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Fender vs. G&L

az_bassist

az_bassist

Guest
Feb 2, 2014
16
22
Chandler, AZ
#1
Ok guys and gals, I want to start this thread off by saying that I'm not looking to create a heated debate or anything like that. I'm not saying that Fender is better than G&L or the other way around. I'm simply looking for comparisons.

Anyways, I'm a Fender loyalist and I only own Precision Basses. I love the feel, tones, playability, and looks of the P-Basses. I'm looking to find out what people think of G&L basses. Obviously they are Leo Fender creations as well.
 
#2
MFD's

/Thread

On a serious note, I've only ever owned a Tribute L2K, and not sure if I just happened to get a really good one, or if their QC is just that good. I've owned a few Fenders/Squiers, and while I love me a good Fender, G&L just feels like what they should have been.

Mostly because I like that the bodies are slightly smaller, MFD pickups, and I thoroughly enjoy the 1.75" nut width on my G&L. Just wish it was a slab body, but I can let that slide given the other great features it has.

Commonly referred to as the "Swiss Army knife" of basses.
 
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#6
az_bassist said:
I'm seriously considering the LB-100. Does anybody have any experience with these?
Click to expand...
It's a P ... And awesome. Great build quality, nice, firmly anchored necks, in house wound pup sounds great. I have 2 P's ('75 & '06). I play my LB more. You can get a semi-custom build for the price of a P. Resale probably not as good as the Fender - but that only matters when you want to get rid of it. Or if you want to buy used
 
#8
LUCE said:
It's a P ... And awesome. Great build quality, nice, firmly anchored necks, in house wound pup sounds great. I have 2 P's ('75 & '06). I play my LB more. You can get a semi-custom build for the price of a P. Resale probably not as good as the Fender - but that only matters when you want to get rid of it. Or if you want to buy used
Click to expand...

Does it have good "vintage" P Bass tone? And does it feel and play nice?
 
#11
the 83 L2000 and the 2011 sb-2 are the only basses that have stuck around, fenders are fun, but i haven't gotten the playability and clarity out of the fenders without having to get new bridges, new pickups, and sometimes major eq fussing, then again, i haven't had any of the costlier high end american fenders either like the custom shops or the american vintage 63 p
 
#12
I an 83' L2K I bought brand new with HSC, still my number one player after all these years. Built like a tank and heavy for all that, but never had one iota of trouble with it, and still one of the most versatile basses I've ever played. I can get just about any sound I want out of it by EQ fiddling, active/passive, or pickup switching. I think I got the best version of the instrument, mine has the old pre-lawsuit headstock, neck tilt, etc. Fenders are nice, but Leo made the L2K specifically to fix what he saw as faults in the standard Jazz and P bass, and he suceeded.
 
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#13
Fenders to me sound more "classic" or "vintage". The classic basses they manufacture (leave out some of the series like modern player) each emphasizes a different portion of the frequency range a bass can achieve and their output isn't too hot. It gives them their distinctive sound. For example with the P bass you get an emphasis on the lows and low mids and with the Jazz basses you scoop the mids a bit which is what gives us their characteristic sounds respectively. Of course you can change up your sound by tweaking the pickup volumes on a Jazz bass but I digress.

The G&L basses however sound loud and expansive, they're less distinctive and more wide-open to my ear. The MFD pickups seem to pick up and emphasize more frequencies, with a thunderous output. You can dial the pickups to growl, thump or punch/honk if you use other features like what exists on the G&L L or M series basses.

The MFD pickup's sound is like a block of raw marble that can be carved into to shape many different sounds. The Fender pickup's sounds are more like carving a shape out of a piece of wood, you want to go with the grain and coloration of the wood as part of your art.

As far as fit, finish, and hardware I'd say the G&Ls are pretty comparable to Fender. Perhaps the neck construction and the way they are bolted on is better on the G&Ls but it's arguable because Fender has improved their part designs over the years as well. The hardware on the G&Ls is about the same as Fender quality for comparable instrument price brackets. I have no idea if the G&L saddle lock feature in their bridges makes any difference, I can't tell.

EDIT : Note, I am mostly talking about the L and M series G&Ls, not the P or J copies.

For a comparison of extra features (things series/parallel switching, active electronics) the instruments can be very different between Fender and G&L. I don't think it's really fair to compare them considering everyone wants a different set of features. Some people prefer minimalist instruments because it helps them have a better experience playing for one reason or another. I can relate, the Telecaster is my favorite guitar design.

I own a G&L L2000 and it's one of the most versatile basses I've ever played. But, I still own two Jazz basses as well as two P basses and I use them as needed mostly so I don't have to hassle with dialing in the sound on my L2000. Sometimes it's nice to just pick up a bass and be ready to go. Fenders are good at that.
 
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#14
az_bassist said:
Ok guys and gals, I want to start this thread off by saying that I'm not looking to create a heated debate or anything like that. I'm not saying that Fender is better than G&L or the other way around. I'm simply looking for comparisons.

Anyways, I'm a Fender loyalist and I only own Precision Basses. I love the feel, tones, playability, and looks of the P-Basses. I'm looking to find out what people think of G&L basses. Obviously they are Leo Fender creations as well.
Click to expand...
I had a G&L 2000 American and i really did not like it. The new Fenders are great and Music Man I think are the best of the bunch
 
#15
az_bassist said:
I'm seriously considering the LB-100. Does anybody have any experience with these?
Click to expand...

I own one of each
Photo comparison of LB100 and P bass. | TalkBass.com

I find that their tone is about the same (Ed's video supports this) but the playability of the G&L is way ahead of the Fender. The G&L uses lighter tuners and a heavier body/bridge which means there is no neck dive with the G&L. My Fender had noticeably neck dive. I didn't appreciate how bad it was in that regard until I got the G&L.

I've since ordered a 2nd G&L LB100 to replace the Fender.
 
#17
I have a Honeyburst LB-100 on order for which I traded one of my American Standards for. I tried the LB-100 locally and found it to be very well balanced and comfortable. Oh - and you get 21 frets vs 20 on the Fender, if that matters to you.
It seems to be voiced similar to vintage Fender based on my short try-out at the store. I have another Fender Am Std with EMG Geezers in it that I'm keeping.
Until it comes in, I can't comment much further on preferences, although the one in the store was impressive enough to make me want to own one.
Doubt very much that you would regret an LB-100. It's very much a P-bass with just a little more refinement.
 
#19
Fender is the safe bet, but there are some really nice G&L basses. I like my L2500 a lot, but I find that I play around with the controls too much looking for just the right sound. I probably prefer the simplicity of a Fender P or J most of the time. I guess that if I wanted active, I'd go with G&L, passive - Fender.
 

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