IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,758
- 11,177
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- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
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Thank you.
The M is suppose to sound sterile and modern. But it fits really well every where, I found. It's a lot more flexible than people give it credit for.
This is really an underestimated and overlooked bass in the G&L arsenal.
The only thing that I miss in that bass compared to the L is that there is no onboard volume boost. The L is cool for that. When I want to solo during a piece, I just go active and I stick out.
If the M had that, it would overtake my L. Sometimes the M overtakes it anyway.
The M is suppose to sound sterile and modern. But it fits really well every where, I found. It's a lot more flexible than people give it credit for.
This is really an underestimated and overlooked bass in the G&L arsenal.
The only thing that I miss in that bass compared to the L is that there is no onboard volume boost. The L is cool for that. When I want to solo during a piece, I just go active and I stick out.
If the M had that, it would overtake my L. Sometimes the M overtakes it anyway.
My latest G&L ('81). Kind of an Holy Grail bass for me. Fantastic looking maple neck is just icing on Leo's cake. Looks like it's hardly been played.
Absolutely gorgeous!! Congrats!! Love the slot-pole pickups.
Thanks. It sounds warm and wonderful, but with that G&L punch. Definitely more so than my other two G&Ls or any more recent G&Ls that I've owned or played. Very special. I could literally sell the other two!
So I snagged that early 90s sunburst SB-1 from GC. It arrived yesterday and is going back today. My report
Built April 1991.
Non original case.
Cosmetic condition is not bad.
Nitro with a maple body.
Weight is good, guessing high 8-low 9 lbs.
The neck is chunkier front to back than my '88, nut width is the same.
Frets are original but enormous. I have plenty of experience with the 80s flat and wide frets. These are jumbo tall and wide. Bassically half rounds. Do not like.
The reason for the return besides the bridge cable frets is either the neck pocket is too deep or the neck heel is too thin. With the neck relief set properly and the saddles decked, action is 4-5/32". Micro tilt can fix it but it has to be set really high. The gap under the neck is significant. Ive never experienced a setup like this. Shims are a solution as well but someone else can deal with it.
Built April 1991.
Non original case.
Cosmetic condition is not bad.
Nitro with a maple body.
Weight is good, guessing high 8-low 9 lbs.
The neck is chunkier front to back than my '88, nut width is the same.
Frets are original but enormous. I have plenty of experience with the 80s flat and wide frets. These are jumbo tall and wide. Bassically half rounds. Do not like.
The reason for the return besides the bridge cable frets is either the neck pocket is too deep or the neck heel is too thin. With the neck relief set properly and the saddles decked, action is 4-5/32". Micro tilt can fix it but it has to be set really high. The gap under the neck is significant. Ive never experienced a setup like this. Shims are a solution as well but someone else can deal with it.
I guess I am now a Member. I just took possession of a new L-1000 from the B-Stock section of the store; Pine body in OST, 8.5#, with some finish blems (small enough I wouldn't notice if they didn't point them out). The setup is nice, gigbag seems solid, bass was well packed. I have been watching these awhile and suddenly noticed 15% off last week, and that was all I needed, turnaround was less than a week from order-to-door (shipped on a Friday, Fedex). What's not to like.
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Wunkays are easy to love.
Looking for some string opinions...I'm mostly a roundwound guy, but I'm switching some of my basses over to flats and have been thinking of trying a set of Deep Talkin' Flats on one. I've steered away from DTFs because they're stainless steel wound, and other stainless steel flats I've tried through the years sounded thin. Currently, I have a set of TI Jazz Flats on one bass and a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on another. Of those two, I'm partial to the EB Cobalts. They have real punch while still maintaining a solid low end. The nickel-wound TIs are pretty mellow. Neither of those basses has MFD pickups on them. I have two questions regarding the DTFs: (1) How would you describe their sound? Closer to the punchy of the EB Cobalts or the mellow of the TIs? (2) What's with the Deep Talkin' Gold flats? How do they differ in both sound and appearance from the regular DTFs? If somebody out there had an audio file of a bass with DTFs on it, that'd be great, too.
Thanks for the reply! Have you tried TI Jazz Flats? If you have, are they as mellow as those? They're really, really mellow, IMO, though many players like them. I like a bit of a growl.
