Lunch Report - Thursday September 12th

Thanks for the replies yesterday. I was wiped out last night and fell asleep as soon as the kids were in bed. There hadn't been much activity on the LR when I checked it yesterday afternoon, but now it looks like it's still going strong. There was some great info posted about many different effects.

Today I'm going to try (again) to slip out the door for half an hour to get a sandwich at a local coffee shop. The place just opened recently and seems to be doing a good business, even though it's off the beaten path. They make all of their sandwiches in-house and bake their own pastries. I'm trying to support them as much as I can, since truly local coffee shops have become such a rarity.

Today's G&L is as deep into the early days as you can get: a 1980 L-1000 with neck and body dated before official G&L production began.





Fans of Leo-era basses rave about the MFD humbuckers from '81 through '83 that had slotted pole pieces. This L-1000 has an even earlier type, with pole pieces designed to be adjusted with an Allen wrench. The large MDF humbuckers from 1983 through the present also have hex pole pieces, but they are designed for a much smaller Allen wrench.



One other feature unique to the earliest G&Ls is a one-piece neck with a skunk stripe, which was used from '80 until the bicut necks entered production in mid-'82:



Aside from the pickups and necks, the other features that make these early L-1000s stand out are the mahogany body and treble cut circuit (also called the "OMG switch"). These add up to a massive low end response. This L-1000 and the B-15 that you're all probably sick of hearing me talk about are a match made in bass guitar heaven.

G&L topic: What is your favorite pairing of a G&L and amp? Do you find that some G&L goes really well with a specific amp, or one amp goes well with your G&L(s)?

Non-G&L topic: Jamie recently asked me in another thread whether the B-15 is my holy grail amplifier. It definitely is. I never expected to see one of these in person, much less own one. I have no remorse at all about the trade I made for it. What is your holy grail amp? Have you had the chance to play one?

Ken

Hey Ken,

What an amazing instrument you show off today! I hope to have an L-1000 soon, although it will not be as old as yours.

I am very content with my Mesa/G&L combinations. But I haven't played my G&L through many other amps so it is hard to answer your question what my favorite pairing is. My sample size is way too small.

But I would love to take any of my G&L's through it paces using a Two Rock amp, a true vintage Fender Blackface, a Dumble Overdrive Special, or a Trainwreck (any of Ken Fischer's amps for that matter).

- Jos

Ken that is an amazing bass with a great piece of history! I wonder how that one got out.

I always thought my Fender Twin Reverb Custom was as good as it gets, but we used the 77 Vibrosonic on Tuesday for practice and it is stellar. The G&L's sound great through it and it is probably my Holy Grail amp. Are you going to gig with the B-15? If so you will have to guard it!-- Darwin

That L-1000 looks pretty good for it's age, who am I kidding...they look better with each new year.





I found one of my grail-tones when I first paired my Swart AST with a 10" jbl in a leslie, got to to explore more models
and the old d131's are the ticket.
I find out folks have been upgrading the leslies for a long time. Why doesn't the world know I'm going to need this info and teach it to me along with history in 4th grade...hell , I'd give up some recess time if I could have known some things waaaaay earlier.
Sorta like Tim's Matchless sale...ouch, but I think most of us gearheads can relate .

Here's a Bass rig that I really enjoy, there's a 10" cab not pictured for the highs.




I need to get the mics out to record some of these SWART/swirly JBL tones to share,

elwood

Have you seen these pics?
http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/broxy/sets ... 000226164/

Last edited by Elwood on Thu Sep 12, 2013 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Invader Deluxe--Mesa Mark III Blue Stripe
Modded 1991 ASAT--Mesa Mark III Blue Stripe/ Roccaforte Rockie 30W
ASAT Classic and Sig. S500-Roccaforte Rockie 30W/Modded Fender HRD

They're all perfect!

Holy Grail Amp.: HIWATT Custom 50 2 X12 Combo amp that I bought new at the factory in 1974...never worked well on 110V...sold in Seattle in 1979 for $250...Yes, I played it 12 hours/day; 7 days a week for two years and then some.

Hey Ken,

What an amazing instrument you show off today! I hope to have an L-1000 soon, although it will not be as old as yours.

I am very content with my Mesa/G&L combinations. But I haven't played my G&L through many other amps so it is hard to answer your question what my favorite pairing is. My sample size is way too small.

But I would love to take any of my G&L's through it paces using a Two Rock amp, a true vintage Fender Blackface, a Dumble Overdrive Special, or a Trainwreck (any of Ken Fischer's amps for that matter).

