09/19/2018 - It is Lunch Somewhere

...But dinnertime here. Anyway:

Lunch: Retrospective
My work stocks a new energy drink called “Bang” in the vending machines. It’s pretty awful and loaded with caffeine. Had that and a sandwich from the same vending machine. Wish I knew it had mayo; ugh.


Guitar Topic
Replacement pickups - What do you think of them? Necessary? Nitpicky? In part, for me swapping & playing with pickups adds motivation to actually play my guitars more. Buying new pickups helps keep my interest in playing up. I have no band or anyone to play music with at the moment, so experimenting with mods encourages me to stay involved in music, record songs etc. I love hearing & playing with the subtle differences between a Duncan JB, Distortion, Screamin Demon, Lace pickups etc. At this point, all but one of my Fenders has replacement pickups.

At the same time - I realize there are really only two sorts of pickups in the world: those I can make work with some combination of knob tweaking on guitar/amp, and those I can’t. Most of those subtle differences, while interesting, can be dialed out or in a dozen other ways. Not really necessary IMO, beyond extremes (a Jazzmaster pickup vs. an MFD for example can give a diverse array of tones that are apart from one another- but two different Fender single coils can really only be so distinctive.

At what point (if at all) are you encouraged to play around with replacement pickups? Good experiences? Bad? (That said - My G&Ls stick with stock pickups/everything, the MFDs are half the reason to own them in the first place IMO. Fenders? Fair game usually )


Non-Music Topic
I choose cars as a secondary hobby, only because I need something that makes guitar seem cheap by comparison. I’m mostly letting my car hobby sleep for the moment- But six months ago I finally bought the replacement for my ’04 Z06 Corvette someone slammed into the back of- A ’00 Camaro Z28 6 speed Not quite as fast or sticky on twisty roads, but much cheaper and I worry about it less; same basic engine, and a much better transmission/shifter at least.

Besides- I also have a 75 Datsun 280z with some light mods (was a daily driver until a couple years ago,) and a few months ago inherited a ’55 Chevy. I just parted with a Triumph TR7/money pit after several years of fires and other ridiculousness from it; I have a pretty eclectic taste overall I suppose. What’s your dream car? What do you drive now?


Music Topic
It’s still summer in SoCal and probably will be till early December; hell, last year it was 100 on Thanksgiving - at the beach! What’s your favorite Summer album?

Weezer’s White Album comes to mind for me; actually more of a Beach Boys rip-off than Beatles. I almost totally wrote this band off after a string of pretty terrible efforts since maybe the Red Album - albums with maybe one decent single and a bunch of garbage, until a few years ago with Everything Will Be Alright in The End. I initially wrote that album off based on a weak set of singles, but it’s actually worth a listen.

The White Album is pretty amazing to me though (again despite awful singles.) The below track exemplifies summer for me - it’s too bad Weezer’s newest album does not live up. This is pure Summer to me though: ‘We’ll drive into Ventura on the 101 ; sounds like fun to me.’ Love it:

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Hey Danley,

Thank you for continuing this long-standing forum tradition.

Lunch:
Today, me and a colleague were looking for a place named 'Cactus'. But in its location we found a different place named 'Local'. We weren't to eager to have lunch there, anticipating your ordinary sports bar grub, but decided to give it a chance. Glad we did. The ordered salad and chicken pot pie were both excellent.

Guitar Topic
Replacement pickups - I'm not one into replacement pickups. Their subtle differences, especially when using high-gain amps and pedals, are IMO completely washed out. But then again, I have an ASAT with many different pickups laying around anyway, from Jumbo MFD to TV Jones TV Special. So I gather I'm not exactly the right person to be asked ...

Non-Music Topic
No drivers license, no car. I bus and walk myself to where I want to be. My wife drives a 1996 Honda Civic so I'm note completely carless. Being careless? That is a different issue altogether ...

Music Topic
Interesting question. Never really thought about music in terms of seasons. (Oh ... Wait a minute ... Is that why I don't have any X-mas albums? ).But the first album coming to mind is 'Flowers in September' by the Dutch band 'Tambourine'. Must be because their cover of 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' came to mind right away when I read the question ...

- Jos

I just finished writing my (late) post on Sam's LR, so I'll write from today's perspective.

Today's lunch will be an old standby: a Kale/Jalapeno salad with sliced up hard boiled eggs mixed in, and Salsa for the 'dressing' .

