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G&L JB-2 vs Fender Jazz .... thoughts ?

#21
Currently I'm simply loving the JB concept. I mean, it has been years and years that I love the idea of a high end jazz bass but I have never liked the confusing Fender line of instruments. I mean, man! It' a jazz bass, how many versions are necessary? The G&L seems to have boutique-grade attention to craftsmanship and detail, they are the heritage of the great Leo, and have balanced prices for what they offer. It seems right to me. In this days I'm blowing my country trying to find a G&L JB and nobody seem to sell one...:crying:
Now I'm searching in foreign countries, I hate to do so, but the fever goes on...
Anyone has experience of their different neck finishes? I lean toward the vintage tint but actually I have no idea of the appearance of the other ones or the pro/cons of each, regarding look and most of all playability. Every input will be greatly appreciated. ciao :)
 
#22
Thinking about a new 5 string American standard Fender jazz bass or the G&L JB bass. I agree that the G&L were better than the Fender until Fender improved their American Standard with a better bridge, updated pickups and graphite in the neck. Not sure which one to get at this time....will be adding a Aguilar preamp to the bass.

Which one would you get and why
 
#23
That seems like an over bloated price and I would stay away.

I have a MIM Fender Jazz bass and a G&L L2K and besides the 'tone', and the model being different, G&L is not a better instrument. Saddle Lock bridge aside. Don't buy into the "Hand Crafted" bull. G&L is as cookie cutter as the next. Right now, G&L is trying to push its way into the market with all of their different instruments. Besides having two single coil passive basses, they have the traditional. L2k, the M2k, and of course the L2k in the ASAT body. And the SB2 which is the Pbass knock off. They also offer different collections. Like the Naked collection, the Black Ice collection and the Korina Collection. All nice instruments BTW. Don't get me wrong. The G&L is a nice bass, PLEK-ed and everything. But you'll never get the Block Inlays.

So bottom line for me is that the G&L JB2 is a fine bass built by a regular company. But as far as price, its over priced.
 
#26
Hello Music has a maple neck JB-2 Tribute on sale for $329. Import or not that seems like a hell of a good price on a nice bass. Even with a pickup swap you have less than $500 into it. Makes me wish I was in the market for one right now.

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#28
Coming from a professional recording engineer. He prefers my active L2000 bass over others, including Fender Jazz for recording. He said that the sound clarity and signal is one of the best he has worked with in over 15 years of professional experience. I always suggest to play whatever you are thinking of buying, and buy what you really love, if you can't afford it now, save up the $ till you can. Also check Sandowky Basses, they are really nicely built. Good luck.
 
#33
Scorpo90 said:
Coming from a professional recording engineer. He prefers my active L2000 bass over others, including Fender Jazz for recording. He said that the sound clarity and signal is one of the best he has worked with in over 15 years of professional experience. I always suggest to play whatever you are thinking of buying, and buy what you really love, if you can't afford it now, save up the $ till you can. Also check Sandowky Basses, they are really nicely built. Good luck.
Click to expand...

The L2000 lacks that beautiful bell tone that jazz pickups give you. That is why I sold my G&L 2500 though it has many good sounds. Since there are no 5 string JB basses, I am looking at Fender again with Augilar pickups.
 
#38
Reading over this old thread. Would anyone happen to know what size tool i would need to adjust the truss rod. My JB-2's rod actually got stripped or so the luthier says. How that happened i will never know as i bought the bass new and never touched the rod myself....? Looks like i need to try the StewMac Gripper truss rod tool but don't know which size i should get. Thanks if anyone happens to see this and would know!
 
#39
I have a JB2 Tribute and a US JB.
Also have a couple of early 70's J basses.
The Tribute has a ski jump neck. The JB is empress and is 7.5 lbs. The neck is decent but I don't love the pups. I have some Duncan SJB1's to try.
I've had other G&L's and have some issues with their QC and ability to get a custom order right.

The 73' J has a bit of a ski jump and the original pups died in the case.
The 72' has an awesome neck and sounds great.
I've tried a few new Fenders in stores and saw great, good, and just OK.

If you're picky, I'm not so sure you can generalize about either of these brands about one being better than the other.
 
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#40
I don't have a JB2 but I do have a JB-4 from 2020 & a fender am. pro II from 2020.

Out of the box the G&L is better. Not much but it feels better. Tighter neck pocket, better hardware, better pickups, nicer finish, & just better attention to detail. The fender feels great but you can see where they cut corners. A good example of this is the G&L nut is cut & polished to perfection. The fender nut is cut correctly but is rough and has some stain on the side from when they stained the neck. Very minor details seperate them. Both excellent. I replaced the fender pickups & electronics with Fralins and its 100% better now. I will keep the G&L stock because its perfect he way it is. If I bought another jazz bass it wouldnt be a fender. Prob G&L custom shop, sadowsky, or lakland.
 

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