mcnach Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Poor bass, I just can't leave it alone I used to own an L2500, but the 5-string thing is no really for me and I let it go. Natural/maple. Beauty. So when a L2000 in the same natural/maple finish was advertise for sale on the forum, I snapped it up! I actually sold my beautiful Squier CV60 in fiesta red with P-retro preamp to buy the G&L... but it's ok, as it did not have a maple fingerboard The L2000 is a great bass... Wide range of sounds, very nice neck, comfortable... yet I was not particularly in love with the controls. That preamp with the two positions wasn't doing it for me. The tone controls were interesting, being both passive, but... I just was used to my Stingray with 3-band John East MMSR preamp, so I ended up removing the original guts and installing an MMSR. Out of the three mini-switches, I used the pickup switch, and the parallel/series control. I actually left two holes empty as the parallel/series switch was inside the control cavity, switched permanently to parallel. Like this: Then I toyed with the idea of getting a pickguard for it. There was a [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/233062-designing-a-pickguard-for-my-gl-l2000-what-do-you-think/page__hl__l2000"]thread about it here[/url]. The final result looked like this: The pickguard was not screwed-in, but held in place with double sided sticky tape. Great invention. Of course, that wasn't the end. Too easy. I started thinking that I'd rather just remove the preamp and wire it passively. Like a Jazz. The pickguard covered one of the unused holes, but what would I do about the other two? Maybe individual parallel/series switches? So I got our good man KiOgon to sort that out for me, as I didn't want the hassle. In a flash, the wiring loom was in my hands. So today I found myself with some time and decided to install it. BUT! I found a metal control plate I bought ages ago for a project that never went ahead... and it made me change the bass a bit more. It involved drilling and hacking away with a chisel, so this modification is now permanent, it'll never look again like a standard L2000. Also, it would not have a pickguard anymore (I may design another to fit with the plate, in the future). So this is me going about the creation of the my L2000 v3... The point of no return... having decided the position of the control plate, I marked where the screw holes should go and got ready to drill... The control plate will now cover TWO of the miniswitch holes... argh! I didn't need the two switches after all... ha! I'll have to drill for the second miniswitch, and as I am using only one of the original pot holes, I'll drill some of those too. No going back! But that wasn't all. It's a large cavity, but the altered position of one the pots meant the large CTS pot did not quite fit straight... so I hacked away at one of the walls to make room for it: Now the pots fit, yay! So I decided the position for the second miniswitch, for the neck pickup... and drilled. That was ok, except that the position of the new hole brought it too close to the wall of the 9V battery compartment (that will not be needed anymore). Where is that chisel? Hammer away! Finally... I can now wire it all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 All fitted inside nicely now... Tight fit with that large terminal block, but it fits beautifully with enough room around each component. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 And the bass looks like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 I like it And it sounds fantastic. Those pickups are tremendous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 So is that a VVT setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byo Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Very nice! I like the control plate design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Great job, looks to be a worthwhile bit of modding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Great job, glad it's sounding good looks cool Cheerz, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Great end result, and a fine looking bass. Not enough strings though...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1431821093' post='2775364'] So is that a VVT setup? [/quote] Yup! VVT and separate switches for each pickup (3-position: parallel, single coil, series). I don't really care about being able to switch between those options, but it seemed like a sensible way to use the visible hole(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 [quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1431847426' post='2775424'] Great end result, and a fine looking bass. Not enough strings though...! [/quote] Oh, I have a few spare 4-string sets in my drawer, I have lots of strings, just no more than 4 in use at a time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 Thumb-rest fitted. Rehearsal day: Tuesday. Bring it on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 If I'd have known thats' what you'd do to it, I've never have let it go! Nah, seriously I think it's all about getting the instrument to confirm to what you want, rather than you to what it can do. TBH the neck put me off it, and knowing I couldn't have got another neck I chose to get something that would work. Similarly I have a tendency to put pre-amps in most basses i've owned, and about to do another! Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 [quote name='Jakester' timestamp='1431869829' post='2775695'] If I'd have known thats' what you'd do to it, I've never have let it go! Nah, seriously I think it's all about getting the instrument to confirm to what you want, rather than you to what it can do. TBH the neck put me off it, and knowing I couldn't have got another neck I chose to get something that would work. Similarly I have a tendency to put pre-amps in most basses i've owned, and about to do another! Nice work! [/quote] Ha ha! It's undergone enough surgery in my hands, that's for sure. But I think it's done. I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opticaleye Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I'm interested in how you find the MFD's with no bass cut. My L1000 sounds a little full on with both of the passive controls on full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Nice job. Wouldn't it be easier to have a control plate custom made to fit the existing holes? You wouldn't need to drill the body because the pots would secure it so no screws needed and that mod would be 100% reversible with no carving. Modding your scratckplate to fit the control plate it would cover the switch hole and give your bass a Sabre look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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