Holy Moly its Friday's Lunch Report for June 3, 2011

[bassman]

Lunch- I am gonna take a dive into some Five Guys today. I think I will have their small hamburger with regular fries (enough for five guys, hence the name, LOL) and I'll wash it down with some lemonade.

Hey it's been a fun week and a really appreciate all of the participation. I wish I had more time to prepare for these LR weeks they seem to just come up out of nowhere, but I do my best. I hope you had some fun.

Today's bass project: The wackiest bass from who knows where?
Here is my Marina Bass:

Here is the body close up:

Here is the headstock:


I don't know the origin of this bass in that I don't know the company that made it and what country its from. The bass had some modifications before I got it, The bridge was replaced with an original BadASS and the tuners were replaced with Grovers. The bass was originally string through and it did not work when I got it. The wiring was a mess.
I rewired it and then changed the stock vintage style P-Bass pickup with a Dimarzio model P and I did a complete set up on it.
The bass now sounds great and turns heads wherever I play it. Some call it a Gene Simmons bass. I call it the can opener bass and it is a lot of fun.

G&L questions:
When you see a used G&L in a store or online, does a 3 bolt neck make the deal or kill the deal in your opinon.

What if your favorite solid state amp to use with your G&L?

Other questions?

What is the air speed of a cliff swallow?

When a member of your band is too loud - How so you do go about telling them to turn down?

Is live music doing well or poorly in your environs?

He everybody, I have had fun doing the reports this week.
Next weeks reporter will be none other than our own Boogie Bill!
I am looking forward to it.

Thanks again
-bassman Bill

[darwinohm]

Bassman, thanks for the great week and yes, LR's do require a lot of preperation. You sure do have some interesting basses.

G&L questions:
When you see a used G&L in a store or online, does a 3 bolt neck make the deal or kill the deal in your opinon.
I would be fine with either. I do like the 4 bolt but sure wish it had the micro tilt.

What if your favorite solid state amp to use with your G&L?
I still am open but Vox or Fender will do just fine.


Other questions?

What is the air speed of a cliff swallow?
Fast!!!!

When a member of your band is too loud - How so you do go about telling them to turn down?
We had that problem with our lead singer/guitar backup and we would turn his amp down when he was singing. Later he would turn it up again and we would turn it down again. We never told him what was going on. Today we set his volume and he leaves it. He did hear himself on a couple of videos and that solved the problem. Another factor is that at our age we develop hearing problems that can contribute to the problem

Is live music doing well or poorly in your environs?
It is not what it was even a few years ago. Most bars do not have live music anymore. If you had to make a living at it today, good luck!! We have weddings occasionally and if the dance is a DJ we usually do not stick around. There is nothing like a live band even if the members are over the hill!!!

Looking forward to Bogies insights next week. Have a great weekend everyone, I will!-- Darwin

[KenC]

Great week, Bassman! I'm just digging my way out of boxes from a move, or I would have participated more.

Lunch: As luck would have it, a lunchtime errand is going to take me right past a Five Guys. It was supposed to be an afternoon errand, but I foresee a need to change my schedule a bit...

G&L question: Three bolt necks make the deal for me. Six of my seven G&Ls have three-bolt necks. It isn't the bolts that does it for me, but the Leo-era vibe. Ironically, the four-bolt guitar has the least stable neck attachment. The others are rock-solid. Same with my old three-bolt Fender Jazz.

My only SS amp is a Roland JC-120. I love the sound with all of my single-coil G&Ls, and like the sound with my Superhawk. It definitely needs a good compressor to contain the high end, though. It's also a pain to drag around, even with casters. I'm very likely going to be picking up either a silverface Champ or a Blues Jr. this weekend just to give me some room-to-room portability in the house.

Loud bandmates: I had serious problems with this when I was playing string bass with several percussionists in a World music/tribal group. I was running a GK combo amp with an extension cab, and would still be drowned out when one or another of the percussionists would invite Djembe-playing friends to sit in. Going to a larger amp wasn't an option due to the size/weight of the bass and limited cargo space in my car. I was about to give up and sit out in those situations, but then I thought "what could cut through a wall of drums?". On the way to the next gig I bought a cowbell. When the drummers got too loud for my bass to be heard, the cowbell came out. When they quieted down, it went away. The audience didn't seem to mind, but for some reason (possibly my absolute lack of talent on percussion) the drummers hated it. It didn't take long before the cowbell wasn't needed at all. If the drummers were really cooperative, I would even let one of them play with it...

