid and sturdy. The cymbal mounts are strong with adjustable ball clamps and tilt mechanisms. This way you can adjust the position of every cymbal (and toms) freely for the most ergonomic setup that fits you as a drummer.

Underneath you can hear me playing the drum kit from some of my youtube-videos. If you find my videos interesting, you can subscribe or check out the rest of the videos here.

Hope you enjoy!

-Kianul

Liquido - Narcotic

30 Seconds to Mars - From Yesterday

Bowling For Soup - 1985

Dream Theater - Overture 1928

Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar

Hello!

In the last blog entry, I said I was going to review my acoustic guitar, the Taylor GS Mini. And here it comes!

Taylor GS Mini

I have had this guitar since summer 2011, so soon to be 2 years. The previous acoustic guitar I had was a cheap 100 dollar guitar, which was large and not comfortable playing on. The fretboard was bad and It hurt my fingertips playing it. When I got this, it was like heaven compared with the old one. The Taylor GS Mini is very easy to play on, meaning that you don't need to press your fingertips that hard on the fretboard in order to play notes. Major plus in my book!

Over to some technical data. The Taylor GS Mini is really a Grand Symphony guitar in 3/4 scale. If you are familiar with Taylor guitars, it can be compared with the Big Baby and Baby Taylor guitars. The total scale length is 597 mm with 20 frets.

Taylor GS Mini Mahogany

The GS Mini is only 1,8 kg (4 pounds), which is fairly lightweight. It is made up by both solid and laminate wood. The top is Sitka Spruce, with the neck and sides being Sapele. Giving it an good sound over the entire sound spectrum. With the sides being laminated wood, it makes the guitar suitable for travel playing because the laminate is stronger and more resistant to cracks. It has chrome tuning pegs and comes with a truss rod, which makes in resistant to changes in temperature while on the road. A truss rod in a steel rod that runs through the neck of the guitar used to stabilize and adjust the lengthwise forward curvature of the neck, which is also called relief.

The sound of the guitar is awesome. This small guitar can play loud. It has a nice tone both with finger style and strumming. When strumming it has rich powerful sound due to the large sound hole. The tuning holds very nice, even when changing it often. I often play with standard tuning and DADGAD tuning, and it holds the tuning very nice.

The guitar I have is 100 % acoustic, but Taylor has pickup which is easily installed in 5 minutes. The guitar has a removable end pin where you can install the jack to the pickup. The pick is optional when buying the guitar, but it can also be bought later for around a hundred dollars.

Overall the guitar is awesome to look at, awesome to play on and awesome to listen to. I don't use it as a travel guitar. I used it as my main and only acoustic guitar and I play any kind of genre. And for its listing price, this is an excellent buy for any guitar player. It also comes in a Mahogany version with the Sitka Spruce top being replaced by a Mahogany top.

If you are interested in seeing the guitars size or hearing the sound of the guitar, you can watch me play Andy McKee's "Drifting" underneath.

Hope you enjoy!

-Kianul

Update

Hi people!

I have been very busy the last two days and haven't had the chance to write any. But not to worry. Tomorrow I will write a review of my favorite instrument! My Taylor GS Mini acoustic guitar!

Stay tuned and I will speak with you tomorrow!

-Kianul

Review Roland F-120 SBA

Hi.

I thought it was a good idea to review some of the gear I have. This for the purpose of letting others choose a suitable instrument/gear, but also so that you can get some insight in what type or gear I have and what I use it for.

I thought I would start with my newest instrument, the Roland F-120 SBA. Its a 88 key Ivory Feel-G keyboard. Ivory Feel-G with Progressive Hammer Action is a term that mean that the keyboard has the feel and touch of a true piano.

It has a space-saving cabinet. It is only 30 cm in depth, which makes it not so dominating in a smaller room, or in any room for that matter. In my opinion it is a really nice piece of furniture. It looks really good in your living room.
My cabinet is black (Satin Black to be exact), but it comes in white as well  It's lightweight (about 34 kg or 75 pounds), which makes it easy to move around. Specially if you mainly have it in your living room, but record with it in your studio in your basement or garage.

It has a folding lid that covers the entire keyboard and keeps the keys dust-free and clean. When the lid is raised, it acts as a sheet holder. Practical and clean design!

It has many features, for example the Twin-Piano-feature which splits the piano into two parts, both of them covering the same octaves. This is very ideal if you got a teacher or a friends to teach you how to play. You can then play side by side, and you can see and hear when you are practicing together. Neat!

The keyboard also features a metronome and a recorder. That way you can practice on keeping a perfect time and listen to your performance afterwards.

It has three pedals, just like a true piano, which dampen and sustains the notes (a Damper, soft and sostenuto). It has several connectors. It has an input jack which enables you to play along with other songs, or listen to a tutorial on youtube via a computer (mini jack). It also has Output jacks (L/Mono and R - 1/4 inch jack). If you don't want to disturb your family members, you can always use one of the two headphone jack (2 x 1/4 inch jack). The piano also has MIDI connectors, In and Out.

The thing I like the most about this keyboard is that it really feels like a piano. The hammer action is perfect, in my head, the design is outstanding and clever. It plays loud enough with its two 12 W speakers. It has 189 prerecorded songs, all of them classic songs - which I'm not going to go further into.

It has 4 piano sounds, 4 ensemble sounds, as well as 22 other sounds, covering strings, accordion, orchestra, organ and choir.

All in all, a great keyboard with many functions and sounds. Feels and sounds like a true piano. Fits piano-players in all ages and all skill levels. And at a low price! You should try it in your closest store!

-Kianul

Request

Hi!

I would appreciate it if you could request something in the comment section. You can request specific topic you want me to write about, questions you have about my gear or recording methods, or you can request a certain song you would like for me to upload to youtube and this blog.

All request will be answered and considered before making the blog entry or the recording of the song. There is also a possibility to ask personal questions although I might not answer all of them if they are too personal.

Look forward to hear from you!

-Kianul