The TCBB Goes Unplugged (At Our Maiden Gig)

That's right. The Terence Chong Blues Band (TCBB) played at Daikanyama Restaurant & Sake Bar in Changkat Bukit Bintang last Wednesday by privileged invitation. The theme of the performance was RAW Acoustic Sing Along No.2.

As Paul McCartney once said. "Well, this is Unplugged, where everyone removes their plugs and go crazy..." Ha ha, but truly I reckon only a seasoned musician like Paul would dare say that :-D... we sure had a lot of fun on this one tonight.

Nice atmosphere at this fancy fusion Japanese restaurant. The lower floor houses the diner and the bar while the upper floor was where most of the action took presence. The bar and couches there felt really comfy and perfect for acoustic sets. The TCBB started off the 1st set at 9pm with blues standards, paying homage to Howlin Wolf, Robert Johnson, and Eric Clapton. While I must personally admit that this genre may be quite primitive to some of our audience that night, nevertheless, we managed to add touches of foot-tapping and percussions (courtesy of Salahuddin) to contemporarise the music further. We were pleasantly greeted with shouts and claps from the supportive audience which paved way for us to play even more spiritedly in the next 2 sets till the stroke of midnight.

Both Imran and Ivan were in super form that night, and played one of their best performance together in the band. Occasionally Imran would awe the audience with his tasty and bendy blues licks while stunning them with his cool Chris Cornell-like vocals, such as on 'Something' & 'Bell Bottom Blues'. Those SM57s surely made the acoustic guitars sound larger than life in the performance hall. He also belted out a spontaneous rendition of Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Sun' at the end of the 3rd set which I thought was splendid. Great job!

Between breaks, our trump card Ivan would both nonchalantly and wantonly tease the crowd with either exquisite snippets from Richard Clayderman's piano catalog or with some extremely complicated finger pinched harmonics which one imagined only Eric Johnson could do. All this was accomplished via his Godin nylon stringed semi-acoustic electric guitar thru a MIDI controller capable of any sound one could imagine, except the acoustic guitar :-p Ivan, IMHO stole the show for the evening with his fine cheeky touches :-)

Salahx our passionate blues based drummer made his presence felt with a djembe (a conga-like instrument), a cylindrical shaker, bottleneck slide guitar, and his new found talent: the kazoo. The crowd went bonkers in the middle of the 2nd set when Salahx gave them a taster of this wind instrument to the tune of Jesse Fuller's composition of 'San Francisco Bay Blues'. Definitely the crowd pleaser :-D

While the 2nd set concentrated on assorted love songs, the 3rd set was completely an opposite. From Muddy Water's 'Hoochie Coochie Man' to Big Bill Broonzy's 'Hey Hey' to Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads Blues', it was definitely rockin' (even by my bluesy standards). Most of the songs here we normally do electrically, so you could imagine how the acoustic guitars had sounded.. :-) Rizal Ross sportingly sang Bob Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower' and the Cream classic 'Sunshine Of Your Love' to add mojo to the night.

Our other blues brother Ali also took the stage with his anthems: 'Wonderful Tonight' and Freddie King's 'Have You Ever Loved A Woman'. Powerful and beautiful solo on the Godin mate!

Just before we concluded, Prema Yin (a friend of Bari, the manager of Daikanyama) graciously stunned the audience once again with her Memphis R&B vocals on Etta James' 'At Last', CCR's 'Proud Mary', and Whitney Houston's 'Greatest Love of All'. A lovely and potential knockout in the local scene, for sure! What a diva!

We're definitely yearning for another gig pretty soon. Stay tuned bros and siss!

Thanks Bari! :-)

My Acoustics

Here's the long due writeup on my acoustic guitars. I have in the first installment the Martin 000-28EC model. The specs. are pretty straightforward; being a Martin style 28 model, it has the spruce top with rosewood back and sides, primarilly. As Brazillian rosewood had been embargoed since the late sixties, most modern Martin acoustic guitars with rosewood models today are made from the Indian or Madagascar origin. This particular EC model is of Indian rosewood. I am aware that some limited edition EC models were even made with rare Brazillian leftovers and priced very 'richly'...

Let's see.... Sitka Spruce top; scalloped 5/16" bracing; Ivoroid binding on the body; herringbone top purfling; 1-3/4" nut width; 24.9" scale; modified V-shaped neck; 28-style rosette; Ebony fretboard with diamonds & squares inlay and Eric Clapton's signature at the 19th fret; Rosewood peghead overlay; nickel butter bean style tuning machines; Ebony belly bridge with bone drop-in saddle; 2-1/4" string spacing; tortoise color beveled.

The first impression I got from this beautifully made acoustic flattop is how balanced the tone is. From the 1st to the 6th string, every single one rings uniformly and with precision. For fingerstyle, notes are both dynamic and bold. For strumming, all tones envelop into a beautiful harmonic 'togetherness' (think orchestra). The strength of this guitar is essentially suited for the blues or folk music either by fingerpicking or flatpicked. For advocates of volume, one should look towards the D models which have a bigger slope and bout size.

The scalloped braces of this 000-28EC model makes it different in tone with a regular Martin 000-28 model. This is suppose to elevate the EC model closer to pre-war Martins when this manufacturing technique was first widely used (30s?) and greatly appreciated by most acoustic guitar players. Furthermore, this signature Martin is supposed to replicate what EC played some years back before he auctioned off his entire vintage Martin collection for his Crossroads Foundation. Well what the luthier does is he shaves off the edges of the braces under the guitar's top and shapes them like a suspension bridge. This make the braces lighter and vibrate freer thus 'turbo-charging' the tone and dynamics as well.

There's no pickup installed for this guitar. I may do so in the future but as is, I'm overly satisfied with what Martin made in conjunction with EC's taste. Great sounding and playing.... Try one and you'll agree too.

Playing With My Friends

The TCBB at BBB Studio A (4th October 2009)
Mr. Ivan on the ESP bass
Yours truly
Salah on the DWs
Imran on the Tokai Stratocaster
Session 4th October 2009
Akarkarya Studios, 27th Sept 2009
Ali A. Sani - BB's great cover
Salahuddin - Our passionate and soulful drummer
Ivan on the bass
Asrif of Fed Hi joining in the blues fraternity on the keyboards
"Sweet Little Angel"
Too much mojo, definitely... :-p
The TC Blues Band
with Rizal Ross @ Guitar Pro Shop
Reunited with the Blues Brothers
Zhin Wong, the diatonic harmonica player

I'm still blur this morning... but these photos bring joy to my sight... Will blog later :-D

The Unprecedented End

The past few months have been testing times for the band, especially since our last gig at the TSB. Formed sometime in 2008 and based upon our common love for the blues and rock music, the Bluestankers shared many great times and enjoyment of the same genres together. However, I must admit, the gravitation towards blues, in particular; Chicago, Texas, and Delta styles by yours truly lately, have somewhat shifted the paradigm of my other two band members out of the usual jamming circles.

Both band members have now chosen to become session players for other alternative music bands in their own rights, with gigging privileges (of course). While I am happy that they have expanded their repertoire of music outside of the usual mundane blues circuit that they are constantly subjected to :-), I'm also somewhat sad at the same time that the younger genre's appreciation and understanding of the blues music in the Klang Valley is constantly being overshadowed by heaps of other newer and more engaging modern music. I for one, am a fan of root music, which the blues is, for the American culture in modern history. I guess it takes some mellowing down to understand root music. It took me well into my 30s to understand that. I assume most will see the light at the end of the tunnel when they approach this age group as well. Fingers crossed!

Perhaps soul searching is every musician's right to do. One definitely cannot stop another fellow musician from pursuing his goals for his love of his choice of music. So, for Shahreza and Najip, I wish you both the best in your musical pursuits. It was enjoyable playing with you guys. You guys definitely have all the grooves and ingredients for commercial musical success. Maybe our destiny as a blues trio was not made to last, but hey, I sure enjoyed all the times we jammed and performed together. He, he, maybe we'll have a reunion sometime :-)... Keep on rockin' guys :-)

Well, enough of whining :-), the search for serious blues music members continues for 'The Terence Chong Blues Band'. Yup people, that's the new name for the latest band reincarnation. Interested drummers/percussionists, bassists, guitarists, vocalists can email me at thetcbb@gmail.com for the ice breaker.

Ok, back to some Lightning Hopkins... and some Sonny Boy Williamson...

Amplification Choice

1978 Fender Pro Reverb
Pro Reverb (Rear View) showing service dates
1978 Fender Twin Reverb
Front View (Twin Reverb)
Rear View (Twin Reverb)

My current amplification consists of two legendary American made valve amplifiers. Fender amps are my amps of choice these days; (I've also used Marshall, Laney, and Mesa/Boogie in the past) giving me the array of clean tones I'm particularly after, especially in the realms of Chicago blues / English blues domains.

I'll start with the Pro Reverb. I got this amp about 10-11 years ago from a local collector in PJ. Being a fresh graduate at that time, I lusted for vintage Fender amps after amassing a large collection of vintage electric guitars I had acquired from the States. After all, justice could only be done to these beautiful instruments when you pair them up with their 'old friends'.

Due to logistic and obvious reasons, one could not simply 'hand-carry' amplifiers as opposed to its six string cousins on long haul flights, yeah planes... Plus, the difference in North American voltages compared to the Asian voltages meant I had to always plug in a step-down transformer whenever I were to play through a US sourced amplifier. The hassle and all....Hence, the only way I reckoned, was to procure it locally. This I had to do, for the sake of the beloved instruments I brought in...

So I got it. The difference? Well, my ears could not really differentiate at that time (due to my nature of playing at that time; heavy distortion, 20 something alternative rock, etc. thru the Boogie amp). My desire of just wanting a vintage Fender amp really outweighed all other factors, seriously. It really sounded OK to me as an overly tone-insensitive player at that time. However, as the months and years passed by, I realised that the Boogie amp, while great and all that, was really more of a heavy rock/alternative music guitar amp. than anything else. The tones while thick and saturated, were often single dimensioned, largely due to the single 10" speaker configuration housed in a small enclosure. On the other hand, it's great for Santana stuffs, especially with humbuckers and solid bodies.

