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Your thoughts on G&L's MFD Humbuckers?

MAJOR METAL

MAJOR METAL

The Beagle Father
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Sep 10, 2002
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Where I lay my head is home
#1
Is there anything in particular that distinguishes these pickups tonally from the other manufactures that make humbucker style pickups, IE, Seymour Duncan, Nordstand, etc? Also, would you consider the G&L pickup a high quality pickup?

Would paring these pickups with a different preamp take away from their signature sound?

Thanks!
 
#3
They've got a broad timbre & are likely the highest output passive pickups out there. G&L has a bass cut knob & it's likely due to that broad timbre.
They sound the same with or w/o the preamp IME, unless of course you have the treble boost engaged.
A good preamp is going to be transparent anyway.

I'd probably own a L-2000 right now if they weren't heavy.
Yes, I know about the Empress bodies, but then they have neck dive.
 
#4
I my opinion, they have a lot of midrange when in Series...almost way too much midrange for my tastes...
I run my L2500 in Coil tap/OMG mode 80% of the time, and Parallel. But still, in Series, there is this underlying tone to them, this kind of growls sizzle that I can’t really put into any other words, that is just killer.
Mind this, though, that the L-Series Preamp is not like any others. I had a Pensa preamp in my L2500, and it changed the sound of the bass altogether. So if you use a preamp other than the L-series unit, expect a different tone.
 
#6
From my limited experience with L2k series basses, they’re neither here nor there - I find them too over the top in series, and somewhat lacking in parallel... But, I’ve yet to try the Kiloton, I think its pickup position could work well for the MFD, especially in series. Also, I hear L1000 is a different beast and many seem to prefer it to L2000 (not sure why), so I’d be curious to try it too. And I think it could be just killer when split, in single coil mode...

Compared to other pickups, I think most still use Alnico, while MFDs are ceramic. I know there are ceramic Duncans (MM), and Delanos I think are too, but I’m not sure how they compare to MFDs.
 
#8
MAJOR METAL said:
How do they differ from the Music Man Humbucker?
Click to expand...
The original MM humbucker has AlNiCo pole pieces, the MFD has ceramic bar magnets with adjustable-height steel pole pieces. That is the major visual difference. Differences you cannot see would be in the windings, which will give a pickups it’s tone. The MFD is over-wound and a very hot pickup.
The M-series MFD (with black pole pieces as opposed to chrome in the L-series) are underwound by 12% in comparison to the L-series, which gives them a little less output and calms down that midrange.
See here:
 
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#9
I am on to my third L2k after finally scoring a US model, these things are just tone monsters.

Yeah, as mentioned the run hot as hell, but they just seem to have this beefed up cross between sharp vintage and modern tones that really works for me.

That said, I love vintage MIJ Ibanez models like the Musician and Roadster series, which have huge outputs, too. But the L2K is like one of those mixed with a Fender.

Slap some good stainless strings on there and you have a bright, sharp piano tone. They also downtune well and they absolutely sing in D.
I usually have mine in B and it retains most of its tonality even there.

The OMG switch can add a bit of noise, especially when OD/Dist is added, and the top boost can sometimes be a bit too much, especially running stainless.

The pickup selection (to me) is only useful in two positions: up and middle.
'Up' will give a broad P-bass style tone that can cut through steel.
'Middle' gets both pickups rolling with a smooth natural scoop with a tonne of character.
"Down" isn't really that helpful unless you hate low end.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
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#10
eastcoasteddie said:
The original MM humbucker has AlNiCo pole pieces, the MFD has ceramic bar magnets with adjustable-height steel pole pieces. That is the major visual difference. Differences you cannot see would be in the windings, which will give a pickups it’s tone. The MFD is over-wound and a very hot pickup.
The M-series MFD (with black pole pieces as opposed to chrome in the L-series) are underwound by 12% in comparison to the L-series, which gives them a little less output and calms down that midrange.
See here:
Click to expand...

I prefer the L by a country mile.
 
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#13

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