/ Register

  1. Win a Broadcaster or one of 3 Teles! The annual Supporting Member Giveaway is on. To enter Click Here. To see all the prizes and full details Click Here. To view the thread about the giveaway Click Here.

NBD: G&L L-2000

Discussion in 'The BASS Place' started by sabuchan, Jan 25, 2021.

Tags:
Page 1 of 2
  1. Jan 25, 2021 #1
    sabuchan

    sabuchan TDPRI Member

    Posts:
    55
    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    Found this G&L USA L-2000 Bass in a Japanese Listing site. It was listed by a local used guitar shop, and they are having a big bargain till the end of Jan. I visited the shop and tried it. The sale price was lower than many Japanese and Indonesian Tribute models of similar condition listed on the net.

    Although I'm a novice bass player who has just started to play a bass a couple of months ago with a used Squier VM Mustang Bass, I could not pass up it.

    Here's my first long scale bass, G&L L-2000 in natural. The neck is a little chunkier than the Mustang bass (1 5/8 at the nut. PB size?). Looks like the bass has not been modded except for the volume and tone knobs. According to the sales receipt in the case, it was purchased by the original owner as a new in early 2005.


    I've never had a guitar or a bass with an active circuit, it may take some time before I sort out the control nobs and the switches in the G&L.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2021
    Zepfan, Dismalhead, emisilly and 13 others like this.
  2. Jan 25, 2021 #2
    Piotr

    Piotr Tele-Afflicted Silver Supporter

    Posts:
    1,880
    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2011
    Location:
    Poland
    These are good basses, congrats!
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  3. Jan 25, 2021 #3
    WingedWords

    WingedWords Friend of Leo's

    Age:
    70
    Posts:
    2,036
    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2015
    Location:
    UK Europe.
    That's a bass for life. Enjoy it!

    Just a note (you probably know this, but just in case) - fading batteries can make active circuits sound horrible. Change regularly (maybe annually) and unplug the lead from the jack socket when you're not playing.
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  4. Jan 25, 2021 #4
    brookdalebill

    brookdalebill Tele Axpert Ad Free Member

    Age:
    63
    Posts:
    91,186
    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2009
    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Cool!
     
  5. Jan 25, 2021 #5
    sabuchan

    sabuchan TDPRI Member

    Posts:
    55
    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    Thanks so much for the reminder. I left it plugged in last night and realized this morning I had to unplug when I finished practicing. The battery should be O.K. since the shop replaced it recently.

    I hope this G&L bass is a keeper for life.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2021
    WingedWords likes this.
  6. Jan 25, 2021 #6
    Hey_you

    Hey_you Tele-Holic

    Posts:
    826
    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2019
    Location:
    Colorado USA
    Grads on a nice score!
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  7. Jan 25, 2021 #7
    ping-ping-clicka

    ping-ping-clicka Friend of Leo's Ad Free Member

    Age:
    72
    Posts:
    4,446
    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2019
    Location:
    left coast
    Congratulations , that is a beautiful bass , aren't you the lucky one.
     
  8. Jan 25, 2021 #8
    sabuchan

    sabuchan TDPRI Member

    Posts:
    55
    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    I am primarily a guitar player, but I enjoy playing a bass so much since I got the Mustang Bass in Nov. I wanted a long-scale one. I've been thinking about getting a Yamaha BB434, which is a made-in-Indonesia model and quite popular in Japan. However, I've been having hard time finding a nice used Yamaha and the used USA-made G&L was only US$100 more than the new BB434 and came with a nice hard case.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2021
    WingedWords likes this.
  9. Jan 25, 2021 #9
    WingedWords

    WingedWords Friend of Leo's

    Age:
    70
    Posts:
    2,036
    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2015
    Location:
    UK Europe.
    Blimey, that was a bargain!

    What amp are you playing through?
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2021
    sabuchan likes this.
  10. Jan 25, 2021 #10
    tah1962

    tah1962 Friend of Leo's

    Posts:
    4,307
    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2020
    Location:
    Heart of Illinois
    Nice bass! Enjoy.
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  11. Jan 25, 2021 #11
    sabuchan

    sabuchan TDPRI Member

    Posts:
    55
    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    I have a used Vox Pathfinder Bass 10, a practice 10W amp. However, I live in a small house in the densely populated part of a city. I play the bass through Zoom B1 four multi bass effect pedal and Bheringer BDI21 DI into a mixer and headphones most of the time.
     
    WingedWords likes this.
  12. Jan 25, 2021 #12
    Tall-Fir

    Tall-Fir Tele-Meister

    Age:
    69
    Posts:
    179
    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Location:
    Redondo Beach, CA
    So congrats on your new G&L bass! Enjoy and have fun.

