Almost NBD - Wunkay content

[TinIndian]

A bow to the neck... I've heard about it many times before, in fact my current L2K had it (1st 1 I've experienced) but I was able to repair it myself. My truss rod was maxed out as well,
so I loosened the truss about 5 full turns, clamped the neck down, then placed a clamp on the center of the neck (frets down) and applied force with the middle clamp.
I had to do this 3x so far and it's a lot better but still not quite perfect. I consulted my local G&L dealer (Murphy's music in Huntington NY) and they advised the only way to make the
fix permanent is under heat, so I'm going to try it again but with a hair dryer on it this time.

I sent my L2KE neck to Warpedneck .com (webpage), the shop is in Texas. When I bought it there was a twist and a fairly bad ski slope. Pretty much unplayable over the 12th fret. They were able to get it almost completely straight and now it takes a really good setup with medium low action. It has held so far and it's been 6 months. I would send it to them was it really didn't cost much and they do this type of thing quite a bit. I am not sure a hairdryer is going to give you the results you are looking for.

As a side note on the 3 bolt necks, from what I understand the ski slope is related to over tightening the 2 bolts closest to the headstock so everyone should be careful not to turn those to tight.

 

[Robert Sperling]

I sent my L2KE neck to Warpedneck .com (webpage), the shop is in Texas. When I bought it there was a twist and a fairly bad ski slope. Pretty much unplayable over the 12th fret. They were able to get it almost completely straight and now it takes a really good setup with medium low action. It has held so far and it's been 6 months. I would send it to them was it really didn't cost much and they do this type of thing quite a bit. I am not sure a hairdryer is going to give you the results you are looking for.

As a side note on the 3 bolt necks, from what I understand the ski slope is related to over tightening the 2 bolts closest to the headstock so everyone should be careful not to turn those to tight.

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to try it myself this 1 last time because I have seen an improvement each time I've done it. If not I have some very good Luthiers here on Long Island
but thanks for the tip, it's appreciated!

 

[craigb]

I used to lurk at the dudepit and guitarsbyleo when both were pretty happening (anyone remember the lunch reports?), and seem to remember the wun/too - kay appearing there.

I remember the lunch reports - in fact I had that second-highest honor one time (10/31/2005-11/5/2005 per the Invalid Link Removed ) passed on to me by bdg. I also was semi-active (much as I am here) on the Dudepit and even bought a bass (a Modulus Genesis Jazz IIRC) as well as the TI Powerwound strings that still live on my Rumblefish PJ from the Dude. Bdg was also the original orderer of my BABP L1K which has some kind of symmetry to it

Unfortunately my memory is not so good and I'm not that interested in the very early minutiae so I can't speak to the wun/two-kay. But I appreciate the jog of my memory on those old times.

 

[lakefx]

Thanks for the info, I thought the only difference was the # of pickups...I didn't know 1K's were passive controls. Thank you!

I used to have a tookay (I've owned a couple of them actually) and loved them, but when I got my wunkay I was blown away by how much more usable every tone out of it is for me.

I sent my L2KE neck to Warpedneck .com (webpage), the shop is in Texas. When I bought it there was a twist and a fairly bad ski slope. Pretty much unplayable over the 12th fret. They were able to get it almost completely straight and now it takes a really good setup with medium low action. It has held so far and it's been 6 months. I would send it to them was it really didn't cost much and they do this type of thing quite a bit. I am not sure a hairdryer is going to give you the results you are looking for.

As a side note on the 3 bolt necks, from what I understand the ski slope is related to over tightening the 2 bolts closest to the headstock so everyone should be careful not to turn those to tight.

I sent a fretless P-Bass neck to them and they did a fantastic job! I wouldn't hesitate to use them in the future.

Having said that, my local luthier says that the reason G&L necks have a tendency to get the ski jump is because the truss rod stops a little too short of the end of the neck. I don't know if that's actually the reason or not, but he knows his stuff and has worked on a few of my G&Ls over the past few years.

