Review: Fender Squier Affinity Strat

K guys, im sorry i cant update as frequently as i used to.. im in the middle of my exams now and im seriously busy.. just be patient k.. thx fr the support

Features: It has a laminated top, the neck is a beautiful, dark, burnt red maple. Srat body, obviously. 5 way selector. 2 tone adjusters. // 7

Sound: I play whatever the hell I think sounds good. Lately alot of 90's grunge some newer and older metal, reggae, and always punk.

The sound is extremely decent for the money. The guitar has an extremely bright poppy loud sound when on the clean channel. The distortion is very good, BUT it depends on your style. For me it was perfect considering I play the kind of music that does not require an articulated sound board.If you play a type of music that needs a very distinct sound than this guitar would be about 3 notches above mediocre. This guitar is basically my baby and I would never sell it. 

Bottom line: its a AMAZING guitar for the money, BUT you will want a nicer, more, advanced guitar, if you will, as you progress musically.Its a beginner guitar, but not only for beginners. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS GUITAR I GUARANTEE IT. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: I took this guitar right out of the box and started shredding. It was in perfect condition for playing. The pickups will sound absolutely great on the clean channel of your amp, distortion also. I am thinking about changing out the pickups, only because I've been using this guitar for about 3 years now. The guitar contained no flaws, for the first 2 years. Afterwards, due to season changes, the neck started to warp ever so slightly. All you need to get this fixed is show it to your local geeeetar center or music store, they'll fix it right up. As far as action goes from the new state... Ummm preety bad not going to lie. BUT it is adjustable, thank God. I have a red finish and it looks absolutely beautiful in my opinion. This is a great guitar to have if your looking to make something yours, if you know what I mean(stickers, drawings, etc.) I'm sure you'll love it enough to call it your baby. (; // 9

Reliability & Durability: This sucker is indestructible, I can't count the amount of times I have bumped it on dressers, walls, (insert blunt, hard object here). It WILL hold up. I have played with it live 4 times with my band...no problems whatsoever. I would totally trust this guitar at any gig, I know I'm no gig guru, but considering I've had band practice 3+ times a week for 7 months and it holds up, I wouldn't be worried. The strap buttons have yet to fail me. The finish hasn't scratched, after soo much wear. I really do love this guitar despite its simplicity to most players. // 10

Impression: I play whatever. Literally. I play metal, punk, reggae, acoustic, rock, alternative, indie, ska, grunge etc. etc. etc. and this guitar is almost perfect with every genre, the only one I would worry about would be Acoustic playing, but you didn't buy an electric for that now did you?

I have been playing for about 3 years now, of course I desire another guitar but this sucker suits me fine at the moment. (actually I'm about to purchase either a Schecter or Ibanez rg120) If this guitar was stolen, I would cry, and I'm totally serious hahaha. I would immediately buy another one. The one and only con about this guitar would be the action/intonation/height of your strings from the neck... LOL. They are getting much too far from the neck. Everything else is totally awesome. Maybe its just me, but I love this guitar, as I love all my guitars, but this one the most. One thing I wish it had was the word "Fender" instead of "Squire" in Fender font on the head. Hahaha. I don't know I just feel like a poser when walking into music stores with it. (; this guitar has a beginners reputation, but I believe its a suitable guitar for at least an above mediocre guitar player. Damn, finally finished with this review. Ha. Took forever. // 10

Review:Epiphone Les Paul Slash Signature

here's your weekly review.. copypasted as usual

Features: This guitar was made shortly after the Gibson Slash Signature model was made. There were only 75 of the Gibson ones made, and this is a Epiphone Limited Edition, so there's not alot of these around. I think this one was made somewhere between 1997-1999. This is almost exactly the same as the Gibson version, except instead of a hand painted snake, it is a decal, instead of a pearl snake coiling up the neck, it is trapazoid inlays, and in the place of a carved snake in the middle of the head, it is a small Slash siganture. But the pickups are the same, so you will get the same sound. It is equipped with 2 Alnico II humbuckers. Like the Gibson one, it has 22 frets, and like any standard les paul, has 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs, and a 3 way selecter Switch. Unfortunately the 3 way selector Switch is very loose, and can break very easily, which sucks. The body has a wonderful red flametop which looks spectacular. The tuners and bridge are black, instead of chrome or gold (which Gibson usually uses), so it is an interesting change. The neck is a very fast neck, which makes for great soloing. // 8

