Yes it is. It has been probably refinish because there are
varnish dripping on the side near the head and i doubt it leaves factory like this.
The L1000 is a great bass!
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Yes it is. It has been probably refinish because there are
varnish dripping on the side near the head and i doubt it leaves factory like this.
Refin would be my guess as well. The pot dates are certainly possible. My L1000 that's in the first 500 or so made (the best I've been able to ascertain) has September '80 dates on neck & body. I purchased it March '81.Yes it is. It has been probably refinish because there are
varnish dripping on the side near the head and i doubt it leaves factory like this.
A very odd conglomeration of features on this one.
Still, I get the feeling G&L did the Metallic Redburst paint job at the factory in '92. It seems like an unlikely color for an outside vendor to have done, and it looks a totally professional job that is exactly how G&L's Metallic Redbursts look.
Whether it was originally a different color and was sent back to G&L for a refin, or an old-stock body that never got painted until '92....we'll probably never know.
Since its origin can't be traced all the way back, maybe file it under G&L "Unsolved Mysteries" ?
It wouldn't be the first G&L oddball, but it might be the oddest of the oddballs.
Anyway, cool bass. Grats.![]()
Kinda makes me think "employee bass."
The 1999 ash top over basswood L1505 that I have shown one page above sold for €662 ($780) on ebay-Germany.
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Good deal (not me) for the European market (same price range as a brand new L2000 Tribute).

In general I agree but I do remember loving an Emerald Blue Climax bass many years ago, wish I still had that one. It was the second G&L I owned so you know it was a long time ago!
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That was a while ago, wasn't it? I'm happy to have started you down the G&L road with it and the SB2 back then. It makes me laugh to see the prices they were going for then. If I knew then what I know now I'd have a bunch of G&Ls that I paid a lot less for and a lot fewer basses on my "previously owned" list. I'd still be playing that first skinny necked L2K I got from Todd Fortier instead of having sent it off to Italy.
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Man, I'd forgotten that one had no face dots.
If I wanted to get an l-2500 built that looks like this red wal bass, what red would I go with? I know G&L has a bunch of red options.
It's possible that you can see the wood texture through the red on this guys bass, but I want a solid red that looks similar to this. What would the color option be called?
Unfortunately G&L only has 3 reds that are reasonably close but none really match. Clear red is probably closest but it's transparent, Candy Apple Red is metallic but not too much darker, and Fullerton Red is a much paler red, very similar to Fiesta Red.
It's too bad that they dont expand their color options a bit. Youre paying like $2000 for these instruments, you would think there would be some more options available.
While I'd never say I to more red options, I think G&L has got a pretty good overall variety of color options compared to other major manufacturers.
It's not bad, and I'm probably showing my ignorance, but how difficult is it to just add more color options? Seems like it can't be too much of a hassle.
The thing is, this is different than getting a Fender. I get why those have such limited options, because those bodies are mass-produced in a factory. When you custom order a G&L, it's being made for you specifically, so in that case you would hope you can really get whatever color you want. It would be nice anyway if I could just show them that red Wal, and say "give me a solid red that looks pretty close to that," instead of having to pick from 3 set red colors, none of which are really what im looking for. Many custom builders ive seen have a huge array of color options. Basically endless because they are mixing colors for you to get exactly what you want.
Ill just go with the candy apple. It's not exactly what I want but im sure it will look great anyway.
G&L builds far too many instruments to let everyone choose their custom shade of red or any other color. They don't mass-produce on the Fender level, but they don't build one at a time, either. Paint is a significant part of the labor in building an instrument, and custom mixing color for every special order would be a huge bottle neck in getting orders out.
Most of the small builders that will do custom colors send their work out to someone like Pat Wilkins, and usually for an up-charge. Pat's finishes cost around $300, or more for some colors.
Everyone thinks that the options they want should be cheap and easy for the builder to accomplish. The reality is that ANY custom feature that has to be implemented for the first time takes a significant amount of labor for the builder. In the case of custom colors, getting the exact color exactly right the first time is nearly impossible. Each iteration takes time, not to mention the cleanup after each iteration. And if it's still not exactly what the customer had in mind, who's fault is that?
I would easily pay $300 to get the exact color im looking for. Hell, I would pay more than that tbh if I had to. I just wish it was an option, that's all. Pay us $300 or whatever, and we'll get you whatever color you like.
See if they'll send it out to Pat or Marty Bell. Or, you can purchase the L2k of your choice and send it to Pat yourself for the custom color. He's a cool guy, a great builder, and a fantastic finisher known for doing finishes on MANY high-end instruments.