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No live gig but still rocking a G&L tonight. Luck to all with gigs !!
So what's the deal with the Matador bass? It's not listed anywhere on the site (from what I can see), is it a Custom Shop only model, or discontinued entirely? I saw a very tasty looking LH Matador in purple with reverse SB1 pickups on their Instagram - kinda really want one (money is the next issue)
I'm pretty sure it's a Custom Shop only model, you'd have to contact a G&L dealer and order one that way. Unless you happen upon a used one for sale. Good luck !!
Nobody does metal flake finishes like G&L! 
My SB-2 with stacked V/T knobs.
Let's see the rest of that bad boy
Apologies for the delay. It took me a while to find time for a photo shoot.
If you look closely you might notice it's...not quite stock. It came with their LB-100 style alnico pickups, but I wanted to try a few alternatives in there. Right now I have an Arcane '65 in the neck position and a G&L MFD in the bridge position. Soloing the Arcane '65, it sounds like a great, balanced, classic P. The MFD, by contrast, sounds big, clear, and dynamic. It's killer having both in one instrument.
What really jumps out to me isn't just the frequency balance -- the MFD sounds like it has an extra octave on either end of the spectrum -- but the difference in dynamics. You can really feel how much more compressed that alnico is in comparison. But that also makes for fun when blending them. Start with the alnico in the neck and add a touch of bridge to bring out the attack, or start with the bridge and add a touch of neck to subtly thicken it up. It's kind of like having a built-in parallel compression chain in that sense.
Don't get me wrong, the stock pickups are no slouch, and I'm not swapping them out because there's anything wrong with them. The bridge pickup looks like a specially-made monster measuring 15k ohm DCR. I wouldn't be surprised if I wind up going back to that one!
Oh, and, uhh...I also added an Audere preamp. The bridge pickup with the Z-Mode switch set to "low" is massive. I'm not sure if I'll wind up using it much, but just practicing at home alone, it sure is fun. Ditto with an Arcane '57 in the bridge slot. Close my eyes and it feels like I'm in a smoky bar off the main road.
Anyway, you didn't come here for my yammering. Have some photos, and holler if there's anything you'd like to see close up.
Yeah, it's a Custom Shop special. I wish I knew why, though. These Matadors are awesome! At least for my tastes, it starts with the best P I've ever played, then adds something a little extra on top with the second pickup.
Obviously I'm biased, but I feel like an active preamp adds a ton to an otherwise solid instrument. The EQ adds a lot of flexibility. I always feel like two-pickup arrangements lend themselves to tones that are cool but not quite right, and an EQ lets you tweak them to fit. The Audere's Z-Mode switch does some really fun things with the bridge pickup, too. And I also just like vol/balance much more than vol/vol with two pickups. I feel like if G&L took the Matador and gave it the M2000 treatment with an active preamp (with something akin to that low Z-mode switch), they'd have a certifiable hit on their hands. Maybe reverse the orientation of the pickups, too, just for a little extra market differentiation.
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That's right, the Matador is only available through the Custom Shop. A Matador V (5-string) is also newly available this year.
In 2023, the Matador starts at $3500 USD, and the Matador V starts at $3600 USD. On the 4-string you can get either the Alnico (ala LB-100) or the MFD (ala SB-1) pickups. I think on the V they may be using something from Seymour Duncan (that's a hazy recollection of mine, not positive about that). They're also flexible on the wiring, things like whether the pickups are wired in series or parallel, volume/volume vs. volume/blend, etc.
Apologies for the delay. It took me a while to find time for a photo shoot.
If you look closely you might notice it's...not quite stock. It came with their LB-100 style alnico pickups, but I wanted to try a few alternatives in there. Right now I have an Arcane '65 in the neck position and a G&L MFD in the bridge position. Soloing the Arcane '65, it sounds like a great, balanced, classic P. The MFD, by contrast, sounds big, clear, and dynamic. It's killer having both in one instrument.
