New floating bridge for G&L L-2500?

[ixlramp]

Yes, I knew better I just made the classic mistake of multitasking one thing too many and when my mind shifted to stringing the low B through the bridge it never shifted gears back to stringing the others through the body

learn from my mistakes

Not your mistake, a terrible bridge design. It offers top-loading as an option but can't cope with it. Mechanically it relies on through-body to hold the bridge down.

On the 2500 there are only the 2 screws. It's meant to be strung through the body because of the tension of the extra string.

No, the extra string is irrelevant, a heavy set on a 4 string bass has almost as much tension as a typical 5 string set and would also rip the bridge out. If it was meant to be strung through body they wouldn't have provided a top-load option.

 

[bassbenj]

I was looking at the G&L Club here and I don't see that either. I think maybe he means another site?

Not here. Another forum.

 

[Bibia]

Thank you for ur post, OP. A few days ago, I was checking a used L2500 Tribute Natural which I've been wanting for years. On the last minute, I cancelled it, because it was not string-through body. I always wanted that option n look because it looks sexy n beast to me. After reading ur post, n also confirmed from G&L pics on Instagram, I'm planning to contact the seller again tomorrow. Hopefully he's not changing the price. He got 2 L2500 Tribute. The other one is string-through body, year 2011. While the one I wanted is 2014. The funny thing is, the seller n I were really surprised why the 2011 is only with 2 bolts. He string it to bridge, both basses. He played mostly on 2011, n maybe that's why he didn't realize before the difference; n both were used.

Again. Thank u for ur post.

 

[luciens]

This is a known problem with some of the older L2500's. The G&L bridge is actually not designed for through-body stringing, for the obvious reasons. G&L was just reusing the (intended) screw-holdown holes to allow a through-body stringing option through those same holes. It was not a good idea...

I had an L2500 fl for a couple weeks (promptly stolen after I bought it) that was done this way and I did the bolt mod on it about a week before it got stolen.

The mod to fix it has probably been covered here and for sure over on the G&L forum, so you can probably find details on how to do it by googling it. The bolt mod is easy to do and completely and permanently fixes it.

G&L obviously doesn't do that anymore and now the holes have hold-down screws in them as they should....

L

 

[TinIndian]

If you string the older ones, prior to 2015 I think, through the body there is no issue whatsoever. If you go just through the bridge you can have a problem with it pulling the screws out. I have a 2014 L2500 and I always string it through the body, I prefer it that way. I honestly don't want one without the ability to go through the body.

 

[luciens]

If you string the older ones, prior to 2015 I think, through the body there is no issue whatsoever. If you go just through the bridge you can have a problem with it pulling the screws out. I have a 2014 L2500 and I always string it through the body, I prefer it that way. I honestly don't want one without the ability to go through the body.

The issue is the one in the OP, where if you can't get the B string through the body. You have to top load the B in that case, and sometimes, very rarely, just that was enough to lift the bridge.

Really, they need a different bridge to really support string-through-body the right way (including holes big enough to fit large gauge B strings), but unfortunately Leo Fender is dead and not around to design a different one .

L