Lunch Report Thursday, March 31st

So here goes.
late again and it's getting worse.
For lunch I ate , a protein bar, and a big glass of water. Went to the Gym and had a trainer destroy me for a half hour. Got a big cup of coffee, forgot to post my lunch report again, did about 6 conference calls, remembered I was supposed to post my lunch report, And here we are
G&L topic of the day
Do people constantly call your MFD pickups P90s? If so, how do you describe them or explain the difference?
Other players I have hung around with have admired my ASAT a ton and said they needed to put those "P90s" into thier guitar. I have explained that they aren't P90s probably a dozen times and gotten the same confused look.
To me, the MFD's are the best pickups I have ever played. Just curious how you would describe them. For me, they have a ton of bite, are high output, but with total clarity and string definition. It's great to be able to push your amp and still hear the strings.
Non G&L topic of the day
What are your thoughts on instrumental music specifically guitar music?
Do you need vocals for a song to apeal to you?
I think I do but would love to hear what everyone else thinks. *disclaimer, I am a vocalist so I may be biased.
Thanks and apologies again for the delay. I am really not doing great here.

I have stopped explaining that a large MFD is not a P-90. Instead, whenever somebody says that they would like to try one of these P-90's in their guitar, I just tell them that these pickups are rather expensive. "They only come in one brand and the domestic versions retail for about $1.1k and the imported versions around $600-$700. But realize you get a free guitar with these pickups ... "

Over the last 20 years or so, I have been predominantly listening to jazz which for a large part is instrumental. I still love to go to Jazz Alley here in downtown and see these cats sweat it out on the band stand. Music is one of the view means of communication/languages that does not necessarily need words to be expressive. And that shows in many different genres ranging from classical to prog rock to jazz to avant garde etc. So no, I don't need vocals for a song, or maybe more appropriately tune, to speak to me. But the again, I can't wait to see Kurt Elling in a couple of weeks who actually has made putting lyrics to instrumental tunes somewhat of his speciality.

- Jos

Dinner Part One - leftover wings...

Can't speak to the G&L topic other than to say when i first saw the large MFDs, i thot they were P90s too, but quickly learned they aren't...are they P90ish in sound, with MFD slant?...i mite like that...should be smoother...

i love instrumental guitar and play a lot of it...and....why the heck are we listening to anything a VOCALIST has to say??...lol

Lunch today was beef stroganoff from the cafeteria... should have skipped that one

G&L topic: I've pretty much given up on explaining it. If they ask if they're p90's I just say "yeah, kinda" and leave it at that.

Non- G&L: I don't need lyrics, although I always have some sort of lyric when I write a song, but as far as listening I quite enjoy instrumental guitar.

-Dave

No lunch today. I just spent 6 hours replacing the front tire and rebuilding the forks tubes with new seals on my Goldwing. It is not a job for the faint of heart. Tomorrow the rear wheel comes off for a new tire. Another major project.

I just got my first Asat with the big MFDs so I have not had the comments.

I love instrumentals. My first CD of my own 2 years ago is all instrumental from the 60s. I have never listened to the words in songs but always listen to the instrumentation. -- Darwin

Last edited by darwinohm on Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

..... I have never listened to the words in songs but always listen the instrumentation. -- Darwin

Me too, I'm a shocker for that. I don't know all the words to more than five songs at any time - melodies sure, but words, nope. I wish I could take more of an interest but lyrics are usually so bad (Brad Paisley - ugh!) that I end up ignoring them. When I do hear good ones I find it really adds something. One of my favourite songwriters is Rodney Crowell - his album 'Fates Right Hand' has the best lyrics of any that I've ever listened to.

I love jazz too, but can't play it. One day....

Allright Noob. If you're late again tomorrow, you're going to have to get down and give us fifty!

Actually, your lunches seem (almost) punishment enough ;+)

Seriously, way to go with the dieting. Wanna give my wife a few pointers?

P90 Question: I had never heard of G&L when I pulled the trigger on a mid-90's ASAT Special one beery eBay evening in 1999. I actualy wanted (and thought I was buying) a P90-equipped Tele. Many G&Ls later now, I view my moronitude as fortuitous, and I am well aware of the difference now. But I still get into (mostly delightful) trouble when I bid and drink simultaneously.

Instrumental Question: Although I have, over the years, been moved by a number of purely instrumental pieces (the first of which was Al Hirt's Java when I was three or so), as a song guy I am drawn to tunes with lyrics to inspire, amuse and befuddle me. - ed
DARWIN: I thought you were retired, man! lol!....

