G&L Tribute L-2000 Opinions?

[crabby]

This bass interests me as I understand they can be had for under $600. Anyone have one? Its the only lefty in the Tribute line and only comes in natural finish. No 5 string version available from what I can tell. Bass Player wrote a very favorable review awhile back and I keep hearing that they are almost as good as the US versions.

Lets hear some feedback!

[andrew]

Alan, aka TallboyBass has one. Hopefully he'll chime in about it soon.

[tallboybass]

Hi there Crabby, I got one not too long ago and it's one of the best sounding basses I've ever had. A really wide variety of sounds from old-school to modern are available. It plays great too (especially for a $550 bass) and is set up pretty nice from the factory. It was an eighth-turn on the truss rod away from being just right. Mine had a bit of an electronics problem so it's being fixed right now, but my local dealer assures me it shouldn't be too long.

Alan

[crabby]

Thanks for the reply. Its one of those things where I already have a few very nice basses and a knockoff version of the "real deal" may seem like a step down. But I have read so much good stuff about the Tribute that I am realy tempted to check one out.

[pjmuck]

I'm very tempted by these as well, though I wish they came in other finishes for lefties. But natural is better than black at least. How's the weight on it, tallboy?

For some reason, it seems I'm not destined to own a US G&L L2000, as every time one has popped up on ebay or elsewhere there was always some reason why I didn't jump on it (price too high; fell asleep and missed the end of the auction; computer crashed; etc). I used to own an ASAT bass, however, which is supposedly the same electronics and sound as the L2000, but I really didn't care for it. It sounded great, but it was a boat anchor, balanced poorly, and just caused me unnecessary arm fatigue after a while.

[tallboybass]

Well FWIW my bathroom scales say it's 8 lbs....but it feels heavier than that to me. I may get mine painted at some point, not a fan of natural. I still haven't used it with a band, but it just sounds great here at the house. My fave setting is: both PUs on, series, active w/o treble boost, B/T full up. It also does a mean P bass with the the neck PU in series, passive.

Alan

[andrew]

I was very impressed by the review of this bass Ed Friedland did that's on Youtube.

8 lbs. seems like a lightweight bass, that's nice. Do these come with maple boards too, or do we only get rosewood?

[tallboybass]

Andrew, there's only the nat/rosewood in Tribute model for us lefties.

[tallboybass]

Quick follow-up on the Tribute. I've played a couple of gigs now and am still impressed with the sound. This thing throws down MAJOR low-end in series mode....enough that I have to roll off lows to keep from blowing my pant legs off! In parallel, it does a pretty good J bass sound (I pretty much always run both PUs). All in all this is a very impressive bass that could easily handle all my 4-string gigs. Let me know if there is something more specific you would like to know.

Alan

[andrew]

How do you find it's tone compares to a Sabre bass Alan?

[tallboybass]

How do you find it's tone compares to a Sabre bass Alan?

Hey Andrew, the G&L seems 'tighter' and more aggressive.....man, I'm not very good at describing sound. If you leave it in parallel mode it is very open sounding. In series it's a really cool sound with more high mids and big bottom....and HIGH output. Of course leaving it in passive mode tames all these sounds a bit. The "both PUs in series, active with treble boost, tone controls all the way up" sound is wickedly aggressive (and can overdrive most front-ends). Reminds me of the latter-day Entwistle sound. Wish I could help more....I played a used righty 5-string one time and swore that I'd own one someday because of the series sound. Hopefully you can find a G&L locally with those PUs in it to try.

Hope this helps some,
Alan