Lunch Report - Wednesday 14th september -

[supereiv]

Hi, LR day three...

lunch was a smoked-ham sandwich with lettuce and a can of orange juice. I'm sick today, I've a hacking cough and the syrup I took makes me want to sleep

As a demand from Aussie in yesterday LR, I will talk about another hobby I have : photography.
I bought my first camera back in 2003, a Nikon, when travelling in Argentina. I liked that so much that soon I chased and bought online some top notch argentic stuff, the prices were going really low at the time, because every single photographer was switching to digital. I could afford an Olympus OM4 that was back in the 80's the top of the argentic manual focus line and 3 lenses for 300$ only ! I learned to process my films (only B&W) and scan my negs et voilà !

I love B&W photography and I feel way better with my old camera than with my digital SLR I bought when my daughter arrived, I don't know exactly why, but I cannot seem to get used to and feel comfortable with digital. I agree it's really fast, accurate and practical, but I just take better pictures with my film cameras. It feels just good to play with such a sturdy and nice mechanical stuff, it's like a good kind of watch, it just feels good . Actually, I love so much mechanical cameras and B&W that I bought me a Pentax 645 which is a medium format camera, the negs is 6x4.5 cm ! There's a lot of details registered in such a big neg !

enough talking check this out if you want :
first one is with the medium format
https://picasaweb.google.com/guyot.xavi ... directlink
second with the OM4/24x36mm
https://picasaweb.google.com/guyot.xavi ... directlink
medium format again
https://picasaweb.google.com/guyot.xavi ... directlink

questions :

G&L question :
Which rarebird/custom G&L would you like to own :
I'd say the 25th anniversary and the super !!!


NON-G&L question :
Are you only listening to guitar-oriented music ?

I listened to jazz a lot this past decade and a half, and there's a lot of jazz where there's no guitar at all, but that doesn't bother me, I love trumpet, double-bass, trombone..etc

[Aussie]

As a demand from Aussie in yesterday LR Wow ... if only my staff responded so quickly with what I ask for LOL.

Photography Nice photos and you have a good eye - the ability to find the unusual amongst the usual - the extaordinary amongst the ordinary - is what makes the differenace between happy snaps and an impressive image. Photography was a big hobby of mine in the '70's and '80's until I moved on to working with video. As I mentioned in that other thread, I had a Mamiya Medium Format camera back in the 70s that my father bought cheap from a photographer friend. I had a lot of fun with it but never did my own developing. I agree with you on digital. I have a couple of digitals for "convenience" photography but still revert back to film for "creative" photography.

Which rarebird/custom G&L would you like to own On the list to try would be the Custom Creations ASAT Super, the Tim Page designed Trinity and the G200.

Are you only listening to guitar-oriented music ? Nope. In the '70's I was a big fan of the keyboard oriented Emerson Lake and Palmer, Tangerene Dream and Kraftwerk. These days I enjoy music such as that produced by Gotye who Philby mentioned the other day. Also as a bit of a hack keyboard player I've always loved the beauty of a well played (real) piano. Oh and courtesy of an old friend and former band mate of mine who was an excellent classical pianist I'm not ashamed to admit that I've even rediscovered how expressive the accordian can be in the right hands. Here's Cathie playing with the Juniper Chamber Orchestra

[youtube]1R1or3oE9nk[/youtube]

cheers, Robbie

[Dave_P]

Photography: Great pictures Xavier! I worked as a wedding photographer for a few years, also did high school sports and those yearbook pictures we all love so much
Haven't developed my own film in about 11 years now, I did really enjoy it though. Still have a film SLR (Nikon) but, sadly, it hasn't seen any use in a few years.

Which Rarebird?: I'd love to own an ASAT '50 and a Broadcaster

guitar oriented music?: Hmmm... now that I think about it, yes I mostly listen to guitar oriented music. A variety of genre's but still mostly guitar based. I do like non-guitar oriented music, just don't really listen to it on a daily basis.

