Fender Precision or G&L LB-100?

#45
TDR1138 said:
The older ones had a 3-bolt neck attachment with micro tilt; new have 6-bolt. The 3-bolt necks are slightly shorter than the 6-bolt necks, so they're not interchangeable. They're made with the old bi-cut method where it's basically two pieces of maple joined down the center. Traditional truss rod design, whereas the new truss rod is one that adjusts differently - I apologize, but I'm forgetting the details behind it. They stopped the bi-cut necks about '02-'03, I think.

The old ones also had a "vintage P" profile as standard - 1.75" wide nut and 7.5" radius. Currently they have a lot more options, and standard has 1.625" width and 9.5" radius, though 12" radius was standard on the 2-gen ones for the first few years. But in theory, any bass could have any neck profile if ordered.

1-gen pickups are generally Gotoh, wound to 10,500 turns per G&L's spec. New ones are proprietary make, again wound to 10,500 turns.

My '93 has Schaller tuners, not the G&L ultralights. Not sure if that was common or not.
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Yeah, my SB-1 has a #6 neck. That's the Jazz width neck with 7.5" radius. I like it.
 
#46
sikamikanico said:
I haven't tried many G&Ls, but imo there's enough variation in general that I'd want to try before buying... Seems like you already have a P, so maybe you can wait, see if more pop up in your area?

Then again, G&L seems to have good quality quite consistently (judging by the posts on this forum), so in that case you might be just fine. I'm intrigued by SB1 more than the more traditional LB100, so it could be interesting to add that to the Fender P you already have. Another personal favorite is Lakland, probably the only brand I'd consider buying sight-unseen, but that's again a more traditional P design...
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I've tried about 5 G&Ls and every one was top notch. That's not the best sample size but--for what it's worth.

SB-1s are my favorite P style bass. The body is sleaker, the pickup is higher output (but not muddy or mid-heavy) and the tone knob is supremely usable. They're somewhere in-between a PJ and a P in terms of brightness. The tone knob dropped back about 25% produces a pretty typical P sound, so for 1/4 turn you have more highs available.

They sound like they're active basses with those MFD pickups as well.

Besides that you get all the other G&L bass features like the six-bolt neck, extra fret compared to Fenders, bone nut, PLEK job, aluminum post tuners, and the saddle-lock bridge.
 
#49
LB-100 vote here.

I was on a P Bass quest for a very long time and played many including CS, Am Standard, AVRIs, MIM 58, the GC only Am with the honey burst finish, Lulls, Nash, etc...
I ended up with an LB-100 and couldn't be happier.

I got it used for a good price here in TB classifieds.

Fretwork is top notch (which is the single most important factor to make an instrument with good "feel").

The GL locking bridge design is great.

Sound?
I have TI Flats, and it sound fantastic, almost a 3D quality to the tone. Really sweet.
 
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#50
TDR1138 said:
I've got a #6 on one of my L-2000s. Quite nice. Generally I prefer a wider neck, but the #6 is very comfortable.
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I have a L2000 coming with a #12. I actually traded my LB-100 for that bass (since I have the SB-1 as my preferred P). The LB-100 had the same neck. It's a good neck, although I tend to prefer the rounder radius. The #12 has 12" fretboard radius.

The only neck from G&L I didn't like was the #7. The combination of flat fretboard radius and huge size just wasn't comfortable for me. I'm fine on most P necks, even the Road Worn 50s P neck which has a 1.75" nut, but not that one for some reason.
 
#51
Frank77 said:
Congrats! Did you order a custom build or did you buy a readily available one? (just curious). Anyways, enjoy! My other basses are seeing very little play time since I've had mine.
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I bought a readily available one and it was literally because I was stuck on the Fender '63 in sonic blue and was able to buy a new, "in stock" sonic blue LB-100 for well south of the Fender '63 price tag. I was also stuck on "new"...for my own reasons...just didn't want used.

