G&L Trib Vs Stingray

[bassmeg]

I would like to get some knowledge of people who have had the experience of both of these instruments.

Things that matter to me

1. The best value for money? Are rays worth £300 more second hand.
2. Quality of sound?
3. I cant get a ray sound from my trib, does that make it a lesser being?

I own a Trib, and really like it. I really would like a Stingray but paying quite a lot extra to find out i dont like it will be hard to take. So any opinions would be apprieciated.

[Ou7shined]

An awful lot of folk regularly say that Tribs can do a good Stingray sound (usually when they are trying to sell one) - they point blank can't. But it they do have an array of amazing sounds of their own, which to me if anything are more akin to a P bass on steroids.

1 value for money - both score highly especially 2nd hand.
2 quality of sound - again both have it in buckets.
3 lesser being - no

The 'ray is a bit of a one trick pony. But it is one mother of a trick. G&Ls can do a lot of different sounds, often that huge amount choice leads to frustration because you are constantly twiddling. If you're 'ray curious, the best thing to do is go and try one. If you lived near me I'd let you have a go on mine but Portsmouth is pushing it a bit.

Edited May 15, 2010 by Ou7shined

[dave_bass5]

Cool thread as i was going to ask the same.

I keep looking at the G&L's and wondering if its worth the outlay just to find out if i like them or not. Im tempted to get a SR5 but the G&L 2500 is so much cheaper, and i might get some of my P tone back (not that im looking for a perfect P tone, just a bit closer than my Ray gets).

[witterth]

how much are these tributes I keep hearing about btw?
olp price range?/dearer?

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='838733' date='May 16 2010, 11:32 AM']Cool thread as i was going to ask the same.

I keep looking at the G&L's and wondering if its worth the outlay just to find out if i like them or not. Im tempted to get a SR5 but the G&L 2500 is so much cheaper, and i might get some of my P tone back (not that im looking for a perfect P tone, just a bit closer than my Ray gets).[/quote]
What you need is one of [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=86953"]these[/url] then. :brow: (+ an extra string)

I'm no expert by any means on G&L's but I have played both Korean & USA models both are fantastic - only played 2 pup versions I think - HH, JJ etc.
You can't equate USA vs Korean as simply as a 'ray vs SUB situation because of the variety of tones you can get. But unlike 'rays the G&L's don't have a signature tone just a fantastic all round delivery. Considering the price of second hand G&L 2500's you can't go wrong - you might not get exactly what you envisage but what you get won't disappoint.


[quote name='witterth' post='838767' date='May 16 2010, 12:14 PM']how much are these tributes I keep hearing about btw?
olp price range?/dearer?[/quote]
You can pick up a L2000 Trib for £300-350. They are completely out of OLP's league in every respect.

Edited May 16, 2010 by Ou7shined

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='838789' date='May 16 2010, 12:37 PM']What you need is one of [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=86953"]these[/url] then. :brow: (+ an extra string)

I'm no expert by any means on G&L's but I have played both Korean & USA models both are fantastic - only played 2 pup versions I think - HH, JJ etc.
You can't equate USA vs Korean as simply as a 'ray vs SUB situation because of the variety of tones you can get. But unlike 'rays the G&L's don't have a signature tone just a fantastic all round delivery. Considering the price of second hand G&L 2500's you can't go wrong - you might not get exactly what you envisage but what you get won't disappoint.



You can pick up a L2000 Trib for £300-350. They are completely out of OLP's league in every respect.[/quote]

Ive seen your bass and other than the colour i think its a fantastic bass. And you did a really good job on it. Way, way, beyond anything i could do.

I dont really feel a USA G&L is on the cards for me, as you say, the Tributes are so cheap its not really a big gamble.
Im very tempted to buy the Blueburst L2500 trib on here but i expect it will go before i make a decision.

I like my Ray, i like P's and even Jazz basses so if the L2500 can get close to all of them, with a mixture of each if needed i would be happy. Im not looking to replace any of the above, and i wouldn't expect the L2500 to get the exact tones of any of them. Im still looking for "my" tone but so far the Ray has got the closest, but im missing some elements of the others.
One thing that has put me off is that some people have said its quite an aggressive tone. I really dont want that although im guessing it can be dialled out.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='838818' date='May 16 2010, 01:07 PM']One thing that has put me off is that some people have said its quite an aggressive tone. I really dont want that although im guessing it can be dialled out.[/quote]
I think that's a fair comment. I've not intentionally tried it myself but yeah I'm pretty sure it could be dialled out.
[b]edit :[/b] I've got one eye on the Grand Prix and the other on this and forgot to mention that the passive/active switch can control that aggressiveness a heck of a lot.

I did [url="http://www.bassesbyleo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=112"]this[/url] mod on Neepheid's L2K Trib for him and it opened up even more possibilities.

Edited May 16, 2010 by Ou7shined

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='838818' date='May 16 2010, 01:07 PM']Im very tempted to buy the Blueburst L2500 trib on here but i expect it will go before i make a decision.[/quote]
I'm pretty tempted too. I thought about it the last time it was up but I'm running out of space for new basses.

[Bassnut62]

IME G&Ls tend to have quite a gritty tone and it can be quite aggressive; but it sits well in most mixes.
You can dial it out on an L series or an Asat (same think in Tele-type body) - just go passive and leave the pup phase in series rather than parallel.

These basses do occupy a lot of Fender-oid territoy sound-wise like P, J and Ray; but don't hit any of them on the head. If you like any of those territories tho you'll love the G&L Lseries or Asat.

