G&L Club Part 7

jefff100 · Apr 13, 2020

jmlee said:
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).

Yes, I would agree Greg & Rocket Music is a great guy. While I've not bought any basses from him - he's fielded several questions and I when the first round of L1K custom orders was going round I had him work me up a quote, he was very patient...and in the end I got cold feet as my job got restructured and I was iffy on pulling the trigger on a $2k custom bass.

jefff100 · Apr 13, 2020

Scott Loveless said:
The rug really pulls the room together, man.

SHAG !!! Its the stuff that keeps vacuum cleaner repairmen happily in business. :thumbsup:

Scott Loveless · Apr 13, 2020

Alright, alright. Details on the new Fullerton Deluxe LB-100. This is long. I'll start with a couple of nits and go from there.

First, the green shag carpet. Due to an office remodel that started a month or so before the Covid-19 stuff, I was already working at home and managed to carve out a corner of our heated and air conditioned, but otherwise unfinished, basement. My chair just wouldn't stay in place on the concrete floor, so after digging around a bit I found this 4x6 piece of green shag rolled up in a corner. It insulates my feet from the cold floor and keeps my chair from rolling away. So there.

I have wanted a solid color bass with a maple fingerboard for a long, long time. My first instrument was a 1983 Precision in some kinda cream color with a maple board. (Not really mine. It belonged to the high school and it's what I learned to play on.) Years later I briefly owned a US Jazz Bass in black, with a white pickguard and a maple fingerboard. Financial woes required me to sell that one. It's surprising just how many instruments are available these days in *burst with rosewood, and how few options there are for solid/maple. I almost got the Fullerton Standard in white last year, but waited too long.

I called my local pusher, BCR Music in Lemoyne, PA, last week and told them I was ready to pull the trigger on this one. They got back to me later that same day with "G&L had one in stock and we went ahead and ordered it for you." After a brief discussion, based on current events, we all agreed that they would confirm the correct item arrived, but would otherwise leave it alone with the understanding that I could bring it back for a setup after things are a bit closer to "back to normal". (I'm perfectly capable to doing that myself, and I'd honestly rather anyway.) They called today to let me know it was there. I showed up with a check, and we traded in the parking lot. I didn't even unzip the gig bag before driving away.

Anyway, a couple nits. The bridge setup is garbage. It's like whoever assembled it just grabbed a bridge out of the bin, screwed it to the body, and called it good. See the first photo. Again, not a big deal. This just needs a few minutes of my time.

IMG_20200413_204929644

Scott Loveless
Apr 13, 2020
lb-100

Second nit. The pickguard doesn't quite fit around the neck heel just right. I'm not really all that concerned about it, but I could understand how others might be. Just FYI. See the second photo.

IMG_20200413_204938991

Scott Loveless
Apr 13, 2020
g&l lb-100

Third and final nit. This is weird. The neck finish changes at the 3rd fret. It's almost like they sprayed it from different angles. Changing the angle of the neck relative to a light source really brings this out. I've tried to show it off in the 3rd and 4th photos. I can't feel it, but visually it's kinda jarring. I'm absolutely positive BCR would go to bat for me if I wanted to gripe about this, but I don't. I'm at a point in my life where I don't always work so well, and I've become much less critical when someone else does something that's not quite up to their normal level of performance. It doesn't affect the playability and I didn't buy this thing to put it in a museum or in hopes that it will increase in value or whatever. I'ma roll with it.

IMG_20200413_205113826

Scott Loveless
Apr 13, 2020
g&l lb-100

IMG_20200413_205057141

Scott Loveless
Apr 13, 2020
g&l lb-100

Now the good!

It feels good! I'm sure it will feel even better once I sort the bridge. Neck relief is right where it needs to be. The neck profile is a little wider and chunkier than the Kiloton's. Not better or worse, but different.

Other than the above mentioned nits, it looks good! The body finish is so deep you could swim in it. The metal parts have a mirror finish (I'll put a stop to that whether I want to or not.) The parchment pickguard is just slightly off-white and looks fantastic against the black paint.

It sounds good! I plugged it in briefly and it sounds exactly like you'd expect a US LB-100 to sound.

The gig bag. I've read where people have lamented over the unavailability of some long out of production G&L gig bag from days of yore. I never saw one. I have no idea. But this isn't a bad bag. The zippers are heavy duty and operate smoothly. There's a decent amount of padding. The inside has a neck loop. A pouch on the back contains a hook for a hanger rod. My Kiloton came with a G&G case, which I really dislike. Relative to that, I think this bag is fine. On the other hand, I still think new basses costing more than a grand ought to come with a fitted ABS case. But that's just me being a cranky old man and yelling at the sky.