Sound: I am a rock guitarist, and this guitar delivers the sound you need to play rock. When I bought this, there were no pickup covers, so they are open coils, which means a raw-er sound. When you play through full guitar volume on the bridge humbucker with distortion, you get a sound that you would expect to hear from Slash. Think Welcome to the Jungle or the ending solo from November Rain. If you play through clean with full volume and tone on the neck humbucker, you get the exact sound from the beginning of Knockin On Heaven's Door. If you play with full volume and no tone, you get almost a spanish guitar sound. When played through distortion you get an awesome creamy tone. Very cool. I am playing this through a Peavey amp and a Digitech50 multi effects pedal. If I can get a Slash sound through these things, imagine the sound you can get from a Marshall stack. Exactly. This is an excellent sounding guitar, and is perfect for hard rock, and a little punk. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: I got this guitar used, so I can't tell you what the factory set up was, but when I bought this, the action was still incredible. It is an incredibly fast neck, and has great frets. The finish is incredible looking, and this guitar has a beautiful red flametop. I think the exact color is called cranberry. Anyways. There are only 2 problems with this guitar I found. The 3 way selector Switch was very loose, and is now extremely loose after I was playing with it. The nut also isn't that wonderful. On the G and D strings it gets stuck on a pitch, then suddenly jumps up a few when I am tuning. But other than these minor defaults, this guitar is incredibly well built. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar has very good reliabilty, and it is very durable. I've used this in a couple of live shows, and it has delivered well, getting a great sound, and a great tone for solos. I need to replace the pickup selector and the nut, but even with both of these in less then perfect shape, it still plays and sounds like a dream. The finish is very solid, and after months of getting scraped with my picks, looks like new. The strap button closest to the neck recently came out, and I need to get that repaired, but that happens with all of my guitars, so I'm not blaming that on the guitar. This is a very dependable guitar, and would use it on a gig with a short set-list without a backup. However, I would take a backup with me on a larger set list gig. So for reliability, durability, and dependability, the Slash Signature Les Paul is top notch. // 10

Impression: This is my favorite guitar that I own. It has an amazing look, and amazing sound. I love everything about it, and my favorite feature is definatly the sound and look of it. This is the best sounding of my other guitars. It isn't a common guitar, and is kind of rare, so if you ever come across one, I urge you to buy it. It is a wonderful hard rock/punk guitar, but I wouldn't suggest it for nu-metal. I read about this guitar before I knew there was one near where I lived, and when I saw it, I knew immediately that I had to get it, and I definitely don't regret it. // 10

Song Review: System of a Down: Know

yup.. its soad again.. im sorry i cant really post often.. kinda busy nowadays.. k den.. lets begin

LYRICS
Cursed Earth, Cursed Earth, Cursed Earth, Cursed Earth.

I will never feed off the evergreen luster of your heart all because we all live in the valley of the walls when we speak we can peak from the windows of their mouths to see the land the women chant as they fly up to the sun.

You never think you know why,
Know, You never think you know why,
Know, You never think you know why,
Know, Ever think you know why,
Know.

Books all say different things while people flap their yellow wings trying 
to soar by being a whore of life and almost everything the sheep that ran 
off from the herd may be dead but now's a bird able to fly able to die able 
to break your cursed earth


You never think you know why,
Know, You never think you know why,
Know, You never think you know why,
Know, Ever think you know why,
Know.

On the other side, on the other side, the other side,
Do you ever try to fly, Do you ever try to fly?
Have you ever wanted to die, you ever want to die?

Don't ever try to fly, don't ever try to fly,
Don't ever try to fly, unless you leave your body on the other side,
Never try to die, you ever try to die.

Know, You never think you know why,
Know, You never think you know why,
Know, You never think you know why,
Know, Ever think you know why, Know. 