What really jumps out to me isn't just the frequency balance -- the MFD sounds like it has an extra octave on either end of the spectrum -- but the difference in dynamics. You can really feel how much more compressed that alnico is in comparison. But that also makes for fun when blending them. Start with the alnico in the neck and add a touch of bridge to bring out the attack, or start with the bridge and add a touch of neck to subtly thicken it up. It's kind of like having a built-in parallel compression chain in that sense.
Don't get me wrong, the stock pickups are no slouch, and I'm not swapping them out because there's anything wrong with them. The bridge pickup looks like a specially-made monster measuring 15k ohm DCR. I wouldn't be surprised if I wind up going back to that one!
Oh, and, uhh...I also added an Audere preamp. The bridge pickup with the Z-Mode switch set to "low" is massive. I'm not sure if I'll wind up using it much, but just practicing at home alone, it sure is fun. Ditto with an Arcane '57 in the bridge slot. Close my eyes and it feels like I'm in a smoky bar off the main road.
Anyway, you didn't come here for my yammering. Have some photos, and holler if there's anything you'd like to see close up.
Beautiful bass, congrats!
The photo reminds me of one other common tweak folks make when ordering a Matador: the pickups can be oriented normally (like this one), or you can choose a "Reverse P" orientation where the D/G half of each pickup is closer to the neck than the E/A half. Or you can mix and match, regular P in one position, Reverse P in the other.
Awesome bass. Love that board.Apologies for the delay. It took me a while to find time for a photo shoot.
If you look closely you might notice it's...not quite stock. It came with their LB-100 style alnico pickups, but I wanted to try a few alternatives in there. Right now I have an Arcane '65 in the neck position and a G&L MFD in the bridge position. Soloing the Arcane '65, it sounds like a great, balanced, classic P. The MFD, by contrast, sounds big, clear, and dynamic. It's killer having both in one instrument.
What really jumps out to me isn't just the frequency balance -- the MFD sounds like it has an extra octave on either end of the spectrum -- but the difference in dynamics. You can really feel how much more compressed that alnico is in comparison. But that also makes for fun when blending them. Start with the alnico in the neck and add a touch of bridge to bring out the attack, or start with the bridge and add a touch of neck to subtly thicken it up. It's kind of like having a built-in parallel compression chain in that sense.
Don't get me wrong, the stock pickups are no slouch, and I'm not swapping them out because there's anything wrong with them. The bridge pickup looks like a specially-made monster measuring 15k ohm DCR. I wouldn't be surprised if I wind up going back to that one!
Oh, and, uhh...I also added an Audere preamp. The bridge pickup with the Z-Mode switch set to "low" is massive. I'm not sure if I'll wind up using it much, but just practicing at home alone, it sure is fun. Ditto with an Arcane '57 in the bridge slot. Close my eyes and it feels like I'm in a smoky bar off the main road.
Anyway, you didn't come here for my yammering. Have some photos, and holler if there's anything you'd like to see close up.
Thanks, that's a huge help. They look and find fantastic.
Yup, CS only, as already stated.
That left Matador belongs to my good buddy @bullitproof , who I've bought/traded/sold with many times.
Great dude to deal with.
I have done a thing.
L2000 Tribute.
Years ago I had an '81 L1000 that got traded away for a Lakland fretless 5 (which is a fantastic instrument).
I'm gravitating back to 4 strings for some of my gigs, and the L2000 seems to check all the boxes.
We'll see how it goes.
John
L2000 Tribute.
Years ago I had an '81 L1000 that got traded away for a Lakland fretless 5 (which is a fantastic instrument).
I'm gravitating back to 4 strings for some of my gigs, and the L2000 seems to check all the boxes.
We'll see how it goes.
John
If there's stuff I should know, please fill me in.I have done a thing.
L2000 Tribute.
Years ago I had an '81 L1000 that got traded away for a Lakland fretless 5 (which is a fantastic instrument).
I'm gravitating back to 4 strings for some of my gigs, and the L2000 seems to check all the boxes.
We'll see how it goes.
John
John
I wanted to follow up with a couple more tidbits I've gleaned about the Matador V.
1) The pickups are indeed Duncan Quarter Pounders.
2) The bass is setup like the 750 Series with 19mm spacing. So it's got the neck with the 1.78" nut width and the wider spaced saddle lock bridge.
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