Lunch report 3/1/2020

[john o]

Well, it's March (finally) and after 2 months of "winter" with no snow, we Delawareans are looking forward to Spring, preceded by St. Patty's day!

Today's lunch was an omelette with steak, peppers, onions, spinach with cheddar cheese, and some cream of asparagus soup.

G&L topic: necks! One of the nice things about G&L guitars from the usa factory is the variety of necks you can order your guitar with. This morning I was playing my bluesboy, a 2015 with a modern classic neck, rosewood board, 9.5 in radius, medium jumbo frets, smooth non-sticky matte finish, and was thinking that this is quite possibly the nicest neck i have ever played. I have another ASAT classic with a vintage V contour which is also quite pleasant, but the modern classic edges it. My 2013 comanche has the #1 classic C which is chunky and a little wider, maple board, light tint, more gloss, but the trade-off is this wonderful buttery sustain that it has which i think is due in part to the neck. The frets are slightly thinner and a little more squared off the than the medium jumbos.
Looking back to the 80's, the necks are more slender for sure, and the fretboards have a thinner veneer that i have come to like. The fretwire was broad and low profile, more like gibson frets in the 70's. My F-100 has the series 1, with 12 in radius and an ebony board with some browns in it. My skyhawk and ASAT both have the #2 neck with the 7.5 in radius, and my interceptor has the #4 with 1 and 3/4 width, 25 in radius, feels very different but is fun to play, and way cool.
I don't have my SC-2 anymore, but I have to say I liked its headstock the best!
Q: which G&L neck do you like the best and why?

This link is from the knowledge base and is a nice reference for the options from the 80's on up to present re: necks.
http://www.guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewt ... f=133&t=16

Music: I am always exploring new releases of favorite artists, and occasionally new things I have never listened to before.
Just this past week, Pat Metheny's "From this place" and Sonny Landreth's "Blacktop run" came out and are great listening, they never disappoint.
I was very sad to learn of Lyle Mays' recent passing, he was so gifted, and such a great partner with Pat. This new music heals.
I also downloaded John McLaughlin's "Remember Shakti", a venture into eastern Indian music from awhile back, with Zak Hussain from Mahavishnu days, and it is really quite amazing, soothing, and with good doses of JM's incendiary world jazz flourishes. He is like no other. And it is 2.5 hr of music! My wife is very into yoga and she approved immediately!
Q: what's your latest listen/recommendation?

non-music topic: with spring coming up, Q: what are you looking forward to the most?
a little Irish whiskey, perhaps? baseball?, camping or hiking?
I have a boat i've been getting some maintenance done on over the winter, and am very interested in getting back out on the water, soon. Delaware is kind of flat and unremarkable in some ways, but we are surrounded by water, C&D canal to the north, delaware river/bay to the east and chesapeake bay/rivers to the west, all within 20 min.

regards...

[WitSok]

Thanks for the lunch report John!

I actually skipped lunch yesterday. Took advantage of the nice weather and took the dog for a longer walk.

G&L Topic: I'd say may favorite neck is on my LE-2. It is a #1 profile, but is roasted maple. I really like the roasted maple and I'd say that is why is is my favorite. You tell it lightens the neck and it has an incredibly hard/durable feel to it. It is gloss, but doesn't feel sticky at all. The frets on my SC-3 have grown on me. Normally I don't like short frets, I feel like I have to fret harder, but I don't have this experience with the SC-3. Perhaps it is the width that helps. At first, I didn't like the headstock on the SC's, but that was just looking at pictures in isolation. In person, I really like it. Since the bodies a re a little smaller in the picture they look large, But once in the hands of the player, it doesn't. It simple, clean, and tasteful. I'm glad they are using it on the 40th Anniversary models.

Music Topic: Recently picked up a couple albums from the Shivas. I only recently learned of them in the last couple years when I saw them in Milwaukee went I went to see Bully. Rockabilly meets Pacific NW. I also recently ordered my first Thievery Corporation album. I love how they borrow from world music.

Lately, I have been working on recording my own material, just for fun and try to grow. My newest track I recorded on Saturady features all G&L instruments: ASAT Classic S handling the rhythm, Tribute ASAT Special Deluxe doing on set of lead lines and my LE-2 doing the other. Bass is my Tributwe JB-2. Drums programmed with Hydrogen.



