Yer saying, as a jazz player, you can look at this and not go Oooooo......
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G&L: Help me "get" the hype
- Thread starter twinjet
- Start date
Well, I like jazz. A warm tone is appreciated, but I also like a nice and bright slap tone for other styles like blues or rock. I rarely actually play slap style, just incorporate a pop or two. When and if I solo I play a harsh fingerstyle. So I want it to growl.
What hype? They're just good-quality US made basses that play and sound very nice. I've got a G&L SB-2, their "P-J" bass. It's a passive bass with simple controls - just two volumes. I love it because I get that nice P-bass thumpy tone but mine has a slim J-bass type neck that I find more comfortable than the typical fat neck on most P-basses.
I say hype because I hear so much love about them. I'm curious.
I felt somewhat limited when I tried the P bass. It seems to me the Jazz does a bunch of tones real well and the Precision does one or two very well.
Let me save you some time. There's nothing (hype included) to "get."
Go...try...one.
If you like the way it sounds and feels, consider getting one.
If you don't like the way it sounds and plays, why should you care what me or anybody else thinks about them?
Go...try...one.
If you like the way it sounds and feels, consider getting one.
If you don't like the way it sounds and plays, why should you care what me or anybody else thinks about them?
Actually, that's very similar to what I play now.Yer saying, as a jazz player, you can look at this and not go Oooooo......
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I love the sustain, tell you that much. I'm wondering if it's just the active pups that are turning me off. I didn't go coocoo for cocoa puffs when I heard them on the USA deluxe J, either.
It seems all the L2500s I listen to are overly trebly. Is that preamp why?
Alaska isn't well known for having stuff contiguous Americans have. If I want to try a G&L I'm flying to Seattle or faking interest on someone else's for-sale G&L.
Edit - not faking, but pretending I actually plan to buy their bass.
They probably have the pre-amp turned on with the Treble boost. There are 3 positions, Off / On / Treble boost.
The only time I turn on my pre-amp is when I'm trying a Motorhead song & want it to sound like a Rickenbacker, in Treble Boost mode.
I leave mine in series too, which to me just sounds more thunderous.
Yes the preamp is why. I run mine off most of the time and only use it if I need sparkle. Mine has the k switching so I get jazz bass bridge tone, single coil slap, close to a p bass neck, finger style humbucker tone, and scooped pick tone all just in passive mode.
It's no hype, it's rather an almost "best kept secret" type situation because of their somewhat poor marketing and advertisement strategy (as someone else mentioned earlier). When No Treble featured one of their basses, some dudes even called it "another cheap Fender knockoff", which I thought was hilarious. I fully agree with you, though, that finding a dealer and getting your hands on one for a test drive can be a pain in the a**.
I own a L-2500 and it's been my only bass guitar for the past 16 years. The electronics on this thing is simply the best thing since sliced bread: You can get pretty much any tone you want. You can make it sound like a P-Bass, like a Stingray, and everything in between. It's rock solid and I've had absolutely zero issues with this bass.
One nice thing about them is that you can get a custom build for a lot less than the Fender CS, too. And if you're on a budget their Tribute line is getting a lot of praise.
It does take a little while to find the tones though, cause the controls don't work exactly how you'd think they would, especially the passive bass control. Maybe that's why some don't like them from the get go.
That
That certainly does demystify the electronics. Now I'm even more curious. If only I could try one...
Can't confirm that. At least for my 99 L2500. I normally play both pickups parallel, active, no high boost, and it gives you really transparent and nicely defined sound, but never trebly or clanky. OTOH I play DR Sunbeams which are not really overly trebly as well. Anyway, it has a bit special sound, which people may like or like not when soloed, but it's a beast in the mix. Cuts through like a hot knife through cold butter. And you can even take it further by playing in serial mode or neck pickup only.
One word of caution: the MFDs are hot. I usually dial back the volume for about 1/3rd and even further in serial or singled out pups, or I get distortion at a place in the signal chain where I don't want it. You might want to take this into account when trying out one...
Same as bdwgml, the only time I use treble boost is for copping a respectable Ric sound. I actually sold my 79 Ric 4001 to buy the G&L when I realized I could get 90% of the Ric tone plus a P, a J , etc., all in one bass. I still miss the Ric for nostalgic reasons, but the G & L is a far better bass in most respects. I have pretty small hands, so I always considered swapping out the neck for J style, but didn't based on "ain't broke, don't fix it logic". I don't know if mine has a big resale value, seriously thinking about a refin to spruce it up a little. I'll never sell it anyway, so resale value is probably moot.
