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Why aren't G&L basses more popular?
- Thread starter Zerstorte Zelle
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It's okay if musicians miss out. More G&L and Sadowsky basses for me!
Some people suffer the delusion that G&L and Sadowsky basses are Fender knock-offs. I respectfully disagree.
Yes, I know it's about G&Ls, but I love G&Ls AND Sadowsky basses and they do have that Fender thing in common.
Some people suffer the delusion that G&L and Sadowsky basses are Fender knock-offs. I respectfully disagree.
Yes, I know it's about G&Ls, but I love G&Ls AND Sadowsky basses and they do have that Fender thing in common.
I agree the 5 string modern headstock look just works for me.
It is a really nice Bass.
I could care less what all the haters say. I've been playing 20 years Rock, metal, folk, indie, shoegazer, hardcore, etc. G&L Basses have been & still are the best basses I've ever put in my hands. I find the headstock to be quite charming if you don't, don't buy it. Nothing sounds like a G&L. There are no other basses on the market not even fender that sound like G&L basses. I love being the only bassist with a G&L L-2000 at a show with 5 or more different bands. Every time I break her out & start playing other bassist wana have a go on her. Power, punch, depth & throaty growl are what you get with a G&L Bass. In the 80's to about 1995 G&L was mass producing basses & I could find them sitting in music store windows & walls everywhere. Now they are a tight knit custom shop. Only taking custom orders from shops & customers. Tey also make runs for companies like "Musicians Friend". I live in Richmond, VA & we have 2 music stores that deal with G&L & 1 of them only sells G&L guitars & basses "Key Signatures" Hate all you want & keep on hating cuz like I said I love being the guy with the sweet sounding bass not everybody else has. Everyone I know has a stingray, p-bass or jazz & I still have 2 jazz basses. Not everyone can become one with G&L. & if you go to their web site & look at their artist page you can see that a ton of impressive players use G&L basses.
No disrespect meant but I have heard this said.. and owning an SB1 and two early 70's PBasses I have to disagree. The SB1 sounds like an SB1, the PBasses sound like PBasses. Not taking anything away from the SB1 because there really is a distinct sound to the SB1 which is a good thing for G&L.
Is that honeyburst on ash? G&L burst finishes are among the very best I've seen.
To be honest your right his SB1 actually sounds much bigger than any P-bass I ever heard and I would have to agree it's a bit different in the high end. That's not always a good thing but in the heavy rock setting he plays in it really works. Honestly I was trying to avoid the cliched "P-bass on steroids" line and be funny. Great sounding bass at any rate.
It's cool... He got to show how he feels so I took a turn. Sorry lmfreeman9 I got caught up in the G&L glow. Didn't mean to be so mean. You have a right to your opinion as dose everyone else. Kind of got all Hulked out there. I just read what I wrote after the fact, ouch.
I think it's and Ash top on a Poplar body? The reason I say this is I think at some point on the modern L-2500 units they redesigned the body to sound different and be lighter.
Not sure if I got all that correct as I'm no expert.
G&L did use poplar back in the day (the 80's) on some student models I think but yours looks like it's swamp ash. Here is Warmoth's description of swamp ash. Swamp Ash is a prized wood for many reasons. It is a fairly light weight wood which makes it easily distinguishable from Hard Ash. A Strat® body will normally weigh under 5 lbs. Many of the 50's Fenders were made of Swamp Ash. The grain is open and the color is creamy. This wood is a very nice choice for clear finishes. Swamp Ash is our second most popular wood. It is a very musical wood offering a very nice balance of brightness and warmth with a lot of "pop". Darker lines on the horns is a dead give away. poplar looks more like a wood smear if you get my drift.
This is your answer right here!
Too many individuals are stuck on what an instrument "isn't" and don't take the time to appreciate what an istrument IS! Yes, the G&L 2000 & 2500 both can give you tones similar to the Fender Jazz, & Precision, and somewhat close to the MM Stingray. Does it nail those tones exactly, NO. What it does give is a VERSATILITY that neither of the other instruments CAN give on their own. Does the instrument scream with an instantly identifiable tone, maybe not. Do the tones that are provide fall within a realm that is highly serviceable...you can bet your gear on it! You will never have a guy play on a recording and say to yourself.."gee, that G&L sound sweet" if you didn't know beforehand that he was playing one. This opens the door to hear the creativity of the player as opposed to the recreation of someone else's tone.
Besides...the listening audience could care less. They wouldn't care what brand of instrument you played.
I want to say they went to an Ash top and something else on the redesign of the L-2500 and L-2000. Or was it Maple Top.
I will see if I can dig it up. But maybe I have it backwards. That would be about my speed.
I will see if I can dig it up. But maybe I have it backwards. That would be about my speed.
those fancy tops they're using look very nice. if i were into that kind of thing, it would definitely lower the blandness factor for me. but in all honesty, i'm not a fan of those kinds of tops. still, it does perk them up a little.
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