Monday Lunch Report

Hello Everyone, for those who haven't heard me yammering constantly, my name is Kyle. I am a student of geotechnical engineering and am currently working on my Master's of applied science. My bachelors is in civil engineering (der I guess) and I decided to specialize a little further in the terrible economy so when I do come out, I have an edge. My research is in numerical modeling of soils. I am a young punk at the 24, Most of you are probably old enough to be my father .

Today for lunch I ate a bagel, pretty boring but not much around right now. I am on a tiff where I am burnt out on sandwiches. Probably a coffee in the near future (#2). My afternoon will involve doing some work reading about finite elements and variational calculus, followed by guitar practice, followed by going to play some Dungeons and Dragons with a large group of more engineers.

So for G&L content, I will give a rough review of my first G&L. I will likely go into specific parts and such in detail later this week, as I don't know what G&L stuff to talk about otherwise. I am not a history, nor a vintage instrument buff, so I will work with what I have. I received a flawless ASAT special just last tuesday. For those who have not seen it, here it is (and shame on you).



It is pretty non standard, #3 neck, graphite nut, locking tuners, painted headstock etc. I like how well the plain black (1 ply) pick guard looks on it. I was not expecting myself to like it and had something lined up with a pick guard maker, but I do not want to mod it any more in that sense. The finish is awesome. No pin marks to be seen. The piece of ash is excellent with lots of character, and all the good stuff is not covered by the pick guard or controls (pretty straight on that side). I bought it as I loved the fit and feel of G&Ls from the first touch. This is my first, I doubt it will be my last.

What was your first G&L, do you still have it, (and of course pics or it did not exist)?


As far as practice goes, I have mentioned before I have a hardened regime. I do exercises for more than 1 hr a day on guitar, then I might play some songs if I feel like it. Generally I don't play songs so much as dissect them, I find parts I cannot play, parts I like, and parts that are odd and try to play them and/or figure out what it is based around. Some songs I am working on are The Count of Tuscany (Dream Theatre), I have almost got this one. The Wickerman (Iron Maiden) the solo in this one is whacky and weird, I find it very difficult. Constant Motion and The Best of times (Dream Theatre again) they have some good alternate picking w/ string skipping, always need more work there. The solo for Best of Times is likely also on the list, but well, it is a freaking beast.

I have included it below in 2 parts (as it is more than 10 min, the solo is in part 2). How do you practice, is your technique at the peak you would like it to be, and if it is what motivates you to play? My ability, while pretty high, is not where I would like it, I have many areas to improve in speed, and definitely sweep picking. I also need to get my hybrid picking a lot tighter, but I wouldn't call that bad either.

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As far as music goes, first and foremost for me is Progressive music, so I am going to start there giving a bit of my influences and how they drive me. Progressive is really important to me, as it is kind of picking up where classical left off. Stretching the limits of what is acceptable in a frame while still trying to remain musical. I am a huge fan of Rush and Dream Theatre, but I also appreciate King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, and Pink Floyd. These bands and players all challenge me to play better, to explore different paths to the end, and to not accept the easy way out on a tune. I figure I will include the last tune I recorded this summer (the only tune in fact, as I was quite busy and this was a bear). It is kind of a progressive fusion tune, Summer's End. I talked about working on it last time I was LR, but here is the 'finished' product. Summer's End. What are your thoughts on progressive music?

Hope you all have a good day, without too much Monday's involved

Cheers,
Kyle

Well, since my granddaughter is turning 19 today, I guess that makes me old enuff to be YOUR grandfather.... lol! She's an acoustic picker.

I settled for tomato soup & some peach pie for lunch. Washed it all down with some root beer.

Bought my first G&L around 10 years ago. It was a honeyburst ASAT Classic SH - still one of the most beautiful guitars I've ever owned. It, unfortunately, had a "v" neck, which I never quite liked as much as the regular #2 necks. I bought a couple more ASATs, & finally sold this to someone on this forum who could make that thing sing like crazy - ole Slick, himself. Man, what a picker he is. It was magic in his hands.