Ken

[sirmyghin]

I am eating some yogurt and berries, worked late last night, just getting up so to speak.

Now that looks like a neat one. Very interesting, to say the least.

Loud band members, I told them, you are too loud, the drummer couldn't turn himself down though....

I don't own an SS amp, and do not particularly seek them out so I am out on the question. Roland cubes are acceptable for clean work though.

I wouldn't be swayed by 3 or 4 bolt necks. I would likely go 4 bolt for the new truss rod... but 3 bolt has the micro tilt... tough call.

[CGT]

Chicken Tandoori for lunch here, made on the grill in the backyard. Yummy. That is one funky bass but I have to say that, unlike you I'm not a project guy: I just don't have the hands or the patience to put in that kind of work on an instrument.

With respect to necks, I love my four-bolt to death and would gladly get another. I've never played a 3-bolt with micro-tilt so I couldn't say, but I don't doubt that the quality is the same, and since I'm a set-it-and-forget-it kind of guy, I'm fine with any kind of instrument provided it can be adjusted by a qualified tech.

I play my Legacy through an Ibanez Troubadour 15 acoustic amp and it's a great for producing the kinds of glassy tones that I like, and for a more vintage sound I run it through Amplitube 3 to get a Fender tube tone. I was told by a Les Paul player I know that a lot of Strat guys run their guitars through acoustic amplifiers to get a bit more sparkle out of them. (I got one in a trade for services and liked the way it rendered the sound of my guitars, so I ended up using it as an electric amp.) However, my dream solid state amp is a Roland Jazz Chorus, single coils sound amazing through those babies.

African or European?

I've had occasion to tell a vocalist that he was too loud during a jam, but given that his brain was addled by LSD (Lead Singer Disease) at the time, nothing came out of it.

Toronto has an INCREDIBLE live music scene, unfortunately, the smaller venues are so loud these days that my aging ears can't take them anymore.

[Dave_P]

Hey Bassman thanks for a great week! I've been absolutely swamped at work so I had to catch up today on the past pew days.

When you see a used G&L in a store or online, does a 3 bolt neck make the deal or kill the deal in your opinion? - For me it would sweeten the deal but neither make nor break it.

What if your favorite solid state amp to use with your G&L? - Not sure never played it through a SS amp

Other questions? - how much wood could a wood chuck....ahhh nevermind

What is the air speed of a cliff swallow? - African or European?

When a member of your band is too loud - How so you do go about telling them to turn down? - My drummer is too loud but we just turn up

Is live music doing well or poorly in your environs? - Hmm seems to be doing ok, haven't played out in about a year so my fingers are not exactly on the pulse of the music scene right now

-Dave

[suave eddie]

What is your favorite solid state amp to use with your G&L?

Back in the '80s and early '90s I played through a Randall RG-80 112 like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1981-RANDALL-RG80-1 ... 33684594b6

One of the best solid state amps I have ever heard IMO. Very loud 80 watts, switchable channels, and indestructable. I always got compliments on my tone.

[blargfromouterspace]

What is your favorite solid state amp to use with your G&L?

Back in the '80s and early '90s I played through a Randall RG-80 112 ..../quote]

I played through an old Randall Commander 410 a while back - great sounding amp. I currently use a ZT Club for a solid state amp. Extremely compact and loud. Sounds pretty good too. I always use the Sonic Stomp with the ZT - that pedal adds a lot of something that makes it sound way better.


When a member of your band is too loud - How so you do go about telling them to turn down?

Either turn up or tell them to turn down. Had a gig last night where we always get told we're too loud. I had my amp set to less than the volume I practice on at home and was told I was too loud . Gigs like that are absolutely no fun.

Live music in Melbourne is very healthy. There's plenty of variety and lots of different venues.

Nice week Bassman.

[yowhatsshakin]

When you see a used G&L in a store or online, does a 3 bolt neck make the deal or kill the deal in your opinion.

