Early Monday Report 03/12/12

[RampageFan]

Hello everyone, I would like to thank Elwood for nominating me to do this week’s lunch report duties. I really enjoyed his reports last week. I work midnights, so the reports will be posted early, usually from my 4am lunch breaks.

Lunch: I am currently dieting, so my lunches are pretty bland. I have lost 17 lbs. since January 1st. And I still have a ways to go to get where I want to be. My lunch today is fat free bologna, with fat free cheese and light bread, a few pretzels and an orange. Boring I know!

Non G&L: A little about me. I found this website a couple of years ago, and I read it every day. I am pretty much a lurker. My G&L knowledge so far is pretty much limited to Rampages and Invaders. So I don’t have a whole lot to add to a lot of topics. I am 43 years old, and I’m a police officer in Ohio. I’ve been a police officer since 1994, and I really love my job. I appreciate being in a position to help others. I love the city I work and live in, and I care about the people who live here. I know it’s not a popular job with a lot of people, but if you treat people with respect, they respond to you in the same way. I admit though, there’s nothing worse than an arrogant police officer who thinks he’s above others. Now enough of that!

G&L topic of the Day: I discovered G&L by accident. In 1986 a salesman insisted I try the pink Rampage he was playing when I walked in. He told me it was the best guitar he had in the store. I played it and I was hooked immediately. I walked out with that guitar. One of the dumbest things I’ve done was trade it in 1992 for a 1977 Les Paul Standard. My wife tried to talk me out of it! I still keep my eyes open for that guitar. If it hasn’t been refinished I will know it when I see it. It had a dark streak in the finish on the side near the output jack. So if anyone out there has a hot pink Rampage with a dark stripe in the finish, by all means, CONTACT ME! I rediscovered G&L in 2010 when they made the Rampage available again. I’ve since bought a Tribute Rampage, and two ’86 Rampages. I also restored a 1985 Invader. I am now hooked on all things G&L.

In the 80’s when I was in my teens, I was not a fan of G&L at all. When I saw the ads, they weren’t flashy enough for me. I thought they looked old and boring compared to all the flashy Charvels, Jacksons, and Kramer guitars of the day. I never would have given them a chance if the salesman didn’t insist I try it. I now think they are a work of art. I love looking at G&L porn old and new. I finally appreciate the great workmanship and the sounds these great guitars produce! Which finally leads to my question of the day: What was your first impression of G&L? Were you a snob like me? Or were you gassing for one the first time you saw one? Were you a convert in the Leo era, or did you discover G&L in the BBE era? What was the first model you bought or tried? And were you smarter than me, and kept it?

Sorry for rambling, I hope this topic hasn’t been beaten to death. I will try to make it an interesting week!

Dave

[louis cyfer]

i understand about the dieting. i started just shortly before i did the LR in november. i am at 265 now, and had to work really hard to slow the weightloss, it was happening too fast. i have successfully stabilized my body weight the past 3 weeks, but my skinfolds continue to drop. i am starting to get closer to where i want to be, have my 6 pack back, arm and leg definition, the rest from here is a slow process as i only have another 6% or so bodyfat to lose. and to gain some of the muscle back that is inevitable lost when dropping this amount of fat.
please make sure you focus on losing fat, not weight, although form your diet it seems your fat is too low, making sure you have enough good quality fats actually accelerate fat loss, as the body doesn't have to hold onto the fat-stores because of the perceived shortage. i know it seems counter intuitive, but it's kind of like with water, not drinking enough causes water retention, while drinking a lot (water) actually decreases water retention. i do applaud you on staying with it, and wish you continued success, if i can be of any help pm me, this is what i do for a living, assist people with body re-composition. that is to lose body fat and maintain/gain muscle vs. just losing weight, a lot of which ends up being muscle resulting in considerably lowered metabolism, and almost inevitably regaining the weight lost.

my g&l experience mirrors yours. i thought they were ugly and the headstock looked silly. while frequenting the local g&l dealer, i never even picked one up. only last year did i realize how good they actually are. of course there are no local dealers anymore, i have to go farther away, or try guitars that are on craigslist to play g&l's. back in the late 80's i would have actually liked the rampage or invaders, but in eastern europe i had never even heard of one. i did love those kahlers, and i modded my strat to be a one humbucker guitar (put the kahler on there as well).
the kahler is gone now, but i still think they are great, it has a wilkinson on there now, and back to the original configuration but with a reverse angled bridge pup.

the first models i tried were asats when i was looking for a tele, and i was blown away. i do like both the asats and the legacy/s500/comanche line as well. i don't care for the sc body, and i would not prefer a rampage today, i like the other pups. my bluesboy is my first one and i am planning on keeping it. i would love a trinity, and gonna get a comanche or an s500 deluxe as well. an asat special deluxe with a trem would also float my boat. because of the incredible woods used by g&l, i am really interested in the no pickguard look, i think my bluesboy may be the only such one actually, at least in a natural finish.

