Playing “catsup” again….
Monday (Ed):
I can’t say my G&Ls have helped me capture anyone’s heart, but I have seduced many a young thing with my Martin D-18 and D-28; and before that, my Harmony Sovereign Jumbo.
(Which is why I learned to play guitar in the first place!)
Oh, and there are several deals I wish undone: like trading a c.1970 ES-330 Long Neck for a Univox drum machine.
I have long regretted trading for the ES-150DCN. My 1969 ash Telecaster Thinline was stolen in 1972. I did manage to get it back a few weeks later, but the guy had mucked it up a bit, and I traded it for the beautiful blonde 150 that turned out to be a dog. I should have repaired the Tele.
And I regret letting myself into such a financial bind in 2000 that I had to let go of my Marshall 4010 combo, my 1965 Deluxe Reverb, my 1964 Tremolux and my Super Champ. That was a horrible time for me, depressing and demoralizing. And I lost pieces I can probably never replace.
But I survived.
===================
Monday (Sean):
Neck sizes do matter a little to me. I have preferences, of course, but I have so many guitars I’ve learned to adapt quickly to different necks. I have a bunch of G&Ls, but I also have 12-strings, Martin dreads with 3 different profiles, Gibson 1960 Slim Tapers, a Gibson 1958 Historic LP with a baseball bat neck, a skinny little 5-string banjo neck, and the Taylor acoustic. I seem to manage going from 1-5/8’s to 1-11/16’s to 1-3/4’s without too much problem. The 2” wide necks on classic guitars has always given me problems. A deep V neck, like on the Martin D-18 Golden Era is right at my limit for comfort. I’m not real fond of the 7.25 or 7.5” radius necks anymore. Guitars like the EC Strat or the George Fullerton Signature with the tiny frets, small radius and V-profile aren’t my favorites.
Of the ones I have, I’d say the G&L #1 neck with the medium-jumbo frets on my Legacy-bodied guitars tops my list. The Martin 1-11/16” Modified Low Profile neck is probably the best acoustic neck for me. Of the Gibsons, my two 1960 VOS Tobaccoburst Historic Les Pauls have a 1960 Slim-Taper neck that is slightly fuller than all of the other Slim-taper necks I have, and that is by far my favorite Gibson neck. Feels like it fits my hand perfectly, as do the other two from G&L and Martin.
And no, I’m not a gardener, though I should be. I do appreciate all of the hard work that goes into it.
===================
Tuesday:
As to body styles, I admit to being a Legacy/Strat man, much preferring them to the ASAT/Tele style. I’m not big on pointy guitars; but remember that the Explorer/Flying V/Moderne body styles are only 5-6 years younger than the Tele body. Yep, that kid’s GRANDPA could have been rocking an Explorer or Vee!!!.
===================
Wednesday:
Again, lap steel is not my thing, but I would think that a Saddle-Lock would perform quite well.
I like my Mesa Boogie Amps. Been using a Boogie since about 1995. I hung onto the Boogies when I had to let the other amps go, because the Boogies were making me money. A good clean tone is VERY important to me, because I play mostly clean. I’m not using a lot of crunch rhythm tones in my current band. The Boogie Lead Channel is like no other. You can’t get that tone from a pedal. When I started playing a Boogie, I started getting a lot more compliments on my tone and the quality of my solos. My amp helped me become a better player.
I have quite a few amps at the moment:
The littlest one is a DC-3 112 V30 combo.
Next is a Mark III 112 EVM combo with reverb, graphic EQ and Simul-Class (red stripe) in blonde tolex, which is very rare. I have a matching 112 EVM Theile cabinet, too. Very sweet!
Last year, I picked up another Mark III 112 blue stripe combo with reverb, graphic EQ, Simul-Class, and a Celestion 100 speaker.
I have two blonde Maverick 212 V30 combos, one is going on Craigslist this week.
I have an early Mark IV-a EVM combo, with all the bells and whistles. This is my main gigging amp with my band. I have a matching 112 EVM Theile cab for this one, too.