Deal maker. Definitely, because 3-bolt neck means Bi-Cut neck. Although the setup may be better out of the box with a PLEK'ed modern neck, any Bi-Cut neck can be dressed and setup to something that is indistinguishable from one that is PLEK'ed. And no shimming needed. Beyond that, Bi-Cut necks are rock-solid, stable necks more resistant to warping. In olden days, Bird's Eye maple necks had the same warranty as any other maple neck. I once asked Darth Invader about why the change was made to chnage the warranty period fro BEM but never got an answer. Look at how many of the (early) Limited Editions had BEM necks, as well as Tim Page's creations. Guess that won't be the case anymore. Not that there is anything wrong with quarter sawn necks ...

What if your favorite solid state amp to use with your G&L?

Don't know. Never played any of my G&L's with a solid state amp.

What is the air speed of a cliff swallow?

I would give the wrong answer and blow up ...

When a member of your band is too loud - How so you do go about telling them to turn down?

What do you mean: 'tell him'? He wouldn't hear me because he's too f***ing loud ....

Is live music doing well or poorly in your environs?

Live music is doing very well in Seattle. Town is large enough that big acts come thru (tomorrow I'll see U2 as Qwest Field), and lot of stages of all sorts of different sizes ranging from 50,000+ to ~100 for any band at any stage in their career. On top of that, there are 3 music festivals nearby: Chateu Ste. Michelle, Marymoor Park, and the Zoo. And one of the greatest outdoor venues anywhere, The Gorge Amphitheatre, is only a couple of hours away. I love this town ....

Thanks a lot Bill for this weeks LR's. Looking forward to the contributions of the other Bill.

- Jos

[Boogie Bill]

As for the serial numbering poll, as I said before, I'd like the have the neck and the body to have matching serial numbers; like the barrel and frame of a Glock pistol. That makes the most sense to me.

I like the three bolt, but if the the guitar as a whole is right, I'm not swayed either way. Some of the mid-90s Legacys have great necks--I really love them.

I'm a Mesa Tube guy, so .... But my old SUNN Solos II 212 combo does sound pretty good with single coils. Other than that, probably a Peavey Transtube Bandit or Special would be what I would look for; or perhaps a Fender SS amp, or one of the Fender Rock Pro 1000s--they were a Hybrid, though. Or a Marshall Mode Four. (Then I be the guy that needs to turn down!)

Are cliff swallows the ones that do 200 mph in their dives?

Really helps having someone in the audience, or a soundman to tell him. What always worked in the Seattle band, was the one guys wife would walk up to the bandstand and tell the other guitarist that he was too loud. The first time she was nice about it. If he did it again, she could be fearsome!

We could always get loud. The other guitarist had a huge ego and could play, but he was low on the "taste" department. I really had to get on him about walking all over my lead vocals sometimes. He was going through a bunch of amps over a very short period--half stacks like a couple of Marshalls, a Lee Jackson Ampeg, a couple of Peaveys and finally a 5150. (Funny, the best sounding amp was the amp he had when I first met him: a BF Fender Super Reverb, which could be deafening loud, it but just sounded awesome at high volume.)

When I bought my Mesa Coliseum 200 watt Half-stack, the whole dynamic changed, LOL! If he really wanted to get into a pissing match about volume, it was no longer a battle he could win. I was doing more leads, and people started coming up and giving me compliments about MY tone, and it really pissed him off. He sold his half-stacks and bought a really crappy Fender Super 60--and then spent his time telling me I should get rid of the Mark III and get a smaller amp. LOL! Don't think so!

Music does pretty well here in Portland--lots of bands, lots of venues.

Thanks for the honor, Bill. You are always a tough act to follow.

Bill

[sirmyghin]

With respect to necks, I love my four-bolt to death and would gladly get another. I've never played a 3-bolt with micro-tilt so I couldn't say, but I don't doubt that the quality is the same, and since I'm a set-it-and-forget-it kind of guy, I'm fine with any kind of instrument provided it can be adjusted by a qualified tech.

Out of curiousity what makes someone a 'qualified' guitar tech. This stuff is really simple overall, even stuff like a headstock repair could be done by any carpenter. What critereon do you use?

[klokker]

Ham sandwich for lunch today, with a Pepsi.......wierd because I rarely drink the stuff.

As a bass player I get walked on all the time by everyone, especially keyboard players. I just bitch about it in the bar band.....in the praise band we have a sound guy and a "producer" who have complete control, so I just play and keep my mouth shut.....the gods are in control.

Here in the smaller towns of Nebraska its amazing how many venues there are to play if you look a bit. They don't pay much and a lot of them are dives, but usually pretty enjoyable. There is always a street dance in some small town looking for something live.............and they are grateful for what you can do, even if its not the greatest.