- Jos

jos, i would love to put your guitars through their paces with my two rock, exact dumble copy ((have access to actual dumble as well), vintage tweed and blackface fenders and also the ampeg reverberocket and the heritage kenny burrell signature for pure clean tones. they are sitting here waiting for you, just bring the guitars. the two rock really trumps all the others though.

Love the Mahogany on your Bass Ken. Nice neighbourhood too.
Good for you in supporting a new local business. They sound like they are focusing on doing it right.
Tim , you have a kind heart.
My S-500 sounded amazing through my 62 Fender Blonde Bassman last night.
I am in the market for a smaller Fender . Princeton, maybe Tweed champ, do you have another one Tim? Ah C'mon please.
I wonder if 2 rock make a low watt Practice amp because Louis you sure do sing there praises.
thanks
Anthony

Love the Mahogany on your Bass Ken. Nice neighbourhood too.
Good for you in supporting a new local business. They sound like they are focusing on doing it right.
Tim , you have a kind heart.
My S-500 sounded amazing through my 62 Fender Blonde Bassman last night.
I am in the market for a smaller Fender . Princeton, maybe Tweed champ, do you have another one Tim? Ah C'mon please.
I wonder if 2 rock make a low watt Practice amp because Louis you sure do sing there praises.
thanks
Anthony

two rock makes the exo 15. a 15 watt amp. but all the two rocks work great at practice volume. the exo 15 is pretty cheap, 1300 for the head. the 22 watt jet and studio pros are 2400 for just the heads. it maybe a bit expensive for just a practice amp. the custom reverb signature i have is around 6k.

jos, i would love to put your guitars through their paces with my two rock, exact dumble copy ((have access to actual dumble as well), vintage tweed and blackface fenders and also the ampeg reverberocket and the heritage kenny burrell signature for pure clean tones. they are sitting here waiting for you, just bring the guitars. the two rock really trumps all the others though.

Have to see if I can rent that Pregnant Guppy NASA used in the '60s.

- Jos

Hi Ken,

Great week so far. I'm on the edge of my seat in suspense, waiting to see if you'll finally get that sandwich before the week is out. I think you can do it.

G&L/amp pairings: I only have 2 amps, a well gigged '95 Blues Jr and a fairly new Vox AC15C1. The Vox is on the bright side, and so are my G&L's, and they can be too spiky for each other. The G&L's sound much more natural through the Blues Jr. Some day in the next 10 years I expect the Celestion speaker in the Vox to break in and play better with the G&L's. That's if I don't drop an Eminence Cannabis Rex in there first.

Holy Grail Amp: I've always enjoyed the sound of a small amp being worked hard. To that extent, I'd really like to own an original Fender Princeton some day. Till then, I'm keeping an eye out for a 2nd hand Laney Lionheart 5W. I demo'd one in a shop several years ago and couldn't wipe the smile off my face. They're expensive little suckers for 5W though. Definitely getting into boutique territory.

another beautiful bass !!

I have three amps at the moment , a Line 6 Spyder III 15 w , every guitar sounds identical through it ....lol.... I plug my computer and JM4 looper into it now and use it for a speaker ..... my Kustom amp SS is going into the shop this weekend , has a bunch of hum until you lay your hand across the strings , otherwise sounds fair .... so my standard go-to amp is my peavey classic 30 , all of them sound good through it ...... holy grail amp ??.... I am picking up my Fender Super Reverb this weekend , the most money I've ever spent on a amp new or used , it sounded good at the guitar store ..... I'm just starting to get into amps and pedals so I like listening to you guy's .... the Fender I was looking at them on ebay when Tim mentioned he loved his Super reverb back in College , so I'm taking my new to me Cavalier to the dealer for a tune up when I walk in the door and BANG , right there in front of me a a Fender Super Reverb he just took on trade , that thing had my name all over it , it was just ment to be

Eric, I love it! You have the disease and it is hard to cure. You will be one happy camper with the super reverb. You are now getting into some fine territory!--Darwin

Eric, I love it! You have the disease and it is hard to cure. You will be one happy camper with the super reverb. You are now getting into some fine territory!--Darwin

glad to hear it on "the fine territory" , A guy can learn a lot hanging out here with you guy's ...lol

Thanks for the responses everybody! I didn't realize this topic would get so much attention. It sounds like some of us have new gear quests starting to take shape. I apologize for any expensive GAS I may have gotten started today.

Lunch worked out for me for a change. There was the inevitable crisis emerging at 11:30, but I was able to have it taken care of within 45 minutes. Lunch was a basil-egg salad sandwich on wheat, with a bag of Dirty potato chips and a latte. I forgot to ask for the latte to be low caff, so I will probably be awake half the night. Oh well, it was worth it. If you're ever near Crownsville MD, try Bean Rush Cafe. After lunch a major thunderstorm rolled in, and a power bump shut down my computer and caused me to lose most of a report I had been working on all day. So it goes.