It is during this period that I played through the Pro Reverb more and more and slowly finding its character and persona. It was during this period too I was digging Eric Clapton's repertoire and gears in a fuller dimension. Gradually, the pieces all came together like a jigsaw puzzle... :-)

Well, I could go on and on.... To cut the long story short, if you love the blues and play electric guitar, you'll need a vintage Fender Stratocaster and a vintage Fender valve amp. There's no two ways about this. Well, you could opt for a vintage Gibson / Marshall / Boogie combination, but if you want clean and no-nonsense performance, nothing beats this combo. The purity of tone this setup gives you elevates your status and personality because it showcases your actual guitar playing and touch. Your tone and style is easily recognizable with this combination. Having said that, this setup is also very unforgiving, revealing any mistakes and shortfalls you may have and may embarass you in gigging situations if you're not up to it. Caution especially when using maple fingerboard Strats... Any mistake whatsoever will be instantly (i mean, literally the speed of sound) amplified.

For players who prefer the muddy tone zone, it is suggested that the humbucker / marshall / boogie combination be sought instead. Not that it is wrong to do otherwise, I guess it's a matter of choice and preference. The Pro Reverb I have is a 70 watts RMS model with two 6L6 power tubes supplying enough juice for the many gigs to come. With a moderate power section, it overdrives pretty easily, especially with a Master Volume control and even easier if you own a humbucker equipped axe like the Gibson Les Paul, 335, or a PRS Custom 22. Simply because, they pickups are often hotter and higher output than a single coiled bell tone Strat pickup.

Some years later, I got hold of a Twin Reverb amp. In similar chassis and footprint with the Pro Reverb, this amp is however, a totally different animal altogether. For one, it's more powerful; 135 watts RMS with four 6L6 power tubes through 2 12" Fender speakers. With the additional power it has, the top end of the tone frequency seem to shine more than the Pro Reverb. The shimmers I get especially with George L cables and a Stratocaster through this amp is really satisfying. The reverb..... man.... is really great too, like halls in concert. With my EC strat, I could get real clean sounds with the TBX fully open, and with the 25db boost of the EC's active circuit, the sound suddenly becomes mid apparent 'Marshall' like. So, it's best of both worlds with this amp. Highly recommended for versatility and robustness.

Sadly, this amp is just TOO fine, I'm trying not to gig with it so often... but heck, you only live once :-) What say you? Ha Ha

Strats Rule!

Indeed they do. Here's my collection to date (L-R: 1966, 1974, 1978, and 2008 Eric Clapton CS)

Despite being the same models, all of them vary individually in feel, tone, and playability. I guess that's the great thing about these guitars; they feel very personal and sometimes conjure up soul (think blues music and how you treat 'em). The various features of Stratocasters are also interesting to tell. The evolution of these fine instruments from day one till today showcase many fine engineering feats and most of these features have outlived many other brands and makes of guitars today (and I reckon, many many years ahead as well). The Stratocaster's design indeed, is one of the most future proof designs ever substantiated. Goes to show that good practical ideas are hard to beat and are here to stay. It further cements my view on "doing it right the first time" much alike automotive engineering principles. A big thank you goes to the legendary and late Leo Fender, creator of the Fender Stratocaster.

I'd like to share the many different traits of my Strats as I favour them:

(a) 1966 - Light, resonant alder body with a remaining 2-tone sunburst finish. Apparently, the red layer (3rd tone) was to have faded away to due to UV exposure over the last 42 years of existence in this planet. Got a medium U-shaped neck stamped "13 JUN 66B" which is fast yet comfortable. Mine has been refretted with jumbo frets. The bridge pickup reminds me a lot of the Albert King bending tone. This characteristic has to be the hallmark of this guitar. I mostly pickup this guitar if I want that particular tone exclusively. Great CBS era axe.

(b) 1974 - The rawest Strat tone of them all, possibly the lightest body among the other Strats here as well. Finish is fair, as you can see from the photo. Definitely a player's guitar with good tone and playability. The original owner(s) were probably profesionnal musicians in their own rights. This guitar looks and feels like it's been played and loved all these years in a pub or something. Twang factor is mild, but present. Great for all the Hendrix era tunes. All pickups from this axe have the "70s"vibes; well obviously eh :-) . My current favourite vintage Strat.

(c) 1978 - Huge baseball maple neck on this swamp ash body guitar. Classic maple Strat sounds and a great utlitarian more than anything else in the collection. 5 way switch brings out the best in this medium weight Stratocaster. The finish on this guitar is quite good, considering her age. Clear finish appears to have been stripped off from the neck by previous owner., leaving only a faint of original clear on the headstock covering the decals. Other than that and a refret, she's all original from 1978. Nice twang factor especially on the in-between pickup selections.

(d) 2008 EC CS - My current jam / gig guitar. Very versatile; active electronics ,25db mid boost, and a TBX control. Very nice soft "V" neck with mild satin finish. Goes from a traditional single coil twangy tone to a searing P90 and humbucker spectrum with just a turn of the tone knob (which activates the mid boost) Oh, an instant EC tone for sure :-). It says "Eric Clapton - Blackie" at the back of the headstock. Comes complete with a tweed case and case candies, oh, and the custom shop certification too. Very pleased with this purchase.

Next up, amplifiers and acoustic boxes... stay tuned.

World Music Day 21st June 2009

As part of The Bluestankers yearly residency at this fabled event organised by the Alliance Francaise Malaysia chapter, we played at happening Telawi Street Bistro's Timeout KL Stage last night. Set in a bar atmosphere, I would say this year's sound and equipment setup is much much better compared to the open air concept of the yesteryear events. Firstly, being indoor keeps the music levels and dynamics intact, and the PA easier to control too. The turnout was pretty good, mostly college kids, some 30 somethings and expats were also within the crowd. Our setlist was among the odd ones as we were kinda traditional compared to the rest. TJ is the new addition for rhythm guitars to our outfit with both Shah and Jeeby manning the bass and drums respectively. Great playing from all members. Especially intense on the classic Cream tunes... TJ you were excellent on the rhythm chops for a start, Shah the bass stomper as usual sounding very well on the left handed Fender bass thru a Hartke amp :-), Jeeby played his heart out as usual, without missing a beat, even though the ambience was quite noisy. Thanks to Rizal Ross for being there and blackberrying our performance the entire evening. Also to my mentee Justin and his dad 'Jacky' for being the official photographer and videographer 2 years in the running! I really appreciate it Justin... Warm regards to your ever sporting dad man too! How lucky you are! Thank you again for the medias provided! Ha Ha... Here's the complete 30 min set list:

1. Strange Brew
2. Born Under A Bad Sign
3. Outside Woman Blues
4. Driftin' (shuffle)
5. Crossroads Blues

The complete line up:

Time Out KL Stage @ Telawi Street Bistro

6pm: Bus Company (pop/rock)

6:30pm: Bluestankers (blues/rock)

7:00pm: An honest mistake (emo pop)

7:40pm: Army of Three (rock)

8:10pm: Tony Leo Selvaraj (alternative funk)

8:40pm: The Metaphor (rock)

9:10pm: Pasca Tragedy (symphonic metal)

9:40pm: Minotaur & The Labyrinth (pop/rock)

10:10pm: The Padangs (metal)

10:40pm: The Textbooks (pop/rock)

11:10pm: Mustard (indie rock)

11:30pm: Unexpected Mercy (metal)

For a more in depth write up on the event, click here :-)

Eric Clapton and Band At The Royal Albert Hall, London UK, 17th May 2009

Nice tour poster
The ticket for tonight
In front of the hall
Souvenir booth
Promo section of the hall
Mrs. inside the hall
Yours truly seated
Lee Dickson tunes up EC's Gibson L-5 CES
Our shot of the hall
Charlie Sexton pumps up with the Arc Angels
Lee doing the final tests before his boss walks in
8:30pm Sharp, EC walks right in!
"Going down slow"
Ferrari grigio silverstone fender stratocaster customshop guitar
Attentive listening by the soldout crowd
Sitdown set with martin 000-28EC acoustic model
"Somewhere over the rainbow" - Gibson L5 CES
Enjoying every moment
The customary bow by the band
After the band left: on my background, the stage
Sharon White leaving the hall
A memorable photograph with Michelle John; fantastic backup vocals

The missus and I had the rare opportunity to watch Eric and his band at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall last Sunday in London, UK. After an enduring 12 hr journey from Kuala Lumpur , we finally touched down at Heathrow on 14th May. The euphoria waiting months for this is finally over. The experience of being in this hall itself is extremely wonderful. So many great bands played there, and to my surprise, it isn't really a big venue often perceived via the many concert DVDs in my possession. I would say it is perfect for a band to showcase its music and tonality as the hall captures the essence of great acoustics thanks to its fabulous design right from the start (19th century?) Chords and notes reverberate to a pleasing and soothing decay, like my silverface 1978 Fender twin reverb amp at setting 3.

Eric and his band came in at 8:30pm sharp after the Arc Angels had opened for them 40 mins earlier on. Spotting a longer than usual haircut and with compulsory beard, Eric still looked fit and good for his 60+ age. They started the ball rolling with the song "Going Down Slow" from the Pilgrim album. It instantly reminded me on how consistent Eric's tone is. Recalling the many DVDs of Eric's concert I have, clearly his playing tonight is testament to his own saying of "playing at my front hall" and feeling comfortable in front of his home crowd. Often, he nailed solos note for note with great fire and passion. Seeing him play with eyes closed, body bent backwards reminded me of his Cream and Derek & The Dominos days and does make me feel as though I am in nirvana.... indeed I am! :-D

My favorite tune of the entire evening has to be "Old Love" from the Journeyman album. Note for note again, and entire band played very well. From intro to end, Eric's solos were all emotional and full of soul. Tim Carmon's organ solo was also worth mentioning. Chris Stainton was very accurate on the digital piano as well. For the record, Eric only played the Ferrari Grigio Silverstone Fender Stratocaster tonight (usually the Daphne blue one or alternating) , the Martin 000-28EC for "Layla", the chessnut "Lay Down Sally" and Bob Dylan's haunting "Not Dark Yet". He also used a vintage natural Gibson L5 CES for "Anytime For You" and for the Wizard of Oz's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Throughout the set, Eric looked very relaxed and even sounded very spontaneous at times... directing the band with his speech audible to the packed audience.

Twice also, EC stopped between solos of Tim and/or Chris to take a sip of drink and for a chance to remove his wire thin framed glasses to wipe his face. I guess it must have been from the heat of the spot lights as the hall itself was well air conditioned and ventilated.

The rest of the set for the evening came in the form regimental blues tunes such as "Little Queen Of Spades", in tribute to his hero Robert Johnson, and Bo Didley's masterful composition "Before You Accuse Me". Typical EC regulars like "Cocaine", "Wonderful Tonight", and the encore "Crossroads" finished the show in typical Clapton fashion: a big bang!

