G&L Basses

[igloobuilding]

Hi I have had musicman stingray basses for years and swear by them, although I have been looking at the G&L Asat bass.
Question: has can anyone give a run down of what they are like to play in terms of sound and neck width, is the neck the same as a stingray or more like a Fender? Thing is I don't get on with fender necks, so if any one bass played one and can give me any help that would be great

[TGEvans]

Hello, I have an L2500 American. Basically, I was going to buy a sadowsky, but after trying this I was blown away. Only problem now is that no other bass I have played comes near to me justifying getting another bass. I think of it as a precision on steroids. people compare them to musicman's but I dont feel that they are comparable. Much bigger sound and feel in my opinion. Thats my two pence worth anyway,Tim.

[minty fresh death]

I think they were bassplayers mags bass of the year in 2006 or something, i've never tried one though.

[nottswarwick]

i too have a usa l2500, and would agree with the above comment about not being like stingrays. yes, they have a bridge position humbucker which can be soloed in both seriesand parallel, but to my ears this is a sharper more honky tone than my sr5.

the precision on steriods is a good desceiption of the neck pu, and i love the sound of both pups together.

they range of tones is huge including a great passivve mode.

the neck is a little wider than the sr5 with slightly wider string spacing. very comfortale and easy to play.

in short, excellent, except the sr5 b string is better, but the sr5 b is one of the best out there on a 34" scale imho

[dub_junkie]

I like them a lot.
both my G&Ls are 1.5" at the nut.the L2000/L1000 are wider 1.75 at the nut,all 12" radius as standard,L series 4 strings can be ordered with the 1.5 neck too.I think all models come with an optional vintage 7.5" radius fingerboard.I'm not sure about the 5 string necks.
the necks on both mine are like jazz bass necks,quite rounded and deep at the back,Asat especially so,the Asat also suffers from a bit of neck dive but I dont even notice it now. they're more fender than musicman neck wise imo
The bottom end on G&L's is huge,the cherryburst Asat semi hollow I traded on these boards a few months ago was a bit of a beast in this respect.If tonyF chips in he'll confirm this.
other things I like are the saddle lock bridge,active or passive modes,and some really great finishes and options.
their other basses are both passive : the SB-2 which is G&L's hot P/J and the JB-2 which is their Jazz bass with 2 alnico single coils (the only bass they do without the MFDs)
I miss that semi-hollow

[nig]

Well, im your man, a 20 year stingray player now sworn to g&l's ,feel free to ask anything, I own L2K'S, climaxs, L1500, El Toro,sb 2 but no asat, but its an l2k anyway....worth the interest for sure, leos best kept secret.

[RichardH]

I'm an L2000 player too.

To clarify the neck thing. G&L offer 4 neck options on the US made 4 strings - two in 1.5" nut width, 2 in 1.75" nut width. Each of them is then available with either a 7.5" or 12" fretboard radius.

So:
#5: 1.75", 7.5" radius
#6: 1.5", 7.5" radius
#7: 1.75", 12" radius
#8: 1.5", 12" radius

Generally L2000s come with the #5 and #7 neck, but are often specced with the #6 and #8 (mine has the #6 neck IIRC). Asats tend to have the #6 and #8 necks as standard - the headstock is slimmer too to help prevent neck dive (which they have a slight reputation for - a thick grippy strap should sort that though). I've only ever seen one asat for sale with a 1.75" neck.

[nig]

And to add to RichardH, my pre lawsuit headstock SB 2 feels identicle to my stingray in profile and size at the nut, my climax's have the jazz feel no 8 necks, very slim and enjoyable to play, The MFD pick up is the major difference and the fact that g&l basses will work both passive and active unlike the mm, also the active circuit is very different to the mm plus there were mods to the tone pre amp over the years.

[stingrayfan]

If you're a Stingray player, you'll love the G&Ls. It seems to be the case that once you've tried one, you're hooked. As explained above, the US versions come with a choice of nut widths and fancy paint finishes, whereas the Far East made Tributes come in one size nut, which is about the same as a Precision I think. Worth pointing out that if you don't want to spend the £££s on a US version, the Tributes contain the same P/Ups, electronics and bridge but for much less. I'd suggest trying/buying a Tribute and seeing if you like the sound and feel and then shopping around for the right US one after that, if you like it. That said, I gig my Tributes and the sound and feel is brilliant. Cuts right through.

[sk8]

Anyone got any views on the SB-2

I was going for a precision but the tribute SB-2 keeps calling me

[lowfer]

Hi there,

my 2 pence worth. I got rid of my G&L american L1500 a few years ago. Never really got on with it. The craftsmanship is superb and it looked stunning. But personaly i never really got on with the tone and the neck was to wide for me. I now play a Sandberg 5 string and for me its a much better bass. I suspect you can get equally good basses for less money

[G-bitch]

In response to the above post, I've never been a fan of the single pickup G&L's (1500/1505 - can't comment on the SB's).