I'm psyched for it to arrive. This is hopefully going to be my "forever" p bass...to go alongside my '98 US AVRI '62 Jazz...which I love. My MiM P will go to the rehearsal space. I'm not knocking the MiM P...I just always knew I was going to replace it when I got into a band situation. And I just did last week.
 
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#52
twinjet said:
Here is what I gather from my time on the forum.

G&L points

-G&L basses have hotter pickups, which can be a plus or minus for some.
-They have somewhat poor resale when compared to FMIC products. Buying brand new will cost a pretty penny, while buying used will save you a ton. Check TB classifieds.
-Their quality seems to be more consistent. Actually, I've never read a poor review on a G&L instrument on this site.
-Their American products are exceptionally made, as are their import Indonesian products. The G&L Tribute series are an excellent product, built to G&L's standard of quality. These instruments can also be built to your specs.

Fender points

-Fender basses are an industry standard.
-Their quality can be inconsistent, requiring additional tweaks before becoming playable. Many threads in favor and against FMIC can be found here.
-Resale tends to be decent.
-Easily modifiable.

Those are all the pros and cons I can think of between these two companies. I own two American basses; a Fender Precision and a G&L L-2000. While I cannot testify to the attributes of the LB-100, the Fender Precision is an incredible instrument which has certainly earned its reputation as a must-have bass. Judging from experience with my G&L (which is an amazing instrument in it's own right), I can determine the LB-100 would be a more powerful version of Leo's Precision bass, and you'd be less likely to encounter issues with it.

Verdict: LB-100. You can't go wrong with G&L. My own opinion and experience. Hope this helps.
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The LB-100 has a pretty standard P pickup using AlNiCo Vs designed by a guy formerly of Fender, Paul Gagon. I'm not sure which era of P pickup he was targeting with the design but it seems to be a bit brighter than something like a Geezer Butler P pickup.

My only reference for that was a Swamp Ash / Maple LB-100 compared to a Road Worn 50s P equipped with a Geezer and made of Alder / Maple. So consider the wood a factor as well.

What you could modify on a G&L would be electronics, pickup, and tuners. I believe they even offer Seymour Duncan pickups as an option if you order a Fender-inspired bass (JB, LB, etc.) from the factory.

The bridge is not something you can easily change out. I've seen a modified G&L that had a Kahler tremolo system but I'm sure they had to modify the bridge route to fit that in.

Honestly though the most I'd change on a G&L would be the pickups and only if I really wanted some other tone like from a EMG Geezer P pickup. The tuners, nut, bridge, etc. are all pretty high end in my opinion.
 
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#53
As a dyed in the wool G&L guy, I've always considered the LB100 to be that company's venture into attracting Fender fans into buying a more modern take of a standard P bass. In my opinion, Leo out did himself on coming up with the G&L locking bridge; a VAST improvement over the bent piece of metal that constitutes a bridge on Fender models. The pickup is essentially what you'd expect on a Fender. Build quality I won't even cover, since everyone else has already expressed G&L's quality over Fender's more mass produced models. I own two L1000's, and a 90's era SB-1, which has been my work horse P bass. I've also owned another 90's era SB-2, which I eventually sold a few years ago because I was always playing it with the P pickup on 99% of the time. The SB-1 is a different animal to the LB100. My favorite is still the L1000 though. That model can still be found fairly inexpensively out there. Resale on G&L's seems to be less than a Fender, but I'm not trading baseball cards here.
 
#55
socialleper said:
I don't ever bother considering US made Fenders. They are the same quality as their Japanese and Mexican made basses, so I'm basing it on that price.
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Yeah, I mean the USA made Fender has some extra features like the posiflex rods, etc. but overall the BUILD QUALITY is similar in my experience. Fretwork will be about the same, neck pocket will be about the same, wood will be close to the same (though Mexican basses are often made of more pieces of wood than their Fender MIA counterparts).

