The final cost, after tax and shipping, was $1505.44. Maybe too much. Maybe a good deal. I really don't know. There is an older, nice-looking, 3-bolt L-2000 on Reverb for about $1600 that has been listed for a while. And who knows if these will be available at all anymore. I figured that if there was something wrong with it, or I really didn't like it, I could always return it. I was willing to eat the $20.24 shipping to try, especially considering that it is a CLF.
Firstly, I was pretty excited that it came with the original hard case. That wasn't in the listing, so I didn't expect that at all.
Then I opened the case:
I was absolutely delighted with what I saw. Gorgous. Stunning. Beautiful. I love the color. I love the grain. And, guys, let me tell you: I can't find a mark on it. It was listed as "excellent" condition, but I didn't trust that for a second (Guitar Center used listings, you know?). But it really is in excellent condition. I can't find a scratch on it. I was stunned. I was thrilled. I still am. I was expecting some kind of wear or blemishes. Something. I wouldn't have been surprised if the thing looked like it had been on tour for years. I feel bad for the previous owner. He must have bought it then immediately needed some quick cash. The poor guy couldn't have gotten more than $600 from them for this beautiful instrument.
Guitar Center slacked the strings. I don't know if I believe in that or not. It seems like you are just exchanging string tension for truss rod tension. It probably doesn't even matter. I would love to know your thoughts.
Anyway, I tuned it and plugged it in, and it was ready to go. I didn't have to adjust anything. It played great right out of the case. All of the electronics work perfectly. The quality is excellent. It is right up there with my MJ-4, which is A+. No sharp fret ends or anything. It even has a quarter-sawn neck:
The only thing that gave me pause was the fretboard. For Rosewood, it looked all ashy, like it was very dried out or something. I even thought maybe it is something other than Rosewood. But, upon further inspection, I am now convinced that it is Rosewood, and that there was a finish on it that the previous owner decided he didn't like, and chose to sand off. You can see in the picture below that above the nut, the fretboard has that finished, "wet" look, whereas the rest of the fretbaord has that unfinished, dry, sanded look. The difference is much more stark in person than what the pictures capture.
In light of that, I am surprised that the previous ownder didn't sand the back of the neck. It is still gloss. I would think that if he wanted a smoother feel, he would have tackled the back of the neck before going after the fretboard. Maybe he intended to, and just never got around to it.
He did a good job of it, all-in-all, but he missed some spots on the E-string side around frets 9-12.
No matter. Tomorrow, I will get out my trusty, 10-year-old bottle of Howard Feed-N-Wax and give it a good conditioning and make it look like new. I will use opportunity to adjust the intonation on the G and D strings, which are just a tiny bit flat. That will also give me an opportunity to make sure the set screw and spacer are still in the bridge. If they are missing, I will try to order replacements, if I can. I would also like to order replacement build sheets, but, who knows if anyone is there to answer the phones.
All in all, I have to say that this experience with Guitar Center used gear has been a 5/5.
Thanks, Paulo!
