I called to see if it could be the Leo-era fretless I've been on the hunt for. I figured a nice creamy white finish would be nice. The sales manager said it was very yellow and very clean, and sent photos to prove it. I figured I might as well give it a shot, and that I could always take advantage of the 30-day return policy. I wasn't expecting to like the finish, but when I opened the case today it was love at first sight. I also immediately understood why this finish is called "screaming yellow".
Now for some pics:
I believe this was an employee's instrument. For starters, HLG kindly confirmed for me that it was not entered in Dale Hyatt's logbook. That means it was never transferred from the factory to G&L Sales. There isn't a date stamp on the body, but the neck stamp indicates an October '89 build. That puts it squarely in the period covered by the log.
Also, this bass has off-menu options. The finish was officially called "yellow" on the price lists, and was only listed as a choice for a few guitar models (the SC-3 and the Superstrats). It wasn't listed as an option for any basses. The ebony fingerboard wasn't an option for ordering on the previous price list (which specified rosewood for fretless necks), but it was listed as an option for replacement necks. The neck profile is unlike anything I've experienced on a Leo-era G&L, and I have played almost every model that was made before the ownership change. The neck on this one is shaped like a typical '80s Superstrat neck: very shallow front-to-back, and with a cross between U and V shapes. The edges of the fingerboard are actually angled in toward the back of the neck. This is the best I could do trying to capture it:
The neck and fingerboard have very nice grain, with some birdseye throughout the neck:
The body is maple, and the bass weighs in around nine pounds. Here are a last couple of shots of the headstock:
I'm waiting for some new strings to arrive, so in the meantime I'm using the ones that were on her. Once I get a decent set on, I will add a tone report. The cheap light guage rounds on there now just aren't a good match for this bass.
Ken
