Goodbye G&L

[fourstringbliss]

I just checked Sweetwater to see what G&L instruments they had in stock and it's this ONE:

It still feels so weird to have no new ones coming out.

 

[DuluthDank]

I'm liking the headstock shape on that one, without the "hook". I always thought the G&L headstock was the single ugliest in the business.

 

[tremor100]

I'm liking the headstock shape on that one, without the "hook". I always thought the G&L headstock was the single ugliest in the business.

2nd ugliest.

This one is pretty up there for me too:

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

I just checked Sweetwater to see what G&L instruments they had in stock and it's this ONE:

View attachment 7407860

It still feels so weird to have no new ones coming out.

Geez. I've been a bass player 30+ years and the passing of G&L just makes be sad. Deflated. Also Bob Weir passed away yesterday so I've been feeling a bit low these last 20+ hours.

 

[RGerhart]

I wonder how long it will be before the used market starts gouging people with the prices of G&Ls....?

 

[pbass2]

That's a nice one--like that color. They always had some of the best finishes. Yes, it's sad to see--big G&L fan here. I have a 2017 JB5 that I intend to keep forever, not only because it's an awesome example of a passive J fiver, but I want to keep at least one US G&L in my collection.

 

[pbass2]

I wonder how long it will be before the used market starts gouging people with the prices of G&Ls....?

I'm not seeing that happen yet. I have a Kiloton 5 for sale, I'm offering a fair price, and the other G&L's I see out there that aren't over-priced (yet).

 

[T McClure]

I'm not seeing that happen yet. I have a Kiloton 5 for sale, I'm offering a fair price, and the other G&L's I see out there that aren't over-priced (yet).

You'd think the biggest jump in demand would have been in the past month with this in the news.

 

[pbass2]

You'd think the biggest jump in demand would have been in the past month with this in the news.

Well, maybe just chalk it up to the same issues with visibility that G&L always had! Such a great brand, so little presence in the market. Bass geeks loved them, but they were quite under the radar otherwise. Never had great resale. Also, some people might be spooked buying a bass from a company that just went under in rather unceremonious fashion. The hardcore G&L'rs won't care though. Plenty of speculation over in the G&L club.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Whining about the 40+yr G&L headstock shape is really old. It was what it was. Get over it.

 

[erikteichmann]

I for one like the G&L headstock... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[cataract]

My G&L Headstock looks perfectly fine IMO lol

 

[2F/2F]

I wonder how long it will be before the used market starts gouging people with the prices of G&Ls....?

I have watched the G&L market like a hawk, daily, for at least 15 years. I have been into them, but maybe not as heavily as stalking the market daily, for 30 years. I've bought and sold hundreds.

My observations on the market post-closure are the following:

Most likely, I think we're seeing a lot of uninformed buyers, somewhat new to the brand, who don't really know the company, its historically flat market (especially used), or its manufacturing history (such as the steady cost cutting of the past 25+ years, resulting in its equivalent of the CBS Fender era or the Norlin Gibson era). They're getting the exposure/itch for G&L, and making the same mistakes that many newcomers to the brand have long made: assuming that they're worth more than they are, and overpaying. These shoppers are more willing to move quickly on them, without waiting for price drops or negotiating. They're skewing the market a bit...but not a ton. It's kind of selective what's going up, not all G&Ls across the board. And I don't think it will be permanent.

Average G&Ls from 4-bolt era (6-bolt for basses) have gone up a little, if any. Maybe $0–$200.

More special examples (e.g. flame tops, binding, semi-hollows, etc.) are going for several hundred (up to 500 in some cases) dollars more.

The only things that have gone up significantly are Comanches. Tributes, which should be $400 used guitars at the absolute max, are actually changing hands (not just "asking") at over $700, routinely – sometimes more. I have seen a few fancy U.S. made examples go in the realm of $2,000 used, which is all but unheard of till now. People are enamored with the idea of the split coil pickups (which are basically just G&L Mustang pickups), and freaking out that they'll never be made again – as well as the Comanche having relatively low production numbers compared to the Legacy.

The old stuff (Leo era) has basically remained flat in going prices. The kinds of people "freaking out" about the end of the company seem to largely be people who are into the later model stuff, and don't know or believe that it isn't the best period for G&Ls.

