Lunch Report for Monday, August 20, 2012

Sorry for the late start to the Lunch Report. After all it is my Monday. I need coffee! The coffee is coming, thankfully. I had a heart arrhythmia a few years ago, and I’ve really cut down on my caffeine. At home when I make a 10-cup pot in the Krups automatic filter drip, I use 70% decaf and 30% regular. That keeps my girlfriend, confidant, paramour and roadie—Miss Leslie, happy. My cardiologist would probably frown on it, but hey—I only drink from the side of the pot that is decaf! I like Starbucks, today the decaf is Decaf Sumatra, and the caffeinated is from my stash of last year’s Christmas blend. Pretty yummy! I like mine with half-and-half, but I’ve switched to using the regular, unflavored Coffee Mate. Meh.

I’ll drink hot tea on occasion, but usually only when I’m sick with a head cold. I’m diabetic, so I try to stay away from soda pop—I think even the diet stuff is bad for you. I love lemonade, limeade and orange juice, but there’s that sugar bear again. The meds I’m on can interact with cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. No more lactose for me—so milk is definitely out of the question! I’ll have maybe three alcoholic drinks a month. I had a draught Stella Artois pint the other night with dinner—and it was SO good I had a second; which I almost never do.

Fortunately, we have pretty good water in Portland, Oregon, where I live. I keep a Brita filter pitcher in the fridge, and a lot of times when I go out, refill an empty bottle to take with me.

So, what are you drinking these days? What keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter? Got a favorite IPA, or do you stick to Arnold Palmer’s? Do you have good drinking water where you live? Belly up to the bar, gentlemen, and place your orders!

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I was looking at the cover of the latest Guitar Player Magazine, with Joe Bonamassa gracing the cover. He’s a great player, but man, does he have a lot of endorsements! Let’s see, he’s got a few Signature Les Pauls, stomp boxes from Dunlop, and pickups from Seymour Duncan. A few years ago, it was Johnny Hiland—I think he was endorsing several other guitars before settling in with PRS; along with pedals, strings, capos, picks—you name it.

Wow! I’d love to have my picture in the guitar mags every month! Hmmm, lets’ see—what would I endorse?

Well, I’d really like to have my own signature Martin guitar or two. The first one would probably a variation on their now-discontinued D-18V Vintage Series model. I’d give it an Adirondack top instead of Sitka, and use Brazilian rosewood for the bridge and fingerboard in lieu of ebony. I could also see having a fancier model based on the HD-28V Vintage Series model, also with an Adirondack top, finished in black, with Orcas (killer whales) inlaid on the ebony fingerboard for a real Pacific Northwest theme. I think it could be gorgeous.

I could easily endorse Mesa Boogie amps! I have five of them, but I wouldn’t mind it if they sent me a new one every year or two, along with batches of tubes to keep them running smoothly.

I’ve heard that an endorsement deal from D’Addario is pretty hard to get, but I guess if I were going to do a deal for strings that would be the one. I like Fender Super Bullets (9-42) on my G&Ls, because the bullet end does seem to help with tuning stability on my guitars with the Dual Fulcrum Vibrato; but I use D’Addario for everything else. I use them on my Ibanez 5-string banjo, my Fender Precision “Lyte” bass, my acoustics, and all of my other electrics that don’t have a vibrato. With fifty guitars in my collection, I NEED a string deal!

And when it comes to strings, I like to keep them in shape with Big Bend’s Nut Sauce. I bought a 12-pack of this stuff years ago and can’t imagine what I would do without it! Sure, “A properly cut nut is all you really need, yada-yada-yada….” But the reality is, a properly cut nut is a relatively rare thing. And one that is cut right will wear over time, so I think the BBNS keeps things smoother, longer. I use it on the nut, string trees, at the bridge—it’s like the Frank’s Lousiana Hot Sauce ads. “I put that #### on EVERYTHING!”

And of course, I’m still waiting for G&L to make me a signature model Comanche XII. I’ve posted my specs before, so I won’t go into it today. Signature or not, I think G&L is really missing the boat by not having a 12-string model. I took my Takamine EF381SC acoustic 12-string to a monthly open mic a couple of weeks ago, and people went gaga over it. I wound up playing a few more songs than I would have if I’d only brought my six-string. They loved me, and I didn’t even have to use any of my Jedi mind tricks on them! If G&L would build a Comanche XII to my specs, I’d buy two!

So, other than G&L, whose products would you like to endorse, and why? Are we going to see you on a Wheaties box next to your favorite Olympic athlete, guitar in hand? Will it be a small boutique company, still relatively unknown—or one of the giants like D’Addario, Dunlop, Duncan or DiMarzio? What would your ad say?

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Oh, and I just want to say what a great honor it is to be Lunch Reporter. I really enjoy it. Thanks for being here—I love this community. You guys really are my best friends, and I love talking guitars with all of you.

