Lunch Report, Monday, May 17th, in the bag.

O.K., so I'm a bit lazy. Last night I was thinking about something, usually the place where I get hung up, and figured, "Hey, with so many new folks here, maybe I could use my first lunch reporter stint and nobody would notice." Drat, I can't find it, so here we go, fresh lunch ala carte.

Believe it or not, lunch, which should probably be the biggest meal of the day, is my smallest. I don't do anything like normal people. So, as boring as it is, I start lunch with a Yoplait Pina-Colada yogurt. Yummy. Once that's done I'll finish with a blueberry flavored Cliff Bar. Scrumptious. Of course when you eat a Cliff Bar, or reasonable facsimile, you need to have a glass or bottle of water handy, which I do. I don't go much for the designer waters. I mean, who designs these waters anyway? Do they have to go to school for it? But, I digress, it is after all, a specialty of mine. So, I chase my Cliff Bar down with some filtered water. While water captured using the reverse osmosis process is the purest tasting water, it also uses the most water to get the least amount of water. This isn't good. Today I just go with water filtered through some sort of carbon filter. It's tasty enough for me, and is pretty much the same thing as designer water without the label or the price tag. That's it. I know, you might as well have eaten Chinese food, as you'll "be hungry real soon, I predict".

G&L Content

What was your first G&L? Do you still have it? If not, what made you sell it? What did you replace it with?

My first G&L WAS (Hint as answer to second part of question) a '93 ASAT Special. It has a beautiful Cherry burst color and a highly figured maple neck/fretboard. It was a beautiful guitar. Unfortunately, it ended up having a slight neck twist, perhaps from being from Alaska, with its rather harsh climate. I ended up getting a new maple neck put on it at the factory, COD, as it was well out of warranty, being that it was around 2006 or so. Anyway, the neck that got put on the guitar was a bit stouter than I'm comfortable playing, and a couple of years later I sold it through the "Marketplace" to a G&LDP member. The neck may have been stout but the plek'd neck felt very precise along the fretboard. I hated selling it, but couldn't comfortably play it.

Here's a picture of the '93 ASAT as it was shown in the Ebay auction.





So, recap, '93 ASAT Special was 1st G&L. No, I no longer own it. Sold due to thicker neck. Ah, what did I replace it with? Well, since I didn't want to be without a G&L while the factory was replacing the neck, I came across a very clean ash '87 ASAT with OHSC, metal string tree, serif logo on headstock, on Ebay and hit the BIN button. That one I still have. With the exception of a rather messy job on replacing the output jack, it's in excellent shape. The previous owner had even had a fret level and polish done before selling it. The tolex case in excellent condition as well. It's a great guitar, but I seem to gravitate toward my maple-bodied ASATs. Presently, two of them are in the daily rotation. Number One is my ASAT III project guitar. I can't play, or say, enough about this guitar. Believe it or not, the neck on it was the slightly twisted maple neck that was on my original '93 ASAT Special. And, either the twist self-corrected a bit after becoming acclimatized to California weather, or the twist wasn't that bad in the 1st place. Either way, I'm glad that I didn't give it up. My old friend, the late Paavo Zakin, repeatedly tried to get me to send it to him as a gift. I dang near went for it. With the ASAT III project's success, I'm certainly glad of this. And, who the heck would know what would have happened to it after Paavo's passing?

Replacement, with pic's from its auction:




So, as I asked earlier, what was your first G&L? Do you still have it? If not, what made you sell it? What did you replace it with?

Hmmm...a poll question just popped into my mind. I'd better grab it before it's gone. See poll.

POLL - Yes, I use theory all of the time.
Bassplayers who don't know music theory sound like ham fisted idiots IMHO.

I still have my first G&L. It's a 1980 L-1000. The neck from it is now on my '83 L-2000.

I with you on the bottled water. I think Bottled water is the biggest environmental disaster that we could've easily prevented and a colossal waste of money.

Bottled water does not have any flouride and it is not regulated the same as tap water.
Who knows what spring is putting out what water?
I have a Brita filter, as if I really need it, and refill my water bottles.

