G&L Tribute L-2000

[krazy_olie]

Product: G&L Tribute L-2000
Price Paid: £460 (I think) From the Bass Cellar in Denmark Street
Submitted by krazy_olie

Features : 9

Mine is...
Swamp ash body
Maple Neck
Rosewood Fretboard
2 Rather large Humbuckers
Volume/Bass/Treble Controls
Pickup Selector, Series/Parallel, Passive/Active/Active with Treble Boost Switches

The electronics package is the same as the U.S version so this gives it good marks in this department. I would probably give 10 if there was an easy open battery compartment. Having the passive option is handy.

Sound : 8-8.5


So the sound. This is a bit of a monster, it has a massive variety of tones with all the knobs and switches. The disadvantage to this is that it's not really a plug and play instrument, it can take a while to tweak your sound, and you can't say that this bass has a particular sound. Whilst I'm on negatives I'll just get them out the way... This bass is AGGRESSIVE, it can really require some taming, sometimes there's a bit too much there and you feel like you head is about to be ripped off. So now on to the good stuff. The large array of controls really mean that you can get most sounds out of it. It does particularly good Musicman and Precision impressions, I haven't managed to get a particularly good jazz bass tone out of it but if you a jazz bass, get a jazz bass . My favourite tone is a series 2 pickup in active, it's modern but got a bit of a vintage vibe, warm, punchy and a nice snappy top.
Having the Series/Parallel switch is quite amazing, you can change your tone so much just by the flick of a switch, one tactic I sometimes employ is tweaking the control to give me 2 different tones, usually 2 pickup in parallel, then flick to 1 pickup in series. The bass/treble controls work in active and passive, but in passive they only cut. Turning the active circuit on seems to give it some predefined boost, quite a lot on the mids, which is rather good.
It is possible to shape the mids by playing around, if you cut the bass completely you get a very midrangey sound without losing much low end at all, great for driving fingerstyle. In short there's a LOT of tone here, possibly too much, but you'll find some really good ones, suitable for pretty much everything. I compared it to a U.S version in the shop and tone wise there was nothing in it.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 7

The sunburst in quite beautiful, and the grain comes through really well (NB. Non premium versions use basswood bodies with solid colours). I haven't been able to get a great action on this, if I lower it it buzzes, I'm not sure why to be honest, maybe if I take it to get set up properly they could do a better job than me. It's not like the action is ,miles off or anything, just not really low.
Worth noting that newer models are made in a different factory, I think mine is '04 from the serial, the newer ones have G&L on the headstock and bridge instead of Tribute. Mine is made in Korea, I don't know where the newer ones are made. they did have a couple new ones in the shop but they were either 5 string or basswood versions. The neck is nice, similar to a musicman, it can work my hands a bit more than my old ibanez but has a feel of a solid fit to it. IMO the head is unnecesarily large, but it looks cool so I won't complain. It's worth noting that I had the option of walking away with a U.S version (2nd hand) and it did feel a bit nicer, but it was too heavy for me, more expensive and had a really nasty green finish. It's got a big body so having a light wood like swamp ash is good, the U.S must have been been regular ash or alder with an ash top. Everything else about the bass is nicely done, no issues I can think of.

Reliability/Durability : 10

It feels like it's built like a rock, I reckon it could take a few bashes quite well.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Haven't needed it. But I will just add that I was surprised by the bass cellar, I had been in there before and not felt very welcomed, and not heard great stories, but it was reasonably priced and the price of this bass in particular was certainly acceptable, especially as it's not too easy to find.

Overall Rating : 8.5

I initially went to the bass cellar because I was on a day of bass trying. I was pretty sure I was going to get a jazz of sorts, I tried loads of basses, Fenders, Ibanez, KS design, Yamaha and probably some other stuff and noticed this one, picked it up thinking it was a bit out of my price range, until the guy at the counter said the price was old. I was immediately impressed just by all the tones I could get, it played well, looked good and most importantly it just felt right. So a week later I went back, tried out some more basses just to be sure and then bought it. I'm still looking for the perfect string for this bass, I have some worn in thomastik superalloys which seem to work quite well at the moment, but I am very tempted to try out some flats on it.
It is my second bass, I plan on replacing it with the 5 string equivalent and a fretless 4 when I can afford to.
It's a great bass, one of the best in this price range. There's a lot of good basses to choose from, this one could well be for you.

