Lunch Report - September 8 2014

[KenC]

I'm sitting here with the NGD jitters waiting for UPS to arrive, and thought that a quick Lunch Report may distract me from the waiting for a few minutes. I've been waiting about four years for this NGD, but these last couple of hours have reminded me of waiting for my sons to be born.

Lunch was leftover pasta, eaten cold and washed down with iced tea.

G&L topic:

I've had an ongoing project to turn the back of my garage into a music room. I started the construction back in May, and since then it's been an unending series of setbacks. The last problem I have to work out is getting the concrete floor level enough to lay a floating bamboo floor over it. I put the bamboo down two weekends ago, but it just didn't lay right and had to come back up. I'm getting bids now and will hopefully have the project wrapped up in about two more weeks.

How is this a G&L topic? I have fourteen wall hangers mounted and waiting for their guitars and basses, and locations planned for several floor stands. I'm not quite sure which instruments will go up on the wall for starters, and which ones will have floor stands. The floor stands will probably be for the go-to instruments. My initial plan was to have three hangars that are together on a side wall to be the "SC shrine", and the main run of nine hangers on the back wall to be the "Leo-era bass museum". I'm not sure if that's how it will end up, but I will probably use that as a starting point.

Any which way, it will be an improvement over the seven-instrument rack and piles of cases I'm dealing with now.

QUESTION: Do you display your G&Ls? If you do, how do you have them set up? Photos are encouraged!

For what it's worth, my dream guitar wall is behind Mark Mothersbaugh in this video:

[youtube]tcMf2in70Uw[/youtube]

Non-G&L topic:

Speaking of Mark Mothersbaugh, I had the chance to take my sons to a Devo concert earlier this summer. They put on an amazing show, working only with material they had recorded as demos in a home studio between 1974-1977. A couple of the songs had been re-recorded for their first album, but others in the set list were being played onstage for the first time. The level of musical energy was amazing.

It was the first real concert either of my sons have been to. We started out down by the stage, but the volume was a bit too high for the boys so we moved back after the third song. My youngest at the bottom left of this photo, wearing a red energy dome:



The music was great, but I think the high point for my sons came after the show when the road crew walked over and handed one Jerry's set list and the other the drum sticks.

QUESTIONS: What was your first concert? What is your best memory of it?

Ken

Edited once to fix a link.

[KenC]

Oh yeah, the one bummer about the Devo show was that there was no G&L content. The guitars were Les Pauls and Teles, and the bass was a Steinberger. At least there was a lot of Moog action. And some duct tape and a ring mod...

Ken

[darwinohm]

Ken, just came in after power washing the deck and saw a LR. Waiting can be difficult. I am currently waiting on a cabinet being built for a recent JBL 15 DF 130. There is a bit of a delay in the tolex. Hope the truck isn't taking the slow road!

I will answer the concert question first. Great the kids had a chance to see a live concert. My first live concert was at the Arizona State Fair in 1966. The headliner was Ray Price with the opening by Hank Snow. Hank and his group were all acoustic and they had a killer show. They were well rehearsed and everyone loved their music. Then came Ray Price. Some of his songs are very memorable. He had about 8 string musicians backing him up, mostly fiddles, and he was well rehearsed. This show was different and became boring before long. Everything sounded the same. We left about halfway through the show. I also saw Waylon in those early years and his show was pretty rough. Too much reverb on everything but he went on to be on of the great ones. I don't go to live concerts anymore. The last one we saw was Tim Mcgraw at the MN State Fair and I have never seen such a rude crowd. No one would sit down and they were tanked up and rowdy.

Multiple guitars become a problem eventually. I had all of mine hanging on the wall, more than 20 and now I have another 17 on stands. Some are now upstairs, three in the garage and I am serious when I tell people that I don't have any more room. I think hangers are the way to go and I have many that have been hanging for 7 years with no adverse effects. It sounds like you are making a nice music room in the garage. I use my garage as my recording studio and storage for guitar cases and amplifiers in addition to the gig equipment. I have a couple of bass amps that should go. Too much stuff but what is too much?????? I still have room in the garage for both vehicles and the Gold Wing but it is tricky at times.

You asked for a picture so I just snapped one and there is a lot of different ones than from a couple of years ago. Still a good number of G&Ls but there is an assortment of brands. I like them all and have no real favorite. They all work great! -- Darwin

[sam]

Hey Ken,

Great start to the week! Sounds lik eyo uand yer son had fun. I took my son to his first concert three years ago, he was eight, and we saw Alice Cooper. Killer show I've seen Alice 5 times and a big fan so my son knew and sang most songs.
Here's a picture from the show, Steve Hunter and Orianthi played that night.


My first concert was Neil Diamond with my parents and girl I knew, and my first rock show was years later Kiss with ACDC opening, Bon Scott was incredible. Used to go to shows all the time now work just seems to get in the way.

Here are my wall hangars. Thanks to reply for earlier wall post I am using polish rags to save any marking on neck and headstock.

Crappy pics

ASAT JR, Broadcaster, ASAT 88, ASAT Z3 SH, ASAT Deluxe, ASAT Custom, ASAT Classic Sig, ASAT Will Ray Sig


ASAT (soon to be modded), ASAT Classic Custom, ASAT JD-5 (parts)


ASAT Will Ray (Trib parts), Baja Tele, MIJ 62 Tele Reissue, ASAT Z Special Classic, Squire Double tele modded and mini Strat

A couple more to hang still.

