G & L Players?

[jaywa]

BTW figuring out the knobs and switches on an L-2000 is not nearly as complicated as some might try to make it out to be. It's really a very straightforward, logical design as all of Leo Fender's original designs were.

 

[daalper]

the jazz bases im looking at are both active. i prefer active most of the time but i do like the option to have both on one bass.

 

[woodsideh]

I have an American Std Jazz and a American Std P bass. I prefer the L2000 over either one of them. The L2000 has more versatility, is more even across the neck and cuts through the mix better live.

 

[Madcity Fats]

the jazz bases im looking at are both active. i prefer active most of the time but i do like the option to have both on one bass.

I stand corrected. In that case, I'd say the L-2000 would be a great choice.

 

[bassbenj]

I'm shopping for a new bass and I am think about 3 different choices.

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?

Giving up playing a real* bass? Well, I'm not going to be very sympathetic! Usually that is a sign that you really aren't taking full advantage of the 5 strings.

* All "real" basses have 5 or more strings...

To my way of thinking, the only reason to go to a 4 string is because you want to retro back to old school. And that immediately limits your choice to the Fender with flatwounds on it. So go for it!

I've got a MIM Jazz deluxe V that is the equal of any American in town. I know because I went around and l played them all. It's active, of course, and the Fender electronics gives wonderful tonal control with the mid knob. It's fretted with flatwounds. I modded it by replacing the second volume with a rotary switch that gives Neck, both parallel, both series, bridge pickup switching. Got it used for a song and it is the equal of any Am. equivalent in tone, looks or playability. It's the old school master! (Yeah 4 strings would be a tad more authentic, but hey I have to make some compromises for my own comfort! Few notice the extra string anyway.)

And yes I own two G&Ls as well. I've got a L-2500 Tribute Fretted in Ash, and a similar L-2500 fretless Am. G&L. As all American made G&Ls the latter has wood to die for. Otherwise both are very similar basses. Both are more modern sounding than the Fender (though I've never put flatwounds on them yet) and the range of controls is amazing in it's sublety. The passive modes really kick serious butt and the fact it has bass and treble controls in passive is a major plus. (You do have to play a bit with the Amp EQ to get them optimized as being passive they don't boost...so you have to add that from the amp) The active boosted highs settings gives a really decent slap tone, but usually I prefer the tone of passive.

The fretless has been left factory, but the Tribute was modded by me to include an additional switch for single coil tone. I love the added clarity of the single coil setting and use it a lot.

Knobs, switches, mods! You can see that if you are one of the "all Jaco needed was a volume control" crowd, you won't get anything out of talking to me! Some people like to search for "their sound" and once they find it, it stays that way forever. No knobs or adjustments ever change. Me, I like the idea of being in control of my tone and matching it to the music. I love lots of knobs and adjustments, but I don't want it to be a nightmare to adjust on the fly like two volumes. So switches are my favorite thing. The G&L settings are so subtle that fine tweaks are a waste of time anyway. Flipping switches is fast and effective.

As you can see, both my Fender and the two G&Ls are very much along the lines of "my" way of playing bass. My rule is usually "better to have it and not use it than to need it and not have it". Although I have recently backed off from 6 strings to the above three basses because my current music doesn't ever really need the extended upper range, so I bent the rule a bit so I can use the G&Ls and Fender.

As for where you are coming from, well that's your decision to make. But you might as well figure out right now that the G&Ls are not your 4 string P bass with only a volume control. But if that is good or bad, only you can decide. For me it's good.

 

[Lesfunk]

IMO The G&L is a superior bass to the Mexican JB. I owned an ASAT and regret selling it.
Best rock tone of all my bases.

 

[daalper]

I've got a MIM Jazz deluxe V that is the equal of any American in town.

this is exactly what i have right now, and i love it. im wanting to experiment with the 4 string though, to see how much i actually would miss having the low B. while i use the B string quite a bit, i rarely spend much time on it. its usually a hit here and a vamp there, or whatever. we will see.

i havent completely decided yet, but i think im going to go with the mexi j-bass. its the exact same bass as mine, just 1 less string. i think ive decided on it because its cheap, i can buy for probably as cheap as it will ever get (wont depreciate any more) unless it breaks or something, and it will accomplish my goal of seeing how i like the feel of playing a 4-string. since it just like the bass i play now, there wont be a learning curve for me as far as learning the electronics of it, and ill be able to focus on what i really want to find out.

i may get a G&L in the future. i really like them and appreciate the comments and info.

 

[unclejane]

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?

I think of the G&L basses as suped-up versions of the Fenders, with the supe-up having been done by Leo Fender himself. Essentially the L2000 is the Fender Precision made over by LF, with the good stuff kept and the crappy stuff fixed.

I don't play mine anymore (they've been supplanted by my carvin bunny) but I still have my L2000 and 2500, both fretless models. The biggest difference between the G&L and the Fenders is in the electronics. There are no pickups available on the market that can match the heat of the MFD humbuckers in terms of output and tone. There's just more of everything you can possibly want out of them available.

The only time you'll have a little bit of a task is when trying to cop an original Fender sound from them. You can get close, but it takes some fiddling.

If you're like me and never liked the original Fender sound anyway, that task goes away and you just run the G&L wide open .

The build quality on the G&L US made is very good, tho the L2500 introduces a bad design in the bridge. To accomplish through-body stringing they simply reuse the hold-down screw holes in the back of the bridge. Now the bridge is only held on with 2 small wood screws which can cause problems if you want to top load the strings. There's a simple mod for fixing that tho.

I'm probably still going to keep mine even tho I'm now a carvin convert. I think of them as true Fenders and I do use my L2000 on a very occasional basis now when I need the MFD tone.

I think there's just no comparison in the sound between them and the original Fender designs. It's kind of like comparing a pop gun with a Howitzer.....

LS