Other Topic: I am looking forward to being outside and getting my gardens planted. I picked up some Louisiana Green Eggplant that I am excited to try. Also after a few years of poor tomatoe crops really hoping for a good one this year.

Cheers, Dan

[Danley]

Not sure what’s up for lunch today - my company planned a golf outing, and I think food will be provided. Or not - CA had another dry year (allegedly - any rain is too much for me and that’s part of why I live here, though I understand we need it.) But it happened to rain for a few hours yesterday. The ground in California is not made to absorb rain, so it’s pretty likely part of the course will be flooded - we’ll see how it goes

Necks: To be honest, I feel like I need to be sheepish in admitting my favorite neck is along the lines of an Ibanez Wizard; not much thicker than a fretboard, decently wide, and very flat on the back. That said I can put up with a lot of different thickness necks - but can’t stand a V-neck. I’m a ‘thumb behind neck’ player, and any amount of V feels like it digs into my thumb in an uncomfortable way. I can’t say I own any necks that closely match the actual spec I just mentioned - the closest is my Jackson Soloist, but even that is ‘too thick.’ Any time I’ve encountered the sort of neck I like, it’s either attached to a guitar I don’t necessarily like, or is too expensive. I actually played a vintage Rickenbacker at a guitar show the other month, and it came very close to what I want - not that I wanted to spend that much on a guitar.

So G&L-wise, I do like my F100 neck best (series 1 / 12” .) It’s a pretty average neck to be honest- not too thick, not too thin, but has a quite flat back that reminds me of my ‘66 Fender Mustang in profile. Someday maybe I’ll try to pay G&L to create my perfect neck. But somehow very thick necks that are not comfortable to me are currently in vogue. I started playing guitars with big necks as a beginner, and when I tried a guitar with a smaller one, it was like a gate opened up for my playing.

Music - Mot exploring much new music lately. I am listening to more doom metal; bands like Monolord and Electric Wizard, not to mention the Melvins. I downloaded the new Stone Temple Pilots acoustic album; there are a few nice tracks.

Off-Topic: As far as what I’m most looking forward to? Maybe in ways it’s my wife finally graduating from school. She went back for her bachelors a couple years ago, and is graduating in a couple months now. I admit (and think she agrees) while that was not quite a point of tension between us (I encouraged her to go back, and knew it would be a lot of work and time on her part - keeping on at work full time as she got her degree) in the meantime I think neither of us focused on aspects of our relationship as much as we should have. So I guess I’m looking forward to whatever change that brings.

[john o]

Thanks for the lunch report John!

G&L Topic: I'd say may favorite neck is on my LE-2. It is a #1 profile, but is roasted maple. I really like the roasted maple and I'd say that is why is is my favorite. You tell it lightens the neck and it has an incredibly hard/durable feel to it. It is gloss, but doesn't feel sticky at all. The frets on my SC-3 have grown on me. Normally I don't like short frets

Music Topic: Recently picked up a couple albums from the Shivas. I only recently learned of them in the last couple years when I saw them in Milwaukee went I went to see Bully. Rockabilly meets Pacific NW. I also recently ordered my first Thievery Corporation album. I love how they borrow from world music.

Lately, I have been working on recording my own material, just for fun and try to grow. My newest track I recorded on Saturady features all G&L instruments: ASAT Classic S handling the rhythm, Tribute ASAT Special Deluxe doing on set of lead lines and my LE-2 doing the other. Bass is my Tributwe JB-2. Drums programmed with Hydrogen.



Other Topic: I am looking forward to being outside and getting my gardens planted. I picked up some Louisiana Green Eggplant that I am excited to try. Also after a few years of poor tomatoe crops really hoping for a good one this year.

Cheers, Dan

Hi Dan, I too have learned to like the early G&L frets, on my F-100 especially but also my '83 SC-2 and the '84 skyhawk, they are very easy on the fingers, and I like the low profile, these early G&L necks are very easy to play. I like that the frets are wider than the skinny vintage fretwire on my '52 RI telecaster. I'll bet your LE-2 is really unique. Roasted neck sounds interesting.

I listened to your "green tune" and i hear a little U-2 in it, definitely an '80s UK element, like Modern English kind of influence. It has an ambient nature, very calming, relaxing to listen to. There's a radio show i like on wxpn.org in philadelphia, can be streamed, after the blues show on saturday night from 12 am to 5 am EST, called "stars end." Very chill to listen to, ambient, new age, if you happen to be up late on a saturday it is a soothing listen and i always hear something that interests me (though i'm usually not up that late). The blues show 7-12, by the way, is excellent.

