Surprised by my G&l L-2500....

[engedi1]

I tried a G&L once and the neck was very chunky. There's no way I could play that with my small hands.

This has been said many times, but here goes again. There are many different neck widths that G&L has used, just as Fender and Musicman have used many different radii over the years. Also, G&L necks are handshaped by a real human and there will be some variation. Also, G&L makes many model. the SB1 and the JB1 used a 1.5 nut width like a J bass. MY G&L does not sport a chunky neck at all, quite thin, thinner than most 5 strings, and is. I have smaller hands than almost anyone I have ever met and have similar concerns as you. Don't write them off yet! My suggestion would be to try more than 1 G&L and report back.

 

[engedi1]

IMHO, I think they get less love because they are not as "flashy" as a P or J bass with colored pickguards or as iconic as a EBMM.

+1 to this. They are not as good looking as Musicman's or Fenders. Also, their finishes tend to be less than stellar, but simple and plain, which is why you can get a hand made american bass for a cheap price. Of course, the new JB basses look as great as any Fender J bass.

 

[felixxx]

+1 to this. They are not as good looking as Musicman's or Fenders. Also, their finishes tend to be less than stellar, but simple and plain, which is why you can get a hand made american bass for a cheap price. Of course, the new JB basses look as great as any Fender J bass.

Funny, I think they look better than Fenders and MM. And I like their sound better as well.
You know what they say about folks and strokes. I guess that must be it.

 

[BadJazz]

My G&L conversion was a lot like many others in this thread: incidental. I saw a USA L2K on craigslist for cheap and googled it. I knew the L stood for Leo Fender, and that was about it. Piqued, I went and checked it out and made an offer, which he took.

After playing it for a while, it took a back seat to my Stingray and USA Sterling. The owner had messed with the intonation and the action was pretty high, so it was tougher to play than the buttery Balls. However, I did hear something highly compelling in the tonality off the L2K. Enough to keep me interested, otherwise I would have likely sold it and made a small profit.

I went back to it enough times, and familiarized myself with the switches. As noted in this thread, that part is absolutely crucial to "getting" the L2K. Especially compared to my one humbucking Stingray. A guitarist friend came over around this time and I had to show my latest prize, so he tried it out and declared it the best sounding bass he had ever heard.

tl;dr: I then sold my Stingray, Sterling, and Pedulla 5'ers and bought three more G&Ls.

 

[sunbeast]

My L2000 has consistently sounded better in a mix than any other bass I've ever played, and has become my hallmark for tone when EQ'ing pretty much any other bass. As others have mentioned, it can sometimes sound pretty extreme on its own, but it just owns a mix!

 

[lowfreqgeek]

+1 to this. They are not as good looking as Musicman's or Fenders. Also, their finishes tend to be less than stellar, but simple and plain, which is why you can get a hand made american bass for a cheap price. Of course, the new JB basses look as great as any Fender J bass.

I think their "premier" finishes tend to be on par with anyone and everyone out there. Their "standard" finishes are also on par with anyone out there, but there's not much special about those. They are "standard", after all. Their bursts sure are nice and even from one color to the next.

I've seen some quilt and flame topped L-series basses with figuring and finish on par with Sadowsky and Lakland and other high-end basses. You have to pay for it, and dearly, but they'll do it. I know Marty Bell at least used to do some of their work - may still.

 

[engedi1]

Well, I do get compliments on my L-2500 which is a 3tsb, over a pretty decent piece of alder which has a nice grain. I just mean that they aren't trying to be overly flashy with flamed maple finishes and the lack of a pick gaurd will turn off the traditional crowd. I have never understood the lack of mass appeal with G&L and I blame the finishes on the basses you see on music stores. Of course, their general lack of retail distribution is another cause I have heard blamed for their lack of widespread use. I would also say they don't have a history of really famous bass players like Flea, Louis Johnson, or Pino Palladino using them, who made Music Man so famous. Also, musicman was probably the first mass produced bass with active electronics and Musicman really hit the market with perfect timing. . they are also a little pricey new, especially the new JB which I am really lusting after. Nevertheless, they are simply great basses for the price, and are still amazing deals for a handmade bass. I just think that the market has gotten used to fancier finishes for basses in this price range.

 

[chunkstyle]

+1 to this. They are not as good looking as Musicman's or Fenders. Also, their finishes tend to be less than stellar, but simple and plain, which is why you can get a hand made american bass for a cheap price. Of course, the new JB basses look as great as any Fender J bass.

Are you kidding me? G&L finishes are top of the line when it comes to production finishes. The quality is top notch. And don't forget you get close to 50 different high quality color options. Compare THAT to Fender or EBMM. It slays me when Sterling Ball complains about the cost of colors...

