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G&L Club Part 7

#31,481
blackclimax1k-angle3.jpg

Speaking of adding a neck MFD to a Climax/L1500/Kiloton - this is my 'Climax2K' project. Passive - parallel/sc/series switches for each pickup and vol/vol/tone. I like it a lot, probably better than the L2Ks I've had to be honest. I am just not a bridge pickup guy so this gives me more tones that I like. Granted both pickups are pretty much always in series and I'm mostly 100% neck pickup only, but the sweetspot pickup alone sounds good to me and blended give some nice tones. My L1K is still my main G&L but this lets me have the L1K tones I love (I take the OMG cap out of my L1Ks and use 'plain' series most of the time) but with a little something spicier on tap for when I want to change it up.
 
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#31,483
jglunt said:
I don't really pay much attention to the neck radius. I have a s***load of basses, and I just pick 'em up an' play 'em. I never really think about it. As long as they're set up to my liking, I'm good, and if they're not set up to my liking, I'm gonna have to fight them no matter what the radius is. The absolute best-playing bass I have is my NS Design WAV4, and it has a 15" radius. The second best-playing bass I ever had was a short-scale Mosrite Celebrity. That was over 50 years ago, and I have no idea what the radius was. I traded it in on a '70 P-bass. I have no idea what that neck radius was either, but I played the heck out of it for many years.
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I've never liked the combination of 1.5 nut/7.5 radius at the headstock end. It's too cramped.
Before I even paid attention to the particulars, I knew something was up with the new '76 Jazz bass I bought when I was younger.
(Bound maple neck similar to a Geddy J).
I could barely play anything down on the first few frets. I think it's great people can go from URBs to ukulele basses without any issues, but I just prefer certain neck profiles and full scale lengths if I can get them.
 
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#31,484
Here's some pics of the bass. Straight out of the box, the set up was good, not great but good.

Build quality: no complains at all. Everything fitted nicely.

Hardware: very satisfied with it. The bridge is solid. Tuners are smooth with hardly any slack but it's not buttery smooth.

Frets: very nicely done. No issue with the ends and they are properly leveled and dressed. No buzz at all.

Finish: nicely done but upon close inspection (or scrutineering) you can find a couple of very small paint blotches. No big deal.

Electronics: you can see from the pics that the pots are not high quality, wiring is just average quality wires. Did not bother to open up the foam that the active circuit is wrapped up in.

Tone controls: just 2 bands and it only cuts but they do the job. I don't miss not having cut/boost.

Neck: the neck is between a Jazz and Precision. Very comfy.

I am enjoying the various tones. Almost all are useable. This bass has more ooomph than my Tobias Growler. And I am still using the stock strings that comes with the L2000.

The satin finish felt cheap though, so I just ran the back of the neck, lightly, with a scouring pad. It feels better now.

Overall, I give it an 8.5/10, taking into account the price. It's a better buy than a Fender Squire or the Sterling basses of the same price.
 

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#31,488
tIANcI said:
Here's some pics of the bass. Straight out of the box, the set up was good, not great but good.

Build quality: no complains at all. Everything fitted nicely.

Hardware: very satisfied with it. The bridge is solid. Tuners are smooth with hardly any slack but it's not buttery smooth.

Frets: very nicely done. No issue with the ends and they are properly leveled and dressed. No buzz at all.

Finish: nicely done but upon close inspection (or scrutineering) you can find a couple of very small paint blotches. No big deal.

Electronics: you can see from the pics that the pots are not high quality, wiring is just average quality wires. Did not bother to open up the foam that the active circuit is wrapped up in.

Tone controls: just 2 bands and it only cuts but they do the job. I don't miss not having cut/boost.

Neck: the neck is between a Jazz and Precision. Very comfy.

I am enjoying the various tones. Almost all are useable. This bass has more ooomph than my Tobias Growler. And I am still using the stock strings that comes with the L2000.

The satin finish felt cheap though, so I just ran the back of the neck, lightly, with a scouring pad. It feels better now.

Overall, I give it an 8.5/10, taking into account the price. It's a better buy than a Fender Squire or the Sterling basses of the same price.
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That's a beautiful bass...sunny-looking with very interesting characteristics in the wood. I am curious. I've never seen a Tribute in transparent orange (or tangerine or whatever they might call it), and there is no such Tribute color currently showing on their website. What year is the bass?
 
