Help with G&L L-2500 tone

[VRPate]

Ok so here it goes, after several years of lusting after a US made L-2500 I have finally managed to buy a new one. Its beautiful to say the least. The fit and finish is simply amazing. I've been a Warwick player for most of my 22 year bass career with a few Kubicki and Music Man's thrown in the mix. I have a distinct sound in my head, but its not all that unusual, a good clean and warm sound. The problem I am having is no matter which amp I play through I can't get a clean note. I keep getting a distortion undertone that is driving me insane. I've tried it through a GK Fusion 550 head with a GK NEO 212 cab, and through a GK 1001 head with the same NEO 212 cab. No matter what I try it still doesn't sound clean. I love this bass in ever other aspect, but if I can't find my sound I will sell it and go back to my old ways. Please guys, any help at all will be appreciated. Thanks for your time and help.

[Ken Baker]

Ok so here it goes, after several years of lusting after a US made L-2500 I have finally managed to buy a new one. Its beautiful to say the least. The fit and finish is simply amazing. I've been a Warwick player for most of my 22 year bass career with a few Kubicki and Music Man's thrown in the mix. I have a distinct sound in my head, but its not all that unusual, a good clean and warm sound. The problem I am having is no matter which amp I play through I can't get a clean note. I keep getting a distortion undertone that is driving me insane. I've tried it through a GK Fusion 550 head with a GK NEO 212 cab, and through a GK 1001 head with the same NEO 212 cab. No matter what I try it still doesn't sound clean. I love this bass in ever other aspect, but if I can't find my sound I will sell it and go back to my old ways. Please guys, any help at all will be appreciated. Thanks for your time and help.

Congratulations! Welcome to BassesByLeo!

You realize, of course, that this L-2500 of yours will be imaginary until we get some pics to lust after. Call it a weakness on our part...

On to address the problem.

Turn it down. Really, just turn it down. I'm guessing that you've got all three controls cranked up all the way, and that's the best way I know to overdrive a preamp section. G-K, Ampeg, BBE, Aguilar; it doesn't matter. G&L basses have a VERY hot signal, even passive they can easily overdrive an amp. Here are some particulars that you might try:

1. If the pickups look close to the strings, lower them. Many people will lower the pickups as far as they can. YMMV here, but having them too high can make the bass crazy gainful.

2. Set the volume no higher than 75-80 percent. Anything beyond that and you'll overdrive your amp and lose a lot of right hand control.

3. Set the treble and bass controls to about 80% or so. I know they're passive, but let's look at this as kind of a baseline setting and you can work from there.

4. Set the coil (center) switch to whichever position you like. Just understand that series (what G&L calls bass boost) is going to be a helluva lot hotter than parallel.

5. Select both pickups for now. You can play with this in a bit.

6. Set your amp's preamp gain no higher than 50% (maybe less) and its EQ flat. Master volume to taste.

7. Now plug in and play.

If I've guessed right, you should now have a whole different sounding (VERY good sounding) bass. If things sound good now, or at least under control, then we've got you to a good starting point. Start making small adjustments here and there to get the tone tailored to your liking. Just don't dime the volume. Remember too that the G&L L series basses have a huge bottom end. I find that I've got to be very judicious with the bass control.

Hope this help!

Oh! Get some pictures taken!

Ken...

[Mick Markey]

I would agree with all points Ken made...I have been playing G&Ls since 1987, and have used them nearly exclusively.

String choice is also a big factor.

I would recommend a flatwound string set if you want to get real warm fat tones. D'Addario Chromes will give you most of the clarity of roundwounds, but keep the zing and ring under control. They sound great on the 2500 and 2000 models.

If you prefer rounds, then look for nickel strings. They will be a bit warmer than most.

Using round wound strings, especially a steel string, will tend to keep it more aggressive and modern sounding. With the wide tonal span of the L-2500, you can tame it a little, but not as effectively as just getting the right starting point.

[DeSiepel]

Just listen to Ken

[Nedmundo]

I have a couple of G&L's, and use a 700RB-II head. Ken provides great advice, but it might be as simple as using the -14db pad at the input. That's all I need to do with my L-1500 and SB-2, on which I normally run the volume wide open. On my head, the light doesn't always illuminate when it clips, which is annoying. If the distortion isn't from clipping the input stage, it could be strings too close to the polepieces. MFD pickups are especially sensitive to this IMLE, but I had the same problem last week with Nordstrand NJ5FS pickups in my Fender Jazz V. The B string sounded horribly distorted, but cleaned right up with just a quarter turn of the saddle height screws.

[VileRedFalcon]

I have experienced some harshness with Neo speakers, last Neo cab I played through didn't like my SB-2. tried the same head with different cab at same volume and got better results. just my .02

[jfh4242]

Man, G&L could sell so many more basses if they would just back off the gain on the volume knob.

It's not just noobs. I was playing a 4 hour gig this weekend with two guitars and a keyboard. The sound volume kept changing depending on the setup so I was playing with my volume knob. Often, when I would turn up, I would get lost as to where I was so the dreaded distortion would come in. It's ok, I would ease out of it, but still...

Is there anything to gain for G&L to do things like that? I am not being cute, I am really trying to understand why they would make basses with a signal so hot?

Jon