1985 El Toro Monday Makeover

rkingly · #1 07-06-2009, 08:52 PM

El Toro arrived today & was in need of some serious TLC. This bass had all sorts of DNA & Grime from her previous life as some sort of musical slave. Gotta Love it! Despite some obvious cosmetic abuse, the frets have tons of life in them & the wear on the board is minimal.
I scrubbed her down & cleaned all the electronics, conditioned the board & cleaned up all the hardware except the tuners. Before &
after shots for your viewing pleasure.

Oh & she sounds great.

rkingly · #2 07-06-2009, 08:53 PM

And....

rkingly · #3 07-06-2009, 08:58 PM

And the board

rkingly · #4 07-06-2009, 09:00 PM

And...

rkingly · #5 07-06-2009, 09:02 PM

And..

rkingly · #6 07-06-2009, 09:04 PM

& Finally

Craig_S · #7 07-06-2009, 09:49 PM

Very cool. How much did you give for it?

rkingly · #8 07-06-2009, 10:24 PM

$500.00

Craig_S · #9 07-06-2009, 10:54 PM

Sounds good to me, though I have no real idea of an actual value. This one has some definite "mojo". Looks like the previous owner was either a lefty or a thumb player. How does she sound?

whoatherechunk · #10 07-07-2009, 12:43 AM

sweet bass man! i wonder how that abuse under the pickups got there! edward scissorhands played it!

snappytom · #11 07-07-2009, 07:38 AM

Very cool ...... interesting wear pattern. I agree with Craig S that maybe the previous owner was a thumb player who anchored his fingers under the pickups.

rkingly · #12 07-07-2009, 10:38 AM

My fingers fit right in the groove & I found myself thumbing with no problem. Not as much wear @ the bridge.
She sounds amazing with many cool sounds at my disposal.
The only issue for me is highish action. I'm going to tweak a little
at a time before replacing the strings. And a Hipshot is on the way.
The micro-tilt was cranked & I backed it down quite a bit. I may have to add a little back to get her where I want her.

Off to the studio.

**Chef** · #13 07-07-2009, 08:12 PM

What I generally do is set micro tilt off, neck bow dang near flat, set saddle height to 3mm b/t each string underside, and fingerboard surface at the end of the neck...then set micro tilt where it needs to be.

T'CharleS · #14 07-08-2009, 02:07 AM

Beautiful ! Looks like you got one hell of a good deal !

El Tookay · #15 07-08-2009, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkingly

$500.00

Great. Just great. Thanks for that. Just when the GAS had quieted down...

.......kidding of course. And seriously jealous. GREAT score, with that much wear on it, its GOTTA sound good.

rkingly · #16 07-08-2009, 11:30 AM

Neck is dead straight, Bridge saddles are about as close to the plate as they can be without touching. Added a little more neck tilt
& she's close..real close.
Hopefully the hipshot will arrive today, I want to re-string & set the intonation on this beauty.
Even with the old worn out strings this girl sings!
Hotter than I expected ( thanks Leo ) with tons of grind.
With the tone & bass at full tilt, she's a bit unruly, back em down
and she's perfect. Wow, I can't believe that this model hasn't been re-vamped for production. Go figure.
I have been wanting an El Toro for many years & I was more than willing to take a chance on this beater. I'm a bit of a risk taker &
this one has paid of big time!
Thanks for all of your comments & Chef thanks for the set-up tips!

I Love this place!!!!

**Chef** · #17 07-08-2009, 11:33 AM

you can download G&L's setup procedure here:
http://www.glguitars.com/faq/index2.asp

it's in the owners manual section