MEANING

i will never feed off the evergreen luster of your heart 

this means that he wont believe what organized religions tell him, in their fancy way of making themselves look innocent and good, hence the words used like heart. he says this since they have no real proof or really know and are just in it for their own gain


all because we all live in the valley of the walls

this means we live in a world where we dont know whats gonna happen next, hence the valley of the walls. the walls symbolize that we cant see was on the other side, like when we die. no one can see and know the truth.

when they speak we can peek, through the windows of her mouth see the land the women chant as they fly up to the sun

this means when organized religions like christianity or islam tell u their belief about heaven and all that, when they speak and seeing them fly up to the sun, saying they are explaining to u that u will die and go to heaven if u follow us.

books all say different thing while people flap their yellow wings

is like what free thinker say - it means different books say different things about afterlife, no one knows. people flapping their yellow wings, means all people jumping to conclusions and believing what they read, hence YELLOW WINGS, in other words fake wings. they are living their lives thinking that the religions are right, so they are already flapping their wings to get ready to go when they really dont know.
the rest basically means we try to soar, by believing but then in reality we go out and take advantage of things and the earth, being a whore of life, thinking that believing is enough to get into heaven and we can be a whore in life. the sheep that run stuff mite support the idea of reincarnation stating that that could be a possibility as well, thats why he says MAYBE dead,,

then the whole u ever wanted to die stuff, thats basically saying have u ever really wanted to know what happens and think hard about, but then says, dont ever try to fly unless u leave your body... saying that no matter how hard u think u wont know until u actually die (leaving your body on the other side), and again starts with the, you'll never think u know, stating that all in all, u will never know until u die.

kay guys.. i kinda rushed through.. srry again.. 

Review: Ibanez JEM JR

yeah.. ibanez.. this thing is a beauty. check it out!

Ibanez JEM JR. Is a beautiful guitar. It's basically a cheaper twin (much cheaper) of JEM 555 (a cousin of JEM 777). The guitar was made for those Who peoples Who loves jems but can't afford one. But it still is a jem. It is 24 frets, a Floyd Rose bridge. Mine was made in Japan in 2005. It has passive electronics. It is 2 humbuckers and 1 single coil pick-ups. It also has locking tuners. // 10

Sound: I play rock music. I do some metal riffs and some clean plucking and some overdrive distortion soloing. The guitar has lovely sound on all of these areas. The distortion is a little thick and heavy for the humbuckers. I am using a sony ta-1630 amp with a Zoom G2multi-effects pedal. The sound is bright, but not too much. The volume on the single coil is a little low though.

It has almost no noise at all ever at high volume. It doesn't even show any noise when playing with a high gain distortion pedal. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar has fantastic finishing. No flaws at all. The pick-ups are fine. I bought it second hand, so there were some scratches from picks but no real damage. This pick-up selector works smoothly, you can change pick-up position during a song and not effect the sound quality or introduce any noise. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Because of being a Floyd Rose bridge, tuning the guitar is an ART. The tuning stays for a long time, even if you do some hard strumming and a lot of pulling. Tuning requires adjusting about once a month, which isn't bad. The tremelos is strong, I have dropped it a few times without breaking it. // 9

Impression: Great deal for it's price. A new JEM JR. Will cost you about 450 US dollars. If you want an Ibanez, at this price, it is much better than the GRZs. Besides, it's a different feeling when you own a Jem. People may say to you, it's not a real jem. But if it's made byIbanez and says "Jem" on it, than it's a Jem. And you can't beat a jem. // 9

Song Review: Metallica: Low Man's Lyric

Okay. this time its a song which really captured my attention. you guys should give it a hear. its just awesome.

LYRICS
My eyes seek reality
My fingers seek my veins
There's a dog at your back step
He must come in from the rain
I fall 'cause I let go
The net below has rot away
So my eyes seek reality
And my fingers seek my veins



The trash fire is warm
Nowhere safe from the storm
And I can't bear to see
What I've let me be
So wicked and worn

So as I write to you
What is done and to do
Maybe you'll understand
And won't cry for this man
'cause low man is due
Please forgive me

My eyes seek reality
My fingers feel for faith
Touch clean with a dirty hand
I touched the clean to the waste

The trash fire is warm
Nowhere safe from the storm
I can't bear to see
What I've let me be
So wicked and worn

So as I write to you, yeah
What is done and to do, yeah?
Maybe you'll understand
And won't cry for this man
'cause low man is due
Please forgive me
Please forgive me
Please forgive me

So low the sky is all I see
All I want from you is forgive me
So you bring this poor dog in from the rain
Though he just wants right back out again

And I cry, to the alley way
Confess all to the rain
But I lie, lie straight to the mirror
One I've broken, to match my face

The trash fire is warm

Nowhere safe from the storm
And I can't bear to see
What I've let me be
So wicked and worn

So as I write to you, yeah
What is done and to do, yeah?
Maybe you'll understand
And won't cry for this man
'cause low man is due
Please forgive me
Please forgive me

So low the sky is all I see
All I want from you is forgive me
So, you bring this poor dog in from the rain
Though he just wants right back out again

My eyes seek reality
My fingers seek my veins 

MEANING


once again, im gonna stress that these are my interpretations and probably not the 100% true meaning.. lets begin..

