Monday October 8th Lunch Report

My name is Steve, and I'll be the Lunch Reporter this week. I live in the Northwest corner of Missouri and I work in the service department at a small Chevrolet dealership. Lunch Reports will be in the evening for the first few days.


I hope everyone had a good weekend. Did you do anything fun or exciting over the weekend? I had to work Saturday so there wasn't any fun to be had that day. Sunday, my dad and I went to a car and tractor show at (New) Pattonsburg, Missouri!


Amps: Are boutique amps overrated? I've owned several of them, but still prefer the sound of a silver face Fender, Princeton Reverb.

Guitars: Do you prefer new or used guitars? I prefer used guitars. I like the feel of a broken in neck and the lower cost.


Sprinter 92

Steve, we gigged two nights over the weekend and it is always fun. We have tractor shows in Northern Minnesota and many of them have a steam engine running a threshing rig or a sawmill. It is fun to watch the old timers walking around with the oil can.

It depends on what you compare them to and what you are looking for in tone. I like clean and Saturday we test dove a couple of G&Ls through a Boutique amp and the one we gigged on Saturday sounded just as good through my Custom 15 twin reverb. It is extremely touch sensitive and sensitive to minute tone control adjustments and the king of clean. The new Alnico Asat Classic was awesome through this rig. Keep in mind, that is only an opinion, but the buyer of the Classic was an old Fender guy. He now calls his Legacy a Start killer and the ASAT a Tele killer. I happen to agree.

New or used: I prefer used in new condition and if the condition isn't as new, I don't buy. I am not looking for players or projects. My biggest problem is the new limited offerings that G&L has been showing recently, especially the limited woods and prototypes. They are hard to ignore for someone who really likes guitars. The odds of finding these at a good price, used, is slim to none. I do believe that the Alnicos will become a standard offering as they are awesome. The woods are dependent on availability. G&L has sure had some winners this year and they are affordable. Looking forward to the rest of the week Steve!-- Darwin

I had two gigs over the weekend myself. Friday night was a private party with the full band and Saturday afternoon was an outdoor acoustic performance.

I'm a fan of the boutique amps and guitars. In fact, I consider G&L one of the first boutique brands I ever purchased. My favorite amp is the Swart AST. It is the right size for just about every venue we play and it always sounds good.

As far as guitars, I'll buy them used if they're a good deal and something that strikes my fancy. One thing I have never done is to spec a guitar. I like to buy one "off the rack" so I know what I'm getting.

RickT

I'm wrapping up a four-day weekend. Didn't accomplish much of anything, except watching my oldest son play soccer on Saturday and taking my youngest to the local guitar shop on Sunday. The guitar shop visit paid off (for the guitar shop ). My son (who's six) really wants a bass guitar for Christmas. It just so happened that they had a 70s-vintage Japanese bass that was less than short-scale, and an SWR Workingman's 10 amp. Most of his friends will be getting electronic gadgets that will be obsolete or break within a year. For the same price, he will have an instrument he can learn on now and enjoy for the rest of his life. I guess I did accomplish something after all. Not to mention that they had the fretless Warwick Corvette bass I've been waiting for, which is now on layaway .

I've never played a boutique amp. I'm pretty happy at the moment with my Blues Junior and SF Bassman Ten - whenever it gets back from the shop. I've toyed with the idea of another bass amp, but it would probably end up being an older Ampeg. When that mood strikes, I can never decide whether I would want the thump of a B-15 or the growl of an SVT. Unfortunately, it's much harder to squeeze another amp into the music room than another guitar or bass...

I've only bought used instruments. I'm not too particular about condition, as long as the price is appropriate and there are no mods or non-cosmetic damage. Aside from the rescue L-1000 that I never get around to starting work on, my G&Ls range in condition from showroom/near mint ('80 pre-production L-1000, '80 F-100, '82 SC-2, a pair of '86 ASATs and a '00 L-2000 fretless) to significant dings through the finish. None have repairs or structural problems, though.

Ken

I'm a fan of the boutique amps and guitars. In fact, I consider G&L one of the first boutique brands I ever purchased. My favorite amp is the Swart AST. It is the right size for just about every venue we play and it always sounds good.


RickT

I'll second the cheers for the Swarts...I love my AST, and as soon as I swapped out the (newer)greenbacks for old jbls(D131's)
in the 2-12 cab I'm using with it I heard the tone in my head coming out of my speakers ...JOY !!!!

I just got my KittyHawk back up and running, yet to put it through it's paces...maybe a good thing to do tonight.
They were sorta booteeky for the eighties.
My GT Slave power amp is a nice boutique amp from the 90's...paired with the Trio preamp it's a hard combo to beat as far as versatility.

I have an old ENGL Digitalamp combo that qualifies as boutique, it was one of the first with a chip for memorizing settings.
Cool amp...but after 20 years the little battery that keeps the chip happy goes out and I have no sound, no functionality,
so with that one I think they might have gone a little far, at least they could have had a switch that takes the 'digital' out of
'digitalamp' so I could still have an 'amp' while I source out these bizarre little batteries.

It seems I'm rarely happy with someone elses idea of exactly how a guitar should be so it's best I buy a used diamond in the rough that needs TLC .
An Aria Pro ll TA1200 showed up at my doorstep the other day, I can't believe what a beautiful instrument it is...but there was
some serious oxidation for some reason on the corners of the pickups and last frets...it must have sat next to a leaky steam pipe . No wood damage , there will just be some missing chrome and show some polished copper on the pickups ( I'm ok with that) .
It's a joy for me to bring 'em back, and usually playing better than new...besides, I'm a broke mo'fo ATM...so NEW to me is a foreign language.

what was the question? .. LOL...I'm a bit out of it
EW

Hey Steve,

Nothing really exciting over the weekend. Spent sometime trying to figure out Cubase 6.5 and Steven Slate Drums with the score editor. Cubase score editor sucks. Finale is 1000x better, but my teacher wants me to use Cubase because it is a DAW and Finale is not.

Another project I worked on over the weekend was getting my spare bike ready for night riding and carrying the gym bag. Gas prices are up, so instead of driving, I'll hop on the bike and go.


Boutique amps? Never, I get all my stuff from londonpower.com. I am finding out, DIY can get you better or equal quality on the cheap. Plus you learn along the way.

Guitars: I buy new. I don't trust used stuff off ebay, CL, and whatnot. My last new G&L I opted for a Graphtech nut which costed additional $35 ( I think ). Won't do that again. G&L did a crappy job on the nut. Ended up going to the luthier to put on a proper nut on. Save money and get whatever is cheapest.

Thanks Steve, I spent most of this past weekend wrapping-up a move from the burbs to downtown. It's great, but we'll see how this winter goes...

Amps: I've been using Soldano's for a while now and they work for me.

Guitars: I've bought new and used. I tend to hold on to my new ones. My late 90's S-500 was spec'ed out and it's been my go-to ever since... Just worked out that way.




Cheers,

Will

Lunch today was Golden Arches Supper Club drive through. I had too many errands to run before I got back to work.

I really like the Rivera line of amps. I had an early Knucklehead half stack that I purchased new. I loved the versatility of the sound. I'm not saying it's the best amp, but it sounds great and covers a lot of ground between a Fender and a Marshall. Finally my back brought me to my senses and I down sized to a Chubster 55 which is basically the same amp in a smaller open-backed combo package.

As for guitars I like both new and used. I find that I am more attached to the ones I purchase as new. The used ones were either purchased because of a perceived value or as a back up to play in non-ideal environments. Such was the case of my last Early 90's USA Legacy purchase. It fit both of these qualifications as it was greatly under priced at a pawn shop and it was completely stock except for the missing G&L case and tremelo arm. Finish had scratches a d dents, but no finish checking that I took as a clue that the guitar was fairly well treated or rarely played out of a home.

Weekend - Mine was a three gig weekend. We played sold-out shows on Friday and Saturday as the backing band for a well known and loved artist, then played to a handful of people in the what could possibly be the most miserable place on Earth on Sunday. BIG reality check there!

Boutique amps - IMO, totally overrated. I've tried out a couple - 65 Amps, Bad Cat, /13 - and while they weren't bad (except the Bad Cat...), I would never, ever spend that much more on an amp that is essentially a clone of an old Vox/Marshall/Fender. It's all hype, like those Klon pedals - $900 for an overdrive? Gimme a break. I know boutique stuff is expensive in the USA, but if you double what you guys pay for them then you're in the ball park of the prices here. Ironically, I play through what would be called a boutique amp (if there were hype around the manufacturer) - its made locally and its pretty much a point-to-point wired Bassman preamp on a Vox power amp. It sounds great, and I got it used for less than the used price of either of the amps its based upon.

No real preference for new or used, though I tend to buy more new than used. I know you theoretically lose money on a new G&L, but I'm not buying them to make a profit, I buy them because I love the feel of them.

i think some high end amps are worth it, not the 65, /13 or badcat though. not even matchless. but redplate, two rock, fusch and a few others certainly. soldano has some nice ones. i buy guitars used, but iam gonna have to order A NEW G&L, AS THE ONE I WANT HAS NEVER BEEN MADE, SO I WON'T FIND IT USED. damned caps.

The only thing I did of merit this weekend was to celebrate my 62nd birthday at our local Famous Dave's BBQ place with a few friends.

New or used? I buy both. I love finding a great deal on a great used guitar just as much as I love bringing home a new one. My only caveat...I don't like buying heavily modded guitars.

Boutique amps...I play Mesa Boogie amps, and they are the original boutique builder. I like the features, I like the tones, I like the company's service and support. Randy Smith is a pretty smart guy.

Bill

Weekend: watched some baseball and saw Kurt Elling at Jazz Alley mainly performing songs written at the Brill Building over many decades of housing some pretty famous songwriters.

Boutique amps: Mesa/Boogie was a boutique amp in the days. I don't think anybody would think of them as boutique nowadays notwithstanding that, according to their marketing, they are still 'build by hand in Pataluma'. But with bubinga cabinets and wicker grilles, my Express 5:25 mini-stack looks pretty cool. I have not played any other boutique amps so I wouldn't know.

Guitars new or old: It's a mix nowadays. Like darwin wrote in a separate post, G&L has done some very interesting things with woods, art, and pickups. So the Korinas and prototypes I bought all new. But then there are also the used SC models, Commemorative, G-200, and the #19 GbL.

- Jos

Guitars: Do you prefer new or used guitars?

I prefer used ones, but that has about as much to do with there being no new Leo-era G&Ls than anything.