I understand the practice, but it honestly shouldn't be necessary, IMHO.
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I use my legs and free hand to back bend the neck and take some tension off the rod.
All silliness aside, is this stuff like the teflon-based (dry) lubricants for bicycle chains etc. I've been using it on the tuning machines on my upright with great success.
While I'm very happy with my now 2 years old SB-1, these repeated reports of small mishaps, on top of my own bass being delayed a few weeks after almost shipping with the wrong finish, definitely have me debating whether I'd indeed be supporting the brand with future purchases.
Granted, one cannot expect perfect QC at the very competitive price point for the product, but given how happy I am with the sound profile of the MFD, I'd have hoped there'd be a way to ensure tight QC through all stages when wanting to get its full package from the brand, rather than putting in a pick-up in another bass. It's unfortunate to see these reports in regards to the custom shop as well.
Are they still better at it than the direct competitors? I lack the first hand experience but second hand accounts say that definitely, but it just might not be enough for me, given the practically MTO nature of being a left-handed bassist.
Luckily this isn't something that will be coming up just yet, TB induced GAS aside, because despite its somewhat fickle neck, the SB-1 is a monster of a P-type bass and the overall build quality and QC are still plenty impressive in a vacuum.
Granted, one cannot expect perfect QC at the very competitive price point for the product, but given how happy I am with the sound profile of the MFD, I'd have hoped there'd be a way to ensure tight QC through all stages when wanting to get its full package from the brand, rather than putting in a pick-up in another bass. It's unfortunate to see these reports in regards to the custom shop as well.
Are they still better at it than the direct competitors? I lack the first hand experience but second hand accounts say that definitely, but it just might not be enough for me, given the practically MTO nature of being a left-handed bassist.
Luckily this isn't something that will be coming up just yet, TB induced GAS aside, because despite its somewhat fickle neck, the SB-1 is a monster of a P-type bass and the overall build quality and QC are still plenty impressive in a vacuum.
Can't recommend Keisel (used to be Carvin) basses highly enough. The entire experience of ordering and dealing with them was excellent
And the bass I received is outstanding. Absolutely flawless and plays like a dream.
G&L was like a blackbox. Absolutely no communication and never responded to any of my emails. The bass I received is wonderful and plays great, but it was weird dealing with them. Kind of like approaching the misty mountain and receiving whatever the great wizard deemed to give you whenever he decided to give it you.
It seems to me that G&L gets a lot done with not a lot of people. I could be wrong but I don't think their operation is as big as some of their direct competitors.
On top of setting up and QCing all the foreign built Tribute models they build and set up the US basses as well. That is quite the feat that not a lot of companies do. I'm sure some things will slip through the cracks from time to time. I do agree however that their communication could be better.
On top of setting up and QCing all the foreign built Tribute models they build and set up the US basses as well. That is quite the feat that not a lot of companies do. I'm sure some things will slip through the cracks from time to time. I do agree however that their communication could be better.
I have Kiesel and Sandberg as likely alternatives to G&L if/when I want to own a second bass. Always happy to hear more input about them though!
I didn't criticize G&L for their QC in a vacuum, or even relative to their much bigger competitors. Rather, I simply pointed out that with all my love for my SB-1 it'd be problematic for me to commit to ordering another when I decide it's time to have a 5er, or a bass with a bridge pick-up, when there's no real way for me to be confident that a mishap with the order's details won't happen. I'll also concede that even compared to a fellow lefty such as yourself, being located an air/sea shipment away from any manufacturer imposes even further limitations that aren't as relevant when one is situated in North America or in Europe.
Who knows, maybe by that point any current hiccups due to them trying to expand the company's share and reach (a positive thing, of course) would be sorted and there'd be a a real lack of people reporting things like missing contours or fault truss rods or whatever else. Rest assured that if that's the case, I won't hesitate to order another G&L
I'm a lefty, so G&L and Carvin/Kiesel are my go to brands. I've ordered several of each. I agree that quality of G&L can be a little more varied, but I've only had one significant problem with the 5 or so I've gotten new. Never had a QC problem w Carvin/Kiesel, and I've also bought I think 4 of them new.
Where G&L wins in my book is the sig sound of the MFD pickups. My personal pref is single pickup basses, and my 2 SB-1s and my 2 L1000s are the best sounding basses I've ever owned. Best sounding pickup for Carvin/Kiesel is their MM style humbucker. P pickup is pretty good, and jazz pickups decent also. They are just more generic sounding overall imo.
Where G&L wins in my book is the sig sound of the MFD pickups. My personal pref is single pickup basses, and my 2 SB-1s and my 2 L1000s are the best sounding basses I've ever owned. Best sounding pickup for Carvin/Kiesel is their MM style humbucker. P pickup is pretty good, and jazz pickups decent also. They are just more generic sounding overall imo.
G&L has an established dealer network. Your dealer is your point of contact from ordering through delivery. Why would you contact G&L directly about your order? If you order a Ford F-150, do you contact the Ford assembly plant directly with questions? I see this complaint often about G&L and I guess I just don't get the argument.