I don't know anything about 3 bolt G&L's. Mine has six.

[Katefan]

Hey Bassman,

Been a while since I've participated but thought I'd chime in - another fine nice LR btw...
I moved to New Zealand bout 3 months back and I really favor things here. Much slower than in the states and for me that works.
I find I don't spend nearly as much time online(or on a cell phone) and when I do its mostly to stay in touch with friends & family.
We have a allotted amount of monthly internet usage here and things crawl to a near halt if exceeded so I really limit my time on this site now.

Hey - Sweet bass - looks Euro made to me... Very Cool.

Gear is much more expensive here but locating a local swap meet has come in handy... I've landed some pretty sweet deals so far
Still have my (slightly charred) '90 ASAT Sig and my refin late 80's SC-3 but the latter's on the chopping block so will be passing it on to its next owner quite soon...

Deal breaker for me is the 4-bolt. I'm definitely in the 3-bolt camp as I really dig the fit & the tilt adjust feature. I briefly owned an early 4 bolt Legacy and while the neck had a nice profile to it the fit was loose in the pocket. Really killed it for me. Overall the quality just wasnt there. Sounds like things have changed for the better since then but I'm fond of the old designs...

My only proper amp at the mo is an early 90's Samick SM-10 which I got free from a musician friend here last year.
it actually sounds good - very Champ-like to my ears - not the distortion but the 'clean' sound which isnt very clean...
My ASAT SIg sounds Fab through it and takes pedals well too.

Check it -
http://youtu.be/z_Pnu-7BNuY

Recently I found an old UK made (tube)reel to reel tape recorder so that may be turn into my practise/recording amp once I get new tubes for it. But the Samick have proven to be a good amp for jamming and pracitising.

Other answers -

What do you mean...Ha.

Hmmm, I just say 'Dude... & hope for the best.

Live Music seems pretty alive and well here... haven't been to any big shows but we get our fair share. I've seen a couple of bands play outside at local events and quite a few buskers 'round town. Our friend Georgia who gave me the Samick amp is a Fab singer so we see her perform quite often. Her newest gig is playing here -
http://www.ivorylounge.co.nz/

We saw her last Thurs and quite enjoyed her duo with the first musician listed on the venue's website.

Again, nice LR Bassman - take it easy.

Cheers,

Kf

[CGT]

With respect to necks, I love my four-bolt to death and would gladly get another. I've never played a 3-bolt with micro-tilt so I couldn't say, but I don't doubt that the quality is the same, and since I'm a set-it-and-forget-it kind of guy, I'm fine with any kind of instrument provided it can be adjusted by a qualified tech.

Out of curiousity what makes someone a 'qualified' guitar tech. This stuff is really simple overall, even stuff like a headstock repair could be done by any carpenter. What critereon do you use?

Criterion is very simple: somebody who will take the guitar off my hands, ask me how I want it to play, then make it so without blemishing or otherwise scratching the guitar, giving it a good polish, tweak and tune-up, cleaning the pots etc.. Such a process would take me a couple of hours and would require me to invest money in tools that I don't already have. A qualified tech charges 40 or 50 bucks to do this for me. Do I care that may take the tech 15-20 minutes to do this? Nope. But then again, he knows exactly what he's doing and how to do it and I don't.

That's pretty much it. I don't mind tinkering with my lesser/banged up guitars, but I will not attempt to do the same kind of stuff to my G&L because I'm liable to damage the guitar in the process.

[sirmyghin]

Criterion is very simple: somebody who will take the guitar off my hands, ask me how I want it to play, then make it so without blemishing or otherwise scratching the guitar, giving it a good polish, tweak and tune-up, cleaning the pots etc.. Such a process would take me a couple of hours and would require me to invest money in tools that I don't already have. A qualified tech charges 40 or 50 bucks to do this for me. Do I care that may take the tech 15-20 minutes to do this? Nope. But then again, he knows exactly what he's doing and how to do it and I don't.

That's pretty much it. I don't mind tinkering with my lesser/banged up guitars, but I will not attempt to do the same kind of stuff to my G&L because I'm liable to damage the guitar in the process.

