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 9 hours ago by Ben Jamin

[Russ]

3 hours ago, jonno1981 said:

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. 

What they did to SWR is a lesson in how to completely waste a valuable, much-loved brand. I really hope they don't do the same with G&L. Although I am curious to see how they would sell a bass with L-series electronics - if they put them into a Fender-branded bass, would it be a P or a J, or something else? Would they continue to use the G&L brand at all? Personally, I think they'd have been a much better fit with EBMM, alongside their other "post-Fender" designs.

 

Apparently there's a hell of a lot of SWR DNA in the current range of Fender bass amps - from what I understand, the Rumble series' electronics are largely based on the SWR Workingman electronics, which were a Steve Rabe design. The brand itself was considered innovative, desirable and high quality by bass players everywhere, even post-Fender takeover and shuttering it was a bit misstep for Fender. I think Marshall had a similar issue when they acquired Eden - they wanted a separate "bass division" but didn't bother putting much effort into it. And it's not like Marshall have had any presence in the bass amp market since, where the designs could have lived on. I think G4M currently own Eden, and have done precisely nothing with it since their takeover. 

[Musicman20]

If Fender do take over, I hope they keep all staff and continue to manufacture G&L. 
 

Leo will be going home.

[Jonesy]

2 hours ago, Russ said:

What they did to SWR is a lesson in how to completely waste a valuable, much-loved brand. I really hope they don't do the same with G&L. Although I am curious to see how they would sell a bass with L-series electronics - if they put them into a Fender-branded bass, would it be a P or a J, or something else? Would they continue to use the G&L brand at all? Personally, I think they'd have been a much better fit with EBMM, alongside their other "post-Fender" designs.

 

Apparently there's a hell of a lot of SWR DNA in the current range of Fender bass amps - from what I understand, the Rumble series' electronics are largely based on the SWR Workingman electronics, which were a Steve Rabe design. The brand itself was considered innovative, desirable and high quality by bass players everywhere, even post-Fender takeover and shuttering it was a bit misstep for Fender. I think Marshall had a similar issue when they acquired Eden - they wanted a separate "bass division" but didn't bother putting much effort into it. And it's not like Marshall have had any presence in the bass amp market since, where the designs could have lived on. I think G4M currently own Eden, and have done precisely nothing with it since their takeover. 

 

I reckon they'd release a Fender L2000 if the buyout rumours are true. I don't know what happens to the other MFD pickups, I can't see them releasing a P or PJ with the SB1/2 pups unless it was a US line. Same with the locking bridge, maybe that only gets used in the US Ultra (or not all) sort of range. 

[admiralchew]

I have a 2022 CLF L-1000 and it's a lovely instrument. It's at the lighter end of my basses and it's a beautifully made instrument. The wood grain on the neck and fretboard are pretty spectacular for what is basically a factory-produced bass. I bought it in matcha green though so that should probably be taken into account in considering how much weight to give the earlier sentences...

[snorkie635]

I have three USA G&L basses. Love them and they ain't going nowhere.

 

 

Real shame if they get swamped by the Big F.

[Cato]

At the very least I'd expect Fender to discontinue all the Fender clone models, which is a substantial chunk of the G&l skinny stringer range.

 

Hopefully the L series basses will stay on account being substantially different from anything Fender are currently offering, but I wouldn't be totally suprised if Fender stopped continous production of all G&L models in favour of doing limited runs of specific Leo Fender designed models.

 

As mentioned by @Jean-Luc Pickguard above, if the rumours are true, I suspect Fender probably see more value in the company's heritage and assets than they do in the actual brand.

 

They may even just be motivated by the desire to stop another company buying G & L & acquiring their rights to use Leos name in conjunction with their products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Cato

[snorkie635]

5 minutes ago, Cato said:

At the very least I'd expect Fender to discontinue all the Fender clone models, which is a substantial chunk of the skinny stringer range.

 

Hopefully the L series basses will stay on account being substantially different from anything Fender are currently offering, but I wouldn't be totally suprised if Fender stopped continous production of all G&L models in favour of doing limited runs of specific Leo Fender designed models.

 

As mentioned by @Jean-Luc Pickguard above, if the rumours are true, I suspect Fender probably see more value in the companies heritage and assets than they do in the actual brand.

 

It may even just be motivated by the desire to stop another company buying G & L & acquiring their rights to use Leos name in conjunction with their products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we go with 'pre-Fender' G&L for sale' adverts, I suppose. 

[Supernaut]

Urgh. SWR and Genz Benz were ruined by Fender - really hope G&L doesn't go the same way. 

[Russ]

Actually, I retract what I was saying about G4M not doing anything with Eden - seems there's a load of new stuff, including the Novatone range. 

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Eden-NovaTone-500-Bass-Amplifier-Head/5JUR

 

(sorry for the derail - back to G&L now  )

[Misdee]

It only makes sense for Fender to buy G&L if they keep it separate entity. Migrating features of G&L instruments to their Fender counterparts would be a monumentally silly thing to do for lots of reasons.

 

In terms of marketing G&L is an entity in its self with a profile that Fender could easily improve. It would only take a bit of razmatazz and a couple of big name endorsements to get players interested in buying G&L instruments again. To undertake creating some kind of Fender-G&L hybrid and making it successful is a much more difficult undertaking.

 

Consider that Fender have never had an active bass that could rival the L2000, for example, and if they brought one out now it would be a hard sell to a conservative consumer base. Much better just to promote the existing model from G&L.

.

 

There's something a bit exotic about G&L, what with their history, their innovative designs and the interesting players who've played them in the past. Fender must surely have the wit to see what an opportunity this is to resurrect a potent brand. In football terms, their clean through on an open goal, all they need is but if clever marketing to put the ball in the back of the net 

[Russ]

1 minute ago, Misdee said:

It only makes sense for Fender to buy G&L if they keep it separate entity. Migrating features of G&L instruments to their Fender counterparts would be a monumentally silly thing to do for lots of reasons.

 

In terms of marketing G&L is an entity in its self with a profile that Fender could easily improve. It would only take a bit of razmatazz and a couple of big name endorsements to get players interested in buying G&L instruments again. To undertake creating some kind of Fender-G&L hybrid and making it successful is a much more difficult undertaking.

 

Consider that Fender have never had an active bass that could rival the L2000, for example, and if they brought one out now it would be a hard sell to a conservative consumer base. Much better just to promote the existing model from G&L.

.

 

There's something a bit exotic about G&L, what with their history, their innovative designs and the interesting players who've played them in the past. Fender must surely have the wit to see what an opportunity this is to resurrect a potent brand. In football terms, their clean through on an open goal, all they need is but if clever marketing to put the ball in the back of the net 

If they do what they did with SWR, they'll keep them around for a while, then, after a few years, take the bits they like, add them to the Fender range under the Fender badge, and shutter them. 

[LukeFRC]

7 minutes ago, Russ said:

If they do what they did with SWR, they'll keep them around for a while, then, after a few years, take the bits they like, add them to the Fender range under the Fender badge, and shutter them. 

Except G&L's bits stand out are the things Leo developed while there - the bridge and pickups are an evolution of Fender, the preamp was ahead of its time (though probably dated now). I don't regret selling my 1981 L1000 - but really wish I hadn't had too. It was like the ultimate evolution of a P bass 

[BlueMoon]

Question: if Fender were to take over G&L, would they keep the batwing headstock? Winner or loser?