It's Fridays Lunch Report! 10/11/13

[RampageFan]

Well Friday is finally here and I'm ready for the weekend! It's been a lot of fun this week and I appreciate everyone's participation.

G&L: When looking at used guitars, do you prefer mint condition, or are a few blemishes ok with you if it's priced accordingly? And what about mods? Does it scare you away when a guitar has been modified? It's getting harder to find Leo era guitars without blemishes to the finish. When I'm looking at the older guitars it's not that big of a deal to me. As long as the neck isn't twisted or warped and the guitar is structurally sound I can deal with the rest. There is finish checking on my pink Rampage, and I think it actually looks cool.

I'm ok with certain mods, as long as the body hasn't been cut into. My yellow Rampage has an active EMG with a push/pull coil split installed. There was also a toggle/kill switch and a boost installed. It looks to be a pro install. It has a very aggressive tone. Normally I would pass, but it was being offered at $400, so I went ahead and took a chance on it. I'm glad I did.







What irritates me is when a guitar has been completely hacked and they are asking mint condition prices. And while I'm at it, another thing that bugs me is when a Leo era guitar is for sale, the description says "back when Leo was running the company and G&L was producing quality guitars."

Ok, sorry for the rant...

Non G&L: Do you have a particular song that no matter how much time you devote to practicing it over and over, that you just can't pull it off? For me it's this:

[youtube]GGyCx9WgGV8[/youtube]

I love this song, but I just can't get the feel of it. Obviously the studio version is the one I try to learn from, and there are overdubs that make it sound more complex. When I start getting close to it, there is always something that is missing. I'm sure you guys are thinking that I'm nuts and that it's a simple song to play, but not for me!

One last thing, since this is my last day as your lunch reporter. I would like to thank Craig for keeping this site going. Even though things get pretty slow around here during the summer months, his dedication to the site is much appreciated. He's helped a lot of us out with questions or problems with our guitars by being the buffer between the members and the shop. Like I mentioned the other day, he even helped me out when I was looking at possibly buying a guitar. So thanks again Craig! With summer over, things will start heating up around here!

Thanks everyone, it's been fun!
Dave

[darwinohm]

Dave, it has been a fun week! The interest has been very good. Lunch is unknown but it will happen. Do you have Friday Night off and work Sunday? If so. this is your day off!

The Yellow Rampage is beautiful. Very cool guitar and it doesn't look modified. You really have a collection of Rampages. I generally like to buy them in pristine condition but I have made exceptions. The Pink Lady was one. I wanted to find out if I liked the 5 string. I did like it and now even more! I do not have an aversion to modifying modern G&L's or any modern guitars. Something more vintage I would keep as is. I recently refinished the BE maple neck on my S-500. The satin finish didn't do anything for the neck. It is now stunning visually and plays great. I don't find poly necks sticky. I would bet it would be easier to sell than the way it looked originally. I have installed Bigsbys on like new guitars and it only increased the value. Especially the Fender American Deluxe Teles. That would only be available through the custom shop. I have two musicians in the Twin Cities that are playing them and considered them a steal compared to the Custom Shop pricing. I also picked up a perfect Bluesboy a couple of years ago that was alder and heavy. I installed the F Bigsby and traded it. It sold very quickly and never showed up again. It also was a sweet player but heavier than I liked. I also bought an as new Legacy that had Kinmen Blues installed in it. The guy didn't like it from day one and dumped a bunch of money into it. I rewired the control circuit as the tone controls were bypassed. It is a great guitar although my heaviest G&L. In the end my answer is it depends.

I watch CL every day and am amazed at the prices that some people ask and the condition description. You really have to know your product when buying.

I love that FM song. Lindsey is a great player. Fingerpicking is another dimension. I have been working on it and improving but have a long way to go. I visited Paul Yandells' web site the other night and was totally engrossed in his stories about him and Chet for the years they were together. They were a couple of the finest finger pickers around. If you can master this style Dave, you will have a lot of pickers watching you!

I agree about Craig doing a fine job supporting this site. I also hope that things pick up a bit and really like it when new people post. I would like to see a lot of the old timers back and a few of them do check in but as they say, "Times are a changin'". But the way, I think the quality of the new G&L's is the best ever. Thanks for the great week Dave. I will do my best to avoid bail!! -- Darwin

[KenC]

Dave,

Thanks for a great week of Lunch Reports! I've been feeling under the weather and didn't reply every night, but I did read and enjoy them all.

G&L: I am fine with cosmetic flaws when I buy an older G&L, but most mods are a show-stopper for me. I have three BBE-era basses that are mint or near-mint, but when it comes to the Leo-era instruments the only one without blemishes is an '82 SC-2. I'm the second owner for that one, and the first owner stored it away right after she bought it. I've bought two modded G&Ls, mainly because the prices were extremely low and I was afraid they'd be parted out. One is an '82 L-1000 that had been stripped and very badly spray painted, and the other is an '83 SC-2 that had the finish sanded down to matte black and most of the hardware replaced or repainted. Neither of them had destructive structural mods, and I plan to bring both of them back to their original appearance. My first G&L was an '83 SB-1 that had been refinished with sanding sealer and had the neck and headstock stripped and refinished. That one has sentimental value to me, so I will leave it the way I found it.

Non-G&L: Your video reminded me that I've never figured out the guitar part to Go Your Own Way. I went to look for a video to post, and found this one explaining how the guitar parts were layered in the studio:

[youtube]4KX4PYFOG9I[/youtube]

I think I'll have it down in short order now.

Ken

[bloodied_fingers]

Dents and such...
I don't mind dents & dings, but I would expect a good markdown for damage.

My Epi had aftermarket pickups added by the owner when I bought it and the work was not perfect, but it works. I think structural and/or irreversible mods would be a deal killer.

I like messing about with things, maybe its my enginerd nature, so I have done tweaks to all my guitars. But I try to balance the wrench bending with playing/practicing. I think it can be easy for newbies (like me) to fall in love with the gadgets, mods and such of guitardom. Craigslist is littered with people unloading gear and guitars after the luster of acquisition has worn off.

song
I've been working on this (off an on) for a few months now. I can play about half the notes in the song now but it sounds more like an epileptic cat clawing a banjo than SRV...

[video]http://www.youtube.com/embed/An4uDegHB8s[/video]

btw
that rampage looks sick. you really have a nice flock of them.

[glvourot]

I'll probably just have a granola bar for lunch today.

I bought my S-500 used and it was in near mint condition. A few nicks or scratches would not have made a difference to me, but it depends on how old the guitar is. I changed the tuners on a Gretsch I used to own, but that is the extent of any mods I have done to any guitars. I agree with those who would not touch anything that had the body tampered or altered in anyway ( unless the price was right and I could restore it to original, ala KenC ).

I like your collection of Rampages. Have they ever been available with hardtail or Leo bridges?

Good FM post. If you get a chance, that episode of Classic Albums is great. Lindsey Buckingham is a fine guitarist and I really appreciate his fingerstyle playing. I think most of the Classic Albums series is on Netflix for those who might not have seen any.

There are many songs I have issues with , however the Sting song " The Shape of my heart " has always given me problems. I really haven't practiced it enough.There's a nasty stretch in there ( and I have long fingers ! ) There is a good youtube of it with just him and his guitarist , Dominic Miller.

[Fumble fingers]

I think you did great at 400.00 . looks tastefully modded and in general great shape ... I like it , I would of bought too .... my Cav is road worn the honest way .... it also has had a 4 position switch added but sounds good to me ..... I like to buy mint un-modified but a good guitar is a good guitar as long as no hack job was done , one thing I can't stand is a dent on the neck , don't mind dings and dent on the body but I insist on a nice neck .... been a great LR week !!..... Craig does do a awesome job on the site !! I still miss Louis though and will be glad when he's back


Eric

[Elwood]

When looking at used guitars, do you prefer mint condition, or are a few blemishes ok with you if it's priced accordingly? And what about mods?

I've bought a few that have been hacked , an SC-3 that had a bucker added to the bridge, I put in a better bucker, and it was a fantastic/though devalued player. A '72 SG that had the bigsby off, finish flaking away,fretboard needed conditioning badly...but no cracks or prevoius breaks at the headstock heel .That's usually a deal breaker with gibsons unless the price is 1/2 of what the guitar would be otherwise .
I got the SG for a little over 400...it now plays better than some nice LP's .
I've fixed a couple broken headstocks with success...and done well you can bring some of that value back to the guitar...which is appealing as it can make me some money and get a guitar back to making music.
I've a couple invaders I bought for about 200 each...both basket cases when I got them...I stripped them (one had over 7 coats of bizarre paints) , and used some non-G&L parts to get them playing. Mostly reversible , though one came with a TOM bridge..It plays well with it so I kept it that way. I might start restoring them right as I have more G&L parts stashed away than I did ten years ago.

My yellow Rampage has an active EMG with a push/pull coil split installed. There was also a toggle/kill switch and a boost installed.

Those rampage cavities always seemed a little empty to me.
I put some old EMG SA's in my Skyhawk for the time being. ..and rewired it to my liking. All the original guts are bubble wrapped /taped and labelled .
The cleans are real nice with the EMGs, I'm using it mostly for some high gain stuff presently...and it delivers . Those first position fifth double stops are like a finely tuned rotohammer to the brain

And while I'm at it, another thing that bugs me is when a Leo era guitar is for sale, the description says "back when Leo was running the company and G&L was producing quality guitars."

They did things different...I really like some of George and Leo's Designs and innovations , better ? hard to say?
better for what and who?

Black Hardware and curvy neck plates just makes me smile. Knowing that G&L changed back to 4 bolts due to public perception as opposed to engineering considerations is something that I don't get.
They could at least offer some throwback model that has the microadjust and three bolt if they really wanted to make a proper tribute.
Have you thought about how that heavy chunk of metal in the pocket can transfer vibrations? I think that has something to do with the solid feel of the old ones. These days they have some paper in there with a UPC code.
There are some glaring differences , so it makes sense that some will find those things better or worse for their purposes.
The newer brass and steel assemblies are great options, happy to have that in the mix.
The M2000 bass series is also intriguing. Kudos to the folks who did the R&D for that . I'm eager to play one .

I really like that Craig's been posting factory pics. It shows the passion on the factory floor.


elwood

[Salmon]

I knew I would be tired of cheese & crackers so when I made my bacon & egg taco breakfast this morning I threw in a few extra slices of bacon so I would be less hungry for lunch. Now dinner this evening was homemade fried rice with mushroom, carrot, celery and skirt steak marinated in a mixture of wine, vinegar, soy sauce and chili sauce…..all stir fried. It was very tasty.

I like new guitars or used in excellent condition but not older than about three years. Dents and dings bother me. Buckle rash is an instant deal breaker.

I prefer stock but don't mind electronic modifications if the result is something I desire and the work is done well. Preferably something reversible. It would have to be a very valuable mod to accept non-reversible.....something like sending the guitar to the factory to have that Suhr noise cancelling system installed the best way.

Lindsay Buckingham is great on acoustic guitar. The way he combined all of the parts on Landslide when played live was/is so cool.

Enjoyed your lunch posts and echo thanks to Craig and the forum.