NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

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yowhatsshakin
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NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by yowhatsshakin »

Hi gang,

It must have been a good day for NGD. After Roland's gorgeous BelAir Green ASAT Special, here some more G&L porn.

First the visuals. The neck is this beautiful brown. Not an even brown, but patches of lighter and darker brown. I hope you can assess that too from the pictures below. And Clear Red on a pine body should be a keeper. The neck is beefy and fits my large hands nicely. BTW, for the life of me I couldn't make out any hairline cracks on the fingerboard around the position markers as mentioned in the blurb for this guitar.
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

And the sound report:
Guitar is light, resonates like hell, brighter than mahogany but I have a harder time distinguishing it from ash. Haven't compared to alder yet.

- Jos
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willross
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by willross »

Looks like an Anderson "chocolate maple" neck... Good looking!


Cheers,

Will
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RampageFan
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by RampageFan »

Looks Fantastic Jos! I'm glad it arrived safely today! It definitely went to the right owner!

This is my dilemma, I get to the point that I think I have enough guitars, then someone posts these great pics of sweet guitars and my GAS comes back!

Enjoy! And thanks for sharing!

Dave
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yowhatsshakin
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by yowhatsshakin »

willross wrote:Looks like an Anderson "chocolate maple" neck... Good looking!


Cheers,

Will
Thanks Will! When you read the blurb on Tom Anderson's website (you'll have to scroll down a bit) there is no explicit mention a roasting process to produce the 'Chocolate Neck'. But since the "chocolating" process ' ... darkens the neck wood, completely through to its center,...' it hardly can be anything different. At least vindicates one half of the nickname I bestowed on this beauty ;)

- Jos
Last edited by yowhatsshakin on Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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yowhatsshakin
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by yowhatsshakin »

RampageFan wrote:Looks Fantastic Jos! I'm glad it arrived safely today! It definitely went to the right owner!

This is my dilemma, I get to the point that I think I have enough guitars, then someone posts these great pics of sweet guitars and my GAS comes back!

Enjoy! And thanks for sharing!

Dave
Thanks Dave! I'm glad it made it safely here too. Played her some more this evening and like her a lot. Like for my favorite Bird's Eye Maple necks, the Gloss finish makes you aware that you're playing a maple fingerboard. But every time you look down, you go 'What the heck is that color?'

And then you smile when it sinks in :happy0065:

- Jos

P.S. As far as GAS is concerned I don't want to get you in trouble. I get myself into trouble plenty enough already ;)
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blargfromouterspace
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by blargfromouterspace »

Soooo nice. Love the look of the baked maple!
-Jamie
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thunder100
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by thunder100 »

Jos

thats really nice

May the Blues neve die

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darwinohm
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by darwinohm »

Jos, that is sweet. Is this a new model that G&L is experimenting with or is it a special build. I have never heard of one.-- Darwin
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Craig
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by Craig »

darwinohm wrote:Jos, that is sweet. Is this a new model that G&L is experimenting with or is it a special build. I have never heard of one.-- Darwin
It is one the G&L prototypes they are selling. See this post for details: G&L will be offering some recent Prototype instruments.

:ugeek:
--Craig [co-webmaster of guitarsbyleo.com, since Oct. 16, 2000]
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darwinohm
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by darwinohm »

Thanks Craig.-- Darwin
jonc
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by jonc »

Jos - - truly beautiful looking ASAT. Just needs one thing... please remove the serial # plate if you haven't already. At the very least they should have "baked" that too to match the neck/headstock color. ;)
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JagInTheBag
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by JagInTheBag »

The roasted Maple is even nicer that I thought it would be. Congrats on grabbing the prototype, Jos!
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willross
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by willross »

That's the neck we should add to the GbL-2...


Cheers,

Will
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JagInTheBag
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by JagInTheBag »

willross wrote:That's the neck we should add to the GbL-2...


Cheers,

Will
Do you think it would look good with Fullerton red or Lemon Drop? Really depends on the pickguard.
louis cyfer
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by louis cyfer »

suhr has both roasted and baked maple necks. different color, same process.
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yowhatsshakin
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by yowhatsshakin »

Urged by this post by Darth Invader in the G&L announces the new ASAT Classic Alnico ... tread, I popped of the bridge on the Port&Chocolate prototype and was once more surprised.

