Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Zorb- It


The Zorb-It is now in stock, you can check them out at any of our Maestro outlets.

The Zorb-It is arguably the ideal solution to all your humidity related problems.
Singapore's humidity is almost always close to 80%, which is far too 'wet' for your prized guitars. High humidity levels can cause your guitar's belly to 'bloat', the neck to warp and the moisture can also seep into the wood and cause your guitar to sound horribly heavy and damp.
The ideal relative humidity levels for the well-being of our guitars is around 50%-60%.

In Singapore, most people would either resort to using common household desiccants such as Thirsty Hippo etc.

However, there are a few fatal problems with these common household desiccants.

The first point is most prevalent to us Singaporeans, they are not cost-effective. These desiccants have to be replaced every few days or weeks. And they are not exactly dirt-cheap either.

Each Zorb-It packet is re-usable, and they can last you 5-7 years on average.
The small 2x2 Zorb-It packets costs a mere $8, and the larger 4x4 one is only $18.
Now is that dirt-cheap. Say if you purchase the 4x4 Zorb-It for $18 and use it for 5 years, that is a mere $3.60 per year, or $0.01 per day. And think of all the hassle, effort and time you will save. Now that truly is priceless.

Second point, desiccants such as Thirsty Hippo do not work well for guitars and instruments in general as they are not designed for such purposes.

In fact, they can do more damage than good.
Why? That is because the sole purpose of ordinary desiccants is the bring the humidity level down to ZERO%. That makes it too 'dry' for your guitar, which thrives best at at humidity level of 50-60%.

Furthermore, ordinary desiccants have a very small capacity to absorb moisture. So when exposed to very high humidity levels, they are fully saturated with water vapor extremely quickly. And then, they just stop functioning.
So the humidity level drops temporarily, then bounces back up again. This fluctuation of the humidity level can be potentially destructive to your guitar.

In essence, these desiccants do not effectively maintain a constant relative humidity of 50-60%.

However, the Zorb-It does.
It has a water retention rate that is 1000% higher than normal desiccants. And, it works both ways. It can absorb water-vapor and it can also provide moisture to the area in which it is governing. So the humidity level in your guitar's hardcase is always maintained at an ideal humidity level of 50-60%.

All that is required is to place the Zorb-It in your guitar's hardcase and that is it.
Leave all the hard-work to the Zorb-It and concentrate on making your music!

For more information, check out the following links:

How does the Zorb-It works?
More in-depth technical info about the Zorb-It.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Maestro Custom Ukulele are Here!

Our Maestro Custom series Ukuleles are in stock. They include the;

- soprano-sized US-30 w. solid Red Cedar (Grade AAA) top, flame-koa B/S.
- concert-sized UC-40 w. solid Red Cedar (Grade AAA) top, solid Indian Rosewood B/S.
- soprano-sized UC-45 w. solid Red Cedar (Grade AAA) top, solid Cocobolo B/S.


All of our Custom Series ukuleles are;

- strung with premium Aquila Nylgut strings
- featuring high-quality Grover gold diecast gear-tuners with beautiful black buttons
- featuring intricate inlays and abalone inlaid border and sound-hole rosette
- come with a deluxe leather hard-case
- come with 1-year local-warranty


Performance, quality, value-wise, our ukuleles simply cannot be beaten.

Don't take my word for it, judge for yourself!

May I draw your attention to the Grade AAA Solid Red Cedar top on our US-30, the deluxe hardcase and the 1-year local warranty that accompanies it, and finally, the price.



Here is another comparison, I rest my case;



Just try one out for yourself; hear how they amazing and big they sound and how they simply sing!
Feel and see for yourself how robust and solidly they are built and how aesthetically appealing they are.

Our aim is simply to furnish you with the best-sounding and highest quality instrument around to create your music with. But at a mere fraction of the price you would normally pay for such an instrument.

On another note, our high-quality ukuleles start from $50 onwards. So there is one for everyone, nobody is ever left out. We believe that everybody deserves a good sounding instrument!

Drop by and give these babies a try-out before they are all sold out.



The pictures hardly do justice to their beauty, but here's a little sneak-peek.

The US-45 with solid Red Cedar (Grade AAA) top, solid Cocobolo B/S.




Cocobolo back; 3D figurings, with plenty of depth, contrast and character.






Hawaiian Flame Koa on our Maestro US-30.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tonerite: Get your Tone right!

