G&L Club Part 5 - Page 34

unclejane · #**661** 12-18-2012, 08:45 AM

I'd be very surprised if even the custom shop Fenders didn't still have foreign made parts, particularly the electronics. I don't think any of that stuff is made onshore in the US anymore.
But last I checked into it, the shaping of the bodies and necks, as well as the assembly, was done by hand in the MIA g&l's. I believe the blanks and so forth were also made here in the g&l factory. I don't know if that's still the case these days. But yes, when something is hand made, it won't be consistent from instrument to instrument like something with more machine-made steps, like the Carvin for instance.

Speaking of that, Carvin is made mostly onshore, but I'm pretty sure there are still foreign sourced parts in their instruments also. So can't get away from it...

LS

PluckyThump · #**662** 12-18-2012, 11:04 AM

Given that G&L is a relatively small company they may not have the production capacity to make all of their pickups in house. So they farmed it out to the company in Japan that makes their Japan-issued Tribute instruments. All companies do this, that's how things are made in this day and age. Anyway Japan-made gear has been accepted as high-quality for decades now so I don't see what the problem is.

Handyman · #**663** 12-18-2012, 02:24 PM

Premier Guitar put up a M2000 review on Youtube.

Sounds quite a bit like a L2000, in my opinion. I can see how the more standard controls could appeal to people, though I've grown fond of the eccentric array of switches and passive bass control on the L series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRCaepunNE

EDIT: After looking at their site, it looks like this is a review of the Tribute model, for what its worth.

joevcool · #**664** 12-18-2012, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Handyman

Premier Guitar put up a M2000 review on Youtube.

Sounds quite a bit like a L2000, in my opinion. I can see how the more standard controls could appeal to people, though I've grown fond of the eccentric array of switches and passive bass control on the L series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRCaepunNE

EDIT: After looking at their site, it looks like this is a review of the Tribute model, for what its worth.

+1

BadJazz · #**665** 12-18-2012, 05:11 PM

Don't forget this weird dude's video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PWtOM84V9c

BadJazz · #**666** 12-18-2012, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Handyman

Premier Guitar put up a M2000 review on Youtube.

Sounds quite a bit like a L2000, in my opinion. I can see how the more standard controls could appeal to people, though I've grown fond of the eccentric array of switches and passive bass control on the L series.

I've been putting some hours in with my new Tribby M2K. The neck is much slimmer than my Tribby L2K; it really is a jazz neck. I still feel more at home on the L2K, but I've played the crap out of that bass for a few years now. Hardly a fair comparison at this point.

I think my ideal electronic setup would be: the active/passive and pup selector toggles from the L2K, and the eq knobs from the M2K. I strongly prefer the eq knob voicings on the M2K (I quite hate the way the treble knob boosts mids on the L2K), but I prefer the pickup switch to the blend knob. The blend function sounds ideal, but in practice I find it annoying. To me the best sounds are with the pickups full on, either or both. I have yet to find any compelling tone in between.

sunbeast · #**667** 12-18-2012, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadJazz

I've been putting some hours in with my new Tribby M2K. The neck is much slimmer than my Tribby L2K; it really is a jazz neck. I still feel more at home on the L2K, but I've played the crap out of that bass for a few years now. Hardly a fair comparison at this point.

I think my ideal electronic setup would be: the active/passive and pup selector toggles from the L2K, and the eq knobs from the M2K. I strongly prefer the eq knob voicings on the M2K (I quite hate the way the treble knob boosts mids on the L2K), but I prefer the pickup switch to the blend knob. The blend function sounds ideal, but in practice I find it annoying. To me the best sounds are with the pickups full on, either or both. I have yet to find any compelling tone in between.

I agree that blending humbuckers generally doesn't sound all that great. If they included coil switching on the M2000 I think the blend would be far more useful. My L2000 is modded for single coil operation and a two volume setup, and I am almost always playing with a blend of the two pickups- but I never find myself using a blend of both pickups in humbucking modes as it just gets too undefined and scooped to my ears.

I like the sound of the M2000 in that video, but it definitely sounds significantly more polite/smooth than I am used to from my L2000. I am especially impressed by the soloed bridge pickup tone from the video and how refinied it sounds, though it definitely doesn't suit my playing style like my L2000 does so well!

