dub_junkie

[quote name='D-COOPER' post='872974' date='Jun 20 2010, 08:38 PM']I was lucky enough to buy the blue SB2 and it is by far the best bass i have ever played. For a passive bass it sounds huge and powerful and i have since stopped playing my other far more expensive instruments which says everything really [/quote] David, stop it! I miss that one probably more than any other bass I ever let go. good to hear you are still playing and enjoying owning the SB-2. and considering the high end boutique pair of basses of yours I played that day your testament re the SB-2 is high praise indeed hope you're keeping well mate. Keir

the problem with the L-1500 active sound is it is either passive or active with treble boost which is the 3rd setting on the L2K/Asats. Its just a bit too harsh sounding with treble full on. rolling back the treble or keeping it passive tames it a lot. I only ever found this a problem solo'd. Played with a band it sits great another slightly annoying feature on the L2K/Asat/L1500 there is a fairly noticeable jump output wise going from parallel to series. they are not nearly as well matched as on the Sterling/Stingray 5's I'm not familiar with older models like the L-1000/El Toro/SB-1 etc so can only describe my experiences with the ones that are still in production now. there are members on here who can tell you about the older models I'm sure some of the ash bodied ones can be heavy (like stingrays) but all the alder bodies ones I've owned have been 9lb or under. sustain is fantastic on these basses,irrespective of weight. some G&L's I've owned have had microphonic pickups where theres a ringing sound behind the note played. on advice from those on the now defunct G&L forum at TB I bunged some sponge or foam inside the pickup springs and it solved the problem in each case. neck wise,G&L's dont have rounded over edges on the fingerboard like stingrays/sterlings afaik. well none of mine did have at any rate though I soon sorted that myself. I always loved that feature on the MM necks but one thing I definetely prefer on the G&Ls is that they dont angle/dress the fret ends as far in as they do on MMs,so less chance of the G slipping off the edge if played hard. G&L also started Plek'ing their necks a couple of years ago and iirc changed the neck construction from an off centre cut lengthways down the neck to a more regular method of putting the truss rod in. I prefer the 6 bolt necks to the older 3 bolt ones. If a previous owner has overtightened the neck screws and then mucked about with the micro tilt it can cause problems so if you do get one with the 3 bolt be sure and check that out. and lastly,imo their finishes are as good as production basses get ... perfectly flat with no sinkage/orange peel look to them . well at any rate I've never seen one that was less than beautifully done these are just my personal experiences with the 7 USA G&L basses I've owned. I also owned a MIK Tribute L-2000 which with some fettling played as good as the USA ones I miss all 3 of these btw: a pair of Asats I used to have. and my awesome SB-2 which I inexplicably sold earlier this year to a local basschatter. crazy birdseye neck with ebony board and the best passive bass I ever owned bar none hope this helps some

my L-2000 has the jazz neck option which I like. I didnt ever look for a Ray tone out of any L-2000/Asat I owned. I like them for the P type sounds (passive/series) and also the slap tone with both pickups (active/parallel). they are great at doing a load of different sounds,though the MFD pickups and low tech preamp do give the bass its own character imo My L-1500 is quite a fierce sounding bass but it does sounds the L-2000 cant. It is closer to a Stingray tonewise with the pickup in the sweetspot but needs a bit of restraint with the treble control. Its not that versatile comparing it to the L2K but I do like the core tone it has. It has the wider neck (1.75" nut) and the older 3 bolt neck plate (6 bolt on the L2K) I've also owned a pair of Asats(regular and semi hollow),another couple of L-2000s and an SB-2 and they were all excellent. I like both Musicman and G&L equally. I personally couldnt choose one over the other and its been that way a long time with me. I'll always play both.

