LR for 10/30/12: From Pop to Rock

Prayers and best wishes go out to those in the path of the storm or those with loved ones effected by it. Hope you all are safe and sound!

From Pop to Rock

while most of the records i had access to were those stuffed in my parents draw, my sisters Del Shannon 45's, or friends who has older sisters and brothers and had lots of vinyl, the first records i bought with my own (paper route) money were Tommy by The Who and Hush by Deep Purple. i got those and a bunch others from Frank's Music Store. his place looked right out of the "swinging 60's;" orange walls, green carpet, the works. Frank himself was a sharp looking guy always dressed in a blazer, slacks and tie and sporting a folded $5 bill ring on his right hand. later he taught me how to make one but mine never were as crisp or the "5" perfectly centered. he finally gave me one of his and a short time later sold out. more on this later. music wise the 60's and early-to-mid 70's there's a ton of great stuff coming out in all genres, and the electric guitar is expanding in so many different ways. By then my album collection has grown quite a bit. what i guess would later be called GAS. while i've always been more of a single rather than album guy, there are some "rock" albums that i wore out. some multiple copies of:

Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour
Savoy Brown - Looking In
Johnny Winter - Second Winter
Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs
Cactus - Cactus, One Way Or Another, Restrictions
Blue Oyster Cult - BOC, Tyranny and Mutations, Secret Treaties
Lou Reed - Rock and Roll Animal
Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Led Zepplin - Zep 1
Derek and the Dominoes - Layla

what was the first record you bought with your own money, and any you played so often you wore it out? did you have a local small shop like Franks, or a big chain retailer like Virgin or Tower?

[youtube]yclRjptWlW8[/youtube]
[youtube]zIawk-9PApw[/youtube]
[youtube]pWlxb7nqsbY[/youtube]
[youtube]Cdp3FtLYjvE[/youtube]


G&L - 3 bolt necks that worked!

my first good guitar was a 74 Gibson SG that i bought new for $370 with the hard shell case. I loved that guitar and after a number of Sekova "Tele's," Tesico's and the like, i felt like i was ready for the big time. unfortunately for me rock was going into the doldrums and a lot of the local places to play either shut down or converted to disco. so a couple of buddies and me converted a friends basement into a hangout / practice space and spent hours plaguing the neighbors and the guys parents with our renditions of Rolling and Tumbling, Train Kept A Rolling and the ever ubiquitious "slow blues." the other guitar player had just got a brand new sunburst Strat and while it sounded good the 3 bolt neck and pocket on it was total crap. of course this was due to the sloppy work Fender was putting out, but it also colored player perception as well. fast forward to 1982 and i'm now working at "Franks music shop." and while the name had changed the decor remained the same, and would for another 20 years. working at the shop was a blessing and a curse. it introduced me to G&L when a co-worker bought in his new L1K for sale, but also meant my buying, selling and swapping gear really took off. usually to the detriment of my paycheck. and why did he get rid of it? the 3 bolt neck of course. he told me 3 bolts are crap and as my only experience up to then had been Fender 3-bolts, i was inclined to agree with him. but we were wrong. George's design and Leo and George's manufacturing techniques and craftsmanship turned out a 3-bolt, micro-tilt neck that not only worked the way it was meant to, it made setting up the guitars and basses a breeze. tht L1k was just the first of many G&L's to come over the years, but being my first, it still holds a special spot. we know that BBE switched back to 4-bolt necks due to buyer perception and that there's been some clamoring for 3-bolt micro-tilts to come back. i personally would like to see it offered, but can't see it making a lot of sense given the marketplace and the direction BBE is going with G&L. what's your take on the 3-bolt neck and micro-tilt? does it matter how many bolts are used, or is it just the mystique of the 3-bolt neck that has value for those of us driven by nostalgia? what was your first G&L, why did you get it, and do you still have it?

My fam is Ok. Still need to find out the extent of damage (trees down, etc). Albums: The Edger Winter Group, BOC, King Crimson, Alice Cooper, Elton John(Captain Fantastic - Great cover art too), Yes... No three bolts yet, but looking at a few right now.


Cheers,

Will

Great post Jon, and this is taxing my memory. I probably bought my first record in 1964, the year I was married. I had never owned a record player before and that is when I became serious about audio equipment. I bought a Fischer receiver and a Garrard Lab 80 turntable, still works, and I was off and running on the vinyl. I do not recall my first purchase but it may have been something country and I was into folk big time. Those years were spent perusing record shops, much like shopping for guitars today. I still have about 300 lp's and most of them are in good shape. I did wear out my Hank Snow album that had Millers Cave. Another that had a lot of wear was Peter, Paul and Mary album called Mommy. The kids wanted to hear songs on it every night before bed. We spent a lot of time in the rocking chair listening. I went to reel to reel, then cassetts and finally in the early 90's, a CD player. Your songs that you have listed bring back great memories. I was out of the music business in the 70's and 80's so I missed most of that. I hated disco, still do. Now I am back in the 50/60's rut although we do newer things. What memories.

My first Bass was a Framis. Within a year I picked up a new Gibson EBO and a Fender Bassman Amp, a 1962 I believe. The only Fender that I remember was the Precision Bass and I did not really care for it. Early on I was a Gibson guy but the Gibsons were not that cool for rock and roll. My Gibson bass was okay but nothing stellar. I remeber the quality at Fender really getting bad with CBS at the helm. I have never owned a Fender 3 bolt but I did look at a 1979 Fender 25 Aniv Strat a couple of years ago. It was pristine but I couldn't get by the quality control. The neck pocket was bad and the body was wider that the neck at the bottom side of the neck pocket leaving a ledge. I know that Leo and George did the 3 bolt right. I do prefer the 4 bolt and do wish G&L still used the microtilt. Not needed on some guitars but handy if needed. I am afraid that if I had worked in a guitar shop that I could have been homeless with hundreds of guitars.

I think that BBE is doing a great job with the G&L brand. I wish they were able to market better but the product is well and that is what counts to us in the end.
Keep this interesting stuff coming this week Jon, very entertaining. By the way Jon, I still have a brand new Garrard SL65 player in the plastic in the box that has never been opened. I can't remember how many years that they have been out of business. Great pictures by the way!-- Darwin

Last edited by darwinohm on Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

First album I bought was 'Americas Least Wanted' by Ugly Kid Joe on CD when I was about 9. Before I bought it I remember wanting a whole bunch of other albums by Alice Cooper and Milli Vanilli (I was a kid...) but I was never allowed the money to spend on them, so my sister and I used to get up early to watch Rage, a music video program. I've never worn a CD out, but have bought several albums twice - 'Marquee Moon' by Television, 'Kid A' by Radiohead...

What model is that second row down on the left, with the two humbuckers? HG-2?

Loved the Cactus clip

Hi Jon, Great report again today! Keep them coming! I would also like to comment on your photo's, FANTASTIC looking guitars! I hope to find an X body Interceptor one day. Great collection!

When I began playing I was caught up in the hair metal, shredding guitar players. Now I go back and listen to older pop music that I ignored back in the day. Those are the songs and styles I appreciate more now. I have enjoyed learning to play those type of pop songs. It's a whole new world of playing for me.

I prefer the 3 bolt micro tilt. The micro tilt is a great asset for setting up guitars.

My pink Rampage was my first G&L. I've posted many times about it. I am still floored that I found it in a pawn shop a couple of months ago. And I still kick myself for selling it in the first place. It's once again my favorite guitar.

Thanks,
Dave

Great report once again.

My first album was a Herman's Hermit's greatest hits, LOL. Did you know that Mrs. Brown had a lovely daughter?
But it wasn't until several years later that I added to the album collection (spent quite a few youthful years buying 45's). When I did start purchasing albums in earnest, I think Tull's Thick as a Brick was an early selection, and I played it continuously for quite a while. Also purchased Beatles, Neil Young, Todd Rungren, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, early Aerosmith, BOC (Cities on Flame!!!), Edgar Winter, P-Funk, Hendrix and many others. Our record store was Waxie Maxies, but I don't know quite what happened to them.

Hey, love your L1K (and the others). What's the body wood on the bass? I have a black finish on mine (an '81, slot-pole), and am not certain as to the body wood, as I have never taken her apart. If Fred reads this, I hope he might be able to shed some light here.

Oh, and it goes without saying that the Bluesboy you've got there is one very special and strikingly beautiful instrument...

What was the question? - ed

Will: hope all is ok. please keep us posted. early Elton John was really good with "Teacher I Need You" being a big favorite.

Darwin: my first good receiver and introduction to 7591 power tubes was a Fisher 500C. still have it and plan to refurb it at some point. hold onto that Garrard. they were great TT's and i swapped my AR XB for one.

Blarge: Cactus is one of those under-the-radar bands and Jim McCarty was just an amazing guitarist. no fancy stuff or pedals, just plug into the amp and go. the guitar on the left with the 2 hummers is a 1st gen Interceptor in cherry burst. you can also see it in this pic another forumite posted not long ago:



Rampage: that's a great story about your Rampage. and i also went through my pointy guitar stage. a Larivee neck-through with EMG's, Kahler and locking nut. seemed great at the time but i foolishly traded away a sweet white 65 SG Jr. to get it. really dumb move.

Ed: the body wood on the natural L1k is ash. i also had a hog-bodied L1k but i like the spank and top end of the ash-body one better, and sold the other one off. the ash one will be staying around as it's the only bass i have left. but being my first G&L, i couldn't let it go. and yes, the BB is really nice. still can't figure out why it went through at least 5 other peeps before i got it. then again, GAS gets the better of us at times and so who knows what the future holds. btw, Thick As A Brick was one of the albums i bought when it came out so i have the version with the full insert and other goodies. what a great band they were. here's a couple of my favorites. even a Gibson bass in there for Darwin.

[youtube]XfTDnnNeZ7s[/youtube]
[youtube]TY06aeOmVYE[/youtube]
[youtube]isQSPQNx4BE[/youtube]

the guitar on the left with the 2 hummers is a 1st gen Interceptor in cherry burst.

Doh! I meant the right The one next to the Interceptor!

The one next to the Interceptor!

That's a Musicman Sabre II by the look of it.
cheers, Robbie

Robbie is right, though actually it's a Sabre 1 with the 12" radius board. The Sabre is probably one of the most electronically powerful setups that Leo ever designed and was "reknown" for blowing amp speakers if you have the preamp all the way up and don't realize it at first. Extremely flexible sounding guitar with the only downside, for me, the somewhat clunky, thick body and that control plate. Although nothing was fuglier than the Stingray control plate which just looks cheap and wrong.