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Spector, G&L, or EBMM

Which should I go for?

  • Spector Ethos 5

    Votes: 14 8.0%

  • Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray Special 5HH

    Votes: 49 28.0%

  • G&L L2500

    Votes: 80 45.7%

  • Spector Euro RST 5

    Votes: 25 14.3%

  • Other

    Votes: 7 4.0%
  • Total voters
    175
#41
I own a USA G&L L-2500 fretless (and an M-2000 fretted 4-string), so I'm familiar with it and MFDs. I'll echo what others have said; the amount of tones/versatility is crazy, but I generally only use a few of those settings. Personally I prefer active/series mode, but I also like big tone. Parallel cleans it up, and turning knobs a little changes the tone a little; they aren't the on/off switches as some tone controls seem to be. The body is super comfy and the neck is great; it doesn't have the G-string right on the edge of the fretboard that like of the EMBB 5s I've tried have. It's one of those basses that hangs just right and just feels comfortable. Downside is that they all tend to be above 9lbs, most in the 9.5-10lb range, partly (I think) because of the massive bridge.

You will likely spend a bunch of time experimenting to see what settings you like, but that's part of the fun (at least for me). And if you like P-bass tone, the neck MFD in Series mode sounds like a P turned up to 11 or 12, it's killer.
 
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#43
IMG_20240514_112339664.jpg


15 strings of Glorious & Lovely G & L bassiness . . . .

You'll also want to consider which strings to use to get the sound(s) you're seeking. If you want a less aggressive tone with the L2500, not only can you select the passive setting and roll back the tone knobs, but you may want to use flat wound, tape, etc. string types.
 
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#46
MtManiac said:
My vote is Stingray Special, specifically HH.

My Special is easily the nicest bass I’ve ever owned in 41 years. Roasted maple neck with oil rubbed finish, ebony board, two massive sounding humbuckers, a powerful preamp, and a sparkle finish. They just announced new finishes that look amazing. I bought mine used on Kijiji for CAD$2700 last year, with the OHSC. The TB Classifieds often has them also.

I don’t like the body shape or headstock shape of the L2500, or most of the finish options I’ve seen. They just look like an “also ran” to me, not a winner. The passive switch is a feature in their favour however. I’ve looked at them a lot and just can’t bring myself to commit to one, and these are my honest reasons why. There are very few dealers in Canada and zero anywhere near me unless I want to drive 14 hours and take my chances with whatever is in stock.

Spector are, unless I’m wrong, all 35” scale for 5-strings. Some may argue that makes a difference, but the only difference it makes to me is a slightly longer fretboard, which I don’t want.

Fwiw, I also own two MIA Fender P5’s, and they are my main go-to basses, plus the Special and a Charvel PJ5. The Charvel is an outstanding value. For what our band is doing, P bass fits almost everything. For higher paying gigs and bigger stages I bring three and swap them out at set breaks - usually it’s the two P5’s, with the third being either the Special or the Charvel, spending on my mood for the evening. The Special HH on neck pickup does a very acceptable P-ish tone, but you also get a boatload of other options too.
Click to expand...

Yeah I feel very much the same about the G&L...for that kind of money, they are kind of meh looking. I know that's not the most important thing, but I do want to like the look of it. And there are zero places to try one. Also I believe they do tend to run on the heavy side, which is less than ideal. I would prefer to have the shorter scale, so that's the only hang up I have on the Spector....though they are very comfortable; I don't know if it would bug me in the long run. Really if the MM had a passive mode (Spector doesn't either FWIW) it would probably be ideal.

A P5 would be great, but for whatever reason I find them really uncomfortable. All the ones I've tried had thin'ish necks, and with the wide string spacing, it just felt all kids of wrong. The Charvel (which I would love if it worked for me), was even worse.
 
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#47
mikeswals said:
I've owned many 2500's, and in the end just don't love their blunt midrange tone.
I love Musicmans and Spectors and can hang with those tones all night long. However I disliked the old 35" scale of the Spectors, but now you can get 34" in the Classics.
Click to expand...
Never heard a Musicman in a live performance but agree 100% with Spector vs 2500.
 