Usually i would do it line by line.. but Metallica's lyrics are somewhat different. In order to truly understand, one should capture the overall theme first..

In my opinion this song speaks of a homeless dude. This guy has been through a heapload of shit.. and the decisions he made bhrought him to what he is now.

My eyes seek reality
My fingers seek my veins
There's a dog at your back step
He must come in from the rain
I fall 'cause I let go
The net below has rot away


this shows that hes given up. he has seen the reality that he will never be a normal peson. he would juz continue to live as a homeless guy and die that way. so he seeks suicide. thus the lines "fall as i let go". hes also got nothing left to fall back on..

The trash fire is warm
Nowhere safe from the storm
And I can't bear to see
What I've let me be
So wicked and worn

well the trash fire, as warm as it may be.. is the only thing he has. This feeling of hopelessness, of loneliness of frustration, of despair, all boils down to self hate as he let himself be the person he is now.

So as I write to you
What is done and to do
Maybe you'll understand
And won't cry for this man
'cause low man is due
Please forgive me

he's writing a letter. a suicide letter. probably to family.

My eyes seek reality
My fingers feel for faith
Touch clean with a dirty hand
I touched the clean to the waste

Again he starts to contemplate suicide and reminisces all his past memories and how he spoiled it all..

So low the sky is all I see
All I want from you is forgive me
So you bring this poor dog in from the rain
Though he just wants right back out again

He feels uterlly useless at this point.. all he wants is for his family to forgive him.. forgive him for what he is. they tried to help him in his past but he, as usual, screwed it up(probably drugs or something) and ended up homeless again.

And I cry, to the alley way
Confess all to the rain
But I lie, lie straight to the mirror
One I've broken, to match my face

Again he's feeling all lonely.. all hes got is the alleyway and the rain.. and he continues to lie.. lie to himself but he knows that he will never lead a happy life.

well thats it i guess.. leave comments guys. and im open to suggestions on what to to next week. kthx!

Review: 50th Anniversary Stratocaster

Ok. Fender this time.. Even though I aint such a big fan of fenders, this baby is too good to miss.. 