[sscandyman]

My lunch today will be whatever horrible for you junk i grab from a drive through, as usual. when im working (14 hour days,two weeks at a time) this is pretty much my only option as i have no time and im living in a van and hotel rooms. any tips on fast food eating with less death would be great!

My obsession with G&L started in 97 when a friend of mine got me into guitar. he had a first gen S-500 neck on a a later legacy/S-500 body with evans pickups. this prompted me to build my own F-100 neck on an early mahogany S-500 body. sadly being young and stupid i routed that gem of a body to fit standard strat pickups and drilled for my own custom pickguard.

ive been gathering the parts to take it to an original S-500 for awhile now and will be filling and refinishing the body once i acquire a neck expect a project thread

my love for the G&L superstrats started when my brother sold me his old rampage about 7 years ago ($150) this thing looked like it had caught fire and been put out with an ice pick ! its restoration has been ongoing for about 5 years and i kick myself at all times for not snapping a "before" picture

i tend to gravitate to superhawks again project thread coming soon .sorry for the long winded response but rampagefan excited me with this topic

[Aussie]

Hey, Dave, good to see someone from the rockier end of the G&L spectrum up for the LR's.

Haven't had much time for the Forums of late but with your early post and a quiet "home alone" evening I've got a bit more time than usual.

As a follower of Mr Fender through his Fender and Music Man days, I was aware of and interested in G&L from its inception. Unfortunately G&L's are as rare as here in Western Australia. The first one I got my hands on belonged to a police officer .... Karl O'Callahan, the Western Australian Police Commissioner! About five or six years ago we shared the Bill (pun intended) with his band "the Filth" (UK slang for Police) that he plays in with a number of senior officer from the WA Police Force. He was playing a Legacy which I got to try out later in the evening. it was everything I had hoped and the following day I did what I have not done before or since .... bought one online sight unseen.

cheers, Robbie

[yowsa52]

My first G&L was in the 80's a used Skyhawk. I sold it to one of my oldest son's friends. I liked the guitar, felt like it was a bit busy and seemed a bit heavy for a strat style guitar. I heard it being played at a gig and thought to myself that it was the nicest sounding strat guitar I had ever heard, so I jumped back in. SB-1 bass, sold to another friend in need. ASAT guitar, it was OK but I let it go. Bluesboy? let it go, Currently have 80's SB-2 with a broken truss, '05 Ash Legacy and '09 SC-2. The nice thing about G&L is, seemingly, the quality control is so good that you can buy them sight unseen and the guitar model will be as good as any other guitar of that model, that is my experience.

Most on this forum would say G&L has a leg up on Fender. Here is one experience. Comparing the G&L Bluesboy with the Fender tele with the humbucker in the neck (can't remember the name). The Bluesboy pickups are balanced where as the Fender pickups are unuseable switching front to back. The neck pickup on the Fender is so much hotter. I would imagine to get a comparable Fender to the G&L line you have to venture into the custom shop. I say why bother. Just get a G&L.

[darwinohm]

Dave, looking forward to the LR's this week. I really like the early ones.

My daughter is in Law Enforcement and I like your attitude. It would be easy to develop a different attitude when looking at some of the things that you folks deal with.

Like several of the previous posters, my exposure to G&L is relativity recent. I had never seen an ad for G&L. The first time I remember seeing one is when I decided to trade a Tele for a Legacy Hss. The headstock was a bit to get used to but it grows on a person. I was blown away by this Legacy as I never tried it until it was home. I have since owned more than 20 G&L's.

Several of you have talked about your project guitars. I do not have any G&L project guitars bur did but a Legacy a couple of years ago for a refinish project. It was Black (not one of my faves) and had a couple of little nicks. It had a high fret which had loosened up and I reset it. It had an Ebony fretboard. I found an L2000 bass that I really liked and took two G&Ls in to trade only one. The one was pristine and the place gave me the same amount for either. I traded the project guitar and doubled my money even considering the market value of the L2000. The store advertised this project guitar that I traded in as excellent condition and it sold in less than a month. I still have three project guitars that meed to be done.

