L-1000 it's back!

[tampa4stringer]

Just found out that the L-1000 is being reissued as a limited edition. Took me all of 30 seconds to decide I was all in.........Just an FYI in case there are any other L1K fans that see this

[Elwood]

Thanks for the heads up. I see Rocket Music has special ordered half a dozen and can put in orders for more.

[Monahan]

It's a cool bass

Also, Bass North West in Seattle has several in stock.

[Craig]

I checked with Dave McLaren about this. Here's his reply:

Hi Craig,

This is one of those under the radar things I wasn't aware of. So, it's not Custom Creations... it just happened in the somebody-knew-somebody way.
Nothing official at all, but I suspect the quantities are tiny, like 10 or 20 of these altogether, something like that. It could be that the L-1000 makes an official
comeback sometime, but we haven't discussed it yet.

Thanks, Craig.

Dave

[KenC]

Does anybody know whether these have the same treble cut ("OMG") circuit as the originals? IMO, that is what made the L-1K stand out from the L-2K. The active circuitry and extra switching options just don't make up for the lack of OMG switch thunder!

Ken

[Elwood]

Ken, I think so...
I read on Talkbass a new owner remarking about the OMG mode in a brief tone report,
Here's the thread (pics/soundclips are on previous pages):

talkbass link

[blargfromouterspace]

Good stuff. The blond one in that talkbass thread looks great. Now bring on the SC1!

[tampa4stringer]

BassNW I believe originally had 5 in stock..........Black/Ebony, Black/Maple, Candy Red/Maple, Lake Placid Blue/RW, and Natural Ash/RW............both blacks and the natural are going going gone!.........(not a clue in the world who snagged the Natural )

[Ken Baker]

Switching is Series/SC/Parallel. Not sure about OMG on SC, as I've not seen the actual circuit. EQ is G&L Tri-Tone. This is a passive instrument, so no "L" or "M" preamp is onboard.

Oh, and there are a few of these:



Ken...

[BlushResponse]

That's great news for another generation of players that want what the 80's had to offer. Since I picked up my '82 L1K, it's pretty much become my "go-to" live bass. My only negative comment with this new run is that they don't have the metal plate that came standard with all the original L1K's and L2K's.

[tampa4stringer]

Not negative......just a preference. As far as me........have you ever had to lift one to change a pot or solder something? It's a little awkward the way everything comes up and still wired to the P/U.......its just easier to attack it from behind.

[BlushResponse]

Totally agree. It's just an aesthetic preference.

[Monahan]

BassNW I believe originally had 5 in stock..........Black/Ebony, Black/Maple, Candy Red/Maple, Lake Placid Blue/RW, and Natural Ash/RW............both blacks and the natural are going going gone!.........(not a clue in the world who snagged the Natural )

i had my eyes on the LPB model... but since i already have a Stingray, and a new L2000 i just couldn't justify it...

they are now down to 2 in stock... might play one tomorrow when i visit...

[tampa4stringer]

Somebody please buy the other two before I do!!!!!....I can't afford it!!!!! LOL

[tampa4stringer]

Let me know what you think of the CAR/Maple if you go.........

[blargfromouterspace]

Is this body shape a tad different to the originals?

[Craig]

Is this body shape a tad different to the originals?

Yes, it is based on the BABP L-1000 LE done in 2008-2009 and it uses the L-1500 body shape.
See this thread on the TalkBass.com forum for the details: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/g-l-l-1 ... g.1081380/ .

[tampa4stringer]

Honestly I dont see any difference between the L1500 and L1000 body, but then again Im not all that familiar with the L1500....

[KenC]

Honestly I dont see any difference between the L1500 and L1000 body, but then again Im not all that familiar with the L1500....

It's hard to tell for sure, but comparing my '99 L-1500 to some of the photos on TalkBass:

1. The cutaways seem very slightly deeper on the L-1000 (maybe half an inch?).

2. The control knobs seem to be spread out a little more on the L-1000.

3. The switch placement is different.

IMO, the L-1500 is the most under-rated instrument in the G&L lineup. I bought mine just to give it a try, and figured it would be back out the door soon. I was impressed enough with the tone to hold onto it. One day I threw a set of D'Addario Chromes on it on a whim, and it morphed into a tone monster. I would be very interested to hear an L-1500 A/B'd against one of the new L-1000s.

Ken

[tampa4stringer]

Thank you for your input brother....

[tampa4stringer]

Not to sound like a jerk.....but chromes? ewwww.....ick........ptooey.............Love my DR round core Fat Beams. Tiny windings that dont ruin the frets, extra slinky and stainless puts less stress the neck.

[tampa4stringer]

Trolling Ebay I came across another Limited Edition for sale......not too shabby

http://www.ebay.com/itm/G-L-30th-Annive ... 2c87c9af97

[KenC]

Not to sound like a jerk.....but chromes? ewwww.....ick........ptooey.............Love my DR round core Fat Beams. Tiny windings that dont ruin the frets, extra slinky and stainless puts less stress the neck.

To each his own...I tried Fat Beams on one of my PRS basses at a friend's recommendation, but they didn't stick around for long. The Pyramid Golds I replaced them with were a huge improvement, IMO. I used to favor round wounds, but now I run flats on just about every bass. I've experimented with half or quarter rounds on a couple, but haven't been happy yet. The sound has been OK, but the feel under my fingers just didn't work out. I play 99.9% fingerstyle (the other 0.1% is with a very heavy pick, on rare occasions), and like a smooth feel, high tension and a very focused fundamental.

That said, I like to use Chromes while I decide whether a bass is a keeper. If it doesn't sound good to me with Chromes, then it's not the right bass for me. Most of my main basses have ended up with La Bellas, and the one PRS has Pyramid Golds. Those are amazing strings.

If I was inclined toward zingy, slinky bass strings, I think the Fat Beams would have gone to the top of my list. They were good strings, but just not the right ones for me.

Back to the L-1500, the MFD in that position has more than enough treble IMO. The rounds that were on it just pushed it to overkill.

Ken

[GeorgeB]

FWIW, I like Chromes on a fretless (L2500, that is) but I always felt that the don't exactly sound focussed, notably on higher positions of B and E strings, there some sort of "chorusing" going on which may or may not be to one's preferences. On my fretted L1500 there's less of this effect but it's still noticable, it certainly helps to make it sound big when applied in proper doses.

Nevertheless, for this bass I came to prefer soft roundwounds (DR Hi Beams, atm) once their highs have settled, but that's just my preference of course, for a clear more piano-like tone, combined with the attidute you can coax out of an L1500 when you dig in, I love it

[tampa4stringer]

I'm kinda fussy about strings and how they feel........I didn't mean to suggest your choice is not the right one, whatever works for you bro.

[tampa4stringer]

Not to sound like a jerk.....but chromes? ewwww.....ick........ptooey.............Love my DR round core Fat Beams. Tiny windings that dont ruin the frets, extra slinky and stainless puts less stress the neck.

To each his own...I tried Fat Beams on one of my PRS basses at a friend's recommendation, but they didn't stick around for long. The Pyramid Golds I replaced them with were a huge improvement, IMO. I used to favor round wounds, but now I run flats on just about every bass. I've experimented with half or quarter rounds on a couple, but haven't been happy yet. The sound has been OK, but the feel under my fingers just didn't work out. I play 99.9% fingerstyle (the other 0.1% is with a very heavy pick, on rare occasions), and like a smooth feel, high tension and a very focused fundamental.

That said, I like to use Chromes while I decide whether a bass is a keeper. If it doesn't sound good to me with Chromes, then it's not the right bass for me. Most of my main basses have ended up with La Bellas, and the one PRS has Pyramid Golds. Those are amazing strings.

If I was inclined toward zingy, slinky bass strings, I think the Fat Beams would have gone to the top of my list. They were good strings, but just not the right ones for me.

Back to the L-1500, the MFD in that position has more than enough treble IMO. The rounds that were on it just pushed it to overkill.

Ken

Love La Bella.....they were my go to string for years before I discovered DR........

[KenC]

I'm kinda fussy about strings and how they feel........I didn't mean to suggest your choice is not the right one, whatever works for you bro.

No worries...I'm on a continuing quest for my ideal string, and all ideas are welcomed!

Love La Bella.....they were my go to string for years before I discovered DR........

The Fat Beams were too bright for me, but I did get a set of DR Legends (which I believe are a flat wound counterpart to the Fat Beams) for my project EB-0 a month or two back. They absolutely nail the late-'60s Phil Lesh sound with that old Gibson mudbucker, and have a very nice finger feel. I have a feeling they might be a bit hollow sounding on a full scale bass compared to the tone I look for, but I will probably give them a try after my next New Bass Day.

Ken

[tampa4stringer]

http://www.bassnw.com/New%20Exotic%20%2 ... E_LTGN.htm

[Craig]

Honestly I dont see any difference between the L1500 and L1000 body, but then again Im not all that familiar with the L1500....

IIRC, one the differences is in the body waist measurement. The L-1500 is slimmer than the Leo-era L-1000.

Here's a 198? Ad slick of the L-1000:



Perhaps you could post the body measurements of your 2014 L-1000 and someone with a 1980-1992 L-1000 could post the body measurements of theirs.

[tampa4stringer]

So beautiful.....thanks for posting Craig. My fav color combo!

[KenC]

Perhaps you could post the body measurements of your 2014 L-1000 and someone with a 1980-1992 L-1000 could post the body measurements of theirs.

I can't get to my '80 L-1K at the moment, but when I can I will post a measurement. Going from memory of how it feels, I would say the early L-1K body is larger than the L-1500.

Ken

[BlushResponse]

Already seen one of these new ones on eBay. That was fast.

[tampa4stringer]

yeah, I saw that too.......It's always dicey when you order something without playing it first.

[BlushResponse]

Also saw an old L1K, in beat up condition and in need of some electrical work, for under $600.