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G&L Club Part 7

#32,101
lowfreqgeek said:
I do love my G&Ls, all of which are 20-38yrs old. But I've owned dozens of basses, and currently have more than a dozen and I've encountered very very few truss rod problems in the nearly 40 years that I've been playing. I know it happens, but it's rare given the literally millions of truss rods made.
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Exactly.

There are several other forces at play like higher density old growth maple vs poorly-seasoned newer growth; beefy vs thinner profiles; traveling between humid/dry climates, ect, although you just can't beat "uneducated owner" for many neck/truss rod issues with any brand.

BUT- G&L took a leap backwards when they changed to the current dual-action truss design. The welded on truss nut is a disaster. The dual rods are thinner than any of the single rods used for 35 yrs or so. It doesn't take a whole lot of adjustment pressure to snap one and I'd bet a fair number of owners (especially buying used) are unaware it's a 2-way rod.

Of the several dozen G&L's I've owned (1980-2024), the few used ones that arrived with neck issues showed evidence of ham-fisted use of the 3-bolt tilt and/or truss rod. Still have a nice '80 through '12 G&L harem, mostly 3-bolt fretted/fretless pairs.

And HEY- the G&L Registry is back up and running. The G&L Enthusiasts Website
 
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#32,105
svtbass said:
. It doesn't take a whole lot of adjustment pressure to snap one and I'd bet a fair number of owners (especially buying used) are unaware it's a 2-way rod .... ham-fisted use ....
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Apologies to the attentive readers who have heard this now a dozen times for me, but the message still isn't getting through:

The replacement neck sent out from the factory had action a mile high and a truss-rod that was already adjusted as far as it would go ie adjusted by the factory. The action was so high I was able to lower the tuning to BEAD. Not only is the neck not capable of doing the job, the factory is happy to send out the bass in that state.

There is zero opportunity for user error here, and there is blatant evidence of the factory not caring about what they produce. And you try to pin the blame for this on my being ham-fisted and ignorant?

Why some of the current necks work and some don't, I don't know and clearly G&L don't know either, or they would do something about it.
 
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#32,106
Ricky Rioli said:
In other words, you know nothing about the current output, but still want to shove the boot into people who are being sold junk by your beloved company. Nice.
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Is this how you talk to people in your everyday life?

I’ve had no major issues with my G&L necks. One is 11 years old and the other only 2 years. I guess I’ll deal with any issues as they come.

The two year old is my favorite bass and only had some minor ramping in the upper register, I assume due to sitting in inventory at a 3rd party store. Nothing that an adjustment and minor fret work couldn’t fix.

Sorry, you haven’t had as good of an experience.
 
#32,107
Ricky Rioli said:
Apologies to the attentive readers who have heard this now a dozen times for me, but the message still isn't getting through:
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I think we've heard your story more than a few time, and I am truly sorry you haven't had a good experience. Your SB-1 should have been a killer bass. I remember when you first got it, and when the first neck didn't work, and when the second didn't work. It's unfortunate, although I don't know what your metric for "high action" is.

But you've become an anti-G&L evangelist and that's the only contribution to this thread I've seen in recent times.
 
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#32,108
Adding another one today (1988) unless of course, the truss rod needs R&R.

In that case I'd Google British slang for idiot.

1988-89 SB2.png


GC online purchase and when there's any issue I always get a 100% refund, including shipping. We'll see, I'm SB-heavy as it is.
 
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#32,109
Has anyone tried to contact G&L by phone in the last few days? I’ve been trying them since Thursday to arrange my repaired bass to be shipped and keep getting a busy signal. Tried BBE Sounds 800 number and same thing. Really odd. Wonder if the fires are affecting phone lines down there.
 
#32,110
Bulky Bass said:
Has anyone tried to contact G&L by phone in the last few days? I’ve been trying them since Thursday to arrange my repaired bass to be shipped and keep getting a busy signal. Tried BBE Sounds 800 number and same thing. Really odd. Wonder if the fires are affecting phone lines down there.
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I live in the area and phone lines should be good. It is a holiday weekend, not sure how that impacts their business hours.
 
