I will get back to you on this. The bass is not in my hands yet. But it's soon to be.
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I will get back to you on this. The bass is not in my hands yet. But it's soon to be.
I will get back to you on this. The bass is not in my hands yet. But it's soon to be.
I definitely want to check it out when it gets here.
Nice, i like the black sb2. Yes the SB-2's tone variations are fantastic. I got mine mainly to get that more aggressive 70's P sound, and be able to thump if I wanted to, and I can add colouration from my pedal. Having a great passive bass has made a big difference to using effects, too.
As for pickguards, its quite difficult because they're all sized to fit individually and the only outfit I know that does pickguards wants you to send yours to them to fit for a new one.
I'm intrigued by the L2K sound though, as a contrast. I'd look at replacing my washburn 5er with a 2500 but not that keen on the bridge issues.
You can use the stock pickguard if you use a stacked pot.
I didn't want one stacked and one non-stacked, so I did 2 stacked. One is Master Volume / Tone, and the other is Neck Volume / Bridge Volume. This has the added benefit of letting me use 500K pots and duplicating the original controls' impedance, so the bass sounds the same when Master and Tone are wide open and I just use the individual volumes.
And I used the original pickguard with no modifications, so the mod is 100%, easily reversible. And cheap to do. Definitely cheaper than buying a pickguard.
What bridge issue do you mean? You should watch Ed Friedland's reviews, Bass Whisperer TV, of G&L basses. At one point he get's into an explanation and demo of the interlocking bridge and how it effects tone. Here are a couple of links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8V8CuuBZ0g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T95hIdjrzwc
The "bridge issue" is way over rated, as far as I'm concerned. It's EXTREMELY easy to put the G, D, and A-strings through the body and let the B/E strings go through the bridge, then you don't have to worry about it.
That would be the least of any worries I'd have with a new G&L 5-string. It's a non-issue.
That would be the least of any worries I'd have with a new G&L 5-string. It's a non-issue.
That sounds better, I've never had a through-body bass, and from the comments before, it sounded like the 2500 had a problem. What are they like as 5er's though?
The L2500 is designed to be strung through the body. You can however do the G&L 5-string bridge attachment mod which converts it to string through the bridge and is fully reversible if you ever decide you don't want it anymore.
As to what they are like, well that is a matter of personal opinion. I have a Stingray 5 and an L-2500 Tribute. The SR5 has seen very little use since I got the G&L.
YMMV of course.
Don't you mean to string B/E through body and string the others through the bridge?
Not that it really matters to me. I've just read where others, who were worried about this, would string at least the B through the body.
I just did this mod to my L-2500. I posted a thread with some more info here:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/g-l-l-2500-bridge-mod-1068749/
I have had my L-2500 strung with all strings through the bridge (and without this mod) for at least 2 years. No issues whatsoever. I did the mod anyway because, one, I don't like through body stringing anyway, two, it MAY help sustain, but certainly can't hurt, and, three, it MAY help avoid a bridge lift issue in the future, particularly if I ever change to higher tension strings. I'm currently using TI Jazz Flats.
In case you're about to ask, I don't like stringing through body simply because I like to be able to move strings from one bass to another. And once a string has been strung to tension through the body, it will have a kink in it where it crossed the bridge saddle, that makes it no longer useable on a bass that doesn't support through-body stringing. So, I just always string through the bridge to ensure the strings can be transplanted if desired. And, I'm totally unconvinced that stringing through the body really makes any difference.
Finally, I have had my L-2500 for several years. After getting it, I got a 2000 Stingray 5H. That SR5 pretty much replaced the L-2500 as my main bass. Then I replaced the SR5 with an EBMM Sterling 5H. Same electronics, just a different body shape, lighter, and one more fret. The Sterling stepped right in as my #1 bass, period. That was 11 months ago and I have been GAS free ever since. I have been messing with my L-2500 lately because it's strung with flats and I recently started playing with a big band jazz ensemble and I wanted the traditional sound. I was using my SB-2 with tapewounds and it gave the perfect sound. But, we added a chart that is easier to play on a 5-string, so the L-2500 got called off the bench.
And there are 2 main reasons I prefer the Stingray or Sterling over my L-2500. One, I like the feel and the profile of the neck better. And, two, the L-2500 is 10.5 pounds, which is heaver than my Stingray was or my Sterling is.