Since then, a number of G&Ls have joined & left my harem. The keepers are a 1999 original Bluesboy, Spalted Maple Legacy, Trinity, '86 ASAT, 82 S-500s, Skyhawk, SC2, SC3, Comanche, recently a G-200, and a 20th Anniversary on the way. I love 'em all or wouldn't have kept them. Darn good thing I didn't run across that beauty you just got.... you're gonna love it.

Keep 'em coming, young man. And study hard. It's tough out there, right now.

Jay

Nice guitar! I like the single-ply guard too. My first was a 1998 S-500 and still have it:



D&D? Man, I have a bunch of stuff stored away from the early eighties. Complete unpainted lead figure sets(maybe 20+), huge dice collection, a literal library of hardcover books, guides, etc. I plan on puling it all out next spring.

Don't get me started with Progressive Rock... My style seems to be slipping towards Jazz Minimalism though. Have a great week!


Cheers,

Will

Am I old enough to be your father? Well...let's just say I'm old enough to be your older cousin and we'll leave it at that!

Mmmm that is a fine color combination you've got there on that Asat. Is that the clear orange finish? If I ever special order a G&L it will definitely have the matching headstock.

Progressive rock was my first love and I still love YES, Genesis, Crimson to this day. Of course I like a lot of other stuff like blues, classical and the classic 70's rock I grew up on, but I'll always go back to the prog stuff. I"m a casual Rush fan and I tried a few times but never did get much into Dream Theatre.


Jeff

Darn good thing I didn't run across that beauty you just got.
Jay

Funny you say that as there was a near identical one on Ebay the month I put in the order, except the PG and same piece of wood obviously. Why didn't I snap it up for the used price? I already had my dealer do all the running around and all that was left was to finalize. After all the great service I had, I didn't want to stand him up.

D&D? Man, I have a bunch of stuff stored away from the early eighties. Complete unpainted lead figure sets(maybe 20+), huge dice collection, a literal library of hardcover books, guides, etc. I plan on puling it all out next spring.

Will

Firstly, very nice S-500, I love the blonde finish. As far as D&D goes, it is sort of man social time more than anything, definitely not your typical single geek crowd. We also play Settlers of Catan and whatnot sometimes.

Mmmm that is a fine color combination you've got there on that Asat. Is that the clear orange finish? If I ever special order a G&L it will definitely have the matching headstock.

Progressive rock was my first love and I still love YES, Genesis, Crimson to this day. Of course I like a lot of other stuff like blues, classical and the classic 70's rock I grew up on, but I'll always go back to the prog stuff. I"m a casual Rush fan and I tried a few times but never did get much into Dream Theatre.

Jeff

It is the clear orange finish. It is like sweet candy. As far as Dream Theatre goes, it took me an extremely long time to get into them. For some reason I cannot conceive anymore, the vocals are what made me dislike it. Take the Time and The Count of Tuscany (same album as the song I linked, the latest one) opened them up for me. They have become very active parts of my practice regime.

Beautiful custom order there. Wow! Happy to hear you had a great dealer experience to boot. Look forward to hearing it on future recordings...

Practice routine: I have none. The past few years I've been playing mostly for therapeutic purposes. In short, it eases stress. Musically, I'm sort of treading water, and I play mostly (fairly simple) songs my brother and I have written over the years.

I like the bands that you mention. In fact, Martin Barre is my favorite guitarist.
So I suppose I like "progressive" music, though I can't say I play it.

Oh, lunch today was some left over Chinese soup and half an egg roll.

I haven't yet checked out your end of summer tune, but I look forward to doing so later on this evening. Cheers! - ed

I am another one of the old guys, although my 2 children are high school age.

I really like your ASAT, as clear orange is one of my favorite colors. I only have 3 G&L instruments and no ASAT. My 3 are an LE from 1999 (limited edition for the guitarsbyleo board), a used 2003 L-2000, and a used 1990 SC-3. I actually played the LE yesterday at band practice and for some reason it sounded better than I remembered; I haven't played it at band practice for probably 2-3 months now.

Here's a couple of pictures of the LE:





I consider myself a really mediocre guitar player. The only practice I do is when I'm attempting to learn new songs for the band, and I'm very undisciplined with that. This last 2 weeks I only played a total of about 1 hour at home, and then about 5 hours total at band practice.