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#32,111
Bulky Bass said:
Has anyone tried to contact G&L by phone in the last few days? I’ve been trying them since Thursday to arrange my repaired bass to be shipped and keep getting a busy signal. Tried BBE Sounds 800 number and same thing. Really odd. Wonder if the fires are affecting phone lines down there.
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More likely NAMM impacting things. Plus the holiday weekend.
They’re far enough from the fires that they wouldn’t be seeing any disruption to utilities.
 
#32,113
lowfreqgeek said:
I think we've heard your story more than a few time, and I am truly sorry you haven't had a good experience. Your SB-1 should have been a killer bass. I remember when you first got it, and when the first neck didn't work, and when the second didn't work. It's unfortunate, although I don't know what your metric for "high action" is.

But you've become an anti-G&L evangelist and that's the only contribution to this thread I've seen in recent times.
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Hello. Most people who have issues with G&L speak about it here and move on. There have been many with truss rod issues and other things too. It is true that G&L is very difficult to reach. I personally waited one and a half years to have a new G&L fixed, when it was shipped to me in a condition that was not acceptable.

I appreciate that Ricky and a few others have stayed to share what has happened to them. I think it is helpful for others to understand the positives and negatives of dealing with G&L. If there are posts that bother us, we don't have to read them.
 
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#32,115
jfh2424 said:
Hello. Most people who have issues with G&L speak about it here and move on. There have been many with truss rod issues and other things too. It is true that G&L is very difficult to reach. I personally waited one and a half years to have a new G&L fixed, when it was shipped to me in a condition that was not acceptable.

I appreciate that Ricky and a few others have stayed to share what has happened to them. I think it is helpful for others to understand the positives and negatives of dealing with G&L. If there are posts that bother us, we don't have to read them.
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Dispensing with the online tendency of being needlessly abrasive and uncharitable to strangers would be pretty cool. This isn’t Reddit.
 
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#32,116
jfh2424 said:
Hello. Most people who have issues with G&L speak about it here and move on. There have been many with truss rod issues and other things too. It is true that G&L is very difficult to reach. I personally waited one and a half years to have a new G&L fixed, when it was shipped to me in a condition that was not acceptable.

I appreciate that Ricky and a few others have stayed to share what has happened to them. I think it is helpful for others to understand the positives and negatives of dealing with G&L. If there are posts that bother us, we don't have to read them.
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It's making me have doubts about the fullerton deluxe JB I ordered at the end of 2024, I still might cancel it. Normally I like to buy in person.
 
#32,117
edr said:
It's making me have doubts about the fullerton deluxe JB I ordered at the end of 2024, I still might cancel it. Normally I like to buy in person.
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Every manufacturer has the occasional issue. I bought a Kilo 5 with truss rod issues. Repaired under warranty in a few months and the new neck is great.

You are buying a new standard model. If the dealer is at all decent, you should have a return policy in the event that you do not want to deal with a warranty claim. Decent dealer will also help with a warranty claim if you need one. I bought my Kilo 5 direct from G&L. Took it to the shop I normally go to for setups. Shop found the issue and they arranged my warranty repair for me even though I purchased elsewhere.
 
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#32,118
ahbass2500 said:
Every manufacturer has the occasional issue. I bought a Kilo 5 with truss rod issues. Repaired under warranty in a few months and the new neck is great.
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After five months I finally got my Kiloton 5 back. While the new neck is fantastic, I'm leery for the inevitable setup down the road, as the old neck's truss rod snapped at the nut.
 
#32,120
I'm not sure how you guys are adjusting your truss rods, but I learned a long time ago to apply force to the neck externally, then adjust the rod. Don't use the rod to force the neck to move under full string tension. That doesn't mean you'll never have a problem, but using the truss rod to move the neck under tension is risky business. Some manufacturers recommend you loosen the strings; I don't go that far, but I do bend the neck in the direction that I want the neck to move before I apply any force to the nut or rod. That has served me well.
 
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