Due to the lateness of the hour, that’s all for today, kids. I hope you’ve had a great Monday. Let’s all meet up tomorrow and do it again.

Bill

i drink green tea, and oolong. i also drink coffee, but i use protein powder for creamer. i also drink crystal light, as i don't particularly care for the taste of water. the ones i do like, glacier water, are too expensive to drink regularly. i do not drink any alcohol. i am lactose intolerant, so i drink lactaid milk. nonfat. in the summer i like to drink hot tea to keep cool. i learned this in istambul, to drink hot drinks when it's really hot, it definitely works. i sweat less and need less fluid overall.

jonny hilland is with music man, not prs.

i would love to endorse northwood acoustics and gilbert classical guitars. two rock amps.

i have tried big bends nut sauce, it works ok, but i far prefer buzzy's slickhoney for lubricating the nut and the bridge.

thomastic strings, since they are pricey an endorsement would be great. i do like the fender super bullets for df and fender tremolos.

as far as pickups, i would endorse d allen, klein, fralin and bare knuckle.

i just shot a video recently endorsing buznut string dampeners.

for pedals, i would love an endorsement from xts audio, lovepedal, and seven sisters.

for cables it's colossal cables.

for electric guitars, i would want a g&l signature model, or a tom anderson.

for picks, it's cool picks and surf picks. or bluechip.

i guess no big companies for me.

Hey Bill,

I'd dig an product endorsement for D' Addario strings. I'm with you - they're great.

Haven't tried the nut sauce but I use bone nuts that my former tech Mike Lull made. Never have tuning issues but most of my gats are hardtails.

Never been a huge fan of coffee, tea or beer but since moving here to NZ that's changed. I have one cup of organic coffee every morning and up to 2 weeks ago had a beer every pm with dinner - that or hard pear cider. Now have cut out the beer completely and have 1 or 2 ciders per wk. Feel heaps better. We have a lemon tree in our back yard so been having lemon juice from 2 or 3 lemons + a bit of water as a replacement. FInd it helps with digestion.

Like Louis, I dig a cup of tea with milk in hot weather - esp after working outside. Weird but it works. A UK friend hep'd me to it.

Re H2O - I drink a litre of every AM - warm it a bit on the stove and chug it straight down. Warming makes it easier to drink and it doesn't chill me. May sound strange but my gf and I drink rain water here.... tastes better than most of the bottled store bought filtered water and its free! We get it from a friend to has a big barrel that collects from his rain gutters. Many folks do here - I wouldn't even consider this in the States but there's a lot less pollution here.

Nice start to the week, Bill.

Cheers,
KF

Thanks for stepping up this week Bill. I have been painting house and window trim for a couple of days so I am a bit sore and had a quick big bowl of chicken noodle soup today.

Favorite beverage? Anyone like cold beer??

G&L has not contacted me for an endorsement either but they probably make all the Red guitars they need. At my age who in the hell would pay any attention to an endorsement unless it was for Geritol. I haven't seen that for years either.

Louis is right. Johnny Hiland went to Music Man although I don't think they have a signature model for him but he endorses them.

A 12 string is nice for certain things. I would also like a baritone but would not use it a lot. I do go through a bunch of strings every year and have used D"Addarios for years but am watching these string threads with interest. Fender now has colored grommets on theirs and I wonder if they are having them made by D'Addario. Anyone know? Looking forward to tomorrow. -- Darwin

Hey Bill, nice to see you back in the LR seat

I can't stand Joe Bonamassa. Or Johnny Hiland. Dream sponsorship? G&L, then maybe I could convince them to start doing amps for me!

Drinks? I like a coffee, though more than two and I feel horrible. I drink a lot of tea, with regular ol' cows milk. I love the stuff. We have just ordered the species of plant (camelia somethingorother) from which it is made so I can try making my own from absolute scratch, I'm very excited about it
Favourite alcoholic drinks? I enjoy wine above anything else. I can drink bottles of the stuff, whereas after 3 or 4 beers I feel too full. I love a shiraz from the Barossa Valley in South Australia, if it's white I'll have a Chablis. In summer I mix it with sparkling water (from the tap via our soda-stream) and ice cubes. I have a taste for Japanese beers at the moment, they're all so crisp, light and fresh tasting. And sherry, the proper stuff, not the over-sweetened cheap hooch that comes by the box. A nice bone dry, ice cold Fino is a great thing to have on hand with a loaf of good bread and some cured meats. And gin. A gin and tonic, over ice with a slice of lime, NOT LEMON, is a lovely thing on a hot day. All that said, I don't drink much at all, maybe a couple of drinks a week with the occasional bender for good measure.

Hey Bill. Good to see you in the driver's seat again.

Endorsements: LOL! Not me.....