 

[mntngrown]

So I started playin bass, after guitar, in the early 60's.
Fenders were cheap used, and a no-brainer choice. Wish I kept them. (not). Still the California connection is the way to go for bass quality. G&L still makes top notch Leo designed basses. (and Fender American P-basses are great today too!).
Sterling Ball maintains the quality of music man basses at boutique/custom levels which can be purchased at mass produced prices? What's not to love? It's a great era to be a bass player in the good ole USA. Amps reaffirm this.

 

[mntngrown]

So I started playin bass, after guitar, in the early 60's.
Fenders were cheap used, and a no-brainer choice. Wish I kept them. (not). Still the California connection is the way to go for bass quality. G&L still makes top notch Leo designed basses. (and Fender American P-basses are great today too!).
Sterling Ball maintains the quality of music man basses at boutique/custom levels which can be purchased at mass produced prices? What's not to love? It's a great era to be a bass player in the good ole USA. Amps reaffirm this.

 

[sad_katz]

Sad Katz. You are right about series mode. I don't like the tone in series mode, it is a little overpowering. I run mine in parallel, usually in active mode, and will only cut treble if the song doesn't want a grindy tone, and put the treble back on when the tune calls for a brighter tone. I doubt your pots are faulty, if you cut bass on your amp, or on any eq device, you will lose volume. I think the G&L eq will also cut low mids, which will suck the volume out of your tone.

The thing is, with the bass knob rolled off the volume disappeared! Volume cut is logical but complete volume cut is worrying

Btw, is it just me or the treble cut also kills some mids? It just doesn't sound like a traditional tone control like in Fender's.

About fiddling around the G&L's, one should really play one in a mix. Playing solo with the series mode may be overpowering at first, but in a mix it makes the bass tone significantly beefier. Good thing if you don't plan to be buried in a mix, imo

My G&L is a Tribute line and the clear gloss/flamed maple finish looks and feels stellar to me. Other companies would charge extra for more color choices, unlike G&L with their lots-of-color-to-choose-from option if you order a US made one.

 

[sunbeast]

The thing is, with the bass knob rolled off the volume disappeared! Volume cut is logical but complete volume cut is worrying

Btw, is it just me or the treble cut also kills some mids? It just doesn't sound like a traditional tone control like in Fender's.

About fiddling around the G&L's, one should really play one in a mix. Playing solo with the series mode may be overpowering at first, but in a mix it makes the bass tone significantly beefier. Good thing if you don't plan to be buried in a mix, imo

My G&L is a Tribute line and the clear gloss/flamed maple finish looks and feels stellar to me. Other companies would charge extra for more color choices, unlike G&L with their lots-of-color-to-choose-from option if you order a US made one.

Since the passive bass cut control is passive and cut only, it just works as a broad high pass filter, when it is turned down it will be cutting out alot of signal, including mids. Turning up the volume on your amp from that point might get you the tones you want though- my bass knob is usually around 50%, in other words- 50% cut since all the way up is flat. The "treble" control really is just a standard passive tone control as found on most basses/guitars, and as with any passive tone control, if you want it to affect a smaller frequency bandwidth, you could just put a smaller capacitor in there (like a .022uf for example).

 

[sad_katz]

Since the passive bass cut control is passive and cut only, it just works as a broad high pass filter, when it is turned down it will be cutting out alot of signal, including mids. Turning up the volume on your amp from that point might get you the tones you want though- my bass knob is usually around 50%, in other words- 50% cut since all the way up is flat. The "treble" control really is just a standard passive tone control as found on most basses/guitars, and as with any passive tone control, if you want it to affect a smaller frequency bandwidth, you could just put a smaller capacitor in there (like a .022uf for example).

I'd probably do that along with the K-switching mod later on.





Not that it's bad or lacking in stock form. It's awesome - modding will make it more awesome!

 

[Green Lantern]

I have a G&L 2500, and I really like the bass. The only thing I am not crazy about is the weight....a little bit heavy when standing on stage. The bass has the P bass and J bass sound all rolled into one bass, along with an active circuit and treble boost. Whats not to love?

Recently though I had Carvin send me a LB75 bass to try out. The neck is a lot thiner and easier to play, and the 3 octive neck is nice. The weight is less and easier on my shoulder. The bass sounds great and has a great J bass sound. When I A/B it against the G&L, I found the soapbar pickups on the G&L cannot give you a real good J sound. It is single coil, and not as full when you split the pickup, but it lacks the bell like tone of a real J bass. However the Carvin lacks the full tone when the G&L is in the humbuck position. The G&L is a great all around bass, but I did find if you want a modern J bass sound, you will need another bass like the Carvin to fill that need.

