Leo's "Final Frontier"...G&L

[Templar]

Come on in and share your experiences with perhaps one of the most misunderstood marques in all of bassdom.....G&L.

Love 'em? Hate 'em? Whatever, this is the place to talk G&L basses, because here, it's always G&L time.

[capt.john]

I know this is a sticky, but I feel compelled to quote Leo in his own words...

[Tornadobass]

I had that ad on my office bulletin board for quite awhile. But I just noticed that Leo has a bandaid on his left hand. Love his smile in that pic!

[Dean]

I got my first G&L in 2002. It's a 1982 L-1000. In some ways, I prefer the G&L to my pre-CBS Precision. The G&L is not neck heavy, and it offers more sound possibilities. It amazed me how much the L1000 feels like my 1960 P-Bass. The neck dimensions are similar: wide but slim front to back. In 2005 I got an '81 L2000E. This bass has become my standard for what I'd call a warm but well defined tone.

[nig]

I got my first L2K from silvertounge music of da bay back in 2000 ish, on a whim from deep inside me, remembering playing one in the mid 80's, a fine bass it is too, my question is...changing the subject a little, is, why does GGJaguar consider the Climax bass to be not a noteworthy G&L, as he said in a thread a while back, as you know im a former stingray player and I find the Climax a totally absorbing instrument with beautiful curves and lines, especially and ironically on the back where you cant see the fine curve that runs across it.happy halloween bro's.

[Madcity Fats]

My first G&L was an SB-2 I bought in the mid 90's as a backup to my '68 Jazz. It quickly became my main bass for gigging and recording. A few years later, during a dry spell when I was in between bands, I got an offer on the Jazz that I couldn't refuse (it was a refin with an ugly rout where some moron had tried to install a humbucker, so it wasn't exactly a museum piece), but the SB-2 wasn't going anywhere. Later on, when I started gigging again, I bought an LB-100 as a backup for variety's sake. Also a rock solid, beautiful bass, although I tend to prefer the skinnier neck.

Several years later I took the SB-2 to a local guy for a setup and he discovered that the truss rod was frozen, which sucked because it needed tweaking. He suggested that he might be able to fudge an adjustment using the micro-tilt feature, but I couldn't stand the idea that she'd never be quite right again.

So I emailed Chris at G&L repair and asked him what he could do. He said to send the bass in and he'd replace the neck. Meanwhile, it occurred to me that the 10-year warranty might still be alive on this thing (I couldn't recall exactly when I'd bought it). Luckily, I'm the kind of guy who saves receipts for big purchases (even though she was under $700 brand new at the time it was a major investment for me), so I dug it out. Sure enough, I had one month left on the warranty.

I emailed Chris back to ask him if a new neck would be covered by the warranty. "Yep," he said. If I got it to a dealer and sent it in I'd only be responsible for shipping to and fro. I was blown away. Not once was it suggested that I'd maybe done something to wreck the truss rod (in fact, the neck was such a rock, it had never been adjusted prior to that failed attempt). Long story short, about a month later I got my baby back with a new quarter-sawn neck. So she's got a little different character now (two serial numbers, for example) but she's whole again, and every bit the player she was the day she first arrived.

I was so impressed I immediately put my Gibson Thunderbird up for sale and used the money to buy another, brand new SB-2. Chris's professionalism and no-nonsense approach was directly responsible for that sale. I've since added an '86 SB-1 to the family and now I'm angling for one of those sweet, sweet L-1000 reissues this site has made possible.

I think it's safe to say I'm as big a G&L devotee as anyone out there. This company is the real deal.

Sorry for the long first post.

[steveonbass]

Sorry for the long first post.

Most first posts don't have any substance - this is a GREAT first post. (unless you work for G&L )

[Madcity Fats]

(unless you work for G&L )

I wish. But I'm in Wisconsin and that commute would be a killer with the price of gas what it is today. So I guess I'll just keep shilling for free.