The G&L Guitar prototypes page states that it has an MFD pup in te bridge. WRONG!!

Image
The spec sheet states that is has a non-descript Seymour Duncan in the bridge. AGAIN WRONG!!

Image
As this picture shows, it is a DiMarzio DP421 Area Hot T hum-canceling bridge pickup. The 8.69kΩ is remeasured this morning is a tad lower than the 9.33kΩ on the website but at least it makes more sense now. I'll ask Dave to update the website and production log and (hopefully) send me a correct spec-sheet.

- Jos
LeoFThe Champion
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by LeoFThe Champion »

G&L are really making some great guitars 30 years after they were established.
This is one of the best!
Anthony
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blargfromouterspace
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by blargfromouterspace »

Thats very interesting Jos. On paper that pickup sounds like the perfect match for the SL in the neck. I think I'll try one of them next in my Bluesboy, I can never seem to find a really good match - its currently got a Seymour Duncan Lil '59 in the bridge which I thought would do the trick but the SL has a much, much better high end and actually seems to twang more. Figure that one out! :confused0007:
-Jamie
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yowhatsshakin
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by yowhatsshakin »

Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
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JagInTheBag
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by JagInTheBag »

yowhatsshakin wrote:Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
I think its funny that ebay retailers are confusing MFD designs "The G&L ASAT Classic also includes Magnetic Field Coil pickups, a proprietary G&L design, for quiet operation and incredible tone." with a Dimarzio ALNICO hum cancelling pup. Can't have it both ways sir!
louis cyfer
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by louis cyfer »

JagInTheBag wrote:
yowhatsshakin wrote:Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
I think its funny that ebay retailers are confusing MFD designs "The G&L ASAT Classic also includes Magnetic Field Coil pickups, a proprietary G&L design, for quiet operation and incredible tone." with a Dimarzio ALNICO hum cancelling pup. Can't have it both ways sir!
it was actually g&l confusing it themselves.
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yowhatsshakin
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by yowhatsshakin »

louis cyfer wrote:
JagInTheBag wrote:I think its funny that ebay retailers are confusing MFD designs "The G&L ASAT Classic also includes Magnetic Field Coil pickups, a proprietary G&L design, for quiet operation and incredible tone." with a Dimarzio ALNICO hum cancelling pup. Can't have it both ways sir!
it was actually g&l confusing it themselves.
A little of both I think. The blurb at the top most likely what this eBay seller uses for all ASAT Classics it lists, whereas the list at the bottom is most likely copied from the spec sheet. I wish they had included a picture of the latter ...

- Jos
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JagInTheBag
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by JagInTheBag »

yowhatsshakin wrote:Hi gang,

It must have been a good day for NGD. After Roland's gorgeous BelAir Green ASAT Special, here some more G&L porn.

First the visuals. The neck is this beautiful brown. Not an even brown, but patches of lighter and darker brown. I hope you can assess that too from the pictures below. And Clear Red on a pine body should be a keeper. The neck is beefy and fits my large hands nicely. BTW, for the life of me I couldn't make out any hairline cracks on the fingerboard around the position markers as mentioned in the blurb for this guitar.

Image

And the sound report:
Guitar is light, resonates like hell, brighter than mahogany but I have a harder time distinguishing it from ash. Haven't compared to alder yet.

- Jos
Are those hairline cracks around the bolt holes?
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Lefty
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by Lefty »

yowhatsshakin wrote:Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
~~ The G&L ASAT Classic features the Saddle Lock bridge ~~ the ad description also claims to have a Saddlelock Bridge, which it clearly does not! :shocked028:
Lefty
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by JagInTheBag »

Lefty wrote:
yowhatsshakin wrote:Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
~~ The G&L ASAT Classic features the Saddle Lock bridge ~~ the ad description also claims to have a Saddlelock Bridge, which it clearly does not! :shocked028:
This is just sloppy ebaying. would not buy from a guy who doesn't know or care to check.
louis cyfer
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by louis cyfer »

