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NBD - G&L M2000
- Thread starter kbakerde
- Start date
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
M2500 owner here. Nothing replaces it because nothing else sounds like it. They are discontinued unfortunately.
Great score! I love my M-2500, which has been a main player for years. Incredible bass.
The M series is active only and the pickups are still powerful but more neutral sounding. The L is active and passive but the active system is very different from what most people are used to. The L series pickups are wound even hotter than the M and have a very pronounced mid range that I liked, but found hard to dial down. I like both but find th M to be a more neutral sounding platform.
The M2K is such an under appreciated bass and so different from the L2K. The underwound MFD pickups combined with the 18v preamp, boost/cut EQ, blend and master volume give it a unique voice.
Nice. I have a Custom Shop M-2500 (in my Avatar) that I absolutely love.
I know 2 others have already answered, but I still want to give my $0.02
The M series is an always active volume, balance, 3 band bass with G&L's fantastic MFD pickups
As has already been said, in addition to G&L's awesome MFD pickups wound hotter than the M series, the L series has:
a 3 way switch to select pickup(s)
the Tribute series (which is what mine are) has a 2 way switch for putting the pickups in series or parallel mode, the USA can be had with a 3 way switch that adds a single coil mode as an option
totally passive bass and treble controls (this means they work even when the preamp is OFF!)
a third switch to choose between passive, active and active with treble boost mode.
The M series basses really are beasts! I like the familiarity of the L series, but once you understand the M series (for example, to get a normal humbucker sound out of it, you need to cut back slightly on bass and volume) it is a more flexible tool that won't let you down even if your battery dies!
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My 2018 M2K has the 1 5/8" with a 12" radius, only bass I own with that radius, but it's very comfortable. I had thought it was special ordered with that radius but obviously was stock. Interesting, not that it matters.
I'd love to try a 1 1/2" with 12" radius bet that feels great.
Welcome to the club.
I was never a huge fan of the L series. In the band setting they sound fine but never gelled with it while playing.
I bought a M2500 in super used and abused condition over Covid. It's one of my favorite basses. It was the 4th G&L of mine.
I was never a huge fan of the L series. In the band setting they sound fine but never gelled with it while playing.
I bought a M2500 in super used and abused condition over Covid. It's one of my favorite basses. It was the 4th G&L of mine.
It’s not stock. Perhaps you can custom order it. Not sure.
So fun update. The M2000 came with a hard case, but I couldn’t find it Monday. Found it this evening, and found it was a custom order. So that’s cool. Confirmed it’s a 1 5/8 neck but with a 7.25” radius. I had a FCS Jazz with a 7.25” radius before, and really liked it too.
Congrats, sincerely! The M2xxx series are really great instruments with a focused modern voice. I enjoy my L2500 but I *love* my M2500. You can drive it like an active J-bass but the sound is solidly G&L. Well done!
The M-2000s are useful basses. They’re pretty much like any of a number of active basses on the market: Volume, boost or cut B/M/T, and pan, while being full time active. So nothing special from the perspective of the larger bass playing realm. Just a typical “blank slate” active bass that you can dial in a lot of tones on.
But it was definitely a departure toward the mainstream for G&L. The L series was never “really” active. It’s a fundamentally passive design, just with an optional boost. It’s a versatile bass, but definitely has more of its own inherent tonal character, and does have some limits in terms of controllability (2-band only, cut only e.q. controls, no variable pickup blending). The M has little inherent character of its own, but because of this “flat” character combined with its more capable controls, it can easily be made to sound like practically anything, just using the onboard knobs.
So, the M-2000 was a good bass, but it had a huge amount of direct competition in the marketplace, and it came along during a period of declining build quality and increasing prices at G&L. There were other basses out there that could do the same thing just as well, and that were just as well built (or better), for about the same money…and very few people specifically seek out G&L to the point at which they’d choose it over the competition just because of its brand name. Bottom line: it just didn’t sell.
This bass looks like one that was on Reverb for months earlier this year, located in Avondale, PA. I really wanted to buy it, but other things kept calling to me first. It was down to $800 at one point, and I should have bit. If your bass is CLF065392, with the notable feature being an old school 7 1/2” radius, it’s the same bass. It was assembled and set up in the factory by my friend and sometimes bandmate.
But it was definitely a departure toward the mainstream for G&L. The L series was never “really” active. It’s a fundamentally passive design, just with an optional boost. It’s a versatile bass, but definitely has more of its own inherent tonal character, and does have some limits in terms of controllability (2-band only, cut only e.q. controls, no variable pickup blending). The M has little inherent character of its own, but because of this “flat” character combined with its more capable controls, it can easily be made to sound like practically anything, just using the onboard knobs.
So, the M-2000 was a good bass, but it had a huge amount of direct competition in the marketplace, and it came along during a period of declining build quality and increasing prices at G&L. There were other basses out there that could do the same thing just as well, and that were just as well built (or better), for about the same money…and very few people specifically seek out G&L to the point at which they’d choose it over the competition just because of its brand name. Bottom line: it just didn’t sell.
This bass looks like one that was on Reverb for months earlier this year, located in Avondale, PA. I really wanted to buy it, but other things kept calling to me first. It was down to $800 at one point, and I should have bit. If your bass is CLF065392, with the notable feature being an old school 7 1/2” radius, it’s the same bass. It was assembled and set up in the factory by my friend and sometimes bandmate.
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Thanks! The one I was looking at is surely a tribute, is like $375. I don’t have US custom order money atm! I’ve tried the Trib L2K with the 1 3/4 nut, which was ok, but I’d be more at home on a 1 5/8
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