G&L Club Part 4

[Mrfstop]

My latest. Found a 3-bolt L2K fretless. 1.5" nut width, ghostlined ebony, really vibrant clear green finish (the pics don't do it justice). Came with old flats on it and it sounds great. Lots of fun slipping and sliding around on it.

WoW, that's awesome!! Great find!

 

[fourstringbliss]

I'd bet the bridge pickup on the other didn't work right because on my setup you would have had to ground the copper plate individually of any of the pickup wires. If you grounded the back plate without lifting the green pickup wire, it would mean that the green wire from the pickup was always grounded, so that (using my version of the wiring), the single coil and scwbb sections would have been all screwy on the bridge pickup switch. Had you not grounded each pickup plate as you did, my version would have worked, but those two modes would have been a little noisier- fixing it would have been a simple matter of making the green lead from the pickup independant of the ground plate. For some reason I had thought that this was already done on Tributes based on some posts in the other forum, but they must have just been talking about the extra shielding in the pickup cavity.

This is an MIK version, so things might have changed with the wiring. It doesn't seem the same as the other ones I've owned. Man, does it sound great now, though! My wife wondered why I was doing so much wiring on it, because I've been monkeying around with it for about three weeks now. I took her on a tour of the tones I get out of it now just by flipping switches and she said, "Wow!" Time well spent in my book. I recommend that you all replace your 250k tone pot with a 500k version - the extra treble you can get really brings the tone to life! You could always roll it back half way and you've got your old 250k version again.

 

[Chef]

Mmmmm-hmmmm.
Awesome.

My latest. Found a 3-bolt L2K fretless. 1.5" nut width, ghostlined ebony, really vibrant clear green finish (the pics don't do it justice). Came with old flats on it and it sounds great. Lots of fun slipping and sliding around on it.

 

[sunbeast]

This is an MIK version, so things might have changed with the wiring. It doesn't seem the same as the other ones I've owned. Man, does it sound great now, though! My wife wondered why I was doing so much wiring on it, because I've been monkeying around with it for about three weeks now. I took her on a tour of the tones I get out of it now just by flipping switches and she said, "Wow!" Time well spent in my book. I recommend that you all replace your 250k tone pot with a 500k version - the extra treble you can get really brings the tone to life! You could always roll it back half way and you've got your old 250k version again.

On the US G&Ls (at least up to the early 2000s), the pickup cavities weren't even grounded, so the only grounding around the pickups was that hard-wired green lead that attached to the copper plate on the pickup housing. When I decided to fool around with the single coil switching there weren't the same available diagrams apart from the old G&L schemes, so I figured it out by trial-and-error, including the pickup ground plate wiring (when I first rewired my old L2500, the polepieces on one pickup would buzz whenever I would touch them in single coil or scwbb mode- a result of the ground plate being attached to the green lead from the pickup). DavePlaysBasses diagram doesn't require the movement of the ground wire because he used a different path to the same end goal.

I concur on the 500K pots as well, though in my experience they are not as ideal to use for volume pots in a volume/volume setup because of the different tapering (I use them in my L2000, but they can be very touchy for getting the "right" blend of pickups I want as compared to a 250/250 Jazz bass setup). If you use a 500K audio taper pot for a tone control, the 250K setting will also be much sooner than halfway on the turn, probably just a quarter turn or thereabouts. Most of the difference between the two in a tone control is right at the fully open settings.

 

[fourstringbliss]

On the US G&Ls (at least up to the early 2000s), the pickup cavities weren't even grounded, so the only grounding around the pickups was that hard-wired green lead that attached to the copper plate on the pickup housing. When I decided to fool around with the single coil switching there weren't the same available diagrams apart from the old G&L schemes, so I figured it out by trial-and-error, including the pickup ground plate wiring (when I first rewired my old L2500, the polepieces on one pickup would buzz whenever I would touch them in single coil or scwbb mode- a result of the ground plate being attached to the green lead from the pickup). DavePlaysBasses diagram doesn't require the movement of the ground wire because he used a different path to the same end goal.

I concur on the 500K pots as well, though in my experience they are not as ideal to use for volume pots in a volume/volume setup because of the different tapering (I use them in my L2000, but they can be very touchy for getting the "right" blend of pickups I want as compared to a 250/250 Jazz bass setup). If you use a 500K audio taper pot for a tone control, the 250K setting will also be much sooner than halfway on the turn, probably just a quarter turn or thereabouts. Most of the difference between the two in a tone control is right at the fully open settings.

I'm sure the stock shielding paint was fine on this Tribute but I shielded the heck out of it with copper foil tape. I've found that this kind works really well and is readily available at your local hardware store:

It's thin (so really flexible) and the adhesive is strong. The adhesive isn't officially conductive but electricity conducts through overlapping pieces.

That's good to know about the 500k pots. I'm pretty sure my volume pot is a 500k as well because the stock one stopped working.

 

[spiritbass]

awwww yeahhhhhh L5500.....nuff said!

Honeyburst gets my sweet tooth going - nice!

