Fine. Done. Apologies to anyone who took offense. Anyone can do whatever they want to their stuff. 'Nuff said.
*Edit: OP: I am sorry. Rock on.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
G&L L-2000 Bass - Anyone finding it underwhelming?
- Thread starter thevintagesound
- Start date
*Edit: OP: I am sorry. Rock on.
Im with you except for the volume. On mine the volume seems to drop smoothly from max to about 80%. From there it just gets super low. I will mess with it again at 50%, but it is a really low volume level for me. I have a 2016 usa model and a lot of others have posted about this so i dont think it is a problem with my particular bass.
I bought a 1980 L1000 in the first few months they were made. The idea of a battery on board did not appeal when I was giggling 6 nights / week. So I learned G&L controls without a preamp - heck, without a bridge pickup! When I finally picked up a 2000, I was amazed at how transparent the preamp is. I wondered why they bothered. That question’s been answered here in this thread. I still have my L1000. I still don’t miss a preamp 
PS: I think 50-60% is about right for volume. Maybe it’s an older pot design on my 1980, but it’s a fairly even roll-off.
PS: I think 50-60% is about right for volume. Maybe it’s an older pot design on my 1980, but it’s a fairly even roll-off.
Last edited:
Well played, sir. Way too easy to perpetuate these things. Takes a big person to apologize publicly like that.
The stingray and Musicman started with Leo too.
The sickle (g&l) headstock.. came in part due to me screwing around with the headstock on a neck that was rejected. One of my tasks was to cut the headstocks off of the reject necks.
I hated the (snaggletooth when it was introduced) so I cut it off with a bandsaw, and nipped off the tip of the headstock ball,
Showed it to Lloyd Chewning, who ran it by Leo....
I dig “insider” stories like this. Thank you.
I've been lusting after one for quite a while, but I'm worried about the mids situation. I have heard good things that don't really match the tone I'm after if that makes sense.
I think getting billed as the Swiss army knife of bases really hurt it, because it can't be all things to all people, so it is bounds to disappoint if that is the expectation
I think getting billed as the Swiss army knife of bases really hurt it, because it can't be all things to all people, so it is bounds to disappoint if that is the expectation
And there are three or four on Reverb right now...not to mention the new ones from G&L with factory tone control and supposedly hotter pickups.
Oh could be a different taper now then. mine is from 1983, so the pots are even made in a different country now. I’ll check again and make sure what I’m playing on is actually 50% but it feels like it
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,795
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
I would if I could but I've never encountered one. I'm quite happy with my Lāklands and Fenders.
Yeah, I am still learning mine on the fly in the studio as I just got it this week. So I am open to trying all kinds of things, but lately I have been using the volume maxxed or backed off about 20%. Anything past that seems like a sharp drop off.
Ive been considering an L2000 Tribute but I don't like that it doesn't have a mid control, all active basses should have one IMO. I hear that its a pretty mid-heavy sounding bass, which I hate. Thats why I don't get along with the Stingray, no way to dial out those awful mids. Is the L2000 similar?
I've got a Tribute L2500 and Iove it. The fact that it has a touch of vintage-y tone is what i think does it for me. My other basses are Warwicks and a Ken Smith which sound great but are very modern in their voicings. The G&L strikes me as somewhere between jazz bass and Stingray. I'd say (as many others probably have, didn't read the whole thread 
) keep it and add a modern sounding bass to your arsenal.
) keep it and add a modern sounding bass to your arsenal.
aw man, that's not the NY way! lol once I saw you were from Brooklyn it all made perfect sense. I have an old NYC fetish, especially for Brooklyn, and luv the pre-pc attitude / frankness the locals are famous for, it just stood out on tb cos the hammer drops hard n fast. it's for the good, we're a friendly bunch but I was sad to see a report was made, Leslie West wouldn't last a NY minute here lol
as for the L2Ks, they are oddly revered like old Fenders and shouldn't be touched in any unHoly manner. but they do have something special about them, at least mine (a Tribute) has that 'alive' factor where the harder you play the more it wakes up, to a higher degree than most anything I've got or played and I could feel it when first trying it at the pawn shop without an amp or a pick. it just jumps with a special resonance and that's where Leo nailed it with these imo, whether he meant to or not. the 6 bolt neck helps that issue I'd say, and you know he'd hack up a guitar without hesitation to find out whatever he wished, I'm sure he'd send his blessings knowing many modders will be repeat customers.
Last edited:
It's not so much a specific tone as a specific control. I like to have a lot of ability to toy with my low-mids in the moment. For me, and it's definitely a personal thing, that's where I feel like I can do the most on the fly adapting. Every time someone has explained to me their process for focusing on changing those specific frequencies, it's sounded sort of convoluted.
ETA: Right now, my day-to-day go-to instrument is active with a mid pot, and I'm worried the G&L would turn into another " one thing here, one song there" bass like a few of my others that mostly live in my practice room.
What basses can you do this on now? For me, to mess with low mids on the L2500 would be a little tweak of the treble or bass tone control. I am guessing you want a bass with a mid knob that you can set the frequency on?
Exactly, I edited my last post to say that exact thing, but you must have beaten me to it.
I know it's possible to get what I'm after, people talk about strategies like controlling the volume pot then dropping out treble and bass, I just worry, and I live in a musical instrument desert right now so there aren't a lot of opportunities to just run in and pick one up
We had a gig last night @ the same place we gigged last weekend. Last week I used my (not G&L) 5-string, this week I used my L2K. What a staggering difference!. I like my 5-string, a lot, but it has EMG's, which I'm NOT fond of. I had a little trouble with it last week, so I thought I'd let it have the weekend off & just bring the L2K & my fretless.
Completely different results; we were outdoors, which was part of it. Where the 5-string fell flat, the L2K just killed it in the mix! A regular of ours commented on the difference, my band commented on it, & most importantly, my drummer said he might not let play anything else ever again!
That said, knob twiddling is key. That said, if you don't like 'em, it's OK
Completely different results; we were outdoors, which was part of it. Where the 5-string fell flat, the L2K just killed it in the mix! A regular of ours commented on the difference, my band commented on it, & most importantly, my drummer said he might not let play anything else ever again!
That said, knob twiddling is key. That said, if you don't like 'em, it's OK
I owned a Tribute SB-2 unmodified and I like it, but not enough to keep it. Got the L2000 instead. The SB-2 could use the tone knob in my opinion, I got used to the Volume/Volume set up but it just didn't do it for me. I might give it another try in the future, but with the tone knob to see if that would change my opinion.
The SB2 reminded me of that half-deaf Uncle Vern at family reunions, you know, the one who even if he's whispering, you can hear him from across the room. In other words, even compensating for the volume, it feels (or rather sounds) like an engine that's going at full throttle just quieter. I don't know why but even though my L2000 is but a Tribute as well, and has humbucker versions of the MFD - I do love the sound of the bass and it seems to work better for me.
