Lunch Report, Wednesday, April 21

Made it to Wednesday, almost half way through the week. I’m a bit grouchy this morning because I have to go for a blood draw at 11:30 and that means I have to be fasting for 12 hours. I’m hungry and the clock is ticking slower than ever this morning. CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL LUNCH TIME.

Today I will not change the text color

Lunch today will be some top-shelf teriyaki at my favorite place near home. There are a bazillion teriyaki joints within a 2 mile radius of where I live but only this place blows my skirt up. And seeing how I’ll be over that way for my doctor appointment I have to eat there.

G&L content: A coworker recently bought a Tribute Legacy with a humbucker and brought it in to show me. It was the first Tribby I’ve actually had in my hands and it seemed pretty solid. I’ve never really given them much thought and kind of dismissed them in that same general pool as all the other overseas side brands. Gotta say, at first glance this one was really nice. I didn’t get to plug it in but it felt smooth all the way up the neck and for the exception of the action on the volume pot it was pretty much impossible to peg this as anything different from the US-made Legacy’s. Any Tribute owners? Can anyone give us the short list on noticeable differences between the Tribs and the US-mades?

Humor: Always loved this one



The Eye Of The Beholder: Pretty is relative, so is ugly. Is it a fine line between unique and just plain weird? A friend sent me a picture of this Swiss Cheese guitar and it got me thinking. There are people who put a lot of time into creating unusual guitar or customizing one nice guitars just to make themselves stand out a little more. Granted most are novelties but there are a few where the owner really thinks they are pretty cool. In early 2000 I was asked to broker a deal to sell Roger Fisher’s highly modified ’67 strat.



He gave me a list of all the mods that had been done to it and I just couldn’t comprehend why anyone would destroy a perfectly good guitar that would certainly hold it’s value down the road. We through it on the open market for a few weeks and just got small nibles, it was clear that even though it was owned by a celebrity and had recorded a few of rock’s classic hits it would have still been worth more stock than bastardized. Where do yall stand on gimmicky and overly modified axes? Here’s a few to gawk at while you make up your minds














This Day in History: In 43 B.C. Marcus Antonius was defeated by Octavian near Modena, Italy. I know most of us weren’t around at the time but I bet it was a pretty big deal to Marcus and his crew, in 1977 Annie opened on Broadway, in 1986 Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone’s vault and made an instant ass out of himself on national TV, Iggy Pop was born in 1947 and Tony Danza was born in 1951, in 1970 Elton John played his first solo concert opening for T-Rex.

Yesterday’s Mystery Guitarist: Joe Pass, nobody had a hard time with that one.



Today’s Mystery Guitarist:


This cat was born in Texas in 1968 and released a top 20 hit at the age of 16 called Beat’s So Lonely. He has played with Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, Keith Richards, Don Henley and Justin Timberlake. In the early 90’s he hooked up with the son of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s writing partner and Double Trouble to write an album that would produce another top 20 single. Last report in 2009 was he was reforming this group (without Shannon) and recording a new album.

Off to the doctor and LUNCH!

I have 2 Tribby basses and 2 Tribby Legacys. I gotta say I luv 'em. I actually like the Tribby basses as well as any bass I've ever played. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to spend more, believing they are getting more for their money. They should give the Tribby bass a try first; it is a mind changer. I have gone thru several Tribby ASATs & Legacys and am most impressed with the 2 Legacy keepers. These 2 are solid, fantastic players, and are as impressive as most USA models of any brand. I will add, however, that they are the exceptions and not the norm. I have 2 USA Legacys, too; and I'd be hard pressed to identify the diffeences. One is Spalted Maple, so that accounts for cosmetic and slight tonal differences. I do find the newer Tribbys stay in tune, set up, and hold up better than their Tribby predecessors.

Not much help here. All I DO know is that there are some great Tribbys out there and they're worth far more than they cost, compared to similar models by other manufacturers.

Jay

I am not a big fan of irreversiblly modifying a classic guitar or bass. There are too many imports or aftermarket bodies that can be used to make the instrument of your dreams. Why mess up a good Strat, P-bass or L1000?
Many people learn this lesson the hard way.

If that 1967 Strat had been left stock and he did those mods to a custom axe, He would have had a nice contribution to his retirement fund after selling the stock Strat.
I have several project basses that let me get my mods out of my system. LOL

I have no idea who your mystery guitarist is.

Tributes are nice instruments but I can easily tell the difference between one and a USA model.
On the basses the biggest difference is the tuners. There is also a difference is the neck wood, truss rod design and fingerboard/fretwork so if you a/b several against USA basses, you should be to able feel the difference.