Unfortunately they won't do a Stingray neck (1.65"?), I asked when I ordered my L2000. Which Fender neck don't you get on with? Jazz or Precision? My L2000 is a 1.5" 11" radius like a jazz but I've played others with the huge P style necks too.

Regarding the comparison with Stingrays, they do come close with the sound but not 100% - but the positive trade off is the massively increased versatility in tones with dual pickups and various switching options. If you like versatility in a bass then you are absolutely golden with an ASAT or L2000, however there are plenty of people out there who think they are too complex and just stick with something like a stingray which, even with lots of knob twiddling, will still sound like a stingray. I can understand both views, it's just that I fall into the former camp and love having the different sound on tap.

On the ASAT, just beware the potential for neck dive with the lack of top horn - it looks great but after owning a Warwick Thumb I couldn't live with any more balance issues so went with the L2000.

Hope this helps.

[nig]

for the asat there is an anti dive strap mod available, the 2 pup setup is very sweet and versatile but I must admit the 1 pup g&l's give alot once you master the subtle use of the tone and vol interaction. My personal love is the climax, its also many peoples most loathed bass...

[Gwilym]

My experience with G&Ls: a few years ago when I was a lunchtime regular at the Bass Centre at the Spittalfields shop, when they still had really good service - (thanks to Nick & Jim) - they had a couple of US series G&L's in stock - a green L2000 and a natural ash L2500.

I played both a fair amount, the green one was an absolute killer, but I was put off by the colour and the fact that I was getting into a five string phase. The natural L2500 didn't really come close sound wise, even though it had a better set up. Maybe the strings were dead? But the L2000 had *something* about it.

I've sometimes thought what might have been had i bought that green bass, and have had GAS for a G&L ever since, but never took the plunge.

So my advice would be to find a shop with a few in stock and play them all. I'm not suggesting that they have low quality control, but definitely try a few so you can pick the cream of the already very good crop.

[tonyf]

[quote name='dub_junkie' post='128470' date='Jan 26 2008, 10:23 PM']The bottom end on G&L's is huge,the cherryburst Asat semi hollow I traded on these boards a few months ago was a bit of a beast in this respect.If tonyF chips in he'll confirm this....[/quote]

I am the accused, had the semi hollow ASAT off Keir a few months ago and absolutely love it to bits. Bless ya mate! ;-)

Having owned a L2500 in the past, I'd agree with the "P-Bass on Steroids" description. Being a Leo designed instrument, I think it's more Fender than Musicman to be honest. I've had/got Rays and Sterlings and love the MM vibe but the G&Ls kinda "do" Fender more than "do" Musicman. If I'd lived in a box for the past 35 years and didn't know better, I'd say that Musicman followed G&L followed Fender on Leo's CV.

Neck profiles are the key with G&L, there's a lot of options in the sizing. The neck on my G&L ASAT is really Jazz like whereas the L2500 I had was completely different and felt almost cricket bat like and one of the reasons why I eventually let it go. Tonally though, it was a monster and the closest thing to a P 5 string I've heard or played.

The balance on the ASAT isn't the very best but I played worst. Someone mentioned Thumb basses and I personally found these worst because of the smaller body. My ASAT is worn fairly middle to low so it's not a huge problem and something which bothers you for the first half hour until you get used to it. The double strap button helps vary the balance options.

My ASAT hollow sounds a little more open than the L2500 I had but like Kier has said, it's not "acoustic" at all and is an amazingly phat sounding bass. Used it for the first time in anger on Saturday night and it was just wonderfully warm and punchy, a perfect sound through the pretty transparent, arguably clinical EBS rig.

[quote name='dub_junkie' post='128470' date='Jan 26 2008, 10:23 PM']I miss that semi-hollow [/quote]

All that said Kier, still really fancy the Gold Sparkley one....perhaps I shoulda taken you up on that at the time!

T

[dub_junkie]

Tony,glad to hear you're still lovin the semi-hollow. The first time I gigged it my band leader said he'd never heard so much bottom end grind coming out a bass. and that was after the first few gigs I did with a Bongo.to my mind the Asat/L2K's are all about pure ballsy organic tone ....

on a side note I've just bought Stingrayfans trans green L1500 - and looking forward to it joining my G&L harem .

for the poster asking about the SB-2, nig or BB2000 would be your best bet for info. the one I got off BB has a 3 way switch and tone control so not your normal SB-2. on the G&L TB and BABP forums the SB-2 is discussed loads.you could maybe do a search there..