After the show, I went closer to the stage to try to catch Lee Dickson, but unfortunately he had carted away Eric's guitars into the backstage and was nowhere to be seen nearby. Security was also very nervous there... Absolutely no photographs! I did manage to spot a tweed customshop 57 Fender Twin amp on stage and also a quick glimpse of Lee's workbench. Nice red indian sticker on it! If I'm not wrong, also spotted a bench type Peterson strobe tuner that Lee proudly proclaims as the world's best tuner available.

We then proceeded to the Stage Door where we were surprised to see many people of different nationalities (by their lingo) mingling around all with hopes of catching Eric coming out from the hall and signing autographs for them. I think we waited for around 30 -45 minutes there, and casual chatting with the driver for one of the backup singers (Michelle John) revealed that one can never catch Eric publicly outside the Albert hall during concerts as he has access to a secret driveway into the hall's car park. And from there he goes straight to his dressing room and vice versa. Soon we realized that Eric had driven back to Woking, Surrey just 1 minute after the show, in his silver Porsche. Disappointment.... Neverthelss, we managed to spot and photograph Michelle and Sharon White whose cars waited patiently for them outside. Nice people both of them. I wish Eric and the rest of the band members could have done the same.

We hopped on a London cab at midnight to Sussex Place and proceeded on to supper after a night of great entertainment :-) The next morning we visited Chelsea and stopped by EC's home on Old Church St. No surprises, he wasn't there.

Set List for 17 May 2009 / Royal Albert Hall, London UK

01. Going Down Slow
02. Anything For Your Love
03. Key To The Highway
04. Old Love
05. I Shot The Sheriff
06. Layla - acoustic
07. Lay Down Sally
08. Not Dark Yet
09. Anytime For You
10. Somewhere Over The Rainbow
11. Badge
12. Little Queen of Spades
13. Before You Accuse Me
14. Wonderful Tonight
15. Cocaine
16. Crossroads (encore)

Band Lineup:
Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Andy Fairweather Low - guitar
Chris Stainton - keyboards
Tim Carmon - keyboards
Willie Weeks - bass
Steve Gadd - drums
Michelle John - backing vocals
Sharon White - backing vocals

BBB 40th Anniversary Show Feb '08 2009

The Bluestankers trio played 2 numbers at the show on Feb'08 2009 at the Kelab Golf Subang Negara. This is in conjunction with the Brown Black Blues band's 40th anniversary dinner party and show at Perdana hall. Appearing also that evening together with us was Radiostar (with Pot Amir, ex-Innuendo) and The Big Pink. All bands including us, played their hearts out, to the delight of the 300-shy sporting audience.

BBB kicked off with classic tunes slightly after 8pm, belting out among others Bad Company, Santana, Rolling Stones, Beatles, and Eric Clapton numbers. Even after 40 years, BBB's performance was impeccable that night, given the fact most members are already in their 60s. Truly amazing, and definitely, entertaining. Radiostar gave a breath of 'modern' music touch to the classic rock filled hall with R&B themed songs and neo-fusion jazz chops by Apuk (hope I got his name right :-) ). Such great potential from this 26 year old guitarist.

Our turn came on around 10ish. And we took the stage as per norm. After a brief introduction and our appreciation to Uncle Hamdan (founder of BBB who graciously invited us for this gig)and Fuad Halimi (BBB studio manager), intro notes from Cream's Badge set the audience applausing. Clearly they know their music :-). Najip's Ginger Bakerish drum beats set the mood goin'further. Our Cream tribute had begun. Lazer Razer was brilliant on bass and vocals that night. Reminded me of Jack Bruce who mastered both skills of singing and playing so well during his hey days in Cream. Yours truly on the other hand played a '74 Stratocaster that night without any frills; just plugged straight into a Valvestate Marshall amp to get that classic single coil tone. The bell tones did it for both the numbers we churned out, which included Sunshine of your love. All in all, a super 2nd gig for us. Good sound system and appreciative crowd.

The Big Pink came right on after us and displayed an authority of blues root prowess. With frontmen Asrif on Gibson Les Paul and vocals, and Zhin on diatonic harmonica, the crowd went bonkers and were entertained by the likes of classic Muddy Waters songs being belted out. Song after song, licks after licks, the hall reverberated into an ambience of delta and Chicago style blues feeling. This has got to be some of the best blues root music being played on Klang Valley soil in a very long time. Keep them coming boys! We want to hear some Freddie' and Albert King soon! :-)

The party didn't end there. BBB rocked on some more, this set featuring guest artists and such, right until the stroke of midnight. And as our trio was walking towards the car park to call it a night, we overheard drums tunes of Moby Dick leaking out from the window panes of the hall!!! The rest as they always say, is history... Long live the BBB!

Live at the 2008 Festival...

The Bluestankers enjoying the festivities at the Alliance Franchise grounds...
Showtime: jeeby(drums), framus(lead and vocals), razer(bass and vocals), dark kai(rhythms)
After the gig, nicotine to the rescue... :-) look at jeeby... he pounded away... :-)

Thanks for all who came and supported us. We really appreciate the applauses and the yells... :-) Good gig, see you next year...

For a clip of the gig, tune in here :-)

Le Creme de La Bluestankers

Lend us your support for our maiden gig... Set list in honor of the supergroup Cream...

1. White Room
2. Badge
3. Outside Woman Blues
4. Crossroads
(5.) Sunshine of Your Love

Nostalgic and tragic drama... Age of Glory

This is my favorite prop photo - It has the closest to a Leica look of all - What do you think Debbie? :-)

The past months or so has been regimental to my tv watching habits. Never did I think I would have ended up glued to the telly at 945pm for an hour, mostly weekdays to catch the current local favorite drama. NTV7 and Double Vision's latest collaboration; Age of Glory tells the story of 3 local women and their struggles in the hard lifes of the 60s and 70s. It also portrays Kuala Lumpur's legendary BB Park from its prime days to its demise in the early 70s. Beautiful casts as well... led by Debbie Goh herself (a former beauty pageant queen), Aenie Wong, and Danielle Dai... Well done you gals! You rock! :-)

A good drama should always be accompanied by a great soundtrack... In this department, we had the local 988 host Lee Xin Yi providing sweet vocal duties for most of the tracks heard here. The opening and ending themes of this drama send shivers down my spine whenever I hear 'em... It's sort of haunting, perplexing yet nostalgic... The kind of strange vibes I'm into... la... :-) Love the antiquities presented in the drama too: vintage cars, furnitures, costumes, clocks, etc. Businessmen in their 3 piece suits... really regal and accurate in every aspect of capturing the era's environment.

So, since this drama concluded last evening, I'm gonna have troubles putting it behind me; anyone else who wants to appreciate a good drama should head to the NTV7 website for catch up tv... Trust me, it's worth it... :) t

Lurking With My Paul...

Courtesy of photo booth mac application, pose away and snap away in mirror rocking images... :-D

Sweet Home Alabama!

Our inaugural outing to the recently opened Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant at the Curve tonight... Shrimps, crawfishs, tasteful entrees, and deserts flavor our occasion to this new eatery. The place is a cosy one, housed on the top level of the Curve's row of cafes and diners, amongst them; Starbucks, Marche, Italianies, and TGIF. The theme: From Columbia's Forrest Gump movie, a so called extension of the movie itself, the restaurant evidently owned by Forrest (played by Tom Hanks) after scoring it big with fellow Vietnam veteran Private Benjamin Bufford 'Bubba' Blue as business partners.

The restaurant is opened by my good buddy as well, Rizal, who's clearly put in tons of effort opening it in such a short period of time after his stint in Long Beach, CA for about 2 months last year. An expert in the F&B industry with a wealth of networking leads got him to head the establishment after his departure from the TGIF chain which he's heralded for the last 12 years.

2 cents: Good atmosphere, home/country taste cooking (good control of sodium), fast service, friendly staffs, and extremely creative decoration all around. A highly recommended eatery if you like the homely and the 'forresty' ambience. Can't beat it for shrimps definitely... :-)

Strat Mania Kicks In!!!

I don't know what's gotten into me lately... Strats, strats, strats.... I leave you to the photos to decipher... :-), t

We are family... All My Brothers, Sisters, and Me...

Portraiture
1977 Fender Stratocaster
1966 Fender Stratocaster
1974 Fender Stratocaster

New Axe, New Vision...

The Skunk
She was definitely a whore once :-)
Endless bashing yielded these marks...
'The Skunk' is a common breed of a rare species: a vintage 1974 Fender Stratocaster in what used to be a 3-tone sunburst finish... Plays like butter, as most of this era's Strats are, and the tone.... my my, bright and clear as a bell, and wails like Billy F. Gibbon's Strats... Funky as hell, and the smell of the funk from the years played... 34 years in total of accumulated funk is no joke.. Took me like 4 hrs to give her a proper scrub she's been longing for all these years...Heck, it was definitely worth it... now 'The Ford' the other '66 Strat in my possession would have a 'Mustang' for a competitor eh...Naughty t just had to get him a torn down abused axe to justify for all the blues he's facing... :-P

Summicron 50 M from Bangkok!

O la la, another lens purchase... i need to refrain, really... ha ha ha. Above are a couple of shots with the 21mm and 35mm lenses along my travels there recently...

Snapshots off the Biogon...

Carl Zeiss 21/2.8 Biogon ZM lens

Got this as a standard wide angle lens for my M8. With the 1.33x crop factor of the M8, the perspective becomes 28mm on the M8. Razor sharp wide open, and great contrast. I think I prefer this lens over my previous Leica 21/2.8 non asph lens. For landscaping and interior photography, this is a perfect accompaniment to my current 35/2 asph and 90/2.8 lenses...

Pre dawn euphoria

Oh well, first photos of the candy itself... Plan to go do some sponty with it in the morning, maybe around the city area, while everyone's still asleep :-) Will post up some photies soon after!