Beautiful burst and grain! Pine is supposedly lighter, what's the weight on your wunkay?
I was drooling over that one, but I talked myself back from the ledge because I just scored an older, used one in metallic purple. The burst looks great on the pine, and it's the perfect weight!
I used to be a TI flats guy but have switched to La Bella Low Tension Flats.....they are as finger friendly and sound as pleasing as the Tis but are narrower gauge and cheaper.
They advertised it as 8.5" and my bathroom scale confirms that. It feels lighter to me.
Bathroom scale is not reliable for that weight range. A kitchen scale would be more accurate.
If all you have is a bathroom scale, the best way to do it is weigh yourself then weigh yourself holding the bass.
@jglunt I will agree with you that the TIs are mellow. The LaBellas aren't as mellow at TIs to me, a little punchier but more focused on the low thump, whereas TIs tend to be a little more mid present and a little thinner in the low end to my ears. The LaBellas are also known to be much stiffer/heavier, where as TIs are known to be supple and light (a little too light, IMO). If you like the tension of TIs but want the LaBella tone, go for the LaBella Low Tension Flats. Also, I feel like the LaBellas have a little bit of a glossy, glazed feel to them whereas the TIs feel a little more like you can feel the metal of the string.
>..., the best way to do it is weigh yourself then weigh yourself holding the bass.
Which is what I did, arriving at a weight of 8.5#.
Which is what I did, arriving at a weight of 8.5#.
@jglunt Some other thoughts about flats that I've used…
TI flats – They feel very nice under the fingers and they're known for their string-to-string balance, which I agree is among the best. For me, the A string is too small at .070. Needs to be .075-.080, IMO. It just feels skinny/thin under the hand. Low tension. The E string sustains better than any E on flats that I've tried, but I feel that each string seems to have a little less sustain as you work up to the G. They do sound smooth, but at the same time, I don't feel that I can really "dig in" with them because they're too light tension. I've had them on a P bass, J bass and currently on my L-2000.
D'Addario Chromes – most people seem to try these because of their accessibility. It's the flat that most big box stores carry. They're good strings, start out a little brighter/scooped and eventually settle in to more of a mid-focused tone but tend to lose their character when they do. Can be a little bit high tension. Balance well across all strings acoustically and amplified. I've had several sets, used on L-2000, SB-2, L-1500, P bass, J bass, a fretless P bass, and a medium scale set on a Rogue violin bass. I do recall getting compliments on my tone with a well-broken-in set on a L-2000.
Fender 9050 – similar to chromes but with a little bit more voice in the mids. Can get growly. Tension is similar to the Chromes. Also balance well across all strings acoustically and amplified. Long term, they seem to hold their mids and character better than the Chromes did. I've had the same set on my LB-100 for the better part of 10 years and they still sound great. They've come off a few times, made it onto an L-2000 for a while and sounded very good there. But they keep ending up on the LB-100 as they just seem to be at home there.
GHS Precision Flats – These float more in the thumpy camp where the LaBellas reside, but do get a bit growly (not as much as the Fenders, though). They don't have the glossy feel to them, they have what I would think is more of a medium tension to them, don't feel floppy, but again, the E string sounds kind of dead acoustically and the D and G seem almost a little bright, but everything balances out when plugged in. I have these on my L-1000 currently. (I also have a short-scale set on a Gibson Les Paul DC Jr bass, and on an SG bass previously, and I would not buy the short scale set again only because the E string is way too light, IMO. The E string seemed to have no volume on the SG, but it sounds fine on the Les Paul Jr.)
LaBella DTF – I actually only have tried the medium scale set on the aforementioned SG bass, but they totally solved any issues I was having with the P Flats set. Much more tension on the E string, but the E is a .105 versus the GHS .095. They do have a glossy feel to them. The whole set seems fairly quiet acoustically, but plugged in, they have much more punch, much more balanced. Get a little bit growly when using the bridge pickup. Took it from a bass that I was thinking of selling to one that I really enjoy playing now. Great old-school vibe.
