G&L Club Part 7

[Alex-Thompson]

Possible long shot but......If it's a Switchcraft jack then I'd be suspicious if your cable is a economy budget import 1/4" as sometimes the tolerances are not always consistent. I've run into that and solved the issue with a 1/4" cable with a high quality plug. The cheap import plugs sometimes are slightly smaller, enough to "wiggle" in the jack enough to cause issues.

I tried a few cables. EB x 2 and one other cable. Then of course the tech's cable at the store.
If I route the cable through the strap it takes and slight tension off. It's mostly ok. I am just annoyed I am dealing with this on a "new" bass

thanks for the help

 

[jglunt]

I tried a few cables. EB x 2 and one other cable. Then of course the tech's cable at the store.
If I route the cable through the strap it takes and slight tension off. It's mostly ok. I am just annoyed I am dealing with this on a "new" bass

thanks for the help

I understand your frustration, but the jack failures are not on G&L. I highly recommend you talk to the store's tech about putting a regular jack in.

 

[Chewy_B_i_T_s]

I tried a few cables. EB x 2 and one other cable. Then of course the tech's cable at the store.
If I route the cable through the strap it takes and slight tension off. It's mostly ok. I am just annoyed I am dealing with this on a "new" bass

thanks for the help

I'm really surprised this would happen with a new jack. There could be manufacturing oils left on the metal connections interfering with a good connection. It might not hurt to try some contact cleaner.

 

[Alex-Thompson]

I understand your frustration, but the jack failures are not on G&L. I highly recommend you talk to the store's tech about putting a regular jack in.

I asked. He said they didn't have a 3 pin one that I would need. Said their luthier may have one. Sigh.

it's worth some effort as it's a tone monster as we all know. I said to my wife "if I would have bought this first I may not have bought the P, Ric and Ray"

she wasn't impressed haha

 

[Alex-Thompson]

Hmmmmmm, I have a YBA-200 and a few G&Ls, and while I can overdrive the YBA's preamp when I want to, it's not something that I've ever noticed happening unintentionally, even with my SB-2s, which are even hotter than my L2k.

Confession time. Someone depressed the "Bright" button on the YBA 200. This definitely made it sound harsher. I think I am in ok territory now. A good learning experience

This wasn't in the mix but lead me to the solution. So funnily enough my Q Strip had the +10 db button depressed. I noticed this when playing my Ric. That then still sounded off, so I turned off the Q. Still didn't sound good and noticed the Bright button depressed on the amp. Balls. Total amateur Haha

 

[jglunt]

I asked. He said they didn't have a 3 pin one that I would need. Said their luthier may have one. Sigh.

it's worth some effort as it's a tone monster as we all know.

https://www.amazon.com/Switchcraft-Stereo-Thick-Panel-Female/dp/B072YNDN4J/ref=sr_1_5?crid=98187GO41VIA&keywords=switchcraft+stereo+jack&qid=1655951311&sprefix=switchcraft+,aps,129&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Switchcraft-12B-Stereo-Female-4-Inch/dp/B00C5B20JG/ref=sr_1_7?crid=98187GO41VIA&keywords=switchcraft+stereo+jack&qid=1655951500&sprefix=switchcraft+,aps,129&sr=8-7

https://www.amazon.com/Musiclily-Guitar-Output-Jackplate-Socket/dp/B00CP3GNT2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=VANHLJPB4EOL&keywords=1/4+inch+plate+for+guitar+jack&qid=1655951633&sprefix=1/4+inch+plate+for+guitar+jack,aps,127&sr=8-2&th=1

Now you can give them the links, or order for yourself if you so choose.

 

[jfh2424]

I assume you wouldn't touch the custom shop either?

(No, I am not being flippant here. I am genuinely curious.)

I'm not sure if this was directly at me, but if it was...I don't have any direct experience dealing with Custom Shop. When I ordered, what i wanted was on the option order. And Custom Shop seemed rather expensive, I didn't specifically want to go there for financial reasons. But hey, some people have the coin and that's good!

My understanding is that others here went the Custom Shop way and were very happy. Maybe they can chime in. Not sure I've ever heard of a Custom Shop order going sideways...

I will say this, too. Every G&L that I bought used on TB has arrived exactly as described. Exactly.

 

[80jazz]

Yes, it was.

Thank you for your answer.

(I plan on starting an order at the end of the year and may go custom instead of option order.)

 

[Ricky Rioli]

If a CS order was placed in December 2022, what would be the chances of its arriving this side of January 2024?

 

[Ricky Rioli]

If anyone wants an interesting Build To Order G&L, and wants one now, and wants zero heartache, the following dozen instruments are available from Rocket, FretNation and Upfront:

L-2000

8.8 lb Swamp Ash, Quartersawn (Rocket)
Quartersawn, Ebony, Blackburst with black headstock (FretNation)
8.2 lb Alder, 12" radius, Indian Rosewood, Tangerine Metallic (Upfront)

L-2500

Body binding (Upfront)

M-2500

Fretless, unlined Ebony, Andromeda with black stock (FretNation)

Kiloton

Fretless, unlined Ebony (Rocket)

LB-100

1.5" nut, Indian Rosewood (Rocket)

SB-1

Indian Rosewood (Rocket)

SB-2T

Quartersawn, Indian Rosewood (Upfront)
8.6 lb Swamp Ash, blocked+bound maple (FretNation)
8.4 lb Swamp Ash, Quartersawn, Ebony (Rocket)
7.4 lb Empress, blocked+bound ebony (Rocket)

 

[Nedmundo]

And I'll say it again: I currently own 6 of their products, they are simply awesome. Personally, if I ever buy another G&L bass, it won't be through option order. I'd rather take my chances buying used on TB or buying something already built and hanging in a store, where you really do know what you are getting before you lay your cash down.

That being said, there's nothing like getting a good G&L, no matter how it got to your hands.

I completely understand avoiding the option order process, but I'm picky enough about some specs (especially fretboard radius) and have had good enough experiences with option orders that it's my preferred approach. I've had a couple of issues with them over the years, but they're often perfect, and my worst experience was actually with the only G&L I bought used, a JB-5 I bought in 2019. So, unless I find exactly what I want in stock at a G&L dealer, as I did with my SB-2 and M-2500, I'm happy to order, hope for the best, and understand that any issues will get sorted out especially going through a great dealer like Rocket Music.

Definitely agree there's nothing like a great G&L!

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

My understanding is that others here went the Custom Shop way and were very happy. Maybe they can chime in. Not sure I've ever heard of a Custom Shop order going sideways...

My CS order went sideways, although I was ultimately satisfied.

It took about a year to get my bass. They got the body wrong the first time. They added a binding that I didn't ask for, left a rather sharp edge around the top of the body, and deleted the arm contour--not a bass one could play sitting down, and it looked kinda funny, too.

G&L replaced the body, but the new body did not fit the original neck. So the shop had to have the holes/washers in the body moved slightly. Really gave it that parts-bass feel. But from the front it was beautiful, and it played perfectly.

For a while I had my heart set on a Matador with MFDs. Being a lefty, that pretty much means going the CS route again. But a friend has had a Matador on order for 16 months with no updates. His previous G&L order arrived with the wrong neck, so G&L had to make him a new one.

That said, I've owned seven G&Ls and still have four of them, so they're definitely doing something right. But based on my personal experience and that of a few fellow fans I chat with outside of TalkBass, criticisms of G&L's QC are fair.

 

[jfh2424]

My CS order went sideways, although I was ultimately satisfied.

I stand corrected.

 

[mmbass21]

Well I'm taking the plunge on the option order so I'll definitely share my experience. Decided to go with Greg From Rocket. I feel comfortable with him that the bass won't even make it into my hands if it's wrong from G&L. I can't say the same with sweetwater because there was just too much unknown territory for my sales engineer. The CS L2k I have is perfect in every way but it was in stock at sweetwater and I got a great price on it. I just need a lighter solution, my back says so after 2 sets or long rehearsals.

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

Ah. I should also add that my bass did not meet the weight target G&L had set (8.5#, if I recall). But that wasn't a priority for me, so I didn't make an issue of it.

 

[Doug Parent]

Monster cables were notoriously over-sized, which was great for some jacks, but also pushed the springs in the enclosed type jacks out of whack so that they would fail with any plug to 1/4" spec. But this is a good observation regarding the new jack; it could be an under-sized plug.

That said, I much prefer a regular bulkhead jack mounted in a football or square plate. I've modified one L2500 to that when the original enclosed jack failed, and I will be doing that to the new L2500 build I'm piecing together (see post 24085). I'll do the same to my trusty fretless L2500 when that jack eventually fails.

Good move.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

Well I'm taking the plunge on the option order so I'll definitely share my experience. Decided to go with Greg From Rocket. I feel comfortable with him that the bass won't even make it into my hands if it's wrong from G&L. I can't say the same with sweetwater because there was just too much unknown territory for my sales engineer. The CS L2k I have is perfect in every way but it was in stock at sweetwater and I got a great price on it. I just need a lighter solution, my back says so after 2 sets or long rehearsals.

You made the right decision! What specs did you end up going with?

 

[mmbass21]

You made the right decision! What specs did you end up going with?

Andromeda finish
Empress body
Matching Headstock
Model Logo Delete
Quartersawn
1.5" Nut, 9.5 radius
Maple board
Black blocks
Single Code Mode

 

[Doug Parent]

Well shucks this just happened.

 

[MrB64]

Well shucks this just happened.

What, like fell out of the sky?