-Dave

[Kit]

The first camera I bought for myself was an Olympus OM1 back around 1980. I bought a couple of lenses for it and had a lot of fun taking pictures with it. I also used to go to a store where I rent a dark room and equipment and make my own prints. I have made a number of 24x14 and 8x10 prints that way. It was not inexpensive, but a lot of fun to do. I sold off the OM1 several years ago and now I just have a point and shoot digital camera that I bought about 5 years ago. I am reading up on a recently-released digital super zoom since I'm thinking about replacing my current digital camera.

You take very good pictures. To me black and white photography relies on light and texture, and you have a very good eye for that.

I would love to get to play a Trinity to see how it sounds. I can't decide if I want it until I get to feel and hear it.

Most of the music I listen to do not feature guitar as the main instrument. My favorite type of music to have in the background (for like I'm working) is downtempo music, which doesn't really feature any particular instrument generally. For example, I like listening to Thievery Corporation.

Kit

[glvourot]

Fine pictures Xavier ! The Paris shots make me want to go back again, there is nothing else quite like sitting outside at a cafe watching the world go by. I use a Canon XSI right now and I really like it. I also still have a Canon Elan7 that I haven't used for a few years, perhaps its time to bring it out of mothballs...

Rarebird G&L of choice would have to be the Broadcaster , it would be pretty awesome to have a guitar with Leo's signature on it.

As far as music , besides guitar stuff I like Classical music, and a friend of mine bought me "Love Supreme" and it made me an instant John Coltrane fan. I have always appreciated jazz, but I have not explored it too deeply.

[jwebsmall]

I had a cucumber with vinegar for lunch and I have some wild rice
cooking on the stove now. My guitar playing isn't all that
conventional either - that is it ain't that good.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a tribute ASAT classic
and converting it to a one pickup esquire with the esquire
tone wiring and seeing how that works out before taking the
knife to a perfectly good USA ASAT.

I wish I knew more about photography.

I'm actually a lot better piano player than guitar player. I like
Beethoven sonatas the best. I love to listen to synth music. My
favorite current artist is Robyn (from Sweden) who fronts (vocals)
for a band with 2 drummers and 2 keyboard players - no guitars. But
I also like Santana and Satriani on guitars.

I've never been interested in jazz because 1) I couldn't play jazz piano and
2) I never understood it. But I saw a video lesson on Jazz at Groove3

http://www.groove3.com/str/jazz-theory-explained.html

that caught my attention last week. I'm going to order it and learn to
play jazz. Somehow the trailer connected this time with all kinds of possiblities
that I didn't associate with contemporary jazz. So that is definitely on my
list of things to learn now after all these years. I kind of like Zook music
which is an innovation rooted in reggae which I don't much care for.

I recently heard some Japanese Rock/Pop that was really cool. Typical
2 guitars, bass and drums but with Asian sounds and strange tunings.
It was definitely different and new to my ears. I think it has potential.

[darwinohm]

Great pics today. My buddy from HS was a photographer and has his own publishing company today. He also preferred doing work in B&W.

G&L Rarebirds. I have a F-100 Return and a 30Th Aniv Asat Classic. I would have preferred to get a 30Th S-500 but the Asat is sweet. They are all nice and I am not sure which others I would like.

I am not into guitar music only. I like many kinds of music but did drop out of the music scene in the 70's and 80's. 70's rock and Disco drove me to talk radio. I was an early country fan, but not much in new country that I care for. They all sound the same to me. I am still in a rut with 60's Rock & Roll, What could beat Elvis, Rick Nelson, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Credence, and then there was Chet, Jerry Reed, Mark Knopfler and Paul Yandel, and actually many others.-- Darwin

[Philby]

Hi Xavier,

I hope you're feeling better. I've never had a medium or large format camera, but I've still got a couple of old manual focus Pentax cameras with 50mm lenses that have B&W film loaded in them. Alas, now I've got kids the point and shoot digital camera gets far more use. Your photos make me want to pull the old Pentax cameras back out again. Photography on B&W film is like listening to music recorded to tape. There's something warm and luxurious about it.

G&L Rarebirds - I would like to have a Broadcaster with Leo's signature in the neck pocket.

