G&L Club Part 7

[ahbass2500]

Good to see some happy Tribute L2500 owners. I ordered one from G&L's new Garage Sale section last week that should be here Friday. Supposed to just have a ding on the back. Hopefully that is the only issue since the Garage Sale thing is new and most instruments posted there seem best suited as parts instruments (truss rod issues is a commonly noted reason for discounted sale in that section).

Not trying to restart the string suggestions, but the string suggestions caused me to buy it. I ran roundwounds on my US L2500 for 10 years before switching to flats. At this point the only bass I have with rounds is my JB5. I wanted an another L2500 to keep rounds on. I originally planned to watch for another US L2500, but at $200 I could not pass up the Tribute.

 

[Murch]

Good to see some happy Tribute L2500 owners. I ordered one from G&L's new Garage Sale section last week that should be here Friday. Supposed to just have a ding on the back. Hopefully that is the only issue since the Garage Sale thing is new and most instruments posted there seem best suited as parts instruments (truss rod issues is a commonly noted reason for discounted sale in that section).

Not trying to restart the string suggestions, but the string suggestions caused me to buy it. I ran roundwounds on my US L2500 for 10 years before switching to flats. At this point the only bass I have with rounds is my JB5. I wanted an another L2500 to keep rounds on. I originally planned to watch for another US L2500, but at $200 I could not pass up the Tribute.

WOW, $200 is a killer deal. Hopefully it all works out for you.

 

[Chris Chong]

Anybody de-fret their L-2000? I'm thinking about doing this (or having it done). Any special gotchas?

You might want to check if the bridge saddles can be lowered further. My fretted L2500 saddles had bottomed out even with frets, so it is not possible to achieve low action on a defretted neck without a neck shim.

My JB5 was converted to fretless with an unlined ebony board and is fitted with neck shim to achieve low action.

 

[jglunt]

I had to shim my Tribute L2500 because the bridge saddle on the G string had bottomed out. This is not that uncommon on a G&L because the bridge is so massive.

 

[sharkansas]

Does G&L have different saddles for their factory fretless basses, or are the necks just thicker?

 

[jglunt]

Does G&L have different saddles for their factory fretless basses, or are the necks just thicker?

I doubt that either is the case, but you could ask Memo at G&L.

 

[TDR1138]

G&L's new Garage Sale section

Hmm, I didn't know about that.

I didn't need to know about that.

(need to put wallet away…)

Nice score, BTW. Hope it works out with no issues other than cosmetic.

 

[ahbass2500]

Hmm, I didn't know about that.

I didn't need to know about that.

(need to put wallet away…)

I held back on buying a Tribute Legacy through the garage sale a few days before buying the L2500. Could not do it on the L2500. They do sell pretty quickly when they post them. If you want playable instruments click on the higher priced ones first.

I am sharing this advice so someone else buys before I do... I do not need another bass or guitar, but I will buy one at the right price.

 

[ahbass2500]

Does G&L have different saddles for their factory fretless basses, or are the necks just thicker?

Took quick measurements on my JB5 and my Fretless Kilo 5 (recognizing they are not quite the same designs to begin with). Basically the same neck depth at the heel. Bridges are definitely the same. Both play great.

 

[jglunt]

In that Garage Sale section of the G&L Store, I saw they had an L2000 complete for an unbelievable price. Then I read the description. It was a 2019 build with a stripped out truss rod. I'm pretty sure that in 2019, Tributes had switched to dual action truss rods. If that's the case, then the nut can't be removed and replaced. It would take removing the fretboard and replacing the truss rod, then reinstalling the fretboard. Or, if you can find a 6-bolt neck for a Tribute L2000, simply replacing the neck. I say all that to say this...check closely before you buy.

 

[ahbass2500]

I say all that to say this...check closely before you buy.

Absolutely true. However if you are after parts even the broken ones can be a solid deal. There was a complete L2500 with stripped truss rod nut for $120. L2500 pickups sell for $110 each on the G&L store.

 

[TDR1138]

$100-ish for a L-2000 or SB-2 with a stripped truss rod might motivate me enough to buy one, pull the fretboard, replace the truss rod and put on a fretless board. Not that I have any experience in doing that, but for that price, I could arguably recoup costs by parting out the rest if I butchered the neck beyond repair.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Frankenstein is getting upgraded,
Old style knobs, and a 1meg volume pot. Man o man I'm digging the vibe of this bass.

 

[jglunt]

Frankenstein is getting upgraded,
Old style knobs, and a 1meg volume pot. Man o man I'm digging the vibe of this bass.
View attachment 5196193 View attachment 5196194

Beautiful! What, may I ask, is the purpose of a 1M volume pot? Better highs?

 

[Glazenn]

Beautiful! What, may I ask, is the purpose of a 1M volume pot? Better highs?

Monster pickup, monster pot!

 

[Lammchop93]

NBD incoming…

 

[Chris Chong]

Does G&L have different saddles for their factory fretless basses, or are the necks just thicker?

from a manufacturing point of view, I would have kept the neck shape/dimension and the bridge parts constant. The only variable could be the neck pocket depth.

 

[sharkansas]

I was thinking something similar. Curious as to what is the difference that would make a defretted G&L difficult to set up vs a factory fretless. Might just be that they use a lot of shims from the factory for their fretless basses.

 

[jglunt]

Many years ago I had a Squier 5-string Jazz Bass converted to a fretless by my luthier. He didn't do anything except pull the frets and fill the slots, then did a set up. I never had a bit of trouble with it.

 

[Glazenn]

from a manufacturing point of view, I would have kept the neck shape/dimension and the bridge parts constant. The only variable could be the neck pocket depth.

From a manufacturing viewpoint, logic says a thicker heel...