Midnight Snack Report - 04/25/2019

[Danley]

My midnight snack tonight was a snifter of mezcal, followed by a snifter of tequila. Been a rough week in a rough month in a rough year, but it hasn't all been bad - Just stressful. Due to work and personal obligations I've not had as much time to practice guitar or think about music as much as I probably should (I've wound up canceling about half my lessons in the last month.) But I still measure what I consider serious progress with the instrument whenever I do get a chance to practice - I might have to reward myself with a new(ish) G&L at some point if it keeps up.

Pickguards
Yes or no? I used to be 'no' all the way, but lately my picking style seems to be getting more aggressive - and I'm leaning more 'Yes.' I'm wondering if I'll always freak out whenever I play my F100 now. I'm glad most G&L models at various points have been offered with/without.

First Amp
Lately I've been nostalgic for the early 2000s (around the time I was in high school,) which basically means I'm seeing a lot of things through rose-colored glasses. An example: I keep checking eBay for my first amp:



*This* was a piece of crap; the first iteration of the Line 6 Spider. I asked my dad for it as a birthday present in I think 2001 (probably after seeing an ad somewhere.) When he brought it home, Dad mentioned how many people at Guitar Center seemed envious. These people probably knew what sarcasm is, or modeling amp expectations were far lower. It didn't necessarily sound bad when you just wanted to make a guitar-ish sort of sound; it was somewhat mushy, but not insurmountable. The big issue with the amp is it made everything sound the same - By which I mean, there was hardly a difference between the neck pickup and the bridge pickup when played through this amp; there was hardly a difference between any two guitars. The amp seemed to do something really similar to triggering a sample of guitar sound when it heard any input from your pickups.

Still, it felt quality with damped knobs and decent construction (although it did break once.) I almost never use an amp nowadays, and mostly play through modeling software so it's remarkable how far we've come - What was your first amp? Do you ever get nostalgic for it?

First Car
Another item my dad gave me in 2001 - A 1998 V6 Camaro, with a 5 speed. A few days ago I got somewhat steamed over seeing something like a three year old Camaro in a high school parking lot (spoiled brat,) until I realized that back in 2001 I was basically that guy. Except back in 2001 , V6 Camaro were ungodly slow (not that any faster would have been a good idea,) and felt like an *old* car in the age of The Fast and the Furious. Worse - My dad gave it to me because he got himself a new Corvette to replace it with. The Camaro obviously paled in comparison and I sold it a couple years later to buy something so embarrassing and so much of a disappointment that I will not mention it here.



Here's probably the only time I washed it:



...Anyway, I wasn't so delusional about this car as I was about the Line 6 - I knew there was good to be had in the Camaro that I missed seeing in 2001 , but in a nostalgic fit I elected to get a 2000 Z28 6 speed instead I guess I'm somewhat early for a mid-life crisis, but after someone totaled my 2004 Corvette Z06 I wanted something of similar character I could worry about less. It's about everything I could want in a car, at 1/5th the cost of another Z06 . Though I do still somewhat miss the basketball-sized shift knob on the old green one (the Hurst short throw shifter in this car is actually better than the Corvette's.)

Do you get nostalgic for your first car? Would you buy another?



Music

The other week we went to Doheny beach to see the Offspring, the Descendents and whatever Black Flag is nowadays. I'm not a huge punk fan, but it was actually an awesome show (perfect California beach weather, craft beer, luchadores and tacos.)

The Descendents put on a great show in particular - I only ever had passing familiarity, but I was really pretty impressed. Here's a song that stuck with me for a bit:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kns4giVfmtc[/video]

[john o]

3 am snack for me, but that's about midnight out your way, Danley!
last 2 days at work, got off between 130 and 230 am, brutal.

pickguards? i can take'em or leav'em. They do look good on some gtr's, and obviously they serve a purpose.
i have a '52 AVRI tele where i switched out the "blackguard" for a 4 ply black pearloid guard that looks luscious, then I got matching chrome knobs from Q-parts. i have an '07 usa strat that is oly white and came with a white guard. i got bored with that pretty quick and put a tortoise shell 4 ply on it, looks wonderful. here's a pic of the tele and strat guard...(sorry non-G&L content, but kinda related to Leo and George)





1st real amp was a '60's magnatone 2x12 i bought off a guy down the street from me who played accordian. It was this wonderful old brown thing that smelled like somebody's attic and it sounded amazing - warm, loud, a little bit of breakup if you pushed it, had a bassy tone and a tremolo, and a bunch of tubes. I got a 2x12 extension cab and that was my rig for about a year when i was 16.

1st car: a '71 Ford Torino 500. 2 door. booger green. 302 V-8. bought it on my 17th birthday for $800. great car, served me well, carried my gear! I also like camaros. I had an '87, maroon red with a grey interior and a 3.2 L V-6, 5 speed stick. Loved it!

music: going to see Chick Corea and Bela Fleck Saturday night at the Keswick, and Robben Ford on Tuesday night, out near Penn State. This will be a good week!

[DanDoulogos]

Midnight Snack: a couple of Doritos washed down with milk, and a chewable vitamin C tablet. Yeah, I'm a *real* rockstar.

Pickguards
It depends on the wood and the finish. I'd rather go sans pick guard on a nice quilted burst than cover it up with a pick guard. I don't do a lot of strumming, and when I do it's more or less controlled. And a scratch or two on the finish is just character to me. That said, there are some classic looks (yellow finished ASATs with black pickguards for example) that just look great together. So for me it depends on the guitar.

First Amp


I pulled these images off the internet, so they aren't the actual amps I had, but they look like the first two amps I ever had. I don't remember which one was first, so I'm mentioning both. They were both solid state. The Traynor, was a keyboard amp, which made my Les Paul Deluxe sound ... wimpy. The Gorilla was a cheap amp, that made the Les Paul sound a little better, but you couldn't really hear it over the drums. I do not miss either of these.

