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G&L L2000 CLF or Fender Elite P?

agentcooper2001

agentcooper2001

Dec 5, 2003
177
137
50
Texarkana, TX
#1
Had the new Stingray Special and sent it back....looking for a new main bass and it wasn't quite what i was looking for. Spent several weeks trying to get it to play and sound right. Had a saddle that was apparently stripped on the D string and it would fall down within a day. It also didn't really sound like previous Ray's i've had.

Now I'm looking at the L2000 & Elite P. I need to cover a lot of ground with it...everything from Heart, Rush, RATM, Vulfpeck to current pop. The jet black G&L CLF L2000 looks great to me, but the P is appealing too. What do you guys think?
 
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#4
After buying and trying out about 15 different basses over the last two years, I've settled on the L-2500 as my primary bass (with a Kiloton 5 as my fretless). G&L quality is top notch for the price range. I found it better than any of the Fenders I had (all $2k+, but that's Canadian dollars). Most importantly, I can dial up nearly any tone with the L-2500 that I could ever want. Plus the bridge pickup is wonderful all by itself.

The trick with the L-2000/L-2500 is to learn the best positions for both tone knobs with each of your pickup selections and series/parallel options. I've found the best starting place for me to get the tone I want is to start with the treble and bass at about 80%, then dial up or down for taste.

Want a P style tone?... select parallel, just the neck pickup and dial back the treble to taste.
Want a Jazz style tone?... select parallel, both pickups and adjust tone knobs to taste. Try series if you want less of the scoop sound.
Want a nice growl?... select series, throw it on the neck pickup and crank up the treble and bass a bit more.
Want a solo sound that cuts through?... leave it in series and flip to the bridge pickup, leave the bass up and pull back a bit of the treble.

All that said, I must say that having an accurate amp/cab combo makes a huge difference in making the L series sing. I prefer systems that accurately reproduce the sound of the instrument, with little colour (although there is always some colour). My current rig is a Trickfish Bullhead .5K and two Bergantino NV115 cabs. But I'm going to replace the Trickfish with a Bergantino HP Forte as soon as I can afford it.

Well, that's my two cents.
Good luck with your decision.
 
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#6
My L2500 came with Parallel and Coil Tap (with OMG capacitors), but not straight Series. I added a push/pull volume pot to give me Series, but never really use it. The Coil Tap is where I stay 90% of the time, and switch to Parallel when I want to do a mock-stingray-esq tone.
 
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#8
I would recommend trying both basses if you can but if it were my choice, I'd go with the G&L. I had a Tribute L2000 and even then, it gave me a large amount of tonal options. I don't have it now only because the neck was a little too wide for me. I would have to get the US L2000 with the thinner neck option. Now I wouldn't go as far as saying it can do everything, but it can certainly give you quite a wide range of tones which sound great on those pickups, the Fender Elite is a pretty darn good bass too but between the two, I do prefer the L2000, just all round a better bass.
 
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#9
I Have the Mexican version of the Elite in Sea Foam Pearl paid $700 the build quality is top notch as is tone. I have played the American version and would not spend $2000. I also have an USA L2000 which I bought used for $900. This bass has has the smaller Jazz neck and plays like a dream and love the electronics. The P will dial up more bottom end plus a mid range control but the L is so punchy and in passive it is incredible. I use both basses on every gig. Two basses for less than the price of one
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IMG_0251.JPG HUQI2295.JPG
 
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#11
jd56hawk said:
Not even close...G&L.
I'd even buy a L2000 Tribute before I bought an Elite P bass.
I play a very wide range of rock on my L2000.
Nothing it can't do.
Click to expand...

Edgetone said:
After buying and trying out about 15 different basses over the last two years, I've settled on the L-2500 as my primary bass (with a Kiloton 5 as my fretless). G&L quality is top notch for the price range. I found it better than any of the Fenders I had (all $2k+, but that's Canadian dollars). Most importantly, I can dial up nearly any tone with the L-2500 that I could ever want. Plus the bridge pickup is wonderful all by itself.

