G&L Club Part 7

[JES]

Greetings. I'm curious about people who have G&L bass with empress (Pawlownia) as a body wood. How have they held up over the years in terms of finish integrity? Are they super dinged up, and if so, does it look bad or just like "mojo"? Pics appreciated.

 

[Spidey2112]

"Welcome to the G&L club.
Please, talk about your G&Ls.
But not too much."

Lol! Okay.

 

[bdgotoh]

Greetings. I'm curious about people who have G&L bass with empress (Pawlownia) as a body wood. How have they held up over the years in terms of finish integrity? Are they super dinged up, and if so, does it look bad or just like "mojo"? Pics appreciated.

Mine are fine, they look mostly new other than the typical fine scratches all my basses have, no matter what the body wood or finish is. I have had at least 10 Empress bodied G&Ls now and none of them had any finish issues or showed any tendency towards damage. I'm down to three right now but I have two more on order. I'm a big fan of this wood, especially the high quality grade that G&L sources.

The only thing I've noticed about Empress bodies is to avoid overtightening the pickguard or control plate screws, they'll strip without much effort. This same thing happens with other light woods like swamp ash, basswood, and pine.

 

[richwag]

Same thing with mine, but the 1 5/8 is pretty comfy and not too chunky.

I have all three four string nut widths and 1 5/8” is probably my favorite followed by the 1 3/4” and 1 1/2”.

I wouldn’t call it chunky at all.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I have had at least 10 Empress bodied G&Ls now and none of them had any finish issues or showed any tendency towards damage. I'm down to three right now but I have two more on order. I'm a big fan of this wood, especially the high quality grade that G&L sources.

It was reading you making comments like these when I was doing my research that gave me the confidence to go for empress when I realised I had the opportunity to choose it

 

[JES]

Mine are fine, they look mostly new other than the typical fine scratches all my basses have, no matter what the body wood or finish is. I have had at least 10 Empress bodied G&Ls now and none of them had any finish issues or showed any tendency towards damage. I'm down to three right now but I have two more on order. I'm a big fan of this wood, especially the high quality grade that G&L sources.

The only thing I've noticed about Empress bodies is to avoid overtightening the pickguard or control plate screws, they'll strip without much effort. This same thing happens with other light woods like swamp ash, basswood, and pine.

Thanks Brad. Very helpful. I have an old basswood Ibanez -- my first bass from the 80s, and the basswood didn't age well, but then it's also a black finish. Speaking of which, what kinds of finishes do you have on the Empress basses?

 

[bdgotoh]

Silver Metallic, Belair Green, and Surf Green right now. Candy Apple Red and Lake Placid Blue are on order. I'm strange, I tend to prefer solid colors and usually metallics most of all.

I've had some Empress bodies with clear finishes as well, though. Natural, Old School Tobacco Burst, Three Tone Burst, and Honeyburst all looked great. G&L chooses very nicely grained and fairly heavy Empress for their bodies, check out the grain on this clear finish L-1000A.

The two on the left are 1997 ash, I can't remember what the LB-100 body wood was, the rest are all Empress bodies.

 

[woodyng2]

Silver Metallic, Belair Green, and Surf Green right now. Candy Apple Red and Lake Placid Blue are on order. I'm strange, I tend to prefer solid colors and usually metallics most of all.

I've had some Empress bodies with clear finishes as well, though. Natural, Old School Tobacco Burst, Three Tone Burst, and Honeyburst all looked great. G&L chooses very nicely grained and fairly heavy Empress for their bodies, check out the grain on this clear finish L-1000A.

View attachment 4031504

The two on the left are 1997 ash, I can't remember what the LB-100 body wood was, the rest are all Empress bodies.

View attachment 4031506

That belair green L1000 looks just like the one i recently got. It has an empress body, too.

 

[SJLee]

Silver Metallic, Belair Green, and Surf Green right now. Candy Apple Red and Lake Placid Blue are on order. I'm strange, I tend to prefer solid colors and usually metallics most of all.


I've had some Empress bodies with clear finishes as well, though. Natural, Old School Tobacco Burst, Three Tone Burst, and Honeyburst all looked great. G&L chooses very nicely grained and fairly heavy Empress for their bodies, check out the grain on this clear finish L-1000A.

View attachment 4031504

The two on the left are 1997 ash, I can't remember what the LB-100 body wood was, the rest are all Empress bodies.

View attachment 4031506

Wow! Is that an eight neck?

 

[bdgotoh]

That belair green L1000 looks just like the one i recently got. It has an empress body, too.View attachment 4031791

It's the same bass, such a terrific L1000.

 

[bdgotoh]

Wow! Is that an eight neck?

I can't remember, I may have recorded the neck info in my spreadsheet. The green and the natural L1000 are very rare, I've only seen about 5-6 with the factory alnico pickups.

 

[elberon]

Great collection, have you given any thought to becoming a G&L distributor?

 

[bdgotoh]

Great collection, have you given any thought to becoming a G&L distributor?

I sorta am, but without the warranty or profit!

