Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:48 am
Hi gang,
Thanks Robbie for a fine week of lunch reports. Your attention to indigenous music inspired this Monday LR. So it should be an easy transition
Not even 5 months after my last stint, another week of LRs now in the 'new' system. Must say it hasn't been too bad and most weeks are still filled. For those of you who don't know me: I am a nuclear physics PhD currently working for a casual game company here in town. Love music, love guitars, especially G&L ASAT's of which I will feature four this week: three prototypes and the fourth with close ties to this forum. And to top it off on Friday, an oldie but goodie with quite the reputation will make its appearance. Some have been shown before, but heck sometimes you have to rehash material.
Lunch:
Still early when I post this, but not hard to predict. T'is Thai Monday; our weekly trek to Bell Thai to eat some decent or even good food for a reasonable price while talking shop.
G&L related
Recently, G&L introduced some models equipped with Alnico pups. The Alnico prototype on the prototype page, which will be featured later this week, is claimed to be one of the first 2 ever built. But in all honesty, that statement may be misinterpreted because for sure it is not the first time that G&L used Alnico pups on an ASAT model. At about the same time around 2004, two models were introduced: the JD-5 with a SD APTL-3JD bridge pup and a CLF-100 neck pickup (aka Vintage Style Alnico V) as found on the George Fullerton and Legacy models but without cover (!)
and the ASAT HB, with a G&L bucker (AW4370B) in the bridge and again a CLF-100 neck pickup but fully 'dressed' this time
But somewhat unbeknownst to me I happened to have another model with an Alnico neck pickup already. And I was not the only one in the dark; even some of the guys at G&L weren't aware of it. Of course we are talking about 'Port&Chocolate' previously feature in this thread:
Unfortunately, the webpage has not been updated yet although I notified Darth Invader of my findings. One again reinforces the notion that whatever you read must always be taken with a grain of salt and a certain skepsis. Frequently, the information provided is already out-dated the moment it is published.
Q: I keep a website displaying my collection and am frequently confronted with having to update info, data, links, etc. Takes a lot of time and effort. Any of you have similar experiences?
Non-G&L related
This is the part inspired by Robbie. I still read the online version of one the Netherlands' major newspapers. Last Saturday one piece stated that the following song reached No. 1 in the hit parade:
[youtube]9bZkp7q19f0[/youtube]
Couple of things are interesting about this. First off, apparently this vid has been one of the most popular things this summer and to me demonstrates once more how far behind the times I am on certain pop-culture. And where the heck are the guitars? Second, check out the number of views: more than 300 million! That is about 5% of the world population if everyone only saw it once. Pretty amazing! Thirdly, hardly anybody in the Netherlands should be able to understand what the Korean lyrics are about. As such it is a first over there for such a language reaches such a high spot. Sure, even most Dutch bands write songs with English lyrics, and there have been hits in the Netherlands with French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, or Greek lyrics. But this is pretty remarkable. Last week Robbie posed the questions whether you should be able to make out the lyrics. As a follow-up question:
Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix?
Here is one of my favorite Dutch bands from the early 90's: The Scene. English band name, Dutch lyrics. Go figure! The Dutch lyrics (with English translation) are displayed when you play it on YouTube. Hope you enjoy the tune.
[youtube]7G4A01zkFyM[/youtube]
Check with you folks tomorrow.
- Jos
Thanks Robbie for a fine week of lunch reports. Your attention to indigenous music inspired this Monday LR. So it should be an easy transition
Not even 5 months after my last stint, another week of LRs now in the 'new' system. Must say it hasn't been too bad and most weeks are still filled. For those of you who don't know me: I am a nuclear physics PhD currently working for a casual game company here in town. Love music, love guitars, especially G&L ASAT's of which I will feature four this week: three prototypes and the fourth with close ties to this forum. And to top it off on Friday, an oldie but goodie with quite the reputation will make its appearance. Some have been shown before, but heck sometimes you have to rehash material.
Lunch:
Still early when I post this, but not hard to predict. T'is Thai Monday; our weekly trek to Bell Thai to eat some decent or even good food for a reasonable price while talking shop.
G&L related
Recently, G&L introduced some models equipped with Alnico pups. The Alnico prototype on the prototype page, which will be featured later this week, is claimed to be one of the first 2 ever built. But in all honesty, that statement may be misinterpreted because for sure it is not the first time that G&L used Alnico pups on an ASAT model. At about the same time around 2004, two models were introduced: the JD-5 with a SD APTL-3JD bridge pup and a CLF-100 neck pickup (aka Vintage Style Alnico V) as found on the George Fullerton and Legacy models but without cover (!)
and the ASAT HB, with a G&L bucker (AW4370B) in the bridge and again a CLF-100 neck pickup but fully 'dressed' this time
But somewhat unbeknownst to me I happened to have another model with an Alnico neck pickup already. And I was not the only one in the dark; even some of the guys at G&L weren't aware of it. Of course we are talking about 'Port&Chocolate' previously feature in this thread:
Unfortunately, the webpage has not been updated yet although I notified Darth Invader of my findings. One again reinforces the notion that whatever you read must always be taken with a grain of salt and a certain skepsis. Frequently, the information provided is already out-dated the moment it is published.
Q: I keep a website displaying my collection and am frequently confronted with having to update info, data, links, etc. Takes a lot of time and effort. Any of you have similar experiences?
Non-G&L related
This is the part inspired by Robbie. I still read the online version of one the Netherlands' major newspapers. Last Saturday one piece stated that the following song reached No. 1 in the hit parade:
[youtube]9bZkp7q19f0[/youtube]
Couple of things are interesting about this. First off, apparently this vid has been one of the most popular things this summer and to me demonstrates once more how far behind the times I am on certain pop-culture. And where the heck are the guitars? Second, check out the number of views: more than 300 million! That is about 5% of the world population if everyone only saw it once. Pretty amazing! Thirdly, hardly anybody in the Netherlands should be able to understand what the Korean lyrics are about. As such it is a first over there for such a language reaches such a high spot. Sure, even most Dutch bands write songs with English lyrics, and there have been hits in the Netherlands with French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, or Greek lyrics. But this is pretty remarkable. Last week Robbie posed the questions whether you should be able to make out the lyrics. As a follow-up question:
Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix?
Here is one of my favorite Dutch bands from the early 90's: The Scene. English band name, Dutch lyrics. Go figure! The Dutch lyrics (with English translation) are displayed when you play it on YouTube. Hope you enjoy the tune.
[youtube]7G4A01zkFyM[/youtube]
Check with you folks tomorrow.
- Jos
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:41 am
yowhatsshakin wrote:Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix?
That wouldn't be a problem. I actually think I understand the lyrics too much of the time.
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:01 pm
Jos, looking forward to this week of your prototypes. October is hitting hard midweek with a high of 48 on Friday in Minneapolis. We are going from extreme heat to cold. Lunch today was guess what??? A bowl of chicken noodle.
Your research on the types of pickups that G&L uses is valuable. I don't always believe that they know what is going out the door and the build sheets can be proof that they are not as you have noted. I wouldn't have thought of looking at the Port Choclate as they looked like standard Bluesboys to me. The new alnicos are easy to spot with the chrome cover on the neck pickup. They sure sound good. It is good that you document everything about the build. I check a lot of things but have not removed pickups to make sure. I do have a web site that I may start using for guitars but first I need to learn how to be the webmaster. I currently do not have one so I need to get to work on doing that. I would like to use my website for our band also. All things on my radar. Your ASAT collection is stunning and it must take a lot of time to update the data that you log on them. I do keep manual files and computer files on my guitars with description, date purchased, serial number and value along with a case log. If I dropped over Ginny would be a lonely widow with damn nice guitars, but she would know what to do. The G&L registry is also great for people that do not want to keep records for logging their guitars. I also send my inventory sheets off site.
Question on songs. I always fall in love with songs without even noticing the lyrics. I did listen to the clips today and the first is computer or synth music and the second of the dutch band was cool. It sounded great to me even though I usually don't listen to the words anyway.
My computer is going in tomorrow for a performance check. It has been slow recently and I freed up a bunch of disc space and it helped but the Macs are different animals.The apple store is good about this stuff so we will see. I would rather work on guitars!-- Darwin
Your research on the types of pickups that G&L uses is valuable. I don't always believe that they know what is going out the door and the build sheets can be proof that they are not as you have noted. I wouldn't have thought of looking at the Port Choclate as they looked like standard Bluesboys to me. The new alnicos are easy to spot with the chrome cover on the neck pickup. They sure sound good. It is good that you document everything about the build. I check a lot of things but have not removed pickups to make sure. I do have a web site that I may start using for guitars but first I need to learn how to be the webmaster. I currently do not have one so I need to get to work on doing that. I would like to use my website for our band also. All things on my radar. Your ASAT collection is stunning and it must take a lot of time to update the data that you log on them. I do keep manual files and computer files on my guitars with description, date purchased, serial number and value along with a case log. If I dropped over Ginny would be a lonely widow with damn nice guitars, but she would know what to do. The G&L registry is also great for people that do not want to keep records for logging their guitars. I also send my inventory sheets off site.
Question on songs. I always fall in love with songs without even noticing the lyrics. I did listen to the clips today and the first is computer or synth music and the second of the dutch band was cool. It sounded great to me even though I usually don't listen to the words anyway.
My computer is going in tomorrow for a performance check. It has been slow recently and I freed up a bunch of disc space and it helped but the Macs are different animals.The apple store is good about this stuff so we will see. I would rather work on guitars!-- Darwin
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:10 pm
Hi Jos,
That ASAT HB looks really nice (not that the others are slouches by any means!). I don't think I've seen that model before. How would you describe the sound of that pickup pairing?
That would be too much like work...
Absolutely! This is one of my all-time favorites:
[youtube]bCqaxnoc-pY[/youtube]
I've tried translating the lyrics, and really hope they are much better in French than in my attempt at translation. Not that it really matters; she could have burped the alphabet over those guitar tracks and still made it come out beautifully.
Ken
That ASAT HB looks really nice (not that the others are slouches by any means!). I don't think I've seen that model before. How would you describe the sound of that pickup pairing?
yowhatsshakin wrote:Q: I keep a website displaying my collection and am frequently confronted with having to update info, data, links, etc. Takes a lot of time and effort. Any of you have similar experiences?
That would be too much like work...
yowhatsshakin wrote:Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix?
Absolutely! This is one of my all-time favorites:
[youtube]bCqaxnoc-pY[/youtube]
I've tried translating the lyrics, and really hope they are much better in French than in my attempt at translation. Not that it really matters; she could have burped the alphabet over those guitar tracks and still made it come out beautifully.
Ken
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:29 pm
yowhatsshakin wrote:G&L related
Recently, G&L introduced some models equipped with Alnico pups. The Alnico prototype on the prototype page, which will be featured later this week, is claimed to be one of the first 2 ever built. But in all honesty, that statement may be misinterpreted because for sure it is not the first time that G&L used Alnico pups on an ASAT model. At about the same time around 2004, two models were introduced: the JD-5 with a SD APTL-3JD bridge pup and a CLF-100 neck pickup (aka Vintage Style Alnico V) as found on the George Fullerton and Legacy models but without cover (!)
- Jos
ASAT Classic Alnico
Serial Number: CLF064600
Date Completed: May 21, 2012
Description: 3-Tone Sunburst finish over Double Bound Alder body, #1a Hard Rock Maple neck with Rosewood fingerboard and Light Tint Gloss finish. G&L Alnico pickups.
Special Features: This was one of the first two ASAT Classic Alnico prototypes made with G&L Alnico pickups. This guitar was brought to the G&L National Sales Rep meeting in late May of 2012 as a surprise preview of this upcoming model.
"This was one of the first two ASAT Classic Alnico prototypes made with G&L Alnico pickups."
I guess you proved your point about "that statement may be misinterpreted", since you did.
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:50 pm
yowhatsshakin wrote:Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix?
LOL...Most of the hits from the 70's ...
Robert Plant comes to mind,
..oh and Pink Floyd's "One of These Days" (even though there's only one line in that song,
it was years before I knew what he said...or really cared...Roger's driving one note bass line with gilmours fuzzface
paintings are all I need.
looking forward to this week Jos,
I found a cool piece of G&L proto-history in a drawer a couple days ago... now where's that camera...back soon
Elwood
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:17 pm
yowhatsshakin wrote:Last Saturday one piece stated that the following song reached No. 1 in the hit parade:
[youtube]9bZkp7q19f0[/youtube]
I first heard about this Korean song on Youtube about a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday I heard it on a local radio station. It may take off and be one of few non-English songs to be a big hit.
yowhatsshakin wrote:Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix?
One of my favorite 'bands' is Thievery Corporation and many of their recordings are not in English. Some examples are:
[youtube]OkBisr_V9KI[/youtube]
[youtube]_8TTxGRhXWk[/youtube]
Kit
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:24 pm
Howdy gang,
Just got back from a Rufus Wainwright performance: just him either playing piano or guitar. Magnificent. Great songs and one of the best voices in the business.
Darwin - I hope your computer comes out OK on the other side. You think the government will start penalizing computer shops to if there are 'too many readmissions'?
Ken- When I got that guitar, I played on the neck pickup for hours on end. That CLF-100 just sounds great in that hog body. Much better than the coverless neck pup in the JD-5. And the G&L bucker is no slouch either. BTW, just for those interested, there is this eBay listing for an ASAT HB ending in just a couple of hours! And thanks for your song contribution!
Craig - QED exactly! But then again, I didn't state anything incorrectly, just left out some parts, causing my 'reinterpretation' to be open for interpretation in turn! Words are fickle, math isn't
Elwood - I hear you bro. That indeed in sharp contrast to the 'warblings' of certain vocalists. I'll stick to my Dutch band theme this week, but I would be remiss without mentioning Sigur Rós, the Icelandic band singing in some self invented language they call Hopelandic. And it is still able to convey the emotion in the song. And all the Brazilian tunes of Tom Jobim and others of course which are musically enormously interesting even when you take out all lyrics.
Kit- You too thanks for the tunes. Shows once more that if there is some catchy element to songs, they stick. We should not forget that speech has a huge rhythmic component to it with its cadence of syllables, emphases, and pauses. The Pat Metheny Group for years has used the human voice as an instrument to add certain orchestral timbres and sonic textures to their tunes.
Thanks again everybody!
- Jos
Just got back from a Rufus Wainwright performance: just him either playing piano or guitar. Magnificent. Great songs and one of the best voices in the business.
Darwin - I hope your computer comes out OK on the other side. You think the government will start penalizing computer shops to if there are 'too many readmissions'?
KenC wrote:That ASAT HB looks really nice (not that the others are slouches by any means!). I don't think I've seen that model before. How would you describe the sound of that pickup pairing?
Ken- When I got that guitar, I played on the neck pickup for hours on end. That CLF-100 just sounds great in that hog body. Much better than the coverless neck pup in the JD-5. And the G&L bucker is no slouch either. BTW, just for those interested, there is this eBay listing for an ASAT HB ending in just a couple of hours! And thanks for your song contribution!
Craig - QED exactly! But then again, I didn't state anything incorrectly, just left out some parts, causing my 'reinterpretation' to be open for interpretation in turn! Words are fickle, math isn't
Elwood - I hear you bro. That indeed in sharp contrast to the 'warblings' of certain vocalists. I'll stick to my Dutch band theme this week, but I would be remiss without mentioning Sigur Rós, the Icelandic band singing in some self invented language they call Hopelandic. And it is still able to convey the emotion in the song. And all the Brazilian tunes of Tom Jobim and others of course which are musically enormously interesting even when you take out all lyrics.
Kit- You too thanks for the tunes. Shows once more that if there is some catchy element to songs, they stick. We should not forget that speech has a huge rhythmic component to it with its cadence of syllables, emphases, and pauses. The Pat Metheny Group for years has used the human voice as an instrument to add certain orchestral timbres and sonic textures to their tunes.
Thanks again everybody!
- Jos
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Tue Oct 02, 2012 12:24 am
i grew up not understanding a word of any song i listened to, so the lyrics matter very little to me. the only lyrics i actually pay attention to is too $hort.
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Tue Oct 02, 2012 5:31 am
Q: I keep a website displaying my collection and am frequently confronted with having to update info, data, links, etc. Takes a lot of time and effort. Any of you have similar experiences?
I do operate a couple of websites - one video production site and one guitar related - and I'm also part of the admin team for a couple of other video editing sites. Yeah, keeping them current can be a challenge, but its worse trying to catch up if you let them slip. Kind of nice to have a place where you can host your own images though :-)
Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix? Probably no suprise that I would answer with a resounding "YES!". However, I also love to hear lysics in songs that have something of substance to say and say it well. Intersting how so few of us from the English speaking world take the trouble to learn to understand and communicate with ... even listen to ... the rest of the world in their own words.
... and thanks for keeping the flame burning.
cheers, Robbie
I do operate a couple of websites - one video production site and one guitar related - and I'm also part of the admin team for a couple of other video editing sites. Yeah, keeping them current can be a challenge, but its worse trying to catch up if you let them slip. Kind of nice to have a place where you can host your own images though :-)
Q: Could you fall for a tune where you wouldn't be able to understand the lyrics even if they are in the foreground of the mix? Probably no suprise that I would answer with a resounding "YES!". However, I also love to hear lysics in songs that have something of substance to say and say it well. Intersting how so few of us from the English speaking world take the trouble to learn to understand and communicate with ... even listen to ... the rest of the world in their own words.
... and thanks for keeping the flame burning.
cheers, Robbie
Re: Monday, first day of October 2012
Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:21 am
Aussie wrote:Kind of nice to have a place where you can host your own images though
Hey Robbie,
That is indeed a big plus. And at least I wouldn't pull one of these nasty tricks on me as Apple did with my Gallery when they were still hosting. Just overnight, after they introduced their Sync functionality, half of my pictures disappeared. Now I have full control over it myself.
- Jos