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G&L Club Part 7

#33,961
ProbablyTooLoud said:
bet on france
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I don't know if that's a historical or sports reference, either way, it's lost on me. 😎
I have 6 basses I've brought over to Portugal, with a 7th still to come this fall. (Since I don't seem to be able to sell it.)
None of them are seeing much use, and I don't really foresee that changing, unfortunately.
I'd still like a Kiloton, and found a reasonably priced one on Reverb.(a major surprise and reason for concern, right there).
Don't feel like taking the risk, especially since it would be months before I could check it out.
Since I already have 2-3 basses I consider superfluous and hard to sell, I'm reluctant to follow my gear lust impulse again.
 
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#33,962
woodyng2 said:
I don't know if that's a historical or sports reference, either way, it's lost on me. 😎
I have 6 basses I've brought over to Portugal, with a 7th still to come this fall. (Since I don't seem to be able to sell it.)
None of them are seeing much use, and I don't really foresee that changing, unfortunately.
I'd still like a Kiloton, and found a reasonably priced one on Reverb.(a major surprise and reason for concern, right there).
Don't feel like taking the risk, especially since it would be months before I could check it out.
Since I already have 2-3 basses I consider superfluous and hard to sell, I'm reluctant to follow my gear lust impulse again.
Click to expand...

it's a reference to the world cup.
wow, life really brings changes, huh?
what bass have you been trying to sell?
 
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#33,963
TDR1138 said:
I recall reading a post by the guy that ran their custom shop at the end (forget his name) where he said that it was related to the channel for the truss rod being routed improperly. I recall that he said they'd fixed it in 2023, but I don't recall specifically when.

I do think the rods are a poor design and poor quality to begin with, but installing them in a poorly cut channel probably just accelerated their failure.
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I read that, too. Also, the person who checked then coming out of the woodworking shop only checking 1 and then sending the rest through when there was a variance in the depth of the channel on a lot of them tells me why some have had problems and others haven't. I'm one of the lucky ones who haven't had trouble so I look on that as a blessing. Then again, none of mine have needed much adjustment at all. My JB MFD was made after the fix so it should be OK. I have 2 Fullerton made ones that were made in '21 and '22. I'm hoping they continue to be as solid as they've been so far.

Here is a link to the post for others to read:

 
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#33,965
metron said:
Sure, by they I meant G&L. Seriously how many necks do you replace before someone says there might be something wrong here. In my business, do an RCA when the issue first pops up. So you can fix it. They did this for years! Reminds me of this is fine dog. :laugh:
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That is so typical of post-Leo G&L. Ignore an obvious build issue for years and watch that issue slowly degrade the company's reputaion.

e.g. After Leo croaked, somehow BBE ignored a tiny detail that Leo had figured out from Day 1. The adjustable pickup support springs needed a tiny (1/4") chunk of rubber inside the springs. Acted as a damper to keep the springs from vibrating. Without it...voila...the infamous "spring ping" that plagued G&L basses (maybe guitars, too) for years before anything was done about it.

Further, once they finally recognized the problem (how many hundreds of basses were affected?), their "fix" was to abandon the superior spring pickup mounting system altogether, in favor of old school cheapo rubber pads...clearly a downgrade from Leo's spring system IMO. Not that all of Leo's ideas were "improvements" **, but many were, like the springs. YMMV

** I still think he was crazy to keep the 3-bolt neck plates. Especially after what happened to Fender's rep with them during their Dark Years. :eyebrow:
 
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#33,966
jglunt said:
Having both treble and bass controls with both cut and boost changes the game for a P-bass.
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Agree 100%. Surprised there haven't been more active P basses over the years. I think Sandberg has an import one that's active. Probably sounds terrific.

I got this one a couple years ago. Delano Sonar 3-band. It's a complete monster of a P bass with the preamp. I'll be selling it despite how great it sounds. I always use drive pedals anyway, onboard elecs are kinda redundant in my case. But as you say, a preamp is a great way to super-charge a P bass! :thumbsup:

1783107928966.jpeg
 
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#33,967
metron said:
I don't think they ever resolved the root cause of the dual action truss welds breaking. In my mind, any instrument from when they implememted it in 2013 through the end is susceptible. Then there is the 2006 thing where they introduced a new non compression truss design that was bad on rollout. They were changing a lot of little things in the 2000s.

