Quiet Sat. Nignt- Reflections On My L-2500

[darwinohm]

For what it's worth and for those of you that are Lowenders. This is a subjective view but I have had my new L-2500 since the last of October and gigged it several times. I now have a better feel for what i like and why. First of all my comparisons are based on using my American Fender Deluxe 4 string bass, Stingray 5 H, Stingray 5 HH and The L-2500. The Fender has long been removed from using. It is too mellow and I prefer 5 string. The Stingray 5s are very similar in sound and quite frankly, I do not see much of an advantage in the HH. I had compared the Ray 5 and L-25 at home and initially I liked the tone of the L-25 but the I could not really say which I preferred or why.

The Ray 5 and L-25 feel very similar, although the L neck seems a bit flatter in the center of the "C" than the Ray. The dimensions of the necks are almost identical with the string spacing being slightly different. I used the Ray 5 as a backup last weekend for half a set. The tone is noticeably different. They both have the same strings (D'Addario Wound) and the L-25 is noticeably brighter and more articulate. That is undoubtedly due to the pickups but the pickup placement is quite different. The neck pickup on the l-25 is much closer to the bridge pickup and I think that contributes to the brighter tone. I much prefer the controls on the L-25. The switches are very easy to use and there is no guessing. An other feature of the L-25 is if you loose a battery, you can play it in passive mode. That is not true of the Ray 5. Dead battery, dead bass.

Overall switching between the two is very easy as the feel is very similar. I will continue to take the Ray 5 as a backup but the L-25 really shines and has easily convinced me that it is the one. Yesterday I did a mod to the bridge as recommended by Ken Baker on the Basses By Leo forum and others. It was a very simple mod adding screws where the strings went through the body and stringing from the Saddle Lock instead of through the body. I do not notice the change as much as some others have commented on, but this bass has had definition and sustain that are unbelievable since day 1. I did the mod only because it may improve what is great already. In the end I am very happy that I tried the L-2500. It is a keeper and will not be leaving in the future. For what it's worth-- Darwin


Edit, sorry for the typo in the title but I cannot edit it.-- Darwin

[KenC]

That's a great summary Darwin. Out of curiosity, do you normally play with both pickups on the L-2500? How does the brightness of a single pickup compare to both together?

Ken

[darwinohm]

Ken, I usually use both pickups but on some of the old Rick Nelson songs I switch to the bridge pickup, roll off the bass a bit and kick up the volume a bit. That is sweet treble, not sharp.-- Darwin