G&L vs Fender vs Music Man

[roller]

I've owned multiple Music Man basses... and one G&L.

They've all been put out to pasture.

But there's only one I wish was still in the stable...

 

[steveinohio]

Musicman by far.

G&L is great. I just dont care for the sound as much. It always feels a bit like Musicman Light to me.

 

[roller]

That's a ridiculous reason to be missing out on something you know is fantastic.

Musicman, Fender, then G&L. The only reason I've never owned a G&L is purely because I am vain and do not like the headstock. I'd 100% own and play one with their old headstock though. I acknowledge that they're much higher quality than the Fenders I have and sometimes play, but just can't get over that weird sideways negative space gibson headstock top look.

 

[2cooltoolz]

I've been a Fender guy for years. One of the things I love about Fenders is their "modibility". I currently have 4 all-Fender (except a couple pickups) parts basses.

I've had 1 G&L at a time over the course of 6 or so years. ASAT, L2000, LB100, L2500, and my current #1, also an L2500. Throughout, I was looking for a P-bass sound out of the G&L of the moment, but finally learned to love the G&L for itself. If they made an LB100 five string, I'm pretty sure that'd be my #1 (but the current designers at G&L would probably use the 1 7/8" neck which they seem partial to now, defeating my purpose).

I had a MusicMan (US) Sterling V for a while, but couldn't connect at all. Not really interested in trying other MMs.

As stated the G&L is my #1. 90% of my play time. I voted G&L, even though they're outnumbered in my present and in my history.

 

[woodyng2]

Yeah it is silly, but i have to admit to never liking the look of the 3+1 headstocks of MM basses.
Or the chrome control cavity cover plate. Or the round pickguard. The Stingray i had played and sounded killer though.

 

[wvbass]

I am a HUGE Fender fan. I own a lot of basses, and I have more Fenders than anything else: 6 Precisions, 2 Jazz, a Jaguar, a Cowpoke, a Telecaster, a Jazz Special Fretless, a Coronado II, an Aerodyne Precision, and an Urge.

I also keep several basses in my living room for easy access - one of the benefits of being single. Here's what I have in the living room right now:

G&L ASAT
G&L L-1000
G&L Tribute L-2500
MusicMan Stingray 5
Dingwall Super P
Dingwall D-Roc Standard

 

[audreycashin]

got them to make this for me.....

 

[Hundred proof]

I’ve had them all ... still have my one of a kind highly modded EBMM Sterling.
I had G&L basses early on, just never bonded with them.
I can hang with about any old P bass, finding the “right” Jazz Bass is tough for me, I generally seem to like the early 70s J bass vibe, so the Geddy USA would probably work for me.

 

[Holdsg]

I've owned all of them.
And loyalty is tricky for me.
But I voted G&L because I currently own one.
This:

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

I’ve always considered myself to be a “Fender Guy”, but there is something here that I can’t account for.

For a long time, I owned 3 Fenders (2 Jazz Basses and a P Bass), and yet I owned *6* StingRays. (2 EBMM StingRays, a USA made StingRay SUB, a Sterling Ray34, and 2 Sterling Subs, or Sterling StingRays, or whatever it is they call them this week.)

I’m a Fender guy, but I own more Rays, in their various price points, than Fenders. (I’ve since gifted one of the Sterling Rays to a friend.) Btw, I’d someday like to own a G & L reissue of the ones they made 40 years ago, but I digress.


If any of you can explain this to me, please do.
(The only explanation I have, is that I crossed paths with StingRays more often than Fenders, when I had the money to acquire them.) I like them all.

 

[bhunt1]

My fav is G&L due to the MFD pickups. I have 2 SB-1s and 2 80s L1000s these are the best sounding basses I've ever owned.

 

[mouthmw]

Musicman, Fender, then G&L. The only reason I've never owned a G&L is purely because I am vain and do not like the headstock. I'd 100% own and play one with their old headstock though. I acknowledge that they're much higher quality than the Fenders I have and sometimes play, but just can't get over that weird sideways negative space gibson headstock top look.

Same here, I don't like their redesigned headstock, but there's a solution for that now. Check out the CLF series - old school headstock and control plate. That one opened up the GAS for me, otherwise I'd still be avoiding them. Hey if I don't like the look of the bass, I don't want it lol.

 

[Pings Bass]

Musicman, Fender, then G&L. The only reason I've never owned a G&L is purely because I am vain and do not like the headstock. I'd 100% own and play one with their old headstock though. I acknowledge that they're much higher quality than the Fenders I have and sometimes play, but just can't get over that weird sideways negative space gibson headstock top look.

Not sure what "weird sideways negative space gibson headstock top look" means, but if you're talking about the fishook, you're in luck. The CLF series has the non-fishhook headstock, and they're selling them at sweetwater now. CLF Research L-1000

 

[David McIntire]

Same here, I don't like their redesigned headstock, but there's a solution for that now. Check out the CLF series - old school headstock and control plate. That one opened up the GAS for me, otherwise I'd still be avoiding them. Hey if I don't like the look of the bass, I don't want it lol.

Ha! More than a few of my friends have said the exact same thing. The headstock kept em from buying or using G&L. It may have affected me, too, as I never once touched one for long. I had an ASAT for a day with the Eye Gouger chipped. Nice bass, but that feature isn't my fave to look at. But, funny enuff, when my M2500 got to me, I played it, all that was erased. And I've kinda grown attached to it, now. Even my friends have commented, "Ya know, in person the headstock isn't so bad...". I agree. My headstock is matching white, with no model decal. Just a silver G&L. Maybe it is the white. Maybe it's cuz this bass is a monster! I don't mind that headstock anymore.

 

[2F/2F]

I like them all.

They're fairly similar in terms of general design and construction, but Music Man and G&L were not so bound by tradition and history in terms of electronics. They went into active electronics and different pickup designs early on. Fender's core is a line of instruments that use pretty old design and technology, with minor variations. Nothing wrong with either approach. But Leo Fender was a tinkerer, and always messing with new ways to do things, so he naturally viewed Music-Man and G&L as venues for him to do that.

 

[Tommyc]

G&l 100%. Leo’s stink is all over G&L. At Fender, it’s the stuff he did way back 2 generations ago. Then, after selling it, it became a brand passed through a few hands. A P and Jazz is what I have and resale value be damned those George and Leo’s are going nowhere.

 

[Evanforbass]

I have two Fender P basses and a Jag bass (all parts builds). I do have some faint GAS for a CLF 1000 though.

O, my first electric guitar was an ASAT, excellent instrument

 

[JMarkD]

Well, I voted G&L but I have several Fenders and Musicman basses as well. I love and will always use Fenders. Musicman, while great, never quite managed to capture my loyalty.

That said, I have only owned two G&L basses. I had an early L1000 that I loved and sadly sold and regretted it for years. I have always wanted another one, but I couldn't find a suitable used one and G&L discontinued it.

With the reissue of the CLF L-1000 I fought it but finally broke down and acquired one. Just a wonderful amazing bass with a Fender linage that encompasses all the sonic qualities that define Fender and Musicman without copying those classics. So coming back to G&L forty years later must mean I am pretty darn loyal to the brand. Hence the vote.

 

[MegaSwing]

I just recently bought my first G&L and am totally crazy about it. I can absolutely feel the natural progression to it from the original Fenders. However, the original will ALWAYS be the original. It set the music world on fire like no other ever has again. It's all in the history.

And Leo was truly a gifted toolmaker.

 

[MegaSwing]

View attachment 3790991got them to make this for me.....

That's just a seriously damned beautiful thing!