Tuesday, March 26, 2013 SC-1, no! SC-2, no! SC-3!

Thanks again for your participation yesterday. And I realized I didn't even properly introduce myself for those not in the know! My name is Jos and I collect (and play) guitars, mainly G&L's and predominantly ASATs. I keep up a website (http://yowhatsshakin.com) where I try to create a compendium of interesting tidbits about instruments in my collection.

Lunch:
So yesterday they served Jimmy John sandwiches at work. But we bailed out to go for our Monday Thai. Only to find they were closed because the water in the building had been closed off. Indian buffet at Mahdu to the rescue! They had pizza in the evening which made me wonder about this: why is it that when employers want you to make more hours while sitting in a chair behind a computer, they serve high carb food?

Onward with another student model, likely one of the last SC-3's with a Mustang body which I got from Ken and also previously owned by GbL founder Brad Traweek:




And with original arm to boot! Another very nice student model with great sound. Nice quack in the in-between settings but with its own character. The MFD pups have a nice warmth and definition to them. But I wouldn't know whether there is a sonic difference compared to the Strat-style body SC-3s.

G&L question:
Somebody can fill us in on that one?

Like I wrote yesterday, I ended up working for a game company. Not something this nuclear physics PhD would have had in mind when he came out of school. But it has been a wonderful journey with potholes here and there but mostly smooth sailing.
General question:
Do you still have any career ambitions or are you content where you ended up?

Off to work again. Talk to you later folks!

- Jos

Jos, nice site. A lot of good info there. I like that first body SC-3. I've seen a red one with matching HS and it looks great.. Oh, and a yellow one too! Now that I think of it, they may not have been first body style. I'd still like to take it for a spin.

I'll have ambitions 'till I'm dead. One of my latest is for Google to adopt my contact lens technologies: http://sourceforge.net/projects/beforeyoureyes/ I also want to learn how to properly cook risotto...


Cheers,

Will

i am looking at getting an sc-3 right now, but with the more strat like body style. natural finish, df trem.

Jos, I hope this work schedule is temporary. Unfortunately in my experience these conditions can become almost normal. Nothing like pizza when you are sitting in a chair all day!

Nice SC3. It really has its own character. Louis pointed out yesterday the the coils magnetic effect on the strings can make a difference and even though I knew that, I hadn't really considered it. I really miss the bullet truss rod adjustment. It was so easy to adjust and get at. Kind of wish that they still had them.

Do you still have any career ambitions or are you content where you ended up?

I am still trying to improve on my current career (retired). I cannot tell you how great it is to be traveling home from gigs with my daughter Kari as sometimes we have 3 to 4 hours to get home. We talk about how it went, what we would like to do in the future as a band and other things. This is so special. I am trying to figure out how it can get better! Boy, that would be hard to comprehend. Yep, I am a very lucky dad.-- Darwin

I really miss the bullet truss rod adjustment. It was so easy to adjust and get at. Kind of wish that they still had them.

Oh yeah!

Nice SC-3! I've owned several of those, but I couldn't bond with any of them.

Do you still have any career ambitions or are you content where you ended up?

I'm not at all content with working cars. I've been doing it for 25 years and I'm burned out. I live in a small town that doesn't have very many good paying jobs. My options are to stick it out in the car business or move.

I really doubt that a slightly different body shape is going to affect the sonic properties much if at all. You of course have the 'everything effects everything' but the farther you get from the string itself, the less the effect will be. This is one reason I stand to reason that if you are going to be picky about what wood is going to affect your sound, fingerboard and neck wood are probably the most important, given they are a good 80% of what the string will 'see'. I still think it is miniscule overall though.

My career is pretty tumultuous at the moment, I had to put in some of the times like you are in though. I'll hold it back for now and hopefully have some good news end of April (when I took a LR spot, hang tight). You were right though, I have been far away, quite literally.

Sir,

Why so many guitars? What the heck?

Seriously old G&L's suck. Plus they are dangerous. Again the 3 bolt necks fall off and the electronics burst into flames. You don't even have to be playing them. Get them out of the house now!

I am not a fan of the SC series in general. Bad sound with those pesky "snap off" 3 bolt necks. The sound reminds me of fingernails on a chalk board every time I hear a Leo made G&L.

If you don't mind fire ,mayhem and that nasty irritating tone then go ahead and buy old G&L's. I am staying clear from that nonsense and so should you!

Just trying to help,

y2kc

Nice! Y2kc bringing out the sunshine! Those dangerous instruments should be properly maintained and I have just such a place...


Cheers,

Will

Another very nice student model with great sound. Nice quack in the in-between settings but with its own character. The MFD pups have a nice warmth and definition to them. But I wouldn't know whether there is a sonic difference compared to the Strat-style body SC-3s.

G&L question:
Somebody can fill us in on that one?

Here's my 1990 Strat-style SC-3:



I'm in Portland a few hours from you. If you ever come down this way, bring your SC-3 and we can do a side-by-side comparison. You can also bring your LE and compare that with mine.

Kit

I like your electric guitars !! ..... My local G&L dealer also sells PRS , what a coinicidence ? ... he said the same thing you said , if I a guy likes LP's and then plays a PRS , it will blow them away and the PRS will be they're new favorite guitar

Howdy gang,

Another long working day in the books! But I had fun. In that sense, as long as I feel I'm doing something I love, it isn't that hard.

I also want to learn how to properly cook risotto...

Here a recipe for risotto with shrimp
Heat a total of 1.25 liter (or 1/3 of a gallon) meat stock and/or chicken stock in a sauce pan and bring it close to a boil before turning down the heat. In the mean time, heat 3 tbs butter and 3tbs olive oil in a large pan with a thick bottom. Dice a shallot a shallot and fry in the heated oil for about 2 minutes or until turning a light brown. Add 4 cups of arborio rice and fry for 2 minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon. Add .5lb of precooked shrimp and 2 cups of Pinot Grigio. Turn the stove to medium. Stir the rice until the liquid has evaporated/been absorbed. Add a ladle of the preheated stock and again stir until the liquid has vanished (while enjoying the rest of the Pinot Grigio). Repeat this step until all liquid has been used. With the last ladle, add some chopped up Italian flat leaf parsley. When the rice is still a bit creamy turn off the stove, stir in 1 tbs of butter and cover the pan for a minute or 2.

Buon appetito!

louis: Hope you find an SC-3. they are fun guitars. And I'm really interested how you would compare them agains Strats.

darwin: As far as I can see, you have the best job in the world Enjoy it!

Steve: I know what you're saying. Fortunately, I have always had an opportunity available to walk away from whatever I was doing at the time I started to dislike what I was doing. i count my blessings in that regard.

sirmyghin: Keep your ammo dry and tell us all about it when the time comes.

Casey: Thanks for the fair warning. I will install a heavy duty sprinkler system in the music room to avoid any disaster. Too bad I have to strike you of the list of potential takers of any of my instruments. I would never be able to send you what you so aptly described as an incendiary device

Kit: Who knows? Portland is only about 3 hours away from here. Or maybe you can come our way if that NW Jam ever is going to happen.

Fumble fingers: The same was true for me for G&L vs Fender and Collings vs Martin. BTW, I bought my first Collings, a beautiful DH-2A, from the store of the next gentleman.

Tim: Always a pleasure to see you show up on this forum. I have known for years how near and dear the SC-3 is to your heart. And now owning one, I can fully understand.

Well, to reduce the amount of sleep deprivation, I better hit the sack. Talk to you tomorrow.

- Jos

jos, i already found it, i just have to pay for it. i had to wait because of the expenses of the dog i found and the cat i pulled off of death row at the l.a. county animal shelter. 450 plus shipping. the best looking sc-3 i have seen so far.

Jos,
Just a bit of useless trivia for you. It appears that Victor who was in charge of the polishing department for a while, burned through the edge of the neck pocket on the buffer. Someone wanted to make sure that his mistake was noted forever. If you look closely, you might be able to notice where we had to touch it up in finishing.
Fred

Jos,
Just a bit of useless trivia for you. It appears that Victor who was in charge of the polishing department for a while, burned through the edge of the neck pocket on the buffer. Someone wanted to make sure that his mistake was noted forever. If you look closely, you might be able to notice where we had to touch it up in finishing.
Fred

Fred, so that is what the scripted 'Burn' and the arrow underneath mean?

- Jos

Here a recipe for risotto with shrimp
Heat a total of 1.25 liter (or 1/3 of a gallon) meat stock and/or chicken stock in a sauce pan and bring it close to a boil before turning down the heat. In the mean time, heat 3 tbs butter and 3tbs olive oil in a large pan with a thick bottom. Dice a shallot a shallot and fry in the heated oil for about 2 minutes or until turning a light brown. Add 4 cups of arborio rice and fry for 2 minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon. Add .5lb of precooked shrimp and 2 cups of Pinot Grigio. Turn the stove to medium. Stir the rice until the liquid has evaporated/been absorbed. Add a ladle of the preheated stock and again stir until the liquid has vanished (while enjoying the rest of the Pinot Grigio). Repeat this step until all liquid has been used. With the last ladle, add some chopped up Italian flat leaf parsley. When the rice is still a bit creamy turn off the stove, stir in 1 tbs of butter and cover the pan for a minute or 2.

Buon appetito!

Thank you!


Cheers,

Will

Jos,
That's what it looks like to me. It doesn't take a lot to burn through if you're not careful. Since the SC line was originally supposed to be produced without being polished at all, the amount of time allowed to polish one was reduced significantly so as not to lose any more money than we had to on them. This meant that the wet sanding time was cut and the guys would buff them a little bit harder than normal to heat up the lacquer and smooth it out.
Fred

Thank you!


Cheers,

Will

My pleasure! I love to cook Italian and risotto has become my thing over the years. Only thing I forgot to mention, in all it should take about 18-20 minutes for you to use all the liquid. At that point the rice is still a bit al dente and not too mushy/overcooked. Adjust the heat accordingly with the notion that when you turn it up you have to pay even closer attention to avoid the rice sticking to the bottom of the pan. To make other risottos, just replace the shrimp with e.g. porcini or other mushrooms (great in autumn), just the plain saffron variety if you want to make osso bucco, or with small cut vegetables, etc., etc. It is just great comfort food.

- Jos