Features: This Stratocaster was build in 1996 in the USA, she has 22 medium-jumbo frets set in a Rosewood fretboard which is glued to a maple neck that finishes with a standard sized headstock, all this kept straight with a bi-flex truss rod. She's made of solid Ash with a transparent tripletoned red sunburst nitrocelulose layer of lacquer over the body and a polyurethane finish over the neck. The fretboard has a natural finish with white dot inlayed position markers and small dot marker inlays at the boundary between the rosewood board and maple neck. The body style is that of a standard contoured Stratocaster and is mounted with a two point fully adjustable floating bridge, the strings are naturally passed through the body as with all Strats. The guitar does not have any active electronics but is mounted with a DBX tone that work together with the bridge and middle sensor. From 1 throught to 5 the tone acts as a nornal tone pot at 5 there is a detent afterwhich a dually mounted pot acts to brighten the sound of the bridge and middle sensors, three gold Fender-Lace sensors grace this guitar, mounted on a pearloid scratchplate and controlled by a standard 5-way rotor switch. The guitar has locking Schaller tuners and a LSR roller nut but lacks any string trees. To maintain tuning during string breakage a hipshot tremsetter is factory installed between two springs in the rear cavity. The guitar came with it's original moulded hardshelled case with plush grey interior, tremolo arm, Fender strap and banana-yellow loinfree wiping cloth. // 10
Sound: The guitar a little jewel, my influences are Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, U2, Queen, Nirvana, Guns n' Roses, Air, Coldplay the list doesn't end! If I like the sound of something I'll try to play it, simple as. This Strat is enormously flexible ans willing to produce any tone, other then a fat Gibson tone, without much hard work. I use a small Fender Bullet Reverb amp, Dunlop Crybaby GCB-95 and a Boss Metal Zone MT2 for some serious crunch. This guitar is just as quiet if not quieter than my Les Paul Standard, this due to the Fender Lace sensors which don't actually pickup on that well known nasty 60 Hz hum so common to Standard Strats. As a result of not having and magnetic field in the sensor, there is not pull on the strings which means the sensors can be raised as close as resonable possible to the strings to get the best out of the sensors. This guitar has better sustain than my Gibson Standard Les Paul! The sound has been compared to a rich bell-like '50s tone, and I believe she sounds like she was made in heaven. No problem geting the Pink Floyd or Dire Straits tone which I cherish. Add the distortion and she rips the house down despite what some people say! She can be quite loud but you really need to turn the amp up for that. One point to note is that by having such a quiet guitar you can really get the best out of the amp by pumping it up to 10, which I thoroughly enjoy doing, in the absense of my landlady of course! // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: Seen as I only got the guitar 10 years down the line, I have absolutely no idea how well the factory set her up. When I got her from Ebay, she needed seeing to (removing a little wooden block used to block the tremolo action, then tighten the springs) The Hipshot Tremsetter also needs to be seen to but I'll do that when I've put my required string guage on. The sensors, as previously mentioned should be as close to the strings as possible, and they weren't when I received her. Haven't had a look under the pickguard yet, but from the rear and jack cavities, the internal routing appears to be of high standard. Considering her 10 years of age this guitar is in pretty good condition, albeit several dings most of which only visible from less than a meter and one scratch deeper than the lacquer but fortunately for me, in the dark area of the sunburst and thus easily covered up. There is also some peeling of the lacquer on the upper section of the skunk stripe on the rear of the neck. The guitar's hardware is perfect condition and none of the metallic parts have tarnished. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Unless stolen or broken by anyone else, this guitar will carry on on its time journey and I do hope when I have kids that they'll be abe to appreciate her as much as I do. The body should survive a nuclear holocaust but I may one day remove the lacquer and get the wood out as I'd realy prefer that to the nitocellulose finish. The strap buttons are as lousy as with any USA brand instrument so I've replaced tham with nice wide ones. When I have some more money I'll get some locking straps and remount the original hardware. I can most ertainly depend on this one but would nevertheless have my Gibson not as a backup but accompanying instrument as she's my baby too! The finish is in brilliant nick, but as I said it might just come off! I've got to see how much work it involves, what the risks are then plan my move. // 10
Impression: I have very varied style and she fits me just like a glove. I've been playing for 7-8 years on an old Eko (acoustic), Westfield (acoustic), Transfer (electric), 2003 Gibson Les Paul Standard(elect), Dunlop GCB95 Crybaby, Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, Zoom 9002 Pro with foot switch, Dunlop capo & slide, Fender 38 Watt Bullet Reverb amp and any pick I can lay my fingers onto. I pretty much new everything about the product prior to purchase. If stolen/lost, my aim would be to find a clone somewhere soon. I love everything, the vibrato isn't really my best friend as the electric I started off with lost it's arm prior to my acquiring her, but I'll get used to it soon enough. Favourite features: Locking tuners, LSR roller nut, hipshot tremsetter, rosewood fretboard, Bi-fles truss rod, DBX tone, Fender-Lace pickups, Pearloid scratchplate, Moulded case, sunburst, two-point floating bridge. That sounds like the whole guitar to me. I compared it to the American Standard Strat, Strat pluses and all the Deluxe models. I chose this one over a contemporary 1995 Strat Plus for: the sunburst, the rosewood fretboard which I greatly prefer. The bonus is I didn't know it was a Fender Anniversary model, with the added tone pot which other Strat Pluses don't appear to have. I'm not excatly sure if it is really just a Strat Plus or a Deluxe Strat Plus, as I have heard that Deluxe models: don't have a "D" prior to the serial number, have been known to come with 3 gold Lace sensors instead of more usual silver-silver-blue, the Deluxe also has the DBX tone control. So yeah, Purchase of the year with as much satisfaction as my Gibson Les Paul Standard. I wish I wish she came with a couple more of her kind as safety backup, but that would be greedy as I do wish other guitarists out there to get hold of one of these if they can. // 10

Song Review: Soundgarden: The Day I Tried to Live

okay.. you know the drill.. lets get to business... again, this is only my interpretation. enjoy!