Hello all,

ToneRite is available at Maestro now, so feel feel to drop by any of our outlets to pick one up before stocks run out!



What the hell is the ToneRite? Explained in layman's term.

It is basically a device that you mount onto your guitar's strings, e.g



Once plugged in and switched on, the Tonerite will pulsate/vibrate, in turn it vibrates the strings and the strings will cause your guitar to vibrate. Sounds just like when you play the guitar doesn't it? Well, that's exactly the point, the ToneRite aims to effectively mimic someone playing the guitar.

So why is this device needed?
It is widely recognised and accepted that solid wood guitars (or at least a solid top), will mature and 'open up' in time. The solid-wood will become more flexible and vibrate better. Different guitars will mature in different ways, but generally they become much more resonant and 'sweeter' with time and playing.

However it takes years upon years of playing to fully maximise the potential of your instrument. So you might not be able to experience your guitar at its full potential in this lifetime. So that's where the ToneRite comes in. It rapidly accelerates the 'play-in' process to allow your guitar to realise its full potential in just mere days.


Our personal experience with the Tonerite.

We used the ToneRite on a several of our guitars. First thing to note is that different guitars yield different results. And of course, a full solid guitar will have a lot more potential for improvement than a solid-top only.

- Maestro ED-1:
This guy is a tad bright and quite jangly.; solid spruce top with mahogany sides and back. After using the ToneRite on it, it became a lot warmer and fuller, yet retaining its characteristic sparkle and 'jangliness'. Also, it became a lot more resonant.

- Maestro ED-3:
I love the warmth and rounded-ness of the red-cedar top. It's beautiful for fingerpicking. But one thing about cedar is that there is a ceiling to it. It responses very well to light fingerstyle as the softer notes are being amplified very beautifully. However, the ceiling becomes very apparent when you strum hard. Unlike spruce tops which can take very heavy strumming, there is a certain threshold for cedar whereby after that, it just doesn't get any louder. So heavy pickers/strummers might get frustrated as they might not be able to get the projection that they need.

After using the ToneRite on the ED-3, first thing I noticed was the projection. It was very LOUD for a red cedar top. Very resonant too, you can feel the vibrations thumping against your chest when you play it. Shiok. So now this ED-3 is has the sweet, warm tones of red cedar with great projection. It is just amazing.

-Maestro Rosetta:
This is a full solid guitar, spruce top with rosewood sides and back. Very common combination of tonewoods here.
Before the ToneRite, it is already a splendid sounding guitar. Taut, tight, deep bass, sparkly highs and a nice organic midrange, if not somewhat recessed. But that is probably because of the exaggerated highs and lows that the rosewood provides that give you the perception of the mids being scooped. But it is not.

After using the ToneRite, everything just clicked for this guitar. As always, it became a lot more resonant, you can really feel the difference in the vibrations. It is as if it woke up from a deep slumber. Bass can be felt deeply, but it doesn't overpower the highs. The highs retain the sparkliness but it sounds a lot sweeter. Just playing a open D chord, you can hear the overtones and how the notes ring out and seem to combine and overlap one another, heavenly! When I play the simple D on some guitars, they just do not interact nicely with one another, sounds incoherent and uninspiring. You really have to experience it yourself. This is guitar is just so responsive and I can't put it down.

Our experiments with it show that all guitars will see an improvement in the resonance. How your guitar will mature, I cannot say for sure, because each guitar is unique. But one thing I can ascertain is that if you love how your guitar sounds, you will love it even more after it matures.

Here are some FAQs that customers have directed my way:

- Is it safe? Will it overheat and burn my guitar?

A resounding 'NO'. It will not cause any harm to your guitar in anyway if used correctly. I have not encountered or heard of it overheating before.


- How long does it take?

The recommended initial treatment is [b]at least[/b] 72 hours. Obviously spruce tops will take a lot longer than the softer cedar top. But most guys I know just use it whenever they are not playing the guitar.


- Does it really work?
A resounding 'YES'!


For more information:
Official Tonerite Website
More comments and reviews!
Some before and after soundclips from BGW!

KC is Back.

Hello all,

KC is back and we are taking in repairs from today onwards.

Thanks for the patience and support!

Friday, July 3, 2009

No repairs till 7th July.

Hey guys and gals,

From now till 7th of July we will not be taking in any repairs as KC is away. In addition, we will not be accepting any request of holding on to your guitars to avoid any complications.
But please do come back on the 8th for any repair matters.


Thanks.