joel406

I am an admitted Fender freak. Yeah, I look around at other builds but I'm hopeless. As a result, I have 9 of the little buggers. Now keep in mind I'm also a 5-string freak. So, all my basses are, you guessed it, 5 string. For various reasons I upgraded all my Fenders pickups to Seymore Duncans. Except one that remains stock because it just rolled off the line stupid good. My oldest Fender is a 2017 Pro. My newest is a 2024 Pro II. Ok now that you have an idea of what I like. Here's the rub. I went and heard my friend's band. Bass player was good. And played a Music Man. Single humbucker. It sounded good. Real good. But I have a problem with Music Man basses. I do not care for the bridge. And the bass itself as a whole resembles a bathroom appliance, I will leave unnamed. I've played em before, and I know they play great. But they are butt ugly and I just can't bring myself to own one. Just trying to lay a little ground so you all know how truly insane I am. Well, I don't feel the way I do about G&L as I do about Music man. So I decided to get me one. A USA L-2500. Smashing good bass. Neck feels good and the option for passive or active was a plus. I'm not one to leave well enough alone. I went and found (after a lengthy search) an M-2500 tribute. I watched a couple of videos comparing the L-2500 to the M-2500. Both had their quirks. And Youtube is anything but decisive. So I grabbed the tribute. About that time, I find a USA M-2500. I waste no time and grab it. Now G&L do still offer the M-2500. As an "if you want it, we'll make it" sort of thing. But mass production seems to be done. The L series is what they seem to want to push these days. G&L also wants their CLF research models to be forefront. I do not like the plate on the front of the instrument. So classic G&L for me. Back plated. And G&L have the 750 models. I believe their 19mm spacing. I'm a 17/17.5 mm guy. So this became a case of doing the research before actually buying saves the day. A review. I now have 3 G&L basses. 1 L-2500 USA. 1 M-2500 USA. 1 M-2500 tribute. Their new (to me). So their getting a lot of play time. Here's what I have found so far. The L-2500. This bass has active/passive option. Sounds kinda weak in passive so I generally ride active. 3 switches. 3-way pickup selector. Series/parallel. Active/passive/active with treble boost. 3 knobs. Volume. Treble (cut only). Bass (cut only). Its workable. You seem to need the cut in the EQ. It works. Kills the boom. Helps with the bite. So cool. The neck is great. No neck dive. Stays in tune. Feels good with my strings. Rosewood fretboard is gorgeous. Very smooth playing. So far, it's a little lite in the low end. I've only been able to test these through my headphones so far. But their great headphones. However, the low end is tight. In a better environment I expect good things. Overall, a winner. The M-2500 tribute. The neck is very close to the L-2500. The electronics are very different. Master volume. Treble Boost/cut. Mid boost/cut. Bass boost/cut. The low is more forward because of the boost and the treble and mids boost brighten things up nicely. This bass, as well as the USA model are always on active. A keeper none the less. The M-2500 USA. Again, different from the other 2. Same electronics layout as the tribute but stronger. Making me consider an upgrade for the tribute. But the real difference is the neck. I know it's not a 750. But the neck feels wider. In a good way. The only one of the 3 that has a Maple fretboard. It came with rounds on it, and they really work. This bass sings. Easier to dial in than the tribute. As well as the L-2500. Very wide tonal pallet. While the L-2500 seems to have the favor of G&L I can't help but wonder why the M-2500 seems to be somewhat buried. Kinda if you want one, we'll make ya one kinda deal. They are hard to find. Yet if you dig enough their out there. I'll be keeping all 3.

Gas? 2025? Hmmmm... Maybe a Fender USA 5 string Jazz? No, I got 4 of those. Maybe a Fender USA 5 string Precision? No. I got 4 of those too. Maybe the new Squier 6 string? Wait... Got one. Maybe a G&L USA L-2500? No got one. May be a USA G&L M-2500? Got it so, no. How about a G&L M-2500 tribute? Never mind. Got one. Maybe a new amp. No got 2 Mesa Subway D-800+ heads and a custom built Epifani UL901. That's out. Speaker cab? 2 Subway 212 cabs and 2 Subway 410 cabs in house already. So, No! New pedal? Let's see. 2 Quadcortexs. Pog 2 and Pog 3. Keely compressors. EBS envelope filter, check. Chorusaurus. CABM. Revolt. Le Bass. I could go on so, No! Wireless system? Shure SLXD. PSM 300 for the IEMs. No set there. 2025 looking gas free here.

Arrived today. Only get a little time with it but all signs point to a winner. It's definitely a better feel than my tribute M-2500. But both will have their niche. If you can score a USA M-2500 do it.

I highly recommend a P-Bass. My best bass is a Precision.

Sadowsky's don't fit me. At least not 5's. Their beautiful and sound great. Just don't feel right.

QuadCortex. 8 driver custom fitted IEMs. If I have to use an amp. Mesa Boogie Subway D-800+ into Mesa Boogie Cabs. Either my 212s or my 410s. I have two of each. Mostly reach for the Epifani more for live. But for the last 3 years. IEMs. They go plenty low enough with their 4 low-end armatures. And the QuadCortex handles "all" the frequencies. So... Yeah those low notes are well represented. It's the FOH that counts.

Yes... It can. But can the FOH is what counts.

