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G&L L2000 or M2000

Which would you get?

  • Total voters
    142
J

Josh Grainge

Guest
May 9, 2015
46
8
30
England
#1
I was thinking about getting a new bass and have been looking at the G&L Tribute series. where I found the M2000 GTS and the L2000.

The only differences I could find between the basses were that the pick-ups are very slightly different. The L2000 appears to have more complex electronics with its "Tri-Tone" system allowing the bass to be active/passive and can split the electronics to series or parallel, but I don't know what the third switch does?

The M2000 is an 18V active bass with the same bass, treble and mid EQ as the L2000. I like the fact that it has volume controls for each pick-up. What I dislike about the M2000, is the fact that it will need to 9Vs to power it and I don't know how long they will last before replacing. I could currently buy the M2000 for around £480 which I think is a good price for something such as this, I also think that it looks more premium than the L2000

I dislike the fact that the L2000 doesn't have volume controls for its pick-ups, would this make it hard to control in passive? What I do like is the "Tri Tone" system as it seems to give the bass such a huge range in sound making it very versatile. At the moment It's priced at around £410 making it quite a bit cheaper than the M2000

Both of the basses have the same chrome finished hardware

All of this leads me to this question; which would you get?

Since I have barely touched the surface on each of the basses features, here are the links:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Your input will be much appreciated!
 
#3
The L2000 (L2500) switches from font to back are:
1. Pickup Selector (front, blend, back)
2. Series/Parallel
3. Preamp (off, on, on w/treble boost)

I have an L2500 Tribute. It is a versitile bass able to get a mellow P sound to a honky J sound. It's best sound, however, is its own sound, which in my mind is as follows:

75% treble
75% bass
Series
Pickups Middle

Only variation is pre-amp on/off

I play 70% of the time in passive mode. It also works better with effects in passive, if you are into that.

I have never played an M2500, but my understanding from watching the Ed Friedland vids is that it is a more polite version of the L2500.
The L can get very aggressive if you point it in that direction. The L is very mid-rangy and cuts through the mix easily.
 
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#5
I have both an L2000 and an M2000, they are very different basses, my take is this...........

Necks are similar but the nut is 1 3/4" on the L and the M is 1 5/8", both the same radius.
L has way more tonal options than the M.
If you like modern active smooth sounds the M has it in spades, very polite sounding.
The L is an aggressive, punch in the gut (or not, depending on the tritone settings).
Tone controls on the M are cut AND boost, on the L cut ONLY.
The M is active only, when your batteries die you are dead....... no sound!!
The L is both active AND passive, in passive mode the bass always works, you can even remove the
battery and play in passive mode and ALL the controls work (many L players do this).
The M allows you to dial in a sound very quickly, the L requires an understanding of how the tritone
preamp works, but once figured out you can get any sound you want.

I prefer the L, however the M is a great bass. If you want simple easy to wrap your head around controls
get the M, the L will give you all of this and more, plus aggressive and passive sounds.

YMMV
 
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#7
basslifter said:
The L2000 (L2500) switches from font to back are:
1. Pickup Selector (front, blend, back)
2. Series/Parallel
3. Preamp (off, on, on w/treble boost)

I have an L2500 Tribute. It is a versitile bass able to get a mellow P sound to a honky J sound. It's best sound, however, is its own sound, which in my mind is as follows:

75% treble
75% bass
Series
Pickups Middle

Only variation is pre-amp on/off

I play 70% of the time in passive mode. It also works better with effects in passive, if you are into that.

I have never played an M2500, but my understanding from watching the Ed Friedland vids is that it is a more polite version of the L2500.
The L can get very aggressive if you point it in that direction. The L is very mid-rangy and cuts through the mix easily.
Click to expand...

So you get a nice range of sounds? Do you like playing your L2500?
And thanks for telling me what the third switch does, I didn't catch in the video I watched and couldn't be bothered to go back to it haha
 
#9
lixisoft said:
I have both an L2000 and an M2000, they are very different basses, my take is this...........

Necks are similar but the nut is 1 3/4" on the L and the M is 1 5/8", both the same radius.
L has way more tonal options than the M.
If you like modern active smooth sounds the M has it in spades, very polite sounding.
The L is an aggressive, punch in the gut (or not, depending on the tritone settings).
Tone controls on the M are cut AND boost, on the L cut ONLY.
The M is active only, when your batteries die you are dead....... no sound!!
The L is both active AND passive, in passive mode the bass always works, you can even remove the
battery and play in passive mode and ALL the controls work (many L players do this).
The M allows you to dial in a sound very quickly, the L requires an understanding of how the tritone
preamp works, but once figured out you can get any sound you want.

I prefer the L, however the M is a great bass. If you want simple easy to wrap your head around controls
get the M, the L will give you all of this and more, plus aggressive and passive sounds.

YMMV
Click to expand...

It sounds as though the L would be better for me personally then, I really like the Tri Tone system and it would be more suited to my playing style. Thanks
 
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#12
Josh Grainge said:
I was thinking about getting a new bass and have been looking at the G&L Tribute series. where I found the M2000 GTS and the L2000.

