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Hey all. Joining the club. I got this Vintage G&L at a local pawnshop (Las Vegas EZpawn) . I wasn't planning to buy any more basses but they gave me a solid out the door price. I absolutely love the sound.
Not sure exactly what year but I think it is a 1981. Has the serial number on the bridge only and the "lawsuit headstock"+
Has a HipShot drop tuner installed which is not original and someone added a string tree on it but otherwise everything looks original. It even came with the original case! Bass control knob is wonky as it completely silences the instrument when turned fully down.
Love the sound of this thing. Might ignore my new basses for a while to play this heavy beast!
Not sure exactly what year but I think it is a 1981. Has the serial number on the bridge only and the "lawsuit headstock"+
Has a HipShot drop tuner installed which is not original and someone added a string tree on it but otherwise everything looks original. It even came with the original case! Bass control knob is wonky as it completely silences the instrument when turned fully down.
Love the sound of this thing. Might ignore my new basses for a while to play this heavy beast!
It is not unusual for the volume to drop or even disappear when the bass cut is turned all the way down. I guess Leo thought, Who the heck wants to cut the bass all the way on a bass? I even wired a Squier Jazz Bass with the exact same treble and bass controls that a G&L L-series uses, and it was the same with its stock Alnico pickups.
I've had an M and several Ls, and still own two Ls, so maybe that will hint at where this is going…
Nothing against the M, but it's kind of light on the G&L flavor. Like skim milk to the L's whole milk.
I don't have issues with any pedals (though I don't use a lot) other than a Bass Big Muff that doesn't seem to like a really hot signal. Not sure if that is the pedal itself, though.
Just an aside, I think the Tribute L-2000 neck specs did change from a wider 1-3/4" width to a more recent 1-5/8" width, just in case one would work better for you.
Congrats on the new bass. Looks like a winner.
I had the same thing happen with a L-1500 once. Turns out one of the lugs on the pot was touching something and grounding the signal. So I'd start with making sure the connections are solid and making sure the pot isn't in contact with something it shouldn't be.
I have an L2K which I like a lot. I've never played an M, but I once had an Ibanez with the same sort of controls (volume, blend, 3 band active EQ). I've read about the M series, and the 18v preamp sounds interesting, but I don't know if it's interesting enough to oust my L. Yes,I know. Get both! If I get another BTO maybe it would be an M.
Don't make the mistake of thinking an M- is going to sound like an L- but with a blend control instead of a pickup switch. That's what ruined the M- for me. In the first place, I found the blend control operates more like a switch than a pot anyway, almost instantly switching from one pickup to another with just a slight turn. I found the M-to have more of a Jazz Bass sound, but with a 3-band active EQ. I've owned a Tribute M-2000 and a Tribute MJ-4. They have the same preamp, except the MJ-4 has noiseless Jazz pickups. I found the MJ-4 to have a bigger, bolder sound. I wouldn't mind having an M-2000 again just to mess with, but if I were choosing between and L- and an M-, I'd choose the L- every time. IMO.
Thanks, I probably wouldn't have gotten an M anyway. I like my L.
gorgeous!!! That is either an '80 or an '81. I switched to the black crinkle in '82 or late '81.
I've owned and played both a US L-2500 and a US M-2500 bass for a very long time (as well as both an L-2000 and an M-2000 as Tribute models). I also had a US MJ-5 for a period of time. My present L-2500 is one of the new 750-series basses and I've yet to do the K-mod to it, something I did to my previous non-750 one. The K-mod *greatly* increases the utility of the L-series, in my hands at least. I opted for the inner two single coils for a more MM-type sound when used together, versus the two outer coils for more of a J-bass sound when used together. It was, for me at least, a good choice.
If I had to choose between an un-modded L and an M, I'd take the M every time. It still has that MFD character to it, but I find its character more sophisticated overall and more useful in the jazz/blues/R&B/funk/latin worlds in which I'd use it. I agree that the blend control is essentially a 5-way switch, but it works for me. If I were playing hard rock or metal my choice might be different: probably the L. The modded-L is another thing altogether. I loved the one I had and made a lot of use of the single coil modes, always running the bass passive. The two middle single coils together, in series or parallel modes, were a wonderful feature: a whole new world of MFD-based tones. (Note to self: K-mod the new 750.) As to the MJ-5, mine was one of the first ones off the line and, by their own admission, G&L did not get the pickups right early on, especially in terms of grounding the pole pieces. The MJ-5 hummed and, in the absence of the MFD pickups, the M-series preamp was ho-hum, as were the tones available. That bass left me some months after it arrived and I don't miss it.
A PSA for anyone who might be interested: G&L has bass gig bags, both full scale and short scale, available for only $40.00 under "Clearance Gig Bags" in their web store. I know there are a lot of folks who don't like them, but I have one, and it's been OK for me. The bass I carry in it remains unmarked. I don't know what makes these "Clearance" gig bags, but if you need one, it's a place to look. And for $40.00, it's a good deal--I think I paid about double that for mine. (I have no affiliation with G&L Guitars.)
Pretty sure that my tech could have found a more flattering angle for the photo, but, yeah, this is one funny looking bass.
Just curious: does anyone with a SB-2 and a L2x00 can tell me if their output volume is similar? My SB-2 is pretty loud, but my L2500 is on par with a typical Jazz Bass so I'm curious if this is normal or if there is something weird going on with my L2500...
My SB-1 and L2500 are both significantly hotter than any of my J, P, or other dual-coil equipped basses, and they're relatively similar to each other with the L2500 in series being the hottest.
My SB-2 is hotter than my L-1000 and L-2000, by a small margin.
My Ls are hotter than my Ps by a small margin.
My Ls are significantly hotter than my Jazz, though I'll say my Jazz is the lowest output of all my basses.
My L2K with preamp on is noticeably hotter than my SB2. With preamp off I'm not sure, I'd have to A/B them and see. There's no doubt that the L2K in active is the hotter of the two.
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It's a Fralin Split Jazz, so a hum-cancelling version of a trad alnico J pickup.
The path to this mod is awfully convoluted. I tried writing as brief an explanation as possible, but I was even boring myself.
The important bit is that it'll be getting a set of La Bella Low Tension Flats. They will be loose enough for the underperforming trussrod, and loose enough that I can find a style of playing less gentle than my usual, which consist of tickling moderately heavy strings. La Bellas sound quite dull when tickled, so by doing this mod, I'll be making a virtue out of the trussrod, at the expense of the MFD pickup. A salvage job, basically.
There seems to be some inconsistency in their output then, maybe it is related to when they were manufactured? My L2500 is from around 2010 and my SB-2 from maybe 2015, so both could be considered "modern" I guess. Do you guys know the approximate era of your pickups?
Thanks!
Thanks!
