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Truss rod stripped - G&L L-2500

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StuartV

StuartV

Finally figuring out what I really like
Supporting Member
Jul 27, 2006
6,110
1,271
Manassas, VA
#1
Well, I found out why the MIA L-2500 that I bought used for such a steal of a price from GC was so cheap.

I took it to my tech today for a setup and he called me shortly after I dropped it off to say that the truss rod nut is stripped. :crying:

I can still return it for a refund - and I may end up doing that. But, the action is not terrible as it is, and I love the way it sounds (and looks). So I really want to keep it.

My tech says he's got some tricks up his sleeve that may work to get it adjusted for the best action. We'll see.

Otherwise, he said my only option is to replace the neck. He said Allparts has a replacement neck for it that would be $235. I do not want to do that.

Anybody have any idea what an actual G&L neck would cost?

Anybody have any insight on whether/how it might be repaired, so I don't have to replace the neck at all?

As a side note, when my tech took the neck off, he found that the neck and body are both dated from mid-1998. I was *really* surprised at that. The whole thing is so clean, it looks like it's basically been stored in a case its whole life and never played.

If I do replace the neck with a geniune G&L part, what does that do to the value of the bass (compared to what its value would be if it was all original and the truss rod nut was NOT stripped)?

One last question: if I do end up wanting to buy a G&L neck, would it be possible to replace the original neck (which is unpainted headstock and rosewood fretboard) with one that is a maple fretboard and headstock painted to match the body (which is cherryburst)? If so, any idea how much that would run versus one just like the original?

Thanks for any help! I am seriously bummed today! But, I suppose if I find out that I can get a maple/painted neck for it and it wouldn't be ridiculously expensive, then that would be a ray of sunshine for me. :)
 
#2
It sounds like your next step is to get in touch with G&L customer service and ask about replacement neck options. They would be able to answer most of your questions.

As far as the value with a replacement neck.... anyone's guess, not knowing how low "a steal of a price" was. G&Ls aren't resale value heavyweights to start with. If you got a really good deal on the bass and change out the neck, you MAY recoup your costs (original bass + neck + luthier work) or you may just as likely not. That's assuming you can find a buyer for what would be euphemistically called a "players" bass.

Unless your luthier can do some real magic, my gut says return it. Good luck, man.

EDIT: If $235 for the replacement Allparts neck is "ridiculously expensive," then returning it is probably the way to go.
 
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#3
Sometimes a truss rod can be repaired, which may be what your tech is referring to in terms of "tricks". Sometimes it can even be done with minimal invasion.

More often, however, if a truss rod needs to be replaced it means removing the fingerboard which is a very, very big job. At that point you're probably not going to get much of a return for the expense.

Personally, I would try to return it to GC. If it was damage that you had caused, I could see wanting to put money out for the repair but if it was damaged when you bought it, you should not be repairing it out-of-pocket. It ain't going to be cheap.

I don't know what G&L would charge for replacing the neck, but you could contact Matt at GuitarMan in NYC and ask. He does a pretty brisk business with G&L and has a good relationship with them. Be aware that ordering parts from G&L can be extremely slow.

Good luck!
 
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#4
if your tech says the rod is stripped, does he mean the bullet adjuster- which is removable- or the actual rod? If the bass is a 98, the bullet can be backed out and removed, and a standard Fender-esque bullet can be used. If the rod itself is actually stripped, best to run away from it, and get your cash back from GC. G&L does not send out replacement necks, and you'd have to ship the bass to Fullerton, Ca. freight paid both ways. You do NOT want to have your tech try to replace the rod. Been there, done that, cost a bundle- stripped rod = run.

There is a third scenario- if the bullet is maxxed on the rod, remove the bullet and insert two washers that are the same size in diameter as the bullet, but are opened up to slip over the rod. Now you'll have an extra two (or so) threads to work with. Ken Baker at www.bassesbyleo.com has numerous posts/ info on the 'washer trick'. There is also a great deal of G&L repair info on badassbassplayers.
 
