Bass Appreciation Friday Lunch Report - 3/30/12

[KenC]

I don't know who has the power to declare international holidays, but I'm going to go for it and declare today Bass Appreciation Friday!

Today is a scheduled day off for me, so I'm at home waiting for our mechanic to finish some work on my wife's car. Lunch will be some leftover taco casserole from last night. My wife is an excellent cook and tends to make up her own recipes. I thought this casserole was very good last night, but she accidentally used hot salsa as an ingredient and the kids couldn't handle it. That just means more leftovers to plow through.

G&L Topic of the Day:
This week we've focused on the evolution of several lines of G&L guitars, from the early days to the present. Today let's talk about one that has hardly evolved at all: the G&L bass. George and Leo hit the ball out of the park on the first try with their original designs for the L-1000 and L-2000. The L-1000 was the first bass G&L produced, and was introduced along with the F-100 guitar in 1980. George Fullerton described the concept as a more powerful Precision Bass, with some of the modern sounds of the first Music Man basses. Simply put, the neck position large MFD humbucker thunders! Several months later, G&L introduced a two-pickup version in the L-2000 which was available with active or passive circuitry. The bridge pickup remained in the same place as on the L-1000, and the second pickup went about midway between that and the bridge. Here are an '82 L-1000 and an '81 L-2000E:





The passive version of the L-2000 was discontinued in 1982 (as the same passive tones could be selected from the L-2000E). The L-1000 faded away over time and was discontinued by BBE in the early 1990s. In the late 1980s the same electronics were repackaged into a new body for the ASAT Bass. There have been a few minor tweaks to the body dimensions and layout of the L-2000 and ASAT Bass over the years, but they are basically the same now as when they were introduced.

Of course, G&L has produced several other basses since the early 80s, including El Toros and Interceptors equipped with small MFD humbuckers and a slightly different circuit than the L-2000, and a Standard Bass (SB) line that has evolved considerably from 1982 until the present.

What are your thoughts on G&L basses? What do you find unique about them compared to other manufacturers? Do you see room for evolution or new G&L bass models? PLEASE POST PHOTOS IF YOU HAVE THEM!!!

Non-G&L Question of the Day:
Where would guitarists be without bass players holding everything together???

Ken

By the way, if anybody would like a nomination to be next week's Lunch Reporter please PM me!

[darwinohm]

Ken, great reports this week and thanks for being the LR! Lunch today will be leftover beef roast and veggies.

Now we bass players get some respect! I was convinced that a Stingray 5 HH was as good as it gets after playing Fender basses for years. I still have a Stingray 5 H which I will keep, but the Stingray 5 HH is gone. It was my main for four years. Last fall I bought a new L-2500 just because I wanted to try one. It quickly became my main squeeze. The Ray 5 sounded great but I like the control setup on the L-2500 better. The feel of the basses is very similar but what really stands out is the tone of the L-2500. I compared the two extensively and even though the pickups are different, I think the pickup placement is part of the mystery. Both pickups are much closer to the bridge on the L25 and I think that is why it has the grunt and growl but yet very smooth and articulate. Here is a photo of the two side by side. Stingray on the left.


I still have a Fender American Deluxe JB 4 string and will hang on to it until the Stingray 5 H is restored. I do not use it but will be a backup if needed.

The bass player and the drummer set the grove in the band. Without that it would limit a lead guitar player in what they could play. Not only that but the ladies in the crowd are feeling the bass player thumping away, warming them up, even though they are watching the lead dude. That's another way we help them out. That be my story-------------Darwin Great week of cool guitar stuff Ken.

[GGJaguar]

[westsideduck]

All die basse und keine abfangjager?



Perdersi sulla strada per la patria?

[louis cyfer]

Ken, great reports this week and thanks for being the LR! Lunch today will be leftover beef roast and veggies.

Now we bass players get some respect! I was convinced that a Stingray 5 HH was as good as it gets after playing Fender basses for years. I still have a Stingray 5 H which I will keep, but the Stingray 5 HH is gone. It was my main for four years. Last fall I bought a new L-2500 just because I wanted to try one. It quickly became my main squeeze. The Ray 5 sounded great but I like the control setup on the L-2500 better. The feel of the basses is very similar but what really stands out is the tone of the L-2500. I compared the two extensively and even though the pickups are different, I think the pickup placement is part of the mystery. Both pickups are much closer to the bridge on the L25 and I think that is why it has the grunt and growl but yet very smooth and articulate. Here is a photo of the two side by side. Stingray on the left.


I still have a Fender American Deluxe JB 4 string and will hang on to it until the Stingray 5 H is restored. I do not use it but will be a backup if needed.

The bass player and the drummer set the grove in the band. Without that it would limit a lead guitar player in what they could play. Not only that but the ladies in the crowd are feeling the bass player thumping away, warming them up, even though they are watching the lead dude. That's another way we help them out. That be my story-------------Darwin Great week of cool guitar stuff Ken.

look at those nice contours on the stingray cutaways. why can't g&l do something like that for upper fret access comfort?

[meowmix]

I do like mine. It does not get played often as it should.


