Arwah Abang Mail's Beloved Guitar

This natural-finished Strat copy once belonged to the late Ismail Nasir aka Abang Mail. We played together in the '90s and early 2000s in musical groups such as BIPP (IPD Kuantan) and Kuintet Aslirama. Perhaps my fondest memory regarding Abang Mail is the one week we gigged at Suntech City (Singapore) in 2000 as backing musicians for the Yayasan Pahang Cultural Troupe. Abang Mail was on guitar and gambus, and yours truly; bass. We were also roomies at a hotel in Arab Street for that one-week period; and that's when I got to hear all sorts of amusing and interesting tales from the man himself.

Though no longer with us, Abang Mail's legacy lives on in the form of this guitar. The Strat copy is now in his younger brother's possession, and it is he who called me up to ask if I could restore it to playable condition. Of course I said I could, and after picking it up from his home (yes, I do pickups and deliveries); got right down to the task at hand.

As expected, the guitar was grimy, cruddy and rusty; so a thorough cleanup was the first priority. I was relieved to be able to get the bridge back in working condition after taking it apart and giving it a through de-rusting and lube job.

The electronics were totally shot, however. So out went the old innards and in went Alpha 250K pots, a new five-way switch, 0.022uF tone cap; and Switchcraft #11 output jack that I'd been saving for a special job such as this.

All the screws and pickup springs were also replaced, save for the four tremolo springs. Those I left alone, as they still functioned okay. Opening up the back cover revealed some of Abang Mail's own handwriting in the tremolo cavity and back of the cover itself (see pics). Reading what he had written was a surreal experience, to say the least. I guess it was his way of making sure that should the guitar ever be lost or stolen; there would be some proof of ownership.

Oh yes, I also had to replace the Volume knob because it would not fit the new pot no matter how I tried. Turned out that the knob could not fit the old pot either, so someone had gouged out the inner splines, squirted in some hot glue; and pushed it back on before the glue hardened (see pic). I guess that might be alright if one never ever had to remove the knob or replace the pot (best of luck!). My take on this is if a knob doesn't fit, put it aside and get one that does. Don't ever try to force an ill-fitting knob onto a pot. You might break the knob, or worse still; damage the pot. Okay, end of sermon.

Once the guitar was restored, strung with 9s and set up; I recorded a YouTube video for memory's sake. Rest in peace, Abang Mail. You will never be forgotten.

LTD EX-260 Gets Deactivated

This LTD EX-260 was brought in by its owner, MATTRA frontman Waz Ramzah. As received, it was in none too good shape. Sweat, rust, crud and grime had taken their toll on this once beautiful instrument. Right away I made a mental note to replace everything that could not be saved, and give the fretboard a through reconditioning.

As it turned out, Waz was most concerned about the electronics; specifically the pickups. He'd been gigging all this time with just the bridge EMG-81 (active), as the passive ESP neck humbucker could not work with the 25K volume and tone pots. Understandably, he'd had the neck humbucker and toggle switch grounded so as not to cause any electronic interference.

I'd watched him perform live before, and noted that he was doing quite alright with his LTD EX-260 and EHX Metal Muff; given the "heavy" music he favors. However, he'd grown weary of having "just one sound," and felt that having a working neck humbucker would expand his sonic palette.

After some serious discussion, which included cost concerns; it was decided that we swap the EMG-81 for an F-spaced DiMarzio® Crunch Lab™ (DP228FBK). A couple phone calls to my main man Hezlan at Music Bliss sealed the deal. The DP228FBK arrived via PosLaju not long after, and it was time to get to work.

The EMG-81 and its associated electronics were desoldered and packed away carefully. I wired in a new three-way toggle switch, Alpha 500K volume and tone pots, K73-16 0.022uF cap; and Switchcraft #11 mono output jack. And, as the pickup and control cavities were already shielded with conductive paint; I also added a ground lug from the back of the volume pot to the control cavity wall.

The electronics having been taken care of, it was time to address the rust, grime and crud issue. Rusty screws and springs were replaced, and the fretboard reconditioned. Meanwhile, I had to do something about the poor condition of the tune-o-matic bridge and low-E side bridge post (see pic). I decided to do some de-rusting via electrolysis (thank you, Dan Erlewine and StewMac), and was extremely pleased with the results.

Once all the hardware was reinstalled, the LTD EX-260 was strung with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (10-46), and set up for maximum playability. I hope to see Waz Ramzah and Mattra in action onstage once the Covid-19 pandemic blows over, and hear for myself how he utilizes his newfound tonal flexibility.