The place to discuss, post photos, video, and audio of the G&L products (US instruments, stomp boxes, etc.) produced after 1991, including the amps & gear we use with them.
We have a new body wood that is being offered in somewhat limited quantities that's called Monkey Pod (English: saman, rain tree, monkey pod,
giant thibet, inga saman[6], cow tamarind[7], East Indian walnut[8] ... info from Wikipedia). This is a wonderful, dark colored wood that is similar in
appearance to koa or walnut, but consistently nice and light. We have opened up ordering for Monkey Pod instruments to just about every model.
We are offering the Monkey Pod basses w/black hardware as an option. The first ones are going out this week.
Each piece has a nice personality of its own. For the finish we are using 2 coats of Teak Oil followed by 2 coats of clear, satin urethane.
The bodies have a great; "natural" feel to them... you can actually feel the grain in the wood.
Monkey Pod gives a tone similar to an ash body primarily due to it's light weight and resonance.
The guitars and basses in the first run of Monkey Pod are going out now.
When I get more information I will, of course, post it here.
Last edited by Craig on Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Reason:edited title to reflect the limited nature of this body wood
Beautiful guitar design in the picture. That color looks very good with rosewood. My reservation is seeing the grain, if that means there is a texture. I like a glassy smooth and shiny finish on the body though I prefer the satin finish on the neck.
i love that. can't wait until a used one is available. i love to feel the wood. my favorite finish is just a true oil gunstock finish, bot on body and neck. i actually made a guitar like that, i like it so much, and not readily available.
I love minimalistic finishes like this, plus I can't think of anyone else doing Monkey Pod so that is new and unique.
Meowmix, I think that line is only because it is a 2 piece body, I am sure some 2 piece bodies will be book-matched better than others and with this finish it is really apparent.
Only black hardware for basses?
I hope their testing the waters to make it an option for everyone, or maybe it is a thank you to the low enders for all the love.
I'll have to check with Steve and Dave, since these eBay auctions seem to be sold as special limited runs.
I'll try and find out more this weekend.
Stay tuned.
Okay, I finally got the scoop on these from Dave:
Monkey Pod isn't a regular thing; we bought some without a clear plan to use it.
We took some orders for some instruments with it but this isn't a Custom Creations thing
as far as I know but one of those under-the-radar specials.
So, if you want one, do not delay in contacting your favorite G&L dealer to place your order.
Craig wrote:Okay, I finally got the scoop on these from Dave:
Monkey Pod isn't a regular thing; we bought some without a clear plan to use it.
We took some orders for some instruments with it but this isn't a Custom Creations thing
as far as I know but one of those under-the-radar specials.
So, if you want one, do not delay in contacting your favorite G&L dealer to place your order.
This was stumbled upon after the fact. How does one learn of these odd things as they become available? Someone had to inform someone else the Monkey Pod was available for orders. Either it was offered randomly to dealers, a specific rep contacted a specific dealer or a specific dealer contacted a rep asking if they had anything up their sleeves. Some of this could have been initiated by a customer inquiry or it could have occurred between dealer and factory rep.
Just curious, is there a notification list for such things?
Craig wrote:Okay, I finally got the scoop on these from Dave:
Monkey Pod isn't a regular thing; we bought some without a clear plan to use it.
We took some orders for some instruments with it but this isn't a Custom Creations thing
as far as I know but one of those under-the-radar specials.
So, if you want one, do not delay in contacting your favorite G&L dealer to place your order.
This was stumbled upon after the fact. How does one learn of these odd things as they become available? Someone had to inform someone else the Monkey Pod was available for orders. Either it was offered randomly to dealers, a specific rep contacted a specific dealer or a specific dealer contacted a rep asking if they had anything up their sleeves. Some of this could have been initiated by a customer inquiry or it could have occurred between dealer and factory rep.
Just curious, is there a notification list for such things?
AFAIK, Sales communicates with the Dealer Reps who in turn communicate with
the dealers they represent/support. So, keep in contact with your favorite G&L dealer(s)
and you might be able to hear about them when they are first offered.
louis cyfer wrote:or keep calling and bothering the factory
That's a bad idea
PLEASE NOTE: Chris is only accessible for repairs. All other inquiries
should be directed to your authorized G&L dealer, or for general discussion,
please visit http://www.guitarsbyleo.com.
Back here after a long absence... I was lucky enough to score one of the East Indian Walnut (Monkey Pod) L2500 basses this past weekend at Atlanta Bass Gallery. Mine does have black hardware....and what appears to be a one-piece body. Nice weight, as L-series basses go. Think I'm going to really like this one.
