let me tell you a story

One day, I felt inspired so i opened up my acrylic red mockingbird and decided in a whim to change out all the parts. So i simply cut (yes, cut) the wires and stuff, thinking i am able to solder them back again. Well so I dismantled the parts and stuff, and here is what was left of it:
















So i happily went and shopped for parts, ordering some online, so here's what I saw when I opened the box. Basically I ordered a gold tuneomatic bridge, stop tailpiece, gold 3-way toggle switch, orange capacitators, 1 giant sized pot, 1 Dream P-90 pickup (GFS) and 1 Dream 180 Pickup (GFS). Not that I expect people to understand what those mean but well, just note that they are all gold.
















So I actually happily put it together and all, and thought I was so smart I saw the diagrams and tried to solder them, so I did, and put everything together, so here was the result:

JENG JENG JENG JENG! Chio right?












































Very big change from when I first got it:
















So of course you would expect me to be like, the happiest kid in Singapore today right?

HELL NO, apparently something is wrong with my wiring, plus the wires which I try to solder with end up being frayed and all, well i TRIED my best and rewired it twice over, but alas when I plugged it into the amp THERE WAS NO SOUND! Not even a signal of any sort.

So something somewhere must have blown... means I still have to lug it down to Peninsula to get someone to wire for me, apparently at least another 30 bucks gone =/

I'm like how depressed can, for all the skillzors of guitar playing cannot even solder stuff myself... Haiz. I can envision my forthcoming conversation with shop owner of doom...

Me: Err, hey, you do rewiring here right?

Him/her: Yes, of course, what can I do for you?

Me: Err, I tried to DIY and somehow it doesn't work, can you fix for me?

Him/her: Ok, sure let me take a look... (opens back cavity, which he doesn't really need to cause the cover is clear plastic) WAH LAO EH.

Me: Yeah, messy right... I want to keep the tone knob and gold 3-way switch, cause those are new.. and the orange drop cap too! Err so how much...

Him/her: Wah, must change out both volume pots, like $5 each for the pots and $20 each for the wiring, so I think like $50 bucks ah.

Me: Wah, can cheaper anot?

Him/her: Very cheap already. Some more your wiring so messy.

Me: Hai, bo bian also lah. So when can I get it back, today?

Him/her: Definitely cannot lah, come back next week.

Me: Haaaah, then must lug back home again....

Okay, never mind I am depressed already, so I shall wait till I get my pay before I get it fixed (or not) For now it sits pretty in its beat up hardcase in all its newfound glory but i STILL don't know how it sounds.

Mr. TJ says bring it to Standard Value. Which is like a zillion miles away in Woodlands, so I guess no, I won't. I'd bring it to either Dan's or Maestro though it might cost more and not end up in the same clean cutesy way Standard Value does soldering jobs.

In other news, didn't go to work today because of an FOC main comm meeting, which was a bit strange cause I was so out of their wavelength (no offense, really) and attempts to dabble in gossip was not met with very friendly-ly (broken english alert, don't learn from me) and though it was a valiant attempt, there was really too much info to be shared over verbally without any reference documents for us and stuff. And only 4 out of 8 OGLs were there so.... God bless us, Melissa.

Anyhow it does sound to be a very interesting WKWSCIFOC2008 so all those who are attending as freshmen, get ready to hear your OG's awesome name: -XXXXXXX-! I didn't come up with it, if you want to blame someone, blame JASON who happily ganged up with newfound special friend to kope the last ever sensible name from me.

Ok lah, come to think of it Ravioli is much worse. Haha.

In some more other news, I spent the weekend (Sunday evening, really) trying to learn "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson (You'd know if you play Guitar Hero 3) and I must say that guy must have a zillion fingers. So far I've only learned about the first minute of the song, since it's such a hassle to remember it. But it's really fun and nice to play (like I was literally swaying along to it...)

And Marvel Straploks are kind of awesome.

I still want to watch Kung Fu Panda, anyone wants to watch?

Got to work tmr... haiz. At least it means cash hahahahaha.

what does your dream guitar look like?

Click here to design your own dream guitar!

Not that strats come in such configurations, but well, if I got a strat that's what I want it to be, haha.

masterpiece

a mockingbird's dilemma

Want something? get it on eBay. I'm serious, especially if you are talking about imports which are not available in Singapore - which means most likely nobody else will be seen on the streets with that object or something. You can always just get a debit card, which is quite easy to get and can be used.

Anyways, do avoid loopholes of trying to bid for too many items. For example, in my search for a mockingbird, I got one bid (which i ended up buying) a new Masterpiece Mockingbird for about 770 SGD. I also bid for a European seller, an NJ Classic (a higher end mockingbird) for 170 Euroes from a European seller, that's about $350 bucks. It's unlikely I will win, but there's still a chance cause theres only 4 and a half days left... so even if it's redundant, $350 SGD plus about a hundred SGD for shipping is a very very very good snip for a brand new NJ Classic Mockingbird. If that happens, I'll end up with TWO mockingbirds. Means I either keep both and let it become my *signature* or I sell one of them. Yeah, I'll try both and sell the one I dun like most (though I think I'd love both) to a local buyer for a bit more expensive, but cheaper than if he bought it online. Woo.

Right. There's 4 days and a total of 8 idiots bidding for the same item (me included) I'm winning the bid with 4 days to go. Though, I do hope someone outbids me so I can pull out and not be left in a scenario where TWO electric guitars are delivered to my house and I get a nasty scolding from my parents.

you should not kill mockingbirds

Actually, you should not be cruel to animals =P

I'm spending quite a bit of money on my kuchikurang PC - like so far its about $400 or so, and probably more on the way. Thanks to the mainboard and processor of Ben's, my PC is pretty much bearable now, though the casing is very off (I'm still using the P3 casing, which does not exactly fit the mainboard, PCI and AGP cards very well but it's okay.

I hope whoever comes here finds the new picture nice.

Been whiling my time away doing, uh. Watching many many TV shows, from Anime (Bleach) to Ang Moh TV shows (I got the full two seasons of Prison Break, full 3 seasons of House MD, then some episodes for Heroes, et cetera lah.) Playing Battlefield Vietnam a lot as well.

Haha, it's a very nice game, really, though it's kind of old. And it's really a bit strange that even though the US side got better weapons and machines etc, it's a lot harder to kill VC (Vietcong) than US or South Vietnamese soldiers in the game. Bias? Maybe, haha.

See, I'm really quite bored.

I want to buy a mockingbird!!! But I can't afford the original, even with my paycheck =( It's like 2000 USD at least, I'd think I'll wait till I'm older before I get one.

And I also want to buy a new GFX card, though I'm not quite sure what I want it for.

Since I'm bored, I'll just promote Bali. Just kidding.

i need a loan!

AH! are there any kind souls out there who are willing to loan me about 500-600 dollars? I will confirm pay back one, as people who know me will testify. And with interest, 10% means I will return 550 within three months of the loan...

Partly thanks to the delay in being able to get a job, since its so near the festive season and new year already guess they would wait until new year then will think about hiring. However I think I spent a bit too much these few months, end up not saving much money and spending a lot, so now I need about that amount to pay for my Burny guitar! Like shit... and my mum will kill me since its about 500 dollars difference, and initially she already sponsor quite a lot.

Please contact me if anyone is interested.... thanks!