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...