Body Wood on 1980 opaque G&L?

[derick]

Hi all, new user here.

I've got a White G&L L1000 bass that I special ordered in the fall of 1980, as best as I can recall. At the time G&L weren't offering white as a color option, but the factory said that they were thinking about adding white and would make one for me. The music store ordered two white basses at that time, my L1000 and another L2000, but from this I believe that my bass may be the first white one ever made, or at least the second. The polyurethane clearcoat has yellowed considerably, but the places where the paint itself is exposed, it's still white.

My question is this: How does one determine what kind of wood the body is made of? Although I made a living with this bass until 1984, it's functioned perfectly for all these years and I just today took the pot plate off for the first time. From the grain pattern in the rout-out I'm guessing ash, but does anybody have a clue as to what the "normal" thing might have been in these situations?

The Bass is pretty heavy. Actually, really heavy.

Thanks for any feedback or enlightenment on this.

[metron]

Hi welcome! G&L used ash and mahogany a lot in the early years. Mahogany would be an obvious brown looking wood in the rout.

One thing I noticed on the '81 ash L1000 I had was that the clearcoat sunk into the grain so even if the bass was a solid color, catching the light off it would reveal the grain ripples.

[Templar]

It's not alder, supposedly alder was not used early on. It could be ash, poplar, or maybe even maple.

Like metron said, mahogany is easy to spot. The others...not so easy to tell without a large area of exposed grain.

I think the '81 below is poplar. Crappy pic, but seen in person the exposed wood has a slight green-ish hue and nondescript grain. Or it could possibly be maple, but not ash.

[derick]

Originally Posted by Templar

It's not alder, supposedly alder was not used early on. It could be ash, poplar, or maybe even maple.

Like metron said, mahogany is easy to spot. The others...not so easy to tell without a large area of exposed grain.

I think the '81 below is poplar. Crappy pic, but seen in person the exposed wood has a slight green-ish hue and nondescript grain. Or it could possibly be maple, but not ash.

Thanks for the replies. There are woods that I'd recognize, but the difference between ash, maple and alder are guesswork on my part. Especially under a coat of paint. Here are some photos of the bass, including the cavity, which is why I'm guessing ash.
The wood in the cavity looks redder than in real life.




Apparently this early black-colored bridge is also a rarity, the ebony fretboard was better quality wood than I was used to seeing on G&L basses at that time as well. In fact, my recollection is that I had to wait a while for a shipment of ebony to come in before they'd make the bass. When the guitar was new the B note on the G string was kind of dead, but it has since cured out or something because that note did eventually come alive. I did weigh the thing and it came in at approx. 9 lbs 10 oz.
Does Ash have the reputation of being heavier than maple? I understand that alder tends to be lighter than maple.

[TomB]

It does look like ash. The weight of ash varies a great deal. My L-1000 is from 1980, 55 earlier than yours (001397). It's a medium-weight ash, finished natural, w/a similar ebony board. However, my bridge is chrome, and I have Allen key pickup poles.

[Templar]

Nice bass Derick.

Looks like a late '81 or early '82. That serial # (B0034XX?), slotted poles, and flat black bridge are pretty strong indicators.

[TomB]

Originally Posted by Templar

Nice bass Derick.

Looks like a late '81 or early '82. That serial # (B0034XX?), slotted poles, and flat black bridge are pretty strong indicators.

What IS that serial number, Derick? I had thought until now that slotted pole pieces only showed up in really early instruments.

[derick]

Originally Posted by TomB

What IS that serial number, Derick? I had thought until now that slotted pole pieces only showed up in really early instruments.

The serial is B001451. Early bridges were supposed to be chrome, but this one is black. It's also a satin black finish, not crinkle. It's never been off the bass. The white L2000 that the factory made the same time as this one also had a black bridge.

And yes, the poles are slotted. It's a 1980 bass, if I can find my old gig records I can date the delivery within a week or so, because I remember where I was playing the first night I got it, and we didn't play there often.

[metron]

Wow that is an odd bird! I have seen a few L1Ks

serial B0023xx all chrome, large hex poles, dated 12/80
serial B0024xx all chrome, slot poles (no pat #), dated 1/81
serial B0053xx all chrome, slot poles (pat #), dated 9/81

Chronologically they all fit together but yours doesnt. Your serial number puts it earlier than my 12/80 but it has the (later?) flat black bridge and slots. Seems like they may have used your bass to try out a few new things they were going to introduce to the line in the near future. Way cool! Yeah looks like it may be ash due to the wide grain in the rout.

[Templar]

Wow, that is amazing to find those features on a '80.

Never say never with G&L, eh?

Have you had the neck off? I'd be curious to see what info is in there.

[metron]

Originally Posted by Templar

Wow, that is amazing to find those features on a '80.

Never say never with G&L, eh?