I have never had to diet but probably should loose some weight. I will now start walking a lot as the weather gets better in Minnesota. We hole up in the winter and spring is time to rejuvenate the old body. We are having a streak of weather in the mid 60's to 70's. Can you believe that many Minnesotans are in Florida when we are experiencing this? -- Darwin

[meowmix]

Hey Dave,
Glad to see you on board. Getting used to the late shift must have messed up with your schedule

Lunch: I am currently dieting, so my lunches are pretty bland. I have lost 17 lbs. since January 1st. And I still have a ways to go to get where I want to be. My lunch today is fat free bologna, with fat free cheese and light bread, a few pretzels and an orange. Boring I know!

I don't understand this. Why not just change your eating habits permanently? Fat free cheese is Spackle. Is it not?
Diets don't work, well they do get you to lose the weight, but do nothing to keep it off. IF you change your habits, you will never have to worry about keeping it off.

Non G&L: My G&L knowledge so far is pretty much limited to Rampages and Invaders.

Now that is cool. I love to hear your take on these models instead of the old boring ASAT.

I kept all of my G&L's and no plans of selling them.

Peter

[JagInTheBag]

Lunch today was pan fried Sole with a quick egg wash and breading, cooked in hot olive oil. All this talk of dieting inspired me I guess.

G&L Topic: My first G&L was a WR Z-3, I wasn't looking for an ASAT, nor did I see a tele body either. I was aware of G&L for maybe 10-12 years before buying one. My first impression was that they seemed of good quality, but just another brand trying to ride the Fender brand. I grew up near a vintage Fender shop where they has Fender XII's you could pickup and play, that is what first gave me the fever for "Z" coils. That is why I purchased the Will Ray Signature.

I do have one "Rampage body", the '87 Skyhawk, which I bought mostly for the Fine Tuner bridge. The wieght and balance are fine and this thing has a kick butt tone, I like it better than the '95 S-500.

Non G&L Topic: " I admit though, there’s nothing worse than an arrogant police officer who thinks he’s above others. Now enough of that!" I had one of those the other night, who stopped me for speeding after following me through a left turn for more than a mile. He clocked me at 43 (a red Milan) as I was slowing into a left turn light at a signal and a red Fusion going 61mph, which passed infront of me and continued straight through the same light. The ticket says 45 at a 61, the actual limit was 40, it also says it was snowing- it was not. I will see him in court later this month...

I do get being a victim of preconceived notions, I own a company that brokers classic and collectibe muscle cars and my last name is Krook. You do the math, officer. ~JagInTheBag

[JagInTheBag]

[Duplicate post redacted]

[RampageFan]

Louis: Thanks for the tips. I will take you up on your offer via pm. I also didn't like the headstock, but it has grown on me and now I think it has a great classic look. I wouldn't change a thing. I know what you mean about the Rampage having just one pickup. But it's the thin, oiled neck and the 25" radius that makes it such a special guitar to me.

SScandyman: I share your appreciation of the G&L superstrats. They truly hit a homerun back in the day. Too bad they didn't catch on in the 80's. But they have been discovered by a lot of people in the last few years, and the people who have played them love them! And please, share pictures of the projects progress. I love those threads. Can't wait to see the Rampage and the Superhawk!

Aussie: Great story about your first G&L experience. Even though I live in the U.S. G&L is hard to find in the area I live in. When I bought my Tribute Rampage, I had to drive 3 hours just to try it before I bought it.

Yowsa52: Thanks for your response, I like your comparison of the Bluesboy vs. the Tele. I also agree that the price of G&L's make it a no brainer!

darwinohm: Thanks for the kind words. Just fyi, I always look forward to your posts on this board. I have learned a lot from you! Your collection is amazing and I enjoy the photo's you post. You are living the dream!

meowix: yes the late shift is a challenge at times. You are correct about the diet. I am actually changing my eating habits. Eating less portions and making better choices of the foods I eat. My body has adjusted and it's getting easier. And I can talk your ears off about the Rampage!

Jag: Glad you crossed over to G&L. There is currently a Skyhawk with a Kahler bridge on Ebay that I think looks very interesting. I would like to try one one day. Sorry about your experience. Unfortunately I see that too often with younger officers!

