This is my Custom Shop G&L Kiloton 5. I picked it up in May of 2024. Back in October of 2023, southern CA had a super severe storm.
G&L in Fullerton, was broken into on the same night of the storm. A car smashed through the roll-up door. Lots of instruments were stolen. I had dropped off my L-1505 off at G&L for a new neck in June of 2023. That same L-1505 ( the one I planned to give to my son )was stolen as well. G&L offered to make me a new bass at no charge.
My request was :
Wenge fingerboard
Vintage frets
Block inlays
Graphite nut
Matching headstock
Roasted maple 1/4 sawn neck
Roasted alder body
Pickup placement to my specs
Electronics to my specs
Luminlay side-dots
Rear mounted controls
No pickguard
Slightly over-wound MFDs wound with matching resistance
3 coats ( max. ) of satin nitro on neck and body.
Black hardware ( I had to get that done )
The Hipshot Kickass bridge does not have the shape of the G&L bride which I like. But, it fixed the dead-spot at C# and allowed 19mm string spacing at the saddles.
I replaced the stock socket set screws on the saddles with longer versions. Because these pass through the saddles, there is full contact with the threads. They will not move with vibration. I'll never get my stolen L-1505 back. I have 1 more L-1505 and now this K5. This bass records really , really , really well. Its tone is clear, warm, round and deep. It is strung with heavy gauge GHS Brite Flats. I love to feel the wood on the body and it resonates exactly the way I planned.
I had fret 21 removed and lowered the fingerboard for access to the strings. G&L absolutely would not chamber the body. I asked them to route for 2 9v batteries side by side. It's a crude method to chamber a body but it worked. The bass weighs 8 1/2 pounds. There's less than a chance of 1,000,000,000 : 1 that I will put any battery in this bass. The MFDs are wired in Series for max. volume. I detailed them out with black. That 500k pot is just right for the MFDs. That toggle is a part from the Mesa Booge CA tweed amp. It has a round ball-tip and simply turns on or off the cap. This is the 3rd time I've altered pickup placement on G&L basses but I only have 2 left now. This K5 has the
MFDs 4 3/8" apart. It allows lots of tone variation with finger picking between the pickups and of course in front of the neck pickup.
This bass was worth the long damned wait.
My boy is welcome to this bass too, but not yet.
G&L in Fullerton, was broken into on the same night of the storm. A car smashed through the roll-up door. Lots of instruments were stolen. I had dropped off my L-1505 off at G&L for a new neck in June of 2023. That same L-1505 ( the one I planned to give to my son )was stolen as well. G&L offered to make me a new bass at no charge.
My request was :
Wenge fingerboard
Vintage frets
Block inlays
Graphite nut
Matching headstock
Roasted maple 1/4 sawn neck
Roasted alder body
Pickup placement to my specs
Electronics to my specs
Luminlay side-dots
Rear mounted controls
No pickguard
Slightly over-wound MFDs wound with matching resistance
3 coats ( max. ) of satin nitro on neck and body.
Black hardware ( I had to get that done )
The Hipshot Kickass bridge does not have the shape of the G&L bride which I like. But, it fixed the dead-spot at C# and allowed 19mm string spacing at the saddles.
I replaced the stock socket set screws on the saddles with longer versions. Because these pass through the saddles, there is full contact with the threads. They will not move with vibration. I'll never get my stolen L-1505 back. I have 1 more L-1505 and now this K5. This bass records really , really , really well. Its tone is clear, warm, round and deep. It is strung with heavy gauge GHS Brite Flats. I love to feel the wood on the body and it resonates exactly the way I planned.
I had fret 21 removed and lowered the fingerboard for access to the strings. G&L absolutely would not chamber the body. I asked them to route for 2 9v batteries side by side. It's a crude method to chamber a body but it worked. The bass weighs 8 1/2 pounds. There's less than a chance of 1,000,000,000 : 1 that I will put any battery in this bass. The MFDs are wired in Series for max. volume. I detailed them out with black. That 500k pot is just right for the MFDs. That toggle is a part from the Mesa Booge CA tweed amp. It has a round ball-tip and simply turns on or off the cap. This is the 3rd time I've altered pickup placement on G&L basses but I only have 2 left now. This K5 has the
MFDs 4 3/8" apart. It allows lots of tone variation with finger picking between the pickups and of course in front of the neck pickup.
This bass was worth the long damned wait.
My boy is welcome to this bass too, but not yet.
