IvanBassist
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- Jun 8, 2008
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- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
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Fender fans who turned G&L
- Thread starter Skullheadrac
- Start date
Good news for you: G&L introduces the Tribute Fallout - its newest short scale bass - gearnews.com.
Still gotta cope with that headstock though.
I was a staunch Fender guy for decades. I needed a 5 string for a few tunes for a project I was in, so I picked up an L2500. I dialed in a nice front pickup P sound after arguing with the preamp for a couple of hours. Took her to the studio, and A/Bed it against my trusty P. We learned a lot that day. That guitar was my main for 12 years.
My first year JB2 is a real tank. Gigged hard and was in my soft shell gig bag every day for many years.
Ebony board
Killer jazz bass. Only moded the pups with Fender cs 60s.
Was my only bass for quite a while.
Haven't found a better jazz bass for me.....
I play 99% pbass now.
Early 2000 g&l QC is top notch and rock solid.
Ebony board
Killer jazz bass. Only moded the pups with Fender cs 60s.
Was my only bass for quite a while.
Haven't found a better jazz bass for me.....
I play 99% pbass now.
Early 2000 g&l QC is top notch and rock solid.
- Aug 21, 2003
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I would like a G&L l2000 some day. I only buy used basses, so the finish choices are more limited with me.
If you want some razzle dazzle in your hands, then great, I'm all for it.
but I find many of their finishes be strange and so specific that they couldn't aesthetically be a 'one and only go-to' bass for me.
All those purple green red and blue bursts, wild glittery things, pearloid gaurds.
I know there are normal finishes too, I just don't see them for sale much. Maybe that's a testament to the quality that the funky ones seem more available.
Maybe my perception has been clouded by my local market too.
If you want some razzle dazzle in your hands, then great, I'm all for it.
but I find many of their finishes be strange and so specific that they couldn't aesthetically be a 'one and only go-to' bass for me.
All those purple green red and blue bursts, wild glittery things, pearloid gaurds.
I know there are normal finishes too, I just don't see them for sale much. Maybe that's a testament to the quality that the funky ones seem more available.
Maybe my perception has been clouded by my local market too.
So, I've never owned a Fender but I've played a few before and since buying my L2000 Tribute. I don't see anything the Fenders do better, and I couldn't see myself getting rid of the L2000 for a 'real' Fender, or anything else really. (haven't played one though my rig or at a gig, so my Fender experience IS limited).
I'd definitely recommend giving the G&Ls a try if possible before you make your final choice.
I'd definitely recommend giving the G&Ls a try if possible before you make your final choice.
Played jazz basses for forty years, and then =picked upa M2500. Absolutely my favorite! quality much better and a nice slim neck, unlike the logs on Fender fives. My Jazz is lonely now!
I have a limited sample size, but have owned a few Fenders over the years and one G&L. My two favorites are my '89 Fender Jazz bass special, and my '81 G&L L-1000.
The JBS is a bit brighter, and is lighter. I love the neck on the G&L, it is slightly wider and flatter feeling. Both are great basses, and it really depends on my mood as to which one I will pick up.
YMMV
The JBS is a bit brighter, and is lighter. I love the neck on the G&L, it is slightly wider and flatter feeling. Both are great basses, and it really depends on my mood as to which one I will pick up.
YMMV
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
Additional comment, I would echo what other have said about G&L quality as it compares to Fender. Their instruments are plek'd at the factory, and I think the necks are made from quarter sawn maple. The fret work, the fit and finish has always seemed to be very consistent, whereas with Fender, you can find wide variation in quality control. Matter of fact after doing a lot of set-ups on other's basses, I've come to expect certain issues with many Fenders, particularly the Mexican variety of 5 string Jazz basses. But in all fairness, G&L is a much smaller production facility and has the distinction of being what Leo Fender claimed as "the best instruments I have ever made". G&L Musical Instruments - Wikipedia
I bought a 1973 Jazz Bass in 1981 and I’m still playing it today.
I was in New York in 1996 and went in to Sam Ash intending to buy a Stingray.
While there I also tried a G&L, probably an L2000 but can’t be sure.
I recall the exceptional quality, feel and sound, but I came out with the Stingray.
Mainly because back then G&L was an unknown quantity to me.
Regretted it ever since, and I sold the Stingray after about 5 years as it get on with me.
I was in New York in 1996 and went in to Sam Ash intending to buy a Stingray.
While there I also tried a G&L, probably an L2000 but can’t be sure.
I recall the exceptional quality, feel and sound, but I came out with the Stingray.
Mainly because back then G&L was an unknown quantity to me.
Regretted it ever since, and I sold the Stingray after about 5 years as it get on with me.
I bought a G&L before I ever had a Fender, and the G&L was so good that I saw all I needed to see pretty much immediately. I actually traded an American Standard Jazz Bass for a G&L JB since I love the G&L experience.
Fender makes a nice bass, I have a Player series fretless Jazz. But the bridge on G&Ls is amazing, so is the rest of the build quality. For some reason I just love G&L necks.
Fender makes a nice bass, I have a Player series fretless Jazz. But the bridge on G&Ls is amazing, so is the rest of the build quality. For some reason I just love G&L necks.
