Looking at a G&L L2000 to buy, the bass has a ON BOARD PREAMP FROM AGUILAR in it, just wondering if anyone has done this mod and if so what difference did it make, I love the sound of a L2000 but not sure what it would sound like with this mod, the bass is online so I wouldn't be able to check it out in person...Thanks for any imput......
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Question about a G&L L2000
- Thread starter nitrofix
- Start date
There is a guy, I think his name is Ken Baker that was in the G&L forum alot that I think I remember him having one of these in his L2000. He might pop in here but you could probably PM him too.
IMHO, most of that sound seems to come from the MFD pickups. But the preamp does add some extra life to the sound. If the original controls still work, then it will maintain much of the flexability that it originally had, but...
I'd say, in the end, unless it's a fantastic deal: Wait and buy a "whole" L-2000.
I'd say, in the end, unless it's a fantastic deal: Wait and buy a "whole" L-2000.
So this is a US model then right? Does he have the original preamp that he can give you too? Probably not but worth asking anyway.
I have an L2500 Tribute and just bought a brand new L2000 Tribute, and I want to drop in a different preamp (ACG) but Im not sure when that will happen, but I may have a G&L preamp for sale in the near future in case you are interested lol
I had an L2000 & the added adjustability of the Aggie Preamp sounds like a very good mod to me~ especially if it's the 3 band.
One possible issue - don't know if the Aguilar preamp already takes this into consideration - is the very high output of the MFD's. They're so hot they even overload the G&L preamp when you really dig in, giving a VERY loud "brraap" at the beginning of the note.
This kind of makes the preamp not useful for much (I always played my L2000 in passive mode because of that). If the Augilar is susceptible to this, it could be very unpleasant to use and you may end up just using it in passive mode anyway....
LS
This kind of makes the preamp not useful for much (I always played my L2000 in passive mode because of that). If the Augilar is susceptible to this, it could be very unpleasant to use and you may end up just using it in passive mode anyway....
LS
Good point. And something i was thinking about too because I want a different preamp in mine.
On a side note, I had issues with the hot output initially coming from playing all passive basses previously. But I just control it with the volume on the bass and it works for me.
The Aguilar pre-amps can run at either 9 or 18v. If its running at 18v, I'm assuming the pre-amp would have plenty of headroom. Of course, this would require finding somewhere to fit a second battery in the control cavity.
Honestly, I wouldn't even mess with it. You'll likely end up with a bunch of money spent for very little, if any, improvement in the sound. The MFD's still give a completely nuclear weapon tone in passive mode.
Instead, I'd invest the money in a good outboard preamp or DI and do any tone shaping there. Then pull the battery out of the bass and the preamp switch instantly becomes a good poor-man's mute switch (a lot more useful, IMO).
When the batteries die in mine (and my bunny too), they won't get replaced......
LS
Got an ansewer from the guy, it seem's to have 2 batteries in it so I guess it an 18 volt AGUILAR preamp, now don't know much about preamps is this a good thing ?? and he says the all controls work in passive and active mode... Thanks in advance for the imput
The way G&Ls work is that it's basically set up as a passive bass with passive bass and treble controls. The two switch positions in "active" mode do not change that. There is just a preamp (no tone controls) to provide some treble boost and more treble boost.
In general the active preamp in G&Ls are not particularly good having a bad tendency to pick up hum and generate noise. Obviously someone decided to fix that by swapping in an Aguilar preamp. If it had tone controls they are apparently not used (just as in the original G&L). This is probably a GOOD thing!
18 volt power just gives the active mode more headroom and makes little other difference. It would be good for slapping.
Since a G&L in passive mode doesn't even use the preamp and when in active modes just uses it to provide a bit of high end boost, I doubt that you'd be able to detect any difference in tone due to the swapped preamp. You probably would detect a much lower noise level with the Aguilar, however.
The way G&Ls work is that it's basically set up as a passive bass with passive bass and treble controls. The two switch positions in "active" mode do not change that. There is just a preamp (no tone controls) to provide some treble boost and more treble boost.
In general the active preamp in G&Ls are not particularly good having a bad tendency to pick up hum and generate noise. Obviously someone decided to fix that by swapping in an Aguilar preamp. If it had tone controls they are apparently not used (just as in the original G&L). This is probably a GOOD thing!
18 volt power just gives the active mode more headroom and makes little other difference. It would be good for slapping.
Since a G&L in passive mode doesn't even use the preamp and when in active modes just uses it to provide a bit of high end boost, I doubt that you'd be able to detect any difference in tone due to the swapped preamp. You probably would detect a much lower noise level with the Aguilar, however.
