
Lunch: Tomato Basil Soup w/ whole wheat crackers. It was a cafeteria day and busy as crap at work. Anyway, lunch was good but not nearly as exciting as my planned dinner of Taco Salad. What doesn't sour cream make better? Of course, I love beans and my wife doesn't (not for the reasons you're likely thinking, I think it's more the looks & texture than the aftereffects a few hours down the road), so she thinks mine is gross, but I love 'em. Anyway, moving right along.
G&L Question: Is there a model (or models) or setup (e.g. SSS, HH, SS, etc. pickup config, trem/hardtail, style/brand of pickups, etc.) of G&L guitars that you feel encapsulates "your" sound?
I'm having a bit of a musical identity crisis on this one. I have been a Les Paul style guy myself for years. Or so I thought. I love my H-150 (essentially a Les Paul, only made by Heritage) and really think THAT was "My" sound. Until... Recently I got a Prospect (more or less like a CS-356) and really liked that, and it was a tie. Even MORE recently I got a Logan Strat-copy and realized there were certain things I liked about both the scale, AND I like single-coils more than I thought. As such, I mentally have a sound or certain sounds I see as being me, but I think I might actually have something a bit different in mind to actually get there.
Non-G&L Question: Simple vs. Complex. Do you tend to like music that is structurally simpler or more complex? It can be to play or listen to.
To listen to, I like them both but find sometimes if it is fairly simpler or less chaotic in structure it can let each instrument and especially the singer have their place without competing against each other as much. In a band setting, either is fine. When I'm playing by myself though, I find if it is TOO simple I get bored easily. It is almost as if some part of my brain goes "that's it?" and wants something a bit more.
On the flip side, I'm also not quite good enough to play the super technical stuff, and if it goes too far into the land of the guitar virtuoso I find it gets tiresome (to listen to AND play for that matter), so there is definitely a range where I am comfortable. I want them to be technical enough (even with layers, not necessarily with complex riffs, solos, etc.) or emotional enough to keep interesting, yet concise enough to say something without just cramming a lifetime of music theory into one song.
I will also admit, emotions play a big part. If something is really simple, yet "great" or "meaningful" (due to guitars, vocals, lyrics, circumstance, event/venue played at, etc.), that can go a LOOOOOONG way.
-Cheers