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#50
kln_bc said:
Yeah I feel very much the same about the G&L...for that kind of money, they are kind of meh looking. I know that's not the most important thing, but I do want to like the look of it. And there are zero places to try one. Also I believe they do tend to run on the heavy side, which is less than ideal. I would prefer to have the shorter scale, so that's the only hang up I have on the Spector....though they are very comfortable; I don't know if it would bug me in the long run. Really if the MM had a passive mode (Spector doesn't either FWIW) it would probably be ideal.

A P5 would be great, but for whatever reason I find them really uncomfortable. All the ones I've tried had thin'ish necks, and with the wide string spacing, it just felt all kids of wrong. The Charvel (which I would love if it worked for me), was even worse.
Click to expand...
Yeah the Charvel has a very flat neck, I’d forgotten you’d mentioned that.
 
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#52
Esteban Garcia said:
Get the L2500 and spend a couple years dialing it in.:roflmao: (I ended up preferring passive mode to my surprise.) It's pretty easy to tame those aggressive pickups by just rolling off the volume, but it can be hard to remember which combinations of switches and knobs you liked last time you played it;)
Click to expand...
That was what I ran into. Almost made me want detented knobs (which of course, would suck for a vol control:laugh:). Then I thought, how about "underwound" MFDs? But then, they wouldn't be MFDs!
 
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#54
RGerhart said:
It took me a minute to understand all of the switches and controls for my L-2500, but after I did, I really grew to love the bass. I have the CLF Research 750 version, with the wider string spacing and chunky neck, and I love it. It's like a Stingray with wider spacing and better pickups.
Click to expand...
Both my L2500s were the regular ones, both were simple black/maple. I think the CLF versions with the metal control plate look much cooler than the regular ones.
 
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#55
I really love my Stingray Special 5HH. The 5 pickup settings give a lot of versatility and the neck and spacing feel so, so good. And the weight is bonkers. Mine is at 8lbs 4 oz, compared to my older 4H which is 9lbs 11oz.
Never owned a G&L but always thought they were cool; the L2500 looks nice! For me one distinctive of the Ray over the G&L (and my older ray!) is the smoother neck pocket. I like playing up high, so having a smooth transition there is really nice.
 
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#56
jam.majors said:
I really love my Stingray Special 5HH. The 5 pickup settings give a lot of versatility and the neck and spacing feel so, so good. And the weight is bonkers. Mine is at 8lbs 4 oz, compared to my older 4H which is 9lbs 11oz.
Never owned a G&L but always thought they were cool; the L2500 looks nice! For me one distinctive of the Ray over the G&L (and my older ray!) is the smoother neck pocket. I like playing up high, so having a smooth transition there is really nice.
Click to expand...
My Special is getting more and more action for sure, everytime I take it out further confirms I’ll be taking it out next time. It’s conceivable that it could replace my P basses on gigs.
 
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#57
I have an Ethos 5 and I love it. The NS body is great, and the finish is fantastic. It was my first 5 so it took me a while to get used to the (pretty flat compared to a Fender) fingerboard but it's very versatile. I usually have the treble boost/cut control rolled off to play more vintage sounds, but it's easy enough to crank. I liked it way better than Fender 5s that I played (flabby low string mostly, could be fixed perhaps?), and the Stingrays were way out of my price range but they played great.
 
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#58
As mentioned G&L's distribution in Canada is patchy. There are no dealers in Saskatchewan for example. Quebec and Manitoba each have a single dealer, and there are none east of Montreal. Spector is about the same. No Saskatchewan dealers, and none in the Maritimes. Even weirder is that there are none in Ontario. There must be an interesting story why Long and McQuade, Canada's national music chain, doesn't carry them.
 
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#59
When you say you like narrower string spacing, how narrow are you talking about? The old G&L L-5000 crams five strings in to a normal sized bass neck, and has a fundamentally P-ish tone. The 2500 has wider string spacing (though not a full 3/4 inch spacing), and can be very heavy.
 
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