Hi from jh, builder 1980- 1981.

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi.
I was a builder at G&L in 1980 and 1981.
I used to sometimes mark the pick-up and control plate holes
with jh in cursive style, FWIW. I was on the other site today and saw that
someone had kept a hang tag, with my signature,from all those years ago
and a flood of memories came back.

A big Welcome Jhana,
I bet some of my old G&L's have a jh somewhere, I'll keep a keen eye out for that.
I know a job can be just a job, but being at G&L in the early years must have been
pretty cool.
cheers,
Elwood

Welcome, Jhana!

I will keep an eye out for your initials on my early G&Ls too. I have some July '80 case candy, which I will check for a hang tag. I have three instruments built when you were there (an '80 L-1000 and F-100, and an '81 L-2000). Those are some of the best instruments I've ever played. Actually, it's a toss-up between the two basses for the best instrument I've ever played. They are phenomenal.

I think I can speak for the majority of board participants when I say: Stories! Please, please, stories!!!

Ken

A big Welcome Jhana,
I bet some of my old G&L's have a jh somewhere, I'll keep a keen eye out for that.
I know a job can be just a job, but being at G&L in the early years must have been
pretty cool.
cheers,
Elwood

It was really cool, and I have quite a few stories that are pretty funny.
Someone got my info from here and contacted me about interviewing me for a book on Leo's post Fender years.
I'll have to tell him about working on James Burton's paisley Teles and the tricks
we (Tom Kjellin and I) played on him in final assembly(all in fun), Leo giving me a MM bass one day when I admired the
ebony fretboard (he was very generous with his people), Leo asking to borrow my old Tele while he was designing
the next model...
It all comes flooding back. It was a fun job.

Leo asking to borrow my old Tele while he was designing
the next model...

Does this mean he was looking at the Broadcaster/ASAT concept back in the very beginning? Or could it have been an inspiration for the original SC-series?

Ken

It was really cool, and I have quite a few stories that are pretty funny.
Someone got my info from here and contacted me about interviewing me for a book on Leo's post Fender years.
I'll have to tell him about working on James Burton's paisley Teles and the tricks
we (Tom Kjellin and I) played on him in final assembly(all in fun), Leo giving me a MM bass one day when I admired the
ebony fretboard (he was very generous with his people), Leo asking to borrow my old Tele while he was designing
the next model...
It all comes flooding back. It was a fun job.

I bet that was Greg or Gabe, their book will be one of the best reference books on G&Ls/70's MusicMan.
They have been an priceless presence on this board throughout the years.
We have a feature here that keeps traffic up ---Lunch Reports----, any member is eligible to be a
lunch reporter (nominated by the prevoius weeks reporter )and as a "thank you" BBE/G&L offers a free
stomp box from a reasonable pool of choices. Since you mention you play guitar , can I suggest that you
consider being (maybe next weeks) a LR and give us tidbits of early G&L musings ...while it's not a Bass,
the complimentary stomp box is a nice bonus.

...just a thought

have a good day,
Elwood

Welcome to the forum jhana. For us G&L junkies it is great the hear first-hand stories about what it was like in the transitional and early days of G&L

... We have a feature here that keeps traffic up ---Lunch Reports----, any member is eligible to be a
lunch reporter (nominated by the prevoius weeks reporter )and as a "thank you" BBE/G&L offers a free
stomp box from a reasonable pool of choices. Since you mention you play guitar , can I suggest that you
consider being (maybe next weeks) a LR and give us tidbits of early G&L musings ...while it's not a Bass,
the complimentary stomp box is a nice bonus.

...just a thought

have a good day,
Elwood

Thanks for doing all the lobbying and hard work, Elwood Now I don't have to do it

- Jos

all the lobbying and hard work, Elwood Now I don't have to do it

- Jos

It seemed like a good opportunity to sew some serendipitousness

JH,

Thanks for the info and stories. Grab a seat and stay a while...


