Old-school L-1000 wedding gift!

KsPiNeSh · #1 09-16-2008, 07:43 PM

The short story is that my guitar player manages a music store, and an old (probably 1982) L-1000 came in used, so he bought it and gave it to me as a wedding gift! It's kind of an ugly color IMO, but it sounds incredible! The neck is very thin and straight and the frets are low and smooth - the electronics are even in great shape!

Here are some pics:

My favorite wedding gift

nonrappingJZ · #2 09-16-2008, 08:39 PM

Beautiful. I had a transparent yellowish one. Getting rid of it was a mistake.

TomB · #3 09-16-2008, 09:12 PM

What a beauty! I have one of the early ones as well, may we never part. I used to wonder back then how that blue finish would turn out when it got old enough, and now I have the answer... lovely.. Congrats!

**Chef** · #4 09-16-2008, 09:16 PM

serial number makes me think 1982:
http://www.glguitars.com/chronology/index.asp
but you never know til you pull the neck.
1981 should have slot pole pickups, not hex head.

Nice bass! Nice wedding present...is the wife cool with that?

duke12 · #5 09-16-2008, 09:42 PM

That's a pretty rare color for those years, I think.

Looks like it's in good shape. I've owned eight or nine Wunkays of that era and many were not as nice as that.....

KsPiNeSh · #6 09-16-2008, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef

serial number makes me think 1982:
http://www.glguitars.com/chronology/index.asp
but you never know til you pull the neck.
1981 should have slot pole pickups, not hex head.

Nice bass! Nice wedding present...is the wife cool with that?

Great information. The pole pieces do look to be hex, but it's tough to tell as they're dirty. As for the wife, well, I'm a lucky man with a (mostly) understanding female

**Chef** · #7 09-16-2008, 10:00 PM

not hard to tell at all, slot poles are obvious...not very close up in this pic, but see the big screwdriver sized slot?

GGJaguar · #8 09-17-2008, 05:45 AM

Smooth black h/w and allen head poles would be correct for early-mid 1982. The thing that blows my mind is the Viking Blue finish. It is very rare to find that on anything other the economy model basses (SB-1, SB-2) and guitars (SC-1, SC-2, SC-3).

GG

Madcity Fats · #9 09-17-2008, 07:34 AM

BEST. WEDDING. GIFT. EVER!!!

And yeah, I'd doubt that there are more than handful of 1Ks that color. I've never seen one until now. Very cool.

**Chef** · #10 09-17-2008, 07:52 AM

It kinda looks like it's been painted that color twice?
There seems to be a similar color under the chips in the top coat?

KsPiNeSh · #11 09-17-2008, 08:46 AM

Yeah, I'm not really sure what's up with the color. The grain of the wood is very apparent through the finish itself and there is no gloss/clearcoat, so that makes me wonder if it didn't start out as a natural. I have never had a chance to examine an instrument this old before, so that may be perfectly normal for something ~25 years old. There are also some spots of white paint on the finish and even the strings, but I think that was an incidental thing, like someone was careless when painting their house.

It's also got a 3-way rocker switch - is that normal for these? Looking at the G&L schematics for the L-1000 seems to indicate that it should be/started out 2-way. I know they're fairly easy to mod, but again I don't have much experience examining these things.

After looking at that picture, I am happy to confirm that yes, they are hex pole pieces

duke12 · #12 09-17-2008, 09:02 AM

3-way swx is correct. It's HB, single coil, and OMG (single coil with bass boost). Find the position that gives you the loudest, most massive tone -- that's the OMG position. Set it there and forget it exists. I never move mine (I have 4 of these basses) from OMG.

Ya, those are the small hex that were used from then until the present. Chef has the "middle" configuration, the "slotted" pole pieces. The earliest ones also have a hex pole piece, but the hex size is bigger. You'll find the so-called "large hex" only on 1980 and early 1981 basses.

If you're looking for an easy way to verify the finish, try taking that control cover off and snapping a picture of the bottom of the cavity -- it it was refinned blue over a natural you might see some evidence there. If it was me, I'd have the thing disassembled (neck from body) and snapping photos of the neck heel and pocket, but not everybody is comfortable with that......

But if it's a refin, it's pretty cool. Maybe even done at the factory. As GGJaguar said, that's a color usually reserved for only a few other axes. And Greg knows more about this stuff than anybody.

TomB · #13 09-17-2008, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duke12

3-way swx is correct. It's HB, single coil, and OMG (single coil with bass boost). Find the position that gives you the loudest, most massive tone -- that's the OMG position. Set it there and forget it exists. I never move mine (I have 4 of these basses) from OMG.

Ya, those are the small hex that were used from then until the present. Chef has the "middle" configuration, the "slotted" pole pieces. The earliest ones also have a hex pole piece, but the hex size is bigger. You'll find the so-called "large hex" only on 1980 and early 1981 basses.

If you're looking for an easy way to verify the finish, try taking that control cover off and snapping a picture of the bottom of the cavity -- it it was refinned blue over a natural you might see some evidence there. If it was me, I'd have the thing disassembled (neck from body) and snapping photos of the neck heel and pocket, but not everybody is comfortable with that......

But if it's a refin, it's pretty cool. Maybe even done at the factory. As GGJaguar said, that's a color usually reserved for only a few other axes. And Greg knows more about this stuff than anybody.

Interesting... I thought this was perhaps the aged and cloudy version of the transparent blue that was on the very earliest L-1000's. Is that possible? Does anyone else have an aged version of that finish? I always expected it would turn a dark green eventually, not aqua.

quickervicar · #14 09-17-2008, 01:10 PM

Does he have a sister?

duke12 · #15 09-17-2008, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB

Interesting... I thought this was perhaps the aged and cloudy version of the transparent blue that was on the very earliest L-1000's. Is that possible? Does anyone else have an aged version of that finish? I always expected it would turn a dark green eventually, not aqua.

The trans blue does turn sorta green. Here's a couple pix of an old trans blue L-2000E that went through the Owl Farm a few years back and now lives with my Brother E.....tried to get the ones without the flash so you could see the color more naturally. It's nothing like the OP bass....

spideyjg · #16 09-17-2008, 01:42 PM

Looks like the early large bore hex poles to me not the post slot to present small ones.

duke12 · #17 09-17-2008, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spideyjg

Looks like the early large bore hex poles to me not the post slot to present small ones.

You know, rabbit, you might be right.

That's a weird combo then, since the flat black control covers come WELL AFTER the slotted pole pieces start....

**Chef** · #18 09-17-2008, 03:29 PM

that's what they looked like to me too, bit I'm no expert...

GGJaguar · #19 09-17-2008, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spideyjg

Looks like the early large bore hex poles to me not the post slot to present small ones.

Optical illusion maybe? It has a Pat No cover which is correct for an '82.

GG

**Chef** · #20 09-17-2008, 05:30 PM

didn't notice yer just over in KC...howdy!