My L-2500 neck has a satin finish, which feels nice, but the oil/wax finish on the EBMM necks just feels better to me. More like bare wood.
And the L-2500 neck profile feels just a bit thicker than the EBMM necks and I like the feel of the thinner neck a bit better.
Soundwise, they all sound great, with a STRONG ability to produce a seriously aggressive sound that I really like - while still offering plenty of control to tame them down for a more traditional passive sound. The L-2500 definitely has more tone options, but I find myself using it like it seems that a lot of other players do - in passive mode. And, actually, for me, I almost always have it set for neck pickup only, series mode, and passive. I.e. almost exactly the same as how I play my EBMM bass - except, of course, the EBMM is active only.
The neck (at least on my L2500 Tribute) is narrower and thicker than my other 5s. I use it in the band that plays faster music (like Highway Star (Deep Purple), Crazy Train, etc.).
I did the "bridge mod" on mine just of the heck of it. I don't know if it makes a difference or not.
I redid the electronics from the normal single volume, pickup selector switch, passive bass and treble controls, etc. to Volume, Volume, Tone (passive treble cut) and used the pickup selector switch position for an OMG switch on the front pickup. The OMG mod places a capacitor across one coil of the series connected humbucking pickup. Reported to cause a bass boost, I find it makes more of a resonant frequency shift and makes a passive bass sound more active (but in a good way (IMHO)).
I usually run the bass in the passive mode but for some songs where I need some raunch and clank, I flip on the OMG switch and the Active-with-Treble-Boost position of the active/passive switch and like it a lot.
The pickups are powerful so one has to be careful with the distance between the pole pieces and the strings as farther away is better with the L series pickups.
I generally play a different bass with the Classic Rock/Blues band (a 5-string Jazz style bass with dual Kent Armstrong soapbars), but I'm tempted to play the G&L for everything. I'd probably feel guilty though as I have 3X as much money in the semi-custom J5. The L2500 Tributes are a bargain, especially if purchased used.
Hopefully some of this rambling helped.
My L-2500 doesn't look like it needs a mod to string through the bridge. I might try stringing it with flats through the bridge since I just got my M-2500.
They don't NEED a mod to string through bridge. Some people (like me) do a mod to increase the force that the bridge is held onto the body with. There has been at least one report (with a picture that I saw) where stringing through the bridge cause the stock 2 screws that hold it on to pull out and the back of the bridge pulled away from the body. I think there has to be something else wrong for that to happen - like maybe those 2 screws were put in too tight and partially stripped the holes. But, whatever, it certainly can't hurt to have 7 screws holding the bridge on instead of the stock 2.
And there MAY be additional benefits in increasing sustain and possibly even improving tone. These two are HIGHLY subject to debate, of course.
Since the modification is 100% reversible - you just remove the screws and spacers and the bass is back to exactly how it came from the factory - and it costs about $5 in parts, there's not much downside to doing it.
It probably depends on the alloy used to cast the bridge. I've seen Squier 5-strings (currently have one) where the bridge is securely screwed to the body, but string tension is causing the back of the bridge to pull up.
Chef
In Memoriam
The bridge on my Tribute 2500 pulled off.
Why?
Dunno.
Could been the screws were overtight from the factory.
Coulda been a soft piece ob basswood that couldn't take the tension.
G&L did fix it.
Why?
Dunno.
Could been the screws were overtight from the factory.
Coulda been a soft piece ob basswood that couldn't take the tension.
G&L did fix it.
Nope. The B/E strings in many standard "long scale" (34") sets are not long enough to go through the body. The A/D/G generally are, so to keep from having any issues, I just run mine with B/E through the bridge. There's far more than enough holding power with the A/D/G strings to keep it from lifting.
The bridge mod was worth it for me. I've done it to both of my L-1505's. The mod is here:
http://www.bassesbyleo.com/l2500_bridge_mod.html
And here are my improved 1505's:
http://www.bassesbyleo.com/l2500_bridge_mod.html
And here are my improved 1505's:
Attachments
Chef
In Memoriam
I just acquired this 1981 L2K off of someone at the Basses by Leo website. Hog/maple awesomeness!
And here it is along side it's 1980 L1K cousin.
And here it is along side it's 1980 L1K cousin.