#5
Get a neck estimate (G&L or whatever would make you happy) and take it as well as the bass back to GC and lay it out. Get some scratch for new neck or walk away. You might have saved a bit buying a problem, but you can save it all by turning it in.
 
#6
Lo-E said:
...More often, however, if a truss rod needs to be replaced it means removing the fingerboard which is a very, very big job.
Click to expand...


This is how it goes- pull all the frets, remove the fingerboard, then, dig out the truss rod from the maple. Dig out? yep, because remember, G&L's Bi-Cut neck involves routing a trench for the truss rod in the side of one half of the neck blank, not the top, meaning that it can't be accessed from the top unless you start digging.

Once the bum rod is dug out, you have to clean up/ true the trench, install a Stew-Mac Hot Rod, install and glue up a new fingerboard, install frets, level, crown, install the neck, do the set-up, and there ya go, it's just that easy :eek::eek::eek::eek: .

Your tech will hate you. Mine is still mad at me after four years.
 
#8
El Tookay said:
if your tech says the rod is stripped, does he mean the bullet adjuster- which is removable- or the actual rod? If the bass is a 98, the bullet can be backed out and removed, and a standard Fender-esque bullet can be used. If the rod itself is actually stripped, best to run away from it, and get your cash back from GC. G&L does not send out replacement necks, and you'd have to ship the bass to Fullerton, Ca. freight paid both ways. You do NOT want to have your tech try to replace the rod. Been there, done that, cost a bundle- stripped rod = run.

There is a third scenario- if the bullet is maxxed on the rod, remove the bullet and insert two washers that are the same size in diameter as the bullet, but are opened up to slip over the rod. Now you'll have an extra two (or so) threads to work with. Ken Baker at www.bassesbyleo.com has numerous posts/ info on the 'washer trick'. There is also a great deal of G&L repair info on badassbassplayers.
Click to expand...
+1 to all of this.
 
#9
The nuts on truss rods are made from fairly soft metal. This is so that if someone ham hands it, the nut strips and not the rod itself. You should be able to back the nut out using an easyout tool and check it. If the rod threads are fine, which they likely are, you are talking about a < $10 repair.
 
#10
take it back...necks from G&L are 'spensive. Someone posted on here recently about G&L charging $600 for a new neck. I was quoted $400 for a new G&L neck 9 years ago. I was also told at that point that after market necks don't fit G&Ls because of they're neck pocket. Not a standard shape & size.

My advice is to take it back to GC and let it be their problem.
 
#11
Sucks but I would return it. One of the best things about a USA G&L is the neck so you would not want to buy a aftermarket neck. And who wants a bass owned by someone ham fisted to strip the truss rod nut/etc. :rollno:
 
#12
Thanks for all the input!

I talked to my tech and he confirmed that the problem is the bullet adjuster is what's stripped. And he does have replacements on hand. The problem is that it's so rounded out that he can't get any bite on it to back it out.

Now, I know almost nothing about guitars. But, I have been doing my own wrenching on my racebikes (see avatar picture) for many years. I am somewhat versed in the ways of the EZ-Out.

So, when he told me that, I thought, why not just run an EZ-Out in there to get the bullet adjuster out. I asked my tech and he said he doesn't have a way to do it without damaging the wood. Of course, I'm not there with my EZ-Out in hand, looking at the bass, so I can't say whether there's really a problem or if it just means that he doesn't have the right tools. It *sounds* like he just doesn't have the right tools. But, I can also totally imagine it being a scenario where the adjuster is far down inside a small hole. And the EZ-Out is tapered. So, maybe the EZ-Out gets fat enough to grind the wood of the hole it's going through before it gets far enough into the neck to bite into the bullet adjuster?