JagInTheBag wrote:
Lefty wrote:
yowhatsshakin wrote:Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
~~ The G&L ASAT Classic features the Saddle Lock bridge ~~ the ad description also claims to have a Saddlelock Bridge, which it clearly does not! :shocked028:
This is just sloppy ebaying. would not buy from a guy who doesn't know or care to check.
even if it's a g&l dealer and that is the only guitar of its kind, and you really want that guitar?
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JagInTheBag
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by JagInTheBag »

louis cyfer wrote:
JagInTheBag wrote:
Lefty wrote:
yowhatsshakin wrote:Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
~~ The G&L ASAT Classic features the Saddle Lock bridge ~~ the ad description also claims to have a Saddlelock Bridge, which it clearly does not! :shocked028:
This is just sloppy ebaying. would not buy from a guy who doesn't know or care to check.
even if it's a g&l dealer and that is the only guitar of its kind, and you really want that guitar?
The guitar in the auction is none of those things Louis. G&L dealers should not mistake an ashtray bridge for a saddle lock, or MFD's for ALNICO's. As a broker of collectable things, the answer is "no" I would not buy that item based on that auction. Experience tells me that it would get to me and the item would be FAR lesser than was represented so I would pass on the item and its seller.

If was truly a rarebird, I would find a local agent or fly in myself to examine the guitar to purchase it IN SPITE OF THE INCOMPETENT REPRESENTATION. I'd also beat them up as much as I could on price because they couldn't be bothered to carefully and accurately represent their goods. If they showed good customer service in person, I may teach them what I know so they can a do better job for the next guy as well.

UPDATE: I called the dealer, talked to the Ebay guy (ironically names Louis) and enlightened him as to the description confusion. He was grateful, told me his predecessor had posted that auction and that he was going to fix it ASAP. 8-)
louis cyfer
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by louis cyfer »

JagInTheBag wrote:
louis cyfer wrote:
JagInTheBag wrote:
Lefty wrote:
yowhatsshakin wrote:Antony, G&L certainly is building some fine guitars 30 years after their founding. And they have not really lapsed anywhere in between either!

Jaimie, after putting 'Port&Chocolate' together again I played it the rest of the morning 'til I posted. The guitar really sounds great. The twang is there in the bridge with a little more warmth than usual and dead quiet of course. The pickups are well balanced and the in between works great too. So it is certainly worth the experiment. Funnily enough, when browsing on eBay, I found this G&L ASAT Classic auction which, beyond the stainless steel frets, is also claimed to be equiped with DiMarzio Area T pups.

- Jos
~~ The G&L ASAT Classic features the Saddle Lock bridge ~~ the ad description also claims to have a Saddlelock Bridge, which it clearly does not! :shocked028:
This is just sloppy ebaying. would not buy from a guy who doesn't know or care to check.
even if it's a g&l dealer and that is the only guitar of its kind, and you really want that guitar?
The guitar in the auction is none of those things Louis. G&L dealers should not mistake an ashtray bridge for a saddle lock, or MFD's for ALNICO's. As a broker of collectable things, the answer is "no" I would not buy that item based on that auction. Experience tells me that it would get to me and the item would be FAR lesser than was represented so I would pass on the item and its seller.

If was truly a rarebird, I would find a local agent or fly in myself to examine the guitar to purchase it IN SPITE OF THE INCOMPETENT REPRESENTATION. I'd also beat them up as much as I could on price because they couldn't be bothered to carefully and accurately represent their goods. If they showed good customer service in person, I may teach them what I know so they can a do better job for the next guy as well.

UPDATE: I called the dealer, talked to the Ebay guy (ironically names Louis) and enlightened him as to the description confusion. He was grateful, told me his predecessor had posted that auction and that he was going to fix it ASAP. 8-)
i thought we were talking about the prototype.
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JagInTheBag
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by JagInTheBag »

louis cyfer wrote:
JagInTheBag wrote:
UPDATE: I called the dealer, talked to the Ebay guy (ironically named Louis) and enlightened him as to the description confusion. He was grateful, told me his predecessor had posted that auction and that he was going to fix it ASAP. 8-)
i thought we were talking about the prototype.
No worries Louis. 8-)

So I wonder now many ASAT Classics are running around with Area T's? Is that the pup that comes stock in an ASAT Classic Alnico?
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Craig
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Re: NGD Port&Chocolate prototype

Post by Craig »

JagInTheBag wrote: So I wonder now many ASAT Classics are running around with Area T's? Is that the pup that comes stock in an ASAT Classic Alnico?
Nope, see G&L announces the new ASAT Classic Alnico ....

:ugeek:
--Craig [co-webmaster of guitarsbyleo.com, since Oct. 16, 2000]
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