12.12.12 Lunch Report

[Dave_P]

Hello everyone, I'll step in today for lunch duty.

Lunch today was L24: General's Chicken w/ rice and an egg roll from a local Chinese restaurant. I also sat and had some hot Oolong tea. While sitting and eating I was wondering whose chicken recipe was better the General's or the Colonel's. I prefer the General's 9 times out of 10. The General just outranks the Colonel.

G&L Topic: I haven't posted on the board too often lately, a lot of changes going on but I try and stay in touch. Every time I do though I seem to find a new special edition. Don't get me wrong I really like all the new finishes coming out especially NENA, but does every change need a special edition? To me it discounts the meaning of a special/limited build. What are your thoughts?

Off topic: Ordering new pickups for my asat classic in the next couple of days (Merry Christmas to me!) There is a dizzying array of winders, sound clips, opinions, etc nowadays. Even with all the info available it still feels like a crap shoot. I think I'm going to try the D Allen Cheetahs, although Klein had a few offerings that also looked very good, and then there's Lollar... there I go again. How the heck do you make a decision on these things.

Take care! We're all in this together

-Dave

[willross]

G&L Topic: Special Editions are ok so long as they are for a limited time. Otherwise, just add it to the product line and call it a day...

Non G&L: I'm planning on adding Fender gray bottom pickups(early 1970's) to a legacy. Curious to see/ hear how they work with the PTB...


Cheers,

Will

[darwinohm]

Dave, thanks for posting today. I love chicken and we don't have generals in Minnesota. We have the Colonel and back years ago there were some Eddie Arnold chicken places but they have been gone for years. Many people swore by the Eddie Arnold chicken.

I have some of the newer limited builds and I think they are fine. The Equatorial is not a limited build but only 50 were made due to the amount of wood they had. I think they are trying new things and I like that.

It is interesting to see the recent discussions on the Legacy pickups. I didn't realize that they were the lowest output pickups. I bought an almost new Legacy that the owner had relaced the originals with Kinman Blues. I happened to stop by Willies Guitar Shop in St Paul yesterday and they had a beautiful 2006 Legacy that also had Kinman Blues in it. Maybe the Legacy pickups aren't for every one. Overall I believe I prefer the sound of the new Alnicos. -- Darwin

[Brock]

I've been informed that it's sound check day, as in "Mic check. One two. One two. One two."

Pickups selection for me is pretty much shoehorning in G&L MFD pickups wherever I can. They're often already there, but when they aren't, if I can drop one in as a direct replacement (like say in a P-Bass spot), in it goes.

[blargfromouterspace]

Hey Dave, nice to see you around again. When it comes to take-away chicken I go to a charcoal chicken place near my parents house and get the potato escalope as a side, its beautifully cheesy and creamy. With that as well as the stuffing that soaks up all the delicious chicken grease it's probably no healthier than fried chicken with chips, and possibly much worse! Tastes fantastic though.

I'm with you on the special edition thing, there is a lot of them and that does seem to take away from their specialness, but I love that they're trying so much new stuff out.

New pickups - its a total crap shoot. Its impossible to judge by listening to the clips. I've tried a lot of different boutique brands - OC Duff, Klein, Don Mare... - and they all sound virtually the same, just like boutique overdrive pedals The ones I like best are the Seymour Duncan JD and the Bill Lawrence Micro-coils. If you want a cheap set of Klein 'Broadcaster' pickups PM me - I'm 'ASAT '50-ing' my '97 Classic again soon and will have no use for them.

[louis cyfer]

what kind of oolong did you have?

those klein broadcasters are good pups, but how much is shipping from au to ri? i like nordstrand, klein and d allen better than the oc duffs and don mare. the daalens are the best deal for the quality out there other than the bill lawrence.

[louis cyfer]

blarg, someone recently described melbourne as half the size of nyc's cemetery, but twice as dead. any truth the that?

[Philby]

Hi Dave, thanks for jumping in today. It's good to see you're still lurking in these parts.

I'm lucky to have a really good Portuguese chicken place just along the road from my house. They cut the chicken in half and grill it flat over coals with a lemon and chilli marinade. Mmmmm, delicious.

I don't really have an opinion on G&L special editions as I tend to buy guitars on their playability rather than their collectability. Like Jamie, I'm just glad to see G&L trying out new ideas that might differentiate them in the market place and attract new customers.

