I went live for a quick hang and unboxing because I had two packages show up from Zzounds, and I wanted to crack them open with you in real time. The whole idea here is a little “two birds, one stone” experiment: tuning a short-scale bass UP to match my stupid-low guitar world, and tuning a semi-hollow baritone guitar DOWN for heavy chugs. I’m running a flexible tripod that’s, for lack of a better term, stupid—so yeah, a little shaky—but the gear is the point. First up was an Ibanez Talman short-scale bass (TMB30, 30" scale). I’m setting it up to tune in unison with my baritone 7-string stuff—typically F#—so I can demo parts without fighting octave differences. If Meshuggah can do the unison thing, so can I. Second box was the one I was really dying to try: Ibanez’s 28" scale semi-hollow baritone (AS/AR baritone vibe), and the aesthetic is absolutely killer. Packaging was questionable and they shipped it upside down (cool), but the guitar came out looking great—and it weighs almost nothing, which rules. Expect videos on both, plus some Synergy amp content and more “hangout” stuff like restringing as I get back to posting like I did during the pandemic.