G&L CLF Research L-2500 - Old School Tobacco Sunburst Review

Everything you would expect from Leo Fender, some small caveats

This is a bona fide G&L and one of the finest instruments that money can buy. I've never felt so challenged by a bass in as many ways, and never felt the need to reach for another when I have this in my hands. The feel and character is very vintage, yet it can handle most bass sounds from Motown all the way to rock and metal sounds. Paired with my Keeley bassist, SansAmp vt, gk… read more 800rb, and a hartke 810, I feel unstoppable. the growl and the lows are a near earthquake, and there's extra treble on tap for those digs that require some extra bite (I've found it useful to try and reach rick territory). Now here come the issues I've had thus far. Firstoff, I think quality control missed a few details since I had to throw in a couple wood planks under the neck to level it out, so I wouldn't have to zero out the bridge to get my action right. I'm pretty sure the initial routing for the neck was simply too deep, and it got overlooked. Not too big a deal, but enough to off put. Secondly, You cannot dime all the controls on this bass, you will have odd distortion issues, and it will not sound good. Leo made these pickups too hot, and you have to be smart about volume placements for your sounds. Once you find your spots, mark them, and do what you can not to touch them while you're jumping around and having fun. I highly recommend this bass to those who prefer studio sessions, and for those who don't mind a little heft, since mine is pretty heavy with some neck dive. If you try to use this thing live, good luck, and I hope you have a strong back and hands.

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Here's the thing.

I've been in and out of basses for a while and thought I'd try something new. I knew of Leo Fender, and both Fender and G&L and thought to myself, do I go for the P5, or this madness? After a great amount of time researching and reading about it, I was open to trying it. Couldn't find it anywhere to play, but wound up just pulling the trigger anyway. Here are my two cents. Out of… read more my Ibanez ATK805, Fender P4, and my Schecter Stiletto 5, this is shining through my collection little by little. The tone is percussive, it's so full of all the treble and bass you can handle, and the 5th string is not too boomy, and it's well defined across the board. Tonewise, this is becoming my number 1. Now the con is this: Setup turned out to be a little interesting since I had to create shims to raise the neck. I'm pretty sure the neck pocket was routed out too deep, and to get close to the desired feel, it took those shims and some tinkering to keep from bottoming the bridge saddles. I'm not sure that's a G&L quality control thing. Otherwise, getting used to the feel of this monster was a learning curve. I've been playing for like 10 years, and this was the first bass to give me blisters. For those interested in buying, heed this warning. Be ready for the learning curve. Be ready to invest in pro quality setup. Lastly, do NOT set all your knobs to 10. This will result in nasty sounding distortion since the pickups are ridiculously hot, and they're selectively active. For those ready to climb the mountain to the ultimate bass tone, I wish your journey to be as fruitful and fulfilling as mine is.

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Leo's legend continues

Incredible boutique quality American made bass that plays better than any bass I've owned. I am a self professed G&L geek since the 90's, and own several "vintage" models, as well as newer ones. Not many people realize that Leo Fender owned and ran this company until the day he passed away, and many of his later innovations came about during this era, post Fender. If you want the… read more Fender vibe on steroids you should check out the G&L line. IMHO, G&L's blow away Fenders and cost less. The consistency in quality, fit and finish simply can't be found in a modern Fender. The MFD pickups sound better than any pickups in any guitar or bass at any price. Even though this is a 34" scale bass, the B string sounds clear and solid and is not "floppy". There are a myriad of tonal possibilities with this bass. One trick I learned with all of my G&l basses is that you need to utilize the tone knobs (these are cut only). MFD pickups are very "hot", so by easing back on the treble and bass tone knobs, you can tame this beast and achieve some fantastic tones. Okoume is similar to Mohagany (sp) in it's tonal characteristics. The wood grain can have incredible figuring in the right light. It does tend to be a bit heavier generally than Alder, but Swamp Ash varies so much, it's hard to compare weights with it. Okoume delivers warmth with nice pronounced mids.

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Amazing quality bass that plays and sounds fantastic

G&L knocked it out of the park with this bass. My first 5-string, was hesitant thinking it might be hard to play after only 4-strings. I was wrong, the adjustment was easy. The action is nice and low, neck super straight. The variety of excellent tones this bass produces is shocking. A true beast of a bass. Fit and finish are top notch. The neck is so perfect and easy playing.

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