 

[engedi1]

I don't think of the L series as coping J basses, but being designed to cop P basses. Hence the wider neck on the 4 strings, and the single humbucker (on the 1k's) If J bass tones is your goal, than G&L basses are probably not the best fit, although the JB1 and JB2 are mighty fine j basses, but even they have a thicker, beefier tone than most Fender J basses. Compared to my solid Ash Sadowsky, I find my Alder bodied G&L to be lightweight. I can play a 4 hour gig with no back pain, which I can't do with my Sadowsky. They are not truly lightweight basses, but I don't think they are heavy. No heavier than a p or j bass with an alder body.

 

[oldrookie]

I really like my Tribute L2500, but it wasn't necessarily love at first sight.

First one I picked up in a store was an older Trib made in Korea. Had to check the headstock to make sure I hadn't picked up a Peavey T-40 by mistake. Hugely heavy. Put it down and had no interest in them for a long time.

Picked up a Trib L2k of a newer vintage and it felt great, sounded even better. That one I took home. Later sold it so I could afford a L2.5k and still have that one. Likely will until I can't play any more.

 

[Tunaman]

I think I'm going to sell my AWESOME Bongo 5 HHp & "downgrade" to a L-2500, use the $ towards another 4 (Which I use much more often)

Spacing & Neck between the 2... a huge difference, not that bad?

 

[CElton]

I think I'm going to sell my AWESOME Bongo 5 HHp & "downgrade" to a L-2500, use the $ towards another 4 (Which I use much more often)

Spacing & Neck between the 2... a huge difference, not that bad?

Spacing is the same. The G&L neck is a tad fatter front to back.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Here is my story... For the last 5 years, I have mostly played a Sadowsky M5-24 with maple board for almost every situation. Smooth jazz session, country or CCM session, rock or blues gig. It has done a good job for me and I change strings to try to get it to fit whatever I am doing. However, I have recently started playing a cover band that does 4 hour gigs and it was killing my back! Also, it has a grindy tone which is a little over the top when paired with my somewhat grindy amp (TC RH450). I have noticed that when the volume has gotten loud on my last few gigs, I am losing bottom end and punch-the balls are gone from my tone. I have been blaming the amp, which gets fuzzy at loud volumes...
I had also acquired a G&L l-2500 USA Fretless for a jazz group I was in. This group is no longer together, and I had this bass fretted, as I never really loved it a fretless. I had only had flatwound strings on it, which were pretty good for some Americana gigs.
Then, for my gig last weekend , which is a country/rock band in a smoky honky tone, I put on some old Slinkys I had lying around and was totally BLOWN AWAY! Huge, ballsy, aggressive tone with much cleaner low end than I have been used to. I had never heard this bass with rounds, and was amazed at what a great rock n roll tone it gets.
I was running it in active mode, in series I think (which ever is less hot) Also, what really impressed me, and I am not sure why, is that the B string was cleaner and a little more solid sounding than on my Sadowsky. Competely impressed. Also, impressed with the Slinkys which I haven't used in 10 years or more. Great strings at a low price.
I think I have found my rock n roll club bass! It is lightweight due to the alder body, looks cool due to the Ebony board with no dots, and feels great due to the smaller string spacing (I have small hands) I now am starting to get why everyone raves about these basses so much. This bass also has the best gun oil neck finish I have EVER come across, which I prefer over a lacquer finish.
I might just stop blaming my amp....

I have not read most of the posts on this thread, but it is not a surprise that a Sadowsky modern owner would like a L-2500. They both have two big humbuckers close to the bridge. Their basic tones are more or less in the same family, the Sadowsky being more refined and the G&L being more aggressive.

US G&Ls are extremely well made basses. I am sure they compare very favorably to a Sadowsky, especially when you consider their prices.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I think I'm going to sell my AWESOME Bongo 5 HHp & "downgrade" to a L-2500, use the $ towards another 4 (Which I use much more often)

Spacing & Neck between the 2... a huge difference, not that bad?

It really depends on what year and neck profile the L2500 has. My former fretted L2500 from 2000 had a very thick neck (~.85" @ 1st fret). It was very comfortable, but noticeably thicker than my 2002 EBMM SR5. However, my 2003 fretless L2500 has a very thin neck (~.75" @ 1st fret) - even thinner than my SR5 had. The older L2500 necks, especially, tend to be thicker, while the newer ones have a thinner profile.

Shop around and try as many as you can. Might also look at the new M-2500 basses, though they will probably cost a lot more than you'll get out of the Bongo since there are no used ones on the market and won't be for some time.