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Why aren't G&L basses more popular?

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#523
IMO Fender P's have a signature sound. Fender Jazz basses have a signature sound. MM basses have a signature sound. What is the signature sound of a G&L? There you have it in a nutshell. Considering the Fender legacy and heritage it's too general sounding of a bass????
 
#524
phillybass101 said:
IMO Fender P's have a signature sound. Fender Jazz basses have a signature sound. MM basses have a signature sound. What is the signature sound of a G&L? There you have it in a nutshell. Considering the Fender legacy and heritage it's too general sounding of a bass????
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Depending on which model bass, MFD pickups sound different enough from their Fender counterparts to have a "signature" sound. EL Toro and 1st gen SB-2 come to mind. But how many could recognise them if they heard them?

G&L didn't do the necessary marketing to get their share of the popularity pie when they had the chance. They've never seemed concerned with that.
 
#525
Marketing: 100% concur.
For whatever reason, that's never occurred to anyone over there, at least in terms of any I've actually seen.

In particular, the L1000, with it's dual coil, coil tapped humbucker, and, passive treble and bass controls, is yards ahead of a P-bass.
Why in the world that never caught on....................
 
#526
They are not popular in the bass snob world and hopefully it will stay that way:
Consequently their resell value is horrible (Example: You'd pay $1,200 for an instrument and would struggle to sell it for $650 the next week) as a result they are unbeatable deals when bought used.
Sssshhhhhhhh! Don't tell anyone...
 
#527
Holy thread resurrection, Batman.....

But anyway... I always thought their main problem was FMIC? I may be wrong about that, but FMIC seemed to be really super hostile towards G&L in a way that they weren't necessarily with music man. Probably because the early L2K and others resembled the Fender line a bit more than the MM basses did.

I still have my 90's L2K, I've sort of -ish ruined it but I still play it because it's ergonomically the best bass I have. If I weren't on a budget, I'd probably get an M2000, now that I've heard it a little in reviews here and there. I love my carvin bunny but......

Also, I do think the G&L MFD equipped basses have a distinctive tone. It's kind of like a jazz bass but with more of everything.

The M2000 seems to have calmed everything down a bit. A more solid tone without all the excess wool like the L2K gets with everything in series mode...

LS
 
#529
I think it's the onboard electronics...I know it sounds like a weird thing to pick on, but if you look at the other iconic bass brands, they all have very straight forward preamps and controls. And a biggie for me with G&L is the discrepancy in output levels when cycling through the different tonal options, this is not something many bassists are willing to put up with on a gig. Then again I haven't played one in years so maybe they have addressed this problem.
 
#530
zortation said:
I think it's the onboard electronics...I know it sounds like a weird thing to pick on, but if you look at the other iconic bass brands, they all have very straight forward preamps and controls. And a biggie for me with G&L is the discrepancy in output levels when cycling through the different tonal options, this is not something many bassists are willing to put up with on a gig. Then again I haven't played one in years so maybe they have addressed this problem.
Click to expand...

Have you tried a M series bass? Pretty straight forward as any other active bass. Or any of the passive basses? Pretty straight forward.

You probably mean the L series basses with all the switches. That is fair.
 
#532
back2thefuture said:
I think it's mostly a marketing thing but they're also kind of generic looking. Solid basses, don't get me wrong, but just kinda "meh" looking.
Click to expand...

This isn't "meh" looking.

M2500BLACKBURST03.jpg


M2500BLACKBURST10.jpg


For sale too. :D
 
#533
I was ready to buy an L2000 Tribute and went into a GC to play a Stingray HH just to get a sense for how the big HH's would sound. I liked the Ray and told the shop my plan to buy an L2K Trib unless they wanted to give me the Ray for $X (BIG discount). To my complete shock and pleasant surprise they did and I went home with the BFR Ray that will probably get handed down to my son. For GC it was a bird in the hand (at the end of their month) vs me probably ordering from MF online.
 
#536
I had one for a couple of days. It sounded great and the workmanship was excellent. The neck just felt too fat and it was uncomfortable to play so I returned it. I think brand recognition is a problem but I also think that there is a stigma among some players that they are basically knock off Fenders, which obviously not true. I know several bass players who have commented "why buy a G & L when you can buy a REAL Fender?". They just don't get it. G & L makes quality instruments but they haven't done much as far as marketing the product. I think they figured that having Leo Fender involved would be enough to generate a following.
 
#537
Kmonk said:
I had one for a couple of days. It sounded great and the workmanship was excellent. The neck just felt too fat and it was uncomfortable to play so I returned it. I think brand recognition is a problem but I also think that there is a stigma among some players that they are basically knock off Fenders, which obviously not true. I know several bass players who have commented "why buy a G & L when you can buy a REAL Fender?". They just don't get it. G & L makes quality instruments but they haven't done much as far as marketing the product. I think they figured that having Leo Fender involved would be enough to generate a following.
Click to expand...

I usually state it the other way around: "why buy a Fender when you can buy a REAL Fender (a G&L)"...

They're still very Fenderish, with bolt necks, similar geometry but with upgraded pickups and probably the best bridge ever made.

One criticism I have about the MFD pickups, tho, is they have such strong magnets that they can induce that "chorusy" kind of sound if you get them too close to the strings. On my L2K for example, I play over the bridge PU as a poor man's ramp, so don't like it too low. But the neck PU I've gone in and removed the support springs and have it sitting hard against the cavity all the way down, to reduce the magnets effect on the strings. It actually makes the tone with both PUs on rather unique also. But I had to do that to get rid of the chorus effect, as mine's a fretless and the strings sit further down than on the fretted version....

But this Ive found to be a slight pain with the MFD's....

May be better with the newer PU's in the M2000 though?

LS
 
#538
back2thefuture said:
No identity. Just looks like "bass guitar" to me. I can spot a Fender, MusicMan, or a Ric from a mile away. Can't say the same for G&L. I can see how some people are into them, but they're just not my thing.
Click to expand...

Yeah they are kind of plain jane, but the bridge is unmistakable anyway. But I've never minded plain jane basses, long as they have the unlined fingerboard I don't care how they look...

LS
 
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