Very late to this party. Only read through the first page. Been playing 5-strings for around 10 ish years now. Don't even own a 4 anymore. I did just get a 6-string. Buy yeah. Once I got the hang of it 4-string just doesn't make sense. The playability of the 5 makes it the better choice. For me. I play everything on a 5. If I don't use the B string on a song no big deal. But the more I play a 5 the more I find myself bouncing off it just higher up on the neck. Having 2 octaves is so cool. Anyway, I no longer consider a 4-string a bass. If ya can't do 30hz you're doing it wrong.

Sucks to be you.

Tone can always be met. Pickup change, pedals, modelers. These days that's the least of the things to consider.

You are correct. I wonder what a M-2500 new would run? Well, I have a tribute and a USA M-2500 as well as a USA L-2500. At last count that puts me at 12 Basses and one Les Paul Classic (bought new) for my studio. 2025 looking to be gas free.

I have one. Just came last week. I'm impressed. Sounds better than expected for this price point. Plays fine. Not really that heavy. Ordered better tuners from Hipshot for it, which came today. I actually like the neck profile. No neck dive. String spacing is fine. Still working with it. But decided it's a keeper. Of course, I also have 2 G&L 5vers coming in as well. So, they'll be taking up a big chunk of my time. I've been searching for a Steve Bailey for years. Frustration as to availability made getting the Squier more desirable. Kinda glad too. Baileys are pushing into the $4k usd these days. I won't take a bass that valuable out to a bar gig. Bad enough I take 2 USA Fenders.

Got email it shipped today. Holiday tomorrow. Don't expect a lot of forward motion. My M-2500 tribute came today. Yep it's amazing.

Arrived an hour ago. First impressions. Yeah L-2500 killer. Probably why G&L took em off the board. It's a tribute so I expected a bit less. But wow. The EQ is amazing. Treble, Mid and Bass boost and cut. Pickup fader. Master volume. 18v preamp. This is gonna be fun.

Holidays throw a serious monkey wrench into the delivery system. So next week this should be here.

I find myself with a new G&L L-2500. I'm a Fender freak and this is my first "non FMC" bass I've had in 35 years. But to me a G&L is still a Fender. Just part 3. Any way I'm loving the L-2500. And I've looked over the G&L line quite a bit over the years. So, I know what they are. Just had to be ready to pull the trigger. I remembered the M-2500. And I started to Google. Long story short. Found an amazing deal on a Honey Burst M-2500. Should arrive by Wednesday.

Well, it's here. Arrived one hour ago. Holy s**t. I wasn't really expecting this. String spacing is probably 17mm. Could be 16mm or in between. But for me it's working. Balance is fine. Neck feels good. Wider, but the feel is there. Seems easy to tell where you are. C string is easy enough. Sounds oddly better than you expect. Only had it through the headphones so far but sounds fine. So far, no 60-cycle hum. Soloed both pickups. Nothing. Tuners will probably need to go. But that's ok. Shopping hipshot now. So... First impressions. Yes. It's more than worth what the current price is. In my opinion (for what that's worth) this should be a $800-$1200 instrument. Impressed. Really impressed.

Well. We would be happy to help you with that sir. Please provide your credit card number and we'll get that right out to ya.

A little back story. I've wanted a Steve Baily Jazz bass for like the last 5 years. Since I only play 5's I figured the next step would be to move to a six. I have searched everywhere, and I haven't found one under any rock. I only play USA, MIA Fender's. Got a couple of Pro's. A boat load of Pro II's. And a USA G&L L-2500. All awesome instruments. Well Fender did this thing where they had Squier make a thing as close to a Steve Baily as I have yet to see. Not what I would usually consider buying. At $350 usd I just don't expect much. But if the neck pans out electronics can be upgraded. Anyways every 6 string I've tried has had an uncomfortable, wide neck. I'm sure that will be true with most out there. But for the money it's "low risk". I can always return it. But I'll probably keep it if it has a straight neck. I can play it from time to time to help get use to the 6-string neck. If I get comfortable with it, I'll find a better one down the road. It arrives today.

When you're considering a new bass, what are you looking for in that, or any particular instrument? I have certain parameters I require just to consider the bass for the heard. Body style # of strings Color. Feel. For me, the first 3 of that list, have to be met. Then I go for feel. What are the things that the fine people of BassChat look for when considering a new (or used) instrument?

Perhaps.

Let me explain. I have... well...9 basses. The current stable started with a Jazz and exploded from there. Out of all of these instruments only one. Has never been modified. Other than strings. All my instruments have had pickup changes. Except one. This thing was born with perfect tone. With my favorite strings installed it plays like a dream and the tone is amazing. Behold my magic bass! Does anyone else have a magic bass?

Simple. What do you prefer? Active or Passive Instrument? And if you can verbalize it. Why? I get people use both. I have both. If you switch up during sessions. How do you handle the EQ changes? I'm considering several options for drastic tonal changes throughout a session. Sorry.... THat darn brain tumor acting up. Discuss?

Weight is not a problem. Feels about the same as my others and lighter than at least my 2013 American Standard P. It's a new world for me. In more ways than one.

Arrived today. In the G&L box. Pictures will NOT do this thing justice. The neck feels awesome. Balance seems perfect. Just a quick feel is all I get. Goes to wizard Monday for setup and strings. Very happy.