Taurus Warlock Copy

"Rusty strings on my old guitar
Speaks volumes of who you are.."
-- Joe Bonamassa, 2012

It looked like a BC Rich Warlock, but said "Taurus" on the headstock. I doubt if the manufacturer of this instrument had anything to do with present-day Taurus guitars, so I'll hazard a guess that it was born somewhere in the far east.

This Taurus Warlock Copy, as sent to me; could only be described as gnarly: zombie electronics, missing strap buttons, tarnished frets, grimy rosewood fretboard; and unbelievably high action. So high, in fact; that it was unplayable. And don't get me started on those rusty strings or ultra-deep nut slots.

I worked on the electronics first, junking the whole wiring harness and rewiring in a generic box-type 3-way toggle switch, Alpha A500K pots, 0.022uF cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 jack. The guitar came back to life after that, I'm glad to say.

Once that was taken care of, I reconditioned the fretboard, finishing off with a few drops of lemon oil. But what about the high action? Well, tightening the truss rod, shimming the neck; and lowering the saddles took care of that. While I was at it, I also reprofiled the nut so that the strings weren't "buried" in the slots.

After adding strap buttons and polishing the body, the guitar was delivered to its owner. But wait, there's more! The owner, driven by his creative instincts, cleverly used a roll of zebra-patterned tape to spruce up his beloved Taurus. I must say, the results are stunning indeed.
           

Shiro Sprinter Stratocaster Copy

A Short History Lesson
Information sourced from Jedistar and Aria Guitars indicates that "Shiro" guitars were produced by the Aria Tatsuno and Aria Nagoya guitar factories from around 1970 to 1982/83. It is also interesting to note that the name "Shiro" itself was derived from "Shiro Arai, Chairman and the founder of Aria Guitars."

Diagnosis
The Shiro Sprinter Stratocaster Copy featured in this post boasts a solid ash body, sunburst nitro finish, and maple neck. It arrived in less than pristine condition, for want of a better description. Further inspection and testing revealed the following:
1. Scratchy electronics, even after servicing
2. Worn-out tuning machines
3. Rusty string trees and trem springs
4. Rusty pickguard and backplate screws
5. Worn-out nut and frets
6. Jammed saddle height adjustment screws
7. Missing tremolo arm
8. Mismatched knobs (two strat-style and one chrome dome)
9. Salvageable tremolo unit

Work Done and Parts Replaced/Added
1. Pickup leads replaced with genuine vintage-style Gavitt (cloth covered push-back) wire
2. Alpha A250K pots/Gotoh DM-50 five-way selector switch/Neutrik output jack
3. Full refret and custom-fitted nut
4. Vintage-style string trees/tuning machines
5. Three tremolo springs
6. Russian 0.022uF PTFE tone cap
7. Three Genuine Fender Stratocaster control knobs
8. Six vintage-style saddles
9. Chrome pickguard and backplate screws

The missing tremolo arm was replaced with one taken from a Fender Strat on display at Kuantan Music. Here, words cannot express my gratitude to Kuantan Music senior guitar tech Mr. Liew. We'd tried all the trem arms on sale, but none fit satisfactorily.

Finally, Mr. Liew unscrewed one from a display unit, handed it to me, .... and it fit perfectly! Sensing that I was worried about his display unit now lacking a tremolo arm, he reassured me that he could always order a replacement along with the next shipment of Strats. How's that for service?

That's about it, I guess. Now, if you'd like to see and hear a Shiro Sprinter Strat in action, here's an excellent YouTube video of one being played through a Guyatone 1030 Reverb amp. Enjoy!
     

Paul Beuscher Jazz Bass Copy

Preamble
The only information I was able to gather on this seemingly vintage sunburst Jazz Bass copy was that it was "made in Japan," thanks to an Audiofanzine review on a similar (albeit left-handed) instrument. The task before me was to get this baby back into working condition "at minimal cost" (an extremely common request).

For starters, virtually every metal component on this bass was rusted and/or jammed, thanks to years of neglect. The bridge was totally unusable,as was the neck pickup. Thankfully, I managed to get the tuning machines and truss rod nut to turn smoothly after a derust/lube job.

Almost every screw had either a worn-out head or was frozen in the wood. Attempts to unscrew these ended in many of them breaking off below the surface. This being the case, I had no other option but to use a homemade screw extractor drill bit and pliers to remove them, and plug the resulting holes with wooden dowels.

The electronics were shot, as one would expect from an instrument in this condition. I was planning to replace the stock jack with a Neutrik, but budgetary constraints did not allow for that.

Work Done
Bodywork
New chrome covers for bridge and neck pickup
Replaced bridge
Replaced "tortoiseshell" pickguard
Replaced neck pickup
Replaced all screws
Replaced tug bar
Complete Rewire
New Alpha A250K volume/tone pots
New generic mono jack
New 0.022uF capacitor
Nut reprofile
New strings and setup

RF Band - Boccard 100th Anniversary Celebration

RF Band performed at the Boccard 100th Anniversary Celebration on April 14, 2018 at the Vistana Hotel poolside. The lineup was Che'gu Awal (keyboards), AA (guitar/vocals), Anne (vocals) and Dida Jameela (vocals). YouTube video courtesy of Glitz Talents.

Squier Japan Silver Series Stratocaster Upgrade

This Squier Japan Silver Series Stratocaster was hardly in stock condition when I received it. Modern Fender-style tuners had been added, the neck pickup had a brass base plate; and the 5-way switch was an Oak Grigsby. The nut was also missing. The owner wanted a new bone nut and vintage-style tuning machines, amongst other things. As such, work done and parts replaced/added on this guitar included the following:

1. Full refret
2. Pickup/control cavity rewire (Gavitt wire)
3. Custom bone nut (courtesy of Nonuz Zella)
4. New pickup springs
5. HDCustom pickup height adjustment screws
6. New pickguard screws
7. New set of vintage-style tuning machines

Kejohanan Sukan Institusi Pendidikan Malaysia (SIPMA) VII 2017

Kombo JPN Pahang performed at the opening (Stadium SUKPA, 2nd October 2017) and closing (Dewan Kampus UIA, 7th October 2017) ceremonies of SIPMA VII. The lineup was as follows:

Che'gu Awal: keyboards
AA: guitar/backing vocals
Izzat Jalil: guitar
Rizal Afendi: bass
Wan Asma: drums
Shaz Nor: lead vocals
Lorna Azwa: lead vocals