Don C's burst (the holiest grail)

We don't call him Don C. for nothing... Don C; Don Corleone, right, of the Godfather fame he is modeled after. This guy's the man... Meet Michael Murphy, a vintage guitar enthusiast, dealer, and connesoir of everything fancy and fine in life. Take for example; vintage furnitures, mechanical watches, Leica & Zeiss cameras and optics (Yes!), sushi, curry, and what have you... vinyl records, etc. etc... Sounds like a perfect copy of me eh? Well, meet the guru himself... the man who mentored me the finer points of vintage guitars and amps, Eric Clapton, Michael Bloomfield, ZZ Top, Peter Green, Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. Most of you who know me well know that I went to school in Mobile, AL in the 90s. As a freshie there, I bought everything new; being Malaysian mah... I remember vividly the first time I met Michael was in a music store owned by a close friend and Mike (as he is affectionally known) bought a vintage tube radio there. It blew my mind that someone actually appreciates all these gears when they are virtually neglected and treated as trash in Malaysia. The camaraderie clicked instantly and we were suddenly hanging out together, searching for gears, good food, and women scouting :-)
I think we traveled furthest to the west Arlington, Texas where we had a blast of a time in the guitar show, rubbing shoulders with the likes of George Gruhn (vintage guitar pioneer) and Seymour Duncan (pickup maker fame), and to the east, Jacksonville, Florida in search for good old vintage stuffs. Although I left the US in 1997, we still keep in touch till today via the internet... I'm glad for this friendship :-)
So, what have we here on the title? Um um um, my old friend here found the holy grail of all electric guitars in the time of man. It's the Gibson Les Paul Standard in sunburst finish, often called the 'burst' by collectors and lovers around... A 1960 model and looking finer than before...what a good time for a Christmas gift! I leave you to the photos to appreciate the beauty of this burst. Congratulations and my hats of to you Michael, if you're reading this :-)

A digital M dream come true: the Leica M8 digital camera...

Near Pudu Plaza

Sri Putramas II
Christy Sew Joey
Corey Boy
Jennie 'NCP' Sew

My Little Workstation

I got the Leica M8 today... Am very pleased with the results rendered indeed. It feels like my analog M6, but slightly chunkier. Inevitable Solms quality and feel. No filters on the CCD sensor yields so much of photo quality difference. Compared to the Canon 5D, the Leica's output gives nicer, more natural looking files, and crisper and sharper (very much so), vs. Canon's already superb EF 24-70/2.8 L USM lens. I was in the initial digital camera stage influenced by the megapixel race and the no nonsense philosophy of workhorse-like automation, but clearly, optical superiority and good lighting in the environment play a major role in the comparison. I find with the Leica M system one has to have a photo composition in mind before shooting, unlike automatic mode DSLRs with hefty zooms. They are great for everyday work and great reliability. Look at all the pros... But deep inside, there's always a Leica M in a photographer's heart. So, back to manual focus and no frills automation for at least a couple of years to come... Will post more proof photos soon.. Photos made with the M8 & 35/2.0 ASPH lens... Enjoy...

New Loft

The past fortnight has been a busy one... it's all part and parcel of acquiring your very own place. I can finally breathe with ease now that it's 90% complete... Although much tough at first, I guess all burden can be overcome with a little extra effort and focus... I leave you all with 'the same old picture with a different frame.'

Weekend English Treat...

Well, an enjoyable weekend in London is all I got to say... The Mrs. and I got on a plane to Heathrow last Friday for a brief holiday in the English capital. Our first stop was at Fulham Broadway where we toured the Chelsea Football Stadium. Amazing blues indeed, fresh clean morning air coupled with a nice panoramic view of the stadium exteriors made the start to our short excursion a fun one. We stopped by Borders Express in the tube station and got ourselves the recently published memoirs of Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd at great prices. Kudos!!!

Next we hurried to Charing Cross Road, stopping over in Picadilly Circus underground and walked towards Totenham Court Road to the West End. It is here at a junction named Denmark Street where I took bout an hour to browse through the musical goodies I've read so much about from the net and the magazines. The only store which excited me however, was 'Vintage & Rare Guitars'; a nice cozy shop with tons of old and vintage guitars as the store name implies. Barely the size of my condominium's living hall, one could see a sea of old Fenders, Gibsons, and Martins, all stationary, and tempting as ever :-) housed in the old English building... The prices were, however, too extraordinary for a regular consumer like me... I reckon' prices are better in the States than in London.

The Apple Store in Regent Street is one of the nicest and biggest I've seen so far... My only complain would be the influx of people running in and out of the the shop and dashing to the next available macbook for a quickie wifi utilization. Sad to say, wifey and I joined in the mad rush as well... True what they say bout the Romans... :-) We also breezed through Berwick Street which runs parallel to Charing Cross Road in a desperate search for used vinyls... Not much luck this time, we however enjoyed the marche along the street.

Our evening ended with food from Bayswater and picnicking under one of the trees in Kensington park for lunch... it was the most serene sight, people walking their dogs, children playing with their parents, teenagers cycling, throwing frisbees, ducks having a great time at the lake... an almost nirvana atmosphere... I was glad :-)

Well, enjoy the photos taken at Stamford Bridge, Denmark Street in Charing Cross Road, Kensington and its vicinities, etc... Cheers!

A Proud Moment For Malaysia

Launch of the Soyuz TMA-11, Expedition 16 carrying the first Malaysian cosmonault to space





Docking of the Soyuz TMA-11 with the International Space Station (ISS)



Arrival of Expedition 16 at the ISS

Koleksi Gua...

In the order of seniority, left to right: 1937 Gibson L-37, 1965 Martin D-18, 1966 Fender Stratocaster, 1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom...

Fetish Gear Post...

'95 Gibson ES-335 Tobacco Sunburst 'dot reissue' - with OHSC. Originally purchased from Big Bossu Guitars In Ochanomizu, Japan in 1999. Great P.A.F. tone (think Clapton on 'From The Craddle' sessions ... raw and loud!) Your best option is to crank it wide open through a Fender tube amplifier, a blackface one would be optimal.. :-)

Check out the flames... :-)
Nice on the back too... :-)

Natural relic on the nickel hardwares... they look just like old ones... Gibson got 'em right! both tonally and aesthetically... :-) P/S: Notice how the strings are strung ala Rev. B.F. Gibbons on the stop tail piece... For Gibson stop tail piece guitar owners, try it and you will not regret it! :-)

Regular witch hat volume and tone controls... :-)

This one says it all,... :-)

Well Well Well...

What have we here today... my my my... a beautiful 1966 Fender Stratocaster in what seems to be a faded 3 tone sunburst finish... I can't express my happiness more, not because it's my first Stratocaster or anything like that, but more for the fact that I got this beauty locally, yes you heard me right; IN the heart of KL!!! That's such important progress for a vintage guitar hunter like me. For years, I've not seen a Strat of this vintage surface up in the Klang Valley used market, and perhaps in many other parts of Malaysia as well, I'm glad though, that this is found, it indeed gives hope to me and others similar in nature for the quest for more nice vintage American guitars in this part of the world... Show me the Gibbys and the Marties mates!!!

Tonally, this is a monster SRV replicator... It's instant Stevie from the moment you plug into a Fender tube amp... Add in the TS-9, you get wailing and dirty drive from the setup... Also briefly tried it out wired in stereo with a Boss DM-3 analog delay... sounds identical to Andy Summers for a while there...I'm lost for words for the moment, but will write somemore once I recover from this euphoria I'm going through now, still (it's 12:26am)... Cheers, T

Some updates:

Managed to work a bit on the original finish last night... I successfully removed what seemed to be like shoe polish used to camouflage dings on the front and rear of the body. They were stubborn, took me like couple of hours to gradually remove them... The nitro coat on this Strat is so thin it makes you wonder sometimes if there's a layer of clear underneath it... I'll post more photos to prove this... shown above now... :-)

Studio Blues...

Taken sometime early this year... Yearning again...

Room With A View...

Soon... elusive living will become a reality... (click photo to enlarge)

Tinkering on my mind!

1969 Martin D18S

12th Fret neck body joint, slotted
peg-head. Long body style. Beautiful
and resonant. Original hard case.

$2495.00

The many uses of the Nokia N73...

What a marvelous tool a modern mobile phone can be! Enjoy the tune: 'Signe' by you know who, EC off the 'Unplugged' album, track 1. Oh, played on my little Gibson L-37 archtop in case you wondered... Thanks Michael...

Ebay Store For EC Lovers!

Saturday Jam Around...

We indeed have our hands full today jamming to our favourite tunes with our guitars and amp. I guess the pictures paint a thousand words... James for once opened up and played some decent sounding tunes which he naturally shies way from when we frequent music stores in KL. I thought he has great ability and just needs more practice... Especially love his rendition of 'Samba Pa Ti' which was wicked yet pleasantly played with the melody and the chords blended in together. I'll leave you to decipher the moods :-))... Have a good weekend...

My Contribution To The Crossroads Antigua Center...

Funny how sometimes something your idol very much can influence you to do something out of the norm... Being an ardent fan of vintage and beat up gear doesn't justify the purchase of a new pedal, even more so, from a music retail store... So last Saturday was the day of the reckoning; I had made up my mind that I wanted to hear how good the EC Crossroads pedal by Digitech was, and if it was indeed up to my expectations, I would grab it without any regretful hesitation.
So, I proceeded to Bentley Music in town for an audition although I would have loved to be there on weekdays instead where I could have the whole store practically to my own ears (regular shoppers beware!!! :-)). Plugged into a regular USA Strat, I tweaked and twiddled with the Crossroads pedal, all the 7 modes it had to offer, to hear what it could and could not do... Putting it in a nutshell, my first impressions were that the distortion modes were edgy and tad harsh through the single coils of the Strat, a complete opposite of the Boss OD-1 and the Ibanez TS-9 ovedrive pedals in my possession. I think it would have sounded better on a Gibson axe which boosted the midrange frequencies pretty well. My personal favorites playing for the first time are the 'Leslie' rotating speaker cabinet simulator; the 'Badge' sound, the 'Unplugged' 1939 Martin 000-42 guitar mode and the fat 'Reptile Gibson L-5 guitar tone. It didn't took long for me to decide that I must purchase the pedal after reading the nice and convincing information on the packaging box, notably the part which mentions the contribution from the purchase of this pedal towards charitable causes for the alcoholic center in Antigua which is maintained by Eric himself. It may have been a commercial ploy after all, but heck, if EC doesn't sell, who does anyway...
Back home, with a more engaging and matured setup, I am pleased as punch to know that indeed I have bought home a good investment grade pedal. Although not a Japanese made one, this one IS special... It commemorates Eric's tone and sound throughout his 40 over years super career. The pedal sounded closer to Eric's setup when you use the other gears he used back then (same spec guitars and amps). This gadget takes your tone one step closer to mimic 'God', only after you have invested in His well known otherworldly gears... So, EC fans out there, buy this pedal, and you'll have His tone in your arsenal, also do the world some good by a donating to the center for good causes, Peace brothers...

