NGD Lunch Report March 18, 2024

[sam]

Post St Patricks Day greetings to ya' all!

Hope no one woke up too "green" from too much exuberence for St Patty's weekend. Not me

Music content I did have an enjoyable time yesterday watching a local young lady play some blues. We catch her when she's around, and my wife and her mom have become pretty good friends. If you want to take a listen, here's some options https://soundcloud.com/jessewilliamsband https://www.facebook.com/TheJesseWilliamsBand/ https://thejessewilliamsband.com/

G & L Related Topic for the day: So what's with the NGD heading? I recently found an ASAT I've never been able to find in the back of the Gear Page guitar emporium. One of the original runs of the ASAT CAT! If you're not familiar with the ASAT CAT, see Jos' section on his page. http://www.yowhatsshakin.com/yowhatssha ... proto.html

Well I found #5 of the 8 solid body three tone sunbursdt models that is in near new condition and am very satisfied! This one is aheavy SOB however, about 8lbs 13oz. But I can say it transfers sound like a Les Paul does, hahaha. The middle S500 pickup and the expander switch it does add an extra element I didn't expect. Not sure just what it is but I can get my favorite ASAT tones and clean it up a little with the S500. Would recommend this pickup option to anyone lookng for a little more variety. Here she is...



General music topic Wireless guitar set up. How many of ya use it, tried it but don't like it, or totally avoid the wireless world? After reading some positive reviews on the telecaster page I decided to try it out with a low cost JOYO - 03 version. Even though, as some reviews mentioned, you seem to loose a very little bit of the clarity you get from a good cable, I was pretty pleased with the outcome. If I want to walk around un encumbered by a cable hitting stuff in my room, or just want to sit in a chair and not worry with a cable this is handy. A friend of mine has a lead player who uses a more expensive version for their small club shows and he sounds good to me. For $30.00 on fleabay it's cheap way to dip into a wireless option.





Remember, You can never have too many ASAT's!

[Craig]

Congrats on your new ASAT! You might be interested in this post: New ASAT Cats?.

[sam]

Thanks Craig!

Very interesting post as well.

[Tooslowhand]

Awesome ASAT. Many congrats on the find. I use an X-Vive wireless system at home and it works great most of the time. Transmitter plugs into my amp or computer guitar input depending on what I'm doing; and the transmitter plugs into the guitar. I don't think I'd trust it for gigging or real studio work, but for practice / playing around it's excellent. Can select from 4 Bluetooth channels to avoid any interference issues.

[sam]

Thanks Tooslowhand!

Haven’t thought about running wireless to my computer, will give it a try. Like I’ve said before, I’m the poster child for computer illituracee! I’m with you on using it for some practice scenarios as primary use.

[john o]

Hi Sam, congrat's on the new sunburst asat cat! I didn't know they existed. The sunburst is great!

One of the things i have always liked about 2 p'up tele's/asats are the limitations of the 2 p'up setup, with 3 pickup selector positions, 1 vol, 1 tone that is usable, less is more! my ASAT Classic S changed my mind on that. It's Not just a T body with S wiring/switching/and the expander push-pull pot.

A totally pleasant surprise has been the lovely tones that come from the middle s500 p'up by itself. It's actually become my preference/go-to selector middle position with that guitar. Strats have never impressed me much with the voice of their middle pickup by itself, though I have used it when i wanted something more mid-rangey than the bridge pickup or the claptoney position 2 combo.

I will say the middle position-only on my comanche has been useful in a couple ways, but that speaks to the magic of the z-coils and what they do with a good amp, much more-so than a strat. The mid pickup by itself on the asat classic S almost sounds a little out of phase to me, like the sound i get with the o-o-phase switch on my F100, only without the noticeable volume drop. See what you think. With those jumbo MFD's the combo options must be great, but see if the middle lights you up by itself. I'm a believer!

[sam]

Thanks John!

You and I seem to be rowing the same boat on strats, and in the short amount of time playing this S500 middle pickup that could be a new sweet spot.

Never thought about the out of phase sound, but like my initial post when I couldn't nail that extra element, the out of phase aspect could be it. Will experiment and see.

Life is like a box of MFD's, you never know what you'll get!

[bigjim711]

Nice find. Congrats! I could go research all these models ahead of time but it's funner to read these posts as they pop up.

[DanDoulogos]

I am a week late on this one, but I love me a good lunch report and a good NGD post, so this is hitting me in the sweet spot.

Absolutely love that ASAT. I am not sure if I am jealous of vicariously happy that you both found and secured one for yourself. I confess to a little jealousy too. That is a great looking guitar and I bet it sounds every bit as awesome as it looks. I whistled out loud when I saw the pics. Good on you Sam! Couldn't have fell into the hands of a nicer chap.

I gave a listen to your local talent Jesse Williams. She has a great voice for blues - a lot of natural talent there. I am at work so I couldn't check the videos tagged via social media links, but I did watch all the vids on the last link. I am impressed by anyone who plays blues or jazz without a pick. You get a lot more feel and subtlety, and the lead usually incorporates more arpeggiated plucking and chordal riffs than just scales. Thanks for the links.

I've been playing guitar (and bass) every week in church for the last decade or so. The church I attend used to meet in the basement of an office building that someone bought and converted into a modern church (on the main floor). In the basement (where we were) there was a ton of stray 60 Hz hum from both the lighting and all the cabling for the church that met above us which was beneath their insulated floor, but above us in a suspended ceiling. I got so sick of that hum that I picked up a set of 5.8 GHz wireless dongles off Amazon to see if that helped. It not only helped, it sold me on wireless entirely. I still have some quality cables, but I've been running the same dongles now for years - they are rechargeable and don't require a control box - they just pair automagically, no fuss. They have more than one channel, but I've never had to use any others. I guess I've been using them for at least 7 years or so. I am now spoiled by the freedom of walking around without a care in the world.

Love that last pic. Great sentiments are great because they are true.

[sam]

Hi Jim and Dan!

Thanks for the kudos.

bigjim - ya know this is one that I’ve looked for thanks again to our own Jos, the enabler he is with his candy store of a web site that shows off so many different models! It is cool seeing stuff pop up every now and then as well. Be careful when you start “researching”, the ol’ GAS attacks happen more often!

Dan - thanks and no jealousy needed, just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Can’t believe this had been on the Gear Page for a couple of weeks and no one grabbed her. My guitar funds are depleted but well worth it. Yesterday and today switched from a Deluxe Reverb to a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special with a BBE 427 ( occasionally as overdrive to standard Boogie overdrive) and I’m really liking that combo. Appreciate the kind words for Jesse, she’s a young lady finding her way, and fortunately has good support group. Will tell her she’s building a fan base in Canada! I’m catching up with you and being with the 21st Century on the wireless side.