The trick with the L-2000/L-2500 is to learn the best positions for both tone knobs with each of your pickup selections and series/parallel options. I've found the best starting place for me to get the tone I want is to start with the treble and bass at about 80%, then dial up or down for taste.

Want a P style tone?... select parallel, just the neck pickup and dial back the treble to taste.
Want a Jazz style tone?... select parallel, both pickups and adjust tone knobs to taste. Try series if you want less of the scoop sound.
Want a nice growl?... select series, throw it on the neck pickup and crank up the treble and bass a bit more.
Want a solo sound that cuts through?... leave it in series and flip to the bridge pickup, leave the bass up and pull back a bit of the treble.

All that said, I must say that having an accurate amp/cab combo makes a huge difference in making the L series sing. I prefer systems that accurately reproduce the sound of the instrument, with little colour (although there is always some colour). My current rig is a Trickfish Bullhead .5K and two Bergantino NV115 cabs. But I'm going to replace the Trickfish with a Bergantino HP Forte as soon as I can afford it.

Well, that's my two cents.
Good luck with your decision.
Click to expand...

I very much agree with these guys: I'd take a G&L or G&L Tribute over a Fender every day of the week. I've had my L-2500 for 20 years, and if it weren't for GAS ( *shakes fist at screen* Damn you, TalkBass! ) it would still be my only bass. It's all that I need in a bass and then some. If you need versatility, the L basses are an EXCELLENT pick. This pickup + preamp combo is, IMO, the shizzle.

The absolute only "con" in my opinion (and it's a very minor one), is that you need to be aware that the output of these basses is very hot. Depending on your setup, some effects pedals may even run out of headroom if your volume is at 100% (it's rather rare, but possible), and typically when setting up for a rehearsal or gig, I roll the bass completely off then gradually add some until I'm satisfied. Generally that's about somewhere between 25-50% for me.
 
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#14
Edgetone said:
Also, on the L-2500 I've ordered, I asked for the single coil switch option to give even more tone choices.
Click to expand...

I wish my Tribute L2500 had the SCM wiring. I've considered having my tech give me a quote on adding it but I just can't fund it right now.

I have a friend who is a really good drummer but has taken up bass guitar in the last couple years and is pretty good. He's even been getting some gigs here and there lately and decided to upgrade his bass. He just bought a used US L2500, black w/ maple board and SCM wiring, and I'm over here like, "You can't have a better bass than me!" :laugh::roflmao:
 
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#15
invalidprotocol said:
Elite P to cover more ground. The L2000 is still on my shopping list but I always take a step back when I realize it isn't quite as versatile as it looks. I will get smacked down for this but the L2000 is a two pickup one trick pony. Lots of tonal options but only a few that are really usable.
Click to expand...

I have an l2k tribby and I do somewhat agree, at least for my situation.

Once i removed the preamp, wired for VVT, and put toggles in for north/series/south it really opened up what this bass can do. My .02 and YMMV.

Good Luck!
 
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#17
I've mentioned this before on TB, but I had an early (1981) L2000 for several years... the craftsmanship was incredible, but the electronics were too hi-fi for me in the end. It could do a lot of things, and I really tried everything to make it sound the way I wanted it to, but I eventually went back to Fender Precisions and Jazzes for their more "organic" sound.
So... both G&L and Fender are great choices, but it probably comes down to your personal tastes in tone.
 
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#18
G&L by a mile. The idea that there's a learning curve involved with these basses stems from the fact that many players just set and forget. With a P, the tone they get is close enough to whatever they're trying to do because so many recordings were made with a P. You can get damn close to a P with an L1000. With an L2000 you get there there but have so much more range it's ridiculous. Personally, I'd either look for an early L2000 or, if you must have new, give the CLF version a shot. Either way, you'll wind up with a better bass and, in all likelihood, money to spare.
 
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