INTRODUCTION
I'm the frontman of Singapore's first punk band, Opposition Party.
PLAYING STYLE
Although I had a folk guitar which was given to me when I was little, I've never seriously strived to master it until I formed Opposition Party. I kind of learnt the bar chord and then the power chord soon after and that's all I have been playing till now. Opposition Party existed since 1986 and all these decades, the power chord has seen the band through its various changes in genres within the punk and metal sounds. Most OP songs consist only of fast riffing power chords with a couple of quick simple solos thrown in. I'm more influenced by the speed and aggression in hardcore punk and thrash metal on a whole rather than idolising guitarists from the bands that I like to the point of trying to emulate their style. Of course, there could be certain riffs or licks in my songs that sound like they were inspired by certain guitarists but they are mostly due to subconscious effort. I don't really have a warm-up routine but I do try to practise the songs and their solos before a show to loosen up the fingers.
I'm the frontman of Singapore's first punk band, Opposition Party.
PLAYING STYLE
Although I had a folk guitar which was given to me when I was little, I've never seriously strived to master it until I formed Opposition Party. I kind of learnt the bar chord and then the power chord soon after and that's all I have been playing till now. Opposition Party existed since 1986 and all these decades, the power chord has seen the band through its various changes in genres within the punk and metal sounds. Most OP songs consist only of fast riffing power chords with a couple of quick simple solos thrown in. I'm more influenced by the speed and aggression in hardcore punk and thrash metal on a whole rather than idolising guitarists from the bands that I like to the point of trying to emulate their style. Of course, there could be certain riffs or licks in my songs that sound like they were inspired by certain guitarists but they are mostly due to subconscious effort. I don't really have a warm-up routine but I do try to practise the songs and their solos before a show to loosen up the fingers.
MAIN GUITARS
I won't be able to give specific details as my interest in guitars does not really go that deep even after all these years. Especially in my early punk days, I basically used whatever that was available and didn't even bother to tune up that much. These days I do make sure whatever guitars that I'm using stay in tune but that's because of the OP songs that are more metal will sound really awful when played out-of-tune. Throughout the years, I find that Fender and Ibanez work best in creating the OP sound. My current axe is an entry-level Ibanez with a Floyd Rose bridge, upgraded pick-up and other setup tweaks such as lowering the action and removing the tremolo springs.
OTHER EQUIPMENT
Hyper-metal with Roland Jazz Chorus is my preferred combination. If without gadget, then the Laney Ironheart tube amp gives the most natural heavy crunchy thrash-metal sound. I use thicker gauge strings as they give more weight to riffs and since I downtune to C#, thinner strings feel too loose.
OTHER SG GUITARISTS/BASSISTS YOU FIND INTERESTING
Like I said earlier, guitarists in general are not something I think about.