Just picked one up and it feels pretty cheaply made. I haven't had a chance to give it a good setup but out of the box it just wasn't what I was expecting.
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Thoughts on a G&L L2000 Tribute?
- Thread starter raferalston
- Start date
I've had one for the past 3 years.
Once set up, I've had no issues.
It's been solid for me.
Once set up, I've had no issues.
It's been solid for me.
The ones I’ve seen have been solid basses with a huge voice.
Sorry to hear that. I hear all the hooplah about how good the Tribute line is and almost as good as the USA made, I don't quite think so.
I have a USA made L-2000, I played a Tribute in a store once and while it didn't seem cheaply made to me, it had a fatter neck than my USA and it was wayyyy heavier.
To bad you couldn't have chosen between 10 Tributes and picked your fav, anymore it's pretty much order one online and get what you get.
The L-2000 is a cool instrument with a lot of options to work with. If you really don't like it, return it!
Good luck bro, wishing you the best.
Different strokes for different folks. I love my Tributes.
Thanks. I haven't put many hours into it and I don't have my strings on it or setup the way I would prefer. This was a simply my first impression out of the box. At that price point I know I'm not going to get everything I want so it's definitely a compromise. Another problem is that I live in a studio apartment and it's literally impossible to play through the rig I currently have without getting a noise complaint. I'm going to get a setup and give it a go. I think it's fair to say it was snap judgement on my behalf.
What do you mean by "cheaply made?" What feels cheap about it?
I have an Indonesian Tribute Legacy guitar (Strat) that has been rock solid since I bought it 10 years ago. The only thing I did was swap out the bridge saddles for the USA saddles (exact same bridge, nicer saddles). Nothing about it says "cheap guitar".
That said, I also have 3 USA G&Ls of different vintages. All are very nice.
I have an Indonesian Tribute Legacy guitar (Strat) that has been rock solid since I bought it 10 years ago. The only thing I did was swap out the bridge saddles for the USA saddles (exact same bridge, nicer saddles). Nothing about it says "cheap guitar".
That said, I also have 3 USA G&Ls of different vintages. All are very nice.
I feel like the fretboard needs attention. The knobs and switches seem cheap and the overall feel seems comparable to a Squire Affinity. It's hard to quantify.
I wish the new Tibutes had matching headstocks! What year are those, they look great
I can't speak to the newer Tributes basses, but the fretwork on my Legacy is spot on. It has a very comfortable neck profile. No fret sprout, smooth, level, polished frets, etc. But it's 10+ years old and I haven't really spent any time with new Tributes.
I bought a Trib L2500 the first year they came out, and then got a matching USA one a couple years later as I liked the Trib so much. They were darn near identical. Slightly different neck profile, the hardware on the USA seemed a little more refined, but almost negligible. Dunno how they are these days though, this was 20 years ago.
The L2000s Tributes I’ve noodled on always faired pretty favorably to my US made. If I had it to do over I probably would just look for a light Tribute to save some scratch. I’m sure different years have different issues though. Your comments about the feel of the controls would leave a bad taste in my mouth as well. That wasn’t my experience though.
New Tributes are basically the same. I have had US L2500 since 2002. Korean made Tributes came out a few years later and a friend of mine bought one (that I played several times for a few hours at a time). I recently picked up an Indonesian L2500 Tribute. Feel/sound is similar on all three. Indonesian Tributes are comparable to the Korean ones (other than not featuring the Tribute branding as prominently and the Indonesian ones have more options for finishes).
The only things I have been able to fault on a Tribute relative to US made G&Ls are the hardware quality, electronics component quality (pots/switches not design), and one of the Tributes I have needed fret sprout cleaned up during the winter. None of these items are real complaints given the price point.
The US G&Ls are definitely nicer than the Tributes. However, there is a significant price premium for that little bit of quality difference (assuming they make a Tribute version of the US G&L you are after).
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Is this a used one or new? Ive had a handful of tributes and have two right now. There have been variations in those basses, a couple have been stellar, and a couple, while still very good, felt more like a budget import. I got all but one used and you cant beat the price for what you get. They are still mass produced so they wont all be home runs.
I bought a left handed Ash/ natural L-2000 Tributs from the web store a few years ago. It was dirt cheap, and I couldn't find a single flaw on it. It was beautifully made, the fit and finish were, and still are, excellent. There was something a bit off about the bass. I'm a Luthier/ repairman..and put it on the bench for some careful evaluation. I discovredt hat most of the frets were loose in the slots. THAT, will kill the tone, playability, and response right there. I reseated and glued down every fret, leveled, recrowned and polished them, and reassembled the bass. It went from one I was considering selling, to one that is in my gig rotation. It sounds amazing.
The preamp looks to be of the same design, construction, and manufacture as a couple of my client's American made L-2000/ L-2500's, and so do the bridge and pickups. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't think so.
The place where the premium American made basses differ from the Indonesian made ones- is in the neck and tuning machines. I'd take your G&L to a competent bass Luthier and have them examine the fingerboard.
The preamp looks to be of the same design, construction, and manufacture as a couple of my client's American made L-2000/ L-2500's, and so do the bridge and pickups. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't think so.
The place where the premium American made basses differ from the Indonesian made ones- is in the neck and tuning machines. I'd take your G&L to a competent bass Luthier and have them examine the fingerboard.
I don't own a Tribute, but the couple I've played in stores recently did not feel cheap. But I did notice the necks were not nearly as comfy as my USA models (I have L-2500, M-2000, and JB). The fretboard edges weren't rounded like the USA necks and I immediately noticed the difference. But they didn't have a 'cheap' feeling to them, just different. I thought the bridges and pickups were the same as the US models, but I could be wrong...
That needs to be 'quantified' as the OP put it
I only played a Tribute L2500 long ago when they were built in Japan and that definitely wasn't cheapish
OTOH, if the Tribute you're trying out was made in Indonesia it could have been manufactured by CorTek, and that is who builds LAKLAND Skyline, PRS SE (and Tributes). Does that qualify as cheaply made?
If anything, the PRS SE gets the most bling out of the three but is in reality the most underequipped of the three, in terms of pickups and electronics
I only played a Tribute L2500 long ago when they were built in Japan and that definitely wasn't cheapish
OTOH, if the Tribute you're trying out was made in Indonesia it could have been manufactured by CorTek, and that is who builds LAKLAND Skyline, PRS SE (and Tributes). Does that qualify as cheaply made?
If anything, the PRS SE gets the most bling out of the three but is in reality the most underequipped of the three, in terms of pickups and electronics
Pickups are US made (for the L Series). Preamp board is the same one as the US model. Pots/switches are the same specs, but not the same brand/quality. Effectively it all works the same, but may feel a touch different (particularly the knobs not he preamp; due to split shaft pots on the Tributes, they use a different knob, which to me feels cheaper).
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The preamp circuit design is the same, but the Tributes do use different pots/switches, and I think possibly cheaper passive components (resistors/caps) on the PCB than the US version. At least, they used to. For example, the resistors are 5% carbon instead of 1% metal-film. The difference in tone is absolutely non-existent (unless you're a self-proclaimed Audiophile), but there is a potential noise penalty. Probably nothing that would be detectable under normal scenarios with less than the highest-end studio environment.
The pickups are US-made. I'm not sure about the bridge. The tuners are cheaper, for sure, but you can buy the US version Ultralight tuners for a very reasonable cost directly from G&L.
I can’t speak for the current run, but I’ve always been impressed with my 2006 L2500 Tribute. It was $600 new at the time and I feel it’s just as good as a standard MIA Fender.