[john o]

Necks: To be honest, I feel like I need to be sheepish in admitting my favorite neck is along the lines of an Ibanez Wizard; not much thicker than a fretboard, decently wide, and very flat on the back. That said I can put up with a lot of different thickness necks - but can’t stand a V-neck. I’m a ‘thumb behind neck’ player, and any amount of V feels like it digs into my thumb in an uncomfortable way. I can’t say I own any necks that closely match the actual spec I just mentioned - the closest is my Jackson Soloist, but even that is ‘too thick.’ Any time I’ve encountered the sort of neck I like, it’s either attached to a guitar I don’t necessarily like, or is too expensive. I actually played a vintage Rickenbacker at a guitar show the other month, and it came very close to what I want - not that I wanted to spend that much on a guitar.

So G&L-wise, I do like my F100 neck best (series 1 / 12” .) It’s a pretty average neck to be honest- not too thick, not too thin, but has a quite flat back that reminds me of my ‘66 Fender Mustang in profile. Someday maybe I’ll try to pay G&L to create my perfect neck. But somehow very thick necks that are not comfortable to me are currently in vogue. I started playing guitars with big necks as a beginner, and when I tried a guitar with a smaller one, it was like a gate opened up for my playing.

Music - Not exploring much new music lately. I am listening to more doom metal; bands like Monolord and Electric Wizard, not to mention the Melvins. I downloaded the new Stone Temple Pilots acoustic album; there are a few nice tracks.

Off-Topic: Maybe in ways it’s my wife finally graduating from school. She went back for her bachelors a couple years ago, and is graduating in a couple months now. I admit (and think she agrees) while that was not quite a point of tension between us (I encouraged her to go back, and knew it would be a lot of work and time on her part - keeping on at work full time as she got her degree) in the meantime I think neither of us focused on aspects of our relationship as much as we should have. So I guess I’m looking forward to whatever change that brings.

Hey Danley, you would like the neck on my 2001 epi 335. It has a very slender neck, second only to the '60's hagstrom i started out with in '75. Most of the time my thumb is hanging over the edge of the fretboard, so i don't mind the v-neck. i have been occasionally using the thumb to fret bass notes like Robben Ford or John Mayer. It's challenging to do, those guys have really large hands, mine are average, so takes a bit of work, but i use barre chords less and less, and use chunks of chords, different voicings, easier on the hand.

I marvel at how elegantly crafted the F-100 is, especially with regard to the neck construction and feel, so smooth and easy to play, mine is 12.5 radius, and the headstock is unique. The truss rod works well, and i hope it has many more years to put out for me.

[Elwood]

My '89 SkyHawk has a neck and frets that feels just right, I even tried to duplicate it's specs when making my first neck from scratch.
I can feel it's not quite as woody as a one piece. I imagine the bi-cut necks might tend to resonate an octave higher than a one piece of the same mass/density/dryness/age.
I'd love to try a roasted maple G&L.

Danley, You'd love the neck on my '69 LP...it was shaved by it's first owner in 1969...until the truss rod was showing
Brought back to Gibson for a fix, they put in a black walnut skunk stripe. It's probably the only LP with a factory installed skunk stripe.
It's reeeeally thin!! I've often thought it was just a fretboard when playing it. It flexs a little more...still no breaks .
It was the main axe of a rock band from Wisconsin through the 70's, so it's definitely been time tested.
I'll snap some pics next time it's out.



I've been watching old Black Sabbath Vids. I just got some used John Birch SuperFlux 5's for my '72 SG...I'm Iommi-izing it.
I think there is space for a little JFET booster onboard...we'll see.

Thanks for the LR, sorry I am a little late.
Elwood

[Danley]

Thanks both of you for the neck recommendations Would love to see the 'skunk stripe' Gibson. The thinnest necks I've seen/experienced are aluminum guitars; impossibly thin. I've also picked up some Hagstroms (I think whatever one has a marble-ized fretboard, from the sixties?) Very thin.

I forgot to mention frets - yep, my F100 also has the low/wides, almost identical to my '66 Mustang as well. I don't mind a bit more meat on the frets, but it is nice to be able to 'glide' your fingers without speed bumps on those sorts of frets.