Mike C. · #**668** 12-19-2012, 05:46 PM

The L2K was the first and still my fav. The JB was the next to join, and finally this year the SB-1. Sweeeet!
Number?

BadJazz · #**669** 12-19-2012, 11:54 PM

Here's the main compartment. Quite the rat's nest...

18 volts.

rust_preacher · #**670** 12-20-2012, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadJazz

Here's the main compartment. Quite the rat's nest...

18 volts.

Au contraire, I have seen worse. They even use a cable tie.

BadJazz · #**671** 12-20-2012, 07:45 AM

I wasn't complaining.

It's dead quiet.

mystic38 · #**672** 12-20-2012, 09:25 AM

by slimmer do you just mean narrower?.. the M is 1 5/8 wide vs L at 1 3/4.. or do you really mean slimmer ?..lol

thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadJazz

I've been putting some hours in with my new Tribby M2K. The neck is much slimmer than my Tribby L2K; it really is a jazz neck. I still feel more at home on the L2K, but I've played the crap out of that bass for a few years now. Hardly a fair comparison at this point.
.

lowfreqgeek · #**673** 12-20-2012, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadJazz

Here's the main compartment. Quite the rat's nest...

18 volts.

Hmm. This is excellent! I was afraid that the M-2500 pre would have the pots all laid out on the circuit board for a rigid footprint. But with this, the preamp could be modified to work in an L2X00 with stacked pots and the original pickup selection switch if desired. Or put into an L1505...

dDaddybass · #**674** 12-20-2012, 12:04 PM

Anyone know when they started Plek'ing the US models?

jfh2424 · #**675** 12-20-2012, 01:50 PM

Re: foreign made pickups...I'm not sure that G&L or Fender have ever said that every single piece of hardware on their basses were made and manufactured in the USA. As a matter of fact, I don't know of any bass company who have ever said this. I could be wrong, though.

I could see where this could be important for some folks as the country of origin thing is important to some people and that's fine.

Personally, I'm not really in this group. And I've never even thought of asking this question. I guess I see that there is a current trend towards globalisation of a lot of things...it would be hard to garantee that anything is made entirely in the USA, by parts made in the USA, by USA citizens.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if we dig around enough, we will see that all or most of our "USA" basses are not 100% USA.

Certainly, a lot of USA boutique basses are made from wood from...Africa, South America, etc. That's pretty clear. Yet they are still considered American made basses, although the major component comes from somewhere else.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth.

John

BadJazz · #**676** 12-20-2012, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfh2424

Certainly, a lot of USA boutique basses are made from wood from...Africa, South America, etc. That's pretty clear. Yet they are still considered American made basses, although the major component comes from somewhere else.

John

Wood has no effect on tone.

sunbeast · #**677** 12-20-2012, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowfreqgeek

Hmm. This is excellent! I was afraid that the M-2500 pre would have the pots all laid out on the circuit board for a rigid footprint. But with this, the preamp could be modified to work in an L2X00 with stacked pots and the original pickup selection switch if desired. Or put into an L1505...

You stole my idea! I would be curious if the pickups from an L series might overload the M preamp, as my understanding is that the M pickups are made specifically to pair with the pre and I believe have a lower ouput than the beastly L series pickups for that reason. It might be possible to modify the M series pickups to have coil switching though, so you could add a coil switch to an M2000. Looks like there's plenty of room for that...

G&L certainly doesn't skimp on their connection wire in their basses. My old L2500 looked like a battlezone on the inside from the factory, though admittedly noticeably worse after I was done modding it!

BadJazz · #**678** 12-20-2012, 08:57 PM

I typically play my L2Ks all the way up, in series and active. The M2K, with all eqs flat, is noticeably "tamer" than the L2K, but if you crank all the eq's the output is very hot. I really like the versatility of the M2K eq section than the L2K. I would LOVE to put the eq's in an L2K.

zachoff · #**679** 12-20-2012, 10:00 PM

Love my G&Ls...

brlottermann · #**680** 12-20-2012, 10:26 PM

Hey guys, I don't (yet) own a G&L, but I'm looking at the L2000 fretless. It sounds great but looks a little clunky, how's the playability on that bass? I currently play primarily on a Ibanez SR700 at gigs, which is extremely easy to play (a very thin, uncoated neck with close string spacing and a comfortable body). How would the L2000 compare?

Thanks