So Yummy: NBD: St. Patrick's Day Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day, or, as I like to call it, "New Bass Day."

Even though we are on a fixed income, even though I am unemployed, even though I can only play one bass at a time, today, I bought another bass. No one wants to hear how I justified it; let it be known that I'd had my eye on this bass for a few weeks now.

My #1 bass is a 2018 CLF reissue of a G&L L-1000 bass. I got it in early 2019 and it exceeded all my expectations. I love how it looks, sounds, plays, feels, everything. It's super unique and it is my baby. Over the years, I still love everything about it, but I started getting interested in modding the bridge and control plate. On my bass, they are chrome, and that control plate is one of the things that drew me to that bass. However, I knew that back in the day, G&L offered black hardware. Trouble is, they didn't have it available for sale and I was only semi-seriously interested. As in, I would likely never buy the parts and swap them on my bass.

Then, as luck would have it, a few weeks ago, I was looking at the Bass Shop's website and what do I see? A G&L L-1000, circa 1984, with black hardware! Not only that, but with a rosewood neck (my preferred style). It did have an eye gouger headstock (post-lawsuit), as well as screw holes from where a previous owner installed, and then apparently removed, a thumb rest. Nevertheless, the pictures on the website looked great and all I needed to do was play it.

But, alas, I was not in the market. I already had my aforementioned L1K, a '96 SB-2, a '99 Mexican P-bass, and a '99 Epiphone Thunderbird. I had a Reverend Thundergun that I sold recently, so, technically, my herd was thinned by one. So, instead, I just bookmarked their site and kept an eye on it, checking it regularly.

Fast forward a few weeks and my situation is still the same. No job, no need for a bass, but a tickle in the back of my brain about it. And then, I talked to a bass buddy the other day, who had gone to a shop and had his eye on a bass, only to find that that bass was sold. And that kind of stuck in my head as well. Like, if the Bass Shop sold the L1K, it's OK, it wasn't meant to be, I didn't have it anyway.

But, it's a vintage L1K. And it has the black crinkle hardware. And I already knew what a L1K could do. And I didn't want to check back on the Bass Shop's website and have that bass be gone. I went for a run this morning, had lunch, showered up and gave them a call to verify that it was still there... and it was.

About 35 minutes later, on the warmest day in Seattle in something like 150 days, I was in West Seattle at the Bass Shop, chatting with Jeff and plugging this bass into a little Fender Rumble amp. I brought my L1K to compare sounds thinking that if the 84 L1K wasn't substantially different sounding than my gold one, then there would be no need to get that bass.

Visually speaking, the 84 was in really awesome condition. No real dings or scratches for a bass that is nearly 40 years old. Yes, there are 2 screw holes, but I'm not too worried about those. Also, the main volume knob's chrome is worn, but that gives it more flavor, to me. There is light checking on the back of the headstock, but the mahogany body is in fantastic shape.

There were flats on the bass, but to my ears, it didn't do the sound any disservice. The action is low and a little buzzy, but super manageable and the sound through the little Rumble was really nice. But was it different enough?

I plugged in my L1K, and it had roundwounds on it, and yes, the sound was different. My L1K sounded good as well, but seemed a little more modern sounding. I went back to the 84 and it was girthier. It seemed thicker. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me. I don't think it sounded better, per se, but definitely different, and different enough to warrant a serious think about.

I kept playing it, and even took a LB-100 Tribby off the wall to compare. The LB-100 sounded nice, too, but it really did sound just like my 99 P, so back on the wall it went. I kept A/B-ing the 84 and my 18 and man, it was pretty close. Jeff did say from his vantage point across the room that the 84 sounded growlier for sure. I said that likely to the layperson, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. However, to guys like us, it made all the difference.

After a few more minutes and more inspecting (seriously, this thing is almost immaculate), I pulled the trigger. Jeff brought out the OHSC (which is in rough shape), threw in a set of Ernie Ball Slinkys, and I was out the door with my 18 and my new 84 L1K.

I got it home and plugged into my Orange Terror Bass and Avatar 212 and put it through its paces. It definitely sounds a little darker than the 18 L1K. I'll be interested to hear it in band context next week, starting with the SGs via IEM. That should be interesting, but then I have Kathy rehearsal on Tuesday, PITO on Thursday and then an SG gig on the following Saturday. I should definitely have it dialed in by then.

Onto the pix! These first three are the pix I saw on the Bass Shop's site in the first place.