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#31,489
jglunt said:
That's a beautiful bass...sunny-looking with very interesting characteristics in the wood. I am curious. I've never seen a Tribute in transparent orange (or tangerine or whatever they might call it), and there is no such Tribute color currently showing on their website. What year is the bass?
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Uncertain with the year. But it exists. Guess G&L decided to simplify this series, less SKU. You can Google it and there are quite a few hits. Here's one:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#31,490
lowfreqgeek said:
It's not unusual for the few with bad experiences to congregate and be the most vocal. That doesn't discount or negate their experience, but neither does it mean that every G&L bass has some major issue. I currently have 5 G&Ls in the house with no problems, including USA-made necks from 1987-mid 2010s and an Indonesian Tribute Guitar. Every single one is and has been rock solid, as were the other G&Ls I've had and sold over the past 25 years.

Enjoy your new LB100! Mine ('94) is LPB, but a vintage pearloid PG and no blocks. It's a fantastic P-bass with a superb neck!
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Agreed. I have owned over a dozen G&L basses and guitars. Everything from Tributes to BTO to full on custom shop. Still own 6. Never an issue with any of them. Sorry to hear others have not been as fortunate.
 
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#31,492
tIANcI said:
Uncertain with the year. But it exists. Guess G&L decided to simplify this series, less SKU. You can Google it and there are quite a few hits. Here's one:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
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That's interesting. I bought a M2000 from them about six years ago...wonderful sellers (no affiliation). The bass was what I call an orange burst. It had a very dramatic grain pattern...maybe the most beautiful bass I've ever owned, but I couldn't get comfortable with the tone or the 3-band EQ or the action of the blend control of the M. I much prefer the L. But I digress :wacky: The first two numbers of the S/N will give you the year of manufacture.
 
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#31,493
jglunt said:
That's interesting. I bought a M2000 from them about six years ago...wonderful sellers (no affiliation). The bass was what I call an orange burst. It had a very dramatic grain pattern...maybe the most beautiful bass I've ever owned, but I couldn't get comfortable with the tone or the 3-band EQ or the action of the blend control of the M. I much prefer the L. But I digress :wacky: The first two numbers of the S/N will give you the year of manufacture.
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It's a 20 ...
 
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#31,495
Glazenn said:
Very tempted with this one (Tribute, 2014).
But the seller wants to wait until he receives his new bass by end of September
View attachment 7018620
I had one 10 years ago (Fullerton), sold it shortly after, and have regretted it since then
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WOW. That's exactly my favorite G&L finish: honey burst + rosewood neck. I wish I could find a L2000 in that finish
Edit: better, an ASAT or semi-hollow ASAT whith that finish
 
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#31,499
Hi everyone, long time lurker, finally getting around to posting something 😊

So here are some family photos.

I bought my first G&L about ten years ego. That's the L2000 tribute.
It has a John East uni-pre installed that really opened up the tonal possibilities.
It's a Swiss Army knife, and it's great for managing gigs with challenging acoustics.

I bought the US greenburst JB about two years ago and it's now my main player.
The step up in quality of fit and finish and all round playability is massive.
I installed a John East J retro and Dimarzio relentless pickups to rival the power of the L2000.

Last but not least I have a fender player p bass with a G&L MFD installed.
I have had the bass for a while but only installed the pick-up this summer.
Now it's a monster p bass that's great to just plug in and play.

All basses currently have DR Fatbeams and are in regular rotation.
I play music full time and these G&L basses really get the job done in style.

I love following this mega thread and I have learned so much.

All the best,

John O'Dwyer
 

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#31,500
Hey all! A dear friend loaned me a G&L Tribute L2500 and I'm very impressed with it. The controls took a moment to figure out, but they end up being very useful. I personally don't like that there isn't a blend control for the pickups, and I've seen that many people mod these so you can switch the pickups to single coils….the pickups are also very powerful and have a good deal of high end, but the treble eq doesn't work like a traditional passive tone. This made me curious about something….

Would people be interested in a G&L specific drop in preamp from someone like Nordstrand Audio? My personal thought was a stacked volume/tone, blend, and a stacked treble bass eq….an active/passive switch, and then two 3 way switches for single/parallel/series for each pickup. Would people want something like that? If so, does that sound like a useful setup from the preamp? Would you want the treble and bass eq to be cut and boost, or boost only? Thanks!
 
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