Penn and Teller did a great scam on bottled water an an LA street.
They filled bottles from a garden hose an sold it as some exotic water for an outrageous price.
They filmed the whole thing and it was hilarious.

l

I feel a bit guilty about it but I have been drinking a lot of bottled water lately. it started last year when I decided to abstain from alcohol (my goal was one year, I made it to eight months) I only buy sparkling mineral water and still drink plenty of tap water so I don't feel too bad about it. I actually look at it as a treat and as far as guilty pleasures go, bottled water is pretty tame.. I used to eat Cliff bars regularly until I discovered the Zone nutrition bars.I only get them when they are on sale but really like them, they have more of rice krispie taste than the astronaut food taste that I've come to associate with Cliff bars...not that I've ever been to outer space..my physical body hasn't, anyway.

my first G&L was a 2007ish Lake Placid Blue Legacy. purchased brand new. Played it and loved it for six months but then the GAS really kicked in and I ended with 6 G&Ls which led to that Legacy not getting played as much. I traded it for an amp. It had been replaced by a SC-3, a S-500, a 25th Anniversary and two guitars I put together with ASAT and Legacy bodies. out of all of these guitars, I only have the 25th Anniversary left. I went through a phase of preferring thinner necks but that was psychological-my hands really prefer fat necks. I only don't regret getting rid of my first G&L because my Comanche is in Lake Placid Blue. Besides the pups, the feel of the guitar is very similar to my first one.

speaking of thinner necks, my vintage SC-2 has one and thus doesn't get played much. I have been torn about trying to trade it for something that will be played more but I know I will regret it somewhat...argh.

> So, as I asked earlier, what was your first G&L? Do you still have it?

Here it is:
http://www.ggjaguar.com/sb-2-84.htm

Still have it. It's a great bass.

I quite enjoy the Theory aspect of playing music. It is kind of an interesting twist to math, which was one of my better subjects back in the old school days.

I am very lucky on the water topic. We live up in the Sierras, very close to the El Dorado National Forest. The water from the well is ice cold and I think the best tasting water I have ever had.

My first and so far only G&L is my 2010 Blues Boy. No plans on ever parting with it.

My first G&L is my GbL LE that I got in 1999 when the batch of 25 were commissioned from G&L. It is a good guitar and I still have it, although I have not playing it much lately. But then, I have not been playing any of my guitars much lately because I've been too busy. This last week the only time I actually touched a guitar was during the 3 hours of band practice yesterday. Since 1999 I have added 2 G&L instruments, a 1990 SC3 and an early 2000 L-2000 bass.

I like theory, but I don't consider myself very good at it. I do know enough to help me figure out songs easily, it is also useful when it comes to communicating between band members, and it helps a lot when we transpose songs to a different key.

Kit

Still have my first G&L. An 88 Asat Special that I bought new. There have been a couple of times over the years when I've been tempted to sell it but each time I came to my senses.

I haven't answered your poll yet about theory. Mostly cuz I'm not sure what choice to make. I know a bit of theory but wish I knew more. And I really don't use it as much as I should. I guess you'd have to add a selection for: Just Enough To Be Dangerous.

I saw the Penn & Teller show about bottled water that bassman mentioned. Classic stuff.


Jeff

I studied music theory in college and it is helpful. I am an ear player today but still use theory.

I am not a fan of bottled water and it probably is a real waste of resources with the bottles. You cannot beat the water in some of the beers that are available. That is an opinion and not a fact

I do not have my first G&L either. It was a beautiful Clear Red Swampash Legacy HB. It had a rosewood neck and I traded it even up on CL for a Maple neck Legacy with GOT. It is a beauty and is in perfect shape. My original was up for sale recently and I almost jumped on it, but I do not need another Legacy. GAS has subsided. I have not picked up any since since ST. Pats day. I am being much more selective and it has to be right! -- Darwin

I know me scales, and how to play in key, etc. Enough to get by as a bass player and for some good leads and excellent runs. I often break the rules however, mostly to see what happens and whether I will do it again . I would like to learn more about triads and chord structure though, always been lacking there and my big band experience (tenor sax) doesn't help much there.

Bottled water costs in league of 1000x what the tap water costs, and it is generally the same stuff except 'filtered' or vitamins and minerals removed then added again, real great process they gots there. Except from a few oddity places most tap water is just fine, people are just getting ridiculous about it.

I unfortunately do not own a G&L

I didnt partake in the poll as none of the choices fit for me...

IMO theory is important but its no substitution for creativity...