Now the Tributes are fine instruments and will probably do any job you want. The biggest question with them is: How will they hold up over time?
Has the neck and body wood been seasoned the same as the USA instrument?
We already know that the controls are of import quality, so they may need replacing in 10 years if not sooner.

My son has a Tribute bass that seems like a very nice instrument. I don't know jack about bass guitars, but it seems to be real solid. He also had a Tribute ASAT
Special that was a great guitar. I think the necks on the Tribute guitars feel more "Fendery" than a USA G&L and the hardware seems like it might not be as good (not saying it's bad, though). Other than that, there aren't too many differences IMO. On a positive note, the f-hole on Tribute semi-hollows actually has finish applied to the inside edge, whereas USA G&L's are bare wood. Shocking, I tell ya, shocking.

Here's a "fail" shot I've saved...

The Swiss cheese guitar is pretty funny, and looks nicely crafted. I also get a kick out of the reversed guitar with the headstock body and body headstock.

I've never played or owned a Tribute. I gravitate towards American made stuff whenever I can, and G&L's Fullerton stuff is great. I'm sure the Tributes are great guitars, but I don't see any reason for me to have one, as I've got too many guitars as it is. It's probably a great guitar for someone who doesn't own a Fullerton-made guitar, or needs something that plays and sounds nice but won't make you cry if it gets dinged here and there.

A couple of years ago, I caught Blue Oyster Cult in an intimate theater setting. Buck Dharma (wow!) played the entire night using what looked like a swiss-cheesed Steinberger.

I love Cities On Flame! - ed

Today’s Mystery Guitarist:


This cat was born in Texas in 1968 and released a top 20 hit at the age of 16 called Beat’s So Lonely. He has played with Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, Keith Richards, Don Henley and Justin Timberlake. In the early 90’s he hooked up with the son of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s writing partner and Double Trouble to write an album that would produce another top 20 single. Last report in 2009 was he was reforming this group (without Shannon) and recording a new album.

I believe that'd be Charlie Sexton (or is it Will...I get them mixed up)

Some interesting looking guitars. I would not modify any of mine that would not be reversible other than Bigsby installations on American Tele's. I can assure you that the value will increases a fair amount however it will lower the number of potential buyers. I have what I believe is a 2003 Asat Special Tribute. Bassman is right. The tuners are a problem and they are not interchangeable with American G&Ls of any type. I will be drilling holes. The pots were also very noisy when I got it (used). Cleaned them and they are fine. I am not sure about the wiring but they are small compared to any others that I have worked on. I have not looked at the wiring in any of my American G&Ls so I cannot make a comparison. Having said all that, the neck is still perfect and paint and body is like new. For the money they are the best bang for the buck if you are looking for a guitar in that price range. The radius is about the same as a modern Fender as someone previously mentioned. It would would be my brand if I were looking in that price range. Hope the doc has a good report. Fasting is like punishment! Keep it up Spot! -- Darwin

I too love teriyaki!

Any Tribute owners?
Don't own one but have had interest in a trib bluesboy, Will Ray and taking a Special and turning it into a poor mans Trinity. I lean to the 7.5 and 12 radius neck versus the 9 on tribbys, but do believe I could take the 9 if it was the right geetar at the right price.

Humor: Always loved this one
Thanks for the weekly humor, we all need to laugh more these days!!

Where do yall stand on gimmicky and overly modified axes?
I'm everyday modifier "for my right reason". My right reasons are simple things like locking tuners or 4-way swithches, but can be accused of building Jerry Donahue knock offs and putting more switches than I can keep track of, if the liquids are flowing. All of that aside, unless I have a specific intent, I keep it like she came.

Nice pics today. Even though I would normally go with the ASAT body, today I gotta go with the batman guitar, too cool.

Today’s Mystery Guitarist:
Charlie Sexton it is. Love that movie BTW.

Off to the doctor and LUNCH!
Ask for more Oxycodin

Tribbies:
I've only played 2, the first being an '04 Invader XL, which was nice enough to make me pick up a US version online, sight unseen. The second one was a new Cantrell Rampage last week, which looked just fine to me...

5 minutes in a music store is probably not the best way to judge them, but they are worth checking out. I'd have no problem recommending one over their competition....

Late To The Party Note:
The answer was posted before this but yeah, Sexton was my guess....oh well

Nice LR's so far, rawk on.

BW

This one's gimmicky, but not rare. It's a production Squire Badtz Maru Bass. I don't need one, but I want one: