In my last report, I said I would have ramen noodles for lunch. So what? Big deal, right? Actually, it is a VERY big deal. Ramen, not sushi, is the national dish of Japan. Of course, you can get the same 3-minute ramen here, but then there are tiny, dirty, poorly lit shops on back streets to which addicts like me will travel an hour or more by train, and then wait on a long line to eat, you dig? There are full-color magazines and websites devoted to the subject of ramen, full of descriptive adjectives just like a guitar magazine, catalog...or discussion site...like this one. These shops have their own special recipe that is usually a variation on classic styles, so the search for "the tone" in boutique variations on Fender, Gibson, Marshalls and Vox designs is much like the search for that perfect bowl of shoyu, shio, miso or tonkotsu ramen.
Today's lunch was a normal sized bowl of Yokohama Ie-kei ramen, topped with a slice of roasted pork, spinach, bean-sprouts, "cloud ear" mushrooms and sheets of laver (seaweed). I also like to sprinkle on sesame seeds, and put a little miso and garlic into mine. It's the harmony of the soup, noodles, toppings and condiments that make ramen delicious and fun to eat. It's not just lunch -- it's an adventure. Even digesting it can be a challenge. Most varieties of ramen are very salty, fatty and high in calories. Some shops even offer extra fatback as a topping. Initially, it doesn't look very appetizing to an American, especially one from a family with a history of heart disease, but once those gleaming globules melt into the steaming soup, it takes on a much richer and more savoury flavour.
The various ingredients that give ramen its flavour are not unlike the various components that give a guitar its tone. A good example of this for me was the tremolo block in my G&L Legacy. Years ago I replaced it with a Callaham tremolo block. Same as all my mods, I had a specific goal or purpose in mind: getting more response from the weak high-E string on my guitar. This it certainly did, but it also increased the string separation when playing chords, along with extra sustain. However, the guitar lost some of the warmth which I loved so much. So I'm looking for new pickups to reclaim it.
What has your experience been with steel tremolo block and/or saddles? Did you change your pickups?
And what has your experience been eating ramen, including the instant variety?