LYRICS  

I woke the same as any other day
Except a voice was in my head
It said seize the day, pull the trigger
Drop the blade, and watch the rolling heads

The day I tried to live
I stole a thousand beggar's change
And gave it to the rich

The day I tried to win
I dangled from the power lines
And let the martyrs stretch
Singing

One more time around might do it
One more time around might make it
One more time around might do it
One more time around
The day I tried to live

Words you say never seem
To live up to the ones inside your head
The lives we make never seem
To ever get us anywhere but dead

The day I tried to live
I wallowed in the blood and mud with
All the other pigs

I woke the same as any other day you know
I should have stayed in bed

The day I tried to win
I wallowed in the blood and mud with
All the other pigs

And I learned that I was a liar

(one more time around)

The day i tried live

Just like you 

MEANING 

okay as usual, ill start with the first line..

I woke the same as any other day
Except a voice was in my head
It said seize the day, pull the trigger
Drop the blade, and watch the rolling heads

these lines suggest that chris has a story going on here.. it is defenitely about waking up and deciding that it was time to 'live' and 'win'...which meant to join the rat race, lie, support capitalism...

The day I tried to live

I stole a thousand beggar's change
And gave it to the rich

so, chris just tried to live the average middle class life like all the others. and he realise that hes actually acting as a channel.. channeling money from the poor working class and handing it over the the bourgeoisie.. 

The day I tried to win
I dangled from the power lines
And let the martyrs stretch
Singing 

With that part of the song, I always thought it was about how the person that the songs talking about tried to do confrom to society, but he ended up washed up, thus he "Dangled from the powerlines".

One more time around might do it
One more time around might make it
One more time around might do it
One more time around
The day I tried to live

These lines i think is about him telling himself that with maybe just one more time, one more day, he might be able to block out his guilt... but naturally, i doesn't work.

Words you say never seem
To live up to the ones inside your head
The lives we make never seem
To ever get us anywhere but dead

These lines are one of my favourite... the words you say are like people encouraging you to do good and don't lie and help people always... they never work in this kind of a society.. and hes also saying(on the 3rd and 4th lines) that the lives we make, the wealth, the glamour, all that we achieve via greed, are all gonna go away one day...

The day I tried to live
I wallowed in the blood and mud with
All the other pigs

this one speaks for itself... the pigs being all the other rat-racers. blood symbolises the expense of the poor.. mud i think refers to the filth and corruption..

I woke the same as any other day you know
I should have stayed in bed

this is where he regrets ever trying to fit in society, joining the rat race etc. etc. 

And I learned that I was a liar

(one more time around)

he learned that he too is a liar, just like all the other pigs he has always despised.

The day i tried live

Just like you 

its like him saying: "well, that was the day i tried to live just like you.."

well to sum it up its an "outsider", the narrator has viewed the corruption of our world with distaste, but from a distance, without participating. One day he awakes feeling a drive to take some kind of action. Diving into life, he discovers that despite good intentions, it is not so easy to live in this world without sometimes lying, cheating, and doing harm to other people. But "one more time around might do it." So maybe it is not hopeless -- maybe it is worth trying again until you learn to get it right. In the end, he feels somewhat ashamed -- he did not live up to his own high standards; he couldn't keep from getting his hands dirty in the "blood and mud", and he learned that he too is a liar, just like all the other pigs he has always despised.

yeah.. its an awesome song...

Review: LTD FX-400

Ahem.. as we only do song reviews once a week, hers another guitar review.. I'm still waiting for your song review requests, so leave em in the comments field..

Features: This guitar is a 2007 Korean-made model and like all other ESP LTD models constructed in Korea the workmanship on this instrument is excellent. The guitar has 22 extra jumbo frets on a 24.75" scale neck. The neck itself is a five piece mahogany/maple set-in Thin-U and it's quite thin and very slick to play. It features an Earvana compensated nut which is an excellent piece of equipment that really helps the guitar stay in tune. The body is a Standard ESP Explorer shape and is made of mahogany with a spalted maple top. The headstock is similar to that of the ESP F-series and is made of the same wood as the body. It really stands out against the Standard Explorer head. It comes with Grover tuners which are of excellent quality and while not locking, they're still very good. The guitar's finish is natural satin and looks absolutely beautiful. Pictures really don't do this guitar's looks justice. The natural features of the wood really leap out at you and the darker staining on some areas of the guitar, particularly the two bands on either horn and on the top and bottom facings, gief it a degree of relief that highlights the area around the bridge and pick-ups. Again, the headstock finish matches that of the body. The bridge is a Tune-o-matic with a black chrome stop tailpiece. One comment I must make about the hardware is that it wasn't as dark as I was expecting and in bright light doesn't look that siginificantly different from Standard chrome hardware. Mind you, it still looks fantastic. The controls are fairly Standard - one volume, one tone and a three-way pick-up selector. Independent volume pots for each pickup would have been nice but it doesn't really make that big a difference. Speaking of the pick-ups, the FX400 features an EMG 81 in the bridge and a 60 in the neck. A In terms of accessories, the guitar only came with a couple of hex keys, which I found odd as most of the hardware seems to be adjusted by screwdrivers rather than hex keys. I'm not complaining in the least about the lack of accessories - for the price I paid, £250-£300 less than from my local guitar store, I'm pretty delighted with the guitar itself. Once again I have to emphasise that this guitar is GORGEOUS. I've long had a soft spot for Explorers but this is easily one of the best looking of the bunch. The finish and the headstock really help it stand out from the crowd. // 10