[RichardH]

Nice review Ollie. Just to add a couple of bits that may (or may not) be of interest:

The Tribbies are now made in Indonesia, IIRC. Main differences between the US and Tributes (apart from the obvious ones re neck and body manufacture/options):
Tuners and bridge - bridge is the same design as the US models, but made in the Far East.
Pots and switches and maybe preamp (although to the same design as the US models). Pickups are the same

One warning I have read about - the Tribute 2500 (5 string) should ALWAYS be string through body - there was an instance of the bridge pulling out of the body when strung through bridge.

I can second the TI superalloys as a great string on the L2000. I'm now using TI Jazz Flats - excellent again, as long as you prefer thump to fizz. Low tension, so a change in setup is probably required.

I find that rolling the volume and tone pots gives a less "in your face" sound, and they are very responsive to hand position - so a move up away from the bridge can alter the sound without resorting to any knob flicking.

For those wanting an idea of the sounds available from an L2000, [url="http://www.jic.nl/GL2004/TriSonic/TriSonic.htm"]take a look here[/url] - it's in Dutch, but just click the little green "play" button a couple of times to get through to a page where you can flick the switches and hear the relevant sound samples.

[odub]

Good link!

I just bought a US ASAT from al embic (from this site) and wish I'd had been able to here the electronics beforehand, not that it matters because it sounds great anyway.

[lonestar]

Good revue Ollie. I owned one of these for a couple of years and would thoroughly agree with your comments. They're really nice instruments.
Only one negative point to add. The only problem that cropped up on my Tribute L2000 was that the pots were actually nasty Korean things that started breaking down within a year of my buying it, although the pickups were of US origin.
The dealer I bought it from swapped them for Mighty Mite replacements supplied by the distributor and as fitted to the US models and all was fine again. I have heard of other Tributes having this problem but it may be down to a faulty batch from that year and now nothing to worry about.

Regarding action I set my neck up to roughly Fender factory specs and it played like a dream.
[url="http://fender.com/support/setup/basssetup.php"]http://fender.com/support/setup/basssetup.php[/url]

Good luck and have fun with the new toy

I may just have to try a 5 string one at some point now!

Mike

[krazy_olie]

Thanks
Those soundclips sound like they've been done with a compressor, something that could potentially help the sound.
I'm taking the bass to be set up properly sometime this week so hopefully it'll be playing nicer.

The pots don't seem like the best, so I might change them at some point in the future, it's not something that really bothers me though.

[krazy_olie]

Just thought I'd add that now I have new Superalloys on them and the bass has been set up properly with a fret dress and I'm really pleased with it. It plays quite well now and the sound is fantastic, it's the first time ever that I've actually like the sound of new strings.

I played a few songs with an acoustic duo tonight and I got the exact tone I was looking for, just a basic powerful even sound with a bit of top added for clarity. I definately think that for most live work series works best, sacrificing a bit of complexity in the tone for "oomph" is worth it. For recording I would probably use parallel.

I'm really excited about playing this on my real amp.

I wish they made this with a slimmer neck, then I might be in bass heaven.

[RichardH]

That's why I went for a (secondhand) US model from the States - they do 1 1/2" necks as an option.

[krazy_olie]

Interesting, never come across a slim necked one.

[stingrayfan]

Any chance of some pics please?

[krazy_olie]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=159"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=159[/url]

Edited June 17, 2007 by krazy_olie

[vegas_hooker]

Id love to get ahold of one of these.

Thanks for the review.

[dub_junkie]

my ASAT bass needs the volume backed off a bit as the MFD pickups go microphonic at high volumes.this also tames the aggressive in your face growl a fair bit.I've now taken to use it in passive mode mostly and it sounds perfect.I really love the depth and variation in tone on the L2K/ASAT

DJ

[stingrayfan]

I've now got one of these and can back up Olie's review.

The sound of mine (Blueburst Ash w/rosewood neck) is deep & bright (the hi-fi sound I like), warm and punchy. Like a hotter Stingray. Those pickups are hot hot hot. All the notes ring out thanks to the great p/ups, which is not something I can say about my Stingray (quiet G string, anyone?). To say I'm impressed by this bass is an understatement. Great feel too - smooth neck, not too heavy and comfortable right hand postition.