I listened to Summer's End. I liked the intricacy of the song and the technical ability, but I would rather the song to have a single theme, maybe developed in different directions in each section. As it is it feels like a bunch of ideas lumped together. Conversely you may have enough ideas to make several unique pieces of music. I hope you don't get offended by my opinion.

Several years ago I recorded a piece of music, and many on this board have heard it. I had also posted it on some other boards and I got critique that classified it as a progressive tune. I thought that was interesting as I never set out to make a progressive tune, but when I listened to it afterward I can kind of see their point. In any case, here it is again if you want to give it a spin : Unanswered Question.

Kit

Ed- thanks for chiming in, Barre is interesting, but I find myself heavily drawn to the bass in Tull, they have some good lines.

Kit- That is a very nice guitar. As far as offended about your opinion hardly. I open these up for peoples opinion (most people ignore em). I know what you mean, but the reason it is strung together is that is how the bass line came about one afternoon. I was playing around in D maj if I recall and those are an afternoons work. So then I had to figure out how I wanted to string em up and see what I could do with it. Part of recording/composing for me is pushing the Can I factor.

Liking your tune, some interesting note choices on the arpeggios, your variety of progressive is definitely a lot more accessible than mine . Very nice tune, like the atmosphere it creates, especially when the solo breaks in. I like how you lead up with anticipation but then put it in the background. A very interesting effect.

Hey Kyle, I knew there were a few reasons why I like reading your posts, I too am a prog fan and although not an engineer I married a CE. I needed someone brains and beauty to fix all the stuff I break.

Nice ASAT ya got there. Matching headstocks are always a great look. What do you hear/feel different with the graphite nut? Tone, tuning, slippage etc….

My first G&L was an ASAT sig purchased new in 1992. I wanted a Commemorative ASAT, but short on cash at the time. Still play her every now and then.
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Agree with all of your prog band faves, I would add a few of my favorites list. Huge fan of Marillion (btw touring with Deep Purple next month), and occasionally tune in to Porcupine Tree, Arena and Transatlantic.

Great tune, like the transitions, look forward to hearing more.

Hi Kyle. I'm not old enough to be your father - I'm 28. I guess guys in their 20's are rare around here!

I'm into prog too, and I study engineering (Electrical). I've learned a few Dream Theater songs in the past, most of 'Scenes From A Memory' and 'Awake' - with the exception of most of the solos! That was a few years ago now but it was great fun getting the picking down. I've let my practice slip recently as I tend to get more practical practice out of rehearsing with either of the bands I play with. All the practice I used to do has come in very handy, even though I'm playing completely different styles with very little in common with Dream Theater. A couple of years ago I was playing regularly with a couple of other guys and it was always completely improvised - no parts were ever written out nor did they ever have a set pattern, we went entirely off of the feel of each other. It was great fun and we had some great changes in the dynamic. Here's a link to our old myspace page. I put an old song up just now - i'm playing lead (on a Gibson 335). Give it a listen, I'd like to know what you think!

Sam - Looks like a perdy axe there, except for the black. I have never been a fan of fingerprint monsters . CE's are some of the best people on the earth (not that I am biased or anything). Not familiar with Transatlantic or Arena, may have to scope them out. Marillion is alright though. If you are interested Sam, when you have time the rest of my stuff is here, including a quick and embarassing demo of my ASAT I will not post here as we know what they sound like.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... dID=963521
I wouldn't be cycling through that stuff again as I went over it the last time. I go through high and low points recording where I produce a lot then a little over time.

Blarg- I am in the same boat for learning DT songs, the solos own me. I work on his stuff as even the 'simple' 'slow' stuff like constant motion requires an insane amount of both left and right hand coordination and finger independance. It is not the raw speed that kills me typically as those runs tend to be more straightforward, it is when they back off to 90-120 and have complete finger fugger licks.

Listened to the tune, love the vibe. Some nice playing all around, the phaser on the rhythm is cool too (or is it a flanger, never been good at that game). I love when you get together with players where you can just jam like that, but it seems I seldom run into them. There is nothing quite like the magic 2 people who can read eachother so well they can stop on a dime randomly accomplishes.