I wish I still had the SVT amp. My back doesn't. The rest of me does.

I do like mine. It does not get played often

[blargfromouterspace]

My knowledge of basses is limited to the ones played by the guys in the bands I'm with. I know that I prefer the sound of a Precision over a Jazz, and a Jazz over a Music Man. I've never heard a G&L bass in the hands of a bass player - I owned a Japanese L-2000 briefly and the only amp I had for it was a sub-entry level 10W thing which did the thing no justice. I'd like to hear one in action. I'd like to see them re-introduce the L-1000. They look damn cool. Or perhaps a straight P-style.

Without a bass player holding a groove down songs just lose their feel. Without basses we'd be stuck with a tuba or, heaven forbid, a bassoon They're not cool at all, even in the hands of an attractive woman.

[youtube]CZ1Nz3UOOas[/youtube]

Thanks for the reports this week Ken. It's been great to see some pictures of the old G&Ls.

[KenC]

Without basses we'd be stuck with a tuba or, heaven forbid, a bassoon They're not cool at all, even in the hands of an attractive woman.

I play upright bass in an ensemble related to my job. I keep trying to get the conductor to put me together with the percussionists, guitarist and keyboard player in a rhythm section, but he insists on having me in the brass section for some reason. I guess in the orchestral world they think more about the pitch of the instrument than its function. Anyway, I usually get stuck playing unison lines with a tuba. It's pure hell. At least there are only a couple of gigs a year, and I get to be way in the back so nobody sees me.

I wonder how many decades you would have to work as a professional bassoon player to pay back the student loans for that doctorate! I am impressed though. I could never play that fast with sheet music in front of me!

Ken

[KenC]

Meowmix,

Is that an L-1500? What do you think of the tone? I've seen some good deals on these and would like a G&L bass with a Jazz-type neck, but it seems like the pickup placement would give more high-end than thump. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

Ken

[Elwood]

Thanks for an entertaining week Ken,

I loooove G&L basses ; )

The early control plates were mean looking, I wonder why they changed them . They should bring that
back for a LE or something.
Not mine, just an image I found:




The newest I've played was a 90's L-5500 5 string. I played with it for a year or so ,then sold it.
It is a solid bass, great wood...two piece bi-cut body . It didn't have the growl of the large
MFDs (they came with EMGs/18v circiut).
I don't have pictures of the one I had ,so I went to google images:



These had the 6 bolt neckplates with hole for the micro-tilt .



Sort of industrial looking . The old 3 bolt bass neckplates were real classy looking .

The only instrument I have that only has inset bolts is my '90 ibanez SR1000.
As much as I like wood grain, I think a few well designed plates of metal add to the Mojo.

I think the Sickle headstock was a good thing.



My L2000 fretless,

I wish I still had the SVT amp. My back doesn't. The rest of me does.

Imagine moving this one -

Non-G&L Question of the Day:
Where would guitarists be without bass players holding everything together???
!

Reeeeeaaaallly wanting a G&L Baritone player in the band !!!!

[yowhatsshakin]

Ken, thanks for the great week of LR's. Having mostly BBE-era instruments, it was nice to see lots of true George and Leo era instruments pass by. BTW, Greg and westsideduck just crack me up this morning

Although having played bass in a choir band in my middle teens, I'm an 'ersatz' low-ender but I can gratuitously throw in my 2:


- Jos

'Vita brevis, ars longa'

[meowmix]

Meowmix,

Is that an L-1500? What do you think of the tone? I've seen some good deals on these and would like a G&L bass with a Jazz-type neck, but it seems like the pickup placement would give more high-end than thump. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

Ken

It was called the Climax Bass. They stopped production and/or re-named it and/or put another pickup. Something like that.
Bought it new, on sale for $600 way back when.

I do not like having to remove the bolts to get to the battery. Batteries corrode and need a quick and easy way to remove them.

The tone I got, was excellent. But I only owned 1 Bass in my entire life, which means I have nothing to compare it to.
The SVT amp is an odd creature. 6550 tubes are not that great. yet they worked great in the SVT. The head alone weighted about 50 lbs. ummmmph!

[jakkanen]

Without a bass player holding a groove down songs just lose their feel. Without basses we'd be stuck with a tuba or, heaven forbid, a bassoon They're not cool at all, even in the hands of an attractive woman.

I have a friend who is a classical composer. He earns his living as a musical director at a church, and they have a yearly bassoon event where the final concert features 15 or so bassoon on stage simultaneously. Something you don't see often, different and kind of interesting to hear.

Anyway, the bassoon player in this video definittely puts it in the "cool" category:
[youtube]6v6j_JbOlpA[/youtube]

-Jukka

[bassman]

Here is my '94 L-2000 and me playing with the Capital Blues Ensemble on Friday March 23.
The singer (our Keyboard player, Dave)is out of the frame because its just one camera on a stand.
This band has harp and horns, a very cool combination OMHO!


[youtube]OEnliXiZ4bQ[/youtube]

Here is "Cissy Strut" from the same night's performance:
[youtube]yzvZBXYlSOU[/youtube]