G&L L2000 or M2000

[tastybasslines]

Unless your technique is really, really solid, I'd stick with the M2000 to avoid the clank you get with the sheer agressiveness of the L2K. The slightly underwound pups of the M are still thunderous.

 

[lixisoft]

Unless your technique is really, really solid, I'd stick with the M2000 to avoid the clank you get with the sheer agressiveness of the L2K. The slightly underwound pups of the M are still thunderous.

I tamed my L2000 with D'Addario Tape wound strings.

 

[tastybasslines]

I tamed my L2000 with D'Addario Tape wound strings.

I don't get why a person needs to tame a bass. Why get it in the first place then? The main selling point of the L2K is its agressiveness. Many other basses do tame much better.

 

[Josh Grainge]

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.

Considering you have 3... it must be a nice bass to play and own

 

[Josh Grainge]

I tried both extensively and bought the M-2000, so let me offer what seems to be the minority view, from someone who is no expert, but I know what I like.

If you're coming from outside the G&L family and want a quality active bass for general use, then the M-2000 is the one. If I was playing progressive indie rock then I'd get the L. The tone is very distinctive for that. The M pickups are described as underwound L, but in fact on reading the specs it seems to me the M is closer to average winding and the L is overwound; hence the aggressive nature. I can see how, from G&L's point of view, that might have been restricting sales, hence they made the M (that's only my guess, but it's how the positioning seems to me).

The L-2000 has been the iconic G&L bass for thirty years, so you'd expect long-time G&L bassists to prefer it, almost by definition.

I discovered the L-2000 first in the shop, and I knew I had found my bass. I loved the feel, the balance and the acoustic sound from the strings. Except for one little problem: I wasn't keen on the switches.

Maybe I'm not smart enough, but it seemed to me that with the L I would spend forever just fiddling with far too many options. The hybrid switch didn't make a lot of sense to me because most people are either wholly passive or wholly active, in my view; very few swap between. And as soon as you click that switch, you need to adjust amp settings! I disliked the switch system enough that I was ready to get an Ibanez SR800 instead, even though I didn't think it felt as good as the L.

Then I discovered the M-2000. It fixes what I didn't like about the L. The tone is good quality normal, neither aggressive nor soft. The neck feels even more comfortable. It took me a long time switching between L and M to realize the neck width is different. So much for my powers of observation. The M is a "plug it in and play" bass. The L is a "fiddle a lot to get the perfect tone" bass. If you're the type who enjoys playing with the settings, then get the L for sure. I just wanted to play a good bass, so I bought the M.

Thanks, it's really good to hear about the M2000. The poll really shows that the M2000 is less popular than the L2000

 

[Josh Grainge]

What I also did not say in the original post is that I could get a Fender Standard P bass (MIM) for a bit more than the L, but for a bit less than the M. We probably all know the main specs and sounds of the P bass so I'm not going to bother going into depth about
I might add it to the poll just to get an idea of what people think. (You should be able to change your vote if you want to)

 

[Josh Grainge]

The L2000 is a superbly built, extremely versatile bass. Had one as my main player since 1983, zero problems, stainless frets still good, bulletproof electronics.

It's good to hear they hold up although this is a tribute, I think the quality will still be very good considering what everyone has said about it

 

[Josh Grainge]

Great thread!! Over the last few days I've been heavily researching the M2000 vs the L2000. There are actually 3 or 4 VERY detailed reviews of each on YouTube, which unusually have very good sound.

The killer for me on the L2000 Tribute though is the neck width. I'm still going to try both (if I can find a stockist locally): but the 1.75" of the Tribute L2000 is too much for me to manage comfortably. Shame.

I've been exactly the same, I glanced at them and just wanted to know more.
Do you have any links to the reviews?

 

[mizzou541]

I'm a mediocre bass player that has owned both and now owns neither.

I liked the sound of the L2000 but the electronics were more complicated so I just assumed the simpler M2000 would be perfect for me. I like simpler electonics so I sold the L2000 and picked up an M2000. Don't get me wrong, the M2000 was still a great bass but I never liked the sound as much as the L2000. Still kicking myself. The L2000 is probably the best bass I've ever owned. Someday maybe I'll have one built in vintage white.