    Love the look of your G&L. I have a G&L LB-100 in natural with maple neck, nearly the looks of yours. G&L makes great basses.
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  13. Jan 25, 2021 #13
    harpdog

    harpdog Tele-Holic Silver Supporter

    Posts:
    638
    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    Location:
    near Chicago
    Great bass...mine is a G&L Tribute Kiloton. Wonderful instruments
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2021
    sabuchan likes this.
  14. Jan 25, 2021 #14
    lousy13

    lousy13 Tele-Meister

    Posts:
    259
    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2007
    Location:
    Near Denver
    I had an L-2000 that I stupidly sold and now have a Kiloton. G&L makes a great product for the dollars especially used. Congrats and enjoy.
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  15. Jan 25, 2021 #15
    tery

    tery Doctor of Teleocity

    Posts:
    11,694
    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2012
    Location:
    Tennessee
    That ought to be a good one !!!
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  16. Jan 25, 2021 #16
    spupilup

    spupilup TDPRI Member

    Posts:
    83
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2018
    Location:
    New England
    I own an L1000 and an L2000. A word of warning, turn down the two tone controls and run the volume about 3/4's up. The MFD pickups are really powerful. You may even find you have to back them off a little to get them under control. I included a diagram of what all the switches control. Check out TalkBass.com where you'll find out plenty about these basses. There's also BassesByLeo.com that is dedicated to G&L basses.

    Good luck, it looks like you got a really nice bass there!..

    L2000preamp.jpg
     
    Reedt2000, Killing Floor, emisilly and 1 other person like this.
  17. Jan 25, 2021 #17
    sabuchan

    sabuchan TDPRI Member

    Posts:
    55
    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    Thank you so much for your tone tips and suggestions. The diagram help me understand how to use the knobs and the switches.

    Mine doesn't have a coil tap option installed, but some L-2000s sold here have a 3 position (series/parallel/tap) switch. It looks like an authorized G&L dealer in Japan added the tap option. I noticed that while searching for L-2000 information on the net in Japanese.

    I have registered to TalkBass.com. I haven't fully checked it out yet, but the forum is a great resource for everything about bass.
     
  18. Feb 3, 2021 #18
    emisilly

    emisilly Tele-Afflicted

    Age:
    52
    Posts:
    1,232
    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2004
    Location:
    Suffolk, VA
    Back in my gigging days I had 2 of them. Absolutely stellar basses that I never, ever should have sold! Ugh...
     
    sabuchan likes this.
  19. Feb 3, 2021 #19
    EsquireOK

    EsquireOK Friend of Leo's

    Posts:
    4,913
    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2011
    Location:
    U.S.A.
    Congrats.

    An L2K was my first bass that I actually owned myself. Same body color as yours, but with a fretless streaky ebony board.

    The controls are easy.

    Knobs (closest to farthest): volume, treble, bass.

    Switches (closest to farthest): pickup selector, series/parallel (normal/mid-cut), three position active/active/passive switch. One of the active positions is brighter than the other. The series/parallel is for the pickup coils, not master (like the El Toro and Interceptor).

    The "K Mod" is cool too. Replaces the series/parallel switch with a series/split/parallel switch. Lots of soldering on a tiny-ass switch in order to do the mod...but it adds some Jazz Bass flavor to the bass.

    I don't really get the "these pickups are super hot" vibe – not at all. That vibe would be the El Toro/Interceptor, on which the middle switch is a master series switch. Combine that with the active boost, and play through a powerful amp...look out!

    1 5/8 nut is right between classic P and classic J. It's a "compromise" neck, which suits most people OK. I prefer the P width of the Lynx, but 1 5/8 is perfectly playable. I usually choose that width when I order necks for my J Bass builds that are being assembled from already finished bodies. It widens the lower register of the neck, while still fitting a J Bass neck pocket. A 1 3/4 neck will not fit a J neck pocket, without mods to the pocket...which I don't want to do if the body is already finished. If the body isn't finished yet, then give me 1 3/4 all the way. I will just open up the pocket a bit before finishing.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2021
    emisilly and sabuchan like this.
  20. Feb 3, 2021 #20
    Killing Floor

    Killing Floor Tele-Meister

    Age:
    54
    Posts:
    412
    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2021
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Absolutely great bass! Those pickups will punch you in the throat. Enjoy.
     
    emisilly and sabuchan like this.
Page 1 of 2
IMPORTANT: Treat everyone here with respect, no matter how difficult!
No sex, drug, political, religion or hate discussion permitted here.