Thumping Thursday LR for August 9, 2012

[zapcosongs]

Hey guys. I’m checking in early with Thursday’s Lunch Report because tomorrow morning as I'm off to my kids camp now. It’s an Equestrian camp and they’ve invited parents to watch the kids saddle-up and ride.

Question 1: Anybody here ride (or appreciate) horses? I took riding lessons as a kid have a great love for horses – though I have not been in the saddle since before I was married thirteen years ago.

I appreciate your responses yesterday. Sorry I had trouble putting my youtube video in line.

Lunch today: I have a real hankering for slow-cooked beef short ribs served au jus over quality egg noodles. I’d like a good Ceasar salad on the side, and tonic water with fresh mint with which to wash it down. I mean, why not?

G&L Question: I’ve been around this place quite a few years. Though I’m not a bass player (nor much of a guitar player, btw), I do own two G&L basses. When G&L basses are discussed here, I’ve observed that there has been lots of discussion of L-series basses and SB-series basses, with some talk of Lynx, Interceptor and El Toro (Leo-era) basses throw in as well. Is it just me, or have ASAT, JB, Legacy and M-series G&L basses been kind of relegated to second-class in terms of discussion? Do you agree with this observation? If so, why do you think this is the case? If you think I’m wrong, I’d like to hear from you as well.

Additional Bass Question: I’d like to hear from the low-enders as to the relative merits of active vs. passive circuitry in bass guitars. Teach us something here. I’m a moron!

Bonus Question: This may relate to active/passive circuitry – or not: Who here has an amp that features both “hi” and “low” inputs? If so, how do you use these – both in the traditional sense and in more nuanced and creative ways?

That’s all for today. Have a great one! - ed

[darwinohm]

Busy day for you Ed. Too early for lunch here but I overdid it yesterday.

My daughter and family have horses so the granddaughters have grown up with horses. I have not ridden one for years and my last ride was bareback and I fell off. As you can imagine, that was years ago and we were having fun!

My bass amp has inputs for both active and passive. I always use the active input. I do like active basses and they tend to give a more tonal variety. I have had different types of basses and use the L-2500 exclusively for different reasons but the tone and feel of the bass is perfect for me. I have owned several brands of basses including Fender and Musicman. I thought the Stingray 5 was it until I played an L-2500. I still have a Fender American Deluxe (18V) Jazz bass and never use it. Jazz basses are too mellow for my likes. Some people like the old P bass styles but I think the G&L humbuckers are difficult to surpass. They do have grunt. I would like an ASAT bass as they have the same pickups as the L series. We all have our preferences and the new M bass is not attractive enough for me to buy one.
The biggest change I have found was going to a high wattage amp that gives headroom. They are articulate and dynamic at low volumes. I use a Carvin R-1000 which has some effects including tube preamp emulation and compression. As far as I am concerned both those features are worthless and I have both turned off. The amp rocks without those features. The compressor compresses too much and the tube emulator is a bit distorted. Now, lets talk about neck finish. This L-2500 has the satin finish which had turned to gloss after one year of gigging. I would much prefer the high gloss from the factory as it is thicker. The satin finish is to thin in my opinion. I marvel at the feel when I play my G&L's with the gloss necks. I love them.

As promised, here is a picture of Ginny and I with the granddaughters taken about a year and a half ago.-- Have a great day everyone--Darwin

[blargfromouterspace]

Horses are magnificent beasts. I love the clothes the riders wear for equestrian. A good looking woman in a pair of jodhpurs (what a great word) is a very nice thing indeed. We played at a polo club last year, and I made sure I got there early to see some of the game as I'd never seen it before. It's f*&^*$# awesome. The sound of a bunch of horses at full gallop on a field is something everyone should hear at least once. It must have been terrifying when a gang of bandidos rode into town to do some rape and pillaging!

You have a fine looking family there Darwin Love the shirt too!

[jonc]

L1k + OMG switch. Pure Leo greatness in action. I also like the mid-rangy sounds of the SB's but L1k's are my hands down all-time faves.