The only differences I could find between the basses were that the pick-ups are very slightly different. The L2000 appears to have more complex electronics with its "Tri-Tone" system allowing the bass to be active/passive and can split the electronics to series or parallel, but I don't know what the third switch does?

The M2000 is an 18V active bass with the same bass, treble and mid EQ as the L2000. I like the fact that it has volume controls for each pick-up. What I dislike about the M2000, is the fact that it will need to 9Vs to power it and I don't know how long they will last before replacing. I could currently buy the M2000 for around £480 which I think is a good price for something such as this, I also think that it looks more premium than the L2000

I dislike the fact that the L2000 doesn't have volume controls for its pick-ups, would this make it hard to control in passive? What I do like is the "Tri Tone" system as it seems to give the bass such a huge range in sound making it very versatile. At the moment It's priced at around £410 making it quite a bit cheaper than the M2000

Both of the basses have the same chrome finished hardware

All of this leads me to this question; which would you get?

Since I have barely touched the surface on each of the basses features, here are the links:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Your input will be much appreciated!
Click to expand...
I've had both and still have the L2000. It really depends on what you plan on doing with it.

The M2000 is a really good modern sounding take on the active humbucker bass. It does have a blend knob, but blend knobs don't really give you a blend - I've always found they work more like rotary switches. If you're a active preamp knob twiddler and don't want to customize the electronics on your bass then the M2000 might be your thing. I found it a bit limited, but I'm a wiring customizer

The L2000 comes stock with series/parallel pickup operation, so you get two differences in tone right off the bat for each pickup combination. You also have an active preamp, which is a booster/buffer for brightening the tone and keeping tone consistent over long cable runs. The treble and bass controls are cut only, but most folks cut at least some of the bass when they're playing the L2000 because these pups are super hot. I have mine cranked almost all the way down into the body of the bass and still get a very hot signal. The third switch you mentioned is a pickup selector switch. The controls on the L2000 seem complicated until you start using them and then they get easy. Most of the time you'll leave the volume and treble alone, adjust the bass to taste, and then it's the pickup selector.

I've modified mine so that the middle switch is outer singles (J-like)/series/inner singles (Stingray like). I also have replaced the tone control with a push/push pot so that I can switch between series and "single-coil with bass boost" mode.
 
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#14
fourstringbliss said:
I've had both and still have the L2000. It really depends on what you plan on doing with it.

The M2000 is a really good modern sounding take on the active humbucker bass. It does have a blend knob, but blend knobs don't really give you a blend - I've always found they work more like rotary switches. If you're a active preamp knob twiddler and don't want to customize the electronics on your bass then the M2000 might be your thing. I found it a bit limited, but I'm a wiring customizer

The L2000 comes stock with series/parallel pickup operation, so you get two differences in tone right off the bat for each pickup combination. You also have an active preamp, which is a booster/buffer for brightening the tone and keeping tone consistent over long cable runs. The treble and bass controls are cut only, but most folks cut at least some of the bass when they're playing the L2000 because these pups are super hot. I have mine cranked almost all the way down into the body of the bass and still get a very hot signal. The third switch you mentioned is a pickup selector switch. The controls on the L2000 seem complicated until you start using them and then they get easy. Most of the time you'll leave the volume and treble alone, adjust the bass to taste, and then it's the pickup selector.

I've modified mine so that the middle switch is outer singles (J-like)/series/inner singles (Stingray like). I also have replaced the tone control with a push/push pot so that I can switch between series and "single-coil with bass boost" mode.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you really like your L2000 then. So why did you get rid of your M2000?
 
#15
mikezimmerman said:
If you haven't seen it already, it's worth having a look at this side-by-side comparison video of the L2500 and the M2500 by Ed Friedland:

Normally I'd assume that the M2500 would be the one I'd go for, but I actually preferred the sound of the L2500 in the video.
Click to expand...


I would have to agree with you, looking at the 2 basses I think most people would go for the M2000 series until they hear the 2 side by side like in the video. After watching the video I do think that I would rather have the L2000, Thanks!
 
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#18
All three of my L2Ks are from the eighties and have a fairly dark tone. I tend to run bass at about 40-50% and treble up full.
Unlike most L2K users, I usually run the bass active without the treble boost and seldom run it passive - although I do sometimes.
I usually use the neck pickup or both pickups. I seldom use the bridge pickup alone.
I have modded mine with a center position for outer single coils - very useful, but not necessary.
I normally like separate volume controls for each pickup, but I've never really missed having separate volumes on these basses. There are so many tonal options already. A single pickup selector is fine with me for these.

I've only played an M2K once, so I can't speak as an expert, but I agree with the others that it sounded much more polite than an L2K and, to my ears, a little generic.

Hope that's useful info.
 
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#19
Generic is exactly how I would describe the M2000 I had. It sounded good, but wasn't distinctively G&L. I went back to the L2000 because I know how to modify them electronically. Since then I've also replaced the stock medium jumbo frets with banjo frets and replaced the neck bolts with threaded inserts and machine screws. I'm definitely making it my own.

Somebody else mentioned wanting an active preamp on an L2000. I can tell you from experience that Audere preamps work very well with these pickups and would be an easy mod to do.
 

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