hello Steve
im not sure why you came to that conclusion, G&L are regarded on here quite well from what i have read, and quite rightly so,
i know its not fair to say one bass is better than another as its only that person saying so which means jack to another person, horses for courses etc,
so.. Personally i think they are in the top 5 of the best PRODUCTION bass's on the planet.
ok so you dont get fancy woods ( you can order tho) but as a work horse they are solid as hell verywell built, huge power, great range of USABLE tones, etc,
i know some dont like the heavy basses, i love them, i struggle with light basses to get what i want out of them, i feel i have to work harder,
of all the basses i have had and still have the early L2000 is the closest thing i can get to my wal, which i have been playing for 20 years now, and is very hard to get that tightness out of other basses, ( again only personel pref (dont want to start a big debate here ))
When i tried a friends G&L jazz at a gig i cant remember what number it was but with the same pickups as you describe, i found the sound much tighter on a loud stage than my jazz but still abit light with less weight to it and less punch than my L2000 so felt i had to turn my amp up to get it, when i went back to my L2000 in the second half it was like jumping into a AC Cobra, its all there with less effort and less volume,with those powerfull humbuckers.
i know the tributes have the same pickups, electrics bit again i miss the weight, im not saying they are light, its just the early L2000 is HEAVY.... i have just weighed both my G&L L2000 both early 3 bolt, 1 with the metal control plate for this topic and they are 5.2Kg... as a guide my thumb bass is 3.5Kg and the wal is 5Kg
Regarding the neck both mine have the Jazz neck and they are perfect for me, a friend has just got a newish L2000 usa and the neck at the nut is WIDE with that thin satin laquer on the back which i dont like.
My friend loves his G&L jazz and compaired to his Mex jazz and his 80s usa one, and my mex jazz its more powerfull with clear punch, the pickups are very good, and well made but do try the tribute jazz necked L2000 against it if you get the chance, you wont be sorry
im waffling now arnt i.......