So far, so good. I'm excited.

Edit: 8 lbs, 14.7 oz. You know who you are.

jmlee · Apr 13, 2020

Scott Loveless said:
Alright, alright. Details on the new Fullerton Deluxe LB-100. This is long. I'll start with a couple of nits and go from there.

First, the green shag carpet. Due to an office remodel that started a month or so before the Covid-19 stuff, I was already working at home and managed to carve out a corner of our heated and air conditioned, but otherwise unfinished, basement. My chair just wouldn't stay in place on the concrete floor, so after digging around a bit I found this 4x6 piece of green shag rolled up in a corner. It insulates my feet from the cold floor and keeps my chair from rolling away. So there.

I have wanted a solid color bass with a maple fingerboard for a long, long time. My first instrument was a 1983 Precision in some kinda cream color with a maple board. (Not really mine. It belonged to the high school and it's what I learned to play on.) Years later I briefly owned a US Jazz Bass in black, with a white pickguard and a maple fingerboard. Financial woes required me to sell that one. It's surprising just how many instruments are available these days in *burst with rosewood, and how few options there are for solid/maple. I almost got the Fullerton Standard in white last year, but waited too long.

I called my local pusher, BCR Music in Lemoyne, PA, last week and told them I was ready to pull the trigger on this one. They got back to me later that same day with "G&L had one in stock and we went ahead and ordered it for you." After a brief discussion, based on current events, we all agreed that they would confirm the correct item arrived, but would otherwise leave it alone with the understanding that I could bring it back for a setup after things are a bit closer to "back to normal". (I'm perfectly capable to doing that myself, and I'd honestly rather anyway.) They called today to let me know it was there. I showed up with a check, and we traded in the parking lot. I didn't even unzip the gig bag before driving away.

Anyway, a couple nits. The bridge setup is garbage. It's like whoever assembled it just grabbed a bridge out of the bin, screwed it to the body, and called it good. See the first photo. Again, not a big deal. This just needs a few minutes of my time.

IMG_20200413_204929644

Scott Loveless

Apr 13, 2020

lb-100

Congrats! I'm sure you'll be very happy together—and again great choice of colour/neck. My LB-100 and I are inseparable pals. Chromes are dynamite. Just sayin'... :thumbsup:

(Sorry about the shag rug. Just kidding of course. It kind of stood out next to the black beauty. We all put our little areas together out of what's there.) :whistle:

Meantime, I was noticing that your G-string saddle is bottomed out. I've had that very same issue on *several* G&Ls. (Well, that and lousy or no shielding, and the bridge lock screw being mysteriously missing—but I digress. :cautious:

) The bridge thing is a puzzlement and has led me to some judicious shimming to get the saddle off the deck. It seems like such an obvious thing that you wouldn't want to happen, yet there it is—even setting the basses up to G&L's own factory specs. Anybody else?

Scott Loveless · Apr 13, 2020

jmlee said:
Meantime, I was noticing that your G-string saddle is bottomed out. I've had that very same issue on *several* G&Ls.

The E and G are bottomed out, or nearly so, on my Kiloton. That puts me in the slightly-lower-action-than-factory-specs ballpark. Which I like. I'm absolutely positive the action could be lower and still very much playable with a neck shim. I haven't addressed this yet on the LB-100, but I expect it's very similar.

This is quite telling, if you haven't read it before:

BassesByLeo.com, est. 2009 • View topic - G&L Bass Setup Procedures

jmlee · Apr 13, 2020

Scott Loveless said:
The E and G are bottomed out, or nearly so, on my Kiloton. That puts me in the slightly-lower-action-than-factory-specs ballpark. Which I like. I'm absolutely positive the action could be lower and still very much playable with a neck shim. I haven't addressed this yet on the LB-100, but I expect it's very similar. This is quite telling, if you haven't read it before:
BassesByLeo.com, est. 2009 • View topic - G&L Bass Setup Procedures

*That* is fascinating! I would appear to be much closer to Ed Friedland's set-up than G&L's—hence the bottoming out.

Kubicki Fan · Apr 13, 2020

jmlee said:
Congrats! I'm sure you'll be very happy together—and again great choice of colour/neck. My LB-100 and I are inseparable pals. Chromes are dynamite. Just sayin'...

(Sorry about the shag rug. Just kidding of course. It kind of stood out next to the black beauty. We all put our little areas together out of what's there.)

Meantime, I was noticing that your G-string saddle is bottomed out. I've had that very same issue on *several* G&Ls. (Well, that and lousy or no shielding, and the bridge lock screw being mysteriously missing—but I digress.) The bridge thing is a puzzlement and has led me to some judicious shimming to get the saddle off the deck. It seems like such an obvious thing that you wouldn't want to happen, yet there it is—even setting the basses up to G&L's own factory specs. Anybody else?

The saddle lock screws, sadly, have a tendency to go AWOL. Happened on 2/3 of my G&L's; twice on the M2500. IMO this is due to a design flaw; the screw should be installed on the top side (when in playing position) of the bridge and not on the bottom.

Didn't have to shim, thankgod. But on my basses the saddles have a yellowish tint and look scuffed and scratched (brand new) relative to the silvery and shiny chrome of the rest of the bridge. I've learned to live with this easily since the basses are a joy to play and they were easy to set up.

The weird play of light on the back of the neck might be due to the grain and not the finish. For example, on one of my basses the wood gives the appearance of some stain having gotten on it from the honey burst body. It is the same hue. However, when the angle changes it disappears, so it is just some kind of 'flaming' that might be happening. It is a rock solid quarter-sawn neck that feels great (came with no extra charge) so I don't even think about it now.

@Scott Loveless: Enjoy that handsome looking bass! Congrats!

nitrobrother · Apr 13, 2020

Scott Loveless said:
The rug really pulls the room together, man.

Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.

Gravedigger Dav · Apr 14, 2020

Scott Loveless said:
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. View attachment 3785450

Beautiful bass.
1975 called. They want that ugly rug back.

Scott Loveless · Apr 14, 2020

Kubicki Fan said:
The saddle lock screws, sadly, have a tendency to go AWOL. Happened on 2/3 of my G&L's; twice on the M2500. IMO this is due to a design flaw; the screw should be installed on the top side (when in playing position) of the bridge and not on the bottom.

@Scott Loveless: Enjoy that handsome looking bass! Congrats!

Thanks!

Regarding the saddle lock screws, in theory, at least, they shouldn't ever fall out if they're tight against the saddles. In reality, we know stuff doesn't always work that way. Apply a little bees wax to the threads. They won't back out on their own after that.

jmlee · Apr 14, 2020

Scott Loveless said:
Thanks!

Regarding the saddle lock screws, in theory, at least, they shouldn't ever fall out if they're tight against the saddles. In reality, we know stuff doesn't always work that way. Apply a little bees wax to the threads. They won't back out on their own after that.

But if it does disappear, the other ones will dance to show you where it's gone.

Jim C · Apr 14, 2020

G&L site is unable to give me warranty info today.
I bought a used JB2 Tribute from the classifieds awhile back.
Natural / rosewood, 8.5 lbs, for $300 shipped in a hard case; sounds like a home run.
The bass sounds beautiful; I prefer it to my stock 72' J and 74' J with Dimarzios.

Now the bad; the neck is trash.
When I got it the truss rod was super tight with no relief.
Loosening the TR solved the relief problem but highlighted the ski jump; it's nearly unplayable like this.
It's best and usable with the TR super tight but it's just a bum neck.

Other than to pull the neck, I can't determine the year of manufacture from the serial number (9 digits).
Can you tell me how to determine the age and if it's under any kind of warranty (I did buy used so I suspect not).
Since it's an inexpensive bass I'm not sure that it's worth buying a replacement neck (assuming they are for sale).
I'm thinking the other option is to file or remove the upper frets which is where the problem is.
I never play past the 14th fret and we all know there is no money past the 12th so no issue there!
Suggestions are welcome.

And when life gets back to normal, I'm going to sell some spare instruments and treat myself to a new G&L which is hard considering 8.5 lbs is my max and the closest dealer that actually stocks is 470 miles away (Rocket Music).
Has anyone explained to G&L marketing that they could increase sales if they actually had instruments available to try in music stores? 3 GC's near me and never seen a G&L bass in any of them.

jfh2424 · Apr 14, 2020

Hi Jim.

Sorry to hear about your Trib.

My understanding of the G&L warranty is that it is only for the original owner.

John

TDR1138 · Apr 14, 2020

Yeah, the warranty would only apply to the original owner. Sorry about the bum neck. You could try heat straightening it...

As for dating it, on the serial numbers, if I remember right, the first four digits indicate the year and month of manufacture (YYMM), unless that's changed within the last 7 years or so.

Nedmundo · Apr 14, 2020

jmlee said:
Meantime, I was noticing that your G-string saddle is bottomed out. I've had that very same issue on *several* G&Ls. (Well, that and lousy or no shielding, and the bridge lock screw being mysteriously missing—but I digress.) The bridge thing is a puzzlement and has led me to some judicious shimming to get the saddle off the deck. It seems like such an obvious thing that you wouldn't want to happen, yet there it is—even setting the basses up to G&L's own factory specs. Anybody else?

