G&L L2000 vs P-Bass

[ComeHomeShane]

Well I only have experience with a very early G&L L-1000 that I bought new in '82 (and still have), and I'll say that if you set the 3-way pickup switch to the center position it sounds pretty dead-on like the best P Bass ever.

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Oh man that's beautiful. If you ever feel like selling it, please let me know!

 

[Outshined91]

Yes. The L2K is a really great bass with a lot of range. But it doesn't sound like a P bass. There are many that come pretty close including from G&L. Just like you well know how many snare tones are available.
Good news is that if want a P they are not hard to find. Welcome to TB.

This^. Welcome to TB - home of GAS and carrots! Not to complicate things but it sounds like you may want to try out a P/J bass, like a Fender Jazz Bass Special or the like (should be available used in your price range). The P soloed will get you thd nice classic Fender P tone that you're after, but if you like the L2K's own sound, then you can mix in some of the Jazz pickup as well to get something a little more aggressive/burpy/growly! I play a Fender P/J Mustang and love the pickup configuration! Good luck!!

 

[Jacko13]

I have owned both an LB-100 (custom shop) and L-2500. If you are looking for a P-Bass and p-bass tone I strongly recommend going with a LB-100 - especially if you find one in the configuration you like. G&L make fantastic instruments. I'm a strong supporter.

 

[Leonid Nidis]

Imo it's close enough to a p bass with the right settings and can do lots of other sounds too.
I used to run it passive,series,neck pup only,bass 50%,treble 20% for a p bass sound.
The key is cutting a lot of treble,it still has enough but the mids change to you familiar fender tone.

 

[FishDub]

Hi all. I am new to bass playing after being a drummer for decades. I picked up a G&L L2000 Tribute from Sweetwater. I really like it, but the more that I play the more I realize that I really just love the P-Bass sound. I went to an open Mic last night and there were guys playing custom basses, Sting Rays, Lakland. But when I heard that P-Bass it just sounded the best. Obviously the G&L has it's own sound. Pretty far from a P-Bass I would say. That had me thinking to possibly exchange for an LB-100 or an L-1000. Does anyone out there have experience with those models? Is it worth t? Will there be a big difference in the sound? I mean the G&L still has that Humbucker so maybe it's the Fender pickups that my ears are responding to. Any feedback is appreciated. I also have 45 days with my Ibanez SR50 which is also pretty darn good. That actually has a more earthy, organic tone with those CND pups. And it is so light and the thin neck is so easy. Than

One thing to keep in mind is, for a lot of things, it's not so much that the P bass sounds necessarily better, but more because it just sounds familiar

ks.[/QU
This is true..And I think the older we get, the more lazy our minds become with knob fiddling..I used to have 4 active basses, all with 3-band eqs and now I have all passive and one active..

 

[J. Brooks]

I did this song with my L1000, it's close enough to a p for me, and I love p basses. I think the mids have a little different character, and the L1000 is bigger in the low end. But I love having the low cut, makes it really versatile.

 

[Outbush]

Did you also refer to an Ibanez SR - is it a 650 with the CND PJ pickups? (It just said Sr50 but the 650 has CND pups.) With just the P pickup soloed you would get so close to a P no one much would notice the difference. They have a verY versatile tone knob too which would get you a range of different P bass types, brighter to darker.

 

[ChiaBass]

Once again thanks one and all for the exceptionally great feedback. I will try and tinker with the L2K before I return it. I totally forgot that many people have advised never diming the volume on it which could be causing that harshness that I don't like.
That said the comments regarding having an instrument that speaks to you may be the most important. I have had the experience with drums and decades ago when I tinkered with guitar how certain instruments bring the best out of you. When I was dabbling with the guitar that instrument just so happened to be a G&L Telecaster. The way that Telecaster was my thing, the P may b my bass thing.
Of course also valid are the suggestions to grab a cheap P and fool around with pups and strings and get just what you need. I actually failed to mention that I have a Squier P that I picked up for 80 bux. The problem with that one is the Action is just so high. And yeah,I have 45 days to decide on the Ibanez SR650. That thing is pretty great and probably has more tonal flexibility than even the L2K. I am thinking that the LB-100 may be just what I want though.Im definitely sold on the G&L quality. Grabbed the most expensive Fender P at the store the other day and a knob fell right off when I was pulling it off the wall. I didn’t bother to play it. I’m away for the weekend but I’ll post back with progress/decisions.

 

[Ronnie Robinson]

I have a L1000 it's great but to my ears sounds nothing like a P bass, if that's what your after I believe the only way to itch that scratch is to get one - that said you can easily pick up a decent second hand MIM fender.

 

[BigDrew]

I got a L2000 Tribby, and tried really hard to get a sound I liked...different amps, strings, setup....etc. I keep getting this mid-range, tubby, nasty, twangy edge to the sound..it kinda goes away in passive mode, but never completely.

Anybody have a tip on this? If not, I am selling it on....

Holy cow! I just got the USA version and have the same “problem”. I put this out in another thread. I think it’s just how they sound. I think mine is getting returned.

 

[bassrebel]

Generally I am of the mind that most basses can be tweaked and EQed to fit most kinds of music. (Especially something like the L2000.) I also don’t like to jump to “buy more gear.”

BUT I’ll tell ya, my life changed when I got my P bass. I like the simplicity, and it just sounds “right” to me.

Exactly my experience! Playing over 20 years, having owned over 15 basses, never thought I’d be so happy with such a simple bass! Having 4 right now, the P is still my go-to bass!

