Early LR, Monday April 30, 2012

Good Monday fellow GbLer's

It has been exactly 1 year to the week that Darwin first nominated me for my first LR, and i am thrilled to be back hosting this weeks Lunch Report.

Here is a quick bit on me for those who don't already know me…. My name is Scott and i am 36 years old from Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I have been playing guitar my whole life, in 1995 I graduated from G.I.T (Guitar Institute of Technology) in Los Angeles and have been making my living playing guitar ever since. I have been playing G&L's for around 14 years and stumbled upon this site quite by accident when i clicked on a link from the official G&L site.

In the year that has passed since my first LR, I have added 4 G&L's to the collection bringing my total up to 9. I will share them with you guys this week (some have appeared on the site before), but you can never have too much G&L content!

Up first is my 06 ASAT Special Deluxe - Vintage White, GOT, Reverse headstock, locking tuners and both the forearm and belly cuts.







It is the only G&L i own (or have ever played for that matter) with a #3 neck (the 1 11/16th nut with vs the standard 1 5/8th's) The interesting thing about it is that it is a v neck, which is not listed as an option on the G&L website - again it is also the only v-neck G&L i have ever come across.

That leads us to todays G&L question… Have you ever played the wider G&L neck options? How about the V-neck? if you haven't is it something that even interests you? I know a lot of players are very particular about necks and i can't imagine many dealers ordering a #3 V-neck for store stock, so in many cases it is something that you would have to take a shot in the dark on. How great would it be if dealers were provided with neck samples (even small segments) that showcased the different neck widths and profiles! There might be a lot more #3 v's out there. Mine is a lot of fun to play, it certainly has a unique feel to it, but one that is quite comfortable.

I am putting this together on Sunday night and it inspired me for todays non G&L question…. Growing up Sunday night dinners were a big deal, always a sit down family meal, usually with Grandparents, complete with dessert and family time after. My wife and I are crazy busy during the school year and we make sure that Sunday nights are spent together around the table since it is usually the only night we eat together as a family. I usually cook a big meal, most times on the BBQ, since that is about the extent of my culinary magic. I had the camera out taking pics of the ASAT so I thought i would throw one in of supper - it looks extra good tonight.


So the question… Do you have a special Sunday night routine? Are you the host for the Kids and Grandkids or do you get out of the house to other family members? Those without family close by, maybe sunday nights are the perfect time to woodshed and learn some new tunes….. or maybe spend a cozy night on the couch (Every once in a while i would love option number 2!) But tonight is option #3 for me and the wife, and i better finish typing soon since "Game of Thrones" is about to start (HBO series for those who don't know, which i would highly recommend!)

I am not home until after 9:00 tonight - i will check in later and maybe even throughout the day from my iPhone if a student is away. Oh yeah that reminds me - Lunch! just a boring sandwich…..

Have a great one
Scott

Hi Scott:

Great start.

My 2010 asat special deluxe was ordered with a #3 neck. I just wanted to try the extra spacing for my fingers.

At first I hated it, mostly because the action was very high. Now that its been lowered, I find the neck very comfortable and its becoming my main player. Love it. I was going to order a #4 but thought it might be too much.

Anyone with a #4 who can comment?

Sunday night used to be a ritual but now its just a night to get a dinner with my wife, perhaps a bbq and then veg watching tv. Lately, watching Nurse Jackie and The Big C.

Hi Scott,

Beautiful ASAT Special Deluxe!! I have an ASAT Special with a #3 neck. It is my favorite (out of 4) G&L guitar. 1 11/16" width is perfect for me!

Supper looks great too!!

At first I hated it, mostly because the action was very high. Now that its been lowered, I find the neck very comfortable and its becoming my main player. Love it. I was going to order a #4 but thought it might be too much.

My Bluesboy has a #4 neck and the difference is quite recognizable (feels much wider) and it's the reason the pre own got rid of it. It's not a problem for me, but I'm kind of flexible and as I own many guitars and play them all as they are, with their different necks, I got used to them all.

With my fingers as reference, you might even see a difference (but I doubt)

#4 neck
[youtube]J3czXyYZhJY[/youtube]

#1 neck:
[youtube]2xx6EsnNPnY[/youtube]

I have never played a number 3 or 4. But I would like to. If I do a special order one of these days I might try 3. I do a lot more stuff with chords than I used to, and sometimes I feel like some extra room would be nice.

Just popping in quick between lessons... Looks like their is lots of leftie love for the #3 neck! The number 4 would be something to get used to for sure... My Seagull comes close, It measures a whopping 1.8 inches ( around 1 13/16ths! ) thx for the responses fellas.

Scott

Never tried a #3 or #4 neck, but did play a #1d "Modern V" at a shop once. It was very comfortable. I'm not interested in a wider neck, but would like to try a chunkier one like the #1c "Modern U".

The neck shape is such an important aspect, it is difficult to order a guitar with a neck that you have never tried. I was tempted to order the "U" shaped neck on my ASAT, but ending up playing it safe and got the #1 which I knew I liked. It would be great if the dealers had some sort of collection of samples to check out, without having to actually order one guitar with each profile.

Up for a bit and decided to check out todays action.

Beautiful ASAT Special Deluxe. Almost has the SC-2 look. I have many different necks and they are all comfortable for me. My most recent G&LS have differnet profiles and one is a number 2, Vintage C 7 1/2 and the other a 1c, modern U. I like both of them. I also have a thin wide on my PRS Hiland and I like it very much. I do not wrap my hand around the neck but run the thumb along the bottom side so it doesn't matter much which size neck I use. Wider is better for working in the first two fret positions for me.