If you're the kind of person who likes to buy and sell instruments, instead of holding on to them for a long time, then I would use this opportunity to sell your hot models (Comanches or examples with rare and deluxe appointments). I would hold on to pre-BBE stuff, BBE stuff up to '97, and average, run-of-the-mill late model instruments. I think this is a bubble, which will eventually deflate. G&Ls have had 45 years to get insanely popular, and it hasn't happened yet. I don't think it ever will – especially when people finally realize that the later model stuff really isn't all it's cracked up to be (and neither are Comanches).

I'm someone who mostly holds instruments once I buy them; I rarely sell any more. So, I will be selling hardly anything during this bubble. Maybe a handful of my ultra clean, somewhat rare later model examples – if people are willing to pay me more than I believe they're worth. For example, I have one of the ultra rare JB MFD models that were released not long before the company died. I saw a set of the pickups alone sell for $700 on Reverb a few weeks ago. (It was former G&L employee Steve Araujo selling them.) So I wouldn't mind cashing in on that nonsense, for something that's basically just a Jazz Bass with hot pickups.

 

[fourstringbliss]

I wonder how long it will be before the used market starts gouging people with the prices of G&Ls....?

And that was my next question as well. I think the only thing we've got going for us in this is if there were more demand for G&L basses they wouldn't have gone out of business. Usually when supply goes down demand goes up along with prices. I'm sure there's going to be a bump of some sort, though.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

What I want to know is, will they ever reach the collectible cult status of pre-CBS Fender?

The first G&L's are what, 45 years old now... so what's a all-original first-run L-1000 gonna' run us in say... 2040?

Should I buy about 5 now and stash 'em?

 

[T McClure]

And that was my next question as well. I think the only thing we've got going for us in this is if there were more demand for G&L basses they wouldn't have gone out of business. Usually when supply goes down demand goes up along with prices. I'm sure there's going to be a bump of some sort, though.

What usually happens to a defunct brand's value as time passes? It seems like demand would fade as fewer and fewer players know the name. Do Carvin guitars and basses keep appreciating or have their values tailed off as now a decade has passed since the brand was retired?

 

[lowfreqgeek]

And that was my next question as well. I think the only thing we've got going for us in this is if there were more demand for G&L basses they wouldn't have gone out of business. Usually when supply goes down demand goes up along with prices. I'm sure there's going to be a bump of some sort, though.

I'd venture to guess that guitars were the majority of G&L's business, not basses. I don't think that bass players buying more basses would have solved their issues. I also would venture to guess that their bigger issue was poor management and other compounding factors, more so than lack of sales.

 

[Winton]

I for one like the G&L headstock... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve never heard so many people complain about headstocks more than people on here. I think people are either too bored or spending too much time on bass (sites). Go out and smell the flowers for goodness sake!

 

[BobKos]

Regarding used price gouging - I think as a percent of market share nobody wanted them when they were alive. Nobody will want them after their passing. There just isn't a Jaco, Steve Harris, Geddy Lee, etc out there belting out cool music on an L-2000. There's a reason for that.

 

[2F/2F]

I'd venture to guess that guitars were the majority of G&L's business, not basses. I don't think that bass players buying more basses would have solved their issues. I also would venture to guess that their bigger issue was poor management and other compounding factors, more so than lack of sales.

About 3/5 guitars, and 2/5 basses, A.K.A. "60:40."

Yes; the company was slowly but surely run into the ground over a period of about 27 years.

It was pretty much managed OK when the elder McLaren was the main guy, in the early to mid '90s. He was no Leo Fender, but he knew what he was doing, and was generally well respected in the industry. His sons are the ones that were handed something that could have been awesome, but instead, totally wasted the company.

You can maintain a profitable business with low demand, if you maintain your reputation for a quality product, for being a great company to deal with, and run your business smartly, tailored to the scale of your production. The McLaren brothers pushed and pushed to "expand" when there was no market for expansion, and never would be. They kept treating Fender's as the market they were after, when the market they needed was actually more akin to the music Man market, or even Suhr or Anderson. When this continuously failed, they continuously cut costs. The quality of their components at the end was embarrassing, and their customer service went to hell decades ago – yet they were charging more than ever for their mediocre products. You'd think that at some point they would have realized that contraction, a focus on quality and customer service, and recognizing and responding to the market that was actually there, instead of trying to manipulate it in to something it wasn't, would have become the obvious path for a smart businessperson to take. They were not smart business people.