OverDrive Affection!

1980 BOSS OD-1 - sweet and nice with the seminal silver thumb screw...

The elusive JRC 4558D chip which is inherent in all great OD pedals of the 70s and 80s... included in this one as well...
My great 1983 Ibanez TS-9 midrange booster. Fattens up single coil sounds to nice thick and throaty tones of often talked and admired vintage tube amplifiers. Every guitarist worth his salt should own one from this vintage.
With the elusive chip yet again :-)

You Think I'm Lulu !!??!!

Three cheers for the newly wedded man! Our buddy Chris Blur recently got hitched and we were there at the Federal Hotel KL to celebrate his big day. From left to right: Victor ' Bukit MF ' Tan, framus 'Thamby' himself, and the notorious yet fun, Rizal 'I'm an Indian Boy' Ross. The highlight of the event was of course the 'keng chao' sessions where each one of us pitted against the other in the traditional test of who'd be able to withstand / sustain the excessive alcohol consumption... Within minutes, red wines were discarded like failed commodities and replaced with the good ol' Hennessy brandy. Most felt the wine was tad dry... Soon, glasses clinged, with cokes as mixers, and the occassional Chinese tea pouring in to provide camouflage for unseasoned drinkers on our table.... Even though I faced respiratory problems with alcohol in my system, I downed at least 3 glasses of Hennessy Coke that night, and got away mostly with blushed skin only... how lucky... The rest were getting rowdier as the night rode on, some challenging their adversaries to drink and drink further... The finale was a cocktail test in which everyone's filled glasses were poured into an ice bucket. Agitated carefully, the drinks were then equally divided and everyone consumed them without much complain.. talk about being fair... ha ha. All in all, an enjoyable evening out.... Cheers!

Quid Pro Quo...

Churning out a set list for your gig can be quite a harrowing experience. . . You want to sound original and bona fide and yet be successful in recreating the music you love as a tribute to the genesis artist.

So, after much consideration, my first demo in tribute to Eric and the blues greats would include the set list below:

1) Crossroads
2) Me & The Devil Blues
3) From Four Till Late
4) Badge
5) Old Love
6) Malted Milk
7) Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out
8) Born Under A Bad Sign
9) Some Day After A While
10) Hideaway

The Martin 000 28EC pictured above is the drool to come... Stay tuned for more...

EC Sightings

With a beautiful friend after playing fussball...

Bristol, TN Speedway 2006...

EC's residence in Chelsea, London...

Self explanatory...
EC and Kim... (notice the Red Wing boot)
EC and friends...
Guitar auction #3???

A fairly recent charity function in London where he raised UKP 35,000/- by auctioning a signed Fender Stratocaster...

The famous signboard, revisited...

Seattle, Washington sound check somewhere in the 21st century...

Enjoying every moment it seems...

A Cream era portrait...

The guitar below, exposed with the legendary initials...

Sound check in New York City with a Firebird...
With Muddy Waters...

Three guitarists...

Bending backwards...

A done deal!
Carrying a koala bear - Down under tour 2007...

With a new bike...
Displaying boredom in a hotel room in Japan...

With a fan... ah... it ain't that bad ok...
With daughter Ruth Kelly...

A game of fussball with Hiroshi Fujiwara...
Having shark's fin soup in Shanghai 2007...
With U2's The Edge & Larry Mullen Jr....
with Steven Seagal...

Photos From Across The Causeway...

Situated along North Bridge Road & Coleman Road

Swee Lee, Bras Basah Complex

A beat up 60s Jazzmaster at Guitar Connection

A rare blue teal colored Firebird guitar

Nice, nice, nice


According to the shop owner, a genuine one indeed...

24 Nights!

I was searching through my old RAW files aka digital negatives today when I stumbled upon this photo taken by my wife in London early this year... It reminded me a lot on Clapton's concerts there, particularly during the 90s when he did many shows at the Royal Albert Hall (pictured above). What a great feeling to be able to re-visit this historic venue, most English rock stars have indeed performed at the Albert Hall at least once in their career... The good news is, it's only a 10 minute walk from our hotel in Kensington, the bad news is, our next trip there is only next year... Speaking bout that, I've just managed to get Eric's office address in Chelsea, so we're heading there next time around, hopefully we can bump into the legend himself! Wish me luck!

Derek & Layla In Singapore

The past few days we spent in Lion City practically roaming the streets of North Bridge Road and its vicinities with our backpacks. This time around (yes, last trip was in January'07) we had a schedule to cover more spots than on our last travel here. Places visited this time were the usual Orchard Road regiment, Marina Bay (just the MRT station...), Boat & Clarke Quay, Peninsula/Excelsior Hotel, Funan IT Mall, Bugis Junction, Bras Basah Complex, Jurong Bird Park, and to a fun fair in Woodlands. Bought a couple of Mac accessories and lots of guitar accessories: strings, strap, and picks (they are really cheap here mates! compared to in Malaysia). The missus and I enjoyed the bird park excursion the most, lots of species and good environment as well. Topping it all was a visit to the Ben & Jerry ice cream stall at the exit of the park; yummy yummy!
Singapore has got to be a haven for vintage guitar collecting at least in South East Asia. Nothing I've seen in this region closer to that in Singapore. The best in Asia is of course, in Tokyo. We had a blast of a time walking around in the basement of the Excelsior and bumping into at least 3-4 guitar stores corner to corner. Kudos to Singaporeans for a very dynamic venture into a business almost non-existent over here in KL. Saw lots of old Strats in one particular shop in the Peninsula Plaza. And man, he has a good collection...
All in all, a productive trip indeed...

Getting A Taste Of Her!

Chomping out the chords to 'Tell The Truth' by the Dominos... and really enjoying it... Having a jam session tomorrow night at BBBs, this time with a set of blues tunes to roar... Keep you posted... Probably swinging the ES-335 in as well, still miss those set of humbuckers despite having the EC Strat around... The more I play the EC Strat, the more I feel my playing getting attached to it; I love it... it has that broken into feel that even my 335 cannot match... much like the feel of the older acoustics I have in my current possession... Hmmm, that's a thought! :-)) Good night!

Guitar Porn!

In the sweet plush G&G tweed case...

Rear view... ah! spread them...

Rear side of headstock yields the serial no. (an '89!)...


The previous owner is a rhythm guitarist... evident by the wear on the fingerboard...


The customary signature on the headstock...


Single ply pickguard, vintage bridge and saddles, just like the good ol' days... Lace sensor pickups reminds you you're in the modern era... :-))


Nice bridge and saddles they are, keeps perfect intonation...


The ashtray cover is a brilliant idea by Fender!


Amazing pewter grey finish...

Babes In Toyland

Gears meant for producing music, nice, but they won't be kept in a glass closet as that would defeat the purpose... Took the EC strat for her maiden jam in KL tonight... pleased with her nice tones... Thanks Chris, Paul, Sekhar, and Steve 'Vai'... I enjoyed playing those same old blues with you guys... May we perfect 'Sentul Blues' Chris... Peace!

Nearing Completion... Our New Home!

Our new home along Jalan Kuching is nearing completion and we are thrilled and excited to be able to shift in soon. Checking the progress out last Sunday, we found the atmosphere of the condominium very cozy and relaxing. Lots of palm trees and man-made waterfalls at the entrance, making the landscape a dream to live in... We're going shopping for furniture and stuffs this weekend, in anticipation of the vacant possession and surrendering of the house keys very soon now... Keep you guys updated... Nothing beats home sweet home (slight return...)

Reminiscing The Licks...

My take on Cream's Strange Brew

All was done with a Gibson ES-335 thru Apple Garageband... the rhythm, bass, and timing cymbals were recorded in separate tracks...

I'll go home now and work a bit on Derek & The Dominos' 'Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out' which has a really killer Stratocaster tone... man...! Ok, here it is... played however with the same 335 in treble position: 2nd solo

And Yardbirds, I didn't forget what I said :-).... 'I Wish You Would' - coming soon...

Fender EC Signature Strat...

Wouldn't EC be proud to know that his most loyal fan is nearing to get a piece of his signature axe soon...

Having a cuppa...

Nothing beats having a cuppa in your favourite restaurant all alone...

Toying with the idea...

Lately I've been toying with the idea of getting a 60s Fender electric solidbody. Definitely another Strat / Tele would have been out of the selection criteria due to budget constraints. So, what better way to invest than in a '65 Dakota Red Duo Sonic II (24" scale). Although considered by many collectors a student model (3/4 size), it's value has seen the rise of a steady 5-8% per annum for the last several years. So, I'm getting that before it costs an arm and a leg... quid pro quo he he

Since selling my vintage Les Paul, I've been yearning again to own another utility vintage electric. I guess I'll play Yardbirds licks on it though my wide open Silverface Fender amp... I'll post some licks up pretty soon...

Have a good one... :-)

Spring cleaning...

So, last night I was cleaning up my little room when I bumped into a stack of vinyls all cleverly grouped in alphabetical order... There was only one order though: C & E: Cream and God himself... :-))
So took them all out, all the DVDs, CDs, autographs, concert programmes, guitar plectrums, etc.. layed them down good, and there you go..
I'm running out of words to write, so I'm just going to enjoy the collection of God I've amassed over the decade.. :-)

Ibanez TS9 pedals

A small collection of my favourite screamer pedals... Classic pedals that scream TONE! For those who aren't concerned about TONE, think again... you will require this sometime in your playing life... :-)) For me, I am still discovering new TONES in my everyday playing...alternating between TS9s, TS808s, Maxon 9s, and others such as Klon Centaur, Bixonic Expandora, Arbiter Fuzz Face (grey), original Tone Bender and scores more..

Acoustical Adventure

I've also resorted to playing acoustic tunes lately with my '65 Martin D-18 guitar (pictured above); James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Stephen Stills, Wes Montgomery, etc.. Guitar GODs often advise practising on acoustic instruments before venturing into the more complex electrics. I'm going fundamental all the way... I think everyone should once in a while trace back their roots and play acoustic music as it helps shape ones tone...

Hot tamales and they're red hot...

A 1937 Gibson L-37 in mahogany sunburst...

Chicago Blues Vibes!

The 11 days hiatus I have from the festive season is really rewarding me with some time to 'woodshed'; a nonchalantly used term to mean time for a guitarist to work his chops listening to records / music of his heroes.