Sound: As you'd expect from active EMGs, they produce superb metal tones but the 60 in the neck really surprised with some of the cleans it can put out. One of my main worries about going for a guitar with stock EMGs was that I'd end up with something good for metal and nothing else. Happily I can report that this is not the case. The EMG is great for blues and passable on pretty much everything else. Granted, some of the benefits of the EMGs are lost when playing through a solid-state amp (although it still sounds great through my Microcube for practicing) but connect it to a decent tube amp and watch it Shine. Something else that really surprised me is how quiet the guitar is! I've just moved from a Mexican Strat and the EMGs are so quiet it's almost unnerving! No single-coil hum, no odd buzzing. Even compared to other humbuckers they're deathly silent. I've found that this really helps when playing Ultra high-gain metal (Black Metal in my case) as each note rings out clear and true and and no unwanted noise is picked up. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action needed to be slightly raised to get rid of some irritating fret buzz on the lower E string and the bridge pickup needed to be lowered ever-so slightly but these two jobs took less than a minute combined. The pick-up selector is a little too sensitive when in the neck position and a slight knock can center it or push it to the bridge but with care this doesn't happen. Apart from that, it was set up perfectly out of the box and the hardware and finish were flawless. I've seen a lot of complaints about Explorers in general that they tend to nosedive but so far I haven't seen any real evidence for this. Perhaps I'm compensating unconciously but I can't see the axe taking any dramatic dives for the floor any time soon. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I'm very much looking forward to playing this guitar Live and I can see no reason why it wouldn't stand up to gig after gig. I would always come with a backup regardless of what my Live guitar was but in the event that no backup was available I'm sure the FX400 would handle the job admirably. The guitar is solid as hell and the finish doesn't seem like it will be too easily damaged by the odd knock or bump. The strap buttons are great and I'm confident enough in them not to buy strap-locks for now. // 10

Impression: I mostly play metal of various sorts (Black, Folk, Power, Thrash, Death) as well as some blues, raggae and funk and this guitar is an excellent match for the metal and blues and does the job well enough on the other two. If I was a serious raggae or funk guitarist I'd probably opt for something else but as it is this guitar suits my needs perfectly. I've been playing on and off for about 5 years and this is my first foray into the world of what I'd consider 'expensive' instruments. If it were stolen or lost I can most certainly see myself buying the same guitar again, unless the cash was readily available for an ESP Explorer. My favourite things about this guitar are it's looks, tone and it's playability. It feels like such a massive step up from my old Strat. I suppose what I like the most is how unique it looks - as I mentioned ealier, the headstock and finish really make it stand out and these were the determining factors in my purchase really. I weighed up a Jackson DKMGT (dismissed because I didn't like the feel of it), a Schecter Hellraiser (incredibly difficult to get in Britain), an Ibanez VBT700 (decided I didn't want a V right now), various ESP LTD EC 400s and 500s (prefered the feel of the Explorer) and the ESP Viper 400/500 (the body shape looked weird with the the big lump on the Standard SG shape). I was about to go for an EX400 in black when I saw the FX400. I fell in love with it's looks instantly and knew I HAD to have it! Overall I am incredibly pleased with it and am looking forward to many years of playing with it. If there was one thing I'd ask for it's be an extra two frets, bringing it up to 24, but it really isn't that big a deal as I mostly play rythym guitar. // 10

Song Review: System of a Down : Dreaming

Well, first of all i would like to thank you guys for the comments and suggestions.. So, following the request by
Truth will be revealed (and also coz im a fan of them) i guess i will be doing SOAD. The song this week would be one of my favorites: Dreaming from the album Hypnotize..

