Need your opinion about a L2500

[benlauziere]

Hello guys, I'm new to this forum and suscribed because I wanted more informations about G&L.

So, I saw a G&L Tribute L2500 on sale online. It's used and the owner sells it 500 USD. It's in walnut stain and looks very cool. It's a 2011 and the guy who currently have it is a professionnal musician and took care of this baby. The only thing about it is, when he bought it, it was factory used, I mean that there has been an accident and there's a scratch on the back of it... The owner says it doesn't affect the sound at all. Let me show you the scratch...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachmen ... 1353515218
that the beauty,

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachmen ... 1353515218
and there's the scratch... nothing dramatic but for 500 dollars I don't wanna get fooled.

Opinions ?

[KenC]

Being a fan of older instruments, I never let some legitimate playwear bother me. I've also bought several G&Ls that have had stupid things done cosmetically (like carving "FUNK" into the top of an '81 L-2000). I would be very cautious about the bass you're looking at though. The location of that "scratch" may be a red flag.

It looks from the second photo like the damage runs perfectly along a grain line in the ash. This could be a simple ding through the finish into the wood, which should be purely cosmetic. OTOH, it could be a symptom of a deeper crack in the body itself. This would be a major flaw in the instrument. It could have some effect on the body's resonance, but more importantly it would leave you open to the risk of a piece of the bass falling off. It could probably be glued back on, but you'd be looking at a refinishing job (minimally $300-$400) to make it look right. In the process you would lose a lot of resale value, and be close to the price of a used U.S.-built G&L.

If you're really set on owning this particular bass, I would ask for (and then post back on this thread) several clear, close-up photos of the damaged area. No guarantees, but you would probably get some very trustworthy feedback on the seriousness of the problem.

I'd also try to get more info on this "factory used" claim. Personally I've never come across this term with G&Ls before. Hopefully Craig (the moderator) will check this message and chime in about whether this is something G&L does.

I've never priced Tribute L2500s, but from what I've seen around the web $500 seems like a typical price for an instrument in good condition ("good" in this case meaning not damaged or trashed out, rather than "between fair and very good"). They seem to be pretty easily available used, although I'm not sure about the walnut finish. The very fact that the "scratch" is serious enough to give you concern could be a sign...

Ken

[KenC]

I just took another look at the photos and have two thoughts to add:

1. The big jagged area of missing finish looks like a typical (but really big) ding, like you'd get from scraping or hitting against something hard, but the thin line running up from it seems to be following the grain and wraps around the contour of the body. This would scare me.

2. In the frontal shot, the strap is piled right in front of the damaged area, so that you can't see the finish there. It may be coincidence, but then again it may not be. This would scare me even more.

What is the seller's return policy? Personally, if I couldn't get an absolutely trustworthy money-back return guarantee, I would walk away from this one and not look back. There are lots of others out there.

Ken

[darwinohm]

For another $200 or less you can buy a new Tribute L-2500 and you have a full warranty from G&L. I would be careful of this one. It could have a piece of wood separating from the rest of the body.-- Darwin