Lunch Report: 02/19/2013 -- Real Ramen Noodles

With the odd times I'm posting, some of you must be wondering if these are really dinner reports. My last report was so late that it was Tuesday's lunch time the JST zone. However, I won't be eating dinner for another 2 hours or so...

In my last report, I said I would have ramen noodles for lunch. So what? Big deal, right? Actually, it is a VERY big deal. Ramen, not sushi, is the national dish of Japan. Of course, you can get the same 3-minute ramen here, but then there are tiny, dirty, poorly lit shops on back streets to which addicts like me will travel an hour or more by train, and then wait on a long line to eat, you dig? There are full-color magazines and websites devoted to the subject of ramen, full of descriptive adjectives just like a guitar magazine, catalog...or discussion site...like this one. These shops have their own special recipe that is usually a variation on classic styles, so the search for "the tone" in boutique variations on Fender, Gibson, Marshalls and Vox designs is much like the search for that perfect bowl of shoyu, shio, miso or tonkotsu ramen.



Today's lunch was a normal sized bowl of Yokohama Ie-kei ramen, topped with a slice of roasted pork, spinach, bean-sprouts, "cloud ear" mushrooms and sheets of laver (seaweed). I also like to sprinkle on sesame seeds, and put a little miso and garlic into mine. It's the harmony of the soup, noodles, toppings and condiments that make ramen delicious and fun to eat. It's not just lunch -- it's an adventure. Even digesting it can be a challenge. Most varieties of ramen are very salty, fatty and high in calories. Some shops even offer extra fatback as a topping. Initially, it doesn't look very appetizing to an American, especially one from a family with a history of heart disease, but once those gleaming globules melt into the steaming soup, it takes on a much richer and more savoury flavour.

The various ingredients that give ramen its flavour are not unlike the various components that give a guitar its tone. A good example of this for me was the tremolo block in my G&L Legacy. Years ago I replaced it with a Callaham tremolo block. Same as all my mods, I had a specific goal or purpose in mind: getting more response from the weak high-E string on my guitar. This it certainly did, but it also increased the string separation when playing chords, along with extra sustain. However, the guitar lost some of the warmth which I loved so much. So I'm looking for new pickups to reclaim it.

What has your experience been with steel tremolo block and/or saddles? Did you change your pickups?

And what has your experience been eating ramen, including the instant variety?

What has your experience been with steel tremolo block and/or saddles? Did you change your pickups?
I've had Strats with steel and with zinc blocks. I slightly prefer the steel but I'm not a great one for messing about with my guitars. If I bought a cheap guitar I would end up swapping parts around so much that it ended up being an expensive guitar, so I buy guitars that I'm not going to mess about with much; I buy them because I like the way they sound when I buy them, therefore I don't mod them much. If a guitar has a tone I like, and it has a zinc block, it keeps that block.

I've seen friends with what I call 'voodoo ears'. They are constantly changing things and are convinced huge differences have been made with every change. I listen to their guitar and it sounds pretty much the same as it did last time I heard it. The biggest exception to that is obviously with pickups, and it is fun to swap them out and try different sonic experiences, but I'd only change other parts if they were not doing their job or were worn out.

I only change pickups if it's a case of either doing that to get a sound I want from a guitar I don't want to sell, or selling the guitar and buying something else. Changing pickups, amps or pedals to get a sound makes sense to me. Changing nuts or trem blocks not so much.

And what has your experience been eating ramen, including the instant variety?Not enough experience! I need to try more Japanese food!

Nope, the only mods I have ever done are changing the tuning machines. Different amps, pedals and pick ups make the tone difference for me otherwise I can't tell. I like the the look and sound of G&L's too much to change them. The MFD's are the main draw so why would I change them?

I have been on a quest for the perfect bowl of beef udon soup for about 14 years now. That was when my favorite authentic japanese restaurant closed down. My wife and I were there at least twice a week. The best beef udon I have ever had. I almost always get sushi at the new place. Perhaps the time has come for Ramen, I'll see if they have it next time I'm there.

Dig your food pictures. Here is my favorite:


"Easter Garbage"

What has your experience been with steel tremolo block and/or saddles? Did you change your pickups?

Zippo. Just frets so far...

And what has your experience been eating ramen, including the instant variety?

Not a favorite, but it can be cheap, good food fast...


Cheers,

Will

GB, I like these early reports! Great looking dish you have shown and Pork is one of my favorites. I also like ramen noodles but I am hooked on traditional Chicken noodle soup.

I have not modified any trem blocks and am not a tone freak and am pretty much satisfied with everything I have. I pulled out my Hamer Artist with p-90s and I had forgotten that it had a volume for each pickup and one tone knob. I was trying to figure out what was wrong!-- Darwin

Last edited by darwinohm on Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

I don't have to work tonight so I'm taking my wife to lunch her choice
never have changed tremolo block or saddles on any of my guitars
I don't eat very much raman

I've been a big fan of the instant Ramen noodles here in the US for years. It was just a couple of weeks ago that a work friend originally from Hong Kong turned me on to some more traditional Ramen noodles that she picks up at a small Asian market. Wish I could remember the name of them but I have them at home. A big improvement over the instant Ramen noodles and these are not fried so they are a bit healthier too.

I have swapped pickups, nuts, and bridges but never on a G&L. I've been happy with the tone so why change them?


Jeff

No experience with trem blocks, but I have replaced the plastic string ferrule block on the ASAT Classic with an aluminium one one two of my guitars. I don't think the ones I got had enough mass to make any significant difference.

Ramen is one of my favourite things to eat, and that looks like a good one you had. It's become very popular here in the last couple of years, but before then you'd have a hard time finding it anywhere. I've tried every place in the city that does ramen that I know about and have come across some truly excellent and some awful food. I don't have a clue how authentic these places are, but they're good enough for me. My favourite addition is the insanely spicy minced pork. Instant ramen, like other instant food, is something I avoid whenever there is a proper food alternative.

Think I'll go get some ramen today

I'm trying to back off the instant ramen noodles because of the high sodium content. But they can be good...especially if you add your own meat and veggies.

We went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. I had a gyoza appetizer, miso soup, sunomo, chicken teriyaki yakisoba and a couple of pieces of Miss Leslie's tempura. And sake. Hot. And then more sake. I am full. And warm. Very warm. Good antifreeze on a cold day.

Tastes like antifreeze too. Or gasoline. Whatever. I'm happy...just don't expect me to color inside the lines right now.

I've never felt the need to change the trem block on any of my guitars. If they really WANTED to change, I would of course refer them to a good therapist! The big deal for me is just making sure that the saddles are properly radiused.

Greenblues, please see my post from yesterday. Thanks!

Bill

I'm trying to back off the instant ramen noodles because of the high sodium content. But they can be good...especially if you add your own meat and veggies.

We went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. I had a gyoza appetizer, miso soup, sunomo, chicken teriyaki yakisoba and a couple of pieces of Miss Leslie's tempura. And sake. Hot. And then more sake. I am full. And warm. Very warm. Good antifreeze on a cold day.

Tastes like antifreeze too. Or gasoline. Whatever. I'm happy...just don't expect me to color inside the lines right now.

I've never felt the need to change the trem block on any of my guitars. If they really WANTED to change, I would of course refer them to a good therapist! The big deal for me is just making sure that the saddles are properly radiused.

Greenblues, please see my post from yesterday. Thanks!

Bill

bill, did you drink or eat the sake for lunch?

Bill, cheers! Stay warm...

And what has your experience been eating ramen, including the instant variety?

I've consumed a lot of instant Ramen, and the $1 a bag (expensive) Nong Shim spicy is my favorite hands down of the ones I've tried.



I like the Nong Shim Funyuns too:



-Brock

Nice, LOL.