LYRICS


For today we will take the body parts and put them on the wall

For treated indigenously, digenously
Human right is private blue chip, pry

We're the prophetic generation of bottled water, bottled water
Causing poor populations to die, to die, to die (For treated
indigenously, digenously) (Human right is private blue chip, pry)

You, you went beyond and you lost it all Why did you go there From
beyond you saw it all why did you

We lost consumer confidence in casual karma, casual karma
Confetti, camouflage, camouflage, the flage, the flage
(For treated indigenously, digenously)
(Human right is private blue chip, pry)

We're the prophetic generation of bottled water, bottled water
Causing poor populations to die, to die, to die
(For treated indigenously, digenously)
(Human right is private blue chip, pry)

You, you went beyond and you lost it all Why did you go there From
beyond you saw it all why did you go there

She lost her mind
Someone kicked her into the back of the line

She lost her head
When they called and they said that they thought he was dead

Dreaming of screaming
Someone kick me out of my mind
I hate these thoughts I can't deny
Dreaming of screaming
Someone kick me out of my mind
I hate these thoughts I can't de--

We lost consumer confidence in casual karma, casual karma
Confetti, camouflage, camouflage, the flage, the flage (For treated
indigenously, digenously) (Human right is private blue chip, pry)

We're the prophetic generation of bottled water, bottled water
Causing poor populations to die, to die, to die
(For treated indigenously, digenously)
(Human right is private blue chip, pry)

You, you went beyond and you lost it all Why did you go there From
beyond you saw it all why did you

Dreaming of screaming
Someone kick me out of my mind
I hate these thoughts I can't deny

Dreaming of screaming
Someone kick me out of my mind
I hate these thoughts I can't deny

You will take the body parts and put them up on the wall And bring the
dark disaster 


MEANINGS


Well, i guess i'll start from the first line.. Remember guys, the meaning is only as i interpret it.. im not saying that its 100% correct. Its juz my point of view...

"For today we will take the body parts and put them on the wall"


i think this line refers to the great wall of China.. it was built via forced labour and millions died in its construction..Those who died were seemed as unworthy and were buried into the wall itself... However, i believe that the writer( Serj ) is not referring to it literally.. hes actually referring to it as a symbol.. A symbol of how the government (or anyone in power for that matter) has exploited people and how people suffer of it..

"For treated indigenously, digenously
Human right is private blue chip, pry"


These lines, i believe, refer to the human rights as being private and should not be exploited..
the blue chip refers to the verichip i guess...

"We're the prophetic generation of bottled water, bottled water
Causing poor populations to die, to die, to die"


This one, i suspect is mildly anti-capitalistic.. i think hes ranting about how the bourgeoisie can even sell bottled water and make a profit... while we, the middle class  also buy these little unnecessary things.. our moneys go into the already stinking rich capitalists pockets and millions of poor people who would have benefited in the money continue to starve...


"You, you went beyond and you lost it all Why did you go there From
beyond you saw it all why did you"


We, the middle class, the ones with the power to change things, continue upon this path.. We see where this path is going but we continue to take the passive role and leave it all tho those in power when WE should be the one taking charge..

"We lost consumer confidence in casual karma, casual karma
Confetti, camouflage, camouflage, the flage, the flage


Everytime the government is beggining to be analyzed a bit too much, and reprucussions for their actions begin to surface... just when we begin to prosecute for the crime and felony of invasion of privacy in which the CIA is guilty of countless times in our own country to citizens that are innocent and done when they have no warrant

"She lost her mind
Someone kicked her into the back of the line

She lost her head
When they called and they said that they thought he was dead"

these lines kinda baffle me.. im not really sure what they mean but i think it speaks of the US being the "she".. we lost our minds.. not caring and stuff.. and slowly we are falling back..

"Dreaming of screaming
Someone kick me out of my mind
I hate these thoughts I can't deny
Dreaming of screaming
Someone kick me out of my mind
I hate these thoughts I can't de--"

These lines pretty much describe the state we are in now... we continue to not care about the real world.. lost in our world of pop divas and disney boy bands, snug in our starbucks and burger king... we are living a lie.. and the writer hates the very thought of this...

"You will take the body parts and put them up on the wall 

And bring the dark disaster"

this is where we continue our spiral downwards.. downwards into darkness, into disaster...

Phew.. ok were finally  done here.. hope that this review made good reading.. leave comments on what to review next week..