Cheers,

Will

Hey Joyce,
I figured this thing out. I will check back periodically to see how many of the former employees are involved here. It would be great to have a reunion of some of the old crew. Unfortunately there have been several losses over the years. I was fortunate enough to get back to the shop just before Leo died to say hello to Leo, George, and several others that were still there from the early years. I would like to see how many of the original employees are there from CLF days.

Welcome !!,
Wow it feels like a mini-harmonic convergence ( remember that from ...,was it '87 ? )

Good to have you here Fred,
Elwood

Leo asking to borrow my old Tele while he was designing
the next model...

Does this mean he was looking at the Broadcaster/ASAT concept back in the very beginning? Or could it have been an inspiration for the original SC-series?

Ken

Yes,to the first question.

It was really cool, and I have quite a few stories that are pretty funny.
Someone got my info from here and contacted me about interviewing me for a book on Leo's post Fender years.
I'll have to tell him about working on James Burton's paisley Teles and the tricks
we (Tom Kjellin and I) played on him in final assembly(all in fun), Leo giving me a MM bass one day when I admired the
ebony fretboard (he was very generous with his people), Leo asking to borrow my old Tele while he was designing
the next model...
It all comes flooding back. It was a fun job.

I bet that was Greg or Gabe, their book will be one of the best reference books on G&Ls/70's MusicMan.
They have been an priceless presence on this board throughout the years.
We have a feature here that keeps traffic up ---Lunch Reports----, any member is eligible to be a
lunch reporter (nominated by the prevoius weeks reporter )and as a "thank you" BBE/G&L offers a free
stomp box from a reasonable pool of choices. Since you mention you play guitar , can I suggest that you
consider being (maybe next weeks) a LR and give us tidbits of early G&L musings ...while it's not a Bass,
the complimentary stomp box is a nice bonus.

...just a thought

have a good day,
Elwood

It was Gabe who contacted me and I contacted Fred Villareal , Tom Kjellin and John Martindale
in the last couple days for him,
and also told them about this place. (hours of phone calls and e-mails lol)
Tom already knew about the site.
I got the url from pics of the hangtag and his guitar,on his Faceplace page.
I was hoping they would both come here by now and geek out about all things G&L,
but I think there will be some lag time involved.
Fred told me he needs a little time to drag out his G&L memorabilia and share it, but I'm sure he will.
Sorry I haven't responded to all queries yet, as I've had an emergent situation at home.
I would not call myself a player these days, and I would reverently offer the Lunch Report honor
to Fred or Tom before I would accept it, without question.
My husband does play every day though, and I would not let any toys go to waste,
should I ever serve as the beloved Lunch Reporter
I say geek out with love. I still make stuff , and always have, ( George hired me because I am an artist),
but now I am into hot glass, and I know how
we can be with our interests, ruminating over seemingly insignificant details,
that matter
to us.

My husband does play every day though.

Wow, so you are a girl, that's way cool. Being at this site, lets you almost forget that girls even do exist. I appreciate that, double welcome!

Welcome !!,
Wow it feels like a mini-harmonic convergence ( remember that from ...,was it '87 ? )

Good to have you here Fred,
Elwood

It does.

I say geek out with love. I still make stuff , and always have, ( George hired me because I am an artist),
but now I am into hot glass, and I know how
we can be with our interests, ruminating over seemingly insignificant details,
that matter
to us.

wow, sounds like some cool times are ahead here. can't wait.

Welcom Jhana, it's a great pleasure to read you!

I checked two of my three '80-'81 instruments. No initials in the F-100's control cavity. I couldn't get to the bottom of the L-1000's control cavity, because the shielding was cut for such a perfect fit. I couldn't have fit a piece of paper between the copper plate and the sides of the cavity, and didn't want to risk the solder joint by tugging on the grounding wire. I'll check the L-2000 this weekend if I have the time.

Maybe if that bass wasn't so well made, I could have gotten to the bottom of the cavity!

Ken