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G & L Players?

D

daalper

Aug 12, 2009
10
0
#1
I'm shopping for a new bass and I am think about 3 different choices.

One is a G&L L2000, and I was hoping to get some reviews from some people who have played them. I'm wondering if its too much bass for me. while I like having all the options it seems to offer, I'm not sure if I will need it all. One thing I really like is the humbuckers.

The other two choices is a mexican j-bass, and an american 60th anniversary j-bass. The mexi bass is much cheaper and the american is oh so beautiful.

I play a 5-string now and want to experiment with a 4-string to see if i'd rather stick to 4.

any tips?
 
#2
Dont get intimidated by "all the options" on a L2000. I like things real simple when it comes to instruments, but I have absolutely no problems with the controls on my L2500 Tribby. By listening to some people you would think its incredibly complicated, but it isnt.

It is a fantastic sounding instrument. So much so that I am thinking about selling off my 88 Ric 4003 and buying a US L2000.
 
#3
its not that im intimidated by it, its just that i dont want to get something with bells and whistles if im never gonna use the whistles, you know? of course weather im going to use more than one or two different settings when i play is a question only i can answer....:-) thanks for your response.
 
#4
While you might not use the whistles in a band setting, I like using whistles during practice. I always use my G&L with both buckers on in series, but it's fun to move it to the neck pickup, put it in parallel, roll off the treble and play some oldies... sorta like a P bass, only you have a lot more options :)
 
#5
With the L2000, I usually prefer either pickup on their own, not together. I'll put the neck pickup in the parallel mode and roll off a little bass most of the time, or I'll use the bridge pickup in series with the bass at 100% if I need a little more bite. I don't use treble boost or passive (sometimes I'll record passive, but I don't use it live).

Also, I usually have the volume knob at around 90% since the pickups are super hot and can overdrive even padded inputs.
 
#6
My ASAT (same electronics as the L2000) rarely gets anyting more than a volume adjustment. Rarely do I use anything other than other than neck/series/passive with the tone controls wide open. Having lots of options doesn't mean you have to use them all the time. Find a sound you like and stick with it, if that's what works for you.
 
#7
The G&L L-2000 is more versatile over the jazz bass, the humbuckers give a really sweet and strog tone and you can get the JB sound without any problem,the tone control can give you what you want. Check the wood for youself!!!! . I would recommend you the L-2000, I own it and I'm very happy with it!!!!!
 
#8
I'm interested in the L2000 myself.

I have a Tribute SB2 I bought used for 350.00 and it is a great bass all around. Lightweight and the MFD p/ups growl nicely. I've played a lot of shows with it and recorded with it as well and it always sounds and plays great. The bridge p/up in the SB2 is more for tone and I tend to roll it off because the the split coil one sounds so hot and great by itself.

I wouldn't hesitate to get another G&L Tribute and if my finances were better I'd get a USA one.
 
#9
The L2000 is very versatile and I don't think there is a useless setting on it besides maybe everything dimed. If you like the sound of the MFD pickups then go for it. You won't get that sound anywhere else.
 
#10
The G&L L- series are fantastic basses, US or Tribute -I 1st tried a Tribute L2500 (5string) which I bought as a 'backup', and I liked it so much more than my Lakland 55-01 I sold both to get a US L2500 (just because I wanted a specific color & options - I KNEW what I'd be getting sound-wise since the pickups are the same). Then I thought I should have a 4 string around (I mostly play 5's or 6's), so I picked up an L-2000. Love the bass, but really need another 5 as my backup, so it's going out the door. But if I ever needed another 4-banger, I would not hesitate to pick one up again.

I mostly use it in Parallel with both PU's on, and switch to series for a 'solo-boost', but the bridge PU alone gives a nice gritty sound that's very useful too. It's nice to have the options right there, even if you never use them. It's worse to have a bass and need a different sound for something, and have to get yet another bass.....
 
#11
i had a L2000 and really liked it most the time. i have a love hate relationship with all my electric basses. my problem with it was with all the options for tone i could never be satified. i know you can find a tone you like and then quit messing around with all the switches and knobs, but i just couldnt leave it alone.
a great bass though. i traded mine for a fender p-bass, thats about as simple as it gets. i play country/newgrass type stuff and the g&l was a little too aggresive for me in that style of music. i did play it for a while in a blues/rock type band and it was really good for that.
 
#12
The MFD pickups are my favorite pickups in two decades of playing and dozens of basses.

The nice thing about the L-2000 and L-2500 is that there are lots of tones available, but it's really hard to dial in a bad one.

Great bass. Don't be shy about it.

KO
 
#13
One neat thing about the L-2000 that you don't get with a lot of basses is the option to go active or passive with the flip of a switch. If you ever get into situations where nothing but that old-school passive sound will do. Also, IIRC, in case you ever run out of battery in the middle of the set I believe the L-2000 defaults to passive mode so you can continue playing, whereas with active only basses you are SOL.

I owned one briefly, many years ago that I bought used. I loved the sounds but it had some setup issues that could not be corrected so I didn't hang on to it very long. But I am currently very seriously thinking about trying one again.
 
#15
I find I invariably end up playing pups in series live (sounds best) but always record in parallel (sounds better on recordings). Almost always use both pups and always leave it in active w/o treble boost.
 
#18
Recent Tribute L-2500 owner here.

I'm really enjoying it! I REALLY like the control layout. I like to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) with my basses and despite the numerous controls, it really is very simple.

I like how the Treble\Bass is cut only. The preamp is very transparent.

I play mine with both pups, parallel and depending on the genre, passive or active.

I haven't found an excuse to use the active+treble yet, but I've toyed with it and can hear where it might be useful.
 
#20
I'm not sure what features you think might be overkill for your needs, but it does appear the other basses you're looking at are passive. Given that, you might want to consider tracking down an L-1000. You'd get a single, huge sounding MFD with a simplified set of controls, all wired passive.

Just a thought. I'm a passive guy myself and prefer pretty basic electronics, and the L-1000 is my personal favorite.
 

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