Fender vs. Musicman vs.G&L

[Frank77]

I own AND play daily, 2 G&L basses with no intention of making a change or make an addition so take this with a grain of salt: The 2 Brits at Anderton's take on this very question and what do you think are the results? The G&L in contention, I should add, is an Indonesian made G&L vs. 2 US made instruments. Long video I know, but i love these guys.

To be entirely fair, I think they mention at the beginning that the Fenders in this video are Mexicans and the Stingray is Indonesian, but still...

I was as pleasantly surprised as these guys when I tried (and bought) my L-2500 in '99. I had planned a trip to check out the three biggest music stores in Montreal to sample what they had (and upgrade from my awful Squier HM!), but pretty much had my mind set on getting a Stingray. I tried everything: Fender, Ibanez, Yamaha, of course MM, but then I tried the G&L and that was it. I had never heard of the brand before, but the neck felt absolutely perfect to me, the fit and finish was stunning and it could do just about any tone.

 

[Antisyzygy]

The P, J and MM brought something truly unique to the table. G&L didn’t.

G&L did bring the MFD, PTB and SLB.

;0

On a serious note G&L does creative passive electronics. The L1000 is a really innovative bass for being entirely passive. It’s simulating active electronics and the pickups are part of the recipe, having high output and low noise.

G&L is a Leo Fender company, they are his designs mostly. Some of the newer ones like the Kiloton are not.

 

[BassPilot]

After playing my first American G&L I was hooked. They are GREAT playing instruments and tonally diverse. The PLEK'ed frettboards are among the best I've played. I have an American SB-2 and an American Kiloton.
I played an Fender professional Jazz last year and I thought that played really well. In fact I was ready to buy one until I played the American G&L....DONE!

 

[Bassist30]

After playing my first American G&L I was hooked. They are GREAT playing instruments and tonally diverse. The PLEK'ed frettboards are among the best I've played. I have an American SB-2 and an American Kiloton.
I played an Fender professional Jazz last year and I thought that played really well. In fact I was ready to buy one until I played the American G&L....DONE!

A great bass the G&L is as well as the MM and Fender. But it was the Fender pro that got me. Did not by any means have all the bells and whistles of the many basses at this price point but it had that one sound that is so convincing.
I read in an article which I can't remember where, but when leo was making the MM some of his workers said that he was getting older and needed more highs and the MM (which I have a beat up from use MM5 1989) can get into the high frequencies which many slappers love. On the other hand Fender Jazz are in the 4k highs in passive anyway. Still a nice slappers range. In fact the Sadowsky pre goes into the 4 k for its highs which no one is surprised as Roger is creating a steroid versions of Fender. Have one of his NYC 5 and I can't say enough of his basses. G&L which I read - again I don't know where - was very proud of those basses. He loved them. So in closing (finally, Sorry not working tonight and can't practice with family sleeping and very light sleepers I may say) All the basses mentioned are great. Don't want to start a war but all are completely different with the Leo variations. But all have the Leo Character to them. No one can say one is better but Fender did create a standard sound. He just wanted something different.

 

[mdogs]

G&L is a Leo Fender company, they are his designs mostly. Some of the newer ones like the Kiloton are not.

Well, I think most people would say the Kiloton is absolutely a Leo design, one he did well before G&L.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

G&L the Swiss Army knife of Basses!

In other words ... a Jack of all trade master of none unlike the Fender P, J and EBMM Stingray.

Like the Yamaha, Carvin/Kiesel and a bunch of other, they are great basses, almost like cameleon but ultimately, they have no personality unlike a Fender P,J or EBMM or even Warwick or Rickenbacker

 

[mdogs]

In other words ... a Jack of all trade master of none unlike the Fender P, J and EBMM Stingray.

Haha, this is exactly the cliche I was going to use!!!!

 

[CapnSev]

In other words ... a Jack of all trade master of none unlike the Fender P, J and EBMM Stingray.

I think that depends on the G&L model in mind. The L2000? Then yes. I absolutely agree. Personally, I despise that bass because of what you said (plus, the one I had was one of the mostly poorly crafted basses I ever had).

G&L make excellent Ps and Js though. I also LOVE the L1000. I consider that bass G&L’s “signature” bass.

 

[Tommyc]

To be entirely fair, I think they mention at the beginning that the Fenders in this video are Mexicans and the Stingray is Indonesian, but still...

I was as pleasantly surprised as these guys when I tried (and bought) my L-2500 in '99. I had planned a trip to check out the three biggest music stores in Montreal to sample what they had (and upgrade from my awful Squier HM!), but pretty much had my mind set on getting a Stingray. I tried everything: Fender, Ibanez, Yamaha, of course MM, but then I tried the G&L and that was it. I had never heard of the brand before, but the neck felt absolutely perfect to me, the fit and finish was stunning and it could do just about any tone.

My error on the Mexican etc. I hadn't looked at the video in a while and forgot.

 

[Antisyzygy]

I think that depends on the G&L model in mind. The L2000? Then yes. I absolutely agree. Personally, I despise that bass because of what you said (plus, the one I had was one of the mostly poorly crafted basses I ever had).

G&L make excellent Ps and Js though. I also LOVE the L1000. I consider that bass G&L’s “signature” bass.

I'd call the ASAT, and SBs among their signature models.