Replacement pickups: I do projects from time to time. My last one was on my old 93 Legacy - which I set up to resemble David Gilmour's Black Beauty (pickup wise). Having said that I don't swap out pickups all that often; I either buy a guitar as a project, or because I like the sound. If the former I put in the pickups I wanted to try out, and if the latter I leave the pickups as is. There are people in my office who have a very sophisticated palate when it comes to coffee. One fellow combines three types of beans he likes in a certain ratio, and mills them in a grinder *after* the water has been boiled, timing it so that the milling is done just when the water in his kettle has been boiling for a minute or so. Then he puts the newly (coarsely) ground grounds into his expensive French Press, followed by the boiling water, which he then stirs for 20 seconds, and then let's stand for another 40 seconds, before taking two minutes to sloooowly engage the press. He refers to all other coffee, only half jokingly, as swill. I don't doubt that he not only tastes a grand difference between his own blend/grind and what can be purchased at a coffee shop. Others in the office have their own preferences also. Unfortunately I am very dull compared to them. I can't tell the difference between instant and gourmet, and I often drink Decaf diluted with flavored whiteners. I'm kinda the same with pickups. I just don't have as sophisticated a ear as others do. I do like certain pickups over other pickups, and certain sounds - and I have some favorites, but I'm not at the place where I might try several different pickups on the same guitar. It's a combination of laziness, a lack of resources, and the recognition that I don't play well enough for such nuances to impact my overall sound.

Secondary Hobby: I like Role Playing Games. I was/am a big Dungeons & Dragons fan, though I don't play as much now. I was a DM for a couple of decades with a few dedicated groups, but now as a father of five, working a fulltime day job, and pastoring at a local church, I don't have time for a lot of my old (time consuming) hobbies. I still play video games regularly (with my kids!) and I like to draw and paint, and write poetry and music sometimes, but guitar playing is my daily/favorite hobby. It's sad that after 30 years I still suck at it.

Music topic: Like Jos, I too have never really thought of music as a seasonal thing. But up here in Canada, summer and winter are such polar (pun intended) opposites, that driving is fun in the summer and stressful in the winter. I do prefer laid back tunes in the winter, and tunes with greater energy when I can ride around with the windows rolled down. I think 21 Pilot's first album would be my "summertime" favorite.

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A little late to the party... Yesterday we had a Lunch and Learn seminar on conducting Effective FMEAs. They served pizza and cookies from the cafeteria at work. The pizza wasn't that good, but then I'm a pizza snob. I prefer wood fire or grilled Neapolitan Pizza. The stuff at work has way too much crust and cheap toppings.

As far as pickups go, I haven't had an urge to change any of the MFDs in my G&L guitars. However, I have been seriously considering changing the pickups and controls in my Washburn Idol WI45. The e bridge pickup sounds fine, but I do not care for the neck pickup at all. Way too dark and it overpowers the bridge pickup even though I have lowered the neck pu. The pickup appears to be trembucker or F-Space sized so I have been thinking about getting a set of the G&L alnicos used in the ASAT Deluxe. I have heard favorable reviews on these pickups. My other thought was Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and '59 in the neck. The controls are the Voice Contour Controls "VCC," but I want to change these to more traditional LP setup.

Secondary hobby... I guess at this point is probably brewing beer. However, 10 years ago, guitar probably was secondary. Nevertheless, to the topic of cars, my commute is long so I drive cheap vehicles. In addition, since my driveway slopes up to a semi-busy street I prefer having 4WD for traction in the winter. So, my current everyday ride is a Jeep Patriot. As for dream cars, I'm kind of partial to "Mopar" vehicles. For an everyday drive, a Dodge Challenger would be sweet. For nice weather only car a Dodge Viper. I remember the Triumph TR7, I used to want one of these, but now a TR6 interest me more. I also really wanted a Mazda RX7 when I was younger... Wankel anyone? Then there is Porsche... I dig the 80's 911s and 928s (928 is just and ugly cool!).

Music of summer... Not sure I would consider these seasonal, but they may get a bit more playtime in the summer. A couple that come to mind are Poi Dog Pondering Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like a Sea with Songs like "Spent the Day in the Shirt That You Wore," "Watermelon Song", and "Everybody is Trying." Another would be King Go Forth The Outsiders Are Back with songs like "One Day" and "High On Your Love."

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Cheers, Dan

Hey Danley,

Thanks for keeping the keeping the LR rolling and great topics!

Lunch:
Still undecided


Guitar Topic
Replacement pickups – Have done my share of replacements depending on purpose of mod, not necessarily a necessity. Fenders and Fender copy all have replacement pickups. One actually has a G&L Z Coil in the bridge.

For humbuckers I lean towards Dimarzio. To my tone deaf ear these have more grind than the Duncans. On the other hand, for single coils, I would go with a Duncan Broadcaster in telecasters. Only exception would be the Jerry Donahue APTL-3JD bridge pup, for a JD super switch set up, which is a spanky devil.

I do not change G&L pick-ups at all. Just like you, these are the mystique of G&L guitars. Love those BIG MFD’s, and the Z-Coils!

Non-Music Topic
Not a car guy, can't fix them or work on them, but I do appreciate all car designs. You will appreciate this, years ago was looking for a Triumph TR 4A, just because they were cool and not many around. With a family of five we use an SUV and a 4 door Ford F-150.

