So, I been playing (and modifying) the heck out of my US L2500- I think it's the closest to the perfect bass I've ever played/ had at this point (it took alot of modification- but it had a hell of a lot going for it to begin with). I finally found my final piece- a used maple neck, but it is actually from a '90s L-5500 (hence my clever title....:smug: ) to replace the original rosewood- boarded neck (which is still in great condition, I just prefer maple or ebony).
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/sunbeast/IMG_0285.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p205/sunbeast/IMG_0287.jpg

The older G&L 5 string necks are alot nicer in my opinion than the newer breed- my new neck has a 1 and 7/8" nut spacing instead of the 1 and 3/4" of the original, I find the difference very noticeable and preferable! I do have very long fingers/ big hands though...Also, I was able to get much lower action on this new/old neck- it may be because the previous owner had the frets leveled at some point (something I will eventually do with the original neck, but it still got pretty low action). Lastly, I much prefer the older-style headstock with the 4+1 tuner arrangement and the sharper shape of the bottom curve (much more menacing:eyebrow: ).

The new neck heel fit perfectly in the body route, but the older necks were about 1/4"-1/2" or so shorter on the last little piece of fretboard, so I had to move the bridge saddles back to compensate. The odd part is that the bass itself is actually slightly longer now due to the different headstock design.

The maple board did everything I expected that I was missing from the original rosewood board- there seems to be a much faster response to each note, which I was really missing in the more fast/ technical parts of my metal band's songs (the lower action helps for this somewhat as well...). There is also that added percussiveness that only maple boards seem to have, which really helps the bass cut through the mix. In conjunction with the "Single coil w/ bass boost", it adds a nice middy presence that was missing with the Rosewood. With the new neck, my favorite setting is "Single coil with bass boost" on the bridge pickup + parallel on the neck pickup w/ 100% neck volume and about 75% on the bridge. Also- active with treble all the way up and bass cut about 25%. It just hammers through a mix!

FYI for anyone that may ever do this in the future- these old necks with the 1 and 7/8" spacing use the exact same sized nut as Fender 5 string basses (1+7/8"*1/8"*1/4"), which you can buy pre-cut- though you can shave them down a little to get the perfect height (I actually over cut my first one). The newer 1 and 3/4" nut spaced necks don't seem to have a direct replacement (unless it's possible to order one straight from G&L?)- most 5 string basses have nuts that are both deeper and taller than the G&L. You could always cut your own- but if you're like me- you'll always overcompensate/ overcut....(I learned long ago that any sort of precision lutherie wasn't for me!).
Also, the Schaller tuners can be taken apart and reversed to go on either side of the headstock (so I didn't have to buy one more bass-side tuner), which is a pretty awesome idea!

Man, I love this bass- it really makes me want to get a complete 90s L2500 as a backup, I imagine the older solid- bodied 5 strings have a slightly different/ complementary sound to the newer ones.... Someone ought to sell/ trade me one of theirs for a backup! Or even an older L2000.....c'mon now!

Just thought I'd share- I am really more and more excited about this bass everytime I play it!

Karl

hmmm. well that answers the question I was going to post about the difference in the old vs new 5 string necks. Believe it or not I prefer the new. like on my L1505 pictured below.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b257/cb56/L2500/familyphoto07.jpg
I can feel a difference between the two but never got around to measuring the necks. I almost sold my '95 today because of the weight but decided against it. My 2001 L1505 is so much easier on my back and the neck just feels more comfortable to me.(less chunky) Both are good though.

Oddly, the old neck, even though it is slightly wider across, feels less chunky to me- it may be shallower, but its probably just the feel. If you want to get rid of it- I may be interested!

Karl

I'm about as conservative as it comes. I like my basses natural, sunburst, or black. But that binding on the body really makes that blue look good!! Very nice bass :bassist:

What strings are you using? And are they through the bridge or the body?

What exactly did you do to the electronics?

thou shalt not covet thy neighbors sweet ass G&L....

wow!!

I use DR Black Beauties, through the body.

As far as the electronics- I added a single coil mode for each pickup, as well as making a seperate 3 way switch for each pickup (so one can be series, one single coil, etc...). I changed the 250 treble cut pot to a 500K push/pull pot that turns the single coil mode into "single coil w/ bass boost mode, like an L1000 (this is my favorite mode/mod!), making it a 500K pot also lets more treble through when the pot is turned all the way up than the original 250K pot. Lastly, I changed the single 500K volume pot to a stacked 500K volume pot- so I can independantly change the volume of each pickup. I've never had a bass that I didn't modify to make my own- and I feel like my modifications have really brought alot more to the table with the L2500!

Karl

so there's still a preamp in there?

I changed the 250 treble cut pot to a 500K push/pull pot that turns the single coil mode into "single coil w/ bass boost mode, like an L1000 (this is my favorite mode/mod!)
Karl

I don't really understand this one.
Isn't the "series" mode already "single coil with bass boost"?

The whole modification is something I was thinking about. Good to hear someone likes the changes it brings.

Karl, that binding is really fantastic!

I don't really understand this one.
Isn't the "series" mode already "single coil with bass boost"?

The whole modification is something I was thinking about. Good to hear someone likes the changes it brings.

At some point G&L stopped putting in the capacitors that made the series mode into "single coil w/ bass boost", my push/ pull pot just puts those back in the circuit. I think all the L2500s and L2000s made in the 90s still had the "single coil w/ bass boost". The two modes are very different sounding though.

And yeah, I originally took out the preamp to put in the seperate switches for each pickup (and because my other mods had left little room for it). I ended up removing the pickup selector switch (since I had seperate volume pots for each pickup anyway) and found just enough room to replace the preamp (I had to wrap it up in cloth and kinda squeeze it in!).

I don't know if it's the new Tilia bodies that make these basses much darker sounding or what, but I really lacked much treble before I switched the 250K treble cut with a 500K(at least in passive mode). That was a mod I would definitely recommend!

Karl

Karl, that binding is really fantastic!

Yeah, the binding is what originally won me over on this bass. The translucent blue finishes don't really float my boat by themselves, but the binding makes them very stunning for some reason!

Karl

I should probably just hold onto it. I think it needs a good setup with maybe some fret work. Buzzes at about the 15th fret and up. Unless you had a comparable "34 scale bass to trade that was lighter in weight. Like a newer version L2500.

Hey, why don't you come by my way and I can take a look at that for you?

hmmm maybe a possibility. You do setup and fretwork too? I thought you were the electronics guy.
Here's a link to my thread discussing the problem.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302727
I'll probably keep working with the setup to see if I can get it better. I have been able to improve it somewhat.

hmmm maybe a possibility. You do setup and fretwork too? I thought you were the electronics guy.

Oh yeah, I do setup stuff! I used to work for Samuel Music in Champaign.