Taming the top end (L2000)

[krismpos]

I'm sure this issue has been addressed before, but couldn't find the answer.
So, last April I got this beautiful L2000 with bird's eye maple fretboard, which became my main bass at gigs. No complains about the tone overall, but the thing is that the treble knob is not usable past 50%. It gets insanely bright.
Since I plan to do the K mod (just got a 3-on switch), I wonder if there's a way to change the response of the treble knob. Note that my bass has a 1.1 preamp.

[Ken Baker]

Disclaimer: I don't have your bass in front of me, so this is Internet guesswork going on here.

I guess the first things to ask is, has anyone changed out the treble pot, the preamp, or made changes to the preamp? The treble pot should be 250K audio taper and the treble cap should be .047µF. Here's a wiring diagram of the stock circuit.

The L-2000 can get bright, but usually not "insanely bright". You might also consider checking pickup height and the settings of any/all "downstream" devices, including your amp.

Ken...

[krismpos]

I've checked it. It seems everything is stock. Perhaps I exaggerated with "insanely bright" but the truth is I never found a usable tone with the treble past 50%, even in passive mode. But I plead guilty that I've always used the volume at 100% contrary to your suggestion in this forum Anyway, it's not something I can't live with.
Thanks for the reply Ken.

[daveplaysbass]

There is a 1000pF capacitor in many of the wiring diagrams between the pickups and the input to the preamp. I lifted this one time on my L2500 because academically it seemed unnecessary.
After lifting the capacitor, my L2500 had excessive amounts of treble. I put the capacitor back in and considered it essential. If memory serves correct the 1000pF capacitor was not in my Climax and I ended up adding it in to roll of some of the excessive highs.

Your description sounds like this 1000pF capacitor is missing. Or if you have an odd duck, placing a second 1000pF capacitor in the circuit may help. Or in passive mode, go with a 40' instrument cable. Or take a 20' instrument cable apart and solder 1000pF between signal and ground and run the bass passive.

The 1000pF cap is roughly equivalent to the loading associated with a 20' instrument cable. It has always tickled me that while most modern solutions isolate pickups from the cable capacitance with a preamp, G&L MFDs use a 1000pF cap in front of the preamp in order to provide a reasonable high end response.

[bigtone23]

Here are some treble taming threads. Not sure how they may work on the L2K, but these may give some ideas...
Taming treble on a L1500https://www.bassesbyleo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1396
El Toro Taminghttps://www.bassesbyleo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2574