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

Just get a Fender P.

 

[dedpool1052]

I'd say keep the L-2000, do the SCM mod (or get it done by a tech), and you'll have a very close P bass sound as well as a slew of other tone capabilities.

Yup.
I like parallel and series, but my Wunkays tend to live in SCM.
It's more open and articulate.
If OP opts for SCM, he could even go as far as doing away with parallel and series, and do two SCMs, inners and outers.

 

[two fingers]

I got a L2000 Tribby, and tried really hard to get a sound I liked...different amps, strings, setup....etc. I keep getting this mid-range, tubby, nasty, twangy edge to the sound..it kinda goes away in passive mode, but never completely.

Anybody have a tip on this? If not, I am selling it on....

Lower the pickups a little. Turn the volume down a little. Those MFD pickups have to be tamed a little if you want that bass to sound more traditional.

 

[jeff7bass]

I like the SB-1 the best.

 

[lug]

Once again thanks one and all for the exceptionally great feedback. I will try and tinker with the L2K before I return it. I totally forgot that many people have advised never diming the volume on it which could be causing that harshness that I don't like.
That said the comments regarding having an instrument that speaks to you may be the most important. I have had the experience with drums and decades ago when I tinkered with guitar how certain instruments bring the best out of you. When I was dabbling with the guitar that instrument just so happened to be a G&L Telecaster. The way that Telecaster was my thing, the P may b my bass thing.
Of course also valid are the suggestions to grab a cheap P and fool around with pups and strings and get just what you need. I actually failed to mention that I have a Squier P that I picked up for 80 bux. The problem with that one is the Action is just so high. And yeah,I have 45 days to decide on the Ibanez SR650. That thing is pretty great and probably has more tonal flexibility than even the L2K. I am thinking that the LB-100 may be just what I want though.Im definitely sold on the G&L quality. Grabbed the most expensive Fender P at the store the other day and a knob fell right off when I was pulling it off the wall. I didn’t bother to play it. I’m away for the weekend but I’ll post back with progress/decisions.

Start with volume, bass, and treble controls all at 50%. Play with the series/parallel switch. I ended up dropping my pups all the way down to get what I liked on mine.

 

[bigtone23]

I’ve got an L-2000, L-1000, LB-100 and a Fender P bass.

Start with the L-2000 having all knobs backed off to about 70% (including the volume) and use just the neck pickup, leave it in passive. Adjust from there. That should get you in the ballpark of the P tone. Exact, no. Ballpark. If you want a classic tone from an L, restraint is key.

You mentioned the L-1000. The L-1000 will be much closer to a L-2000 than to the P. So if the L-2000 isn’t ticking your boxes, cross the L-1000 off too.

FWIW, my LB-100 is just a little thicker and more aggressive than the Fender P, but it’s subtle.

+1

Interesting that so many here think they need "endless other tonal options" when a P Bass makes at least four or five of the most important sounds to reproduce the vast majority of electric bass recordings that have ever been made.
The other two things needed to make the rest of the sounds to reproduce the vast majority of recorded bass sounds ever made come from the Fender Jazz Bass and the MusicMan StingRay.
If the G&L L2000 could indeed reproduce the Precision, Jazz and StingRay sounds then it could do it all....except that it does not.
IMO a P-Bass and a StingRay will get about 95% and the Jazz bass addresses the remaining 5%.

Chia, it sounds like you are on the right track.

+1

Lower the pickups a little. Turn the volume down a little. Those MFD pickups have to be tamed a little if you want that bass to sound more traditional.

This is key with MFD pickups--they are hot and have expanded range in the extremes of it's frequency response. When dialed back, they can sound like 'typical' pickups.

 

[David1957]

Lower the pickups a little. Turn the volume down a little. Those MFD pickups have to be tamed a little if you want that bass to sound more traditional.

I’ll give that a try tomorrow...thanks for the advice!

 

[ChiaBass]

Mayday, Mayday! The LB-100 arrived. It looks beautiful. It's light. The neck is perfect. Plays like butter. But to my ears, it sounds almost exactly like the L2000, just with barely any tonal control. I was thinking to swap strings on the L2000 before I gave up on it, now I wish that I had. I am going to try that with the LB, but first impressions are that G&L is just not for me. But how can the sound be sooo very far away from a P when it designed to be a P clone? It has that same, thin and metallic sound that the L2000 had. I'll start with strings and I guess the other thing would be to play with the pickup height. Man, I'm shocked. The Ibanez sounds 1oo times better and that thing badly needs a setup and came with cheap strings.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

But how can the sound be sooo very far away from a P when it designed to be a P clone?

The pickup on the LB100 is slightly closer to the bridge than it would be on a P, so it's not an exact copy.

This is what Paul Gagon wrote on the bassesbyleo forum in 2016:

The thinking on the pickup placement was to get a bit more upper harmonic information from the strings. In order to compensate for the slightly brighter sound of the bass an additional 500 turns of magnet wire was put on the pickup bobbins (P-Basses use 10,000 turns of 42ga wire on each pickup bobbin. LB-100s use 10,500 turns of 42ga wire). The use of the .022uf cap for the tone control instead of .05uf was to retain more string definition when the tone control is turned all the way down. You see, when you turn the tone control all the way down on a passive tone network you are placing the tone cap in parallel with the pickup and dropping its resonant frequency down.....very low I might add. The .022uf cap was just selected as the preferred cap by the people who evaluated it. Any cap value from .01uf to .1uf will work just fine. The larger the cap value, the darker the tone.