Saucony Shadow Classic (Spray painted logo)

Stealth black

After my last beater shoe gave out, I knew I had to get a pair of casual shoes that not only looked good but felt great as well.

I was initially leaning towards a pair of 574s by New Balance. I browsed online but available color ways were beyond my taste. I cant fathom why local distributors won’t stock basic black or grey, or black and grey!

So I went to SM Megamall hell bent on picking NBs. Checked out boutique shops but non had NBs in stock. Lo and behold, SM department store to the rescue. I was initially checking out NBs but when I chanced upon the Saucony Classic booth, there was no comparison. A couple of my friends casually recommended Saucony’s. I knew that Saucony is a premier running brand. What I was unaware of is that they also had street cred history.  In my humble opinion, Saucony Shadows which is comparable to 574s were of better fit, look, and most importantly craftsmanship. I was gladly confused with a myriad of color ways available, many fit my taste, but settled with basic black and white. It screams rock and roll.

Yup. I did spray paint the logos black. Also, did the back mesh with dark grey. Looks pure sex in my humble opinion. \m/

edit: I was sick and stayed home for three days. Well, the shoe became a victim of boredom and now is slowly turning all black. Cracks did show on the logo so had to spray over it again, this time adding flat clear for good measure.

Pyrography for the Un-initiated using basic pen soldering Iron

I’ve recently discovered the art of Pyrography by browsing the web for creative things do. Specifically, I was looking for something anything that I could handcraft and give to my wife as a gift for Valentine’s Day. Cheesy, but women are so into those little things.

I came across Pyrography by researching how some custom built tube amplifiers were built with gorgeous faceplates employing hard wood and burnt brand names.  While researching the art, I was amazed to found out that there’s a whole universe dedicated to the art. A lot of dedicated websites about Pyrography are in abundance. Apparently, there’s a whole line of equipment and apparatus used to make Pyrography art. The prices of these things are beyond me. I only plan to do one offs, so as most of my DIY attempts I have to use whatever is currently at my disposal.

Meat Smoke amp by Verellen Amplification with burnt logo. Could have been either made by ‘branding’ or ‘pyrography’, whatever technique is used it looks awesome…

Dwarvenaut 20 tube amp by Hovercraft with beautiful pyrography work on the top of the head shell.

So I had to make use of my old and rusty but trusty 30w soldering iron. It’s one cheap Japanese brand that so far hasn’t let me down. So cheap that I haven’t even replaced the original tip that has been sanded to death to remove oxidation.

Takumi brand 30w run of the mill soldering iron.

There’s a ton of information out there on how to make Pyrography art. So much information in fact, that I decided to forego any established technique and just freehand the art and let my creative juices guide me. I concluded that the rawness of the outcome would have an endearing look and feel into it. Know that I am in no way good with art. But I try hard. Believe and you will achieve and pray that you don’t mess up along the way… That has been my mantra and forever will be. 😉

Initially had pencil outlines but decided to freehand it the rest of the way.

Obviously, this isn’t going to be an Instructable. Rather, I am sharing this to prove a point that you could use something decent or half decent with everyday items. One doesn’t have to be limited to whatever the mainstream sells you. Everyone has the creative pulse to make life of something you and your love ones can be proud off. You don’t need anyone’s opinion. What matters at the end of the day, is you satisfy that little artsy demon (or angel) inside of you and know that your creation will be appreciated by someone, at least to some extent.

Front and back pieces. Finished with glossy clear coat of acrylic spray paint.

Side detail.

2013 Twins Special Velcro Camo glove review

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My brother and I recently bought a heavy bag and next on my radar was of course a pair of boxing and Muay Thai gloves to protect my hands. For years, I have relied on just using a pair of boxing wraps for heavy bag work. On occasions, I would borrow my bros’ Twins Special 12oz BGVL3 gloves and liked how it felt. Hence, my decision to go with the same size and brand. Besides, locally, Twins Special is the go-to brand for both boxing and Muay Thai users for its durability and value. Every gym I’ve gone to uses the brand for all striking related implements: pads, heavy bag, speed ball, gloves you name it.

Here’s my initial review:

Info. The glove I have is the Twins Special Velcro wrist strap version. Primarily, a Muay Thai training glove but is also being used for boxing and other forms of fighting arts. It was manufactured circa 2013 and of course was made in Thailand. It is made out of genuine cowhide leather painted in green camo. Model number is FBGV-FG-12.  I bought the pair from Philippines’s Twins Special exclusive distributor, www.K1extreme.com.

Look. I personally made my way to K1 extreme’s shop located near Greenhills, QC. It isn’t hard to find as amidst the signages littered along the street, you’ll spot that theirs’ stand out with a bold red letter and number combination: K-1. Being the exclusive distributor of the brand, they have an impressive rack of Twins Special gloves of different sizes, color ways and designs.  I remember seeing some Fairtex, Kings, and also a Venum glove as well.

