My G&L farts.

Stanley Design · #1 09-04-2006, 09:24 PM

My G&L L2000 that I bought a few months ago farts when I dig in through an amp. It sounds like it's clipping the amp and it scares me, I've tried different amps, no difference. Different volumes and settings, no difference. I changed the preamp battery, no difference. I tried it in passive mode, no difference. I tried backing off on the output volume on the bass, no difference. What do I do? This is definately worrying me.

chantezlebas · #2 09-05-2006, 04:26 AM

check the battery

62bass · #3 09-05-2006, 04:42 AM

Try lowering the pickups.

Mottlefeeder · #4 09-05-2006, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 62bass

Try lowering the pickups.

Before you go to that trouble, try playing it softer, and try playing it unplugged, and see if you can find a mechanical source for the noise. I agree with 62Bass - it may well be the string hitting something, and not an electronics problem.

Stanley Design · #5 09-05-2006, 08:20 AM

I changed the battery and it's not string buzz, it sounds like I am clipping my amp, but I assure you I am not, and I have tried it with several amps. My sales guy at my local store didn't know what was wrong when we looked at it. I'm not looking to play softer, I dig in sometimes, we all do, I want my bass to do it's job. Could someone describe why my pickup height would effect it?

danomite64 · #6 09-05-2006, 08:42 AM

When I had my L-2000, I had to lower the neck pickup, because when I hit the strings hard, they would hit the poles which would make a horrible noise.

lug · #7 09-05-2006, 08:49 AM

The G&L pups are some of the hottest passive pups ever made. I "fixed" this same problem by lowering my pups as low as they could go and they still have a very hot output.

Mottlefeeder · #8 09-05-2006, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd Stanley

...it sounds like I am clipping my amp... ...Could someone describe why my pickup height would effect it?

There are two issues with pick-up height.

The first is mechanical - if the string hits it, it will sound bad - you've checked that;

The second is related to the way a pick-up works. The pick-up magnets create a magnetic field, which the vibrating string disturbs, and the coil picks up the disturbance. If the strings are too close to the pick-up, the output of the coil could be large enough to overload the on-board electronics. So, if it sounds like clipping, and does not occur when you play softly, lowering the pick-ups is worth investigating.

BTW - I suggest playing softly as part of the diagnostics, not as a permanent work-around. A bass that you cannot play as you wish would be a real pain.

sloppyjaloppy · #9 09-14-2006, 04:09 AM

sounds to me like its got a flat battery. but if your bass isnt active, i have no idea.