Music Topic
What’s your favorite Summer album? Interestingly enough, the old War tune “Summer” is my favorite summer song. I recall hearing it, in the summer, when it came out in 1976 and it was the right sing for the right time and the feeling has stuck with me since.

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Favorite summer album…Grateful Dead American Beauty or Skeletons from the Closet. Made a cross country trip from Mississippi to San Francisco once, other than radio only had tapes of Dead Skeletons, Steppenwolf Greatest hits and Jackson Browne Running on Empty, listened to the Dead most.

Winter, how about going with Counting Crows “Long December” for song and album maybe The Jayhawks “Hollywood Town Hall”, because the cover just looks like winter and it is a fantastic album.

Today, me and a colleague were looking for a place named 'Cactus'....

Sorry to hear Cactus isn't there...they were good.

Non-Music Topic
No drivers license, no car. I bus and walk myself to where I want to be. My wife drives a 1996 Honda Civic so I'm note completely carless. Being careless? That is a different issue altogether ...

I can't imagine having that sort of life. Here it seems only people who had DUIs ride bikes outside an athletic context, or take the bus (if there's a bus) ; and pedestrians are extinct. At one point I lived two hours (with traffic) from where I work. I could almost bike now, but would arrive covered in sweat.

Cool you can do it!

My other thought was Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge

I love it for leads, but for anything else that pickup is one of the ones I have difficulty liking; funny harmonic content, doesn't clean up well with volume (sort of just becomes harsh and middy/muddy) very loose bass. But sometimes sounds perfect to solo.

brewing beer

I tried with a Mr. Beer kit; could only get light carbonation (like a soda rather than a head) and my second batch tasted like newspaper. Lucky there's a LOT of good craft beer around me; the Bruery is local within a few miles, among all the great breweries in San Diego an hour or so south.

As for dream cars, I'm kind of partial to "Mopar" vehicles. For an everyday drive, a Dodge Challenger would be sweet. For nice weather only car a Dodge Viper. I remember the Triumph TR7, I used to want one of these, but now a TR6 interest me more. I also really wanted a Mazda RX7 when I was younger... Wankel anyone? Then there is Porsche... I dig the 80's 911s and 928s (928 is just and ugly cool!).

Old Challengers are so amazing, they make the new ones look like bricks in comparison. Big cars, but the style is so slim and sleek... Best of the idiom. A few neighbors have TR6s that get driven pretty regular; understandable the TR7 was such a disappointment after that, but I had high hopes I suppose. Would love an RX7 (FD in particular,) but could see myself hating to put up with waiting for it to warm up etc. 928 is my real-world favorite Porsche for sure, which probably shows I'm not quite a regular Porsche fan A 959 would be the fantasy world winner for Porsche, but I'd still take a 288 GTO above that.

years ago was looking for a Triumph TR 4A, just because they were cool and not many around

The TR7 wasn't something I searched for, rather it went through about three different family members who wanted to get rid of it. But I do love British sports cars overall; had a Lotus Esprit at one point, awful car. My Triumph affair makes a good story though.

It's great to see some Lunch Reports again!

Lunch today: Curried chicken salad on toasted wheat from my neighborhood coffee shop, washed down by a soy flat white.

Pickups/mods: I am not a modder, and have only done one pickup swap in my lifetime. It was a very abused '78 Fender Jazz that I picked up in 1981 for $200. I was a teenager, and the bass didn't work very well in the state it was in. A local guitar shop owner offered me a used set of DiMarzios, which I wired in with pots from Radio Shack. Going on 37 years later, that bass still sounds wonderful to me. I do have a pickup swap project that's been waiting in the wings for a couple of years. I picked up an '86 SB-1 over the web, which had a recent MFD installed and the original Schaller in the case. The corners on the pups are different, so the Schaller won't fit the aftermarket pickguard the bass came to me with. It will be a quick job and the bass will get a lot of playing, but I have just had too many other things on my plate.

I'm actually not sure that I would hear much of a difference swapping out a standard (non-MFD) pickup with a replacement. To me, the pickup position is much more important.

Cars/second hobbies: I'm not much of a car guy, but I was very tempted recently by a 1980 Mercedes station wagon my mechanic was selling.

I did take up saxophone last winter to share the experience with my oldest son. I haven't been able to put in a lot of practice time lately, but after I figured out a good mouthpiece and reed combination it became a lot of fun. I don't expect to reach a level where I can play out in a band, but for recreational playing it forces me to think about note choices in a completely different way than guitar or bass.

Ken

Today, me and a colleague were looking for a place named 'Cactus'....

Sorry to hear Cactus isn't there...they were good.

Well, ... turns out we were a block off. 'Cactus' is just fine and dandy!

- Jos

Today, me and a colleague were looking for a place named 'Cactus'....

Sorry to hear Cactus isn't there...they were good.

Well, ... turns out we were a block off. 'Cactus' is just fine and dandy!

- Jos