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Dad looking for new dad bass

M

Mastema Jones

Aug 7, 2020
9
15
#1
My wonderful wife got me a bass for my birthday that just isn’t clicking for me (LTD B-1005MS) so, with her blessing, I’m planning on returning it to Guitar Center for credit and getting something else. That’s where your advice comes in.

After a flurry of selling last year to make room for kid 2, I currently have:

EBMM Stingray 5 HH
Fender American Ultra Precision
Fender American Ultra Jazz V
LTD B-1005 MS

I know the ultras aren’t popular here, but they feel and sound better than a lot of basses I’ve played. I love them.

I’ve mostly played 5 strings for the last 13ish years but the ultra P has rekindled my love of 4 strings so I’m leaning in that direction. Specifically I’m thinking about a Lakland Skyline 44-02 or a G&L L-2000.

I think I’m leaning towards the G&L since I think there is more overlap between the Lakland and the Jazz/Stingray. Plus I can finish my Leo Fender superfecta.

But, it seems for every person praising the L-2000 there’s someone else saying they can’t get a good tone or the pickups are so strong they pick up radio stations. I also roll my eyes a bit when people say “Leo said it’s his best design!” Like, what else is he going to say? That said, the demos I’ve heard on YouTube sound fantastic to me.

The Lakland sounds great too, but I think it’s more of combining what I already have into one convenient package as opposed to offering something more different. I’m happy to be wrong, though.

Or maybe there’s another suggestion for something I’m not thinking of in the $1500-2000 range.

The catch is I can’t go try anything in person. My older kid has health issues so I can’t take any unnecessary risks with covid, and basses don’t make the cut.

Thanks and sorry for the long post.
 
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#2
I have no experience with Lakland, but the G&L SB-2 is hands down the nicest bass I've ever played. I foolishly sold it a while back but I am absolutely going to snag another one. Granted that's not the L2000, but in my opinion G&L's are the big sleeper of the bass and guitar world.
 
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#4
Having just picked up this guy, and not really taken time to compare with the rest of my stable, I really like my new G&L SB-2 Tribute.

IMHO, go for the L; if you don’t bond with it, there will be someone else quickly in line to try. Only caveat is I find the L2000 necks to be very chunky, but I also like a Fender Geddy neck, so YMMV...
SB2-small-1.jpg
 
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#6
User error.^^^
60/40 neck to bridge, tone dimed, sounds a little like a late '70's Ric (think The Jam).
Full neck, tone rolled off, sounds a little like my P with flats. Punchy, passive, thinner neck than most of my other basses, and it's my only short scale (30.7" according to their spec.). Took about 5 seconds to get used to the shorter scale and no trouble switching back to 34". Lightweight and powerful, total blast to play.
D6.JPG
 
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#12
Killing Floor said:
User error.^^^
60/40 neck to bridge, tone dimed, sounds a little like a late '70's Ric (think The Jam).
Full neck, tone rolled off, sounds a little like my P with flats. Punchy, passive, thinner neck than most of my other basses, and it's my only short scale (30.7" according to their spec.). Took about 5 seconds to get used to the shorter scale and no trouble switching back to 34". Lightweight and powerful, total blast to play.
View attachment 3946601
Click to expand...

unclear - what is that? It looks fantastic.
 
#13
Mastema Jones said:
My wonderful wife got me a bass for my birthday that just isn’t clicking for me (LTD B-1005MS) so, with her blessing, I’m planning on returning it to Guitar Center for credit and getting something else. That’s where your advice comes in.

After a flurry of selling last year to make room for kid 2, I currently have:

EBMM Stingray 5 HH
Fender American Ultra Precision
Fender American Ultra Jazz V
LTD B-1005 MS

I know the ultras aren’t popular here, but they feel and sound better than a lot of basses I’ve played. I love them.

I’ve mostly played 5 strings for the last 13ish years but the ultra P has rekindled my love of 4 strings so I’m leaning in that direction. Specifically I’m thinking about a Lakland Skyline 44-02 or a G&L L-2000.

I think I’m leaning towards the G&L since I think there is more overlap between the Lakland and the Jazz/Stingray. Plus I can finish my Leo Fender superfecta.

But, it seems for every person praising the L-2000 there’s someone else saying they can’t get a good tone or the pickups are so strong they pick up radio stations. I also roll my eyes a bit when people say “Leo said it’s his best design!” Like, what else is he going to say? That said, the demos I’ve heard on YouTube sound fantastic to me.

The Lakland sounds great too, but I think it’s more of combining what I already have into one convenient package as opposed to offering something more different. I’m happy to be wrong, though.

Or maybe there’s another suggestion for something I’m not thinking of in the $1500-2000 range.

The catch is I can’t go try anything in person. My older kid has health issues so I can’t take any unnecessary risks with covid, and basses don’t make the cut.

Thanks and sorry for the long post.
Click to expand...
MFD pickups are crazy hot. I couldn't get anything consistently clean out of them. Even after completely dropping the pickup and pole pieces into the body. Yes, the pole pieces adjust as well.

Dad bass...I'd have to say Placid blue/Seafoam green P bass. You like the ultras, see what you can find. As far as a 5 string, talmans do it very well, and keep a great classic P tone, but also have a very growly single (thanks to Carey Nordstrand). If you've got the money for an ultra, you could go for the prestige talman. They're top notch. Out of your list though, Fender Ultra all the way.
 
#15
How about a fretless...
:bag:


In MY opinion, the L-series (I have an L2500) with the OMG modification (single coil with .1uF caps on ground connection) is killer. In OMG mode it does the best “Jazz on steroids” or the best p-bass emulation without being an actual p-bass.
I never had issues with picking up radio stations, but the pickups are definitely hot. But that’s why there are Cut controls and not Boost controls...
 
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#16
I played both a G&L ASAT and an L2000 for a while back in the 1990s. I wanted to like each more than I did, and neither made the long term cut.

I found each to be heavier than I was comfortable with, and the pickups seemed to have so much output that it often felt like they were they would overwhelming the preamp sections of my amps.

On the positive side, these babies looked great, and played well.

Good luck on your quest!
 

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