 

[Lo-E]

Considering you have 3... it must be a nice bass to play and own

Absolute Swiss Army bass. The range of tones you can get out of it is huge, even without modding the switching (which I've only done to one of mine - the one I use most often).
Any time I'm using a house backline and I'm not sure what the gear will be or any time I'm not sure what the needs of the gig will be, I'll most likely bring an L2K. Just about any tonal need can be met.
My '83 is probably my most gigged instrument. I switch it up a lot. I own a lot of basses and I like to mix it up a lot, but that '83 is 'Old Reliable'.

 

[ErnieD]

Just made a local trade of my Brubaker Brute MJX5 for a Tribute M2000; black/maple. Young dude wanted a 5er for church; I've been wanting to get back into a 4 string bass again. I'm really enjoying the M. Its the firs 4 string bass I've bought/traded in years. I put Chromes on it as I did not care for the stock strings. I bought a US L-2500 from a TBer here years back. Traded it for a US Cirrus. Cirrus is gone now too. M's a very nice playing bass so far.

 

[Josh Grainge]

I'm a mediocre bass player that has owned both and now owns neither.

I liked the sound of the L2000 but the electronics were more complicated so I just assumed the simpler M2000 would be perfect for me. I like simpler electonics so I sold the L2000 and picked up an M2000. Don't get me wrong, the M2000 was still a great bass but I never liked the sound as much as the L2000. Still kicking myself. The L2000 is probably the best bass I've ever owned. Someday maybe I'll have one built in vintage white.

I would say I'm also fairly mediocre, so I guess I could learn from your mistake haha

 

[Josh Grainge]

Just made a local trade of my Brubaker Brute MJX5 for a Tribute M2000; black/maple. Young dude wanted a 5er for church; I've been wanting to get back into a 4 string bass again. I'm really enjoying the M. Its the firs 4 string bass I've bought/traded in years. I put Chromes on it as I did not care for the stock strings. I bought a US L-2500 from a TBer here years back. Traded it for a US Cirrus. Cirrus is gone now too. M's a very nice playing bass so far.

How did you find your old L2500? Good to hear that you are enjoying the M as well

 

[Nedmundo]

Unless your technique is really, really solid, I'd stick with the M2000 to avoid the clank you get with the sheer agressiveness of the L2K. The slightly underwound pups of the M are still thunderous.

That last point is key -- the M-series might be "polite" compared to the L-series, but they're still G&L MFD pickups and thus rock harder than most. Run through my G-K head's "boost" channel, it's incredibly aggressive. I love the L-series basses, and might even prefer an L-2500 to my M-2500, but I've been extremely happy with the M. It's warm, clear, powerful, and incredibly flexible. It was perfect for a musical theater project, and also works beautifully in my hard rock band.

Regardless, go with either G&L over that MIM Fender. I love Fender and P-basses, but G&L Tributes are better than MIM Fenders, and an L-2000 can roughly approximate a P-bass tone. (Neck pickup soloed, in series, EQ cut to taste. At least IMHO.) If you really want something more like a P-bass, find a G&L Tribute SB-2.

 

[ErnieD]

How did you find your old L2500? Good to hear that you are enjoying the M as well

I liked the US L2500 fine. Pretty bass with burst body and matching headstock. Shoulda been a keeper just as an investment if not for playing. But I was just getting into modern active basses and I found a local guy with a very nice US Cirrus 5. I used it in a funk band for few months. Then I got into passive, less modern toned basses. Bought a '07 Skyline JoBo 5 here on TB few years back, still have it. And then I bought a US '08 Am St P5 also here soon after. The JoBO5 may be up for sale/trade soon. Now that MIA P5,ColaRed/maple, is a def keeper and though in its case last few months, it'll still stay with me. Last time I used it my blues band opened for Robert Cray at Houston House of Blues. That was pretty awesome gig.

