431# Elective 3.0

Elective for semester 8 officially starts today. For semester one's elective, I learnt drums for 1 month. For semester three's elective, I learnt bass for 1 month.

And now for semester 8, I'll be joining a local band for practicing and recording. But somehow things didn't turn out well so I can only do the recording part.

Therefore I've planned to record a song, with myself on the lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, drums and some keyboards if possible. One man band indeed.




But too bad I don't have a bass guitar and drum set. Therefore before the recording of those instruments can take place, I'll need to take a ride back to seremban campus as to use the instruments there for practice.

As for the guitar, I have my 6 years old Ibanez GRG. It's been a while since I last tune it therefore weeks ago I sent it to a music store in seremban to change the strings and tune. Just want to make sure that my guitar will be in tip top condition for the recording.


The strings are pulling the bridge up. Action is high. Bridge level is high.

Now there was a problem. I sent my dear guitar to the wrong guy. They have no idea on how to change strings and tune a tremolo bridge (floyd rose bridge) guitar. In the end not only the tuning was not in standard E, the action was too high, bridge height was too high, springs loosen, screws screwed up...

I demanded for the correction, and that took me another week. In the end the problem persisted and I had to take my guitar and leave the music shop.

I've paid RM26 for the strings and RM10 of workmanship, which ended up with a traumatised guitar, messed up mind and plenty of time and petrol wasted. I would have sued them if I wanted to, but I blame myself for my stupidity for sending my precious guitar to someone who has no knowledge on floyd rose guitars.


Such high action level, solos are impossible.

Therefore today, I drove all the way up to Cheras, 42km from where I'm staying to get this problem fixed. Thanks to David Yong who showed me the details of the guitar store online, or else I would have used the last resort - buying a new guitar, which I can't.

To get this done my guitar would need to fix the intonation, which consists of the neck action, level fret, nut optimum height, bridge height and position, pickup optimum height, neck resonance. That makes up RM150 excluding the price of the strings, new springs and screws.

This is really terrible. I paid RM36 for a lousy service and now I have to pay RM170+++ to get it done.


Springs are loose, screws are kinked and the cross shaped mark has gone to a round shape, can't screw in anymore!

Fixing the intonation is quite a difficult job therefore my guitar would need to be held for 1 week. Which means I can't start practicing for the recording anytime soon. I have only 4 weeks for the elective and 1 week has been taken to wait for my guitar's revival.

The recording will cost me a few hundreds, plus all the money spent on repairing this axe, the total spending for this elective has costs me almost the whole month of allowance, which I didn't expect at all.

I'm very, very upset for the music store's service in seremban. If you don't know how to handle floyd rose bridged guitar, say don't know la!


Freaking broke now. Together with all the anger and frustration.


PS: Thanks to David for the details and borrowing his Stratocaster for me as backup. Thanks to Sunda for teaching me to tune the floyd rose. And say no to N* music store seremban.