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Dave

[westsideduck]

My G&L Rockers

Smokin hot Skyhawk


Interceptor, Great guitar but I couldn't get used to the wide neck.


Old Invader with a great sounding Schaler

[louis cyfer]

Hey Dave,
Glad to see you on board. Getting used to the late shift must have messed up with your schedule

Lunch: I am currently dieting, so my lunches are pretty bland. I have lost 17 lbs. since January 1st. And I still have a ways to go to get where I want to be. My lunch today is fat free bologna, with fat free cheese and light bread, a few pretzels and an orange. Boring I know!

I don't understand this. Why not just change your eating habits permanently? Fat free cheese is Spackle. Is it not?
Diets don't work, well they do get you to lose the weight, but do nothing to keep it off. IF you change your habits, you will never have to worry about keeping it off.

Non G&L: My G&L knowledge so far is pretty much limited to Rampages and Invaders.

Now that is cool. I love to hear your take on these models instead of the old boring ASAT.

I kept all of my G&L's and no plans of selling them.

Peter

diets do work, we all have one. changing eating habits is very important, but there is a different caloric need to lose the fat and a different one to maintain a certain preferred body composition. fat free cheese is a great source of protein without a large caloric footprint. it is not the diets that fail, it is the concept that people focus on losing weight instead of changing body composition. that is the main problem, if people focused on losing fat and trying to maintain muscle, they would succeed at a much higher rate. alas everyone pushes weight loss. the numbers are more impressive, muscle can be lost faster than fat. in most cases 50% or more of the weight lost comes from muscle, and that means the metabolism is shutting down. when 20lbs of muscle is lost, the daily caloric need drops 1000 calories. by the time people reach their goal weight, they would need to eat less than a 1000 calories daily just to maintain. in a lot of cases that number (resting metabolic rate) dropped to 500 calories a day. especially after large amounts of weight lost. impossible to maintain, so failure is guaranteed. jenny craig's, weight watchers know this, they are counting on repeat customers, knowing that thew will gain the weight back, but come back because they think the system worked, they did lose the weight. the victims do not realize that process is built into the system.

[RampageFan]

My G&L Rockers

Smokin hot Skyhawk


Interceptor, Great guitar but I couldn't get used to the wide neck.


Old Invader with a great sounding Schaler

Holy Cow! Those are some great looking guitars! Fantastic! Thanks for sharing. How does the Leo Fine Tuner bridge compare to the Kahler? I have been interested in them, but I've never seen one in person.

Thanks again,
Dave

[KenC]

Dave,

After living in Pleasant Ridge for nine years, I have nothing but admiration for the Cincinnati Police Department. I got to deal with PD when a drug dealer took up residence across the street. The level of dedication, professionalism and pure tenacity shown by the police in that situation was amazing. Needless to say, the neighborhood quickly returned to normal.

My last diet had a distinct G&L flavor. About a year ago I had an opportunity to buy a very early F-100 in great condition, but I had to keep the purchase under the radar at home. I was living by myself in an apartment during a job change, so I was doing all of my own grocery buying and cooking. I realized the guitar was going to cost just about a month's worth of meals, so I created the "F-100 Diet". A couple of big packs of chicken sausages, low calorie sandwich buns, baked beans and about a case of canned tuna held me over for the month. I ate two sausage dogs with beans for dinner every night with a lot of water, and some variant on tuna salad for lunch every day, with absolutely no eating out. I surrounded myself with F-100 porn to get me through the inevitable cravings for junk food. In the end I lost weight, felt good, and came out of the month with a new-to-me G&L.

My introduction to G&L was from a salesman at a dealer in Maine. I was just getting back into playing after ten years, and walked into the store asking to see used Fenders. He pushed their stock of G&Ls, which were all out of my budget. I did a lot of research and lurked (for the most part) on the original G&LDP, and when I had a chance at an SB-1 I jumped at it. That was in 2000, and I was relatively free of G&L gas for the next ten years. When I was in the market for a new electric guitar in 2010, a salesman in the Cincinnati Guitar Center informed me that I had just missed an original SC-2 for about $300. That got the GAS going. I picked up a used ASAT Classic a couple of weeks later, and that opened the floodgate. I restrain myself pretty well when I see a newer G&L, but have a very hard time walking away from the old ones.

Ken

[darwinohm]

My last diet had a distinct G&L flavor.

Great story Ken, I would use it to buy another guitar but I live at home all the time!-- Darwin