My first G&L - Mid 80's Salmon Pink Rampage.... $139 used out of the Little Nickel Paper... w/ OHSC - NICE.
It had the 1 3/4 nut width like most G&L SuperStrats so I sold it to a bandmate of Spot's at the time for $350.
No pics of it. Saw it years later in a Seattle Pawn Shop (CAPITOL LOANS) beat to hell with an ridiculous price tag..

Put my '64 strat & '66 Tele to shame.... enough said.

NIce Pics and Great Start!

Cheers,

JBo

I know a little theory...wish I knew more but don't really have the discipline to carry through on that.

As for bottled water...it has it's place, but IMO it's a pretty small place...much smaller than we seem to have given it. A good water filter is money better spent and that's what I do at home, we've even got a decent filter at work.

My first G&L is the 98 Legacy I have now...my first and only at this point.

My first G&L was a honeyburst ASAT Z-3 semihollow. Still think of it as one of the most beautiful G&Ls ever made. I loved the tone & looks, and so did Slick. I eventually sold it to him because I never cared for the V-neck that came on it. Slick love the neck, so we struck a deal. He kept it a long time and played the fool out of it. The ASAT I replaced it with is still around. I believe that I'd still own the honeyburst Z-3 if it had come with a #2 neck.

First was an 80's F-100. Stolen. To think I have had to shelf a G&L at a "F" sponsored event. Years later I can play what I want, just alone... Music politics can be a doozy.

Like your natural ASAT!

As for music theory, I should spend more time with it, but like my golf game, I never took the time to have the initial fundamentals taught to me so I’ve been a hack since day one. I wish I had more understanding of scales and modes but I totally play by sense of feel and smell. Everything I do is unorthodox. Chord fragments, weird hybrid scales that I’ve stumbled across, incorrect finger positioning – even the way I hold my pick is wrong. And truthfully, this why I can’t improvise solos to save my life. I have to write them in my mind, hum them out loud then start sounding them out pretty much note-for-note.



My first G&L was a 2002 Legacy Special with two bladed single coils and a stock TB-4 in the bridge. It was that weird pearl color that changed in different lighting with a pearloid pick guard and a rosewood neck. It was a really solid guitar and I loved the Fulcrum. Sustained for days and had great tuning stability. I played it pretty solidly for about a year until I bought my first Rampage and shortly after that my first Superhawk. I preferred the bigger 3-bolters and was more at home with their worn-in vibe and different neck profiles. I eventually sold the Legacy and bought Vedra (leo era Invader) from Jay. The Legacy was the only 4-bolt G&L I ever owned but I was really impressed with the quality of it.

My first G&L was a '97 3-bolt Cherryburst Legacy Special bought at the Zobrist when it still existed here in Seattle. I had visited the store a couple of weeks before and played a clear Orange ASAT Classic. But when I came back to the store, that guitar was gone. But not having an S-style guitar either, I instead walked away with the Legacy Special, not entirely without being influenced by store manager Ron Stoehr (thanks Ron!). Through the years, my collection grew and she got less and less playing time. But than about a year and a half ago, I set her up for .011's. And boy did tha make a difference! I still own her and she is played regularly because I love that beefy sound with the thicker strings and the sonic capabilities she has.

Cool responses, and pic's. Thanks guys. I wonder what the roach coach (My own head?) will have on-board for lunch today? I await receipt from the ethereal conduit. Thanks again for the interesting responses.

I've got some theory in there, but I'm primarily a "by ear" player.

I still have my first G&L--a 1999 Legacy. Bought it new in Nov. 1999 so I'm officially beyond the warranty. I still play it a lot, and gig with it fairly often. I've kept it stock (except for replacing the saddles, and adding strap locks and locking tuners). It has the best neck of any guitar I own.



Peace...

GDub

Theory is good for talentless hacks, French philosophers, and overpriced jeans. Everybody should have their own band and sing their life. It's okay to sing off-key. And to play out-of-tune guitars. I just watched American Idol (with my fiancee) and that kind of stuff is okay if you're into high school talent show type stuff. I'm not. I like the Beatles and the Dead Kennedys and Neil Young and Elvis Presley and Otis Rush. I love LA and life too. To my fellow Angelino, MrRoundel, I know you're gonna do a superb job with the lunch reports this week.