Thursday October 11th Lunch Report

Lunch: Peanut butter & grape jelly sandwich.

Today is the day that I'm going to reveal my project guitar. The weatherman is calling for rain for the next two days, so I worked outside instead of working on the guitar. I spent the day getting my mower and ATV's ready for winter. The guitar isn't quite done but it's together enough for photos. The guitar is an '85 Rampage. When I got it, it had an aftermarket pickup and a rattle can paint job. I had Dave Seuferling at Seuf's Repair in Kansas City refinish the body. When Dave and his crew stripped the body, they discovered that someone had crudely routed a hole for a neck pickup. The hole was never used and was filled in with wall spackle. Dave, removed the filler and cleaned up the hole and filled it with a piece of maple. I had Dave relic the body so that it matched the wear on the neck. Everything on the guitar is correct except for the knob.











Guitars: Do you think figured tops are worth the extra expense?


Amps: I've noticed on this forum when the subject of amps is discussed that Marshall's are seldom mentioned. The Bluesbreaker combo is the only Marshall I care for. Are Marshall amps a thing of the past?


The U.S. Postal Service delivered my next G&L project today. It's a 3rd body style Interceptor. It's been modified with a humbucker in the center position.












Tomorrow, I'll show and discuss some of my non guitar projects. We'll also discuss tractors and football.

Nice Rampage project. Its funny that some people will use whatever is handy to repair guitars. I came across a similar repair job a few years ago - someone had, in their wisdom, installed a Floyd Rose bridge on a Tele. They changed their mind and used automotive body filler to patch the holes. The thing weighed a ton and they'd obviously found the task of sanding it smooth to be too tough!

Marshall amps - Good point. I think they've fallen out of favour because of all the boutique Marshall clones! I too have a thing for the Bluesbreaker, its a fantastic amp with just thre right amount of power. I used to own a Vintage Modern combo which got pretty close to the BB sound, I loved that amp. There's a 50W half stack for sale locally that I have my eye on, the guy wants $600 less than I sold my combo version for

Figured tops - Nahhhh.

Hi Sprinter, Great job on the Rampage! Looks fantastic. I'm always on the lookout for an old G&L beater that needs to be brought back to life. It's just hard finding one priced to match the condition. I like how you had it refinished to the original color to match the headstock. Here are photo's of my '85 Invader that I restored. It was also spray painted over the original yellow finish. I tried my best to match the Rampage Red. I also sanded the neck and oiled it like the Rampage.





Very cool Interceptor. I would love to find a X-body one day. Hard to tell by looking at pictures, but is it a 25" radius neck?

Thanks,
Dave

Hey guys long time no see!

Nice projects sprinter, I am seriously lacking guitar projects, have too many house projects at the moment and no time for either

Quick question on your lunch, maybe you can settle a marital dispute. I've always considered grape jelly the standard in a PB&J but my wife thinks strawberry is the default. Who's with me in the grape camp?!

On a side note..Jamie where are the rest of your guitars? your avatar looks smaller
-Dave

Steve, That is a cool Rampage project. The guy certainly made the body look used, even the belt buckle marks on the back. Is that a Kahler?

The interceptor is also interesting and could be restored similarly. The fine tuner plate is interesting in that it appears to have a trem socket on either side. Is that normal for that vintage? Keep us up on these projects.

Maple caps are nice and do add to the price but if you want a flamed or quilted top,that is the way to go. It would be very heavy and expensive to use a solid maple body with that grain.

Marshall amps are seldom mentioned on the forum and I have never owned one. I played through a tube Marshall at the local GC and did not like it. I much prefer a Vox, in fact I saw a new Vox today that was green. They have been experimenting with colors. I also saw a Pine Fender Tele today with a solid paint color (White) and thought what a waste of Pine. Have a nice evening Steve.-- Darwin

Nice looking Invader! I have a Rampage Red, Invader that I fixed up last year. It was an easy restoration. I only had to replace a few parts on the Kahler tremolo.

Very cool Interceptor. I would love to find a X-body one day. Hard to tell by looking at pictures, but is it a 25" radius neck?

Yes it is a 25" radius. I have an X-body Interceptor on my wish list too!

Quick question on your lunch, maybe you can settle a marital dispute. I've always considered grape jelly the standard in a PB&J but my wife thinks strawberry is the default. Who's with me in the grape camp?!

I can't settle the issue for you. Whichever jelly is open is the one I use. It's all good on peanut butter!

Steve, That is a cool Rampage project. The guy certainly made the body look used, even the belt buckle marks on the back. Is that a Kahler?

Yes, that is a Kahler.

The interceptor is also interesting and could be restored similarly. The fine tuner plate is interesting in that it appears to have a trem socket on either side. Is that normal for that vintage? Keep us up on these projects.

The dual tremolo sockets were used on some fine tuner tremolos.

Quick question on your lunch, maybe you can settle a marital dispute. I've always considered grape jelly the standard in a PB&J but my wife thinks strawberry is the default. Who's with me in the grape camp?!

I can't settle the issue for you. Whichever jelly is open is the one I use. It's all good on peanut butter!

Hey Sprinter. Nice week. I have a moment to check in, and because I don't know much about guitars and amps, I'll use this opportunity to weigh in on the great PBJ debate.

Having two young boys, I have had the opportunity to experiment. Jams work better than jellies, at least to the extent that they spread more easily. Regarding the fruit of choice, the kids have a preference for orange marmalade, and I like this as well. Seedless raspberry is a close second. So, there you have it!

- ed

PS: Never played through a Marshall. Nice project(s)!

I think grape wins over on the big pb&j debate. Remember Goober Grape? It was/is grape jelly and peanut butter mixed together. They don't do it with any other flavor.

The figured tops look really nice. Don't know their effect on sound, but nice to look at like furniture. I've seen solid quilts before and they look incredible! Don't know about the weight...

Marshall's are great, but Soldano's take the Super Lead Overdrive to the next level. They really fit well with MFD's. Just sayin...


Cheers,

Will

At one time I was a complete sucker for figured tops, now less so. Maybe it is sensory and market overload; everybody does flame and quilt now whereas 20-25 years ago PRS with their maple tops was a kind of novelty notwithstanding the then already famous Gibson LP bursts. But then again, that was also the time of the super Strats so maybe it figures (no pun intended). And the whole burst resurrection tracks well with the advent of a serious vintage guitar market.

I have never really cared for Marshall amps and fell more for Boogies. But I guess there are still plenty of people that shlep their stacks around and are super content with them.

- Jos

I like Marshalls: the JCM 800, the JTM 45, the DSL 50, the Silver Jubilee, the 30th Anniversary, the Club and Country 212, the Vintage Modern, the JVM...these are all amps I could use in certain band situations. But, over the last few years, I've found that my Mesas work better for me, especially in my current band.

I don't think a flame top makes for a better sounding Les Paul, but they are gorgeous to look at. I think they hold their value better than a comparable plain top. I tell people who are looking for a Gibson Les Paul to buy a Historic if they can, otherwise I suggest buying the most flame they can afford.

I do think the maple tops on the fancier versions of the ASAT, Comanche, et.al., do make the guitars sound audibly different than their ash or alder brethren.

What, peanut butter and jelly? No honey?

I love my Honee!

Bill

This guitar looks really quiet. No MFDs probably is part of the problem, but I bet it mostly is due to a lack of strings...

i don't care much for marshalls, but the bluesbreaker is a great sounding amp. i have played a few jtm's and jcm800's that sounded ok, but the cleans are lacking. the silver jubilee is nice too. but i take a two rock, fuchs, redplate or dumble over those any day, as well as most fender amps.

Great looking Rampage project! I’ve thought about doing a guitar project, but I never seen to quite get there, for one reason or another.

Figured tops: I only have one guitar with a figured top. That is my PRS Custom 24 – figured tops are pretty much standard on PRS guitars. But PRS gets an extra $800 for a 10 top – I’ve seen a couple really incredible tops but not worth it in my opinion. I think a Maple cap really does sound different on most guitars. Because of that, if I were ordering a new G&L, I would probably get a ASAT Special Deluxe.

Marshall amps: I haven’t tried one. If I were getting a new amp, it would probably be a VOX AC15 or a Fender Blues Jr. III.

G'day Sprinter, I am very happy to see the Interceptor in our community.
I though about bidding but I couldn't get passed the added humbucker pickup and no logo
Super cool body shape though.I always think guitars that have been played have great feel and mojo .
I hope you have lots of fun with it
Anthony

Hey guys long time no see!

On a side note..Jamie where are the rest of your guitars? your avatar looks smaller
-Dave

Hey Dave Nice to see you back. My guitars are still here, I just need to get a good photo of them all together, and getting a nice day to coincide with a day that my camera wants to work is proving very difficult