G&L L1000

[Sawtooth]

Hello! I've just taken a few pics of my recently aquired G&L and thought I'd share them.
Here's a brief history for those who don't know - G&L was a company set up by Leo Fender and his business partner George Fullerton (hence the G&L) in 1979, at the factory on Fender Avenue, Fullerton, California, where they used to make the early Music Man instruments.

Mine's an '81 - '82 L1000 in a translucent-ish red, at least I think that's the age? I've done some research and placed the 'slothead' pole pieces in the pickup and the headstock shape from that era, but any other information would be most welcome. It has one 8-pole humbucking pickup in the 'precision' position. The 3 knobs are Bass, Treble and Volume. The red capped toggle switch, next to the volume control, has 3 positions.
Up towards the neck is humbucking mode, a sort of more throaty, growly, valve'y sounding 'precision' tone (for want of a better description!). Middle is in single coil mode, a great 'precision' tone. Back towards the bridge is single coil with added bass boost. I believe this is called the "OMG" setting and for a reason! Back off the treble and it's old school heaven, also a great dub reggae tone. I must get some flatwounds!

Anyway, I'm waffling .... enjoy the pics!

'on the sofa ...'
[attachment=71390:Wunkay_003.jpg]

[attachment=71391:Wunkay_004.jpg]

'some dings, scapes and (nitro?) lacquer wear and tear' (also some crazing but not really visible in pics) ...
[attachment=71392:Wunkay_005.jpg]

[attachment=71393:Wunkay_007.jpg]

'the garden shots ...'
[attachment=71394:Wunkay_008.jpg]

[attachment=71395:Wunkay_012.jpg]

Thanks for your time!

Edited February 12, 2011 by Sawtooth

[99ster]

Thanks for posting - that brings back some memories...

My first decent bass was one of these in natural finish - it was bl**dy great!
Only sold it when I got my Wal Custom back in 1987. Golden days!
I think I know where the G&L ended up...I wonder what it's worth now I might be able to buy it back...
How much did you pay for this one?

[KiOgon]

Very very very very er - cherry
Beautiful, I've always fancied a natural blonde 'wunkay'

Cheerz, John.

[gary mac]

Very nice and good set of pics.

I'm a recent convert to G&L, having put a very last minute bid on an SB1 on ebay.
There is a thread somewhere on here if you are interested.

There is a fair bit of G&L love on this forum, but I do think they have been overlooked a bit by the majority of players.

[Jigster]

I have an 1983 SB-2 and on the look out for one of these - was it an e-bay sale?

[Sawtooth]

Thanks for the replies folks, I'm chuffed you like "Kelly". So called because of the uncanny resemblance to a film actress I was very 'fond' of in the early eighties

"Kelly LeBrock" ................. "Wunkay"
[attachment=72020:Wunkay___small.jpg] [attachment=72016:Kelly_LeBrock.jpg]

To answer a couple of questions, I'd been looking for a precision for a while and had a grand-ish to spend. I considered a couple of older Fenders and also a new American standard, but great as they are,
I kept being drawn back to this L1000 I'd seen on Guitarguitar's Glasgow website. It had been there a while, initially for £1500, then reduced to £999. After a bit of research and a couple of very helpful
phone calls to the shop, I ripped up the rulebook and ordered it unseen and unplayed on a 7 day 'no questions asked' return policy with a 3 month warranty.
They wouldn't budge on the price so I payed £999. A lot I know, but these don't crop up often in the UK and the only other option was buying and shipping one from the states. The shop said they bought it
from a guy who had it from new - who knows?!? It came in it's original case and played well.

THEN, after 6 days it developed a major crackle and loss of output! So after carefully opening the control cavity, staring up at me was a Duracell battery!!!
Now I'm no expert, but the L1000 is a passive bass and the presence of a PCB was somewhat of a shock. After my initial excitement of thinking this might be one of the fabled L1000e models never seen,
it quickly dawned on me that the electronics seemed too 'new'. A couple of wires needed re-soldering to the switch and the crackle was gone.
But here my knowledge draws to an end. There is a noticeable difference between the 3 switching modes, the OMG setting boosts the bass and lowers the highs, the middle sounds like a single coil 'precision' tone
and the humbucker mode has a slight dip in the highs and a slightly 'overdriven' tone. But how much these are like a passive version or whether they are coloured by the pre-amp i really don't know having never played one.
I'm assuming the bass and treble pots are now boosting instead of cutting, but again, how do I know?
I'm still very happy with the bass and keen to find out more info from the more expert among you please. (i know there are at least a couple of G&L fans out there )

'Control cavity'
[attachment=72023:Wunkay_C...vity_009.jpg] [attachment=72024:Wunkay_C...vity_008.jpg]

There is no brand name on the pots, just 50k MEXICO and serial numbers. Also nothing on the PCB and has KOREA and serial numbers on the 2 chips. I'm well out of my depth here so please forgive me if any info is mis-leading.
I can provide more pics if required and try and add more info.
If anyone can shed any light on this I'd be really grateful,
thanks for your time,
Dave.

[scalpy]

This guy really knows his stuff

[url="http://www.bassesbyleo.com/"]http://www.bassesbyleo.com/[/url]

Welcome to the G&L fan club! Yours looks a beauty.

[noelk27]

Out of interest, how much did Bill let it go for?

[Ou7shined]

PM'd

Used to be a Kelly LeBrock fan too. Weird Science? Phwoar.

[Gust0o]

Weird Science! Kelly Le Brock! Thread of the weekend, this

Stunning bass, too.

[Sawtooth]

[quote name='scalpy' post='1125536' date='Feb 12 2011, 11:21 PM']This guy really knows his stuff

[url="http://www.bassesbyleo.com/"]http://www.bassesbyleo.com/[/url]

Welcome to the G&L fan club! Yours looks a beauty.[/quote]
Yeah, great site! Thanks.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1125560' date='Feb 13 2011, 12:05 AM']PM'd

Used to be a Kelly LeBrock fan too. Weird Science? Phwoar. [/quote]
PM in the post, cheers!

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1125611' date='Feb 13 2011, 01:08 AM']Weird Science! Kelly Le Brock! Thread of the weekend, this

Stunning bass, too.[/quote]
Glad you like the 'Woman in Red'!

Loving this bass, the power and range of tones are out of this world! It's making me want to try all sorts of styles from soft fingerstyle deep reggae and blues tones right through to j.j. aggressive pick tones
and it nails them all, better than I can play 'em anyway!

I stripped 'Kelly' down today to get a good look underneath and see what I'd find ...














[attachment=72129:Kelly_Le..._science.jpg][attachment=72130:Kelly_Le...cience_2.jpg] [attachment=72131:Kelly_Le...cience_3.jpg]
oops! wrong pics ...


neck date stamp ...
[attachment=72133:Wunkay_n...tamp_001.jpg] [attachment=72134:Wunkay_n...tamp_003.jpg]


body date ...
[attachment=72135:Wunkay_n...tamp_004.jpg] [attachment=72136:Wunkay_n...tamp_007.jpg]
It reads 42881, which in yankish would read 4/28/81. The 28th April 1981 in english.

Here's a couple for the road ...
[attachment=72132:Wunkay___front.jpg]

[attachment=72137:Wunkay___rear.jpg]

Cheers, Dave.