Ordering A Five String Bass

[darwinohm]

The forum has been extremely quiet recently. Time to get some good G&L gossip going with NAMM next week. Stopped by my favorite dealer today and the G&L rep was there. I had a chance to ask him some questions about why they wouldn't do my last build request. He called the factory and it was an interesting discussion. Anyway we are cool on that. I am putting in an order next week when my dealer will be at G&L visiting the factory. The order is very simple. It will be a 5 string bass, L-2500 or Asat or what ever. I want the lightest body available and it can be a solid color so the wood grain doesn't matter. It has to be 8 LBs or less. A mahogany neck would be awesome especially with a light mahogany body. Anyway I am curious to see if this can be done. If so, I would love CAR with a matching headstock. Either maple for rosewood fretboard, I don't care, it has to be about 8 lbs or less. At my age, weight is king. I will be waiting to see what happens. What do you think? Am I being unreasonable in my expectations? "Hit me with your best shot" -- Darwin

[Fumble fingers]

I bet they can do it !! ....I wouldn't put anything past the Custom Creation shop... it's been pretty quiet , I've been quietly waiting for the Buck Owens to show up as it in in transit from Seattle , looks like the BO will get here before the LE 2 , I would not of guessed that two weeks ago

[Craig]

Darwin,

You might find this recent post from the G&L News section of interest: Ed Friedland "The Bass Whisperer" Demonstrates the G&L M-2500™ Bass.

[darwinohm]

Craig, the one in the picture looks like CAR. That would be perfect, especially if they have a light body. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the link!--Darwin

[Craig]

Craig, the one in the picture looks like CAR. That would be perfect, especially if they have a light body. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the link!--Darwin

The actual color of that one is Ruby Red Metallic, which is a darker color than CAR. Either one would fit right in with your current collection.

Here's hoping that they come thru for ya.

[darwinohm]

CAR is it for me! No doubt. Especially with matching headstock and natural binding if they will do it. Sweet it is and an M-2500 would be a good choice!-- Darwin

[GeorgeB]

Trimming a L- or M-Series 5er below 8lbs looks a bit difficult to me. My swamp-ash L-2500 is close to 11lbs. I guess your body would need to be something like 40...50% ligther than mine to reach the needed 30% total reduction, given the bridge, pups etc are quite heavy.

With a L-1505,with a selected lightweight body I think chances are better, you could even remove preamp and battery (if you don't need it, that is). String-through-bridge only (no through-body) would save weight of ferrules and is a good idea in general.
Anyway, the G&L guys certainly are facing requests for light-weight instrument orders on a regular basis and hopefully will handle your case gracefully.

[darwinohm]

George, I know that is a tall request but my main gigging bass is a Carvin 5 string with 3 pickups, (bridge piezo) and 2 humbuckers. It is made of KOA and has two 9 v batteries and comes in at 8 lbs, 1 oz. I would settle for 8 1/2 lbs but my 10 and 11 lb days are over. It is bad enough loading and unloading gear. We don't have roadies . Anyway is doesn't hurt to ask. I have a Bluesboy that is 6 lbs 2 oz so they can make them light especially if they use mahogany. -- Darwin

[KenC]

Darwin,

I have a couple of thought on your plan:

1. I agree with George that an L-1505 could be a good build for trimming weight. My L-1500 is on the heavier side, but it has a very tight-grained ash body. The sound is thunderous, especially with flats. It has a strong signal even in passive mode. With the right body wood and a #8 neck to prevent neck dive, this could be a very good featherweight.

2. If you end up with a 'hog ASAT, do you really want to hide the grain beneath a solid color finish???

Ken

[darwinohm]

Ken, good question. My main consideration is weight. If they had some Equatorial Mahogany that has imperfect grain or a visual flaw, that would be okay. I would love a nice grain in clear but my primary goal is a light weight 5 string bass. I would be delighted if that could be done with a imperfect grain and a solid color. The perfect solution would be a nice grain with a thin satin finish, even though I really like gloss finishes I am looking for as little weight as possible. I like the G&L pickup tone. My Carvin is a near perfect bass but I like a backup and the Pink Lady is heavy. At my age, I may as well try to get it right!-- Darwin

[KenC]

Darwin,

Have you thought about checking on the soft maple they're using for some of the Jerry Cantrell models? I'm not sure what the density is like, but in my woodworking experience soft maple tends to be pretty light. Some of those early SB-1s and SB-2s were featherweights, and had tons of clarity and punch. My '86 Lynx has a very soft maple body, and is one of my all-time favorite basses.