 

[jcburn]

Hey guys, has anyone used D'Addario half rounds or GHS pressurewounds on a L2000?
I have 2 L2000 basses, and usually string up with DR Fat Beams. Love that bright punchy tone, but the last 12 months or so I'm really wanting a vintage, thumpy overdriven neck pickup in series tone. None of the nickel rounds I have tried (Sun Beam, D'Addario XL, EB Slinky) fit the bill - still too rich in hi harmonics\hi-mid content.
I tried EB Cobalt flats (weird tone - it's a flat that thinks it might be round to my ears) and Chrome's (just sounded dull to me).
So I'm definitely gonna try the half rounds or pressurewounds but wondering what to expect. Are they hex core? Are they comparable in tension to the same gauged rounds?
I'm looking for the thump of flats with a hint of the bite you get with rounds.....just not as much!
I'll be playing them with a pick with some mild overdrive and compression.

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

Hey guys, has anyone used D'Addario half rounds or GHS pressurewounds on a L2000?

Yeah, I put D'Addario half rounds on my L2000 a couple months back and have been really, really happy with them. Definitely give them a try. It's a different feel for sure, but one that I like. And I think they'll get you closer to the tone you're after.

They are hex core, yes. Not sure about the tension, though.

 

[jcburn]

Yeah, I put D'Addario half rounds on my L2000 a couple months back and have been really, really happy with them. Definitely give them a try. It's a different feel for sure, but one that I like. And I think they'll get you closer to the tone you're after.

They are hex core, yes. Not sure about the tension, though.

Thanks for the response man.
I'm thinking the same thing. I want to try both the D'Addarios and GHS strings but can only source the D'Addarios locally.

 

[dave64o]

Hey guys, has anyone used D'Addario half rounds or GHS pressurewounds on a L2000?
I have 2 L2000 basses, and usually string up with DR Fat Beams. Love that bright punchy tone, but the last 12 months or so I'm really wanting a vintage, thumpy overdriven neck pickup in series tone. None of the nickel rounds I have tried (Sun Beam, D'Addario XL, EB Slinky) fit the bill - still too rich in hi harmonics\hi-mid content.
I tried EB Cobalt flats (weird tone - it's a flat that thinks it might be round to my ears) and Chrome's (just sounded dull to me).
So I'm definitely gonna try the half rounds or pressurewounds but wondering what to expect. Are they hex core? Are they comparable in tension to the same gauged rounds?
I'm looking for the thump of flats with a hint of the bite you get with rounds.....just not as much!
I'll be playing them with a pick with some mild overdrive and compression.

The neck pickup in series (with the preamp set to passive) is my clear favorite setting on my L-2500. I don't use any other setting very often.

Yeah, I put D'Addario half rounds on my L2000 a couple months back and have been really, really happy with them. Definitely give them a try. It's a different feel for sure, but one that I like. And I think they'll get you closer to the tone you're after.

They are hex core, yes. Not sure about the tension, though.

My L-2500 has Chromes on it and I really like how it sounds (FWIW, I've liked Chromes on every bass I've tried them on) and they're my favorite flats of the several I've tried. However, I do have a set of GHS half rounds I bought out of curiosity that's waiting for me to decide what to do with it. I see you said you don't know about their tension, but I'm guessing you're talking about the pounds of tension each string ? What's your impression about their feel/stiffness under your plucking hand?

For reference, I prefer pretty stiff strings, such as the Chromes but also LaBella Deep Talking flats and DR Lo Riders. I currently have a set of GHS Pressurewounds on my Stingray and I like the sound but they're about as loose feeling as I'd want to go. I do NOT like TI Jazz Flats, which I find way too floppy for me. If the Half Rounds have a relatively stiff feel, then I might want to try them on my L-2500 just to see what I think of them, especially if they might give me just a little more brightness than the Chromes do.

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

Chromes are also a winner on the L2000. Those and the half rounds are two different flavors of awesome. They are different, but I don't think I could give a useful description of the differences.

I punted on the tension question because I'm not really sure what the tension is in either pounds or in terms of stiffness under the fingers. I personally love TI flats and rounds, and I generally tend to buy string sets in the lightest gauge I can find. Half rounds are definitely more substantial than TI flats (on my SB-2) and TI rounds (on my Kiloton). Not so much so that it's hard to go from one bass to the other, but probably enough to give you the resistance you're looking for. I can also say that replacing the previous Lo Riders with half rounds on the L2000 did not require tweaking the truss rod.

 

[TDR1138]

I’ve had a few sets of Half Rounds over the years. Like ‘me, but I don’t seem to stick with them for too long. I tend to use them for a bit, get tired of them and decide I either want rounds or flats, not a compromise.

I don’t have experience with the GHS Pressure Wounds, but people really seem to like them. If I ever decide that I want an in-between string, I’d probably try them. I’ve just been on a flats kick lately, so that’s what I keep buying these days.

If you want to experiment with more flats, you might try the Fender 9050s or the Ernie Ball “Group” flats (not Cobalts). The Fenders are similar to Chromes, though I think they have a little more character in the low mids that gives them a nice thickness there. The Group flats are a little cleaner sounding than the Fenders, have a little more clarity in the highs without sounding like rounds. I don’t think they’re supposed to be as “modern” as the Cobalts. Also, I think LaBellas LTFs have a really good top end, which surprised me, but they might be too light of tension for your taste.

 

[jd56hawk]

I have GHS black tapewounds on both my L2000s.
I might not be the best bassist around, but I'm very savvy when it comes to strings.