I definitely don't listen exclusively to guitar music. I'm interested in sounds in general, and the latest progress in sampling technology make it possible to hear many unique combinations of sounds and genres. Just about any instrument can have a profound impact in the right hands IMHO.

[KenC]

Rarebirds: My dream guitar for the past dozen years has been an original SC-2. I know they're not really rarebirds, but I've never actually seen one in person or been positioned to buy when they've hit the G&L Marketplace. One just showed up at my local shop, and I'll be able pick it up this weekend. I haven't seen it in person yet, but it was described by somebody I trust as being in mint condition. If that's true I will be too afraid of dinging it to really relax and play, so my new dream guitar will have to be a beat up SC-2 that I can play without anxiety. Aside from the SC-2, the rarebirds on my standing wish list are an SC-1 or a G-200.

I've actually stumbled across several rarebird (or at least uncommon) G&Ls lately at Guitar Center. I picked up a John Jorgenson Signature last month, and have lusted over an ASAT Classic S (2007 version), an ASAT S-3, and a 25th Anniversary that showed up on their website in the past two weeks. The 25th Anniversary sold within one day, but the others are still there tempting me...

Music: I've been listening to a lot of guitar music over the last month or two, but over the long term I spend as much time listening to jazz as anything else. I tend to stick with recordings from the 50s and 60s, and focus pretty heavily on the double bass players rather than the horns. As far as the "leaders" go, I'm a huge fan of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy on horns, Charles Mingus on bass and Grant Green on guitar. It's a good walking bass line under the solos that makes an album for me, though. I also get into good ambient music (which seems pretty rare), with multi-layer oscillator drones.

Ironically, I haven't played in a band context with a guitarist in over ten years, aside from a couple of basement jam sessions back around 2003. The lineups have either been a stage band with brass and woodwinds, or small combos with percussion and woodwinds. I love everything about electric guitars and have been told by several friends that I should identify myself as a rhythm guitarist, but all of my playing with others in the past six years has been on the double bass (with a few attempts at the oud thrown in). I'm not sure whether to take that as an endorsement of my guitar playing, or a subtle hint about my double bass playing.

Ken C

[darwinohm]

Ken, I would love to have a JJ signature. If l could find a pristine one I would be right on my knees before Ginny, begging. Boy, are you lucky!-- Darwin

[sam]

Great black and whites! Those always bring out intricate personality of pics. First camera was an old Brownie from my dad. Learned how to take pictures and know I'm shooting on a digital camera or crackberry, what happened to the art of photography!?!

G&L rarebird's for me are an ASAT Super or ASAT Z2. (Broadcaster is an automatic )

Guitar stuff most of the time. Some piano since my kids play and working on new fall production.

[blargfromouterspace]

[youtube]1R1or3oE9nk[/youtube]

cheers, Robbie

Hey Robbie - I remember seeing this chick playing at the Hyde Park hotel on their Monday night jazz evenings. I'd smoked couple of 'jazz cigarettes' that evening but still remember her clearly. She played a whole bunch of Piazzola with the quartet, and ever since then I have been in love with ol' Astor's music. This clip you posted is particularly tasty. One of her concerts is on the menu for my next visit to W.A.


I too would like to own the JJ sig. I reckon it's one of the most 'G&L-y' guitars out there - it looks so bold. I'd settle for a Broadcaster though, if forced

[yowhatsshakin]

It has been said before but I'll say it again: these are some great pics Xavier. Spent quite some time with them and brings back some memories of skateboarders at the Trocadero and the many wonderful terraces in Paris. That particular aspect is so different here in the US with their laws on consumption of alcoholic beverages in public. Oh well ...

Rarebirds: I'm still lusting for the GbL Limited Edition and a G-200 preferably in a state a JayStrings found not too long ago

Is bluegrass guitar oriented? And how about alternative country or roots music (think Wilco, the Band, etc.)? Because if it is, then yeah, I am predominantly listening to guitar oriented music. The last couple of years I have been either listening to great jazz guitar players, or to bands in which the guitar plays some dominant role. But no Satriani or Vai and the like. Well, some Andy Timmons, ... so maybe I did

- Jos