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 Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report 
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:22 am
Posts: 51
Location: Skylands
Post Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report
Lunch today is a grilled chicken wrap with a side of carrots. I splurged and got a bottle of honey green tea, too.

It’s Throwback Thursday so I thought I’d share some photos of the G&L factory when I was there in 1998 doing research for my magazine article about Leo Fender’s legacy. As a fan of Fender instruments (gasp, I know), the factory tour gave me a huge insight about how Fender Electric Instruments worked back in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was almost as if time had stood still there in Fullerton. Everything was done by hand as in the FEI years and some of the same types of machines were still being used! It was like a photo of the old Fender factory right out of Richard Smith’s Fender book. Now, of course, things are a bit different with a CNC milling machine and a PLEK machine being brought in.

I think the most advanced machines I saw there in 1998 were the automatic pickup winders (though some pickups were still hand-wound) and vacuum tables for gluing tops on guitars. The pickups were still potted in wax baths melted in electric cookers. The parts for the Dual Fulcrum Vibrato were, presumably, sourced from different vendors and were assembled by hand. I’ll bet a 3rd party does that now as it is very time consuming as you can imagine.

You’ll notice in the photo of shop foreman, Ed Sebest, demonstrating how a neck blank is pin-routed using a metal (sometimes Lexan) template that is screwed to the neck (that’s where the “beauty” mark on the back of the headstock comes from). Although Ed was giving a quick demo (he wasn’t wearing his safety glasses), you can see how this and other types of hand-work could be hazardous. The CNC machines remove the workers from these hazards and, theoretically after the capital expense is amortized, will produce necks and bodies more quickly and at lower cost, too.

I included a photo of me, Darth Invader, and my friend Tim Pershing with one of the first ASAT Jr.’s that rolled off the line. FYI, Tim is the foremost expert on Fender Musicmaster, Duosonic and Mustang guitars and has written articles about them. He thinks G&Ls are okay, too. :)

Now for today’s question: From a completely metaphysical and aesthetic point of view, does the method of instrument construction alter your perception of any aspect of that instrument in terms of quality, tonal goodness, value, mojo, desirability, etc.? For me, there’s no denying that G&L’s current instruments are very well made and are in some ways better than during the Leo Fender era (e.g. – frets and finishes), but there’s something to be said for nostalgia and perceived mojo imparted by all that hand work that’s hard to shake. The variation in pre-CNC hand-shaped neck profiles adds to the fun, though I can certainly see the advantage to digitally-consistent neck shape. The bottom line is that I love, love, love all G&Ls… well, not quite all - only the ones without s/n headstock plates. :lol:

Enjoy the pix!

GG

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Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:08 am
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Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:11 pm
Posts: 2153
Location: Dayton , Ohio
Post Re: Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report
great week so far !! ... thanks for the pict's and the history lesson


Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:21 am
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Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:13 pm
Posts: 3218
Location: Minneapolis/St Paul
Post Re: Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report
Greg, thanks for the interesting reports this week.

The old G&L factory stories and photos are always a highlight. There was a lot of talent and workmanship going into these instruments. I must admit that I am a fan of the recent builds and have several instruments starting from the early 90s. The manufacturing process and builds continue to improve. There is a difference from 2009 to today, mostly in the neck refinements. The only thing that i don't think has improved is the hardware and with the foreign sourcing, this would be understanding. Things like metal preparation before chroming and the metal finishing is always a bit different when changing suppliers. The body and paint preparation is stellar as is the woods they are using. I am not a mojo fan as it really does nothing for the end result and is only beneficial to the person who loves it. This has been a recording issue for me recently as our arranger is into mojo. He keeps telling me about recording in the bathroom to get cool reverb. We are using a B3 patch in the synth including the gurgle the B3 gives in one song. It is not my favorite but it is cool. I only wish that I were as modern in age as my outlook.

Your pictures today were really interesting, especially of the threesome and there is more than 15 years of additional experience in each of you! I was a working man 15 years ago and have been promoted to the greatest job in the world of retired and full time Grandpa. See what you all have to look forward too!!!! -- Darwin


Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:01 pm
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Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 9:38 am
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Post Re: Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report
Hey Greg,

Talk about a lead in from yesterday with mention of Tim Pershing and the Musicmaster. The bass I spoke of yesterady was acquired by trade of a Musicmaster II. The Musicmaster was my first electric purchase. I was saving for a tele but tele's were a bit out my price range (or so I thought, since at a young age I did not appreciate used gear cost and something called patience :whome: ) With a Badass brand bridge replacement and a tune up that guitar was the cat daddy for about 3 years. Cool little guitars, maybe G&L could do a SC1 and SC2 with small MFD's similar to the Musicmaster / Duo-Sonic?

Love the pictures, makes ya bit reminiscent huh? :-) Everyone needs an ASAT Jr in their ASAT collection for sure, love mine. Or they could even go with the new ASAT Jr tribby version, which are getting sweet reviews.

Today's bonus question - I have a soft spot for the idea of "hand made" and craftmanship. While it adds time, a live person can see and feel it in process and add touches as needed. CNC and all the machined parts do make for a faster build and more guitars available to the market, and we all want our good friends at
G&L to sell more guitars. We need to remember however, CNC is a tool, and G&L craftsmen build guitars, not tools. The best tool in the world, in the hands of a crappy craftsman, isn't going to improve production. Truth be told, of my 11 ASAT's 6 are pre CNC and while I love the feel of all of these, the CNC models are pretty darn good. For acoustics, hands have to be all over these!

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Sam


Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:04 pm
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Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:11 pm
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Location: Dayton , Ohio
Post Re: Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report
Greg , you can always take the S/N plate off and screw in some Skull Heads with the red crystal eyeballs :luv:


Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:11 pm
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Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 12:24 pm
Posts: 300
Post Re: Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report
Cool photos Greg! I really enjoy woodworking and have built several of my own guitars. It is fun and rewarding but I can certainly see the human side in each of them. My vote is for modern technology to perfect the parts and the "craftsman" to come in and perfect the build and the setup. An expertly crafted instrument will gain its mojo through the player too! :alright:

Thanks for the post!
Ric
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Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:15 pm
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:00 am
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Location: Seattle
Post Re: Thursday, 27 Feb 2014 Lunch Report
Cool report Greg. Thanks a bunch!

- Jos


Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:30 am
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