Beer: Yes, Stella on tap in the summertime. Pilsner Urquell as well. Both great in hot weather. My very favorites. Otherwise, good OJ every morning, and lots of water (usually filtered tap) during the day.

Used to start every day with a single cup of Starbucks brewed at home, but I'm getting away from caffeine as I find that it interferes with my intake of vodka later in the day. Iced tea is great but not too much. We regularly make sun tea, often with Red Rose (but would like to try Brock's Brook Bonds or whatever that is).

Please indulge me: What was the question again? - ed

So, what are you drinking these days? What keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter? Got a favorite IPA, or do you stick to Arnold Palmer’s? Do you have good drinking water where you live? Belly up to the bar, gentlemen, and place your orders!

I always start my day off with a couple of cups of coffee. The rest of the day is water, unless it's extremely hot then I drink Gatorade too. I very seldom drink soda pop. I do like an occasional beer! The water here is OK.

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So, other than G&L, whose products would you like to endorse, and why?

There are two companies that have products that I'd endorse if I were a professional musician. They are, Collings acoustic guitars, and Top Hat amplifiers. Both companies build great products!



Sprinter 92

Howdy Bill,

Drinks:
Water, wine (more white in summer, more red in winter), rum, espresso, and tea throughout the year.

Endorsements (or dreams thereof):
Collings acoustics, but although they have a couple of artist signature models, they actually do not endorse anybody. All the people you see in their ads bought their guitar just like you and me. At least that's what Mr Collings has proclaimed more than once and I hope it is true. Like you Bill, I would like to endorse Mesa Boogie amps; I got 3. D'Addario strings and of course G&L (ASAT) guitars. But I must say, I like that stuff so much I am willing to pay for it. Which is my big peeve with endorsements. If you are really so much in love with that model, buy it straight up. I think that that kind of 'Bill Collings' approach gives you a better idea of what is good out there than the next music prostitute selling out. Put your money where your mouth is, and I'm willing to believe you. And yes, I both count Bonamassa and Hiland in that category of sell-outs. Because what does it mean to have a PRS Johnny Hiland Signature now he moved to Music Man? All of a sudden 'a whole bend behind the nut' is not good enough on the PRS? And what does it mean to have a G&L John Jorgenson Signature or an ASAT JD-5if these guys are not activey playing them? Oops ....

- Jos

So, other than G&L, whose products would you like to endorse, and why? Are we going to see you on a Wheaties box next to your favorite Olympic athlete, guitar in hand? Will it be a small boutique company, still relatively unknown—or one of the giants like D’Addario, Dunlop, Duncan or DiMarzio? What would your ad say?

I'd endorse D'Addario XL Reds (copper coated) bass strings if they'd come back!

How about Hosihizaki? I've never seen an endorsement deal for industrial ice makers before...

Caffeine of choice: I had to switch off coffee several years ago, at the same time I had to go on prescription antacids. I developed a 10-12 cup per day (at least) habit when I was sailing ships for a living, and never quite got down to normal consumption until the stomach pain started from all the acid. I switched over to hot tea with milk before I head to work, and now am able to tolerate 1-2 cups of coffee throughout the morning at work. I prefer the taste of tea now, but it takes too long to make it at work. On weekends I usually have 3-4 cups of tea during the day.

Hot drinks in hot weather: I can't explain why hot drinks work so well on hot days, but they sure do. The sweeter the better. Years ago in the Persian Gulf I had to meet with the captain of a Saudi patrol boat. I was served hot tea during the meeting. It was in a tall, thin glass with a handle, and was presented half-full of sugar. The steaming tea was poured over the sugar. It was like drinking hot syrup, but was it ever good!

Water: I generally only drink carbonated water. I just find the local tap water to be hard to drink in quantities for some reason. I got really spoiled when I was living in Maine in the 90s. I had a 350' drilled well, which tapped into the same water supply that Poland Spring water comes from (the town of Poland Spring was a couple of miles up the road). It came out of the tap at about 34 degrees Fahrenheit all year round.

Alchohol: I love red wine, but it can trigger asthma attacks and migraines for me. For beer I go with a good wheat beer or very hoppy IPA in the summer, and a strong porter or Imperial stout in the winter. For booze I tend toward rum with ginger ale or a margarita on the rocks in summer, and Drambuie with scotch in the winter.

Strings: I haven't settled on a favorite guitar string yet, but I usually end up going back to D'Addarios. I have fallen in love with LaBella Deep Talkin' flats for my basses, and look forward to trying their quarter rounds on the Interceptor Bass and SB-2. I guess they would be my endorsee.

Other endorsements: They don't use endorsers, but being a featured artist by Moog would be a dream. They maintain a studio full of equipment at their headquarters, and let selected Moog users loose in there with cameras running. If I had to pick one Moogerfooger to use, it would be their ring mod. I have yet to find any real use for it as a ring mod, but it's a phenomenal tremolo.

Ken