A little sage advice please.

[Redrider]

Hey glad to have a place to talk G&L bass.

I am wanting a new bass to suplant my MIM F****r Jazz. I have been thinking L2000 or ASAT for versatility but I have a concern about possible ASAT comfortability.

Anyone care to give me some feedback, pro & cons, sage advice, etc. etc.

I play praise & worship at church, blues, and classic rock at home, (just in case someone thinks I should consider a different model.)

[Ken Baker]

Hey, Red! Welcome aboard!

It's really hard to beat the L-2000 or ASAT for 4 string versatility. As I'm sure you've found, the electronics package is the same for both. The sound will be as well. As to comfort, all I can say is find an ASAT and try it on a strap. Balance may be an issue because of the short upper horn, but this will vary from bass to bass. A wider suede strap can help here as can a bass with a somewhat heavy body.

There are a few ASAT owners that may chime in if they made the trek here.

Ken...

[Legasat]

I agree. The Asat basses I have played were great basses, but they were neck-divers. A suade strap would be a must!

The L-2000 is maybe Leo's most versatile creation.

[pauldebass]

The L2000 would probably be closer to what you're use to in terms of feel of the bass physically. I actually like basses that have some weight to them, if you don't the ASAT might be up your alley. You didn't say if you prefered P or J type basses. You can get a neck that would be either one and some variance within that. I have 2 L2000s and one neck is the J the other a P but the one with the narrower back of neck (i don't like the real round P neck that G&L has.. but again that's my likes). Both will give you a variety of tone just from the bass. There's a classic P type tone I use a lot which is having the bass passive, just the neck P/U w the middle switch turned on toward neck. That sound is great for a warm blues type tone. If you're curious go to Myspace.com/ericsardinasband the song "liar's dice blues' is with an L2000 (alder body, jazz neck, rosewood fingerboard, 1991) with that P setting mentioned above. Another cut on that page, "flames of Love" is with a mid 80s L2000 (mahogany body, maple fingerboard, P neck,) in active both P/Us bass, treb, vol all on 10. listen to the difference. Or go to Myspace.com/candyekaneband and you'll hear the Mahogany bass w P tone on "Hey Toughen up" , "I'm a Bad Girl" is active w just neck P/U and "superhero" is both P/Us active w treble boost. oh, worth mentioning is that the Sardinas tracks are w roundwounds, the kane tracks are w flats. That's probably more than you want to know but I thought recordings might be a good reference for you.

[Redrider]

Hey Pauldebass a great big thanks for the information. I especially liked the clips you referenced it gave me a good idea of what to expect, and with rounds and flats to boot.

All I can say is... WAAHOOOO!!! I am going to have some fun.

[fender3x]

I have an ASAT. I bought it several years ago from a shop that had a bunch of used G&L's, so I played them all, without knowing much about them. I kept coming back to the ASAT, and it came home with me. I just loved the neck. Best neck for my hand that I have ever had my hands on.

Of course, I was sitting down in the shop, so I did not notice neck dive. To be honest, I have a FrankenJazz (a modified SX) and a Fender '74 Pbass. Both of them had neck dive that was at least as extreme as what the ASAT had. Strap pretty much cured that. On the other hand, the fact that the strap attached closer to the bridge meant that I had to reach farther to play low notes. I am sure that it's the same with Firebirds or Les Pauls, and was not that big a deal but I searched for a solution...

Long story short, there used to be a guy called "ASATman" aka Dan Pierce who sold a strap extender just for ASATs. He milled these out of aluminum. I bought one from him, and it turned my ASAT into the best balanced bass I have ever had. Not sure what's become of the guy. Rumor has it that he sold off his ASATs (he had a huge number of them), and no longer visits the forums. Not sure what the story is on that. If you get an ASAT, and are bothered by neck dive or playing position, I would be happy to give you the contact info I have for him, but it's been several years and I don't know if it's still good.

I have messed with my ASAT enough to love it, and they are definitely cool looking basses. If you get one you'll get lots of positive comments about that. I think they tend to be a pound or so lighter than the L2Ks because of being a smaller body, but G&L has used so many different woods that YMMV mucho.

To me, the L2Ks have the edge on comfort due to playing position and the contoured, more rounded body. I like the stock necks on the ASAT, and that's where you spend most of your time... So I probably would not get an L2K unless I could get it with a #8 neck... But there are lots of people who like the wider neck on the stock L2Ks...you might be one of them.

My advice is to play both, and take a strap to the shop with you when you do