SantaFe Midwest Style Lunch Report

[JagInTheBag]

Lunch was restaurant Santa Fe wrap with a side of sweet potato fries and a coffee.

G&L topic: Many other makers have innovated the contour where the neck meets the body (neck heel) for better reach of the end of the fingerboard. G&L has stayed with the original Fender style squared off design. Is it an important factor when deciding an instrument purchase? Would you like to see a G&L with a contoured neck heel?

Non G&L topic: My first car was a '79 Mercury Capri (think fox body mustang) and my dream car as has always been a '67 Mercury Cougar XR-7 428 with a 4speed manual transmission. What was your first car? Your dream car?

[kakerlak]

Man, I ain't been 'round here in a while...

Re neck heels, I kinda like the square corners. No good reason, just looks right. I thought G&L put a shaved heel on one of their Superstrats at some point, though...

Re cars, my first was a '94 Dodge Dakota, V8, 4X4. It was a good truck at the time, sold it to a buddy shortly after highschool.

The list of "someday cars" could probably be an endless one, really. I will say I always thought the '56-7 Continental Mk II was a neat car.

[astutzmann]

lunch was another boring salad...........

Contour body at the neck sounds like a great idea. In my mind, I wonder how the screws will fit it, if the body isn't flat. I'm sure the smart folks at Fender have figured that one out (countersink?)

My first car that I learned to drive on was a 1971 VW Beetle, my mom's car. First car I bought was a 1969 VW type 3 notch back It was basically a beetle with a more squared body, in the same vain as the hatchback and station wagon and karman ghia back then.

Since then I have always been a fan of the pedals on the floor, rear engine, rear drive cars. My first porsche was a 1988 911 and it was the beetle all over again, on steroids. So, my dream car is the porsche carrera GT which came out as a limited edition a few years ago, over 600 hp and rear engine, with the pedals coming up from the floor!

Instead, I drive a nissan JUKE!

[repoman]

G&L - contoured neck heel? Never really bothered me the way it is. But then I'm not up very high all that often.

Cars - My first car was a Volvo station wagon. Bought the body for cheap and got a used Volvo engine from a wreck and had that dropped in the body.

Dream car has always been the old Mustangs, '65 - `68 vintage.

Jeff

[sickbutnottired]

Jag, I missed a fun day yesterday. Twice I started to play along and got interrupted...

Contour body - Not for me, and the older I get, the less i get above 17.

Cars - I love cars
First car - '72 Ford LTD Police Special.

Second car - '85 Lincoln Towncar - I could get 6 buddies in it to drive to track practice!

Dream car -changes monthly. I think a '64 1/2 Ford Galaxy 4 door hard top. But with the later model Shelby designed side-oiler instead of the stock 351 or 390 (there may have been a really big block option as well)--in case i need to drive fast around some corners, or course!

Real car - sunday, monday, Hyundai baby! '99 (Yep I have a couple guitars worth more than my car.)

[darwinohm]

Jag, I didn't have leftover chicken today. I lived it up a bit and had a sandwich.

I like the contoured heel but like the contour of the body and the heel of my Suhr. It is easy to reach but like others i am not up there much. I would like to see a more rounded heel and the Fender American Deluxe does a nice job and it requires only moving one screw.

Cars? My first was a 1954 Plymouth left to me in 1960 when an uncle died. I was a senior in high school and it was a nice ride! My dream car then was a 59 Plymouth Fury and I later had one. I put a different rear differential in it and the speedometer read way fast. A kid in my home town rode with me and I could bury the needle in no time and he spread the word about how fast it was. No one would race me. Boy was I lucky.
Dream car? None. Now a dream guitar would be a valid question.

Drive? An Olds 98 Regency with 107000 miles and probably that many more to go and the more obvious question would be, who is going to give up first? Me or the Olds? I have said that to Ginny and she teared up. I guess she would miss the Olds. Any one of my guitars is worth way more than my car. Darwin

Edit, added pictures of the Surh Contour neck and body.

[louis cyfer]

tom anderson re-engineered the neck joint. i would for g&l to follow suit. just 2 screws and the neck can not possibly move. the way suhr did the upper fret access is also really good.

i drive a junker. i don't care. i'd rather buy guitars. my first car was an 80 honda civic. all beat up. i now drive a 92 corolla. dents everywhere, barely any paint left. never have to worry about getting it stolen. insurance is 100 bucks for 6 months.

[JagInTheBag]

tom anderson re-engineered the neck joint. i would for g&l to follow suit. just 2 screws and the neck can not possibly move. the way suhr did the upper fret access is also really good.

THAT is elegant!

[JagInTheBag]

A couple Shur neck contours:

Classic



This looks similar to a Warmoth heel contour

Modern



I've seen this on a number of other makes, ESP makes a pretty sweet looking through neck heel contour.

I wonder is Invader players pass on G&L because it doesn't have a contoured neck heel...any Invader players or other shredders care to weigh in?

[Ches]

I haven't participated in a Lunch Report in quite a while. I like the topic, so I'm glad I stopped by!

G&L topic: Many other makers have innovated the contour where the neck meets the body (neck heel) for better reach of the end of the fingerboard. G&L has stayed with the original Fender style squared off design. Is it an important factor when deciding an instrument purchase? Would you like to see a G&L with a contoured neck heel?

As a general rule, it doesn't bother me much, but there have definitely been some improvements on neck heel design. Some have been mentioned here already, but one that hasn't is Thornton. Chuck insets his neck into the body. He makes adjustments by changing the neck angle and body contours. It's very comfortable to play. Here's a link to his "innovations" page.
http://www.cpthorntonguitars.com/solidb ... novations/

Non G&L topic: My first car was a '79 Mercury Capri (think fox body mustang) and my dream car as has always been a '67 Mercury Cougar XR-7 428 with a 4speed manual transmission. What was your first car? Your dream car?

