G&L Basses - Why no love?

[Nedmundo]

If not many people know what a G&L is, there are probably a lot fewer who've ever heard of DiPintos!

No doubt! But DiPinto might be raising its profile, because Chris has moved production to the U.S. -- Norristown, PA to be exact -- and the guitars are flat out awesome. I tried a few at a guitar show. The necks are fantastic, and the pickups sound spectacular, as always. The finishes are great too. Top notch all around. He told me basses are coming, and I'd totally rock a U.S.-made Galaxie. That prospect is one of the few things keeping me from buying an LB-100.

 

[Rabidhamster]

Please explain further.
To be used instead of raising and lowering bridge saddles?

Yes. Depending on what size strings you play, how heavy you pluck, or if you use a pick, or...etc. you might want a shim to angle the end of your fretboard up to meet the angle of your strings, instead of lowering your saddles so low that it achieves a similar effect - this keeps a good break angle on the bridge, keeps the height from the body you desire, and makes the action more even up the neck. You might also want the slight angle to your neck to increase the ease of playing - a little makes a noticeable difference. Bridge saddles are best for small adjustments, matching radius, setting intonation. The neck shim is when you're not quite in the ballpark. This is one area where a bolt neck outshines a set neck - you have to like the neck angle from the factory when its glued in - Fender style realizes everyone is different so you can pick.

Why don't companies make their neck pockets angled even though they could? Because then the people that like their action higher at the end of the fretboard wouldn't be happy. There at a lot of companies that make angled neck pockets at the factory - Washburn for example. Works fine enough if the neck never shifts, but people don't like change. And if you're coming from a high action old bass and like fighting it, or you play an URB you may not like the angle on the neck so much.

I find all reasons above to be true, and the steeper neck angle really helps get your fingers away from those pickups. Also prevents you having to take a bolt cutter to the tops of the adjustment screws - you adjust the saddles up enough they don't dig into your hand like crazy anymore.

Chances are you've played a bass that had "something" about its setup, and that was it. Unless some kind of a turdherder did the shimming you'd never see it without unbolting the neck, it doesn't leave any gaps you can detect.

 

[TDR1138]

I play my G&L at church quite often!!

Me too!

 

[58kites]

Yes. Depending on what size strings you play, how heavy you pluck, or if you use a pick, or...etc. you might want a shim to angle the end of your fretboard up to meet the angle of your strings, instead of lowering your saddles so low that it achieves a similar effect - this keeps a good break angle on the bridge, keeps the height from the body you desire, and makes the action more even up the neck. You might also want the slight angle to your neck to increase the ease of playing - a little makes a noticeable difference. Bridge saddles are best for small adjustments, matching radius, setting intonation. The neck shim is when you're not quite in the ballpark. This is one area where a bolt neck outshines a set neck - you have to like the neck angle from the factory when its glued in - Fender style realizes everyone is different so you can pick.

Why don't companies make their neck pockets angled even though they could? Because then the people that like their action higher at the end of the fretboard wouldn't be happy. There at a lot of companies that make angled neck pockets at the factory - Washburn for example. Works fine enough if the neck never shifts, but people don't like change. And if you're coming from a high action old bass and like fighting it, or you play an URB you may not like the angle on the neck so much.

I find all reasons above to be true, and the steeper neck angle really helps get your fingers away from those pickups. Also prevents you having to take a bolt cutter to the tops of the adjustment screws - you adjust the saddles up enough they don't dig into your hand like crazy anymore.

Chances are you've played a bass that had "something" about its setup, and that was it. Unless some kind of a turdherder did the shimming you'd never see it without unbolting the neck, it doesn't leave any gaps you can detect.

I don't agree with almost anything you said.
Bridge saddles should be adequate to set string height and intonation.
If the neck pocket and neck/heel are made to correct specifications and the choice of bridge is correct, that should be all that is needed.
I think the neck tilt adjustment system is a wasted manufacturing cost.
I think spending that money on carbon fiber or steel reinforcement rods in the neck is money more well spent at manufacturing.

 

[Rabidhamster]

I don't agree with almost anything you said.
Bridge saddles should be adequate to set string height and intonation.
If the neck pocket and neck/heel are made to correct specifications and the choice of bridge is correct, that should be all that is needed.
I think the neck tilt adjustment system is a wasted manufacturing cost.
I think spending that money on carbon fiber or steel reinforcement rods in the neck is money more well spent at manufacturing.