For these reasons, I only browse 80s or 90s instruments as they seem the least likely to have issues.
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I have to agree but it always seems to have been both intermittent and on a case by case basis. G&L had always made good on this by fixing the neck or making a new one but now they're gone and as best I know the only dependable source for repairs or replacement may be MIRC.

I always believed it was only US builds that had truss rod issues but I received a Tribute Series Kiloton with one. The Allen wrench would not engage in the truss rod not. Not for me or the tech where I bought the bass. However G&L did end up replacing it with a new bass.
 
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#33,969
Hawk620 said:
Just in time for it's descent into oblivion.

Old equipment not producing the correct specs. Machines badly needing maintenance, improper training of personnel, bad mid production QC. Sound like a McClaren run operation to me.
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What's funny is that they really leaned into that and promoted it. I remember videos and posts about how they used old equipment that Leo used, and they'd go out and buy obsolete machinery to keep the old school ways. Which would be fine if they weren't trying to push things through as though they had consistently accurate modern equipment. Using the old stuff requires a much more hands on attention to detail, which they didn't seem to want to provide.
 
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#33,970
Iridescentone said:
That is so typical of post-Leo G&L. Ignore an obvious build issue for years and watch that issue slowly degrade the company's reputaion.

e.g. After Leo croaked, somehow BBE ignored a tiny detail that Leo had figured out from Day 1. The adjustable pickup support springs needed a tiny (1/4") chunk of rubber inside the springs. Acted as a damper to keep the springs from vibrating. Without it...voila...the infamous "spring ping" that plagued G&L basses (maybe guitars, too) for years before anything was done about it.

Further, once they finally recognized the problem (how many hundreds of basses were affected?), their "fix" was to abandon the superior spring pickup mounting system altogether, in favor of old school cheapo rubber pads...clearly a downgrade from Leo's spring system IMO. Not that all of Leo's ideas were "improvements" **, but many were, like the springs. YMMV

** I still think he was crazy to keep the 3-bolt neck plates. Especially after what happened to Fender's rep with them during their Dark Years. :eyebrow:
Click to expand...
my 2016 replacement neck for my 1994 LB100 is so incredible that I keep my eyes open for 2016 basses
 
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#33,971
TDR1138 said:
What's funny is that they really leaned into that and promoted it. I remember videos and posts about how they used old equipment that Leo used, and they'd go out and buy obsolete machinery to keep the old school ways. Which would be fine if they weren't trying to push things through as though they had consistently accurate modern equipment. Using the old stuff requires a much more hands on attention to detail, which they didn't seem to want to provide.
Click to expand...
I think by now we can all agree that it was no way to run a production oriented business. Maybe it worked OK when they were a lower volume shop and skilled builders could make it so. But when major online sellers like Sweetwater, Anderton's and a few other got on board and demands for production increased an "old school" approach wasn't likely to get it done.
 
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#33,975
TDR1138 said:
What flats did you end up using?
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I knew that would get asked and I'm sorry for not adding that initially. They are, to the best of my recollection, Dunlop String Lab 45-105 flats. Really cut through nicely, easy to play and big fat sound. I first tried them at the Mike Lull shop and Spencer really liked them so I thought I'd give them a go. He was right!
 
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#33,976
dwellers said:
I knew that would get asked and I'm sorry for not adding that initially. They are, to the best of my recollection, Dunlop String Lab 45-105 flats. Really cut through nicely, easy to play and big fat sound. I first tried them at the Mike Lull shop and Spencer really liked them so I thought I'd give them a go. He was right!
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Nice. I have the 40-100 set on my SB-2T and was thinking about putting a set on my L-2000. My L-1000 is wearing GHS flats because I had it refretted about 6 years ago and that's what the shop had. It was set up so well and sounds so good that I haven't wanted to rock the boat with a string change on it yet…
 
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