So, after a little over a year of owning it (& as there aren’t many reviews on these) I thought I’d share my thoughts on my G&L L-2500 S750, which LowEndLobster kindly sold to me and reviewed herself.
Overall, my go to bass. Unmatched tone-wise and a real looker. However, to avoid bias, here are some pros & cons:
PROS:
- MFD pickups are out of this world, better than anything else on any of my basses, & are the main reason I always use it.
- Preamp is great too, albeit a little unconventional. I love having what are essentially passive treble and bass tone knobs. I also like the pickup selector switch rather than a knob, as it simplifies an already complicated tonal palette. The active options are also nice although I run mostly passive.
- Neck, which is chunkier, & the 19mm spacing are perfect for my hands (which are on the larger side).
- K-MOD, although done by my local guitar tech rather than G&L, adds even more to the bass. I only use it for a proper J tone (rather than single neck coil etc..) as it scoops an already very mid-y bass quite nicely.
- It kicks all the time (which I’ll also pop in the cons) meaning whether you’re solo or mixed, it cuts and punches, which is ace assuming that’s what you want..
- General sturdiness is great, feels solid and reliable, balances well, resonates nicely, although there’s a con coming with that too..
CONS:
- Gloss on the neck was so thick.. Lobster didn’t mind it, I did, so I made it satin, easy fix.
- Weight is a tad heady, not crazy, 4.5kg maybe, but a good strap goes a long way.
- Action refuses to go low. To clarify, when I say low I mean like my Sandberg which ignores the laws of physics.. it’ll sit just under fender specs quite happily, but try & take lower and it’ll just complain constantly. I had the same thing (worse, actually) with an old L-2000.
- The low B is ok, not amazing.. it’s only a 34” scale, & my main comparison is a Lakland 35” 5er, so I’m possibly judging a little harshly.
- The big one.. G&L’s famous electronics problems meant a pickup died randomly.. my tech couldn’t work out why & it had to be replaced. Rubbish situation however it lead to the K-MOD so, there we are.
- As above, it kicks all the time.. Which is to say even when the tone knobs are all the way down, it still feels like it’s trying to punch you in the face. More a character of the instrument, however it lands in the cons too because if you want polite, just don’t ask..
Overall, I love it. It’s got an attitude, & I genuinely think it has days where it loves me, and days when it would garrotte me if it could, which is.. fun..? However, when the GAS takes over & I watch videos of F Basses etc, I’m always left thinking my G&L sounds more versatile, punchy, gorgeous etc & the GAS dies (a little..).
Anyway, there we are.. I’ll link a video of the K-MOD..
Overall, my go to bass. Unmatched tone-wise and a real looker. However, to avoid bias, here are some pros & cons:
PROS:
- MFD pickups are out of this world, better than anything else on any of my basses, & are the main reason I always use it.
- Preamp is great too, albeit a little unconventional. I love having what are essentially passive treble and bass tone knobs. I also like the pickup selector switch rather than a knob, as it simplifies an already complicated tonal palette. The active options are also nice although I run mostly passive.
- Neck, which is chunkier, & the 19mm spacing are perfect for my hands (which are on the larger side).
- K-MOD, although done by my local guitar tech rather than G&L, adds even more to the bass. I only use it for a proper J tone (rather than single neck coil etc..) as it scoops an already very mid-y bass quite nicely.
- It kicks all the time (which I’ll also pop in the cons) meaning whether you’re solo or mixed, it cuts and punches, which is ace assuming that’s what you want..
- General sturdiness is great, feels solid and reliable, balances well, resonates nicely, although there’s a con coming with that too..
CONS:
- Gloss on the neck was so thick.. Lobster didn’t mind it, I did, so I made it satin, easy fix.
- Weight is a tad heady, not crazy, 4.5kg maybe, but a good strap goes a long way.
- Action refuses to go low. To clarify, when I say low I mean like my Sandberg which ignores the laws of physics.. it’ll sit just under fender specs quite happily, but try & take lower and it’ll just complain constantly. I had the same thing (worse, actually) with an old L-2000.
- The low B is ok, not amazing.. it’s only a 34” scale, & my main comparison is a Lakland 35” 5er, so I’m possibly judging a little harshly.
- The big one.. G&L’s famous electronics problems meant a pickup died randomly.. my tech couldn’t work out why & it had to be replaced. Rubbish situation however it lead to the K-MOD so, there we are.
- As above, it kicks all the time.. Which is to say even when the tone knobs are all the way down, it still feels like it’s trying to punch you in the face. More a character of the instrument, however it lands in the cons too because if you want polite, just don’t ask..
Overall, I love it. It’s got an attitude, & I genuinely think it has days where it loves me, and days when it would garrotte me if it could, which is.. fun..? However, when the GAS takes over & I watch videos of F Basses etc, I’m always left thinking my G&L sounds more versatile, punchy, gorgeous etc & the GAS dies (a little..).
Anyway, there we are.. I’ll link a video of the K-MOD..