I'm on a Jazz bass kick now. Picked up a very nice Super J5 Valenti (#25), also here on TB. Best deals on TB for used gear; usually. I recently bought a new Squire VMJ-V; highly recommend those basses in 4 or 5 string. And now this M2000 as I've been wanting to try one. Woulda usually been a 5er but the tight spacing of my G*L 5's made me opt for the 4 string this time. I want a M-2500 now. But I'm real good with this M2000.

These two inexpensive basses are keeping my more pricier basses in their cases at home as I am enjoying gigging these two basses; for now. Guess I'm fickle or just damn G.A.S.-y. But these last two cheaper priced basses scratched my itch so well that I stopped shopping on TB for another Valenti or Sadowsky........for now. peace, e.

 

[Doctor Hugocat]

I've been exactly the same, I glanced at them and just wanted to know more.
Do you have any links to the reviews?

I liked this one for the L-2000:



And of course the classic:



I'll try to find the others: I was digging around YT for a couple days last week.

 

[Josh Grainge]

That last point is key -- the M-series might be "polite" compared to the L-series, but they're still G&L MFD pickups and thus rock harder than most. Run through my G-K head's "boost" channel, it's incredibly aggressive. I love the L-series basses, and might even prefer an L-2500 to my M-2500, but I've been extremely happy with the M. It's warm, clear, powerful, and incredibly flexible. It was perfect for a musical theater project, and also works beautifully in my hard rock band.

Regardless, go with either G&L over that MIM Fender. I love Fender and P-basses, but G&L Tributes are better than MIM Fenders, and an L-2000 can roughly approximate a P-bass tone. (Neck pickup soloed, in series, EQ cut to taste. At least IMHO.) If you really want something more like a P-bass, find a G&L Tribute SB-2.

I did have a look at the SB-2, I liked the look and sound of it, but I though I'd get more bang for my buck with the L2000 or M2000

 

[Josh Grainge]

I liked the US L2500 fine. Pretty bass with burst body and matching headstock. Shoulda been a keeper just as an investment if not for playing. But I was just getting into modern active basses and I found a local guy with a very nice US Cirrus 5. I used it in a funk band for few months. Then I got into passive, less modern toned basses. Bought a '07 Skyline JoBo 5 here on TB few years back, still have it. And then I bought a US '08 Am St P5 also here soon after. The JoBO5 may be up for sale/trade soon. Now that MIA P5,ColaRed/maple, is a def keeper and though in its case last few months, it'll still stay with me. Last time I used it my blues band opened for Robert Cray at Houston House of Blues. That was pretty awesome gig.

I'm on a Jazz bass kick now. Picked up a very nice Super J5 Valenti (#25), also here on TB. Best deals on TB for used gear; usually. I recently bought a new Squire VMJ-V; highly recommend those basses in 4 or 5 string. And now this M2000 as I've been wanting to try one. Woulda usually been a 5er but the tight spacing of my G*L 5's made me opt for the 4 string this time. I want a M-2500 now. But I'm real good with this M2000.

These two inexpensive basses are keeping my more pricier basses in their cases at home as I am enjoying gigging these two basses; for now. Guess I'm fickle or just damn G.A.S.-y. But these last two cheaper priced basses scratched my itch so well that I stopped shopping on TB for another Valenti or Sadowsky........for now. peace, e.

Looks like you've owned quite a few basses haha
Is your current M2000 a tribute or american?

 

[Josh Grainge]

I liked this one for the L-2000:



And of course the classic:



I'll try to find the others: I was digging around YT for a couple days last week.

Thanks, I think I'll definitely look through some more when I have the time

 

[ErnieD]

@JGrainge: Nah,not MIA, its just a Tribute series but I'm pretty impressed with it so far. I'm taking it to a loud, blues-rock jam we host tonite. Gona put her thru her paces with GB 12.2+2x112AV cabs, should be fun. Gona leave any pedals at home to see how she runs un-effected.
AND Many here, have or have had, many more basses than I. But yeah, I do like to try out lots of different gear, its fun for me. If I find I'm no longer needing/using that gear; Onward n Upward. Except for some nice pieces. But I never say never.

And TalkBass classifieds selling/ trading is a great place to do that. peace, e.