I've been visiting SOFT since December but have yet to introduce myself. Anyway, I'm in my early 30s. Been playing guitar since the end of my O levels and that was in 1990. Had a really crappy electric guitar at first (Rivera, for those who remember). Then after working part time here and there while I was in college, I had enough to get rid of that crap and bought myself an MIK Ibanez RG350 that was built in the late 80s. Even the headstock logo was the old one. I saved up some more to upgrade the stock pups to DiMarzios Fred, PAF Pro and HS 2. My gear then was just 6 DOD Effects. Student mah....couldn't afford Boss.
Was gigging even when I was in JC...wasn't much though. Besides the TPJC Combo Band, I was also jamming with some close friends of mine from Temasek Sec. Then, my guitar playing came to a standstill when I got conscripted into NS in 1994. After ORD (and after retrieving my precious pink IC), I went to NUS and my interest in guitar playing was rekindled. I ended up in the CACS as a guitar instructor for beginners. Also, I got involved in a band again, this time the Kent Ridge Hall band. We were affectionately known as the KR Rockers. Tacky, I know. At one point, we made a joke about the name, saying that instead, we should rename ourselves as Krockers.
I was still using my beloved Ibanez then, but my gear has changed to a Zoom 505. Pretty simple but less satisfying. After I graduated, we still played together but changed our name to Odd One Out. But because all of us were just so busy, opportunities to jam were few and rare...until we sorta died a slow death. Very sad.
Then, life moved on. I went to NIE to train to be a teacher, my drummer went into insurance, my bassist joined Philips Singapore as an engineer, my vocalist is in a top civil service post and my keyboardist, well, she got so very busy with a lot of things. Everything was moving on....while my guitar gently weeps....in the corner of my room.
...until late last year when I reconnected with my friends from Sec Sch. Pnokio and jalanampas, if you guys are reading this, thanks man....I need this shot in the arm. Now, I've taken out my beloved Ibanez and changed the pups again, along with the pots and 5-way switch. My PAF Pro is still there, but now the mid pup is a Fast Track and the bridge is a Tone Zone. Within a space of 6 months, my sonic arsenal have grown. New gear, new amp, and my wife also bought me a Fender Strat Highway One. And I hope I will never forget that music is what makes me tick...
My influences are many, like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, but I can never aspire to play like them cos I lack their technical skills. So I try to come up with my own tone, my own voice. It hasn't been impressive so far.
Was gigging even when I was in JC...wasn't much though. Besides the TPJC Combo Band, I was also jamming with some close friends of mine from Temasek Sec. Then, my guitar playing came to a standstill when I got conscripted into NS in 1994. After ORD (and after retrieving my precious pink IC), I went to NUS and my interest in guitar playing was rekindled. I ended up in the CACS as a guitar instructor for beginners. Also, I got involved in a band again, this time the Kent Ridge Hall band. We were affectionately known as the KR Rockers. Tacky, I know. At one point, we made a joke about the name, saying that instead, we should rename ourselves as Krockers.
I was still using my beloved Ibanez then, but my gear has changed to a Zoom 505. Pretty simple but less satisfying. After I graduated, we still played together but changed our name to Odd One Out. But because all of us were just so busy, opportunities to jam were few and rare...until we sorta died a slow death. Very sad.
Then, life moved on. I went to NIE to train to be a teacher, my drummer went into insurance, my bassist joined Philips Singapore as an engineer, my vocalist is in a top civil service post and my keyboardist, well, she got so very busy with a lot of things. Everything was moving on....while my guitar gently weeps....in the corner of my room.
...until late last year when I reconnected with my friends from Sec Sch. Pnokio and jalanampas, if you guys are reading this, thanks man....I need this shot in the arm. Now, I've taken out my beloved Ibanez and changed the pups again, along with the pots and 5-way switch. My PAF Pro is still there, but now the mid pup is a Fast Track and the bridge is a Tone Zone. Within a space of 6 months, my sonic arsenal have grown. New gear, new amp, and my wife also bought me a Fender Strat Highway One. And I hope I will never forget that music is what makes me tick...
My influences are many, like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, but I can never aspire to play like them cos I lack their technical skills. So I try to come up with my own tone, my own voice. It hasn't been impressive so far.
