Maybe G&L should print a short form description on the control cover... oh wait, that's a cool idea to start a aftermarket business... 
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Why aren't G&L basses more popular?
- Thread starter Zerstorte Zelle
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I played my new L2500 at my church gig this morning. It handled it all beautifully from soft and sensitive to rockin'. Really cut through the mix nicely. I am so excited to have it.
how can anyone can say that an l2000 doesnt have it's own tone?
i think its great that its not a p bass, jazz, or MM emulator.
i think its great that its not a p bass, jazz, or MM emulator.
add to that... i have had MANY p basses... a 78, an 88, 01, and 08 to name a few.... and my '91 G&L (3) bolt neck sb2 kicks the crap outta all of them.. thats why it's still here... and the fenders found new homes.
Also all my basses have LaBella black nylon tapes on them all I have used for 5 years
I love my M2500 Tribby. It's beautiful, and it thumps with the best of em'. Haven't run into many others here who own the M series, but it works great for me.
If you live in the boondocks, you live in the boondocks.
No problem finding them here in California, where the company is based (cf Rickenbacker). Now, hear that Laklands are great, but I never get to see Laklands around here, but I'd have to move the east coast to find a bunch of them and I can assure you I'm not doing that.
But seriously, that's what the internet and return policies are for.
I strongly support the idea of shopping local, but if all you know is what is in front of you, you don't know what's really out there.
I like the few G&L basses I've played, and I'd like to own a proper ASAT, but they're a bit out of my comfortable price range. My brother has an L-2000 with an SB-1 neck that he got in payment for a tile install job, but that deal doesn't come up every day.
I've got some really nice basses, regular brand nice Fender, EBMM, Gibson, but I am really gassin for a G&L.
Yeah, I was forced into this in Australia as either G&L or their dealers have apparently cut back a lot. My local shop used to be a dealer some years ago but I only found out last week
They did say that they'd be happy to order what I wanted if I was interested, so I will probably get a Trib L2K one day.The internet is by no means a perfect solution. I lucked out with my Trib SB2, but it's really not a method I'd recommend.
I want to say a word about quality: I can't personally make a comparison between a Trib and a USA and I'd like to see a meaningful one. I chose a Trib because it wasn't simply in my price range but had the right materials, and in my experience it doesn't matter what the bass is or where it comes from, quality is variable. Now I could have been unlucky, but have there been any unlucky G&L purchases? Or is it in the eye of the beholder after all?
It's not true apples to apples but can share something about US L-1500 and Tribute L-2000, acoustic/resonant properties (electric sound is by design very different), with the same strings and tuning, both basses are of recent production. The L-1500 is more articulate and very responsive in the midrange and in the purity of tone, and it has a monster sustain, fat quartersawn neck and ebony board sure have their share to that. The maple L-2000 has more initial attack and low end punch with more top end grit, but somehwat less "3D" and finesse in the sustain, an overall slightly rougher tone. It doesn't have a weak open E string, something that bugged me with my US L2K that I used to have years ago.
Over the amp both sound fantastic, each in its own way.
I test drove a few L2K US and Tribs and noticed they all sounded acoustically different regardless of origin, like with any bass I guess, so nothing should be generalized.
Over the amp both sound fantastic, each in its own way.
I test drove a few L2K US and Tribs and noticed they all sounded acoustically different regardless of origin, like with any bass I guess, so nothing should be generalized.
Interesting. I've owned two G&Ls, an '82 L1000 that I bought new, and an '86 L2000 that I still have. Neither of them have even remotely chunky necks. The L1000 was way to thin front to back for my tastes, very much like an Ibanez would be today, and the L2000 is slightly thicker but still what I would call thin. Both were considerably thinner than any Fender I've ever played.
Those are really the only ones I've ever played, so maybe I got two anomalies (odd coincidence though if I did).
With G&L necks there can be a lot of variation. I have a couple of old G&L's from the early 80s and they are wide and very thin. On the other hand, I have a couple of new custom order basses with #12 necks which is more of a P bass width but perhaps just a bit thicker back to front. Different models default to certain necks, but you can get just about anything you want with a custom order. The great thing about G&L is that custom orders don't cost any more than ones that comes off the production line.
I've never really felt the need to buy a G&L bass, but their guitars (and their Tribute series guitars) are absolutely fantastic. I have a Legacy Tribute that spoke to me more than every other Strat in three stores.
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