Zap, I spent all my money on guitars and women (Ginny), so I get to fix the Goldwing. Seriously, I like doing my own work because I then know how it was done. It is good for a guy my age to get down and dirty sometimes. BTW, most of us can relate to beer and purchasing. Its even worse when e-bay makes it so easy!-- Darwin

Darwin, when I'm your age (in a few years), I hope I still remember how to get down and dirty sometimes. Rock on! - ed

G&L Question: I too thought I was buying a P90 equipped tele when I bought my Tribby ASAT Special. I didn't really care in the end - the pickups that were in it sounded awesome and they're not going anywhere. A few people have asked me how I got the P90's to fit in my telecaster and I tell them G&L did it specially for me. They seem impressed so that is my stock answer now.

Non G&L Question: I can listen to about 2 instrumental songs in a row before I need to hear some vocals. I like guitar players that have a lyrical quality to their phrasing and note selection. If I can't easily hum a solo then I'm not much interested in it. But back in my 'yoof' I used to like Eddie Van Halen as much as the next guy.

Lunch: Not terribly exciting. Leftover chicken & dressing.

G&L Question: Never had a guitar with MFD's. In due time.

Non-G&L Question: If done right, no. Some of my favorite songs are instrumentals. I do find, for me, what I find to be good instrumentals and good songs-with-vocals are structured differently. For songs with vocals, music often plays as a backdrop for the vocals. Too much and they seem to be competing. However, songs like Orion or Call of the Cthulu by Metallica, bands like Red Sparrowes, Pelican, Russian Circles, Medeski Martin & Wood, and the like, really have a way of creating a certain vibe or something that is interesting enough on its own. The instruments fill in the space the singer normally would, but do not necessarily have to solo per se. Then Vai and Satriani tend to do more technical stuff throughout from what little I've listened to them. Not to mention a lot of the great Jazz (Miles Davis, Coltrane, Monk, etc., etc.), Classical, and soundtrack/videogame/other work (Yoyo Ma, Akira Yamaoka, Trent Reznor, Chemical Bros., etc.).

I love good vocals, I love good instrumentals. It depends. But I certainly do not NEED vocals to really enjoy and get into a song/track.

-Cheers

Lunch: Tortellini with assorted vegetables.

MFDs: never had them.

Vocals vs. Instrumental. Either/or makes no difference to me. The thing I look for in music is emotional impact. If it touches me, I listen. If it doesn't, I move on. (Unless it's that horrendous train wreck that is Rebecca Black's "Friday." Can you believe she's made over a MILLION dollars on that tripe?)

Noob? Hey!
I resemble that remark!

Do people constantly call your MFD pickups P90s? If so, how do you describe them or explain the difference?

You might point them to our G&L Knowledgebase, General G&L Questions sub-forum:

Here are the posts on USA G&L pickups:

List of pickups used in G&L guitars

List of pickups used in G&L basses

Hope this helps.

(Unless it's that horrendous train wreck that is Rebecca Black's "Friday." Can you believe she's made over a MILLION dollars on that tripe?)

Wow. I'd never heard of that song, much less endured it, before I read this post then like a masochist went and listened to it on the Internet. I was better off not knowing how bad that was. However, I do find it amusing how it sounds like it was made by a twelve year old with a voice simulator, just the way words are tossed together just to be in time with a beat and not to actually convey a coherent message.

Maybe that's why I like instrumentals. Because of people like Rebecca Black.

-Cheers

P90 Question: I had never heard of G&L when I pulled the trigger on a mid-90's ASAT Special one beery eBay evening in 1999. I actualy wanted (and thought I was buying) a P90-equipped Tele. Many G&Ls later now, I view my moronitude as fortuitous, and I am well aware of the difference now. But I still get into (mostly delightful) trouble when I bid and drink simultaneously.

This is a classic BUI story! Sometimes things really workout under beer logic.

Good question on instrumental music. I love all kinds of music. Some things I don't get. Music with no melody. Music with an 'experimental' or to me terribly irrational beat. I have to focus more on the music if there are no words, even though I don't always give the lyrics a lot of attention, somehow having both a lyrical and musical hook draws me in easier. But some of my most highly emotional relations to music have come with making the effort to feel the instrumentation.

Don't have any MFD p/ups, so no comment there.

As for instrumental music...I LOVE it! Lots of jazz (Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Tito Puente, Glenn Miller, even modern stuff like Spyro Gyra, The Rippingtons, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, some Norman Brown). And rock, like Eric Johnson, Andy Timmons, Satriani. And folk/rocker Bruce Cockburn has a lot of instrumentals, most of which I really like.