[bassmeg]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='838840' date='May 16 2010, 01:36 PM']I'm pretty tempted too. I thought about it the last time it was up but I'm running out of space for new basses. [/quote]


Ive never had a 5 string. I like my Trib so much that this has well tempted me! But i want to try a ray.

Just to add to the pros of the Trib, I love the "p-bass on steroids" thing about it. you can cut through any mix with this bass. But, as ou7shined has highlighted if you were to put it on passive mode the sound is absolutely tamed, in a nice more refined way.....i never do this.

So much bass for such little money, and the neck on mine is absolutley lovely. I picked mine up from here for £325. No-brainer-absolute bargain IMO.

[Jamesemt]

Speaking of necks - do any of the Tributes ever come with a Jazz neck? I just can't get on with any other nut width.

[bassmeg]

[quote name='Jamesemt' post='838883' date='May 16 2010, 02:39 PM']Speaking of necks - do any of the Tributes ever come with a Jazz neck? I just can't get on with any other nut width.[/quote]

I assume the JB2 & SB2 series does. Dont know that for sure though.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Jamesemt' post='838883' date='May 16 2010, 02:39 PM']Speaking of necks - do any of the Tributes ever come with a Jazz neck? I just can't get on with any other nut width.[/quote]

Funny you should mention that, as one of the reasons im thinking about a L2500 is because the string spacing is narrower than the 4 string. I think the L2000 is too wide for me as well.
Ive always got on better with 5 strings and Jazz necks as i find them easier to play. Im now getting used to my Ray's wider neck but would love something in between a Jazz and a P.

[BT!]

im always tempted by both these basses. the g&l for my hot water music obsession. stingray for nearly everything else

[noelk27]

The Tribute range is quite limited. There's an alternative, the Japanese built Premium range. For a Premium L2000, in addition to fretted or fretless, it's possible to specify nut width (two options) and radius (two options). In terms of list price, Japanese Premium models are roughly halfway between Tribute and US G&L prices. In terms of quality, Japanese Premium models are above US G&L models and way above Tribute models.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='BT!' post='839158' date='May 16 2010, 07:44 PM']im always tempted by both these basses. the g&l for my hot water music obsession. stingray for nearly everything else[/quote]

Didnt the HWM bassist use Stingrays then switched to G&Ls later in their career?

[WalMan]

Don't know about Tribs, but I love my US L2500's.

Fretless hasn't been out in anger yet but the fretted sits beautifully in a rock covers mix. I am a late, but complete convert.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='noelk27' post='839173' date='May 16 2010, 07:58 PM']The Tribute range is quite limited. There's an alternative, the Japanese built Premium range. For a Premium L2000, in addition to fretted or fretless, it's possible to specify nut width (two options) and radius (two options). In terms of list price, Japanese Premium models are roughly halfway between Tribute and US G&L prices. In terms of quality, Japanese Premium models are above US G&L models and way above Tribute models.[/quote]

This sounds interesting. Do you have any links to where these can be ordered form?

Cheers.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='838838' date='May 16 2010, 01:33 PM']I did [url="http://www.bassesbyleo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=112"]this[/url] mod on Neepheid's L2K Trib for him and it opened up even more possibilities.[/quote]

That mod looks really good but for me the L2000/2500 has enough options, i'll only get even more confused.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='839310' date='May 16 2010, 09:48 PM']That mod looks really good but for me the L2000/2500 has enough options, i'll only get even more confused.[/quote]
Yeah it confuses the hell out of me too but Matt (Neepheid) seems to be on top of it.

[bassmeg]

[quote name='WalMan' post='839262' date='May 16 2010, 09:11 PM']Don't know about Tribs, but I love my US L2500's.

Fretless hasn't been out in anger yet but the fretted sits beautifully in a rock covers mix. I am a late, but complete convert.[/quote]

Is this the green one that was on here? I nearly had this. Gutted!

[thepurpleblob]

I currently have a StingRay 4 and a 5 and used to have a Tribute L2500 - in fact the blue one that is for sale at the moment.

I have to say it's tricky. There's nothing wrong with any of them and there's definitely a certain similarity between the L2500 and the StingRay 5. The big difference is the electronics - the G&L has a lot more switches and is a bit more versatile (but not so much as you might think). It has an outrageous output compared to the MMs rather weedy preamp but it can get away from you a bit if you're not careful (some farty B string noises are easily achieved).

Bottom line... it could be deeply subliminal but the MM is just that bit nicer somehow and it's almost impossible to get a bad sound (just can't go wrong really), which is why the L2500 got sold. However, there's a hell of a price difference. If I only had 300 quid to spend and needed something as my main bass I would get that Tribby without a moments hesitation.

I have never played a USA G&L - now that would be *very* interesting.

[noelk27]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='839307' date='May 16 2010, 08:45 PM']This sounds interesting. Do you have any links to where these can be ordered form?[/quote]

[url="http://www.hibikimusic.co.jp/"]http://www.hibikimusic.co.jp/[/url]

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='noelk27' post='839358' date='May 16 2010, 10:54 PM'][url="http://www.hibikimusic.co.jp/"]http://www.hibikimusic.co.jp/[/url][/quote]

cheers for that.

[JTUK]

The G&L is the ugly but more verstaile one. I'd want to get away from humbuckers on every sound, if it were me.

MM is a classic...but as someone else said...you have to love that sound all the time.
If it were me and between only those two..then the MM

Edited May 17, 2010 by JTUK