May 28th Lunch Report

Today's lunch was left over BBQ from last night, with a salad. Yummy.

I've ordered the LE2, is anyone else on the fence, waiting to decide whether to get one or not? If you are on the fence, what's it going to take to swing either way? I think we need 12 to get the first order committed.

Non G&L:

Here's my current rack



Out front is my new acoustic, a Breedlove Revival DM series. I love it, low action, quick neck. First acoustic I have liked playing because it seems easier to play. Its loud so I won't put electronics in it. Its unique because it has a mahogany neck and back and sides. Behind is my 2 heritages and my 2 g&ls.

For all you G&L fans, what's your favourite acoustic and why?

Alf

As far as the LE-2 goes, I am not interested, and have acted accordingly (stayed out of it), so no help from me in that department.

I tend not to play acoustics, the ergonomics don't mesh well with me and my history of wrist RSI's , I just don't get much longevity out of the sessions. Maybe a smaller classical or something I would jive with better.

Aren't leftovers great! I have a pre BBE bias so nothing new for me. Always liked the Heritage guitars, great story with them but not as good a story as G&L
Anthony

No interest in the LE-2, so have not ordered, nor plan to.

Acoustics--
I have always been fond of Guild acoustics. Back in around 1970 I purchased an all-mahogany D-25 (with the flat back). I loved that guitar and always kicked myself for selling it in the late '70s due to financial reasons. A few years later I bought a beat up Gibson era Epiphone small body (like a Gibson B-25). It did not project much sound and I was never really satisfied with it so in 2006 I finally purchased a quality acoustic--Found a great deal on a '92 pre-Fender, Westerly Guild D-55. The previous owner must not have played it much as the only evidence that it was used was that the gold plating was wearing off the tuners. I would put this guitar up against almost any other high end acoustic. Great piano-like tone and one of the things this model is famous for is the string to string balance. My acoustic does not get very much use these days and I toy with the idea of selling it, but I know I would be sorry. If anyone is ever looking for a great sounding Dread size acoustic and has around $1000 to spend, look for one these used.

I do not normally play acoustic but I have an Adamas that I use for recording. Kari also has a collector KOA Ovation that she gigs and it is great. There are a lot of good brands and it is a matter of preference. Ovation electronics are hard to beat.

As for the LE 2, it is very interesting and I was on the fence for some time. I am still not ready to order but who knows what could happen in the next month! Nice guitars on your rack Alf! -- Darwin

I'm still on the LE2 fence, but most likely to get down on the side of not getting one. I don't think the humbucker bridge/SC neck will work for me. I like that, with the MFDs, its a more G&L version of the Fallout.

I have a recent Chinese made Guild acoustic that I paid too much for, but it sounds good, looks nice and plays well. That's all you can hope for really. My dad has a very nice Martin, it was fun picking that one out with him. We must have gone to every guitar store in town playing them and trying to find the best one, then we found it at the closest shop to our old house!

I won't be getting an LE-2. I'm waiting on the Limited Edition Boogie Bill Signature Comanche XII that G&L is never going to build.

I play acoustics, all of mine are dreads.

I have a 2002 Taylor 710-CE and an Ibanez Artwood AW50-CENT. The Ibanez is my beater, but it is actually a fine sounding guitar.

But my true loves are my Martins. I bought my first one in 1973, a new D-18. Sold it to get the Taylor and I have a bit of regrets, but the Taylor has made me some money. My oldest guitar is a '75 D-28 that I bought in 1976. It has a sweet mellow tone and tons of mojo. I had to replace the neck after a major boo-boo and the top has some long weather cracks. It smells of 35 years of bar tobacco and booze and spruce and rosewood--heaven!

Over the past few years I've acquired several more Martins. And these are all really good ones that feel and sound really special. I've got a 2002 D-28, 2003 D-35, 2004 D-18, 2009 HD-28V, and a DC AURA. The HD-28V is a true cannon...one of the very, very few guitars I've ever played that I can't out-sing. The Aura is replacing the Taylor as my main stage guitar. In January I bought a one month old D-18, and it too is a very loud and responsive guitar. The new D-18s are very different than my 2004 Standard Series 18.

And the coolest of all is my Limited Edition MTV-1. The treble side features mahogany back and sides and the other half is rosewood. Beautifully schizoid guitar for when I can't decide what to play...it has the best qualities of both rosewood and mahogany guitars. And it has "UNPLUGGED" inlaid on the fingerboard. Very cool guitar indeed.

My Martins may very well turn out to be my only retirement income.

Just be sure to drop an Abe or a Sawbuck in my case when you pass me on the street.

Bill

no LE for me , at this point I'm still collecting the traditional G & L sounds , I have ASAT Classic , Legacy , a SC2 should be here soon , gass'n for some Z coils so a "local used " Comanche will be my next purchase


Acoustic's , I have a Ovation , I forget the model but has really low fast action , the neck feels real close to standard C G & L neck

I'm on the fence about the LE-2. I feel kind of guilty about it after being so involved in the design discussions, but at this point I have my SC bases pretty well covered. I'm also trying to restrain my GAS so that I can be ready to pounce whenever one of the remaining guitars on my wish-list becomes available.

As a bassist, my acoustic is a Czech-built upright. It's pretty far down the desirability ladder in the upright world, but then again the upright bass counterpart to a pre-war Martin would be something dating back to the 1700s or 1800s. Those run well north of $100K and can average out in the thousands of dollars per year to maintain. I'm happy with what I've got, and can't see that changing. My only acoustic guitar is a US-built Ovation I bought new in 1986. It hardly gets any playing time, with all of the G&Ls in the house. It has met my needs for a long time.

Ken

Hey Alf,

My le-2 is ordered! I really do think it is going to be a unique guitar I am 100% confident that the f-100 pickup is going to sing on that Ash body. In fact i already plan on removing the neck pickup and cutting a new pick guard to cover the hole ala the Solamente. I will have my modern sc-1 darn it Okay, i may not do that for a while, but i am thinking hard about it. I am surprised that more guys are not all over this opportunity, maybe once the first batch is done and there are some pics and demos of the le-2 it will swing a few more people over. Regardless it will be a great guitar that i look forward to getting my hands on!

Scott