L-2500

Bassics Magazine (United States)

By Ron Garant

I had no sooner finished a review of a beautiful "Blueburst" L-2500, when G&L notified me that they had released a "new and improved" L-2500, an instrument that maintains the stalwart qualities of the original, but in a sleeker, lighter package.

The bass provided by G&L was finished in a see-through "Clear Forest Green" with a rosewood fingerboard, and I liked its bright appearance. As with all see-through finishes on the L-2500s, a Swamp Ash top adorns the body, providing a contrasting dark wood grain pattern. This new model has a body of Tilia wood, a member of the Basswood family. When I picked up the original L-2500, the first thing I noticed was its substantial mass, including its neck, but I really enjoyed the sound. We'll come back to the sound, but let's have a look at the construction first.

This new version retains the L-2500's solid feel, but weighs close to a pound less. At a little over 9 lbs., that's a considerable improvement as far as my back is concerned. The body has been shaved 11/32" in perimeter, and incorporates a slimmer waistline with a revised left-side contour, all of which makes for a more comfortable ride. The neck features a slimmer nut width (now 1 ¾", a reduction of 1/16"), and a slimmer profile overall. Repositioning the tuning heads from a 4+1 to a 3+2 configuration makes for a better balance as well. This design also improves the sound and tuning stability since the B-string tuner is positioned further away from the nut to allow a longer string pull, and allows the strings to pull straight through the nut.

The bridge on the L-2500 now offers a string-through-body option in addition to going through the rear of the bridge. According to G&L's testing, 'the low B strung through the body gave a much more tight and focused sound."

It's obvious that Leo Fender's influence on the bass design has carried over from the original Fender to Music Man to G&L. My pal Harry DeBusk observed that the original L-2500 seemed "faintly reminiscent of a Music Man crossed with a P-bass," and that's probably no accident. G&L's pickups and bridges are a more recent Leo design than the Stingray's, and now with its leaner, trimmer mods, the L-2500, and the new single pickup L-1505 (the 5-string version of the L-1500), will be happy to steal you away from Music Man.

The factory set-up was very good and G&L includes an instructional booklet along with the necessary wrenches to make simple adjustments, including truss rod, pickups and bridge as well as a diagram explaining the electronics. Also included was a certificate of authenticity indicating the serial number of the instrument and signed by Phyllis (Mrs. Leo) Fender, which I thought was a nice touch, and there's a limited (to the original owner) 10-year warranty.

After strapping it on and plugging it into an Eden WT500 stereo head and D210XLT cabinet, it was time to rock 'n' roll. With a little tweaking of the tone controls, the tone became very, very B-I-G. At the top of the neck, the sound and feel tempts you on, and at the bottom, well, we're talkin' L-O-W. The big pickups, combined with the active electronics, really get this baby talkin'. The setting I liked best was full tilt - active electronics on (including treble boost), bass and treble up full. This L-2500 has more 'snap' to the sound and was considerably more comfortable and easier to play than the original.

All components of the bass are proprietary G&L including the tuners, pickups and bridge, and the electronic are quite flexible yet simple. There are only three knobs - VOLUME, TREBLE AND BASS, and three switches - PICKUP SELECTOR, SERIES/PARALLEL switch (2-position, series [bass boost]; parallel [bass cut]), and ACTIVE/PASSIVE switch (3-position - preamp off, on, on with treble boost. Even in the passive mode, the L-2500 presents a smooth, firm sound, but the "killer" switch is the SERIES/PARALLEL - when you flick it to the forward position (series), the entire sound detonates. But that low end attenuation introduces noise from the otherwise silent electronics.

While the G&L bass line is not exactly ubiquitous, the do seem to be popular with many players. Although he has never actually played an L-2500, Nashville studioman Dave Pomeroy, who owns a pair of fretted and fretless mid '80s L-2000s (the similarly equipped 4-string version), finds them "massive sounding". He also describes them as "reliable, solid, versatile instruments that have never let me down. I especially like the series/parallel switch - it's almost like an amp sound. Being able to bypass the active circuit to get a more 'vintage' sound is also a cool feature."

And Harry DeBusk noted, "Everything I got from it was some variation on a P-bass tone…unexpected from a 2-pickup bass. This might be why you liked it in a band/ensemble setting. That P-bass midrange is fabulous there." Harry would've preferred a pickup blend knob over the 3-position selector switch and felt the finish was, "one of the best-applied finishes I've seen - right up there with custom work. Quite impressive." His conclusion was that, "if a player is looking for a 5-string P-bass, this is it."

Obviously the G&L L-2500 is an instrument steeped in the tradition of Leo Fender, but with the added flexibility and advantages of active electronics and a 5-string configuration. Overall, a very solid, well-made instrument with a "modern-vintage" sound.