S-500 issues/questions

[adamdn]

Hi everyone,

I just joined. I recently went down the G&L rabbit hole.

Not long ago acquired a '87 ASAT on a whim, and loved it so much that I immediately went on the hunt for more old G&Ls.

I now just got an '89 S-500 that is in near perfect condition with only a few issues, and have some questions about it.

One issue I noticed is that I suspect someone left the truss rod completely loose with heavy gauge strings for most of it's life, because I've been having trouble getting the massive relief out of the neck. I finally have that mostly sorted out.

Another is that the black aluminum guards are slightly discolored white on the edges. At first I thought it was just old polish, but it's clearly the finish somehow rubbed away in the tiny crevices. I find this this is very odd, almost like a defect as I can't see how that would happen. But I did some testing and discovered if I use a sharpie over it, followed by an alcohol white to remove the purple sharpie shine, that it blends into the cracks and becomes nearly 100% invisible.

Also, while working on the neck I noticed that there appears to be some sort of black stain on the rosewood fretboard. At first I thought it was an ebony board, but upon closer inspection it's clearly some sort of stain on rosewood. It also look like someone gave it a heavy fret polish at one time as the board is very slightly scalloped close to the frets sides probably from polishing without covering the fretboard. It's not bad, but I can't imaging it leaving a factory like that.

So, I'm wondering the following:
- Did G&L ever use any stains on the fretboard during this time?
- Did they do any heavy fretboard polishing to this degree?
- Is pick-guard discoloration common on these black aluminum versions? And if so, as anyone discovered a better way to fix it than my sharpie hack?

I'm suspecting a previous owner (or store) prepping to sell it probably did all this trying to polish it.


Thanks,
Adam

[adamdn]

Hi all,

I just wanted to check back in on my question(s)...

I'm still very curious if anyone has any insight into if G&L used fretboard stains? I highly doubt this, but since I'm new to early G&Ls I'm genuinely curious.

Fortunately, I was able to fully resolve my metal pick-guard discoloration. In case anyone else has the same issue that I can help, here is what I did: My issue was not that the paint was gone from the surface, but that the metal had tiny microscopic cracks around the edges causing the discoloration. I have no idea how that would happen other than perhaps a material defect, or maybe heat build up from someone trying to mechanically polish it. The sharpie idea I had worked on a small area, but not so much when I tried it on a larger area. So, I had a can of Minwax Ebony stain and tried the same. I lightly dobbed over the entire surface with a paper towel and then immediately buffed it off. This perfectly blended into the microscopic crevices of the metal (not the surface) causing the discoloration to completely vanish. It surprised me how well. It now looks and feels brand new, so I'm satisfied enough with the fix. I'll try to post pics when I get a chance.

Sadly though, shortly after getting the guitar the back of my neck developed a small 1" split in the bi-cut neck seam right behind the truss rod screw pressure point. This must have happened in the case overnight. I was completely shocked. I've set up many dozens of guitars and have never seen this happen. While this neck came with a huge bow in it, and I had to tighten the truss rod more than usual to make it playable, I would not say it was overtightened. I do have moderate lutherie skills having hand built both electrics and acoustics... So, I ended up removing and heat pressing the neck. This allows me to restraighten it with very little truss rod pressure. Unfortunately, the crack refused to clamp completely level out so I had to resort to just stabilizing it as-is. This really bummed me out. Of all imperfections I'm happy living with in a guitar, a cracked neck is not one of them. My next project will now have to be reflowing the lacquer there as best I can. Aside from that, the guitar is looking and playing almost like brand new.

Alas, one more question... I discovered the retaining screw for the trem arm is missing on my bridge. There is a plastic nib in the hole, but the screw which presses against that is gone. Anyone know what's an appropriate replacement? Size/type?


Thanks,
Adam

[Craig]

Hi all,

I just wanted to check back in on my question(s)...

I'm still very curious if anyone has any insight into if G&L used fretboard stains? I highly doubt this, but since I'm new to early G&Ls I'm genuinely curious.

Fortunately, I was able to fully resolve my metal pick-guard discoloration. In case anyone else has the same issue that I can help, here is what I did: My issue was not that the paint was gone from the surface, but that the metal had tiny microscopic cracks around the edges causing the discoloration. I have no idea how that would happen other than perhaps a material defect, or maybe heat build up from someone trying to mechanically polish it. The sharpie idea I had worked on a small area, but not so much when I tried it on a larger area. So, I had a can of Minwax Ebony stain and tried the same. I lightly dobbed over the entire surface with a paper towel and then immediately buffed it off. This perfectly blended into the microscopic crevices of the metal (not the surface) causing the discoloration to completely vanish. It surprised me how well. It now looks and feels brand new, so I'm satisfied enough with the fix. I'll try to post pics when I get a chance.

Sadly though, shortly after getting the guitar the back of my neck developed a small 1" split in the bi-cut neck seam right behind the truss rod screw pressure point. This must have happened in the case overnight. I was completely shocked. I've set up many dozens of guitars and have never seen this happen. While this neck came with a huge bow in it, and I had to tighten the truss rod more than usual to make it playable, I would not say it was overtightened. I do have moderate lutherie skills having hand built both electrics and acoustics... So, I ended up removing and heat pressing the neck. This allows me to restraighten it with very little truss rod pressure. Unfortunately, the crack refused to clamp completely level out so I had to resort to just stabilizing it as-is. This really bummed me out. Of all imperfections I'm happy living with in a guitar, a cracked neck is not one of them. My next project will now have to be reflowing the lacquer there as best I can. Aside from that, the guitar is looking and playing almost like brand new.

Alas, one more question... I discovered the retaining screw for the trem arm is missing on my bridge. There is a plastic nib in the hole, but the screw which presses against that is gone. Anyone know what's an appropriate replacement? Size/type?


Thanks,
Adam

Some how I missed your post.

G&L did not stain their Ebony fretboards but choose to use unstained Ebony boards, which have a lot of character to them with light and dark streaks in them.
I like your fix for the restoring the powder-coated metal pickguard using Minwax Ebony stain. Would like to see some before and after photos.
Regarding the missing retaining screw for the trem arm, G&L sells a package of six including the nylon bushing for each. They come in two types: pre-2005 and
metric version (All Tribute Series and USA models made in 2006-present). Here's the link to them in the G&L On-Line Store (opens in new tab): Tension-screw-set.

Looking forward to seeing photos of your S-500. For posting photos, see: Tutorial: Posting photos.

Hope this helps.

[adamdn]

Thank you, Craig! That's super helpful. I had looked, but I don't know how I missed that G&L had these screws in their online store.

Definitely. I'll get some pictures together. Unfortunately, I did not take any beforehand pictures, but I may be able to source the photos from the place I bought it from. Stay tuned.