I went through Greg at Rocket Music to order my G&L bass, but I wanted a feature that he didn't think that they offered. I found it on their website and I knew they offered it for guitars, so I wanted to know if I could a black pick guard for a bass. The G&L website has a "contact us" feature and the website says that they are eager to answer any questions so I left an email and then called and left a message.
No one ever bothered to just send me a "yes" or a "no". It would have taken literally 20 seconds to respond. There was another email that I sent before I found Greg at Rocket Music that I sent and never heard back from them. It was before I understood that you had to go through a dealer. I was used to Carvin/Keisel where you could call up or email a question and someone would recommend this feature with that feature because they are complimentary or just answer a simple question about features.
I live in a small town and I had never touched a G&L instrument or ever seen a bass from them. I just wanted to get a little information that the website was unclear on so that I could order the right things.
I think the website should remove the language that says that they are happy to answer questions and will respond to email inquiries. Just a little explanation on the website that you have to go through dealers for any questions would make a difference. Not a huge issue, but it would help prevent some frustration from first timers like myself.
So, this followed me home today. I'll spend some time later spouting off details, posting more photos, discussing the gig bag, etc. Messy desk for scale.
I love that particular colour/neck combo (not so much that shag rug). I literally just got through asking Greg at Rocket Music what his price was for a Fullerton Deluxe JB in that look. It's *very* tempting...
Sort of a side question about Greg. Is he happy to field questions about custom G&L builds? I'm considering one but I have some questions about specifics. I wouldn't want to bug him if he'd rather not deal with someone who isn't firmly committed to ordering yet.
I love that particular colour/neck combo (not so much that shag rug). I literally just got through asking Greg at Rocket Music what his price was for a Fullerton Deluxe JB in that look. It's *very* tempting...
The rug really pulls the room together, man.
Greg is a great guy and he loves LB-100s (he told me so and not just because I was ordering one...I hope...). He inspects and plays every bass before he sends them onto the buyer so he would know a lot about a lot of basses. When I dealt with him he was was happy to talk about the G&L basses and the options, but if he was busy he would ask if he could call me back when he could spend time with me to make sure that I had all of my questions answered to the best of his ability. Truly a neat guy.
I am sure he wouldn't have a problem with talking with you while you figure out what you want and save up the cash to get it. One of the good guys.
I ordered two basses thru Greg to complete satisfaction, and found him to be highly knowledgeable, super-responsive and accommodating.
I own two G&L's & also one Carvin (Koa B4) and a Kiesel Vader 30".
Quality is good on both, if I had to rate them I'd put them very close & nudge G&L ahead just slightly.
I generally don't buy instruments new so I cant really answer to the factory communication issue other than this:
When I got the my first G&L - I had a question about the bridge set screws - I was questioning the thread pitch, a set screw was missing.
While the guy provided the correct screw size, he went one better and shipped me a replacment set of screws, no charge - and I didnt even buy the bass new!
The Carvin B4 I bought off CL about 8 or 9 years ago. I wanted to get a replacment neck for it to do a fretless conversion without de-fretting the original.
They were happy to build me a neck to spec. with the caveat that it would not have the Carvin logo on the headstock. Had no issues there either.
The Carvin people I dealt with then are the Kiesel people today, but to the best of my knowledge they don't sell parts anymore, just hardware.
Quality is good on both, if I had to rate them I'd put them very close & nudge G&L ahead just slightly.
I generally don't buy instruments new so I cant really answer to the factory communication issue other than this:
When I got the my first G&L - I had a question about the bridge set screws - I was questioning the thread pitch, a set screw was missing.
While the guy provided the correct screw size, he went one better and shipped me a replacment set of screws, no charge - and I didnt even buy the bass new!
The Carvin B4 I bought off CL about 8 or 9 years ago. I wanted to get a replacment neck for it to do a fretless conversion without de-fretting the original.
They were happy to build me a neck to spec. with the caveat that it would not have the Carvin logo on the headstock. Had no issues there either.
The Carvin people I dealt with then are the Kiesel people today, but to the best of my knowledge they don't sell parts anymore, just hardware.
I ordered two basses thru Greg to complete satisfaction, and found him to be highly knowledgeable, super-responsive and accommodating.
I've gotten 3 option order G&Ls through Greg now and he's been nothing but patient, helpful, responsive, and trustworthy. He's fielded lots of my questions with useful information, even as I talked myself out of one type of bass into another and so on. And of course he's a bass player himself so knowledgeable about practical matters. His checks between receipt from G&L—including photos—and sending the basses on to the customer are very valuable. For instance he caught a faulty neck on my L-1000 custom order and as a result I have a whole new neck (and a very nice one).
To this and @OpposableThumbs point the folks at G&L and Kiesel/Carvin both generally have a great track record at being responsive and helpful to customers, however, the two companies are built on two very different business models. G&L doesn't have the designated staff for the kind of expected interactions that Kiesel does. And while I can't speak to Kiesel's operation, G&L does a lot with not that much staff. But man they are growing and evolving and got incredible good stuff coming down the road.
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