Thanks for the reply. I suppose I did learn on 'poor' quality instruments, they were however all I owned so either way I would have been up the creek. A string change and tweaking probably takes in league of 20-30 minutes, but I usually multi-task it with other things. Takes a bit longer if I am giving the fretboard (RW or ebony) a drink. The G&L is sealed. I had to do the fret ends on my G&L this winter due to terrible sprout, that took a good deal of time as I had to do it twice.

[CGT]

Criterion is very simple: somebody who will take the guitar off my hands, ask me how I want it to play, then make it so without blemishing or otherwise scratching the guitar, giving it a good polish, tweak and tune-up, cleaning the pots etc.. Such a process would take me a couple of hours and would require me to invest money in tools that I don't already have. A qualified tech charges 40 or 50 bucks to do this for me. Do I care that may take the tech 15-20 minutes to do this? Nope. But then again, he knows exactly what he's doing and how to do it and I don't.

That's pretty much it. I don't mind tinkering with my lesser/banged up guitars, but I will not attempt to do the same kind of stuff to my G&L because I'm liable to damage the guitar in the process.

Thanks for the reply. I suppose I did learn on 'poor' quality instruments, they were however all I owned so either way I would have been up the creek. A string change and tweaking probably takes in league of 20-30 minutes, but I usually multi-task it with other things. Takes a bit longer if I am giving the fretboard (RW or ebony) a drink. The G&L is sealed. I had to do the fret ends on my G&L this winter due to terrible sprout, that took a good deal of time as I had to do it twice.

Until I got the G&L in December, I'd never owned a top quality instrument, I'd had a few beaters, none of which had cost me more than a $100.

The action on my Norman acoustic went south this winter with the temperature change and as it got worse, I discovered a fracture on the top where the soundboard meets the neck. I loosened the strings, adjusted the truss rod and got it back into playable shape. I also took apart my Gibson Sonex to do repairs on the pickup switch and the wiring, so I'm not a slouch, it's just that I'm better at taking things apart than putting them back together.

However, as one friend pointed out, and rightly so, I was spending a lot of time reading up about and acquiring low-end guitars, adjusting them and obsessing over their tonal possibilities. He cautioned me to focus on getting ONE GOOD guitar and to practice more, and that's how the G&L came into my life. Surprisingly, the $50 Squier gets almost as much time as the G&L because it has that Tex Mex SRV thing happening. I want to take that puppy apart and see what's in there (I'm dying to know) and eventually I'm going to upgrade the pups/electronics and hardware because it's such a fun guitar to play. Because it's already beat up, I'm going to do all that work myself and learn a lot in the process, but I wouldn't do the same on the G&L because I'd be heartbroken if I somehow messed it up.

[sirmyghin]

I agree with your buddy whole heartedly, I own a carvin and a G&L for guitars and the G&L wins. I own a carvin bass that stopped my bass gas for the last 3+ years (and I am a bassist!). I don't buy cheaper gear typically, but I am on the market for the ultimate beater guitar. I need it to practice/learn fretwork, and I figure it would need it, so that when my frets end up becoming worn to the point playing is effected on my G&L (which doesn't have SS frets like my bass, carvin, and incoming 7 string) I will be able to do the job. Once those frets are worn out it will be getting the SS treatment however. The principles are simple, but practice not on the G&L would be nice.

Fortunately I just changed the G&Ls strings (been a little overdue) and the frets still don't show any wear, after about 7-8 months. I am pretty light on frets, my old carvin (sold) was played for about 3 years and didn't have any wear worth talking about on the frets.

[CGT]

I am on the market for the ultimate beater guitar. I need it to practice/learn fretwork, and I figure it would need it, so that when my frets end up becoming worn to the point playing is effected on my G&L (which doesn't have SS frets like my bass, carvin, and incoming 7 string) I will be able to do the job. Once those frets are worn out it will be getting the SS treatment however. The principles are simple, but practice not on the G&L would be nice.

I would recommend a Yamaha Pacifica 112 as the ultimate beater guitar, especially if you can get an older Taiwanese one from the 1990s. Generally, they are on par in quality with Mexican strats, but can be had for a whole lot less. (I got one that was pretty banged up but played well for $ 65). They are great platforms for mods, repairs and learning. And since you're a DIY kind of guy, you'll probably enjoy cutting a custom pickguard if you were to change the pickup configuration as you can't get anything but HSS pickguards from Yamaha. They're also handy to have around for trying out various pickups.