Tim's story about the amp reminds me of something a close friend of mine went through a couple of years ago, but which had a better ending. He was at a really low point in life, and for some reason decided it was time to sell the '69 Tele and '65 Vox amp he'd had since high school. A prospective buyer took advantage of him, and talked him into accepting a horrible low-ball offer. The next evening my friend was sitting there depressed, looking at the empty space where his gear used to be and regretting the couple of hundred dollars he'd gotten for it, when somebody knocked on the door. It was the buyer from the day before. He said that he was going to keep the guitar and amp, but that he felt guilty about the deal he had gotten. He handed my friend a mint Les Paul - a very high end model - and asked if that would make them square. It was a pretty decent thing to do, IMO.

Ken

Favorite pairing of G&L and amp?

Well I have discovered my love of that sweet sweet tweed sound, and tweedlike sound so if it is based on a tweed circuit I'm all down for pairing my ASAT with it

Holy grail amplifier, well a classic tweed would be really nice like a tweed deluxe but...

Well, one other amp that I really like but haven't gotten a chance to play near enough is the Deluxe Reverb.

I've plugged into the reissue before and it sounds sweet but not at volumes I can currently support

And unlike the tweed a used vintage Deluxe reverb (maybe silverface) would be a lot closer to something I could afford

But who knows, the point of a holy grail amplifier is the quest... and a tweed deluxe would make for a fine subject...

Wow...I've had so many great amps I don't know where to begin. I'd love to have the blonde 64 Tremolux, the vintage Deluxe Reverb and the Super Champ back. The Tremolux head and cab were $100, the SC was $65, and I let a friend sleep on my sofa for a few weeks in exchange for the DR. Hated to let them go. My c. 1965 Bandmaster was stolen, that's another one I'd like to have back.

BUT...if I can turn the Master up to 2.75--3, then I would take my Mesa Mark III Coliseum head and the matching C90/EVM 412 Half-back cab. The tone is just so liquid, just the right amount of sponginess and the right amount of tightness. With one of my Legacy Specials, the clean channel is sweet and punchy, R2 is deliciously crunchy and the lead channel sings with such perfect sustain, it puts Santana's PRS woman tone to shame. On the Full Power setting, it's not really louder than the half-power, but the notes just explode from the amp...unbelievable dynamics. Every guitar I have ever played through this amp has sounded pretty darn good.

I am only now starting to dig into the new Mark V I bought. I had delightful, usable tones from all three channels in less than five minutes. So many great tones; and so far everything sounds good. Thinking about buying a head version, too.

I have been trying out some boutique stuff over the last few weeks, and I will do some more looking up here in Seattle while I wait to go to the Seatte Guitar Show this Sunday. Tried some highly rated stuff, but nothing has given me any second thoughts about my Mesa gear.

So the cool thing is....I HAVE my Holy Grail amp (s)!!!

Nice bass. Saw an L-1000 on our Craigslist, and a couple of L-2Ks too. Ah if I only needed a bass....

Bill

Favorite pairing of G&L and amp?

Well I have discovered my love of that sweet sweet tweed sound, and tweedlike sound so if it is based on a tweed circuit I'm all down for pairing my ASAT with it

Holy grail amplifier, well a classic tweed would be really nice like a tweed deluxe but...

Well, one other amp that I really like but haven't gotten a chance to play near enough is the Deluxe Reverb.

I've plugged into the reissue before and it sounds sweet but not at volumes I can currently support

And unlike the tweed a used vintage Deluxe reverb (maybe silverface) would be a lot closer to something I could afford

But who knows, the point of a holy grail amplifier is the quest... and a tweed deluxe would make for a fine subject...

i have a 57 tweed deluxe (nt a reissue) and i only paid a little less than 700. of course that was a while ago. it's really beat up looking, but the sound is glorious.

i have a 57 tweed deluxe (nt a reissue) and i only paid a little less than 700. of course that was a while ago. it's really beat up looking, but the sound is glorious.

That is exactly the sort of deal I would love to find

Especially if it's beat up

i have a 57 tweed deluxe (nt a reissue) and i only paid a little less than 700. of course that was a while ago. it's really beat up looking, but the sound is glorious.

Wow. That beats my $200 Super Reverb!

I'm on the edge of my seat in suspense, waiting to see if you'll finally get that sandwich before the week is out. I think you can do it.

Have you ever heard of a wish sandwich?






A wish sandwich is the kind of sandwich where you have two slices of bread and you,
... hee hee hee,
wish you had some meat.
mmm ...Bow Bow Bow...


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