I've heard about G&L basses with "High Saddle Disease" for years, but my first four G&L basses weren't infected in the least. But last summer I bought a used JB-5, and while I was setting it up, the G string saddle bottomed out, just like this LB-100. Also, to my surprise given the Plek treatment, I was getting fret rattle at the fifth fret on the E, A, and D strings.

The bass was perfectly playable, but I knew it should set up a little lower, so I brought it to my local tech/luthier for a possible shim and/or fret dress. (I thought about grinding down the saddle, but I don't have the right tools.) I'm curious how it's going to come out, but of course the shop is closed due to the lockdown.

Jackcrow · Apr 14, 2020

Nedmundo said:
I've heard about G&L basses with "High Saddle Disease" for years, but my first four G&L basses weren't infected in the least. But last summer I bought a used JB-5, and while I was setting it up, the G string saddle bottomed out, just like this LB-100. Also, to my surprise given the Plek treatment, I was getting fret rattle at the fifth fret on the E, A, and D strings.

The bass was perfectly playable, but I knew it should set up a little lower, so I brought it to my local tech/luthier for a possible shim and/or fret dress. (I thought about grinding down the saddle, but I don't have the right tools.) I'm curious how it's going to come out, but of course the shop is closed due to the lockdown.

I've noticed fret buzz on a couple of my US G&L's that were PLEKed. Not really sure how you get less than perfectly level frets when using a PLEK machine but that has been my experience. Honestly, the 2 US G&L's that I've owned that were "pre-PLEK" have had better fretwork.

donahue · Apr 14, 2020

Nedmundo said:
I've heard about G&L basses with "High Saddle Disease" for years, but my first four G&L basses weren't infected in the least. But last summer I bought a used JB-5, and while I was setting it up, the G string saddle bottomed out, just like this LB-100. Also, to my surprise given the Plek treatment, I was getting fret rattle at the fifth fret on the E, A, and D strings.

The bass was perfectly playable, but I knew it should set up a little lower, so I brought it to my local tech/luthier for a possible shim and/or fret dress. (I thought about grinding down the saddle, but I don't have the right tools.) I'm curious how it's going to come out, but of course the shop is closed due to the lockdown.

Are you sure it's closed? There's no message on the website or the online store and they are still posting new set up basses to their instagram.

Nedmundo · Apr 14, 2020

donahue said:
Are you sure it's closed? There's no message on the website or the online store and they are still posting new set up basses to their instagram.

I don't think we're referring to the same place. I brought my JB-5 to a local shop here in Philly, which I'm sure is formally closed under the governor's orders, but I probably should call to see if I could make arrangements.

Nedmundo · Apr 14, 2020

Jackcrow said:
I've noticed fret buzz on a couple of my US G&L's that were PLEKed. Not really sure how you get less than perfectly level frets when using a PLEK machine but that has been my experience. Honestly, the 2 US G&L's that I've owned that were "pre-PLEK" have had better fretwork.

Interesting. All my Plek-treated G&L basses (other than the JB-5) have been fantastic in this respect, but not equally fantastic. The best was actually the first, an L-1500 whose neck was built right after they started with Plek. My others are close, but not quite as good. That L-1500 is the best-playing bass I've owned. Super low action, with zero fret buzz. It was amazing.

And I'm not alone in this opinion. A few months after I sold it, I walked into the bass room at a GC, and a guy hanging a bass on the wall remarked to me that it was the best-playing bass he'd ever tried. Lo and behold, it was my old L-1500! It had the aftermarket hex screws I'd installed for intonation adjustment, so I'm sure it was the same one.

Jackcrow · Apr 14, 2020

Nedmundo said:
Interesting. All my Plek-treated G&L basses (other than the JB-5) have been fantastic in this respect, but not equally fantastic. The best was actually the first, an L-1500 whose neck was built right after they started with Plek. My others are close, but not quite as good. That L-1500 is the best-playing bass I've owned. Super low action, with zero fret buzz. It was amazing.

And I'm not alone in this opinion. A few months after I sold it, I walked into the bass room at a GC, and a guy hanging a bass on the wall remarked to me that it was the best-playing bass he'd ever tried. Lo and behold, it was my old L-1500! It had the aftermarket hex screws I'd installed for intonation adjustment, so I'm sure it was the same one.

That's funny that you say that about your L-1500. The best playing G&L I've had was a PLEKed L-1500. Wasn't the best playing bass that I've owned though. My Warwick Corvette standard still is the best I've played, action wise.

G&L Club Part 7

Catgut? Not funny.

Catgut? Not funny.

Catgut? Not funny.

I believe in the trilogy; Fender, Stingray, + G&L