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NBD: G&L L2500 Tribute

punkjazzben

punkjazzben

Jun 26, 2008
1,711
206
Australia
#1
This NBD has been incubating for a while. Since last March, to be exact (see thread here). Somehow, although I decided to get a G&L after my wedding in April 2013, I've managed to buy a Squier VM fretless jazz and an Epi EB3 since then. I finally found this L2500 in blueburst on sale, at the right price, and pulled the trigger last Thursday. It arrived on Tuesday.

The setup was good, and that's a credit to the store. The neck and tuning was stable over the four-day journey interstate, through a few different temperature and humidity changes. So that's promising. I like a bass that isn't temperamental.

Fit and finish is top-notch for a bass that cost me only a little more than a Squier VM/CV. This feels like a bass that should be priced 4x as much. Fretwork is very nice, and the hardware is solid and stable. The blueburst is deep and 'electric'. Overall the bass just feels and looks really rock-solid.

Despite reviews, this one is a comfortable weight; no more than my old Fender P or my current Squier, and definitely a lot less than my old Warwick. The neck reminds me of my Yamaha five-stringers, and I (personally) find it very comfortable in the hand, even though I have smaller hands. The bass balances really nicely on the knee and on a strap. So far so good - well-built, solid, and comfortable.

Tonally - wow! This truly is a Swiss army knife. The knobs and switches don't scare me, but I'm sure I'll need a cheat sheet to remember all my favorite combinations anyway. In active mode, it has a nice aggressive low-mid growl with plenty of zing in the top end. In passive mode there is quite a steep volume drop-off, but the tone is mellow and deep (passive and neck p'up solo sounds very P Bass-ish). This bass will have no problems cutting through a live mix, but I can tone it down if I need to.

The stock strings (D'Addarios?) are a little too bright for my tastes, so I'll let them wear in a bit or look for some suitable flats; there's just a little to much string noise for some of the stuff I do. I'm also considering doing the single coil mod, changing the parallel/series switch to parallel/single coil/series.

So I'm happy. It has a fairly classic look, and is tonally versatile and very comfortable to play. I was looking for something I could take to any gig, and I think this might be the one.

I'm rehearsing with a 60s cover band tonight, so I'll be able to put it to the test.

l2500.jpg
 
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#2
congratulations

I picked up an m2500 about 2 weeks ago now and couldn't be more pleased with the fit and feel.
I have small hands as well and it feels custom made for me. Mine is 9.25 lbs so feel I lucked out on the weight issue.

The XLs were too bright for me.
I put Pressure Wounds on top loaded and my setup guy did a variant on the G&L bridge mod to put some 1 1/2 6-32 machine screws/washer/nut in the through holes to remove any doubt about bridge anchoring.
Every day I play it, it sounds better now.

Next time I may reverse that mod and try Brite Flats as they're long enough for thru-body and would be a little darker.
 
#4
Invalid Link Removed

this m2000 bass weighs 8.8 lbs and that's swamp ash
I bought the m2500 same black ice model

bass place actually sorts and lists their basses by weight -- never seen that before
 
#5
I think the bridge problem is bypassed on the Tributes because the bridge isn't string-thru. Or maybe I don't understand the issue properly?

Just weighed it. It comes in at 4.5kg or about 9lbs. 9oz. So, not as light as some basses, but not too bad - my Squier is 4.3kg, although my Yammie RBX270J is 3.4kg. My old Warwick was 6kg, or just over 13lbs., and that was beginning to cause shoulder problems.

I've ordered a five-string set of Chromes. The stock strings are definitely too bright for my tastes.

Very glad I took a chance with G&L.
 
#6
I've got a Tribute L2000, and the biggest learning curve for me was learning to not work back from the tone knobs being wide open, as on all my passive basses.

Instead, I start with both on 0, roll the bass knob forward slightly, and the treble forward slightly more - so maybe they're on 2 or 3 & 4 or 5 respectively. It reigns the aggressive-ness in, but still keeps the bite, and plenty of low end. The very wide neck on it is comfortable, too.

Congratulations! That Blueburst looks great.
 
#7
Yeah, I agree with the your sentiments re the treble and bass knobs. I believe they cut only, which is different to anything I've had before. I suppose having them on full would explain why there's such a steep volume drop off when switching to passive.

But I guess if you start at 0, you can think of them as boosting those frequencies.
 
#8
punkjazzben said:
Yeah, I agree with the your sentiments re the treble and bass knobs. I believe they cut only, which is different to anything I've had before. I suppose having them on full would explain why there's such a steep volume drop off when switching to passive.

But I guess if you start at 0, you can think of them as boosting those frequencies.
Click to expand...

Actually cut-only is not something you never saw before (assuming you've see standard passive basses!). The "treble" L2500 knob is nothing more than the usual passive "tone" control that rolls off highs. The "bass" control is similar except that it rolls off deep lows. The bass control is especially useful when say you've got pickups in series that gives lots of bass (or in my case also pulled the OMG Mod on which gives a 3 dB low end boost) and in that case you can roll back lows to reduce "mud".

Note that the active position not only inserts a cable driver which eliminates the high end roll-off of long cables but also introduces a slight high end boost as well. And that accounts for some of the apparent volume differences. The "high boost" position is like active but only with a lot more boost on the highs. There is sort of a learning curve but unlike most active basses with boost/cut controls (like say the M2500) you have to play the boost circuits (even those on your amp) against the passive cut controls to dial in a nice tone balance. It's different, but it works well.

And factory strings are WAY bright. I've found that Dunlop nickel rounds DBN 2015 or DBN 2025 strings sound great for rounds. Cheap too! On my Fretless L2500 I used D'addario ground wounds. I think the L2500 seems a bit more fussy as to which brands of strings sound best than some other basses.
 
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#16
punkjazzben said:
I think the bridge problem is bypassed on the Tributes because the bridge isn't string-thru. Or maybe I don't understand the issue properly?

Very glad I took a chance with G&L.
Click to expand...

The bridge is very much a string through. The problem comes about when you choose not to use that feature, but string straight from the bridge. There are only two screws holding the bridge in place and the straight from the bridge option is asking those two screws to hold the bridge down in the face of some pretty significant tension.

The solution is to drop some screws down into the string through holes and use some threaded spacers in from backside to reduce the pressure on the bridge screws to hold the bridge in place. Totally reversible should you decide to use the string through option.

Love my L2500. Most often used in my arsenal.
 
#17
oldrookie said:
The bridge is very much a string through. The problem comes about when you choose not to use that feature, but string straight from the bridge. There are only two screws holding the bridge in place and the straight from the bridge option is asking those two screws to hold the bridge down in the face of some pretty significant tension.

The solution is to drop some screws down into the string through holes and use some threaded spacers in from backside to reduce the pressure on the bridge screws to hold the bridge in place. Totally reversible should you decide to use the string through option.

Love my L2500. Most often used in my arsenal.
Click to expand...

my tribute l2500 doesn't have string through as an option, it has the bridge screwed in really really good in those same holes, came from the factory that way
 

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