That's ok, you don't have to agree, it's not a debate, that's how setting up the instrument works. Set up a few hundred instruments and get back to me
I'd be surprised if you don't already have a shim in an instrument you don't know about. Otherwise, you just like a different kind of setup. A setup you couldn't get if the neck pocket was angled at the factory, btw

 

[willsellout]

I don't think it's a necessary feature. I do think it's useful on those basses though. In a perfect world you wouldn't need it. However we are dealing with instruments that are not perfect, made of wood that moves, and owners who may be too inexperienced to have actually taken good care of the instrument in question. So to me it's useful on those basses. Not necessary.

It seems we are arguing just to have something to do at this point.

 

[mpdd]

hopefully i won't get banned for this, but what the hell
the strings that come on the g&ls are super zingy with their pickups, and sometimes fellows don't want the zing and that might turn potential buyers off

 

[BassVibes]

Well I reached a decision with mine. It's now on flea bay. Absolutely top notch quality guitar, but the sound is not for me. Maybe I've played Fenders too long.

 

[dave64o]

hopefully i won't get banned for this, but what the hell
the strings that come on the g&ls are super zingy with their pickups, and sometimes fellows don't want the zing and that might turn potential buyers off

Banned because ....... ?

Lots of us use flats on our G&L's. I loved the sound of the Lo Riders on my L-2500 but the sizzle from the big, bold, brash MFD pickups really accentuated the string noise (no, my technique had nothing to do with that, oh no, not at all! ). So I replaced the Lo Riders with a set of Chromes, which I had used before on other basses, and that seemed to be a great match for this bass. I still get all the brightness I want but with no string noise.

 

[58kites]

That's ok, you don't have to agree, it's not a debate, that's how setting up the instrument works.
Set up a few hundred instruments and get back to me
I'd be surprised if you don't already have a shim in an instrument you don't know about.
Otherwise, you just like a different kind of setup.
A setup you couldn't get if the neck pocket was angled at the factory, btw

Let me say it a different way, many of the statements in your last several posts are incorrect and/or are not replies to the posts you replied to.

 

[Runlikegregg]

And that's where many run into trouble - myself included. Finding a bass should be just as you describe. Walk in, pick it up, play it an love it. Done. Noting else should matter. But we're human, and weak. Once I started buying and selling via the internet, no one had ever heard of basses I was playing. I have a couple beautiful hand made Roscoe basses that I love. Play and sound amazing. No one knows Roscoe. Not like Fender. They do love the way they look tough.

I sometimes find myself wondering what I'm doing wrong not playing a Fender, or a 4 string. I have tried a couple times, but they just aren't me - with the exception of the Geddy Lee jazz bass. I liked that bass. I play active 5 and 6 string basses. I like my G&L JB-2 for something different, but for my needs right now, it's my Roscoes.

Too bad there just aren't stores to buy basses from anymore. In NYC you can buy new Fenders at Guitar Center or old Fenders from the local guitar shops and that's about it! There just aren't shops to buy stuff in here. Total bummer.

 

[Plutonium244]

The new marketplace: Buy, try, flip.

 

[Rabidhamster]

Let me say it a different way, most of what you said in your last several posts is inaccurate or doesn't apply to the posts you replied to.

You'll need to post clear examples because this just sounds like sour grapes - I have posted nothing inaccurate in regards to setups and shims, and I'll thank you to avoid perpetuating any further misinformation, it would be a shame for you to lead someone else new to instrument setups astray.
Its ok - you probably know more songs than I do. I bet your band is even more successful.

 

[58kites]

No need... I stated the facts clearly, and more than once.
Again with the random unrelated stuff? ..this time it's grapes, songs, and band success.
Nothing to do with good manufacturing tolerances, micro-tilt and standard set up procedure.
Go ahead and keep jacking your neck up and down every time you change strings, good luck with that.

 

[Fender_Bender]

Well I reached a decision with mine. It's now on flea bay. Absolutely top notch quality guitar, but the sound is not for me. Maybe I've played Fenders too long.

What I've read in multiple publications is that Leo suffered from progressive hearing loss in the upper registers. As a consequence, several people were quoted as having Leo making his pickup designs so unbelievably bright because that's what sounded good to him.
Now,having acknowledged that he's been dead for many years and the company has had time to redesign the pickups,I don't know for certain that they've actually done so. You're not the first one I've heard of who didn't like the tone from G&L pickups.