As far as pickups go, it's pure luck in my opinion whether a set of pickups will (a) complement the natural timbre of the instrument they're going in and (b) play nicely with the amp you'll be plugging into. All you can do is try out a whole bunch, which can get expensive, and keep the ones you like best. I've spent a fair amount of time experimenting with pickups and have decided that, unless the stock pickups are really terrible, it's a game of diminishing returns to jump on the pickup swapping carousel.

[blargfromouterspace]

blarg, someone recently described melbourne as half the size of nyc's cemetery, but twice as dead. any truth the that?

I haven't been to the NYC cemetery, but I doubt it. Its the most happening place in Australia. There's so much going on at any given time that it's hard to keep up - I wish I had the time and money to be able to go to half of what I'd like to.

[KenC]

G&L Topic:
I have yet to buy a brand new guitar or bass, but I'm sure one will be in the cards eventually (maybe sooner if the LE2 ever happens!). There's enough customization available within the standard G&L models that I'll have a hard time deciding on specifications for a regular production model. The only "special" instrument that's grabbed my attention lately was a prototype L-2000 SH fretless. The stars weren't lined up right for that one to come my way though.

Off Topic:
I don't mod my G&Ls, but I do have two project guitars in the works with my oldest son. The first is a MIM DuoSonic reissue that had been so heavily (and badly) modified by a previous owner that I everything but the body and neck needs to be replaced. The second is an unmatched '64 DuoSonic neck and '65 DuoSonic body that I found on eBay. Both projects will need pickups, and I've been unable to wade through all of the choices so far. I'm leaning toward the Duncan Antiquity DuoSonic set, but would love to hear any other suggestions.

Ken

[Dave_P]

Thanks guys it's good to hear from everyone, Phil and Jamie your takeaway chicken sounds much more appealing than mine, general's chicken consists of battered bits of chicken in a spicy Hunan sauce. It was good but my favorite chicken dish is just a plain old leg quarter roasted in the oven with some carrot,onion and potato. I could eat that everyday. Darwin, I've never heard of Arnold's but truth be told I don't eat fried chicken often, I do enjoy it but feel like I need to shower afterwards

Will, let us know how your experiment goes, sounds interesting.

Jamie I'll send you a pm on those pickups I may be interested. Out if curiosity, are you going back to the stock MFD bridge pup on the '97?

I really do like all the new options the guys at g&l are trying out and I hope some of those make it to the regular production line. I just don't want to see so many special runs that the term becomes meaningless.

As for pickups, I emailed D.Allen with some info earlier today and he got back to me already recommending the "hot vintage" set. Based on the sound clips, those don't really appeal to me but again clips..useless..blah blah. I don't dislike the mfd's in there, just looking for some variety (only own 2 guitars both asats), also my low E is way louder than the other strings even with the pup and pole lowered all the way down...anyone else have that problem?

Thanks,
Dave

[louis cyfer]

the hot vintage is close to the wildcat set i have. listen to dave, he knows his own pups. he will also exchange them for you if you don't like them. his customer service is the best i have seen.

[meowmix]

Hello everyone, I'll step in today for lunch duty.
-Dave

Dave, glad to see you stepped in. Thanks

G&L Topic: .... I seem to find a new special edition. Don't get me wrong I really like all the new finishes coming out especially NENA, but does every change need a special edition? To me it discounts the meaning of a special/limited build. What are your thoughts?
-Dave

Dave, the limited/special edition happens everywhere, not just guitars. They seem to sell at a higher price because it plays with the human mind. ooooohhhh I have a "limited edition".
I have a 30th anni, and as it was not limited, but it was sold at a special price. Better than what you would if you had it custom made. Ha! I win.
Another thing with the limited/special editions is people think they will sound better than regular production. I doubt it. Most of the time, I think they are trying to get rid of some excess stock.

Off topic: Ordering new pickups for my asat classic in the next couple of days (Merry Christmas to me!) There is a dizzying array of winders, sound clips, opinions, etc nowadays. Even with all the info available it still feels like a crap shoot. I think I'm going to try the D Allen Cheetahs, although Klein had a few offerings that also looked very good, and then there's Lollar... there I go again. How the heck do you make a decision on these things.
-Dave

No idea. I had the same experience as with some. No difference, or very little difference, you wonder if it was worth the time and effort.
Good luck.