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G&L L2500; to mod or not to mod?

TheMightyWoot1

TheMightyWoot1

Jan 31, 2012
319
19
Corvallis, OR
www.symbioticquintet.com
#1
Hey all you bassophiles,

I have a Tribute series G&L L2500. The volume pot is scratchy, and needs to be replaced. I was thinking about installing a concentric pot wired for individual pickup volumes, to allow for blending. I like the bass as it is, but extra versatility is always a good thing, IMO. :hyper:

My question for all of you fellow solder-monkeys is this; Would it be a pain to do this mod? I have soldering skills, no issue there. Just wondering how far down the rabbit hole this will take me. :hmm:

If it is too much of a pain, I will just pickup an OEM pot and replace the faulty one.

Aaaaaaaand..... GO!

:)
 
#4
You're never alone on the internet: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/stacked-vol-blend-pot-900113/

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I don't know how the L-2500 preamp is wired, but my guess is that the pickups go to the selector switch and then to the volume pot. If it's so, it shouldn't be too hard if you're handy with a soldering iron. Just check that the triple pot isn't too deep. You might have to chisel some wood.

I guess there are people fine tuning the pickup volumes and like what they get, but I never found it useful.
 
#5
It's a rabbit hole, for sure. The stock wiring is pickups>series/parallel switch>pickup select>EQ controls>volume>pre. The problem is that the pickups interact with the passive bass/treble controls in a certain way and putting a volume pot for each pickup between the pickup and the EQ will change how they operate.

I had a fretted L2500 that I modded with SC/Parallel/Series switching for each pickup, then put each to it's own volume control and removed the Bass/Treble controls and preamp completely. That worked well, but I lost the passive tone controls. If you're not set on keep those (or keeping them functioning exactly as they do now), then it's an easy mod. Otherwise, it gets somewhat complicated in a hurry.
 
#8
The L-2500 is a tone-beast for sure. I loved having the mods on mine. You might consider individual coil switches for each pickup. That opened up a LOT of tones. Another option to consider might be a switch on the volume control pot that would favor the neck or bridge pickup, depending on what you want. The Fender Roscoe Beck was set up that way; pull one of the pots and it put a series resistance with the neck pickup to reduce the volume of that pickup relative to the bridge, thus favoring the bridge pickup. Not quite what you're looking for, but a cool concept.
 
#9
A very cool concept indeed! I am curious about that... I tend to favor the neck pup a bit more when both are engaged, but also really enjoy variability, so I don't think I will pursue that avenue.

Thanks again for the input, everybody.

Lowfreq, we should be pals :)

I really appreciate your knowledge of the G&L curcuit!

For now, I'm going to replace the stock part and ponder the possibilities!

:bassist:
 

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