LaBella Low Tension Flats – these have more low thump than the TIs, and a slightly glossy feel. And the A is .075, so they beat the TIs there. They do have a clear top end, though subtle, which surprised me. Used on a L-1000 and L-2000. Acoustically, the E string seems pretty dead/thuddy, but it balances out and sounds really good amplified. (I put them on my LB-100 for a while, but never really played it through an amp because the Fender 9050s went back on pretty quickly, just based on feel.)
Ernie Ball Group V (the 5-string version of the Group III) – had them on an active Jazz V for a while. The B actually was very clear, E and A sounded good and the G string quickly felt and sounded dead and bland. D string was somewhere in the middle. Felt nice to the touch, medium tension, but largely uninspiring.
I realize that it sounds like I've gone through a lot of sets of flats, but really, most have just had the same set moved around on different basses. For some reason, I've had 5 sets of Chromes, but everything else, just one set of each, not counting the short/medium scale sets.
TI flats – They feel very nice under the fingers and they're known for their string-to-string balance, which I agree is among the best. For me, the A string is too small at .070. Needs to be .075-.080, IMO. It just feels skinny/thin under the hand. Low tension. The E string sustains better than any E on flats that I've tried, but I feel that each string seems to have a little less sustain as you work up to the G. They do sound smooth, but at the same time, I don't feel that I can really "dig in" with them because they're too light tension. I've had them on a P bass, J bass and currently on my L-2000.
D'Addario Chromes – most people seem to try these because of their accessibility. It's the flat that most big box stores carry. They're good strings, start out a little brighter/scooped and eventually settle in to more of a mid-focused tone but tend to lose their character when they do. Can be a little bit high tension. Balance well across all strings acoustically and amplified. I've had several sets, used on L-2000, SB-2, L-1500, P bass, J bass, a fretless P bass, and a medium scale set on a Rogue violin bass. I do recall getting compliments on my tone with a well-broken-in set on a L-2000.
Fender 9050 – similar to chromes but with a little bit more voice in the mids. Can get growly. Tension is similar to the Chromes. Also balance well across all strings acoustically and amplified. Long term, they seem to hold their mids and character better than the Chromes did. I've had the same set on my LB-100 for the better part of 10 years and they still sound great. They've come off a few times, made it onto an L-2000 for a while and sounded very good there. But they keep ending up on the LB-100 as they just seem to be at home there.
GHS Precision Flats – These float more in the thumpy camp where the LaBellas reside, but do get a bit growly (not as much as the Fenders, though). They don't have the glossy feel to them, they have what I would think is more of a medium tension to them, don't feel floppy, but again, the E string sounds kind of dead acoustically and the D and G seem almost a little bright, but everything balances out when plugged in. I have these on my L-1000 currently. (I also have a short-scale set on a Gibson Les Paul DC Jr bass, and on an SG bass previously, and I would not buy the short scale set again only because the E string is way too light, IMO. The E string seemed to have no volume on the SG, but it sounds fine on the Les Paul Jr.)
LaBella DTF – I actually only have tried the medium scale set on the aforementioned SG bass, but they totally solved any issues I was having with the P Flats set. Much more tension on the E string, but the E is a .105 versus the GHS .095. They do have a glossy feel to them. The whole set seems fairly quiet acoustically, but plugged in, they have much more punch, much more balanced. Get a little bit growly when using the bridge pickup. Took it from a bass that I was thinking of selling to one that I really enjoy playing now. Great old-school vibe.
LaBella Low Tension Flats – these have more low thump than the TIs, and a slightly glossy feel. And the A is .075, so they beat the TIs there. They do have a clear top end, though subtle, which surprised me. Used on a L-1000 and L-2000. Acoustically, the E string seems pretty dead/thuddy, but it balances out and sounds really good amplified. (I put them on my LB-100 for a while, but never really played it through an amp because the Fender 9050s went back on pretty quickly, just based on feel.)
Ernie Ball Group V (the 5-string version of the Group III) – had them on an active Jazz V for a while. The B actually was very clear, E and A sounded good and the G string quickly felt and sounded dead and bland. D string was somewhere in the middle. Felt nice to the touch, medium tension, but largely uninspiring.
I realize that it sounds like I've gone through a lot of sets of flats, but really, most have just had the same set moved around on different basses. For some reason, I've had 5 sets of Chromes, but everything else, just one set of each, not counting the short/medium scale sets.