If any of you can give me a link to a specific EZ-Out that is the right size that you know will fit in the adjuster hole and be the right size for that bullet adjuster, without hogging out the hole in the neck that it passes through, I would REALLY appreciate it!
 
#13
dalkowski said:
If $235 for the replacement Allparts neck is "ridiculously expensive," then returning it is probably the way to go.
Click to expand...

I don't think $235 is too expensive. I was just guessing that if an Allparts neck is $235, then a G&L neck might be anywhere from $500 to $1000. And THAT would be in the realm of, well, maybe not ridiculously expensive, but certainly TOO expensive. At least, for a bass that I only paid $600 for.

We'll see. After learning that it's just the bullet adjuster, I'm much more hopeful now that it will be able to be repaired fairly inexpensively. Though I might possibly have to take it to a different tech.
 
#16
From BassesByLeo.com, I have determined that the stripped adjuster would have originally been a 1/8" Allen keyed hole.

So, if the tool from StewMac doesn't work (which I'm afraid it may not, if it doesn't taper to being oversized quickly enough - my tech said the depth of the rounded out hole is very shallow), then he should be able to use an EZ-Out, right? If we can find one that has a tip that is 1/8" and doesn't have a body/shank that is too fat to fit in the hole, right?
 
#17
If you happened to have some grinding compound, a dap of that on the allen key before inserting often will give enough bite to get the nut to let go. A low-rent version of that is to wrap the key in foil. In desperate times, I have ground down the next size up of an allen key at a taper, (like the stew mac tool shown) That works as well.

Also, with the bass on a bench or between your knees, use a bit of force to "bend" the neck VERY slightly. This relieves stress on the truss and thus less friction on the bottom of the truss nut. That's may help it back out easier.
 
#18
Should not GC be held accountable for not selling it as a broken item?

customer: Wow why is this G&L MIA L-2500 so inexpensive?
GC employee: The truss rod is wrecked.
customer: oh..

It comes down to how much was the bass discounted at the store, compared to how much it will cost you to fix it.

Keep in mind as a retailer, it should cost GC less to fix it themselves, than it would cost you to fix it, as an end user paying full retail for parts and labour.
 
#19
StuartV said:
From BassesByLeo.com, I have determined that the stripped adjuster would have originally been a 1/8" Allen keyed hole.

So, if the tool from StewMac doesn't work (which I'm afraid it may not, if it doesn't taper to being oversized quickly enough - my tech said the depth of the rounded out hole is very shallow),
Click to expand...
Not an issue. Just shorten the tip of the tool if this is the case, with a grinder.
This tool is bound to work better that an EZ out- an EZ out really only gets a good bite in a truly round hole.
 
#20
Thanks again for the suggestions.

Chasarms, my tech already told me what he's doing now is that he has put the neck in a press with a little pressure on it for an hour or so to get it to relax, in hopes of freeing it up just as you described.

dmusic148, I had already considered grinding off the end like you mentioned. Hopefully, that won't be an issue. 'Cause for that to be an issue would mean first ordering that tool. I'm hoping I won't have to wait that long to get this nut out. I DO have the time before my GC return period expires (I've only had the bass 2 weeks). But, I'm hoping we get the bullet adjuster out with readily available tools and tricks. :-)

longfinger, sure GC should be accountable. And, really, I reckon that's what the 30 day return period is for. And if I can't get it fixed for cheap enough, I'll return the bass. If I do manage to get it fixed, then I'll consider going back to them with the repair bill and asking for some help. However, I think we'll either get this bullet adjuster out somehow and the bill from my tech will be pretty darn small, or we won't get it out at all and I'll return it for a refund. I was already going to pay my tech $80 for the setup work he's supposed to do. If the total bill ends up being $100 or not much over, well, I'm not going to sweat it too much. At that point, I will still have a kick-ass MIA G&L in mint condition for CHEAP. :D

When I talk to him next, I will suggest the grinding compound and tin foil tricks.
 
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