The SBs take a P body and shave it down in the middle and on the horns some, then add the saddle-lock bridge, MFD pickups, and 6-bolt neck. It's a very sturdy feeling instrument design and the MFDs have a tonal character unlike any other pickups I've tried. They're a late 80s / early 90s take on a P/PJ with the G&L flavor.

The L2000 counts I'd say as well, as it's sort of an evolution of the L1000. Once you get why they designed it the way they did, it makes more sense. The preamp is only there for getting more highs out of long cable runs really. Since it has two pickups you don't need the "OMG" mode as much, since you can get most tones you'd need by using the two pickups in various series/parallel and pickup-switch configurations.

A lot of the original G&L designs favor passive controls and tone. They tried making passive and yet also modern sounding basses. The MFDs are the closest to active-sounding pickups I've ever heard out of a passive design.

 

[Antisyzygy]

In other words ... a Jack of all trade master of none unlike the Fender P, J and EBMM Stingray.

Like the Yamaha, Carvin/Kiesel and a bunch of other, they are great basses, almost like cameleon but ultimately, they have no personality unlike a Fender P,J or EBMM or even Warwick or Rickenbacker

If the L2000 came first we'd be saying that about the P or the J or the EBMM. It's a unique design that does what it needs to do. It's what Leo produced after inventing all three of the aforementioned basses, so he took what he learned and put it all in that bass.

 

[JIO]

G&L basses sound GREAT and are built very, very well. The electronics might be too clever by half, and at their price point maybe they are a little plain looking. Also, P-basses are simply good enough for many, many people, so why bother.

I don't have a G&L, but I would like to.

I mostly agree with you, but do own an L-2000 and to me they are very user friendly, very versatile and all options provided are real-world useable. Those who play them have nothing against Leo's early offers and know why he "bothered" to improve his concept.

 

[Frank77]

I mostly agree with you, but do own an L-2000 and to me they are very user friendly, very versatile and all options provided are real-world useable. Those who play them have nothing against Leo's early offers and know why he "bothered" to improve his concept.

This, plus it is entirely possible to enjoy both a simple, good-enough bass and something more versatile and complete depending on what the situation calls for. Ironically, this thread is inspiring me to play my L-2500 today. I haven't played it much in recent years but I think it's mostly because I haven't needed a 5-string for my current projects. Hey, maybe I should get a L-2000!

 

[JIO]

This, plus it is entirely possible to enjoy both a simple, good-enough bass and something more versatile and complete depending on what the situation calls for. Ironically, this thread is inspiring me to play my L-2500 today. I haven't played it much in recent years but I think it's mostly because I haven't needed a 5-string for my current projects. Hey, maybe I should get a L-2000!

I've never played an L-2500 but I'm sure the pu's/electronics handle the B sting nicely.

 

[mdogs]

If the L2000 came first we'd be saying that about the P or the J or the EBMM. It's a unique design that does what it needs to do. It's what Leo produced after inventing all three of the aforementioned basses, so he took what he learned and put it all in that bass.

Kind of irrelevant and it may be a unique design, but not a unique sound.

 

[wizard65]

Did Leo improve with age? Yes. Did the overall QC/build get better? Yes. Are the designs better? IMO no. Especially the jazz bass.

As far as reasons for popularity go, Fender was first. Pbasses can fit literally every genre and song out there. Jazz basses give you a wide variety of sounds in a simple design. Both are ergonomically perfect for large amounts of the population. No 9 volt batteries, etc. They look good. The other basses look similar, which if you're not the first makes you look like a copy.

MM makes a product that has a sound that you either like or dislike. No middle ground IMO.

G&L, do they even have a guy or gal in marketing? They're like cave salamanders. Scientists keep telling you they exist, but nobody's ever seen one. I know absolutely nothing about them aside from what I read on this website.

Very true. I’m not sure you can even buy G&l Basses in Australia, I’ve never seen a new one for sale.

 

[Stevorebob]

I have Fender and Music Man basses. I prefer Music Man. Mostly it’s the tighter nut and string spacing on five string basses. But it’s also the soloed bridge humbucker p’up and active electronics that work for me. I also think the component and build quality is better. Now, my StingRays and Bongo will never get a Jazz or P tone, so there’s that. I’ve never seen a G&L five-string bass in the wild to try, and see nothing on their website that compels me to seek them out. Now, a five-string ASAT, that would be another thing altogether. Just my opinion. YMMV, of course.

 

[Altitude]

I mostly agree with you, but do own an L-2000 and to me they are very user friendly, very versatile and all options provided are real-world useable. Those who play them have nothing against Leo's early offers and know why he "bothered" to improve his concept.

To be clear, I was trying to represent the thoughts of the many, not necessarily my own.

 

[mongo2]

I've had quite a few Fenders and MMs and a few G&Ls over the last nearly 50 years. My favorite tone in all of those came from my '80-ish L1Ks with OMG engaged.

I've always missed that tone but I now play Hofner necks due to aging arm/hand issues. Now that I think of it, it may be time I modded my Hofner Galaxie to see if I can get close to the tone I remember.

 

[SJan3]

In other words ... a Jack of all trade master of none unlike the Fender P, J and EBMM Stingray.

Like the Yamaha, Carvin/Kiesel and a bunch of other, they are great basses, almost like cameleon but ultimately, they have no personality unlike a Fender P,J or EBMM or even Warwick or Rickenbacker

And that is you're opinion, I suppose?