I recently bought a Clapton dvd & cd titled 'Sessions for Robert J' which comprise of footages and studio recording sessions of EC doing the delta blues and Chicago thingie, all in tribute to the great Robert Johnson of Mississippi. Clapton's masterful playing is polished too, not much mistakes, just a minor cock-up at the intro of 'They're Red Hot' using a very fine 1955 Gibson L5 CES in blonde. Other than that, it's pretty darn hard to see the 61 year old guru make the slightest error in such spontaneous situations... What an outstanding musician!!!

I always drool over those nice black Alnico & P90 pickups on the L5 which are kind of rare today. I wish Gibson make more reissues of those; to satisfy Clapton nuts like myself the least. Furthermore, not everyone can afford a vintage L5 CES nowadays...

I've also been trying to form my own 3 piece band, preferring to focus on tunes from the famous 3 pieces like the Cream, TJHE (Jimi Hendrix Experience), and etc. And, I've also been having sleepless nights bidding on eBay for stuffs like the Ibanez TS9 and the Boss DS1 guitar effect pedals, all made in Japan and now considered extremely popular collectibles.
Keep you guys posted again on what will be accomplished before the new office day starts... I'm really dreading that as we speak... Cheers,

Photo: Gibson ES-335 'dot' '95 and Fender Pro Reverb '72 really producing some nice Claptonesque tones ala 'From The Cradle' album.

Eric Clapton Concert Review (Singapore Indoor Stadium)

Inclement weather not withstanding, Eric Clapton's first appearance in Singapore in 17 years on January 13, 2007 [as part of his 2006/07 World Tour] was apparently sufficient reason for the clouds to take cover.

For this listener, having flown into the fascinating country for the "event", it was immediately evident the concert had the potential of being different due to a multitude of reasons: it was being held indoors [Singapore Indoor Stadium], there were no hassles finding a place to park, the parking was located merely metres from the stadium [not kilometres!], the climb/walk into the stadium was rendered obsolete due to escalators and, despite vigilant security, there were no queues while entering. However, what drew immediate comfort to reality was the delayed 8.00pm start of the concert, although it was merely 30 minutes after schedule.

The stage was set in a manner in which part of the audience also sat behind in two sections. The lighting was kept simple, but the booming bass emanating from the sound system often overran the vocals and instrumentation.

With what soon became evident was a crack backing band - consisting of Doyle Bramhall II (guitar), Derek Trucks (guitar), Willie Weeks (bass), Steve Jordan (drums), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Tim Carmon (keyboards), Michelle John (backing vocals), and Sharon White (backing vocals) - Eric Clapton provided each instrumentalist an opportunity of showcasing individual talent, but without introducing their respective names, which was strange.

Wearing a black, short sleeved shirt on blues jeans, with canvass shoes in support, the now trademarked glasses, crew cut, and trimmed beard was reminiscent of Clapton's precise appearance on his recent album sleeves.

Opening with the white soul groove of Derek & The Dominos' 'Tell The Truth', followed by bluesman Big Bill Broonzy's 'Key To The Highway', it was Clapton's exquisitely arranged rendition of Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing' that established what makes Clapton's playing guitar into a league of its own. By the time the first five tracks were through, it was time for a sit down set. The first selection had Clapton perform a solo, an effective acoustic rendition of another bluesman, Charles Brown's 'Driftin' Blues'. With accompaniment from his fellow musicians/vocalists on the three balance tracks, the "unplugged" feel continued for the balance of this part of the set too.

As Clapton came to the last section of his set, he, his band, and the audience had more than warmed up for the inevitable crescendo. The fast paced 'Motherless Children' showcased Clapton on the slide, which he played as convincingly as did with the lead. The mid-tempo blues of Robert Johnson's 'Little Queen Of Spades' followed, which featured solos by keyboardist Chris Stainton, and by guitarists Doyle Bramhall II and Derek Trucks, who were not merely competent musicians, but masters of their respective instruments. 'Further On Up The Road' had masterly boogie woogie keyboard playing by Stainton.The wistful balladry of 'Wonderful Tonight' followed, commencing with a rearranged intro. The set ending with the raucous performance of 'Layla'. The concert was over, almost when, after a gap of a few minutes, Eric Clapton was back with his band, one last time, for a highly energetic version of Johnson's 'Crossroads'.
What was clear is that Clapton, aged over 60 now, knows that his days as a recording artist are limited and, as a live performer, are further restricted. Hence, perhaps, his decision to dwell in his musical career from the past, mainly his heydays with Derek & The Dominos, ensuring that six of the total 15 tracks performed were from that era. With more than a sprinkling of blues as his want was an exercise of Clapton accepting that his roots began in that genre, continue in it, and will remain so even during the fag end of his musical career.
Clapton's conversation with the audience, housefull at 10,000, was limited mainly to a "good evening", "I took a bit of a break, like fifteen, sixteen, seventeen years. I don't know. Seems like a long time" and, after every song, a polite, yet robotic "thank you". It was evident that Eric Clapton wanted his guitar to make conversation [although his voice was in fine shine], which it did, as he ran through the first part of his set list featuring an early aspect of his musical career, acknowledging his blues roots during the second via a sit down set, before pulling out all stops with crowd pleasing selections in the third segment until its inevitable end. However, at 1 hour 45 minutes even after including the encore, one could not help but reminisce that Clapton - who has perhaps the largest recorded song list in the annals of rock - could have quite easily indulged himself into increasing his set list and, with it, the total duration of the show. What added to listener woes was that one of Clapton's anthems, 'Cocaine', was not performed due to the Singapore Government's anti-drug laws. So much for freedom of the press...
Nevertheless, viewing a living legend in your presence was magic. Watching Eric Clapton performing live was no fantasy, it was reality, eventually answering the question whether Clapton was God. While he provided innumerable opportunities to his two fellow guitarists to showcase their respective talents and to fill in gaps in the songs when required, Clapton deservedly reserved the best guitar moments for himself and, in turn, acknowledged that he is indeed a mortal who is aging gracefully.

Official Setlist:

01. Tell The Truth
02. Key To The Highway
03. Got to Get Better in A Little While
04. Little Wing
05. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?

Sit Down Set
06. Driftin' Blues (EC Solo)
07. Outside Woman Blues
08. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
09. Running On Faith

10. Motherless Children
11. Little Queen of Spades
12. Further On Up The Road
13. Wonderful Tonight
14. Layla

Encore
15. Crossroads

(110 min.)

Stanley 'A Clockwork Orange' Kubrick

An image from 'Look' magazine in 1949 depicting Stanley Kubrick attempting to photograph an unknown woman in an undisclosed location. Guess what camera Kubrick is using there... No prizes for guessing :-) Kubrick throughout the years have no doubt established himself as a cult movie director. His career encompassed many successful and cult movies we have today, namely: A Clockwork Orange, Space Oddesey, Full Metal Jacket and the superb: The Shining which starred Jack Nicholson. Kubrick somehow had a signature recipe to all his movies and never failed to leave an impact so hard, viewers yearned them over after. Have a joyful New Year ahead. OTOH: My flight ticket got confirmed last evening, so London here I come!

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas and jolly New Year ahead! 2006 has been sweet, let's look forward to an even syrupier 2007 soon...

De Ja Vu

Yup. You got it.. Last time I was in the UK: Jan '06... fast forwarding to Dec somehow the yearning to be in the UK (or London for that matter) is always a motivation for me to work harder at work (I always do btw.. :-)); with hopes for a short and enjoyable little vacation in cold Europe, to clear my busy mind. So, keeping my fingers crossed, my air ticket is still on standby, so please pray for me to be able to go....The MAS flight is apparently fully booked... On the other note, this scenic photo here was taken with my trusty Leica M6 & the recently disposed off 21mm Elmarit lens at the Kensington Palace grounds (home of the late Princess of Wales, Diana). I still remember vividly that cool winter morning, the sun had a peculiar skin penetrating warmness effect on our already heavy clothings. It perfectly contrasted the notion of cloudy and foggy winter days in London... A little dry for us tropical homosapiens but nevertheless; refreshing in every way. Remember, cross thou fingers mates!

Thumbs...

I like this photo very much: subject is clearly focused and attention to the viewer is immediate. The bokeh throwed basically everything else out of the way... Photo courtesy of wifey, Jessie.

Clowning around

This shot came about last nite when Jessie and I started to coax the 5D and the L zoom to its max. performance. This is at 70mm focal length at the largest setting aperture of 2.8 for the zoom lens. Not bad a bokeh for a zoom lens... Indeed, it will be a favourite walkaround lens for a while.. Shall post more of yesterday's rather abstract evening with the DSLR. Cheers.

End of 2006, Bienvenue 2007!

Just a note following the milestones of 2006, despite all the upgrading hifi wise, I'm quite certain my music setup will stay this way for a while... perhaps until I get my own coveted sound room set up, likely in February '07. Nevertheless, the Roksan, the Naims, and the Pipit, not forgetting the Sonus Faber have never failed me this year + 2 odd weeks more... they are in my books; good investments. Hifi, Guitars, and Photography: a ménage a trois in the making... I'm looking forward to my personal dedicated sound chamber in 2007!

A dragon caught not flying...

A macro shot of the dragon fly resting at the national butterfly park using a Canon EOS 20D & Sigma 50/2.8 Macro EX lens. Sadly I only had the 20D for a week before I upgraded to the 5D which is a more fabulous camera to shoot with. Behold, more images to be posted...

Photographic Gear Lust

The cast from top (L to R): MacBook 1.83Ghz, MLY Passport until 2010, Marlboro Lights and lighter, Manfrotto table top tripod, Leica M6 Classic 0.85x with Motor M and 35mm Summicron ASPH, Fuji Provia 100 E6, Voigtlander 21mm finder, Metz 36 C-2 flash gun, Blower, Canon EOS 5D with Sigma Macro 50/2.8, 21mm Elmarit M, and the 90mm Elmarit M. Not in the photo: Canon 24-70 f2.8/USM L zoom lens.

My cheeky littl' niece

None other than the notorious, chaotic, hyper, street-smart, loving and cute Chloe Xue de Souza

Rejuvenated and Looking Forward To Some...

Well apologies for the blogging sabbatical. As you may notice, my inclination these past weeks and months have been in the form of photography and art. So engrosed I was, blog life was shut out temporarily... Anyhow, I'm back. So here goes: finally, I got a DSLR after swearing by never to own one; actually pretty pleased with the built and image quality. I somehow feel that digital SLR cameras have come to a new level of maturity since the last few years, hence the feet dipping... This time around I got the Canon EOS 5D body; a full frame 35mm equivalent CMOS sensor DSLR with a 24-70 f/2.8 USM L lens coming with it. It has 12.8 Mpixels on it so that would last me at least a couple of years without having to upgrade. I find that while this combo is well built (like a tank), it's weight really does, kills! It's not a real comfort walking around the streets lugging around a 2kg camera system for the whole day.... Those were the day of ol' rangefinders... Slowly I began to miss my Leica M system, a well heralded system which is compact, handy, and produces envious images even among DSLR kakis. Coming to my senses however, I realise that these are two very different beasts designed for really different situations of use. You don't drive your nice posh Mercedes (if you have) to work everyday do you? So, I'll continue to use my M6 on lazy vacations where I want to travel light and don't mind or have patience not to be reviewing shots in between... Or, when I feel I need the fast nature of the Leica lenses in low light conditions or where flash work is prohibitted. OTOH, the DSLR is really nice for safaris, bird watching or simply papparazi fests! He He... That I think I'll leave it to the beautifully made Canon L lenses to provide snazzy and cheeky photos... Keep you updated when I get back from a short stint to London's Kensington High Street next week. Cherrio!

Vonderful Visit!

We touched down on a Saturday morning via MH 0005 Frankfurt am Main to KL still relishing in our minds the wonderful memory of spending a week in the German city of Frankfurt Main. Lots of frankfurters and beers were consumed during this trip... check out the gut in the photo :-) for evidence. We also walked and travelled quite a bit during this short but interesting trip. The first 3 days were spent mainly in Frankfurt Main city itself. Our hotel is located about 10mins walk from the city area. Just minutes from Maritim hotel (a business one), one arrives at the Festhalle Frankfurt, the city's concert and exhibition hall. On the 25th, George Michael performed there and all of us in our hotel rooms could hear his display of vocal prowess (actually very pleased with the free concert :-)). The main attraction to our trip was a visit to the Leica camera factory in Solms. We accessed Solms via the Giessen town passing by Wetzlar and finally to the quiet town of Solms. All this by magnetic levitated trains. What more can we say: very pleased indeed with all the historical cameras in the factory. What an experience to behold. Also we witnessed the production of lenses, polishing processes, adhesion processes, and of course, the assemblying of the the new M8 digital camera. Our tour of the factory ended 2 hours later and we roamed further the town of Solms before departing back to Frankfurt. Danke Frankfurt!

Mini Photokina in Kuala Lumpur

So, I've finally held it, admired it, and fiddled with it. The new Leica M8 digital rangefinder is a marvel: everything an M shooter expects from this camera is well presented. Like many has said, truly a Leica M it is. The quality of the physical camera is good and there's a touch of classic Leica workmanship on this latest offering.

That said, I am pretty disappointed not being able to test out the actual shoot with my current lenses (21/35asph/90). And the lame excuse was ' no battery.' Darn! What a hiccup! A mini photokina without batteries for the M8??? Really a disappointment. Either that or there was indeed a problem with the sample M8 they had there and was hiding the fact by blaming it on the batteries.

Summing up, despite the disappointment, I was throughly pleased though with Schmidt Scientific, the local distributor who organised the elegant event in Boulevard Hotel. The Leica product manager who presented the new digital was also quite fluid in his presentation flow i.e.: not being too technical the least.. Tasty refreshments and a not too crowded model photo shoot after also enlightened the event. Mingling with fellow photographers was also nice, especially with Raymond and Torben...

So, the million dollar question is again........... 'Are you gonna spend RM19k for this M8???' Answer: 'I probably would.... '

Mac ed

Apple Macintosh has always been special in my heart although mostly I've been a PC user since my school days. So when I finally could afford a sleek and sharp looking white Macbook last month, I jumped at that opportunity. So, fast forwarding... what do you think, many of you may ask. Simplicity and iconic are my 2 cents on this Intel duo core powered machine. The Tiger O/S is simply, simple and easy to comprehend. I probably only went thru the online Mac help once or twice considering I've been a life long Windows user. Aperture, on the other hand is Apple's answer to Adobe's Photoshop software. For RAW shooters and editors, this has got to be the most useful software as it allows RAW file editing without sacrificing the original RAW data. And with its extensive library function, the revolution of Aperture is likely to overcome that of Photoshop given a few more years to come.

Eric Clapton Live In Singapore, 13th January 2007

The real deal! Think it's a good idea to get some Clapton records / guitars / memorabilias off to Singapore for autographing? Errrrr..... I doubt I could be within 10m off Eric...

Dream A Little Dream Of Me...

The past few weeks have been pleasant for me. Managed to book online tickets to Slowhand's concert in Singapore next year. Yeah, next year you ask... I'm not gonna take risk of missing what may be Clapton's last concert in this region. He's 60+ for heaven's sake. I'm so thoroughly excited I'm looking at the tickets everyday! :-)) Really looking forward to his classic material. Wish to listen for myself what 'woman tone' is 'live'. I shall be posting on that come January'07. Keep you guys updated. Cheers,

Next optic

The crave is on for a fast lens... for my Leica. Not that all I have are slow ones, I am seeking for the ultimate in bokeh (background unsharpness) from my photos. The photo above is taken with the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1 lens. Notice how a nice photo this is. Particularly interesting also is the lack of flash which really captured the mood of the couple. Leica's claim is that this lens is capable of capturing a black cat jumping over coal in midnight... Notice the paradox?! Ha Ha! Till then, we shall only cross our fingers and wait..

Underneath it all...

OK here goes... A transformer, a pair of capacitors, 2 sets of power transistors, a heat sink with internal fan and voila! There you have it: the eternal classic NAP 135 monoblocks presented to you in all transparency, for your scrutiny and for your better understanding on the Naim engineering principles; simple yet effective... it works for me, urr... when I get it that is... Cheers.

Fever!

I am currently having numerous urges or fevers to upgrade my current power amp to Naim NAP 135 olive monoblocks. Why? To attain Naim nirvana? Perhaps... Having tried out a chrome bumper pair 135 which belonged to an expatriate friend not too long ago, I was pretty impressed with its power and musical delivery while keeping intact the perennial signature Naim sound: the foot tapping department. I feel this amp will be able to complete the olive package I blissfully own now and more...

These top of the line power amps never lost it's character in the presentation and I was also rewarded with lower and more controlled bass and a generally weightier listen all over the frequency spectrum compared to my current NAP 180, which was expected. So, how else could I describe my tonal craving?

I've gotta credit Naim for being able to invent such an amp with small size to high power ratio. A matter of fact this applies to most of their products as well. When I look at those big Krells and other monster American power amps, I begin to appreciate Naim's superior know-how over other makers. Highly efficient designs is what I would label them... precisely.

This will also be the ultimate power amp for me as equiped with 500VA of transient power, it would definitely drive the most difficult of loads out there. Not that I intend to feed them with Extremas or Genesis speakers (I'm sure it'll drive them well), but they shall remain unsurpassed for some time. Until then you may ask what would I look for as replacements? Another pair damn it! That's what monoblocks are for, use 4 for 2x2 speakers with an active 2-4 SNAXO crossover and you get even closer to Naim nirvana... Too much jargons... really...I should stop... cheerio!

Leica Digital M8

I know I know, another camera blog... I know... Rumours have it that Leica Solms will be releasing the new digital rangefinder dubbed the Leica M8 in October'06.. Scheduled for release right after the introduction in Photokina, this newbie will surely be a hit with M shooters. In fact, most people are yearning for this camera due to accustomed to, digital convinience. Lens are of course compatible with older and current M lenses. There's also a 6 bit coding which can be engraved on older and current M lenses' bayonet mounts for the purpose of compatibility with the future M8. And the damage? A cool USD5,000/-. Will I buy it? Heck no! Used? Perhaps... in a couple of years to come.. :-))

Check out what Rich Pinto of Photo Village, NYC had to say bout this recent hype for rangefinder fans worldwide:

I'm bound by a ND agreement to not discuss specifics of the impending digital M camera...however I (think) I can say that it is the BEST prototype I have ever seen from Leica. It look, felt and smelt like a Leica!It all worked, it was fast as heck, and the images were such that I still have the bruises from when the German product manager wrestled it from my hands to take back to Solms.All I can say is, save your pennies! FWIW, I have not yet started taking deposits yet and cautious dealers should probably wait for an official due day before doing so! ciao,Rich

Rich Pinto

The Photo Village, Inc.www.photovillage.com(212) 989-1252

Historica LP Record

Quiz: Spot Clapton on the record cover.... No prizes for guessing!

Blues Maestro

Eric Clapton circa Cream days (1969). I hated Clapton's music when I first learned to play the instrument. It was during deeper and more research into the blues root music that I appreciated his contributions to blues and most distinctively, his style of phrasing, in the guitar playing context.

Personally,I prefer Clapton's earlier stints: Yardbirds, Cream, John Mayall, and Derek & The Dominoes. I find his style very very dintinguished from the rest of the blues players today. Very incisive and signatory. It often seem his tone can easily be differentiated be it when he's playing blues, jazz, country, or even pop music. Both electrically and acoustically, that is.
His choice of guitars also influenced my personal guitar choices, and most Clapton fans worldwide. His signature tone with a '59 Les Paul and the Marshall Bluesbreaker combo totally reinvented how electric blues should sound: raw, bitting, dark, and creamy. His influence to other great guitar players today also proves that Clapton is still great, despite his many downturns throught the decades... I hope to meet him someday and jam some real blues. That'll be the day...

Musical Roots Revisited

John Coltrane, the father of soulful jazz music...

Show Me Thou Axe...

Guitar players have aways fascinated me since my secondary school years. We (together with a bunch of losers then) worshipped the likes of rock and metal guitarists such as Slash, Kirk Hammett, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Gary Moore. My own group (bunch of wannabes) always traded chords, licks, and shared many guitar techniques as tribute to our respective guitar heroes. During our time, the kapok acoustic guitar was considered to be the epitome of an accomplished school guitarist the least. Anyone playing a kapok was deemed an approved guitar player as far as other school kids were concerned. Kapoks were always regarded by us as utility instruments, highly reliable and most of all cost efficient.
In the later years, I had elevated to an entry level Cort electric guitar. Korean made and well finished, I was pleased as punch with the purchase. With its lower action, slinkier strings, and bigger volume, I was rocking even harder... I explored further into the realms of other classic rockers namely; the Eagles, Bad Company, Dire Straits, Metallica, and anything I could get material on tape to A-B and ripp off!
In a matter of years, with long daily practices, I could already master the basic pentatonic blues scale, which assisted me to play along whenever a familiar tune came on the radio, etc. As a matter of fact, most rock tunes are blues based, so it was pretty easy for me to follow.
The serious damages came in my college years in America (yet again. It seems all damages happen in the USA anyway, what an irony). Consistent exposure to classic American guitars such as the Gibson Les Paul, the Fender Telecaster and Fender Stratocaster , and the Martin D-28s really flipped me over. I was infatuated with all these beautiful hand made instruments and more: these guitars have a long history tracing back to the 19th century..