First Car

My first car was a 72' Dodge Dart Swinger. Mine was all original, and not very well maintained. I bought it for $20, as it had belonged to a nun who had passed away, and was sold to me by the convent which managed her effects. Apparently she died in the car and no one who knew her wanted to have the car. In any case, the picture above is representative - my Dart never looked that good. I blew the leaf springs on mine, and when I got it all four ball joints in the front were toast. I drove it like that for about six months, before selling it for $300, to buy a 73 Maverick.

I do get nostalgic for your first car, and would buy another, if I had the money to do so.

Music
I brought a cheap Squire Strat to work, as a stress reliever. I work in IT as a developer, and there are times when my line of work is as cerebral as it is stressful, and you need to walk away for a few minutes to give your brain a break. In those moments strapping on a cheap guitar, and tooling around is great! I don't know what it is about Information Technology but it seems that a lot of IT guys play guitar. A bunch of us had talked about bringing in a "work" guitar for this purpose, and after we talked about it to death, no one did anything. So one morning, on a lark, I brought in the cheapo Strat I'd purchased years ago for my kids to play Rocksmith on our PS3. We sold the PS3 years ago, and this guitar had been gathering dust - so I tossed it in a travel case, and brought it in.

A few of the guys who at first said they'd love to have a guitar to play at work turned out to be (needlessly) shy about playing in front of others. In any case, the guitar gets played regularly by couple of us, and it has been the best de-stresser imaginable. It's always fun when another player steps into my cubicle, picks up my guitar, and starts kibitzing around with it, as he talks his way through a momentary programming roadblock, or design decision.

I guess that isn't so much about music as it is about musicians in the work place - but that's all I had today.

[willross]

Midnight Snack - Nothing...

Pickguards - They've saved me during a few drunk strumming situations, but depends on the aesthetic.

I do like this 1-ply on my 83':



First Amp - A Gorilla GG20 (just like in DanDoulogos pic)

First Car - a Hyundai Excel. Almost a Yugo...

Music - Workplace music is interesting. It's seems difficult to not devolve into a show-and-tell situation. But, music is music...


Cheers,
Will

[Danley]

DRJHO: I've had an eye out for a 3rd gen IROC, not that I need another car. The 4th gen style really caught my eye when it came out in 1993 (I was eight.) I think new Camaros look fine but liked them better in the 80s/90s when they looked like F16s and bore an obvious Corvette resemblance.

Dan: I don't think I could manage to sleep in a room where someone died, but for some reason I'd have no trouble driving a car that had a dead nun in it - not to mention with a decent discount, provided everything had been disinfected and smelled ok. That's a pretty awesome story for a first car. I'm pretty much the only guitar player/musician at my workplace, where taste is more R&B/rap oriented anyway. I'm sure there would be some issue with company policy if I brought in a guitar - but I usually have a guitar in my hands on days when I work from home.

Will: Awesome - '83 Strat with Freeflyte trem and two knobs, always keep an eye out for those How does the trem keep tune? Hyundai has grown by leaps and bounds quality-wise: My wife's 2013 Veloster has been dependable and relatively fun. Alarmed at the quality of the interior in a car so cheap.

[willross]

Will: Awesome - '83 Strat with Freeflyte trem and two knobs, always keep an eye out for those How does the trem keep tune? Hyundai has grown by leaps and bounds quality-wise: My wife's 2013 Veloster has been dependable and relatively fun. Alarmed at the quality of the interior in a car so cheap.

That guitar is something... Amazing. Most of the trash-talk about this one was unfounded. Keeps great tune!

As a matter of fact, due to the trem springs being under the pickups, they provide a noise-canceling effect.

Really, turn it up to 11 and silence! Touch the strings and away you go!

Plus, it was one of the last guitars to come out of that storied factory...

That Hyundai got me around. A lot of features too.

[sam]

Hey Danley thanks for a much needed snack report,

A bit late but I will play.

Pickguard I like but not a must have. Being an ASAT guy some do look good without.

First amp was a Stage 20, made by Univox. I’ve seen a couple on flea bay. Decent racket maker, pretty straightforward.

First car was a 73 Mustang convertible that was an extra family car I used when needed. First car if my own was a 72 Super Beetle, 3 speed auto clutch so just let off gas and shift away. Known for faulty wiring which proved true for mine. Caught on fire and burned up. Actually a funny story but will come another time.

Great week for music for me. Dream Theater 20th anniversary of Metropolis pt2: Scenes From a Memory tour on Tuesday, Santana on Wednesday and Jimmy Buffet last night. All fantastic shows and very different in sound and crowd. Dream Theatre tickets were Christmas present for my son because this is one of his all time favorite albums. John Petrucci was incredible. Carlos Santana was excellent as expected, and the Buffet show was a drunken beach party! Hope the summer will keep it rolling

[Danley]

First car was a 73 Mustang convertible that was an extra family car I used when needed. First car if my own was a 72 Super Beetle, 3 speed auto clutch so just let off gas and shift away. Known for faulty wiring which proved true for mine. Caught on fire and burned up. Actually a funny story but will come another time.

I grew up in a VW family; my dad had numerous Bugs, Kamann Ghias, Bug kit cars and eventually a Porsche 356 - and the enthusiasm carried over to a lot of other family members, though by the time he died he was pretty solid in the Chevy/Corvette camp.

I may be alone, but the '69 - '73 are my favorite Mustangs - especially the fastback and BOSS cars, and especially the later 'James Bond' Mustangs with the near horizontal rear window. Even though I consider myself liking Camaros/Firebirds first, this generation def. had the second gen F-body beat for style, in my book: