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G&L L-1000 vintage VS current builds

drums1977

drums1977

Mar 31, 2008
739
719
Malaga
#1
Hi G&L experts out there!

I used to own a 1981 L-1000, it felt and sounded amazing, most versatile passive bass I've owned, it does sound like a bass with a preamp, and it was super comfortable. Anyways, that one went away sadly, and now I just purchased one of the modern builds, that I will get in a couple of weeks. I don't know what to expect...

So that's my question, have any of you owned old and new L1000s? How do they compare? Are the new ones as sonically versatile as the old ones? Let me know!!
 
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#2
Tried uploading a pic, but it ain't working.
Anyway, at one point I had an '81 and a build-to-order special-run L-1000.
The '81 is mahogany/ebony. The '14 was alder/rosewood.
There are plenty of differences between the two, due to various reasons.
Body shape/thickness.
The older ones had a wider "waist", and were slightly thinner in depth.
The neck on the older one was "off-the-shelf ", vs the chosen specs of the newer one I had.
Tone wise, year, there's some differences, but likely due to the wood/construction.
Single-action TR vs the newer style.
3-bolt neck w/tilt function vs 6-bolt.

Overall, I'd say it's no different than once owning a '60s/'70s P-bass and comparing it with a modern day production one.
There's gonna be differences in feel/sound, but I'd like to say that the heart of the core instrument is still there
 
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#3
In terms of electronics, G&L dropped the "OMG" cap somewhere along the way so the "single coil with bass boost" switch setting is now just a true series wiring. The circuit is otherwise the same as it always was and that cap would be cheap and easy to restore if you really liked the "OMG" sound.

The new neck joints are much more solid than the originals, although my old ones have never given me any trouble.

The necks are now available in several shapes but none of them are quite the same as the original (wide and flat) necks. The new necks, however, are much better made; the original necks often have truss rod issues and G&L have solved all those problems in the newer necks.

All in all, they're pretty similar to the originals with a few improvements. They're more solid instruments now, IMO, although I still love my old ones despite truss rod issues on two out of three.
 
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#4
T
Lo-E said:
In terms of electronics, G&L dropped the "OMG" cap somewhere along the way so the "single coil with bass boost" switch setting is now just a true series wiring. The circuit is otherwise the same as it always was and that cap would be cheap and easy to restore if you really liked the "OMG" sound.

The new neck joints are much more solid than the originals, although my old ones have never given me any trouble.

The necks are now available in several shapes but none of them are quite the same as the original (wide and flat) necks. The new necks, however, are much better made; the original necks often have truss rod issues and G&L have solved all those problems in the newer necks.

All in all, they're pretty similar to the originals with a few improvements. They're more solid instruments now, IMO, although I still love my old ones despite truss rod issues on two out of three.
Click to expand...
That's interesting, so the old omg mode is not present in the new models? I thought it was!
 
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#7
Lo-E said:
In terms of electronics, G&L dropped the "OMG" cap somewhere along the way so the "single coil with bass boost" switch setting is now just a true series wiring. The circuit is otherwise the same as it always was and that cap would be cheap and easy to restore if you really liked the "OMG" sound.

The new neck joints are much more solid than the originals, although my old ones have never given me any trouble.

The necks are now available in several shapes but none of them are quite the same as the original (wide and flat) necks. The new necks, however, are much better made; the original necks often have truss rod issues and G&L have solved all those problems in the newer necks.

All in all, they're pretty similar to the originals with a few improvements. They're more solid instruments now, IMO, although I still love my old ones despite truss rod issues on two out of three.
Click to expand...
Agreed, for the most part.
Never had any TR issues with the '81.
It does have a slight bit of ski-jump, but that has nothing to do with the TR.

My '14, however.
The TR always felt "off".
Had it for 5 years, and one day it just snapped during a routine adjustment.
Sent it in under warranty.
This was September of '19.
Didn't get it back until around February.
Tried adjusting the new neck, after it being out of the box for all of 20 minutes.
Snap.
Super pissed.
Luckily Memo expedited the next replacement neck, and all was good.
 
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#17
What is the confusion about OMG mode all about? ALL L-1000s have OMG mode. L-2000s don't. I suppose the 2000 is more popular/well known, so people think the 1000 is just a single pickup version of the same bass but it's not exactly.

My vote is for the newer reissue L-1000. Lighter, slightly smaller contoured body, graphite reinforced necks, 6 bolt neck joint, inverse tapered string posts, etc are all big improvements.

My CLF Reissue L-1000 is fantastic.

"CLF" is the longtime abbreviation for Clarence Leo Fender's original research and development division, going all the way back to the original Fender days. The G&L's are made in the EXACT same building on the same benches as the 50's-60's Fenders. Then, even after he sold the Fender name to CBS, CLF Research was his company that designed the original Stingrays in partnership with Music Man.

All in all, G&L has an insanely long history that is wildly unappreciated.
 
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#18
I used to own a 1981 HOG L-1000 - an incredible instrument, though admittedly on the heavier side. While I haven't owned a newer CFL model, I did have an L-2000 with a Monkey Pod body. It was impressively light at just 7.6 pounds, but it didn't quite match the distinctive tone of the HOG L-1000. In terms of build quality, the L-1000 also came out ahead; the knobs on the L-2000 were misaligned, which gave the impression of lower craftsmanship.
 
#19
lomo said:
As I understand it, the latest OMG is simply a series coil setting, therefore not the same as the original (single coil with bass boost), although it sounds monstrous.
Click to expand...
You can't "boost" with passive electronics. The OMG mode is the same today as it always was - a humbucker series mode with the highs cut out of one coils (via a capacitor to ground).
 
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