 

[Cshanks5]

I just ordered a used G&L Asat, and was wondering if any one know where i could find what year it was made! I have the serial number but i haven't received the bass yet. I looked online but couldn't find anything.

 

[BadJazz]

Interesting feEbay deal:

G&L Asat Bass RARE REAL Leo Fender Signature Model 1992 | eBay

Were these ever released?

 

[armybass]

My latest. Found a 3-bolt L2K fretless. 1.5" nut width, ghostlined ebony, really vibrant clear green finish (the pics don't do it justice). Came with old flats on it and it sounds great. Lots of fun slipping and sliding around on it.

PLEASE.......keep me in mind when you decide to move this bass...

 

[Godfather]

The board on mrfstop's L2000 is so gorgeous - It's SICK !

 

[Mrfstop]

The board on mrfstop's L2000 is so gorgeous - It's SICK !

Thanks man!
She was a good find
Found her new over at Guitar Adoptions/Chicago maybe 8 months ago.
He had two, This one had the nicest birdseye figuring on it.
Great seller! Great prices! Highly recommend
I have not seen many G&L's with this fretboard.

 

[Chef]

dang!

 

[Mrfstop]

dang!

Well said thanks Chef!

 

[sunbeast]

Thanks man!
She was a good find
Found her new over at Guitar Adoptions/Chicago maybe 8 months ago.
He had two, This one had the nicest birdseye figuring on it.
Great seller! Great prices! Highly recommend
I have not seen many G&L's with this fretboard.

+1 to what Chef said!

I remember drooling over an L2000 for a long time that someone on here or the old Dudepit forum had with a full one piece birdseye neck (front and back). I think I heard on one of these boards that they stopped doing that for bass necks though because they felt the Birdseye'd wood wasn't stable enough for the tension of a tuned bass. I still want one like that though- it can be my piccolo bass if need be!

 

[Mrfstop]

+1 to what Chef said!

I remember drooling over an L2000 for a long time that someone on here or the old Dudepit forum had with a full one piece birdseye neck (front and back). I think I heard on one of these boards that they stopped doing that for bass necks though because they felt the Birdseye'd wood wasn't stable enough for the tension of a tuned bass. I still want one like that though- it can be my piccolo bass if need be!

I own a G&L ASAT Classic 6 string with the full birdseye neck and board combo. It is Belair Green with the light oil finish on the neck and board. Not as yellow looking as the gun oil finish on this bass. More clear looking.
Bought that one from Dave over at Guitar Adoptions too...
That guy orders up some sweeeet G&L inventory!
I heard that someplace too about birdseye being not as stable.
But yet In the 8 months I have owned the L2k, the neck is perfect and is always in tune even when not played for a week or two.
so I dunno?

 

[Mrfstop]

Forget if this Pic he had on his store site really does the birdseye justice? But This is the one I had in photobucket, so here it is.
I KNOW, not a bass...one of those skinny stringers...BUT, it does show the point I was making about the birdseye neck and board together in the lighter oil finish mentioned.

 

[NE4TT]

Cshanks,

The neck and body have date stamps.

jamie

I just ordered a used G&L Asat, and was wondering if any one know where i could find what year it was made! I have the serial number but i haven't received the bass yet. I looked online but couldn't find anything.

 

[kai_ski]

I own a G&L ASAT Classic 6 string with the full birdseye neck and board combo. It is Belair Green with the light oil finish on the neck and board. Not as yellow looking as the gun oil finish on this bass. More clear looking.
Bought that one from Dave over at Guitar Adoptions too...
That guy orders up some sweeeet G&L inventory!
I heard that someplace too about birdseye being not as stable.
But yet In the 8 months I have owned the L2k, the neck is perfect and is always in tune even when not played for a week or two.
so I dunno?

If anything the Birdseye should be more stable than other types of maple. That's a sweet combo.

 

[Mrfstop]

If anything the Birdseye should be more stable than other types of maple. That's a sweet combo.

Thanks!
I am for sure NOT a "real" guitar player at all.
Been a bass player from day one back in 1980.
But I always liked having one kicking around to practice on and to try to better myself on. It has actually helped my dexterity and overall bass playing I think.
Had a bunch of Non American 6 stringers over time and one day recently saw this G&L on that Guitar adoptions site while checking out his basses and my jaw hit the floor!
So worked the deal and now finally have an keeper American classic to fiddle with. The craftsmanship on this US G&L ASAT Classic is night and day from the other stuff I had before it.

 

[sunbeast]

If anything the Birdseye should be more stable than other types of maple. That's a sweet combo.

I don't think a birdseye fretboard would be the same kinda concern as a whole neck, since most of the pressure on a neck should be on the rear portion when under string tension.

And the concern about the strain for full birseye bass necks was just G&L's given reason for not offering the option for a time- I don't know if they had an irregular repair rate with the full birdseye necks on basses or if it was just a safety net. Maybe they had trouble getting reliable birdseye in large enough pieces, or maybe they just wanted to save the good stuff for their more profitable guitar business? Anyway, I would think it would be weaker (or at least less predictable) for a neck overall since the grain is less directional, but I am no expert...