While visually inspecting the Twins Special rack, 1 pair instantly jumped out of the pack and made an impression. The 12oz Camo designed Velcro version of the infamous TS Muay Thai glove. I have a fixation for anything camo. For me, the pattern just screams sexy and overall total badass look. I’ve been warned before to pick basics over form. But hell, I can’t resist this camo-ed beast looking straight back at me. The pocket got hit with 2,800php. A real steal considering TS designed gloves, especially uncommon ones, sell over 90$ in the states.

My pair scratched easily and the camo design chipped on different outer parts of the glove.  This happened on the very first heavy bag session I had with it. Not a big deal since the leather itself is intact and unscathed.

Training. I have and will be using these gloves for fight-related training. For heavy bag, mitt work, shadow box, sparring and everything in between.

Feel. I have now spent several weeks using the new pair. I have to admit that it doesn’t feel as comfortable compared to a 2008 TS pair I’ve used before. The internal hand compartment felt too compressed. The hook grip, I feel, adds to weird feeling that is neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Just plain awkward. The awkward feel is a small price to pay though for the serious padding and overall quality of the gloves construction. That attention to detail: Thai handmade, heavy and thick padding, reinforced stitching, cowhide leather, quality and durable craftsmanship is the selling point of this fine product.

Recommendation. I highly recommend these gloves and any pair made and sold my Twins. I always find myself preaching about and recommending these to friends to anyone who bothers to ask. Just an FYI, tall and people with really longish fingers might run into sizing issues. I have medium hands and the tips of my fingers are almost touching the padding. My pink also felt a little too compressed for comfort, but I guess this will improve once I have properly broken-in the pair. A 9/10 rating for me only because nothings perfect.

Cleaning preamp tube pins of the Orange Micro Terror amp

HACK OF THE DAY

Cleaning the preamp tube pins of an Orange Micro Terror amp head

El Mikro El Terrible El Mickro Terorista

I was browsing thru the archives of Eurotubes.com with the intent of replacing the preamp tube of my Orange Micro Terror. The sound I am going for is really geared towards, dirt, grit, mud, more mud and then some fuzz. But recently, I’ve noticed that my sound muddied up by a few more notches moving towards unlike-ability, hence, my desire to experiment with other tubes. I was initially looking at a reissue of the Tung Sol 12AX7 because of rave reviews of it on forums, but I left my choice open for other JJ variants knowing how durable they are. Eurotubes peeps are known to be big JJ tube geeks, so they know their JJ tubes more than any other seller in the market, I reckon.

The JJ 5751 wound up to be the likely replacement candidate. I like what the description make it sound to be. It sounded to be just the right ticket for me to reduce gain and increase the amps head room. I am sold on JJ’s 5751 variant and actually bought one the same day when I saw that my trusted online supplier has it on stock. More on the JJ 5751 as I intent to publish a separate article about it in due time. 

Gut shot of PCB and the socket of the pre-amp tube

After I made the tube purchase (along with more goodies), I resumed browsing thru the Eurotubes article archives. One article that struck me is about the fact that the majority of tube related issues can be attributed to dirty preamp tube pins. Like most metal, the preamp pins oxidize over time. Rust on the pins has been found to be one of the main reasons why tubes may go bad and loose its tone. The article makes a point about how a simple tube pin cleanup will make the tubes spring back to life.

That sounded an easy enough hack for me.

This would be my first attempt at working with an amp tube. The brute in me second-guessed whether or not my flimsy fingers would break the seemingly fragile tube. I later found out though that the tube is sturdy enough to be wiggled-free from the PCB socket. Just make sure to rock it back and forth gently enough not to bend the pins past a few degrees. Also, don’t press it hard when putting it back or you migh crack the PCB board.

Stock pre-amp tube of the Micro Terror. A JJ 12AX7 EC883S

I used a q-tip, dipped in denatured alcohol, to clean the pins and socket of the PCB. I also used tissue napkin to clean dust and sludge. Being my first tube removal experience, I was overly cautious not to bend the pins of the tube. I made sure to use the same tissue to handle the tube as i’ve read that skin oil actually contributes to lessening the life of an amp tube. I re-assembled everything back. Plugged the Micro Terror to the speaker cab, and my LTD ec-50 to the amp, un oh! The amp sings again! A stark contrast to the lifeless sound it had before. I noticed that there’s a touch more clarity and the sound is now more refined. Definitely, mud and fizz drastically lessened. Cleans sounds more ‘sterile’, but in a good way. All in all, I highly recommend this simple mod, actually, more of a tube amp (okay, I know my amp is only a hybrid, but it has a tube so it counts!) maintenance thing more than anything else. For practically free, I suggest cleaning your own preamp tubes as frequent as a couple of months or even just once a year. This simple hack would definitely improve any guitarist tone.

Salamat!

– Jay

Greetings fellow earthlings!

This blog is dedicated to my personal quest of achienving super saiyan-quesue mode of living! No, I don’t think I can turn my hair yellow and grow muscles at a pinch. What I do believe is that, like every sentient human being, I am capable of achieivng the greatest version of me. Be it in training, fatherhood, family, finance, and thriving in this constantly evolving plate of madness that we call life!