Lunch Report Tuesday 30/07/13

Hello,

It would be remiss of me not to mention the passing of JJ Cale. A guitarist who was very highly rated
In Neil Young's words - And he doesn’t play very loud, either — I really like that about him. He’s so sensitive. Of all the players I ever heard, it’s gotta be Hendrix and JJ Cale who are the best electric guitar players. ,
And Eric Clapton's words -: he was a master of minimalism.
"I was tired of the 'guitar hero' thing," wrote Eric Clapton in his autobiography, recalling his transition to a lower-key style on his first solo album, "and I was starting to follow the example of JJ Cale." In another interview, Clapton said, "I was tired of gymnastic guitar playing, and when I listened to JJ Cale records, I was impressed by the subtlety, by what wasn’t being played."

So it's a bit overdue because I haven't listened to a JJ Cale album in 20 years, but I will soon.
JJ , Rest In Peace.

Lunch was quick, healthy albeit a little lazy. 3 Boiled eggs.

I wish Leo, Dale and George had of made a G&L like my old 1960 Jazzmaster. I am sure it could have used an upgraded bridge and tremolo. Although the tremolo does have a nice feel to it. I can see it now , that incredible stash of Mahogany and Maple and some cool offset guitars. Before you jump me I know the SC model was sort of there but for me it isn't close enough. Thank God Dale Hyatt had the sense to build a Telecaster shape.

So my G&L question is are you happy with all the G&L guitar shapes ? What shape would you like to see introduced? Gibson had great success when they had the car designer Ray Dietrich design the Firebird



I play it through these amps.



Over the last year or so I have got out and played and sung acoustic songs. I am a bit more used to it know and it took a while to feel comfortable. I still prefer to play with a band but more than anything I just like getting out of the house and playing live. I have a set of original songs that seem to go over well.
I am of course always looking for great cover songs to learn and play. I have discovered some songs by the Eagles are almost impossible as a solo singer/player because without the 4 part harmonies something is just missing. Great songs though.

So what are your great song suggestions for a solo acoustic player? I am looking for great songs in any genre.

Thanks for reading.
Leo F The Champion

john mayer's neon is a great solo acoustic song.

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a few more

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Offset G&L's ? hmmm..
Those JB basses look fine, never played one yet.
I'd like to see a JG-2 G&L guitar , a roller bridge maybe like the Mosrite design if not a saddlelock, but no more TOM's
It would be a great canvas for some eye catching finishes.
A nice big slab o maple coupled with a saddle lock bridge would growl ,
probably help with digestion if held tightly .
Hell, make it a JG-12 with a a big long headstock and 12 adjustable saddles.


(not my picture)

Lunch for me will include homemade Jalapeno Kale chips ,fresh and soft breadsticks dipped in some carrot/pablano/cherry tomato sauce I made yesterday...and some Almond milk as a chaser.

elwood

Wow, thats a great Jazzmaster LTC. I have always liked the shape of those guitars. I would definitly be interested if a G&L version appeared. I'm happy with my SC-2 and my S-500, they both look great and feel nice and balanced . The SC-2 shape is my favorite though. Funny, I have never felt that way about Fender Mustangs. I want to get a Fallout next but I should keep an eye out for an original SC-2 as well. Decisions !

Acoustic solo songs... Old man by Mr Young ...can't go wrong there , Razor love is good too.

LTC, you mention the passing of JJ Cale. Unfortunate an lot of the greats are aging and we will loose many more. It is refreshing to see the young ones like John Mayer and Brad Paisley that can actually play. I think they will keep it going. Clean, well played music is not as common as it used to be. Rarely I stop in at the local GC and I am always amazed by the young "chuggers" sitting there hacking away.

I think some refinement could be made to the Asat style. My Grosh has a slimmer horn and waist and it very comfy especially with the belly cut. Generally I am pleased with the lineup. A Bo Diddley type would be cool. It I could find a pristine Gretsch Bo Diddley I would probably jump on it. I wish that G&L necks were available and I would build my own body and use G&L parts to complete it. A perfect reason why they don't sell necks. It is interesting that Fender now sells necks to the consumer. They probably realized that an on line retailer who is parting out new Fenders is making a ton of money. I really like some of the new G&L colors.

Very cool Jazzmaster that you have. The former lead player in our band still has his original 62 Jazzmaster with the hang tags and original receipt. It is too bad that they didn't appreciate like the Strats and Teles.

As for songs for solos, I do not have any good ideas. Our band has very tight 3 part harmonies and they really work. There are many good bands but the vocals can really do a good band justice. Great reports Leo. -- Darwin

I love the Jag/Jazz offset shape and own one of each. Many working guitarists I know that play a G&L also have a Jazzmaster in their rack. They love the shape and tone but hate the bridge. I think their would definitely be room for Fallout to have a big brother with some soapbar MFD's- perhaps the same design as the neck pup from the recently retired ASAT Classic Custom...

I love the Jag shape. Here's a Samick I like with P90's and a Tele bridge.

Oooh! Noice Jazzie LeoF! I'm still kicking myself for chickening out on the '62 pink Jazzmaster that I tried out in 1986, when I was in college. It was on sale for $360. I was sooooo tempted to buy it, or the '67 sunburst Jaguar the shop (Good 'n Loud Music in Madison, WI - they're no longer in business) also had on sale. But I got cold feet. I had just gotten over an "I'm seriously broke, and as a result, living on Ramen Noodles" period, that had lasted several months, and was very averse to going back through that experience again. Like I said before, I'm regretting it nowadays.

What would I want G&L to make? Will alluded to Jaguars in his post. There are several guitar types that I just can't seem to get over - I may sell these types of guitar, but down the road, I end up buying one again. Jaguars are one of those guitars. I've owned several of them over the past 23 years, and have always ended up selling them, due to either a money crunch (such as my much lamented 2010 CIJ '66 Reissue), I just plain didn't like it (the Blacktop Jag, that was just plain blah sounding, with its 'buckers), or it had problems (the first Jag I ever had - a new MIJ back in 1990, that squealed like pig at any gain and/or volume levels above lounge jazz settings - despite a pickup change [it wasn't until I bought my next Jag 20 years later, that I learned the shielding claws often cause the squealing]). Nonetheless, I'll probably get another Jag down the road. If G&L were to make an improved version I'd seriously consider it. All they would have to do, is improve upon the finicky vibrato (but no Strat-style vibrato please), and use hotter pickups (the smaller MFDs please, and if you had shielding claws around the pickups, it would be way cool). Oh yeah, while you're at it, keep the 24" medium scale length.

Solo acoustic guitar songs - I haven't really thought about that. I'm mainly a 12-string player when it comes to acoustics (I have a nice 70s, Guild 12-string). Hmmmm, here's a couple of my favorites:

A solo version of "John Barleycorn" (here's Steve Winwood doing Traffic's version)

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"The Eagle And The Hawk" by John Denver

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Louis , thanks great songs , my range should be fine for John Mayer . I love Slow Dancing in a Burning room. I'll learn it ,
glvourot , I love Neil young but I don't know of Razor love, beautiful song . And not to hard
I didn't even think of the JB bass El, I just had guitars on my brain
I agree Darwin , vocals are really important .
jag in the bag, good to hear from you, happy you love the shape
Will , looks like a parts guitar but maybe not, Red guitars are faster too:)
Ellen , I started learning Finger picking style a few months ago , so I could learn John Barleycorn.Beautiful sounding acoustic guitar on the John Lennon song .