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Why aren't G&L basses more popular?

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#843
willsellout said:
I think it would sound fantastic with a Dimarzio Model J. The SB2 has the potential to be even more awesome if it weren't for the under wound J pickup.
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Or instead of outfitting the SB-2 with some other brand of bridge pickup, why not have the stock bridge MFD rewound?

That way, the MFD character is retained. Might even be cost effective. I don't recall anyone having done that mod (surprisingly).
 
#844
willsellout said:
That is a problem with G&L's. Distribution. You rarely see them in stores and the ones you do see are the tributes for the most part.
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I think that's because G&L are pretty much a custom builder, I know the local importer here has problems because he has to custom spec every guitar he brings in has to be speced up by him!

That's one thing people forget about g&l, they're a complete custom shop, where else can you get a one off US made name brand instrument for $1500?
 
#845
RCCollins said:
What kind of J do you match with that MFD P?
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willsellout said:
I think it would sound fantastic with a Dimarzio Model J. The SB2 has the potential to be even more awesome if it weren't for the under wound J pickup. I read that Leo intended it to be more of a P bass and that the J was there to add a bit "more" to the sound, but didn't intend the J to be solo'd. I'd normally run that bass with the P turned down a tad in order for the J to take the lead.
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^^^^This actually! The Model J is one of the few Js that has a beefy enough tone and output to match up well with the G&L P pickup (which is literally the most powerful passive pickup I've ever used- even moreso than the big L2000 humbuckers). The J on my PJ is right up next to the bridge too, so it needs all the help it can get output-wise. Interestingly, the Model J/Model P are also ceramic magnet based pickups with adjustable polepeices much like the G&Ls and not many others which may be why they mate so well. I have tried mating other a handful of other J pickups with the G&L P in a Fender PJ I used to have and never found the ideal match until the Dimarzio.
 
#846
sunbeast said:
^^^^This actually! The Model J is one of the few Js that has a beefy enough tone and output to match up well with the G&L P pickup (which is literally the most powerful passive pickup I've ever used- even moreso than the big L2000 humbuckers). The J on my PJ is right up next to the bridge too, so it needs all the help it can get output-wise. Interestingly, the Model J/Model P are also ceramic magnet based pickups with adjustable polepeices much like the G&Ls and not many others which may be why they mate so well. I have tried mating other a handful of other J pickups with the G&L P in a Fender PJ I used to have and never found the ideal match until the Dimarzio.
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If I can get my hands on an MFD P, I might have to give this a shot!
 
#847
mr.mow said:
I think that's because G&L are pretty much a custom builder, I know the local importer here has problems because he has to custom spec every guitar he brings in has to be speced up by him!

That's one thing people forget about g&l, they're a complete custom shop, where else can you get a one off US made name brand instrument for $1500?
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Sorta custom- they are limited to their few available body styles matched with their particular pickup configurations and electronics. The only real options you get are neck specs/fretboard wood and body wood/finish/bling options off a set list, plus the "K" (single coil) option on the L2000 might still be available. It is cool how relatively easy it is to spec out your ideal version of their stock L2000/SB-2/JB though.
 
#851
The neck pocket on a USA G&L is very tight and has no extra space in there, nothing, zip, it's very hard to get the neck out, you have to use considerable force, with all the screws out, and pull straight up and out. That's why they can easily use a three bolt system. It can't move side to side, impossible. The wood is primo, straight tight grain, f#ing hard as hell. If you do it wrong you take the finish off the body around the neck joint. They are really well made, with the best material, the design of a genius.
 
#853
mr.mow said:
I think that's because G&L are pretty much a custom builder, I know the local importer here has problems because he has to custom spec every guitar he brings in has to be speced up by him!

That's one thing people forget about g&l, they're a complete custom shop, where else can you get a one off US made name brand instrument for $1500?
Click to expand...

Carvin, actually. They have the "Dell" -ish build-to-order sales model even moreso than G&L. And not coincidentally they show up in stores only in a used condition and, theoretically, not at all new.

G&L does make some boilerplate models for in-store stock, tho. So you do find them here and there. Mine I found at Guitar Resurrection in Austin, TX, but they were noteworthy for being a G&L dealer. You could walk in there and there'd be a bunch of basses on the rack - a couple L2K's, usually a 2500, an SB-2 here and there. It was actually heavenly for a G&L aficionado. They even had mine and with a #8 unlined FL neck on it to boot.

But otherwise, yes, they do seem to be a low-volume producer of the MIA models. The Tributes are supposed to be the blow-em-out-the-door versions, but like we've talked about, they're probably still being sat on by the 800,000,000lb gorilla of FMIC when it comes to rack space at the major stores.

But Carvin has a really successful outfit with the BTO deal. So for all we know, G&L makes a good living at it too and we just don't see it very well.

LS
 
#855
Freddels said:
However, they definitely could use some marketing advice (and some name artists using their products). :)
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Garry Beers has been playing one for quite some time. I think his band INXS was a pretty big name at one time.


768px-GGB_at_INXS_Brighton_Concert_June_2007.jpg
 
#858
Here's an anecdote about the stores -

Two years ago I was ready to buy an L2000 Tribute, so I went to Sam Ash and Guitar Center looking to play a Stingray HH to approximate the tone (nobody stocks the G&L near me).

Long story short - they sent me home with the USA Stingray HH (a Ball Family Reserve even) for a couple hundred bucks more than the G&L would have cost.

Of course they knew full well that I would have purchased it online had I walked out the door. Best deal I have ever made.

Two years later I swapped out another bass for an M2500 Tribute. The wood is not as pristine as the Stingray, but all in all its amazing for the price.
 
#859
I love my new US G&L ASAT bass. I've owned several G&L 6 stringers in the past but this is my first G&L bass. The thing is really well built with high quality electronics. I used my ASAT at practice today and it really cooked. Unfortunately the only way to find one in my neck of the woods in online. I bought mine new on EBay.
 
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