Fun for ALL!!

[Case24]

Waiting for a NGD delivery can seem like an eternity. What is the NGD you're expecting, Ken?

I currently only have two guitars and they are both kept in their cases. We moved a couple of years ago and in our previous house I had a sound-insulated room in the basement with my guitars on wall hangers. My wife is encouraging me to do the same in this house and I may get around to it this winter.

I took both of my "kids" who are now adults to see RUSH last October at the ACC in Toronto, I think it was October. Great show and their first real concert. Last month, my wife and I went to see Tom Petty at the ACC and the following night we saw Chris Isaak at Massey Hall in Toronto. If you ever get to Toronto, you have to see a concert at Massey Hall. Incredible acoustics in that building and not a bad seat in the house.

My first real concert was Bruce Springsteen in 1984 for his Born in the USA tour in Toronto. That was incredible for an 18 year old to see.

[Fumble fingers]

I don't really display any but I have been keeping six out , three on stands and three in a in-line 3 guitar holder , waiting for pictures to show up in photo bucket so a edit will be added a little later for pictures ..... I keep the cases in the garage on the guitars that are out and have amps there too except for maybe two that are in house .... the others stay in house in cases until rotation ..... my wife is much more forgiving now that I am in a Band

first real concert was The Guess Who in 1973 , I'm thinking sixth grade , my dad was on a airplane with the Band and started cracking jokes (dad was a Salesman) and they loved it , invited him up to the Hotel after the Flight and he took us kids with him , They gave us free tickets for the show in Peoria Illinois and we hung out with Burt Cummings (?) the singer for a couple hours then went to the show later

[Elwood]

QUESTION: Do you display your G&Ls?

I think one of these would be handy -
[youtube]I2S5rupdXDw[/youtube]

Good to here you have a music space in the works , I hope most things go as planned from here on out .

[john o]

Ken C, I hope your NGD anticipation is resolved in the nearest future.
Darwin and Sam, what amazing guitar collections you have, and such unique models! I've been in guitar stores with less guitars on the walls.
FumbleFingers, you also have some beauties, especially the red fallout.
Mine are in cases as I'm afraid my dog would chew them.
Greg, I am going to see Tom Petty next monday in Philly. Should be special, as Steve Winwood is opening.
My 1st real concert was Chicago in '75. simply amazing, esp Terry Kath with that tele he played with all the stickers on it.

[fianoman]

Nice collections! I don't really have space anywhere so my guitars just get shoved into corners or closets with a couple out for playing time. How do you like that Taylor Darwin? Their acoustics are great guitars but have never seen one of their electrics. Nice variety you have.

Things are pretty hazy back that far but I believe that I saw Chicago Transit Authority (before they got sued by CTA) play in a high school auditorium around 1969! Amazing musicians and yes, Kath was an underrated monster.

I was seeing a lot of live music then so it could have been the Doobies, Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra but CTA is right in there too.

[darwinohm]

Fianoman, that is a Taylor SB2 and it is a winner. If a person had to have one guitar, it would do most. I am glad to have it as they are no longer being built by Taylor. Thanks-- Darwin.

[Boogie Bill]

My biggest problem around here is that I don't have a music room, so there are cases all over the house. Makes storage and practicing difficult, at best.

I don't hang my guitars on the wall, as this is earthquake country. Everything lives in its hard case. I have three guitars out at the moment. My sofa guitar is my Martin D-18 Golden Era Sunburst, which I've had out for quite a while--love the tone of that guitar. I've got a 335 on a stand in the living room next to the Mark V combo stack, I bought this one new in Seattle last year; it is a Vintage Sunburst flame top model, but it took a fall in the store and had a broken headstock. It has turned out to be one of my favorites.

And I have a G&L out too, of course! This is one that I have been working on for the last week. I bought this Transparent Blue on ash Legacy two years ago for $425. The guy put a Duncan Lil '59 in the bridge and a Duncan Texas Hot Antiquity in the bridge, added a push-pull pot, and futzed up the wiring. The guitar plays nice; but the wiring was totally FUBAR.

So I got pots from the Online Store, and a new 5-way and set about to rewire it back to stock, with a set of the Antiquitys. I'm using a RW/RP middle, and their Custom Hot bridge version. I have this combo in another guitar, and I really like these pickups. Finding the caps for the PTB though was a B-I-G P-I-T-A!!!! I should have begged the store to send me some. I requested them from G&L--sent three e-mails--and called--and never heard a peep back. That was over the past two years, so not real pleased with G&L Customer (NON)-Service. But I finally managed to find some.

This guitar has seen some use, but it has cleaned up nicely, The ash is beautiful, and the maple neck and board match the aged coloring of the pickup covers perfectly. I'll have to get some pics up soon.

I'm not sure what my first concert was. I used to book Nancy Wilson's pre-Heart band for dances at my high-school--she went to another local school. You could tell she was going to be great.

I remember seeing Spencer Davis group and Glen Campbell, I think the summer of 1968. He had just done "Universal Soldier". Stevie Winwood was amazing.

And yes I saw Chicago, too....Terry Kath with his white Tele, pre-stickers. I remember that concert had a great light show, too.

Bill