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Make sure you bring 4 Fried chickens and a coke...I'll be sure to come over at night, wearing sunglasses.
I still wart to send you my first-gen LB-100 guard to make a template and start churning out guards for the older ones. That way I could change my guard like I change my underwear.... monthly!
Now that the dust has settled, I'd like to clarify what I've been reading...
Back in my day, Fender got sold to CBS and the general consus held that quality tanked. I don't know if Fender quality ever returned to pre-CBS levels, and pre-CBS pieces are held in high regard where somewhat later ones ... not so much.
Am I reading that history is repeating itself here with G&L?
Specifically, if I ever decide to buy me an SB-2(T), should I defer a new purchase from the Rocket man, and focus only on used? And if so, how old should I go to get the good stuff? What is the cut-off date? When did things first go south?
(But let's keep it civil. Remember, Chef is watching...) ;->
Back in my day, Fender got sold to CBS and the general consus held that quality tanked. I don't know if Fender quality ever returned to pre-CBS levels, and pre-CBS pieces are held in high regard where somewhat later ones ... not so much.
Am I reading that history is repeating itself here with G&L?
Specifically, if I ever decide to buy me an SB-2(T), should I defer a new purchase from the Rocket man, and focus only on used? And if so, how old should I go to get the good stuff? What is the cut-off date? When did things first go south?
(But let's keep it civil. Remember, Chef is watching...) ;->
Lol... I was trying to recall that today... I forgot what we were working on and where we left off with it! The diff was minor, right?
After being told that "it would not fit", by a dealer, I sent one of our users a USA Kilo guard to try on his Tribby, and they definitely were not the same.
I can understand why there must be drastic changes among PG's, but I can't understand minute changes on them, such as screw holes being off by 1mm.
Well, you know where to find me when you're ready!
The difference is that when you order a new G&L, you don't accept it until you get what you paid for. The risk isn't ending up with a lemon. The risk is having to send it back to have something corrected. But in the end you'll have a fantastic instrument.
This is where a reputable G&L dealer (UpFront Guitars or Rocket Music) can save you a lot of stress.
All my G&Ls have outstanding build quality (Note I'm not discounting the problems others have had). My oldest in a 1999 SB-2 and my newest is a few year old MJ-4 (absolutely no dead spots on the neck. yay me!). It sounds like things are getting spotty with G&L and that makes me sad because I've always felt that G&L was a cut above Fender.
The thing with used G&Ls is that they're such tremendous values. I have no idea why they don't hold their value that well, but you can pick up an outstanding G&L used for $800-900. There are even these owners who never seem to take them out (because they have absolutely no finish issues).
Unless I was after something really specific, I've always thought used is too good to pass up.
But then again, looking at some of these recent super metallic finishes is making me want a new one so bad...
I assume that it was covered during my absence, but in my opinion, G&L was doing fine up until they opened the Custom Shop.
G&L is a very small shop, and I think that spread them even thinner. I believe that they started the custom shop, to alleviate pressure from too many options on the regular production models, but they tried to do it all with the existing staff, now spread between two locations.
It's important to note that G&L is capable of producing outstanding instruments. The question is, will they? At their current rate, I see BBE either having to sell them, or else spend a lot of dough and hire more staff to QC.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new G&L, but use a good dealer, communicate in writing, and be understanding about it all. It make take time to sort this mess out.
By the mid-80's, thanks to Bill Schultz and his team, quality at Fender had substantially turned around and Fender was (in a word) saved from the dustbin. It's been variable since, of course, but is actually quite good these days—now, about Gibson...
No, not really, at least not disablingly so. If I were to make a guess, I'd say that G&L is expanding rather rapidly these days, both in terms of its product line and in terms of its market share (from really-small to kind-of-small). It's still not an A-list player, but G&L consistently turns up in guitar/bass conversations in a way it didn't used to. When expansion happens faster than is well-managed, more stuff slips through the door with problems, and customer service can't completely make up for it, even if the company had a strong reputation for customer service. All that said, G&L's are still really well-made instruments and strong value for money. No one here is running out of the clubhouse screaming
, at least not that I've witnessed.What happened to Fender under CBS's lackadaisical management doesn't appear to be happening here under BBE. It's certainly safe to option order instruments, and I don't think things have "gone south" in any serious way. I bought a spiffy new option order JB-5 from Greg less than a year ago and it's a beauty without any perceptible problems—plus he does a nice job of making sure all's good before you get your instrument.
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no, it was pretty significant. I still have that scratch one you sent. I'll have to dig it out and post a comparison.
I'm curious how their deal with Sweetwater will affect things also. I definitely think they are growing. When I bought my L2000 in 2002, not many knew what it was. Now more people seem familiar with the brand
Short version...i traded a Fender Pbass i had with another forum member for a recent year US lb100.
Very impressed overall with the quality,etc. So much that i went on the search for a US JB2,and wound up with a good one. The JB2 is exactly everything I would've hoped for,and has become one of my favorites.
And the LB is the best P bass i've ever owned, plays great, but I have once again come to the conclusion that soundwise, I'm just not a P bass guy, so it is on the outgoing list.
I recently got to try a tribute version of the kiloton,and think i would like that model much better.
(Only i want a US made one.)
Here's my duo....
You know I don't do sparkle, unless your chariot is about ready to turn into a pumpkin.
No chrome.
Matte black, possibly...
Very nice. FWIW - I like the black knobs...would look really sharp with all black hardware.
Some really nice bass porn here for sure. I'm generally not much for sparkle or metal flake, but with the pinstripes that green metallic is really sharp.
Oh, they'd definitely look great with black hardware. I have an old Tobias with all-black hardware that's really pretty, but it would look pretty goofy if the black knobs were replaced with chrome.
I'll try to take some good pictures of my L this weekend for a "before" and "after" comparison.
EDIT: Hey, I just noticed you're local as well. I know @armyadarkness lives pretty close to me, also. The G&L force is strong in South Jersey!
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I don't think it was the Custom Shop itself that's to blame. The Custom Shop is essentially one dedicated employee and it's not in another location, it's in one of the bays at the same location.
However, it wasn't long after the Custom Shop started that several new things started happening at G&L. There's a lot of growth going on there on several fronts and they are working through those growing pains. Some I'm not at liberty to discuss, but most of you have seen the start of the MFD J-bass pickup development and that's going to be great new area for them. Another is the Sweetwater addition and that actually started back with the Fullerton Standard and Deluxe, and CLF lines. That's a big change, standard USA models instead of only option order. Now there's both.
Then there was NAMM and the 40th anniversary which took some extra efforts. Bottom line, lots and lots is going on at G&L and I think we're seeing some growing pains while they get everything worked out. And the pandemic hit just as they were working some that out too. So yeah, make sure your orders are done right, but G&L is still making great stuff. And no way BBE is selling G&L, can't see that at all.