Obviously the pickups, tuners, and bridge are going to be "better" on the MIA Fender, but those are easily swapped on a Mexican model.

That is especially with those Road Worn / Classic / Artist Sigs coming out of Mexico now. What you get for the money on those is pretty amazing.

I have a theory that Fender is trying to get their customers used to the idea that their higher end basses will start coming from Mexico. Fender America seems to be focusing on AVRIs and those Elite basses at even higher price points.
 
#56
Antisyzygy said:
I have a L2000 coming with a #12. I actually traded my LB-100 for that bass (since I have the SB-1 as my preferred P). The LB-100 had the same neck. It's a good neck, although I tend to prefer the rounder radius. The #12 has 12" fretboard radius.

The only neck from G&L I didn't like was the #7. The combination of flat fretboard radius and huge size just wasn't comfortable for me. I'm fine on most P necks, even the Road Worn 50s P neck which has a 1.75" nut, but not that one for some reason.
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I liked the #7, more so than the #8, which is the popular one. Felt too thin to me. But give me the vintage radius any day of the week...

Antisyzygy said:
The LB-100 has a pretty standard P pickup using AlNiCo Vs designed by a guy formerly of Fender, Paul Gagon. I'm not sure which era of P pickup he was targeting with the design but it seems to be a bit brighter than something like a Geezer Butler P pickup.
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The pickup placement on the LB is a bit toward the bridge compared to a Fender. Subsequently, the LB pickup was spec'd to 10,500 turns (versus standard 10,000 turns on Fender) to compensate for the placement, particularly in the mids. So, essentially the pickup is 5% overwound.
 
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#58
friskinator said:
Fair enough, but can you explain? Just curious, since I've never noticed anything visually unpleasing with G&Ls. Especially the LB-100.
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I'm fine with slightly different body shape, but I really can't stand one thing - headstock. But I'm all about classics in other aspects of life - things like boots, raw denim, leather, plaid shirts :) I'm only 29 though. But I'm no hipster, haha. Though I like mix of classic with and new technologies, that's why Lakland's take on traditional basses is perfectly fine with me. Heck, my main bass is Fender 60th Anniversary Precision which is essentially mix of vintage and modern - classic 52 look, nitro finish, vintage sounding pickups, modern neck profile with graphite rods and countered body. I think G&L are awesome sounding basses with outstanding build quality, but I could never own one due to looks.
 
#59
Antisyzygy said:
Yeah, I mean the USA made Fender has some extra features like the posiflex rods, etc. but overall the BUILD QUALITY is similar in my experience. Fretwork will be about the same, neck pocket will be about the same, wood will be close to the same (though Mexican basses are often made of more pieces of wood than their Fender MIA counterparts).

Obviously the pickups, tuners, and bridge are going to be "better" on the MIA Fender, but those are easily swapped on a Mexican model.

That is especially with those Road Worn / Classic / Artist Sigs coming out of Mexico now. What you get for the money on those is pretty amazing.

I have a theory that Fender is trying to get their customers used to the idea that their higher end basses will start coming from Mexico. Fender America seems to be focusing on AVRIs and those Elite basses at even higher price points.
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You could be right. The AVRIS are my favorite Fender basses I have owned or played. I may add one more bass down the road - a 64 AVRI jazz, just because I love how great these basses are, and you don't have to pay over 2grand for a vintage sound.
 
#60
AngelCrusher said:
You could be right. The AVRIS are my favorite Fender basses I have owned or played. I may add one more bass down the road - a 64 AVRI jazz, just because I love how great these basses are, and you don't have to pay over 2grand for a vintage sound.
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My only experience with AVRIs was a 52 Reissue Telecaster I had. It was hands down the best guitar I've ever played. Super comfortable, sounded great, very high quality, and I loved the nitro butterscotch finish.

When I play most other guitars I seem to fat finger the notes. I guess that makes sense coming from bass, but I didn't have that problem on that AVRI Tele.
 
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