G&L L2K Tribute Blind Buy?

Make sure you buy from a dealer with a good return policy.

Otherwise, and this is on my 'want to do'-list: go road tripping to a store that carries one. I'm sure you'll make some great memories along the way.

 

I have two Tributes. A M2000 and a L2000. Both are very nice and were purchased sight unseen. The M was modded to passive and the L is for now still factory stock with the active preamp. I think You would be pretty well pleased with any G&L. They are very special Basses and very evolved from the original Fender style and are generally under rated by those who have never owned one.
Now about the Squire. Truss rodless? That is going to be a story to be told.

 

I've loved both my Tributes. L2500 and L2000. So versatile.

 

I’ve been a G&L guy since 1986, both of mine are USA built, but tributes have a great reputation here.
I am a fan so I say go for it
Duke

 

the tributes are just a good as the USA made counterparts for a fraction of the cost. I owned an L2000 tribute but returned it because the sounds, feel and weight were just not suited to me. The one I owned was rather heavy at 10+ pounds. They do offer alot of tone variety, but i felt like most of the tone options were gimmicks. I mainly used the passive tones because i enjoy traditional P style tones. The nut width is 1.75 which i dont mind, but you will want to take that into consideration if you like jazz bass necks. These are chunky.

For me the issues were the overall feel of the bass and sound. Just didnt care for it.

 

The radius of the fingerboard is different, it's 12" I think. And the nut width can be wide or narrow depending on the exact model. My M has a narrow nut, 1.5" and my L has the wider, 1.62". I took out the preamp and converted the M to passive because the preamp had some minor noise that was bugging me. It is now a V/V/T setup. The L is almost always in passive but the active option is stll there.
The only real issue I could ever forsee with any G&L is that the parts are not the basic Fender style. The bridge and pickups are not the same standard as traditional Fender. This is not a bad thing though. It's just different. When I purchased the L it was missing one bridge saddle screw and spring. I replaced it but had to buy a whole saddle set from G&L. So now I have some extra saddle parts. And those MFD pickups are really powerful and the pole pieces are adjustable, which I like.
I guess it all depends on what one needs, and what one will use it for.

 

I tried two full scale Tributes at a dealer five or six years ago and both were absolutely as light as you can make a bass with a regular thickness maple neck. I didn’t even bother trying them with a strap, knowing they were divers.

I bought a Tribute Fallout (short scale) and it dives a little, but is tolerable. It’s a pretty great-for-the-price bass. I like it. It’ll probably get ultralight tuners at some point.

 

Two questions:

1. Buying sight unseen
2. G&L Tribute

Yes to both, from my lone experience with both.

I bought a used L-2500 sight unseen from guitar center, which has a good return policy. (It would have cost me return shipping, about $25 to return.)

It's a great bass, except for a little neck dive.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy online again, as long as the return policy is decent. Tributes are great basses with good quality control.

 

I have ten basses, bought nine of them online.
Sure, it's a bit of a gamble, but buying a G&L is a smart bet.
Find a store with a good return policy and take it from there.

 

I own multiple L-2000's and just bought my 14-year old son a G&L Tribute JB-2 this week. From that perspective I can say that the quality of the Tribute is surprisingly close to the US instruments. It feels like a big step up from the Asian and Mexican Fenders I have played (not owned) in the past.

In my opinion the L-2000 is Leo Fender's best bass design. I fell in love with the rich, full bodied tone the instant I plugged one in 20 years ago, and it has always adapted to the tones I need for different projects.

With that said, the L-2000 is the opposite of the Precision in terms of simplicity and that's what people who end up selling their L-2000's seem to want - simpler instruments. The Precision has an amazing classic tone out of the box with both knobs at full, and there's some variation in the tone knob but it will still sound just like a Precision. There are countless pros that have used the Precision for an entire career with zero complaints, it's still one of the best selling basses 60+ years on for good reason.

However, if you want to find a different tone that still has that fundamental Fender-ness but still can get close to the Precision/Jazz/StingRay tones when you need them, the L-2000 is perfect. If you're not just looking for something to plug in and go and can spend time dialing in exactly what you want (even if you don't know what you want yet), you're in the right place with the L-2000.

I hope that helps, I know it's not easy to put the money down sight unseen (and sound unheard and wood unfelt).

 

I agree with those that have said the Tributes are as good as their US counterparts. I’ve owned a US L2500 and Tribute L2000 and L2500s. They can be soft, deep, smooth, nasty, crusty, punchy and crunchy. Whatever you want.

 

I also own USA G&Ls and one Tribute L-2000. The Tribby is great and only lacks in the quality of the tuning machines. If the neck is guaranteed to be good (adjustable Truss rod). I would take the risk and order it online, sight unseen.
I will bet that you will be satisfied with the bass.

 

• I have owned and played G&Ls for more than 25 years and all of them - - whether USA or Tribute have been very satisfactory. Don't let anyone kid you - - you can feel the difference between the California and the Asian built models, but they all use the same pickups, so the sonic differences are minimal. The Tribute models are noticeably heavier than the USA models and I bet that the controls and wiring aren't as good, but those are easily replaced if you think its necessary. I wouldn't worry about buying one sight unseen.

 

I'd contact the seller seeking satisfactory response to these conditions before I'd buy:

• Provide a photo of the bass on a scale showing its actual weight.
• Provide a photo of the nut with a ruler showing its width.
• Provide more photos of the bass at various angles or in various lights.

 

How could the Tribute not be an upgrade?

 

If you're gonna buy blind, and I've bought dozens blind, a G&L Tribute is absolutely one of your safer bets.

Just looked at your post again...are you buying this new? Oh hell yes then. I've been astonished by the Tributes, the daylight between them and the US models is there but it's small.

The daylight's even smaller with the L2K Tribute...it has the same MFD pickups as the USA models, just a crushing value.

 

Based on what has been showing up on Sweetwater lately, the Tributes are pretty heavy on average (mostly 9.5-10.5 lbs). If that matters to you, you could be disappointed buying one sight unseen. The playability and fit/finish will probably be excellent no matter what, as the Tributes seem to be consistently great instruments.

 

I bought my Tribute L-2500 2nd-hand blind. I was very impressed with how well the bass was made when I got it. Neck was straight and action was near perfect. A bit on the heavy side, but that's something I expected.