My 1990 Sabre had a 5 way switch like this [attachment=52059:cfd_sabr...eq_lever.gif] I wish they would do a run of Sabre Classics rather than the sterling or stingray 5 classics which never existed until now

I'd have a punt if I had the funds [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/G-L-SB1-Bass-Leo-Fender-headstock-signature-1987-/150452586567?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2307ac4847#ht_666wt_1137"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/G-L-SB1-Bass-Leo-Fen...7#ht_666wt_1137[/url]

I'd love a JB-2 but missed out a few months ago on the only one I've seen pop up on BC for sale on account of being skint. I still want one and would go for a Tribute if they did it in sunburst/rosewood,a bit like the USA below. The only options on the Tributes are natural/rosewood and sunburst/maple

[quote name='Doctor J' post='855126' date='Jun 2 2010, 05:28 PM'][b]Godlyke Disciple[/b]. Spent a bit of time on this just tweaking the setup and rolling the neck edges and it really is a superb bass. Sold the Stingray as a result. [/quote] Looks great in that finish and with the Barts too. I'll bet it sounds sweet as well. Was just thinking back on my Disciple 5 fretted and Deity 4 fretless - both terrific basses - the Deity would have made my top ten if I hadnt been such an unworthy owner (ie my fretless playing sucks)

1/ Stingray 5 - this is the lightest SR5 I've owned. still with me 2/ white sparkle Sterling - best of the Sterlings I had 3 + 4/ Bolin NS5 and Valenti No.042. both fantastic and both back with their original owners I believe. 5/ G&L Asat semi hollow - probably the best G&L I've owned 6/G&L SB-2 7/Spector NS5 CRFM (now with crazykiwi) 8/ black Pre EB Stingray 9/Warwick streamer Stage 1 10/MM Bongo 5HH (still with me)

[quote name='Apothem' post='851706' date='May 30 2010, 11:16 AM']The Bongo shares the same pickups and electronics with the Sterling, although it's only available with a rosewood board (again: to some may sound slightly or vastly different form a Sterling maple).[/quote] Bongo pickups have neodymium magnets and an 18v preamp. the dual pickup models are 4EQ Sterling pups have ceramic magnets and a 9v pre with 3EQ I've not owned a single H Bongo but definetely the HS and HH ones are spec'd and sound very different to a Sterling imo

love it in white! (which is odd as I normally dislike black binding) purely on the looks, I prefer an Asat bass with a bound top but these look classy imo

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='839846' date='May 17 2010, 03:57 PM']So, which band are you playing with then?[/quote] Duran Duran tribute. which is fine with me as I love playing John Taylor's basslines

great looking bass I had a Sterling in the same candy apple red/maple,great combo imo

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='839802' date='May 17 2010, 02:57 PM']Seeing as you have one... where does the Bongo sit in all this?[/quote] A lot more hi-fi sounding with more extreme EQ. plugging in the SR5 after the Bongo it feels like a fair bit of tone and volume just dropped out -[u][b] but[/b][/u] a couple of minutes with the stingray and I know why I like that bass so much. theres no messing about with it. just a great solid tone without fiddling about with EQ. I can never settle on EQ with the Bongo - I'm always fiddling with the hi and low mids. It was hard work settling on a tone the few times I gigged it but I love it for recording. Mine is an HH and imo none of the settings sound like the classic MM tone. Although It sounds great and is a lot more versatile I prefer the SR5 just because its an unfussy plug in and play bass I'm only down the road and starting rehearsing with my new band up in glasgow in the next couple of weeks.If you ever want to audition the Bongo just give me a shout.

solo'd maybe the L2000/Asat can be a bit aggressive but in a band setting/mix they come into their own imo. my only complaint is the series v parallel outputs are not as well matched as those on a SR5/Sterling [quote name='thepurpleblob' post='839735' date='May 17 2010, 01:16 PM']Just throwing in something irrelevant.... it's surprising how big a difference in sound there is between my StingRay 5 and StingRay 4, never mind between them and the G&L.[/quote] I love the tone of the 5. a bit more polite/subdued with less sizzle compared to the 4 . but works better from my experience with both

lucky fella! I miss my Albert lee guitar. I had it 3 years and then traded it last year against a Steve Morse Y2D. I love the Morse,just wish I could have kept the AL I'll have one of the Big ALs in the future

you are buying some great musicmans at the moment. this is another one imo. the wait on all three will be worth it!

are you going to change your order and go with the Big AL 5? I owned an Albert Lee guitar for a few years. great shape imo. they've discontinued the ice blue now but I guess I'll take whatever I can when the exchange rate gets better and I can import a used one.