LeftyBassist.com

saw this on the Philly craigs list -bass is in central DE
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/993614755.html

Awesome basses. And at a great price!

1st Gear Music in Elmira Heights, NY has a few very nice brand new lefthanded G&L's in stock among which are two SB-2's and an SB-1. Almost bought a natural L2500 with birdseye maple fingerboard from them for 1300 USD, but the shipping to the Netherlands would have cost me 300 USD...

How do these compare to, say, the Fender Hot Rod P?

Very similar, but because they're somewhat sleeker in design I also feel they're more comfortable to play than a Fender Precision. And those pickups (especially the split coil!) have a bit more output, this baby burns! I also think the neck finish of a G&L has a nicer feel than that of most Fenders (mostly righthanded...) I've held in my hands. The same goes for my G&L ASAT Special guitar, the neck finish is superb!
The SB-2 is also slightly more basic than the Hot Rodded Precision. No strings through body, no graphite reinforced neck like the HR P-basses had starting from 2000, and no tone control, just two volume knobs.

I emailed the seller immediately after I read this thread, I'd love to have one.

I just pulled the trigger on the G&L. The price is right, the shipping charges to the Netherlands were very fair, so my payment is on its way. Many thanks, Bassaria!

glad to help out brother!
cheers to you and yeah for new toys!

I've had a lot of playing time with both those basses.

The Hot Rod were/are beautiful instruments. I had about 5 of them (only time in history that Fender produced a lefty bass in 5 colors: white, translucent orange, natural, sunburst, and black). The translucent and natural had also ash bodies, something Fender hadn't done since the '70s. They were nice, sounded nice, but they were heavy, and the fret work was spotty - they definitely needed a good fret leveling and polishing job. I remember when they were discontinued, Musicians Friend were selling them for $500, brand-new (normal price was $1049). I bought two at $500, but ended up selling them shortly after. I've since preferred regular P-Basses from that era or earlier, which are very light and resonant.

Then, the SB-2. I had a beautiful factory fretless once that I picked up on eBay for like $400. The fretboard needed a full leveling job, so I left it alone. Then a few months ago I got a fretted SB-2. The sound was awesome, like a really hot and aggressive P-Bass, and the quality is superb. I didn't like the 12" radius fretboard, too flat for me), and it was really, really heavy.

So, in sum, the Hot Rod P is obviously more traditional, and the SB-2 is more modern and higher quality. I also don't like the looks of the SB-2, it's kinda girlish. . . IMHO.

I find funny that Hot Rods are now gaining value. . . They could certainly become collector's items in the future, given the rarity and short production.

Congrats on your purchase!
I'm kinda curious ... are you having the seller pull the neck from the body to save on shipping costs? or is it getting shipped in a case?

I also had to get used to the slender looks of the SB-2, I thought it was girlish at first too. But then again, when I saw them more often and got used to the looks, I actually started liking them.
Interesting you're mentioning the heavy weight... I was expecting the SB-2's to be lighter than a Precision because of that sleeker bodyshape. I wonder how heavy this one will be.



It doesn't come with a case, unfortunately. It comes with a Fender deluxe gigbag. I haven't talked to the seller about how it'll be shipped, we only had contact about the shipping costs. But as far as I know, it is being shipped in one piece in that gigbag, with a sturdy box around it.

The SB-2 arrived today, wellpacked in its gigbag with a large rectangular box around it with lots of foam and bubblewrap. Looks very well, feels very well, but the neck turns out to be just slightly twisted. Action is great though, and the intonation seems right too (haven't checked it with a tuner yet, I'm at work right now) so as long as it won't get any worse, I don't think it will bother me. I will keep a close eye at it though, and see how it develops. At first I wondered if it could have been caused by the cold during shipping, and by untightening the strings. If that's the case, the neck may return to its original position eventually. But I fear it won't. I'll just have to wait and see. I will inform the seller though, and see if he was aware of this when he still had the bass.

If that bass was sunburst and came from Tampa, I feel for you; that neck was really messed up. I had two chances at it from the original owner and the store he sold it to. I passed. It sure was pretty, though.....

About the neck on mine:

It's twisted. The seller claims he had no idea, and had it set up by his local luthier for flatwounds and the luthier didn't tell him either. The bas also wasn't quite 'almost new', as stated in the ad. I switched to roundwounds last sunday and the strings buzz against the frets uncontrollably. I'm taking it to a luthier saturday to see what my options are and if a regular setup can cure the buzz problem without affecting playability too much. If that does the trick, I'm keeping it. If it doesn't, I'll probably sell it again at my loss.

Gee, this seems to be happening more and more lately. People are trying to off their gear as "pristine" or "like new" condition when it is just the opposite. The last 2 dealings I did with ebay resulted in the seller misinterpreting the item as much better than actual. I had to file a claim for the first Fender MIM to get my money back and the second bass, Lakland was not as described. Pristine is a pretty big word when the bass is dirty with little nicks and scratches and lots of TLC needed to get to a good clean playing state. I fixed the issues (ripped the ENTIRE bass apart and dressed the frets) and now it kicks ass but the seller was requested a partial small refund for not as described. Sucks sometimes buying basses on ebay when you can't see them first and dont know the person. The stores.. be careful. They are desperate now with the economy issues. I assure you that if you see my basses go up on the bay (user ID pegleg947), you will get what I describe. I list less than what you get. No BS......

Out!

Hey Jeroen, if the neck is twisted as you state, it is less than normal that a luthier can fix the problem even with loosening the truss rod, using a press and retightening it. Twists suck! A twist is sometimes due to conditions or the neck (weather), shrinking etc. I wish you luck my friend and hope the luthier can do some magic. Those sellers should be shot. Read my recent ebay dealings above.

Thanks for your reply.
I took it to my luthier today, he thought he could get it right with a thorough setup and a fret leveling. I hope he's right. I'll probably have it back in about three weeks.

Damn man. Sorry you are dealing with this. What a crappy seller
Best of luck though

Whoops, I failed to mention the fret leveling. The only problem with that is they sometimes have to take the frets down a lot to get the buzz out. I know this from experience. I hope he can make it right for you. Thats a nice G&L bass.

I got my SB-2 back yesterday, and all is perfect now. The frets still have plenty of height left, but playability and tone are absolutely perfect now, with low action without any fretbuzz. The luthier did a great job