 

[willsellout]

What I've read in multiple publications is that Leo suffered from progressive hearing loss in the upper registers. As a consequence, several people were quoted as having Leo making his pickup designs so unbelievably bright because that's what sounded good to him.
Now,having acknowledged that he's been dead for many years and the company has had time to redesign the pickups,I don't know for certain that they've actually done so. You're not the first one I've heard of who didn't like the tone from G&L pickups.

I think that's the biggest thing. They are very aggressive. I love their basses and haven't ever heard a bad sound from a G&L. But my tastes run a bit to the more aggressive side of the house.

 

[Plutonium244]

I think that's the biggest thing. They are very aggressive. I love their basses and haven't ever heard a bad sound from a G&L. But my tastes run a bit to the more aggressive side of the house.

I played a 1986 L2000 for about 20 years, and didn't find them to be overly bright... mine was not a maple board however. The humbuck provides a pretty powerful, thick, not-at-all thin tone... I did not often use the treble-boost switch though. Also, it has a treble knob on it. So, YMMV of course, I never found them to be overly bright, but they did have a very nice snap for slap or aggressive play, if/when you wanted it.

 

[Nedmundo]

What I've read in multiple publications is that Leo suffered from progressive hearing loss in the upper registers. As a consequence, several people were quoted as having Leo making his pickup designs so unbelievably bright because that's what sounded good to him.
Now,having acknowledged that he's been dead for many years and the company has had time to redesign the pickups,I don't know for certain that they've actually done so. You're not the first one I've heard of who didn't like the tone from G&L pickups.

I've read that story about Leo as well. When people refer to G&L pickups with that aggressive, bright tone, I think they are referring to Leo's Magnetic Field Design pickups, which as we know have monstrous full-range output. Some love them, some don't, and they don't all sound the same.

I don't know whether the classic MFD humbuckers from the L-series or the SB-2's split-coil have been changed over time, but G&L offers many other pickups for those who don't want the full-blast MFD's, or want something more like a Fender (or even Gibson on the guitar side).

They've had traditional alnico J-bass pickups for years, first in the JB-2, now in the Fender-styled JB and JB-5. More recently, they've introduced hum-canceling alnico J-bass pickups in the MJ-4 and MJ-5, and a traditional alnico P-bass split-coil in the LB-100. And even the MFD humbuckers have been mellowed out for the M-series basses, though they're always wired in series and, unlike the L-series, run through an active-only system with three-band EQ. (I guess this qualifies as a redesign, but the original L-series designs have remained.)

They've done the same thing on the guitar side, with the traditional Legacy (Strat) range alongside the MFD single coils in the S-500 and MFD splits in the Comanche. More recently, they added a "Classic Alnico" version of the ASAT (Tele) for players who don't want MFDs, and would prefer a traditional Tele.

So, at this point, we shouldn't generalize about "G&L pickups," because they offer many options beyond the original MFD designs.

 

[bassbenj]

hopefully i won't get banned for this, but what the hell
the strings that come on the g&ls are super zingy with their pickups, and sometimes fellows don't want the zing and that might turn potential buyers off

No ban, just truth! Those are SIT strings. (STAY IN TUNE) and yes they are VERY zingy. I have left them on when I wanted a uber bright harsh slap tone, but generally speaking they are not much as general purpose strings. And it's even worse than that. My G&L L2500 anyway is VERY sensitive as to what kind (brand, style) strings you put on it. I hear that most G&Ls are like that. Almost by accident I discovered Dunlop nickels DBN 2015 or DBN 2025. I bought an L2500 here on TB and when I got it it sounded REALLY good! So I PMed the seller and he said he put the Dunlops on it because they one of the strings that sounded good on a G&L and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Been using them ever since. On the fretless I have D' Addario ground wounds and they sound great too, but fretless is kind of a special case.

 

[mpdd]

No ban, just truth! Those are SIT strings. (STAY IN TUNE) and yes they are VERY zingy. I have left them on when I wanted a uber bright harsh slap tone, but generally speaking they are not much as general purpose strings. And it's even worse than that. My G&L L2500 anyway is VERY sensitive as to what kind (brand, style) strings you put on it. I hear that most G&Ls are like that. Almost by accident I discovered Dunlop nickels DBN 2015 or DBN 2025. I bought an L2500 here on TB and when I got it it sounded REALLY good! So I PMed the seller and he said he put the Dunlops on it because they one of the strings that sounded good on a G&L and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Been using them ever since. On the fretless I have D' Addario ground wounds and they sound great too, but fretless is kind of a special case.

Funny you should say that I've got Dunlop nickels on my L2k and LB100 and Dunlop flats on order for my Lynx