An L-1505 in soft maple would be a one-of-a-kind G&L. Having the upper horn would probably make it less likely to neck dive than a light weight ASAT. If your dealer can really sweet talk the factory, you could shoot for a soft maple L-2500 with the bridge pickup omitted - the world's only L-1005!

GGJaguar scored a maple L-1000 last year, and IIRC he had very nice things to say about how it sounded. I'm still waiting for it to hit the Marketplace, and call dibs for when it does!

Ken

[Salmon]

Hmm I'd have figured it would be the other way around...........hesitate to cover the grain of ash and even alder but a solid finish would be fine over mahogany? Almost all mahogany looks about the same.

So this G&L rep has indicated the factory will actually track down a lightweight piece of wood for a guitar?

Isn't this unprecedented?

Of all people to do it for it is a guy who has a wall at home which is more G&L guitar than plaster.

G&L should use Darwin in their advertising.

[darwinohm]

Salmon, sorry if I gave the impression the rep had agreed to this. That is not the case. I have had no communication with G&L about this. The dealer will be at the factory and at that time any request will be made through the rep. The last build request I made was turned down only to discover that it was being done for someone else. Special requests are not normally considered unless they don't impact production and are something that can be accommodated with current production methods. This is nothing but asking for a lighter weight body. Either they will or they can say no. I think that G&L could offer this as an upcharge for people who request it. I have no commitment from anyone but my dealer who is more than willing to push for it. We will see. I have a good mix of G&L's and this will be my last build request unless something really interesting were to come along. I do intend to keep gigging as long as the band is together and the health remains good. Lets face it, I am not a prime target for a marketing focus! -- Darwin

[Fumble fingers]

I would be surprised if they didn't do it ..... my Buck Owens took awhile , it was no at first , then month or so later it turned into a maybe if we still have the material to do it , then it turned into a GO .... and this was from a guitar dealer that already had some BO's made before (thanks The Guitar Store !!), so there is no guarantee but sometimes it happens

[Salmon]

OK Darwin I misunderstood your original post.

Regarding dealers and ordering G&L's, there are things that can be done that are not discussed as far as I know. Maybe this has come up but I have not read of it anywhere online. When I ordered a guitar from scratch the dealer did something special that I do not want to disclose because it could make the process difficult for the dealer, the factory or both if it was widely known. So things may be possible that I never even thought of. The dealer did it on his own just out of thoughtfulness and I only learned of it when I received the guitar. I am grateful for the gesture.

I have been fortunate with weight. Of the three I purchased blindly from afar two are very light while one is quite heavy. I love that guitar anyway though. Good luck.

[Craig]

OK Darwin I misunderstood your original post.

Regarding dealers and ordering G&L's, there are things that can be done that are not discussed as far as I know. Maybe this has come up but I have not read of it anywhere online. When I ordered a guitar from scratch the dealer did something special that I do not want to disclose because it could make the process difficult for the dealer, the factory or both if it was widely known. So things may be possible that I never even thought of. The dealer did it on his own just out of thoughtfulness and I only learned of it when I received the guitar. I am grateful for the gesture.

I have been fortunate with weight. Of the three I purchased blindly from afar two are very light while one is quite heavy. I love that guitar anyway though. Good luck.

See Are there any "off menu" G&L options?.

If you aren't going to share this "secret handshake" from your dealer, why even post about it?
Well, could you at least mention which dealer you received this "special treatment" from?

[Salmon]

"Secret handshake" is a cynical take on this.

I just wanted to point out that dealers may be able to get something done for you (not the off-menu items), specifics not to be broadcasted lest everyone ask and make it impossible to fulfill.

Ask for something you want whether it is listed as on or off a menu because the dealer might know more than is printed anywhere yet the details should remain private at least until G&L openly acknowledges it.