I was just Googling for G&L dealers today & found NW Bass in Seattle. Looks like a huge inventory of basses & equipment. Have no idea if they have a good reputation, etc. Anyway, saw that bass - I guess G&L has a very limited supply of that wood?
Sure wish G&L would build something with East Indian Walnut in a"lefty" model. - Not going to happen!
Lefty wrote:I was just Googling for G&L dealers today & found NW Bass in Seattle. Looks like a huge inventory of basses & equipment. Have no idea if they have a good reputation, etc. Anyway, saw that bass - I guess G&L has a very limited supply of that wood?
Sure wish G&L would build something with East Indian Walnut in a"lefty" model. - Not going to happen!
Although not a customer myself, NW Bass has a great reputation and all my low-ender friends here shop there. And they a nice and quaint location of the corner of Occidental and Yesler.
I have to admit that it is a beautiful looking wood and I can definitely relate to wanting a lighter instrument. I tend to sit as much as possible whilst playing my Korina; but it's that density that produces the incredible tone and harmonics that my girl produces. I guess it comes down to what you really want and need. If you're going to be on your feet playing for hours and hours every night a heavier instrument may be a poor choice. Then again if you're willing to suffer for your art and can carry the weight without causing so much pain that it detracts from your playing...I know what I play
Wow. And here I was trying to decide between swamp ash or finding one of the korina ASATs, and then I open this thread. It looks awesome. And I'd probably find any excuse to say things like, "The power of monkey pod commands you!" then strum a chord.
FWIW-Because it was asked. I am a G&L Dealer in Seattle. I focus on guitars and do not do much with basses because Bass NW is in town and serves the bass community so well. So what I am saying is that they are good guys and if the slight competition recommends them you are in good hands.
James Schultz-Owner-
The Guitar Store
Now with two locations!
Seattle and Bellevue, WA www.seattleguitarstore.com
206.397.4438
Thumbs up for Bass NW. I'm a guitar player so I have had limited dealings with them but when I've brought a bass in for set up I've been very happy. Steve Fossen, original bass player for Heart used to work there. I'm not sure if he still is there however. The only problem with Bass NW is that it is in downtown Seattle, which makes it a pain in the butt to access.
I was lucky to find a Fallout with a one piece Monkey Pod body. So, no unsightly line in the middle of the body. The body is fairly light and resonant. The East Indian Walnut is a great tone wood.
Last edited by Challenger on Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Over the weekend I grabbed a NAMM exclusive Doheny that should arrive tomorrow and am a little confused as to what the body is actually made of.
Seems like there's a fair amount of synonymous use of monkeypod and East Indian walnut but the couple of wood info dbs I'd usually refer to don't really link them up at all. It doesn't matter to me in a really material way but I'm curious which this is none the less:
Any ideas?
Seems pretty darn beautiful (and apparently surprisingly light) what ever it's made of, hopefully it'll sound as good as the pictures look
Edit: Reading the embedded blurb from Steve Grom in Craig's OP I'm gonna guess it's monkeypod. Sorry, wasn't paying close enough attention before resurrecting the thread
Congrats on the new Doheny. It is sharp looking. The spec sheet that came with my Fallout calls the wood East Indian Walnut. The dealer called it Monkey Pod. G&L seems to use the terms interchangeably, whether correct or not. Regardless, it is fairly light (for walnut) and looks great with the clear satin finish. You will be able to see the grain and pores in the wood the way G&L does the finish.
In the end it seems to do the job visually and weight wise and if it comes close to swamp ash or splitting the difference between walnut and ash I'm guessing it will sound great where ever it's from, it's just the curious pedant in me that made me ask
I think it's great that they're doing all these alternate lighter weight woods and I love minimal satin finish on a nice natural looking piece of wood like these seem to have.
Last edited by Sid Nitzerglobin on Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My Fallout is 7.5 pounds. When I look at the factory inventory weights for Fallouts, the East Indian Walnut is right in line with all the others. The lightest Fallouts are under 7 pounds (empress) and the heaviest is over 8 pounds.
Huh, that's strange. The alder Dohenys I was looking at seemed to be all 8-9 lbs. while the 3 monkeypod ones I saw weights for were all >7 and seemed to track closer to the Empress ones in weight. At any rate I think I'll be really happy to have a >8 lb JM style guitar that looks like it ought to weigh at least 10
I feel another order coming on!
- Not going to happen!
- ed