My first car was a beat to hell Jeep from the early 60's. No radio, cloth doors and top, a heater that kind of worked, sometimes, and no way to lock it up. My Dad bought a plow blade and winch, and the guy threw in the Jeep for free. It wasn't as cool as most of the cars in the high school parking lot, but I really liked it. We fixed it up and it looked pretty good.

Speaking of Cougars, when I was in college, I had a '71 XR7 with a 351 4-bbl, 4-speed Hurst that would lay rubber from Detroit to Cleveland. Sweet car. My dream car? I don't really have one, but I kind of wanted a ragtop Olds 442 or Chevelle SS.

Nice LR topics.
Ches

[JagInTheBag]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the out of the box thinking on that Thornton. But alas, if you are a not a Gibson player, is it going to feel weird in your hands?

[zapcosongs]

Hey kakerlak, great to see you back in the neighborhood. Missed you, buddy!

Louis, TA's A-wedgie (or whatever it's called) neck joint really is beyond compare. I had a Hollow Atom with that feature, and it really is a revolutionary thing. (btw, I am a HUGE fan of the H3 humbucker!!!)

As to the original question, it really doesn't matter that much to me from a feel perspective. I'm such a novice player that anything above the 15th fret for me is pretty much virgin territory. I'm an amateur songwriter, not an accomplished guitar player, so the geography of the neck joint is not a major (or minor diminished, ha!) point for me in choosing an instrument.

Car Question: My first car was a 1970 Plymouth Valiant. I still think that the 225 slant six engine in that thing was one of the most durable and reliable engines of all time. As to my dream car, I really don't care that much. I drive a nicely equipped new-ish Corolla, with the "Sport" trim. It suits me fine. I spend most of my money on the kids these days. I used to lust for my buddy's Shelby Cobra. I can see myself in an Audi A4 with a smile on my face someday though.... - ed

[Boogie Bill]

The neck joint as is doesn't bother me; perhaps if I played some of the high tech ones I'd be more impressed. There's a luthier in Seattle that designed the Stephens neck joint, but I can't remember his name.



The first car I owned was a red 1965 Corvair Corsa, 140 HP, 4-speed, buckets. Very quick and really great
handling. This followed by a 65 Ford Country Sedan wagon, a 71 Torino wagon, a 78 Chevy Impala wagon, a 94 Plymouth Voyager, and now the 2010 T & C van. So you can see my car choices have been dictated by my music gear and career.

Dream car? BMW 610, 710, or 810.

And then there's the Porsche Panamera. Not much room for a guitar, though.

Bill

[louis cyfer]

Hey kakerlak, great to see you back in the neighborhood. Missed you, buddy!

Louis, TA's A-wedgie (or whatever it's called) neck joint really is beyond compare. I had a Hollow Atom with that feature, and it really is a revolutionary thing. (btw, I am a HUGE fan of the H3 humbucker!!!)

As to the original question, it really doesn't matter that much to me from a feel perspective. I'm such a novice player that anything above the 15th fret for me is pretty much virgin territory. I'm an amateur songwriter, not an accomplished guitar player, so the geography of the neck joint is not a major (or minor diminished, ha!) point for me in choosing an instrument.

Car Question: My first car was a 1970 Plymouth Valiant. I still think that the 225 slant six engine in that thing was one of the most durable and reliable engines of all time. As to my dream car, I really don't care that much. I drive a nicely equipped new-ish Corolla, with the "Sport" trim. It suits me fine. I spend most of my money on the kids these days. I used to lust for my buddy's Shelby Cobra. I can see myself in an Audi A4 with a smile on my face someday though.... - ed

i don't think people quite appreciate the genius of the tom anderson design just by looking at the pic of the guitar. need to look at the inside. also i have a guitar with anderson pups, including the h3. very nice indeed.

[JagInTheBag]

i don't think people quite appreciate the genius of the tom anderson design just by looking at the pic of the guitar. need to look at the inside. also i have a guitar with anderson pups, including the h3. very nice indeed.

What is with the double strap buttons on the bottom ?

[astutzmann]

What is with the double strap buttons on the bottom ?

Tom Anderson decided that if he put 2 stap buttons on the bottom (properly distributed), then you could stand the guitar up without fear of it falling over, like mine always do when I stand them up against a desk or wall.

[kakerlak]

That CP Thorton heel kinda reminds me of the old S.D. Curlee guitars in a way... Neat, though!

[Muleya]

I've never tried a guitar with a contoured neck joint, but I'd like to sometime...seems like a cool idea. Though at this point, I don't know what I'm missing!!

My first car was a hand-me-down 1970 Chevy Chevelle Malibu...all beat to heck by my step uncle. My aunt had bought it new back in the day, long before she met that loser, who she later divorced. But the 350 still roared, so I had a lot of fun in that car, even if it did look like a turd!!

Today I don't think much about cars...need something that's comfortable, reliable and relatively economical for the 2000 mile round trips we make annually to visit parents, but beyond that, I don't care too much.

[sirmyghin]

What is with the double strap buttons on the bottom ?

Tom Anderson decided that if he put 2 stap buttons on the bottom (properly distributed), then you could stand the guitar up without fear of it falling over, like mine always do when I stand them up against a desk or wall.

Not to mention stringing up froma button that far to the bass gives you a nice steep neck angle, unlike the flat hanging nature of my ASAT. My only beef with the guitar (it hangs far too flat)

[zapcosongs]

I agree with sirmy. I think the main reason for two strap buttons is to give the player a choice how to sling it. The fact that this arrangement helps the guitar stay upright is probably incidental. I'd use a stand either way... - ed