Now, not only I had fondness to play these instruments, I had more and more interest to search for them. It became addictive, like treasure hunting. Along the Gulf Coast, these great instruments were quite available then, mostly from suburban folks. So, off me and my friend Mike Murphy went, to country sides, islands, crime-infested lands, and what have you. We came across widows, peasants, divorcees, fishermen, and some of the most cash deprived people we've ever met in our lives. Naturally, me and Mike were glad we were able to help these people out: to help themselves... :-))

Fast forwarding to 2006, I am proud today to have invested in 6 classic American guitars. 4 of them are of vintage status now. The other 2 I use nowadays for studio jams or get togethers... the rest they say is history. Long live American guitars.

Salisbury's Cream

My entire college life, I've yearned for a nice high fidelity set. From my days in Mobile, Alabama, as an up and coming sophomore to a matured undergraduate, the urge for the holy grail of hi-fi has never been so boiled up. Visits to the local American hi-fi stores in Mobile gave me the idea of how hi-fi can change one's perception of music. Most setups here were however haute coultre fashioned and this greatly discouraged me to further explore (due to budget, etc.) Naturally, from my guitar strumming days, these dear ears were trained or rather influenced by my somewhat unorthodox exposure to the fine tone of vintage American guitars and Marshall amplification. (More on guitars...later)

My listening is tuned to the way of how a live performance sounds. Amphitheaters, stadiums, arenas, clubs, special acoustic halls, residential areas, and what have you. The manner which the natural harmonics of instruments hit you in a live setting is one of the greatest pleasures of music appreciation one can enjoy.

When I came home in '97, it was not until a year later that I indulged in my hi-fi obsessions again (due to the downturn of our region's economy, my budget was once again compromised). I started off with an entry level Audiolab 8000A integrated amp to a Quad series power amp, a Marantz 63 KI Signature CD player, a Meridian 208 CD player, a couple of bookshelf speakers and finally to the Naims. My first Naim amp was the tiny but marvelous Nait 3 integrated amplifier. This little amp rates only 30W (on paper). However, it doesn't sound 30W to my ears at all. Perhaps it should be rephrased as 30 Naim Watts!... a more believable statement. Apart from good engineering practises, the Nait 3 is also extremely musical and rhythmic (all common Naim traits). Overall this was just the beginning into the wide Naim world of hi-fi electronics that moved me on...further and deeper :-)

Torch bearer I was or am.., I swayed to the NAC 72 pre-amp, Hicap power supply , NAP 180 power amp setup which costed me quite a bit. In a nutshell, I've elevated my listening desires to hi-fi separates. How's the improvement you may ask ? Same addiction but to a higher musical level... :-) My system stayed this way for the next couple of years until I had the opportunity to upgrade to their flagship olive series pre-amp which is the NAC 52 with Supercap power supply 2 years ago. The improved supercap power supply from the previous hi-cap makes a huge difference in music quality: dead silent background and huge vitality and dynamics in musical presentation. It's like a nice 'bokeh' from a Leica photo...

All in all, I'm happy and contented till today with my involvement with the Naim brand. It's a no-compromise design and mates very well with my existing NAP 180 power amp which I hope to upgrade one day to their reference monoblocks: the NAP 135s. That'll complete the reference series, for me at least.

Until then, bravo and kudos to Naim Audio, a truly respectable hi-fi maker!

Mechanical Marvel

With peer encouragement and family support, I'm back on the blogsphere, packed with so much enthusiasm to blog on... Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who've commented positively, you've all really made my effort to get online more meaningful now.

Tonight, the object of desire to be discussed is a camera. Not just any camera it is. A historical insight, a photojournalist's jack of all trades, a black and white persona, an available light wonder, a silent performer, ....and most of all a Leica rangefinder: The Leica M6. And yes, it's a film camera (for now).

Why the heck so much fuss on a camera you may ask? After all it's a friggin' little tool to snap photos. Furthermore, with the influx of digital camera technology in today's modern world, most of us already dread the traditional film cameras in a hope to move on to better and more advanced way of producing images. Why bother to stick to old technology? Furthermore digital is more simple to handle, no need post processing labs to handle the silver halide papers... So why? Why bother? Hmmmm....

I am for one who fell into this hype of trend-following induced by the digital cameras. It did not last too long, :-) fortunately or unfortunately?

For me, I always have the affection for fine and well made merchandise, mostly hobby toys. If I were to buy a toy it would have to be of the highest standards or best available brand. It may sound snobbish, I don't feel that way. I find I reward myself with these expensive indulgences. Wanton I may be, but it's an escapade for me from the busy and hectic schedule I run every working day. It's worth the while, trust me.

Ok, back to work: The Leica is foremost not your typical SLR camera. For one, it doesn't have a reflex mirror which greatly reduces vibration when triggering at slower shutter speeds. I find this very true after meddling and experimenting with the Canon range of digital SLRs. In short, nothing beats the Leica to the speeds of 1/15sec. I am almost 98% sure of obtaining a sharp photo compared to only 30% using an SLR camera. This is especially useful for low light situations. I can hold my breath and take a flashless photo with the 35mm Summicron lens and be pleased with the result, most of the time.

Silent operation: How many of you have scared away the subjects of your photography with an SLR camera? In the public, street photography? I for one once attracted too much attention when shooting with an SLR camera in an art gallery. Not that I intimidated the art works, the people in my surrounding were greatly angered for the decibels I produced each time the trigger was engaged. It attracted so much attention I caused them to lose concentration. I was so embarassed, I excused myself to the exit of the gallery with only faint hopes of returning with great art photos... Now what does that tell you? Do you want gears in the form of 'Guns of Navarone' or tools which actualy work in the environment you are in? Think again.

Leica lens optics: What more can I say? Legendary status need not be explained... Great mechanical and optical performance since 1954 means most M-bayonet mount and screw lenses can still be used with modern Leica M bodies such as the M6 or M7. Adaptors can be easily found to facilitate screw lenses mounting. The images these lenses produce are sharp and contrasty with neutral color rendition. I find them especially inviting for noir et blanc photos where the emphasis on shadow tone is of utmost importance. Same goes for film and color slide transparencies (E6). They never fail to amaze!

Most of all I love the 'bokeh' or out of focus quality of these lenses which most Japanese lenses still, till today cannot compete with. Reasons? Due to Leica's traditional know-how on optics preparation and stringent QC all the way in the manufacturing chain. Nothing is compromised, nothing.

With that I wish you all happy reading and good night...

Diamonds Are Forever...

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the marvelous gem that I've been bragging about in my maiden post. Most parts in this cartridge with exception of the magnet, are cryogenically processed (- 300F plus) to eliminate impurities and eddy currents within the cartridge body. These parameters or rather imperfections are often deemed to limit the transfer of micro electrical and mechanical signals from the vinyl grooves to the phono pre-amp and to their corresponding ancillaries.

Fitted with a solid boron cantilever and a line contact diamond stylus profile, even my wife is envious.... :-) I must mention that this gem is also fairly sensitive to a good and proper setup of the turntable, especially the tracking weight and the VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle). Too much of a tracking weight causes deadening of the music, while too little, gives less oomph or weight. Analogue audiophiles, you guys know what I'm talking about eh...

I can throw in the most complex Cantata piece in and the ZYX presents it with the utmost separation whilst maintaining musical cohesion. Overall, this gem handles complex recorded music in a rather simple fashion: it will dig out all the musical information from those grooves, however difficult, and present it in a simple and comprehendable manner. There is no traffic congestion here, I would rate this cartridge a 9/10. Without a hesitation, miles ahead in musicallity over any CD player with the exception of perhaps the new Naim CD555.

The Arm's Length

The classic Naim Aro tonearm. Designed by a Frenchman, who was commisioned by Naim UK to build a perennial and immortal tonearm, so to speak. Trully an exceptional and distinctive design and well used in many familiar high end decks particulary the Linn Sondek LP12 and even the Roksan TMS2.

Musings...

Hi everyone, this is my first attempt to publish a blog as it's popularly known in today's IT world. I'm not an excellent writer who spends his time facing the computer and penning down thoughts and perils of everyday life. This blog serves to capture my actual daily regiments to share with close friends..

This whole month and the last half of July'06, I've been eagerly packing home early to listen to my long awaited and upgraded hifi analogue setup. After climbing to the Roksan Xerxes X from the venerable Linn Sondek LP12, I must say that this new deck is more accurate and musically more competent compared to the latter. What we're talking here is accuracy of the music reproduced.

What I mean by accuracy is the speed and the pitch of the Roksan. Gone are the fat mid blooms and fluid tastes of the LP12 which although sexy and lusty to my ears, were somewhat slowing things down; tempo, immediacy, drive. I was getting to the point of thinking if this is actually in the recording itself or merely a character of the table. The latter was getting more evident after several nights reading about LP12 musings itself...

This is especially evident with punchier recordings from the 60s and 70s, be it New Orleans jazz or Chicago blues, or simply to 'Men At Work' and 'Toto'. With the Naim Aro unipivot tonearm, I am having a treat too. This arm is a major engineering feat by Naim: bass so taut from a unipivot only a good designer could achieve. On the cartridge end, tracking duties for those tiny grooves of the black vinyls are now passed on to the superbly sounding ZYX Airy 3X MC cartridge. Previous groove trackers in my LP12 setup included the excellent value Denon 103R, the Dynavector 17D2Mk2, and the Roksan Shiraz (which has the best output drive of them all).

In my entire vinyl record playing years, this has got to be the highest resolution cartridge I've ever heard from any analogue system, period. And, it even exceeds the clean and transparent presentation of the CDs... Definitely a legendary MC in the making. Separation and layering of musicians have never been better. It's like literarly watching a live performance in a club..need I say more?

And, I'm having a treat listening to all my vinyl records once again...

I'm having a blast! Join me? :-)