Finally, there is my Mark III 200-watt Coliseum head with reverb. This is a glorious sounding amp, with incredible dynamic punch.
I have two Mesa 412 Half-back cabs, one with C90s on top and EVMs in the bottom; the other one is all EVMs and weighs about 30,000 pounds.
I have a 212 V30 Horizontal Recto cab that I like to use with the Maverick 212 combo for a nice compact, low power half stack.
I also have a Mesa 212 Half-back cab, and a third 112 Theile cab with a JBL E-120. Both of these are being sold. Great cabs, I just have no need for them at the present time.
Oh, and I have a Peavey Combo 300 and a Randall Commander for bass amps; and a couple of the little Acoustic Control AB-50s that I use for the Alesis SR-16 drum machine. Those were very inexpensive amps, and they are quite versatile. And I still have my old solid-state SUNN Solos II 212 combo that I bought in 1972 after my BF Bandmaster was stolen (along with that Tele Thinline). The SUNN paid the rent for many years, but hasn’t got much use since I started using the Mesa amps.
I do use effects. I have a slew of pedals: three wahs, six delays, one didgital reverb, probably five distortion/overdrive pedals, three compressors, three 10-band EQs and four chorus pedals. I have several tuners, with a TU-3 on my electric pedal board and TU-2 on the acoustic board. I also have a Pitch Shifter/Harmonizer, and a Soul Vibe from my LR duties earlier this year. Lots of pedals…but the trick for me is to not use them. I use each of my effects less than 6 times per night, and rarely use a distortion pedal—getting those tones from my Mesa amp. And my Secret Weapon is an ancient DOD FX10 Preamp, which is always on and provides only a slight boost to help get my signal though the eight pedals on my Furman pedal board. So pedals are a must have, but I use them as sparingly as I can.
===================
Thursday:
All of my G&Ls are USA made, and for the most part I prefer USA-made instruments. I do have several MIK guitars, mostly by Ibanez; and a couple MIJ Takamines. I think the big difference in USA vs. the imports is mostly in the finishes, as many USA made companies still use NCL finishes, while the Imports mostly use poly finishes. Of course there are many exceptions to this rule, including G&L, Collings, and Taylor utilizing poly; and my Takamine 12-strings which are NCL. I try not to focus in on the minutia of construction; and to keep focus on the big picture: does this guitar sound good? Does is fit my needs, emotionally, professionally and financially? If it does, nothing else really matters.
I haven’t played that many Tributes, but there are no doubts that they are very nice guitars. The quality of budget and mid-priced guitars these days is really amazing, compared to the quality of the Kay, Harmony, Univox and Teisco guitars of my youth.
One good story about the Tributes; a few years ago, I walked into my local Guitar Center and they had a used Tribute Legacy; and the assistant manager, knowing I liked G&Ls showed it to me proudly, sure that I would buy it. When I pointed out that the price of this used Tribute was $100 more than what I could buy it for new, he got a sheepish grin on his face and said, “Well, that’s what it’s worth.” Sure enough, a few days later it was gone, and the salesman who sold it told me he got the full, ticketed price: $100 more than a new one.
I saw some stores confuse a Tribute for a USA-made guitar early on; usually they were honest mistakes from stores not aware of the brand. In any case, I have NEVER seen a Tribute for a cheap, blowout price—not even a used one.
That is a testament to the high quality of these guitars.
Yes I do own guns. I sleep next to a Glock model 22 in .40 S&W, and I have another I carry when I need to. Or I will carry the Glock 19. I shoot all of these guns very, very well. The Glock is a good gun for someone who has trained to use it. They are accurate, durable, reliable and relatively inexpensive. The Glocks run about $570; and while I would usually prefer to have a Model 1911 in .45 caliber, a purpose-built 1911 runs about $1,500 and up. I bought the Glocks and spent the difference in training.
Good job on the LR this week, Sean!
Bill
It's well built and heavy enough to cause serious hurt. 