[Craig]

Sorry I had trouble putting my youtube video in line.

See Tutorial: Posting YouTube videos.

Hope this helps.

[zapcosongs]

Thanks Craig. I've actually done it before and tried to do it yesterday, but I couldn't find a code for my video that looked like the one we use, featured on the tutorial. It's probably just me.... - ed

[KenC]

Hey Ed,

I just got back from a brief vacation trip, so I haven't had any chance to read this week's LRs yet. I hope to have time tonight before sleep catches up.

No experience with horses here, but +1 to Jamie's comments about jodhpurs on an equestrienne.

All but one of my guitar purchases this year have been G&L basses. So far I have the L-series, SBs/Lynx, and Interceptor covered. I hope the next one will be an ASAT or JB. For the non-bassists, I think it's important to understand that Leo started the ball rolling with two very different instruments: the Precision and the Jazz Bass. The Precision is best known for giving a solid low-end, especially with flat wound strings. The Jazz tends to pair well with round wound strings, and gives a bit more high-end. If you A/B the two (at least the way they were built up through the early 90s) the Jazz usually feels more comfortable to guitarists, with its contoured body and 1.5" nut. The Precision's waist isn't nearly as offset, there were no belly or forearm cuts, and the neck was quite a bit wider.

To me, the L-series feels a lot like an old Precision, and tone falls into the same ballpark. Flip the OMG (treble cut) switch on a mahogany L-1000 with flatwounds, and it's like a Precision on steroids. My L-2000s don't get the same low-end rumble, but they do have a bit more versatility with a bridge pup in the mix. The necks on my SBs, Lynx and Interceptor are fairly close to the Precision in feel, although the bodies and sounds are completely different.

The ASAT and JB have neck profiles very close to the old Jazz Bass shape. So did the Climax Bass. I'm not sure whether these are less popular, but the 1.5" nut is the common thread between them. Of the models you listed, the Legacy was built in small numbers and the M-series is new, so they wouldn't show up for discussion as much. The L-series has been around from the start of G&L, and at least one model with the "SB" prefix has been around since 1982, so these are going to be the most common ones to come up for discussion.

On the subject of active vs. passive, I really don't have much to offer. My first active basses were the L-2000E and Interceptor, which I've had for about four months. My main upright bass amp (a Gallieb Krueger MB-150) has a pad button for active basses, but I've never needed to use it. I'm sure I've experimented with it with my active G&Ls, but didn't find a compelling need one way or the other. MY main electric bass amp was designed for passive basses.

Ken

[zapcosongs]

Thanks Ken. I've never touched a Precision or a Jazz bass. I don't play bass, but I have an old SB-2 and an old L-1000, and they feel and sound like completely different animals. But I love and appreciate them both.

I've never touched an active bass or guitar for that matter. I was just hoping to learn something here, and well, I just did. Thank you again. - ed

[Craig]

Thanks Craig. I've actually done it before and tried to do it yesterday, but I couldn't find a code for my video that looked like the one we use, featured on the tutorial. It's probably just me.... - ed

It's not just you -- YouTube changed their embed code and they no longer use the "v={video ID string}".
I have just updated the Tutorial to account for this change and also changed the help text for the youtube BBcode.
Check it out and see if it works for you now.

Hope this helps.

[Brock]

L1k + OMG switch. Pure Leo greatness in action. I also like the mid-rangy sounds of the SB's but L1k's are my hands down all-time faves.

L1K FTW!

As to the poll, I selected the other bass option (and SB, and El Toro) because the headstock may have an L on it, but the L-5000 just isn't an L-series bass in my book.

[Katefan]

Hey Ed,
Playing catch up today...

Not much of a bass player myself but almost owned a '76 MM Stingray Bass that was amazing. I might be a bass player today if I bought it.

Not much of a horse rider either but a friend of ours here owns a couple and they are truly amazing animals. Even watching just one of them galloping is pretty stellar.

Cheers,
KF