G&L in trouble...?

[Misdee]

4 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

I see what you're saying here, and yes, in some ways you're absolutely right. A lot of the premium 'Super Fenders' by the likes of Sadowsky and Mike Lull, and even the German and newer Polish contenders can seem a little sterile for their comparatively huge price tags. Most don't even sound like a good example of a Fender. The answer continues to be, if you want a really good Fender sound, go out and play Fenders until you find a good one.

 

I've only played one Sadowsky I ever loved the sound of, and that was a Japanese 2 band Will Lee Signature. The rest sound bland and sterile to my ears. I tend to like the Mike Lull instruments better, but they still don't have 'that' Fender sound. For me, Bernie Goodfellow got it absolutely right with the Spitfire. It has the Jazz ergonomics and playability, but plays and sounds like a totally different kind of bass, much more premium and hand crafted and it doesn't try to sound like a Fender. It's truly a bass from the top tier of makers that can out punch a Stingray with it's metallic anvil-like attack, and has a sweet tone to boot.

 

I've been sorry to hear what's happened with G&L, but at the end of the day, they seemed to stop innovating in terms of the bass range some years ago. They certainly have their fans and I know @Mike Brooks really likes his newly acquired American L2000 CLF. Maybe they will re-emerge as a Fender sub-brand (particularly the excellent value Tribute models)?

It's not so much the active basses you mention (I've recently bought a couple of German-made Sadowsky Will Lee basses and they are superb instruments) as the passive super-Fenders (or so they would have you believe) that are the subject of my ire. Don't get me wrong, a well-made passive boutique FSO  can be a  very worthwhile purchase, I have one or two of my own. However, when a certain amount of magical realism is included in the retail price I am more than sceptical, let me put it to you that way.

Edited 1 hour ago by Misdee

[Bass Direct]

1 hour ago, Russ said:

There’s still graphite in there, but only in the same way as many other makers now - stiffening rods in the neck. They did this before back in the 90s before going back to the full graphite necks. Apparently the newer Statii with the wood necks are very good and sound very similar to the all-graphite ones (the phenolic fingerboards and Hyperactive pickups are responsible for much of the sound) but Status’ USP was always the graphite neck. 

 

Mike Walsh at Zoot was supposed to be tooling up to produce graphite necks - I’m wondering how far he’s got with that. He could be one to watch, since he now makes his own pickups, circuits, etc too. 

 

Back on topic, sort of - I played an L2000 with a Status graphite neck back in the mid-2000s. That was a good bass - extremely bright sound, but thick. Total slap machine. 

 

If Fender are going to keep the Tribute series going, that’s a good thing. Fender’s factories in the Far East are very good, with great QC. I just hope they don’t just keep them in a holding pattern, with the exact same products, colours, etc. It needs to be differentiated from the BBE era somehow. 

So glad I still have a Kingbass and a 1985 Series 2000 for company

 

G&L - lets hope if/who takes it over do a great job at some marketing, get some great artists on board and push it, also getting into the hands of passionate retailers helps

[dub_junkie]

7 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

Latest rumour (as quoted from an unnamed source on The Gear Page and the GLGuitars subreddit) is Fender did indeed buy the company, will keep the Tribute line alive and possibly even amp it up, but is going to shut down regular USA production. There will only be small batches of premium US "Collectors" models from time to time, at premium prices. 

If they offer a Tribute Asat bass and a Tribute Kiloton 5 all will be forgiven. 

[Silky999]

I believe the tributes were the real money makers for them so I’m not surprised that Fender will keep those going. The L2000s and L1000s gives them a good foothold into Musicman territory especially compared to the Stirling by Musicman range.