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Peavey Palaedium - G&L L2500 fretless

L

LePL

Guest
Oct 29, 2011
22
2
Lyon, France
#1
Hi,

I'm going to try these two used basses this week:

-Peavy Palaedium MIA fretless, for 525$

-G&L L-2500 MIA fretless, for 700$

First, do you think these are interesting deals?
I also wanted to get your opinion about the sound of these basses. I already have a Fender jazz bass and a G&L L-2000, both fretted, and I must say I prefer the JB. I think the G&L is too close to the sound of a Musicman stingray, that I don't like that much. Also, I'm not too fond of active basses. Now, I think that when the bass is fretless, it changes the sound quite a lot, since for example I really like the sound of a fretless Stingray (Pino Palladino style), although I do love the sound of a fretless jazz. I also listened to the sound of an L-2000 fretless on Youtube and liked it, but couldn't find a complete demo for this bass.
From what I've heard, the Palaedium would be closer to a fretless jazz, but it's probably not exactly the same. Do you think you can obtain a Jazz bass kind of tone on the G&L? You can probably get quite a variety of tones with the G&L, but what sort of tones? Could you guys tell me a little about that, like for example your favorite settings in terms of pickups, series/parallel, and the sounds you can get with that? And the same thing with the Palaedium if some of you have one ;)

What I'm looking for in a fretless, is mainly a beautiful singing voice when you're playing melodies, and a round, deep tone in the low notes (yeah, it's probably what everyone's looking for in a fretless). Something that sounds very fretless, I would say...
Some of the fretless tones that I like:
-the Jaco Pastorius tone, like on "Birdland" by Weather Report
-David Gilmour on "Hey You" by Pink Floyd
-Pino Palladino on, let's say "Come back and stay" by Paul Young
-maybe you won't know this one, John K on the live record by Serge Gainsbourg "Le Zénith de Gainsbourg". He played on a Wal Pro 2 Fretless for this concert.

Now I know that these are different bass tones, but I just wanted to know which bass would help achieve some of these tones... Thanks!
 
#4
The Paladium is a beautiful bass and it will get jazz like tones plus an outstanding neck. I say go for the Peavey!
P.S. I don't think $525 is too much for an American made instrument that makes you happy.
 
#5
LePL said:
Really? I think 300 $ would not be much for a MIA instrument like that! Maybe it is not that great of a bass?
Click to expand...

The Palaedium is a tremendous instrument. A super thin, fast neck with outstanding tone. I'd say it's superior to many $1,500 basses out there.

However, that's not what the used market says, and all potential Peavey owners can be grateful for that. Palaediums, when they come up for sale, usually are in the $300 range, give or take. Fretless Palaediums don't appear too often, so if this bass is what you want, go for it. You should try to talk the guy down on price, since at $525 (and fretless), he'll be sitting on that thing for a looooong time.
 
#6
Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll try to get it for around 400 $. According to the guy, it is in almost mint condition and it also comes with a case designed specifically for the Palaedium. BTW, does anyone know about this case? Is it sturdy enough? It's quite important for me because I'm from France and will be going back there at the end of the year, so I will need to take the bass with me on the plane, or ship it with UPS or FedEx.

Anyway, I'm still open to comments about these two basses, if you have anything to share!
 
#8
$400 is the right number. The case is a standard Peavey thermoplastic case. It's nothing special, but it's a good quality case. You should definitely take it with you on the flight. It will save you over $100 in shipping cost.
 
#9
Roscoe East said:
Did they come fretless from the factory, or subsequently defretted? I've never seen a stock fretless Palaedium.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. I've never seen a fretless Palaedium either. I've seen the ad for this bass. The fretboard is a solid slab of ebony, no lines. So I assume it's a factory fretless.

However - Invalid Link Removed fretless Palaedium was originally a fretted bass, so who knows?
 
#10
I've never seen a factory fretless Palaedium either, but I suppose it's possible. Don't see why not.

But this thread reminds me of the thoughts I've had about pulling the frets on mine. A fretless Paledium is a very appealing idea.

:bassist:
 
#11
This is what the guy says on the ad:


"The bass comes fully stock with no alterations made".

Personally, I don't know anything about this bass, and I had never considered buying a Peavey bass before seeing this ad. At first, I thought these basses all came fretless! So I don't really know, but don't you think it would be weird if it had been converted to fretless? From what I understand, this bass has a very special neck... Anyway, I'll just try it out and see if the neck feels comfortable.

Do you think that this bass is versatile? It's not that bad if it is not too versatile, I personally prefer basses that have only one sound, but a good one, rather than, let's say, 5 ok sounds...

And, any thoughts about the G&L? I'll try to have a look at both, I'm quite interested in seeing how the B string sounds on the G&L fretless... It's probably going to be the most important thing, because if I don't like the sound of the B, I'd probably be better off defretting the G&L L-2000 that I have back home. I was also interested in the 5 string because I currently play in a metal band, and the next album might be recorded in drop tuning (probably drop C). Do you think a fretless 4 string could sound good if it is heavily drop tuned this way (I mean, I could adjust it and put special strings on it just for the sake of the recording)?
 
#12
Hi, I have a fretless G&L L-2000, and really love it. I didn't particularly like the fretted G&L's I've played (don't dislike them either, just not my favorites -- perhaps a bit too ... harsh or something?), but without the frets, I totally love it. Less harsh, more thump - and there's a huge variety of tones available.

But, I haven't heard the Peavey, and even with all the tones the G&L has, I don't know that I'd call any of them particularly mellow - it's more of a big beast.

I think you might be right - the G&L is like the Stingray - and I've also heard that a fretless Stingray has some magic too.

You know the score - you gotta try both ;-).
 