 

[TinIndian]

Having said that, my local luthier says that the reason G&L necks have a tendency to get the ski jump is because the truss rod stops a little too short of the end of the neck. I don't know if that's actually the reason or not, but he knows his stuff and has worked on a few of my G&Ls over the past few years.

Yep. They do a great job straightening necks and are very reasonable.

I can see this as a contributing factor as well.

 

[Iridescentone]

I think the infamous ski-jump is mostly caused by overuse of the neck tilt adjuster. I don't know who had it first, Peavey or G&L, but it's a dumb idea IMO.

Apparently meant to be a handy alternative to shims, the tilt screw allows the neck butt to be cranked up way higher than could ever be necessary. Jack it up too high, let it stay that way for a few years.....good chance for a ski-jump.

Neck tilt adjustment feature = needless gimmick that provides an opportunity to screw up a neck. Thankfully, it went the way of the dodo.

 

[Iridescentone]

I sent my L2KE neck to Warpedneck .com (webpage), the shop is in Texas. When I bought it there was a twist and a fairly bad ski slope. Pretty much unplayable over the 12th fret. They were able to get it almost completely straight and now it takes a really good setup with medium low action. It has held so far and it's been 6 months. I would send it to them was it really didn't cost much and they do this type of thing quite a bit. I am not sure a hairdryer is going to give you the results you are looking for.

As a side note on the 3 bolt necks, from what I understand the ski slope is related to over tightening the 2 bolts closest to the headstock so everyone should be careful not to turn those to tight.

If you don't mind my asking, what did they charge for that repair?

 

[DeliriumTremens]

I think the infamous ski-jump is mostly caused by overuse of the neck tilt adjuster. I don't know who had it first, Peavey or G&L, but it's a dumb idea IMO.

Apparently meant to be a handy alternative to shims, the tilt screw allows the neck butt to be cranked up way higher than could ever be necessary. Jack it up too high, let it stay that way for a few years.....good chance for a ski-jump.

Neck tilt adjustment feature = needless gimmick that provides an opportunity to screw up a neck. Thankfully, it went the way of the dodo.

I think Fender did it first around 1971 with the 3 bolt Strats

 

[HeavyHand]

Thank you for the head's up. I just picked up a black El Toro, the Wunkay search is temporarily put on a back burner.

Please me know how you like the El Toro!

 

[bigtone23]

Please me know how you like the El Toro!

It's really, really killer. July, 1983, black with rosewood fingerboard and black headstock. Great feeling neck, the tones are solid, possibly borderline overzealous-it can get funky bright! Taking it apart to get the dates and give it a cleaning revealed a really tight and precise build quality.
It's kind of funny, I was looking for a L2K, perhaps a L1K from the 80s. Saw a post in C'sL for a "Vintage L2000" and the post featured a really blurry cell phone picture. I could barely make out the black/red/white switch tips, black crinkle hardware and control plate--all markers for the 80s. When I got there to check it out, I saw it, clear as day, on the headstock--"EL TORO". I was pleasantly surprised to get an El Toro. A Wunkay/Tookay would be very different from my other basses, but this is different enough from my Jazzes to warrant keeping-it's like 80% L2K/20% Jazz bass.
I get the 80s G&L love now.

 

[TinIndian]

If you don't mind my asking, what did they charge for that repair?

If I remember right it was 125.00. However it depends on how much work needs to be done. Mine had a couple of issues. I think the base charge is under 100.00. It was well worth it at that price. A replacement neck for an early one like mine would have cost far more than that, if you could find one and mine has a lot of Birdseye and figuring in the neck.

 

[Iridescentone]

If I remember right it was 125.00. However it depends on how much work needs to be done. Mine had a couple of issues. I think the base charge is under 100.00. It was well worth it at that price. A replacement neck for an early one like mine would have cost far more than that, if you could find one and mine has a lot of Birdseye and figuring in the neck.

That's not bad at all. I hope they're still in business if/when I need a neck fixed.

 

[TinIndian]

Well it's more than just a repair shop, they have sales there too and have been in business for quite some time it seems.