NGD: Stealthy Spectre Of Sin (Ibanez XPT620 BKF)

[Phantasmagoria]

Ha..the shape is the best thing about it :bigthumb:

The Hondo H1 is the only shape that comes close to matching it imo...

 

[Phantasmagoria]

But yeah, just love the spalted maple sunburst top on that thing.. :bigthumb:

 

[Phantasmagoria]

In fact I should do a video of them (Ironbird & Xiphos) going head to head....divebombs, squeelies ...the f'n works

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Here's a nice one...feedback, atmosphere, textures, melody, whammy trix/divebombs, squealies, tapping, shred, atonal stuff ..it's all in there in spades :bigthumb:

JVM w/ the Mojo Mojo in front..dialed in just right this time..

 

[Phantasmagoria]

And the same thing (Pt II) ...with the Ironbird..

...a tribute to the age of pointies/whammy's when guitars actually sounded & looked ****ing RAD \m/

 

[Phantasmagoria]

....and since I do have another dark stealth machine..my Cort X500 "Menace" :bigthumb:

SD Nazgul bridge..

 

[Phantasmagoria]

And something shreddy w/ the sentient neck pup...

Gotta say, all my Cort's play like butter and this one's no exception :bigthumb:

Really loving the Nazgul/Sentient combo in tis axe. They are a shredders dream. I'm almost certain I would'nt ever have tried either of these pup's out otherwise. Same goes for the Pegasus in my FGN axe. I tend to stick to the tried & tested Duncan's of olde, which would've been a shame cuz these are blazin'


Maybe I should check out some Black Winter's next...

 

[Phantasmagoria]

But for now back to my Xiphos ....aka....the sordid specter ov relentless shred :bigthumb:

Just the amp: OD-1 Orange..

 

[Phantasmagoria]

And back to the other stealth machine..

...jamming a ballad ov luv :bigthumb:

The Nazgul is smooth as molasses & is a great warm, sweet/kinda dark sounding 'modern' shred pickup and the Sentient in the neck of this guitar complements it perfectly...

The Nazgul/Sentient combo is great for polished prog metal, while the D-Activator's in my Xiphos are more edgy, aggressive metal pickups. Both sets shred like mother****ers though :bigthumb:

I like it that they are wildly different. Not one of those guys who's looking for just one sound.

...what's a hell of a lot more rewarding is when you can play with 'anything' and still sound exactly like you do

 

[Mincer]

I've never heard the Nazgul described as warm before...

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Yeah, warm & dark..

I mean ..you can pretty much hear it for yourself..

Stealth Vs. Stealth:

Marshall JVM 410 + DOD OD250 + 2x12 w/ V30's + Sennhesier e906 - Neoclasscal/Squeelies/Tapping/Shred


All settings/mic position same for both clips....



Ibanez Iron Label Xiphos (DMZ D-Activator Br.)

Cort X500 Menace (SD Nazgul Br.)

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.and pretty sure it sounds warm af for the ballad up there ^^ as well...


But that's the thing..I go by my own experiences and what I hear myself ..not hearsay. :bigthumb:​

 

[Phantasmagoria]

And another ballad this time with my FGN Koa Strat (SD Pegasus Bridge).same settings as the previous ballad on Pg 2. What's immediately obvious is that the Pegasus is a fair bit brighter than the Nazgul w/ more mids (upper mids specifically) & treble....

Yeah this (FGN) Strat is Ash/bolt on/no Floyd/22 Frets/Rosewood board etc..so a lot of other variable compared to the Cort.

But the Cort and Xiphos have practicallly the same specs (both maple neck-thru/Mahogany wings/Floyds/Ebony fretboards/24 frets/reverse headstocks etc..) and there again the Nazgul is noticeably warmer & darker than the D-Activator.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

:bigthumb::bigthumb:

Cort Menace w/ the SD Sentient & Nazgul pickups both selected (switch in the middle)...

Middle-eastern jam....

Amp's my Laney Ironheart120 + Laney 4x12 w/ cheap V30 clones (Pulse PM12S's). No Pedals.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Black metal/shred w/ the Xiphos....

Amp's my Laney Ironheart 120 & 4x12 cab with cheap V30 clones (Pulse PM12S's)

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Cort Menace in EPIC mode (SD Sentient neck pup w/ JVM/Mojo Mojo drive in front & V30 2x12) :bigthumb:

This backing track screams out for epic melodies, sweeping, tapping, inter-twining twin leads & lotsa shred ..so I had to oblige

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

Sexy guitar!

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Thanks, if you mean the Cort, my first born bought it for me :bigthumb:

Normally I'm not big on Satin finishes and I havent bought a black guitar since the early 90's...but now I have two like that :bigthumb:

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Well Actually 3 if you count my Ibanez S 520 WK Saber.....also a sort of raw black semi-gloss finish, but that's only because they delivered the wrong colour & I decided to keep it anyway...

Can't say no to Sabre's :laugh2:

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Something a bit different :bigthumb:


Spacey ambient prog metal but w/ seamlessly/tastefully integrated (7 not 8 finger) tapping & shred-o-rama so as to to avoid boredom setting in as the tune progresses

Marshall JVM 410 (OD-1 Orange) _ TC Mojo Mojo + Laney 2x12 w/ V30's + Sennheser e906 + Ibanez Iron Label Xiphos (DMZ D-Activator Bridge)..

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Nudged the solo up a bit in the mix....

I have a tendency to generally mix my solo's in too low (cuz modesty) ...I need to fight that :bigthumb: