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>> Workshop >> Chad's 1982 G&L L-1000 4-String Bass Project
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 9:03 AM
Brian, I've had my bass back for a few weeks now and I just wanted to tell you how happy I am. I gave you my hard earned money and the beaten down, beaten up guitar of my youth and you gave me back a museum quality show piece that's also ready to hit the road and go on tour! Thank you for you patience, skill and professionalism. Louie Louie never sounded so good!
Thanks again! Chad
5-3-11: Chad drove down from Tampa to drop off his G&L L-1000 @ 10:30AM
The general idea is to try to maintain every aspect of its vintage originality.
To fully restore this bass might decrease its value. Read each section . . .
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Body Species & Finish: Mahogany with 2-Tone Tobacco burst finish.
Body Inspection: Although the first photo of the body in the case looks like the body is in excellent shape, it has many surface scuffs; hopefully buffable.
Disassembled: Front 1 - Front 2 -|- Rear 1 - Rear 2
Pickguard: No, although, if it had one, the person that borrowed this from Chad might not have dug his thumb nail all over the top of the body . . .
then there's the dents and chips in the paint that I took the curse off: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
Refinishing: After seeing the partial dent & chip "touchup" was making the rest of the body look even worse, I decided to go for a better solution . . . so, after about 8 hours running through ever-finer grits of wet-dry sandpaper, here's the body front and rear, ready for spray.
What follows is the stages of sprayed edges black and top coatings of clear lacquer: Day One : 1 - 2 -|- Day Two : 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5
Day Three : 1 - 2 -|- Day Four: Thursday: Lacquer is still not hard enough to handle. Waiting more time and will buff out when it's ready. Here is the last shot taken on Wednesday afternoon. It shows I'm trying to hurry . . . installed the pickup . . . *sigh* . . . I'm dying to fire this baby up~! Done: Front - Rear
Cavities: See Copper Foil Shielding
Finger/Thumb Rests: No, but I suggest a few or a Fboard Extension
Bridge: Stock G&L Locktight - top - bottom - black powder coated
Here's the bridge: cleaned up - repainted - ready for reinstallation
Bridge/Pickup Covers: No
Strap Buttons: Stock large headed G&L buttons had to be cleaned up.
| Project Parts and Labor Checklist
 G&L L1000 Body
 • Body Disassembly
• Body Refinish: Lacquer
• Bridge: G&L Refinished
• Bridge: Refinished
• Bridge Cover: No
• Pickup Cover: No
• Pickguard: No
• #4 Screws: Chrome
• Finger Rest: No
• Thumb Rest: No
• Strap Buttons: G&L
• Strap Locks: No
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G&L Neck - 4-String Maple/Maple 34" Scale
Disassembly & Inspection: Before disassembly the neck was like a banana but after getting rid of the strings she looks normal . . . and after removal of the neck I located the date stamped on the neck heel and some chicken scriblings in the pocket. Also an excellent fit in the pocket. The only thing scary will be the frets~!
Truss Rod: Presoaking with some Dr. Duck droppings before attempting to see if the truss rod is serviceable. The TR nut doesn't look buggered so that's a good sign.
Next morning and the truss rod moves very nicely in both directions.
Truss Rod Cover: None
Cleaning the Neck: Look at this, and then these: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
and then the rest with the application of some Duck jism: 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 Years of oils and other goo removed. It's always better to clean everything before starting the fretwork. Take a note: NO abrasives or volatile chemicals were used to clean the oils from the neck.
But also note there were more than just a few HOURS spent to get it to this point, so you see . . . this is what you can accomplish instead of twisting your carrot~!
Headstock: 1982 G&L L-1000 - 2 - 3 - 4
Tuning Machines: Vintage Schallers
Removed, disassembled, cleaned, lubed, reassembled and ready to reinstall.
See any difference~?? Now imagine this bass being maintained on a regular basis through the years. Which do you think is worth more . . . a bass that looks like a relic or an old one that looks new~! Relicing basses is for idiots and wannabes~!
Partial Fret Job: While these frets are screaming for replacement, they're original so I'm going to go for one more shot at leveling. Besides, what's the worst that it can become~? A frettedless~! These frets will be as low as they can go which will be tricky keeping it from the dreaded buzzing. I've got one week to complete before Chad returns to pick it up. Besides, he handled my fretless and I think he's ready~!
Fret Ends: 42 of them . . . and yeah, they're getting done too.
Fret Size: Barely visable . . . just kidding . . . here is some typical wear with the rear of the neck getting worse.
Enuf jabbering. Let's get going on the fretwork . . .
Photos of fretwork: 1 - 2 . . . more were coming but what's the sense?
Fret Finishing: They surely are finished . . .
Neck Deglossing: I've knocked it down some . . . then applied duck sauce.
Fretboard Finish: Dr. Duck's Axwax
Fboard Extension: Also known by the name "ramps" originated by Gary Willis.
These can be either a short and thin piece similar to the thumb rest, only lower. A full extension would go completely under all strings and tend to make it easier to play the strings using a lighter touch. A narrow extension is cool when you want a low thumb rest to run from the end of your fboard to the neck pickup. It runs parallel to and in line with the fboard edge. An example of a narrow extension is here while an excellent description of "ramps" is on Bryan Tyler's site.
Strings: Replaced unknowns with Rotosound RB45: .045, .065, .085, .105
Removed: .105", .100", .080", .050" semi-oddballs
String Nut: Reslotted brass
String Guide: G&L nickel button . . .
Special Setup Specs: Made it work . . .
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G&L All Maple
• Headstock: G&L
• Neck Disassembly
• Truss Rod Cover: No
• Fboard: R&R
• FB Finish: Dr. Duck's
• FB Edge Roll: No
• FB Extension: No
• Fret Size: MJ
• Frets: Partial FJ
• Nut R&R:
• Tuners: R&R
• Tuner Screws: R&R
• String Guide: G&L Button
• Strings: Rotosound RB45
G&L Setup Instructions
When all else fails
R T F M
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References and Walk-Abouts
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>>> The Workshop >> Chad's 1982 G&L L-1000 4-String Bass Project
       
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