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Advance G&L GAS - scheming


neepheid

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On 25/12/2021 at 09:07, bigthumb said:

They have a stunning (well I think so) US Fullerton Deluxe at Guitarguitar and the body is made from Western Sugar Pine? Not exactly sure what that would be like. 

 

 

 

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/210309367423025--gl-usa-fullerton-deluxe-lb-100-pine-shoreline-gold-maple-finger?gclid=CjwKCAiAn5uOBhADEiwA_pZwcLNW4YRmc9AuQZyhBgW3FHf6EtRUAr2ydawxQzHlJpJsDjz6YjR6yBoCTL4QAvD_BwE

 

 

I tried this Bass out before Christmas and was totally blown away by it. I still don't know how I managed to walk out the shop without it!

 

I have a G&L Custom Shop JB so I know how good these basses are and the high quality they are built to. The neck on this bass was so smooth and easy to play and the thump from that pick up was beautiful. I played some Jamerson bass lines and it really fell into place. 

I'm a fan of the MFD Pick ups (also tried an SB1) but the stock pick up on this really delivered. Had it been a different colour I think I would of snapped it up. 

 

G&L are like a mini custom shop with hand built high quality basses being turned out under £2k. If it had Fender on the headstock you'd be looking at closer to double the price. I just don't understand how they aren't a lot better known in the UK.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Clint said:

I tried this Bass out before Christmas and was totally blown away by it. I still don't know how I managed to walk out the shop without it!

 

I have a G&L Custom Shop JB so I know how good these basses are and the high quality they are built to. The neck on this bass was so smooth and easy to play and the thump from that pick up was beautiful. I played some Jamerson bass lines and it really fell into place. 

I'm a fan of the MFD Pick ups (also tried an SB1) but the stock pick up on this really delivered. Had it been a different colour I think I would of snapped it up. 

 

G&L are like a mini custom shop with hand built high quality basses being turned out under £2k. If it had Fender on the headstock you'd be looking at closer to double the price. I just don't understand how they aren't a lot better known in the UK.

 

 

What was the weights like of the two? I think I'd be hard pushed to pick between them as the SB-1 also looks very tempting. Sadly there's no shops around here that stock them so trying them out is near impossible. My Fullerton JB was excellent, first class build quality and finish but just too damn heavy unfortunately. 

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19 minutes ago, bigthumb said:

What was the weights like of the two? I think I'd be hard pushed to pick between them as the SB-1 also looks very tempting. Sadly there's no shops around here that stock them so trying them out is near impossible. My Fullerton JB was excellent, first class build quality and finish but just too damn heavy unfortunately. 

I don't know the exact weight but I personally didn't find the weight that much of an issue and it balanced beautifully. The SB-1 was certainly lighter but then the body is smaller and the feel just it wasn't for me. I loved the MFD pick ups though, very powerful! The LB Pick ups were less powerful but had a nice classic P bass sound about them. 

 

I don't think my G&L JB is that heavy either although I am used to playing Gibson Les Paul Basses which are very heavy in comparison.  

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59 minutes ago, neepheid said:

My Tribute LB-100 arrived yesterday.  Too many whiskies to give it a proper go yet, but I did pop it on the bathroom scales as promised @bigthumb

 

3.9kg = 8lb 10oz

 

Bathroom scales mind, so probably not the most accurate measure, but that's what I have for you.

That'll do nicely 🙂

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Quick and dirty first impressions with quick and dirty phone pics of dubious quality then.

 

01_all.jpg.167d8889f0510cd23c04ebae3b20cd07.jpg

 

Bonny!  The body finish is a bit greener than the stock photo would suggest, but I don't know why this would be surprising - it is "Emerald" Blue after all.  Body finish is flawless as far as I can see.  The neck is mostly good - decent fret work with no sharp fret ends, feels nice to play with a satin finish on the back (gloss haters of the world rejoice!) BUT the finish was a little rough on the back of the neck between the nut and first fret.  Nothing a quick going over with steel wool or a flexible sanding pad won't sort so I'm not overly concerned.  What I presume to be a vintage tint has gone a little wrong and in some lights the neck looks almost yellow.  What you see above is the colour balance of the phone camera doing it a favour.  When I concentrated on the headstock I got this:

 

02_yellow.jpg.0983269c4c62147e5da6b0804c133131.jpg

 

In reality it's somewhere between the two depending on the light.  Kinda like someone went a bit mad with the fake tan, whoops!  Maybe in time it'll mellow, or maybe it just doesn't like the light from energy saving bulbs.  Must take it outside tomorrow and see if natural light helps.  Loving the blocks.  The rosewood board looks a little dry and would probably benefit from being nourished a touch.

 

Soundwise I've only had a quick play but it sounds good through headphones to me.  A decent amount of top end for a single pickup P bass.  I don't have an immediate urge to replace it with a split MFD.  The electronics, while quiet aren't the best quality (well something's got to give to get the price down) - the taper on the volume pot is a bit abrupt and the tone control doesn't do a lot over its full sweep (not that I ever use the blasted thing).  Yes, yes, BC, Kiogon loom, I know ;)

 

Bass comes strung with D'addario XL nickels which suits me just fine.  Tuners are adequate and are pretty smooth for a bass at this price point - I don't feel an instant need to replace them (unlike the ones on my Epiphone Embassy).  The bridge is the usual high quality G&L unit.  Setup was mixed out of the box - action OK but the intonation was quite a bit off, all strings sharp when fretted at the 12th.  Bridge has plenty of adjustment room though, had it sorted in about 10 mins.

 

So, neepheid finally has a P bass.  Kinda, because he can't do anything quite right.  Looking forward to giving this a proper blast at the next band rehearsal.

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That looks absolutely lovely, the finish and the blocks really set it apart for me. Are you going to keep the tort on it?

 

How are you getting on with the neck? Different sites seem to spec it differently (handy 😒), but I think the general consensus is that it's 44mm at the nut and a modern c, rather than baseball bat? When you get a sec would you mind letting me know what the width is at the 12th fret please?

 

Glad to hear you're happy with it!!

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38 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

How are you getting on with the neck? Different sites seem to spec it differently (handy 😒), but I think the general consensus is that it's 44mm at the nut and a modern c, rather than baseball bat? When you get a sec would you mind letting me know what the width is at the 12th fret please?

 

I got someone on TB to take a tape measure into a shop selling these latest LB-100s and take a photo of the nut: definitely still still 1⅝", despite what the G&L website says 😄

 

lb100_nut-jpg-jpg.4510525

Edited by Ricky Rioli
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1 minute ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I got someone on TB to take a tape measure into a shop selling these latest LB-100s and take a photo of the nut: definitely still still 1⅝", despite what the G&L website says 😄

 

Well, it's a good job G&L are in the business of making fantastic basses rather than running websites or measuring distances 😂

 

Thanks for that!

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I'd say 42mm at the nut with the tape under the strings and 55mm at the 12th fret. I don't know what any of these named neck profiles mean and never could be bothered to find out so I can't help you there, sorry. FWIW it seems a bit shallower than the Tribute L-2000 - my benchmark and high water mark for chonkiest 4 string necks, but it feels good to me.

 

Yeah, I'll probably keep the tort - combination of laziness and slight fascination as despite the -ahem- above average number of basses I have owned this may be the first one ever with a tort guard.

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On 04/01/2022 at 14:54, neepheid said:

 

Is that going to be released as a retail product, or is it a custom shop, one-off special?

It is going to be released. You can have it in this colour, 3T SB, Andromeda or Natural. That is it. Which is just as well because I was tying myself in knots working out whether to go with this or metal flake orange with matching headstock.

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