Fit and finish very good. Compares very well with the US version. Yes, the woods used are cheaper and don't look as pretty as the US version, but when they play and sound as good as this, I'm not that bothered. This isn't a cheap guitar, £550+ (I got mine for £350 ex-US Ebay) so should be good quality. It won't be everyone's thing, but defo advise seeking these underrated basses out to try one yourselves.

Edit: pic attached

Edited September 3, 2007 by stingrayfan

[Ghosts Over Japan]

OMG thats beautiful!!!

blueburst looks great on that, im stuck between picking one of these or a music man next year

haha great review man

Edited October 3, 2007 by cai!

[Buzz]

I will admit to trying one of these in a local music shop this summer, build quality was rather good and it did sound quite good, although there were too many switches for me.

The one I tried was poorly set up though, so I'm not going to comment on it any further, but I'd have liked to have played it set up properly with a low action as it's a common problem with that shop (they unbox them and put them on the wall, even the basses worth over a grand)

Edited October 4, 2007 by Buzz

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='Buzz' post='69766' date='Oct 4 2007, 11:15 PM']I will admit to trying one of these in a local music shop this summer, build quality was rather good and it did sound quite good, although there were too many switches for me.

The one I tried was poorly set up though, so I'm not going to comment on it any further, but I'd have liked to have played it set up properly with a low action as it's a common problem with that shop (they unbox them and put them on the wall, even the basses worth over a grand)[/quote]
You're right a good set-up makes all the difference but mine was great right out of the box. Don't get phased by the switches, they're pretty simple, really. The first is a pickup switch, second is a series/parallel thing that you'll prob never use, and the third is an off/on/boost for the active EQ. Simple really. I find the best sound is both p/ups on and the active set to boost.

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='cai!' post='68989' date='Oct 3 2007, 11:24 AM']im stuck between picking one of these or a music man next year [/quote]
I'd play like for like in a shop and see which *sounds* better. The Stingray will feel heavier, chunkier and more expensive but the sound of the G&L will win you over, I reckon.

[lonestar]

I had one of these for about a year and thoroughly agree with all the positive comments. They're great basses.
They are really easy to set up properly, just use Fender factory specs from their site. Worked a treat for me
As for the switches: select both pickups on, phase switch up towards you and active on, occasionally switching to the treble boost for slapping, I found the most useful configuration.

[RichardH]

Well there we are, this just shows why those switches are useful, as my choice is quite different. I tend to play passive, neck pickup, series with treble, bass & volume rolled off about 1/3.

[Russ]

I played that very same bass at the Bass Cellar a couple of months back. Sounded great, although I found the neck profile to be a bit on the chunky side for me. I also played a maple-fingerboard version in the US last year - felt and sounded quite a bit better to me. The neck profile wasn't as chunky for some reason, and the sound was quite a bit punchier with the maple fingerboard. I'll have to see if I can track one of those down.

[bassfunk]

I'm waiting for a black/Maple one to arrive tomorrow. Unfortunately my Sunday Band practice has been cancelled so I will have to wait until Monday to try it with the band.

[dub_junkie]

I aquired this Tribute L-2000 last Saturday.these are the seller's pics





It's since had a full set up and the fret ends dressed - hopefully next week,time permitting,I'll be changing the stock tuners with a spare set of Schaller BM ones I have lying around and some dunlop straplocks too

all in a great piece for what I paid (£235)

[bassfunk]

Wow That is really nice! How does it sound/feel?

[dub_junkie]

[quote name='bassfunk' post='136288' date='Feb 8 2008, 08:58 AM']Wow That is really nice! How does it sound/feel?[/quote]

thanks! It sounds the same as my Asat bass with the same pickups and circuit a little more rounded maybe and very quiet with regards to electrical noise etc. Weight wise I must have got a light one,I heard/read some of the ash ones can be quite heavy and with the bit of TLC done on the neck it plays superb and feels broken in and like an old friend already.

looking forward to hearing your own impressions on the black/maple when you get it

cheers

[BB2000]

Just spotted this thread. Nobody has mentioned the Japanese tributes - are these still in production? They were made without the tribute legend on the bridge (before this change was made to all the tributes) and were available with painted headstocks. They've never been mentioned on the G&L site and seem to be pretty rare outside Japan.