Have you had the neck off? I'd be curious to see what info is in there.

Ill second that. Could be an example of one of the earliest slot pickups. Since you bought it new, you know its all original and that makes the appointments even more interesting.

[TomB]

Originally Posted by metron

Wow that is an odd bird! I have seen a few L1Ks

serial B0023xx all chrome, large hex poles, dated 12/80
serial B0024xx all chrome, slot poles (no pat #), dated 1/81
serial B0053xx all chrome, slot poles (pat #), dated 9/81

Chronologically they all fit together but yours doesnt. Your serial number puts it earlier than my 12/80 but it has the (later?) flat black bridge and slots. Seems like they may have used your bass to try out a few new things they were going to introduce to the line in the near future. Way cool! Yeah looks like it may be ash due to the wide grain in the rout.

So if my #13xx has hex poles, and Derick's #14xx has slots, Metron's #23xx has poles, and #24xx has slots, that sounds like a transition from hex to slots around the beginning of '81. Does anyone know how long after that slot poles were used before hex's took over for good? Do you think G&L may simply have run out of hex's for a while right at that time? Where's Paul Bechtold when you need him?

[Chef]

That's a fine lookin' axe mang. Really neat that you've had it all that time....

[derick]

Well, stop the presses. I actually found my old ledger book, and it's a 1981 bass. I paid $523.16 for it during the first week of November, 1981. Which was about two weeks' pay, at 4-5 hours a night 6 days a week.

This actually makes more sense, except for the black bridge serial #B001481. Apparently G&L must have done some black bridges in 1980 as an expiriment, and decided that their first run of white basses was an excellent place to use them? Dunno. It's a very good bass, whatever and however. I've never sold a bass that I liked, only got rid of one Rick 4001 that was the biggest PITA that I've ever played.

[Chef]

That's funny!
I'm a hoarder too; a real old 4001, and a 1976 Thunderbird are two of only three or four basses I've ever flipped.

My wunkays stay with me.

I looove that color, my 1972 Tele's real close to that.

Originally Posted by derick

I've never sold a bass that I liked, only got rid of one Rick 4001 that was the biggest PITA that I've ever played.

[derick]

Originally Posted by Chef

That's funny!
I'm a hoarder too; a real old 4001, and a 1976 Thunderbird are two of only three or four basses I've ever flipped.

Well, I've actually only owned 4 basses, as when I was supporting myself with them, I wasn't exactly rolling in extra cash. So, I don't qualify as a hoarder, I think I need at least a dozen basses to fit that description. My first real bass was a 1974 Ripper that I still own, bought in 1977. I always thought that it had a maple body, and the body wood on the Ripper is what made me start wondering about the G&L, as the Ripper always felt much lighter than the G&L, but Maple is supposed to be a heavier wood.

The strange thing is that this Gibson Ripper is also a bit of a freak, because it's a fretted Tobacco Sunburst that they supposedly didn't make in 1974. I saw a later Tobacco Sunburst Ripper go for >1200 a couple of weeks ago on Ebay, and this got me wondering...

My wunkays stay with me.

I looove that color, my 1972 Tele's real close to that.

This may be a stupid question, but what's a wunkay?

I admit I was kind of disappointed when the G&L started yellowing, I fruitlessly tried to polish it out a few times, but I like it, now. Just as well, cause it's not going to change.

Regards,

-Don

[Chef]

wunkay=L1000
tukay=L2000

sorry, the G&L nerd in me got out for a minute.

You can see my herd here:
Bass a Day Picture Thread

several of both in there....

[Templar]

Do you think G&L may simply have run out of hex's for a while right at that time?

That's exactly what I thought when I saw them in '81. I thought the slots looked fugly at the time (now I dig 'em).

What I did'nt know until recently, was that the slots were meant to serve a purpose.....line them up perpendicularly or parallel to the strings for some sort of sonic difference.

Dunno how well the concept works tho, I can't hear any difference at all on mine. Evidently, not many other folks could either....the slots only lasted one year.

Gotta give Leo an "A" for effort tho. He did a lot of tinkering in the early G&L years.

[TomB]

Originally Posted by derick

Well, stop the presses. I actually found my old ledger book, and it's a 1981 bass. I paid $523.16 for it during the first week of November, 1981. Which was about two weeks' pay, at 4-5 hours a night 6 days a week.

Derick, your search inspired me to dig into my own records as I recall the transaction so well. I bought B001397 in January, 1981, for $535.30, in Elmwood, Il.

I was playing 6 nights a week back then also. Nobody does that today, do they?!

I pulled the neck off just once (to study the tilt-adjust), but I didn't record anything, and recall only that the dates were from 1980. Some time I might do it again just out of curiosity.

[Chef]

I worked four nights this week....
Six?
And a day job?

When would I sleep