Great looking dinner Scott. Sunday evenings are pretty uneventful as all the kids are gone.

Made a trip to the Doc today and will be on the mend soon, I hope, with the jump start that he gave me. More on that later in the week. -- Darwin

i like the wider necks, like classical guitars, i need the room for my fingers. on a 1 5/8" neck i can not finger an a major chord traditionally. g&l should definitely have a little sample tool for each dealer, like color swatches for furniture. having at least a piece of the neck a 5-7 fret long area minimum would let us feel the thickness and shape. i have been hunting different style g&l necks on cl, trying to see if i can try them, but most sellers don't even know what neck they have.

that is a great asat special deluxe, i would love that one, but with a dfs bridge and i'd be happy.

... i have been hunting different style g&l necks on cl, trying to see if i can try them, but most sellers don't even know what neck they have.

ouch! That would be me. I never did try and figure out what necks were on the guitar, either I liked them or not. And, on the older ones, it seemed there was a lot of variation within the neck series as well.

That is a beautiful ASAT. Congratulations on that! I've owned two George Fullerton Legacies and they each had v-necks. The first one I had was a sunburst with a skinny neck, sharp v, and skinny frets with a rosewood fretboard. The second one was red with a maple fretboard, fat neck, rounded v, and fat frets. I liked them both.

I don't do a family ritual on Sunday, but we do have family night out during the week. My youngest daughter just relocated to the area from San Diego and her work schedule keeps her busy during the weekend so we do the family thing during the week when all can join.

RickT

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! I just finished my 13 hour guitar marathon and need to work on tomorrows report. I wish I had time to reply personally to everyone, but alas there is only so much time in the day! Thanks again for hangin with me this week

Scott

Things have been a bit crazy lately here with my folks and all. They live nearby, and we have hired them some help, as, well, they need it. Due to my wife being a CPA and with Tax Season and all, we have not had them over in a few weeks. We had them over Sunday evening, though, for a nice home-cooked meal, and some quality time with their grandchildren (my kids). Dinner was grilled, marinated boneless chicken breasts, oven-roasted potatoes, home-made coleslaw, raw sugar snap-peas.

Both my folks have dementia, so we kind of live in the moment (Mom did not remember being with us when I talked to her this morning. Don't ask me why I drink! - ha!).

We did give dad a semi-automatic weapon that shoots nerf darts. As you can see here. He had some good fun with this!

Here's my #1 Son with my Mom. Notice the Nerf dart in her left knee. Dad is not a bad shot, as it turns out:


Regarding neck shapes and sizes, as you all know, I'm not much of a player. So, not surprisingly, these particulars don't mean that much to me. If it feels okay, I can get used to it. The Leo-era necks I have all seem very shallow to me, which is fine. The newer ones seem to have more girth and mass, regardless of the specifications. I don't care. I just treasure the time that I have to spend with them - which is not as much as I would like, under the circumstances.

Nice start! What was I saying? - ed

I definitely prefer Leo-era necks, or necks with that same general feel. My '98 ASAT Classic feels wonderfully like an old G&L in my hands, but most of the newer G&Ls guitars I've tried have just felt too thick to me.

On bass I have had an absolute preference for Jazz-type necks since I got my first real bass in 1981. A big part of my SB-1's initial appeal was how close the neck felt to a Fender Jazz. Now that I've fallen in love with an L-2000E, I'm starting to appreciate the feel of a wider P-type neck. The L-2000 is the chunkiest bass guitar neck I can recall playing, but something about it feels perfect.

I need to start figuring out the current neck numbering system. One day I'll fall in love with something made in the 21st Century.

When I was growing up the Sunday night routine was sitting down with a Chef Boyardee cheese pizza to watch Wild Kingdom and the Wonderful World of Disney. That was the one night we didn't eat at the kitchen table. Now we don't have any set dining routines, although Friday tends toward takeout pizza and Sunday is often grilling if the weather is clear.

Ken

... i have been hunting different style g&l necks on cl, trying to see if i can try them, but most sellers don't even know what neck they have.

ouch! That would be me. I never did try and figure out what necks were on the guitar, either I liked them or not. And, on the older ones, it seemed there was a lot of variation within the neck series as well.

That is a beautiful ASAT. Congratulations on that! I've owned two George Fullerton Legacies and they each had v-necks. The first one I had was a sunburst with a skinny neck, sharp v, and skinny frets with a rosewood fretboard. The second one was red with a maple fretboard, fat neck, rounded v, and fat frets. I liked them both.

I don't do a family ritual on Sunday, but we do have family night out during the week. My youngest daughter just relocated to the area from San Diego and her work schedule keeps her busy during the weekend so we do the family thing during the week when all can join.

RickT

it's a good thing to know, easier to order or buy the one you like, don't have to keep trying, you know what works. i hate to go have to drive and check out a guitar when i could have known from the description.

i have no family ritual, on any day, i work 7 days, i do what i can when i can, or if the mood strikes, what i want when i want. the dogs and cats don't really care about what day of the week it is, although some of the dogs seem to be able to tell. the closest i get is the ren fair when it's running i usually go on a sunday, and there are some regular jams i go to . oh, and i usually go to the street fair on fridays and have a cheat meal. also get my partial set, mani and pedi every other saturday.