Lunch Report: 02/21/2013 - Eels, Eggs, Sales and Springs

While waiting to have some buttons on my jacket repaired, I had unagi (boiled eel) over rice at a Japanese fast food chain called Yoshinoya. This chain is so big here you can even find them in cities like New York and L.A.



Because eel is kind of a delicacy, it was only a small piece I got for $7, so I had a pair of soft boiled eggs with it. Yeah, I know they look weird but I have a busy day of translating followed by a networking event at night, so I needed to power up with some raw protein. Eel is also a legendary for its stamina giving properties. Just ask the boxer, Jack Johnson. It tastes like tender, juicy white fish, but the sweet sauce (similar to teriyaki) it is soaked in is what makes unagi such a treat. You can also sprinkle a light pepper called sansho to give it a dryer flavour, and/or some pink ginger strips brings out the savouriness.

After lunch I still had some time to kill before picking up my jacket. Lunch actually left a strange taste in my mouth today, so I puffed on a American Spirit Perique Blend while doing some window shopping at the nearby mall. Here's where I got into trouble: I found a nice pair of 5-pocket all-cotton khaki pants for 30% off. Then the pixie behind the counter said if I buy something else it would be another 20% off. I didn't need anything else, so I got a pair of earrings for my wife. Hope she likes 'em.

So for today's non-G&L topic, I want to ask: Would you have kept shopping or just walked outta there?

As for my G&L related topic, last night I took the middle Power Spring out as I said I would in Monday's report. Now I can pull the tremolo UP again, but the lower strings go out of tune. I expect a new nut and some teflon tape will fix this problem. However I think I prefer the feel with three springs. It's just too sensitive with just two. So I'm thinking of getting a set of Raw Vintage Tremolo Springs, and maybe even replacing the claw so I can use all five. Has anyone else here tried other brands of tremolo springs and have a preference?

unagi is my absolute favorite, and while you can find yoshinoya here, they do not have unagi, and they are pretty terrible here in LA.

i like the raw vintage springs and saddles. i play around with different springs until i get the right feel, and i put rubber tubing inside them to minimize the noise when using them. i also like to install tremol-no in case i need to change tuning, or i break a string during a song, although since i started using the dremmel tool to smooth the saddles, i have not broken one.

I have never been hungry enough to eat eel.
I can't play my nighthawk with weaker springs. I rest my hand on the bridge when picking and I will get auto tremolo depending on how I am picking.
old habits I guess

unagi such a treat. You can also sprinkle a light pepper called sansho to give it a dryer flavour, and/or some pink ginger strips brings out the savouriness.

Love it. Getting some in hand rolls today!

I puffed on a American Spirit Perique Blend.

Ok! Here's one of my fav's:



Although, I rarely do... Mostly collect.

Would you have kept shopping or just walked outta there?

Pixies are all around us; I'd bail...

Has anyone else here tried other brands of tremolo springs and have a preference?

No, Just what's in the bag...


Cheers,

Will

GB, I have never had Eel. Here in Minnesota some localities have Eelpout festivals on the ice in the winter time to catch Eelpout. They are a very ugly fish and no one east them. They are considered scavengers here much like carp.

I do find that my G&Ls have different actions on the trem springs. I have never looked into it but when they are setup correctly, they work fine. I have never had tuning issues with any of them. If set up properly and the nut is cut for the gauge of strings you are using, they should stay in tune.

Dangerous shopping for me would be in a guitar store. I have enjoyed a fine cigar a time or two. I just wish they were healthier! -- Darwin

Non G&L question: I'd have walked out with only what I wanted. I always shop for best prices on what I do want, (I'm a typical Yorkshireman and avoid paying over-the-odds for anything), but I also won't buy something I don't want just because the price looks good.

G&L question: Trem springs... as long as the guitar is happy with them, so am I. I used to have to drive lots of different cars when I was doing CP work; they all had controls in different places. Once I had been driving a car for a few minutes I adapted completely to where everything was. I'm the same with guitars - I just adapt to them; I don't change bits to adapt them to me, unless they are performing sub-optimally.

Eel is great! Cigars are my brother's hobby; he has large humidors full of many brands he has imported, so I get to try all sorts when I see him. Unfortunately old habits die hard, and I inhale them down to my toes, so I feel lousy the morning after!

Once you get over the fact that they're like a slimy wet snake, eel is one of the nicest fish to eat. A specialty in my father's home town in the UK is jellied eels which, despite their cat-food like appearance, are 100% delicious. We used to have soft boiled eggs all the time as kids (my grandmother is Singaporean, it a national breakfast dish there) but I haven't eaten one for years.

I'm not a huge fan of cigars, I prefer a cigarette made from roll-your-own tobacco. I've been quitting smoking for about 4 years now. 'Gig cigs' as we call them, are the hardest to give up on - there's soooo much waiting around between sets, once the PA has been set up, while the other acts are playing etc, and often free coffee and/or booze.

I don't foresee myself using different springs. Its been a while since I owned anything with a vibrato bridge, but I always kept 3 springs in there. Its the magic number.

I have eaten bar-b-que eel sushi before. If you put enough sauce on it, you can make the soul of your shoe taste good.
Tremolo!?! I rarely use.

I have too many cigars. 600 or thereabout. At my pace, it will take me 20 years to finish them off. Thanks for reminding me, I need to sell at least half of them. Red dot Cohiba are ..... let's just say, I am a snob when it comes to cigars. Will, pm me your address and I'll ship you some better ones.

meomix,

Thanks. I bought those in the mid 90's. My favs are Upmanns Chairmens club and 2000 reserves, although I have a collection of early 1980's Macenudos. The old, good ones. I'll PM too...


Cheers,

Will

I'm hoping to find some unagi for lunch today. It looks delicious.

Re. the pants - I'd have just walked outta there with them. I'm not much good at buying cheap stuff that I don't need. My wife is though, and our house is full already!

All of my vibrato guitars have 3 springs in them. I bought an S-500 that only had 2 springs and I swear it never sounded right until I put a 3rd spring in there. It seemed to come to life. I don't have a preference for the type of spring, but I probably should given how it affected the S-500's tone.

meomix, I'd be interested in replacing any of these cigars:



Look at the plume on some of those! Just let me know...


Cheers,

Will

Guitars:

No preference on vibrato springs here. I prefer hard tails, although my current favorite ASAT has a Kahler. I enjoy that for the fine tuning, but don't even have an arm that fits it. One thing about my DFV-equipped guitars, though - once I've adjusted them I never have problems with stability. I owned a 1970s Stratocaster in high school, and the only way I could keep it in tune was to put all five springs in and pull the bridge down like a hard tail.

Despite my guitar collection, I'm really mainly a bassist. I would love the chance to experience one of the Interceptor Basses that came with Kahlers, just to see what they were like.

Eels:

I love unagi, but mainly for the sauce.

I used to catch eels quite a often when I would go fishing as a kid. They were nasty things to handle. I heard that they were supposed to be good to eat, so my mother let me try cooking one. It was like chewing on a rubber ball.

When I lived in Maine in the 90s, the run annual run of young eels coming up the rivers from the ocean was a huge deal. Commercial fishermen netted "elvers", as they were called, and went straight to the airport where cargo flights to Japan would be waiting. I did some work with a seafood packer that had a similar deal - the best shrimp would have been packed alive on ice before the boat reached the dock, and the packages would already be in a van to the airport by the time the boat was completely moored. I could only imagine how expensive they must have been in Japan to make those flights worthwhile.

Ken