G&L in trouble...?

[Stub Mandrel]

11 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

It itsn't objectively bad like the sire

 

By what measure? Seriously what offends do much? The simplicity? 

 

Even though the G&L is seen as odd by many, due to it's prominent but functionless pip, that's still subjective. 

[neepheid]

Honestly, the internet dogpile on G&L or Sire headstocks (or whoever has been deemed not to be flavour of the month this time) is really boring to me.

[Woodinblack]

29 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

By what measure? Seriously what offends do much? The simplicity? . 

 

The ugliness of them! Its just the complete run out of ideas, we have to look a bit like a fender but can't look too much like a fender, we will just get a child to draw a headstock, two lines, thats fine.

 

 

11 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Honestly, the internet dogpile on G&L or Sire headstocks (or whoever has been deemed not to be flavour of the month this time) is really boring to me.

 

Thats why there are scroll bars on the side of the window, so you can scroll past! 

 

[LeftyJ]

On 27/09/2025 at 08:39, BlueMoon said:

One of the best things about the G&L electronics package is the ability to play in passive mode even if the battery dies. It’s crazy to me that more active bass manufacturers don’t provide this.

 

That's because they're essentially a passive bass in the first place. The EQ is fully passive and cut-only. The only active bit in the L2K electronics is the boost circuit. They're a bit of an oddity in that sense.

 

Other active basses usually have active tone controls that also boost certain frequencies, and which can be bypassed. Some add active pickups to that package which have a preamp built into the pickup itself that needs power at all times to function. 

[Belka]

The word over at Talkbass is that Fender has bought/is buying G&L. 

[Jonesy]

I hope G&L get helped out and their staff all get their jobs back. 

I really rate their stuff and have a couple of Tributes that I love. Agree their marketing and brand positioning is about 30 years behind where it should be though. 

 

I'd love to pick up a Japanese ASAT bass - I passed on one a couple of years back and kick myself about it.

 

It seems I'm in a minority here, but.....not only do I tolerate the G&L headstock, I really like it (in a 4 string. The 5er looks weird, but that's what you get for adding a pointless extra string). 

[Sean]

1 hour ago, Belka said:

The word over at Talkbass is that Fender has bought/is buying G&L. 

 

I wonder how’ll they’ll reposition it? 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

If Fender has bought G&L, based on what happened when they acquired tacoma, my guess is they probably want the original Fender factory. Maybe they'll move the Fender custom shop there and G&L will will be made offshore only. Gaining back the preserved office/lab where Leo worked would be a bit of a bonus for their story.

[LeftyJ]

Yes, Fender has a long history of acquiring brands and killing them off because they only wanted to gain certain expertise. Not as bad as Gibson, thank heavens, but their track record is not good. 

 

I truly hope G&L will live on and will have their legacy (no pun intended) preserved though. I think they're a wonderful brand with their own identity and great instruments. 

[Stub Mandrel]

Who knows what the future holds...  G&L basses with Fender headstocks?

[jonno1981]

Every G&l bass I’ve played has sounded great but had ergonomic issues. I’ve played 4 and each of them was really heavy, balanced poorly and missing a lot of modern refinements that I’d expect. Stuff like unshielded cavities, chunky feeling neck profiles, plasticky battery compartments. 
 

Providing fender don’t do an SWR (buy and shut the place down), continue to invest and modernise the product, I’d see this as a positive for the brand. 

[Ben Jamin]

Hope Fender can integrate staff and keep producing some of the models. The L-series could replace their Dimension bass, and guitar models like the Comanche or Espada could do really well under Fender.

Edited 28 minutes ago by Ben Jamin