I was a Fender guy for many, many years: in fact my '68 P-bass was my only bass for maybe 25 years (1971-mid 80's). Later I added an active 5-string J-bass, but I was Fender through-and-through.
Post-2000 I sort of bumbled into G&L via my brother (a pro guitar player) who favoured Heritage over Gibson for that style of guitars and G&L over Fender for his Strat- and Tele-type guitars. The first one I bought was an early Tribute L-2000 that didn't cost me much and I found it enormously satisfying for playing in a blues band. A Tribute M-2000 followed and then...well...a lot of G&L's...6 US basses and 2 Tributes in the current herd.
For a long time G&L was the only brand of electric basses that I played in public (with a bit of dabbling in US Peaveys). Why? (1) The MFD pickups which I adore, (2) that bridge, (3) the general build quality and the gorgeous finishes, plus (4) the sense that what I was playing was last-generation Fender ingenuity. I never bonded with MusicMan stuff—and not for lack of trying—and I never found a newish Fender in a shop that really spoke to me like my G&Ls did.
Lately, I've strayed into a love affair with Yamaha BB basses
but my G&Ls aren't going anywhere 
.
Post-2000 I sort of bumbled into G&L via my brother (a pro guitar player) who favoured Heritage over Gibson for that style of guitars and G&L over Fender for his Strat- and Tele-type guitars. The first one I bought was an early Tribute L-2000 that didn't cost me much and I found it enormously satisfying for playing in a blues band. A Tribute M-2000 followed and then...well...a lot of G&L's...6 US basses and 2 Tributes in the current herd.
For a long time G&L was the only brand of electric basses that I played in public (with a bit of dabbling in US Peaveys). Why? (1) The MFD pickups which I adore, (2) that bridge, (3) the general build quality and the gorgeous finishes, plus (4) the sense that what I was playing was last-generation Fender ingenuity. I never bonded with MusicMan stuff—and not for lack of trying—and I never found a newish Fender in a shop that really spoke to me like my G&Ls did.
Lately, I've strayed into a love affair with Yamaha BB basses
but my G&Ls aren't going anywhere .
I had zero experience with G&L, but when I went looking for a short-scale bass I decided on the Tribute Fallout to experience their MFD pickup. I chose it over the Fender Mustang for that reason. It's an amazing bass for the asking price. It's not what I would call heavy at 8 lbs. 14 ounces, although there's a bit of neck dive, which goes with that body shape. Fretwork is excellent for this price range, and it plays and sounds great. The MFD pickup with the 3-way toggle has killer bass tones all day! See my review called NBD - A Short Story elsewhere in this forum.
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Those are some cool looking basses
I've been interested in L2000's lately... I've never seen one in a store to actually try one out, though. What tapes have you got yours strung up with?
For anyone curious to try a G&L that doesn't wanna break the bank, G&L's Tribute series is incredible. They're manufactured in Indonesia but they use all the same electronics and pickups that the US made ones do. The neck profiles are a bit different, I think, but they're exceptionally well made and just ooze quality.
GHS...I have them on my Gamma Alpha, too.Those are some cool looking basses
Bought both basses from Reverb without having the opportunity to play them, even though I was familiar with the L2000 Tribute I'd tried back in 2017.
I guess I should say something about the MFD pickups... I mean, I just love the things. I guess they are more "modern" sounding and they may not do that dry thump that a Precision bass will do quite as easily, but they can certainly get very close if you want them to.
But if you let them do their thing, they are wonderful... clear, powerful, they absolutely stand out in a mix, they can drive a whole song.
I did some recording this weekend, and the bassist used my SB-1. I was very impressed with how it sounded, all the clarity and power you could ever want.
But if you let them do their thing, they are wonderful... clear, powerful, they absolutely stand out in a mix, they can drive a whole song.
I did some recording this weekend, and the bassist used my SB-1. I was very impressed with how it sounded, all the clarity and power you could ever want.
Just wanna showcase how tonally versatile these L2Ks can be. My playing isn't that great, but man does this thing sound awesome.
With the right preamps and tone shaping, they can do a decent Wal imitation, both for Tool:
And for other things like RHCP:
Also Anthony Kiedis is the cringiest vocalist of all time.
I've heard a lot of people say that the L2K is the closest you can get to a Wal without paying Wal prices...while they're two very different animals, I get where the comparison can come from. I've never owned or played a Wal so I don't really know.
I may have dialed out a little too much of the high end here, but you can do a pretty decent P-bass imitation as well:
This one could use a bit more clank, but ya live and learn
Same here...needs more clank but it does that kind of sticky, middy, warm, full P-tone very well:
With the right preamps and tone shaping, they can do a decent Wal imitation, both for Tool:
And for other things like RHCP:
Also Anthony Kiedis is the cringiest vocalist of all time.
I've heard a lot of people say that the L2K is the closest you can get to a Wal without paying Wal prices...while they're two very different animals, I get where the comparison can come from. I've never owned or played a Wal so I don't really know.
I may have dialed out a little too much of the high end here, but you can do a pretty decent P-bass imitation as well:
This one could use a bit more clank, but ya live and learn
Same here...needs more clank but it does that kind of sticky, middy, warm, full P-tone very well:
