Can I make my G&L L-2500 fully PASSIVE?

[bassingeorge]

Hello!

Ok, so I've had a 1st gen G&L Tribute l-2500 bass for 8 years now. I've gigged with it for 5...so it has it's issues now.

First of all, and why I post this...the pickups.

I'm over active electronics or active preamp. I don't need it now.

I would like to know if you can rewire a g&l fully passive...while still using the other 2 switches...which are pickup selection and "series/parallel"...

right now I have the preamp turned off..It doesn't even have a battery...but I have to replace pots, because they are beat to hell, and something is wrong with the bridge pickup..I'm not getting sound from it in parallel I think. Why does this happened?

So..anyone? Can a simple passive setup be possible? Like simpler wiring and such?

Anyone know the values of the pots I need? I need all three pots.

Oh, and I searched this, and got all types of answers, but I still had to ask...

[Mirios]

If my understanding is correct than the G&L has passive pickups with a preamp that is active/passive. If I am correct than yes, you can do what you wish. I'm not sure how you want to wire it but I'd personally do volume, blend (or second volume if you prefer), tone and than do your 2 switches to change pickup coils. Should be relatively easy and inexpensive to do. Hopefully someone has diagrams available to throw up for you.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by bassingeorge

Hello!

Ok, so I've had a 1st gen G&L Tribute l-2500 bass for 8 years now. I've gigged with it for 5...so it has it's issues now.

First of all, and why I post this...the pickups.

I'm over active electronics or active preamp. I don't need it now.

I would like to know if you can rewire a g&l fully passive...while still using the other 2 switches...which are pickup selection and "series/parallel"...

right now I have the preamp turned off..It doesn't even have a battery...but I have to replace pots, because they are beat to hell, and something is wrong with the bridge pickup..I'm not getting sound from it in parallel I think. Why does this happened?

So..anyone? Can a simple passive setup be possible? Like simpler wiring and such?

Anyone know the values of the pots I need? I need all three pots.

Oh, and I searched this, and got all types of answers, but I still had to ask...

You do know that the L-2500 is ALREADY "fully passive", right? What I mean is that when the three way switch is in the "passive" position the preamp isn't even in the circuit.

To make the bass "fully passive", get the wiring diagram off TB, and then you remove the three way "mode" switch and the preamp and permanently wire everything as if that switch is in the first position. Voila! Totally passive G&L. Of course that leaves you with a hole where the the three way mode switch used to be. So you need to think of something to put there. A couple ideas are either a series/parallel switch for BOTH pickups (current series/ parallel switch just puts the coils of EACH pickup in series or parallel). Or you might split the current series/parallel switch into TWO switches that let you chose series or parallel for each pickup individually. OR you might just put a switch on the "treble" tone capacitor so you can flip between a preset tone setting and totally off (bright). OR anything else you think might be cool. What with all the passive tone controls and mode switching this won't much "simplify" the wiring, though. As for the pickup not working in parallel, check around the cavity for a broken wire (probably on the series/parallel switch).

[bassingeorge]

Thanks for the replies....Yeah..my idea was kinda like have a wiring setup like a jazz bass...simple wiring...not the complex maze that it has stock.

I think I'll just buy the new pots and rewire it as it is, and just use it without a battery.

Anyone know the pot values?