#14
LePL said:
This is what the guy says on the ad:


"The bass comes fully stock with no alterations made".

Personally, I don't know anything about this bass, and I had never considered buying a Peavey bass before seeing this ad. At first, I thought these basses all came fretless! So I don't really know, but don't you think it would be weird if it had been converted to fretless? From what I understand, this bass has a very special neck... Anyway, I'll just try it out and see if the neck feels comfortable.

Do you think that this bass is versatile? It's not that bad if it is not too versatile, I personally prefer basses that have only one sound, but a good one, rather than, let's say, 5 ok sounds...
Click to expand...

The seller would have no idea if this bass were stock unless he bought it new. If it had fret lines, I'd strongly suspect it was converted to fretless. But it doesn't, and a fretless conversion like [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] is quite an expensive proposition for a bass with such low resale value.

The Palaedium does have a special neck. It is far and away the thinnest neck I've ever seen on any bass. Personally, I find it extremely comfortable. I think it has a great variety of tones. If you go on youtube there are a couple videos that give you an idea what this bass sounds like.
 
#15
The seller would have no idea if this bass were stock unless he bought it new. If it had fret lines, I'd strongly suspect it was converted to fretless. But it doesn't, and a fretless conversion like this is quite an expensive proposition for a bass with such low resale value.
Click to expand...

So your guess would be that it came fretless from the factory?

I checked for videos on youtube, and could only find examples with a fretted Palaedium. Sounds cool, it's a little more rock and aggressive than a Jazz bass, I suppose because of the humbuckers. I also looked at Jeff Berlin videos, in which he plays his Dean sig bass. It really looks similar to the Palaedium, and I think the sound is pretty similar too. I don't really like what Jeff Berlin does, but it's probably possible to do something different even on his signature bass :rollno:.
I also looked for the Foundation bass by Peavey. What's the difference between this one and the Palaedium?

But, I haven't heard the Peavey, and even with all the tones the G&L has, I don't know that I'd call any of them particularly mellow - it's more of a big beast.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I am afraid of about this bass actually; I'll try to have a look at it anyway.

Thank you everyone for the helpful comments! And if you have anything else to share, feel free to do so, it will be much appreciated.
 
#16
LePL said:
So your guess would be that it came fretless from the factory?


I also looked for the Foundation bass by Peavey. What's the difference between this one and the Palaedium?
Click to expand...

Were it not for the missing headstock decal on that bass in Canada, I'd have assumed it was the very same instrument. The vast vast majority of fretted-to-fretless conversions are done by pulling out the frets and filling the empty grooves. You can always tell when this has been done. So if the fretboard is a solid piece of ebony, as it appears to be in the photos, either the original fretboard was removed and replaced (highly unusual), or it came from the factory this way. Peavey made lots of fretless basses, so even though no one has seen one before, it doesn't mean it didn't happen. And even if the fretboard was replaced, as long as it's a quality job, it should be fine.


The Foundation is a far different playing and sounding bass than the Palaedium. The Foundation is a rugged utility bass. Well made and good sounding, but a little primitive in design.
The Palaedium was a high end instrument in it's day. The hardware, pickups, and overall construction is noticably superior to a Foundation. The design of the Palaedium is also more elegant, and it's much lighter than a Foundation.
 
#17
Elegant goes a long way toward describing the Palaedium.

Very strong, sweet upper mids. If you can play it in tune, it would be marvellous. If not, there is nothing to hide behind.

I have never played a fretless Palaedium. I think one could be a good choice.


The metal question is a different problem.

I think the Palaedium works best with lighter strings-- 0.037-0.040-~0.100-0.105.
It has a slim but comfortable neck which seems to work well with light strings , low action and light touch.
May not work well tuned down.

The G & L L2500 will (probably) play well with medium to heavy strings if you want to tune down.
 
#18
Hi everyone,

So, I tried the L-2500 this evening. It apparently hadn't been played for many years, and I had a hard time tuning it... The setup also, was really bad, the action was very high especially at the bottom of the neck, although the bridge saddles were almost at their lowest point. Strangely, I was able to get some mwah in the upper register, but had a very hard time doing so between frets 7 and 12, even though the strings were closer to the neck.

However, I was quite pleased by the sound, especially the sound of the bridge pickup in series mode - which is, I think, the setup on a Stingray. Maybe I should try to find one of these. But anyway, I think I would be better off converting the L-2000 I have back home to fretless, rather than buying this L-2500. Actually, I'm almost sure I'm going to do that when I go back, since now I know that I also prefer the sound of the L-2000 when it's fretless.

So, I'm trying out the Peavey tomorrow morning! Actually, I'm a little skeptical now that you say that it works best with light strings and a light touch, because I have to admit that I love to play fairly hard (although I do think that the sound of a fretless is so cute that you would never want to harm such an instrument...). However, in one of the few videos I saw on Youtube with the Palaedium, the guy was whacking the hell out of his strings, and it sounded pretty nice. I'll let you know what I think.

Until then, long days and pleasant nights, and thank you all for your answers.
 
#19
LePL said:
Hi everyone,

However, I was quite pleased by the sound, especially the sound of the bridge pickup in series mode - which is, I think, the setup on a Stingray. Maybe I should try to find one of these. But anyway, I think I would be better off converting the L-2000 I have back home to fretless, rather than buying this L-2500. Actually, I'm almost sure I'm going to do that when I go back, since now I know that I also prefer the sound of the L-2000 when it's fretless.
Click to expand...

Not surprised. My L-2500 has THE best tone of any fretless I own and has tone FAR better than my fretted L-2500. In fact that is my current quest is to get the tone of the fretted G&L closer to that of the fretless! MY plan is to experiment with less bright strings on the fretted bass. So your findings don't surprise me. I paid $600 used for mine.
 

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