Difference between G&L 2500L Tribute and Musicman Stingray 5H.

[davidgary73]

Hi Everyone,

I'm David and wish everyone a great day.

I have a question concerning both G&L 2500L Tribute and Musicman Stingray 5H (both maple neck). I'm into pop, pop rock and funk + gospel and i'm planning to buy a Stingray 5H.

As for the G&L, i heard that it has a boost on the volume and can be very aggresive. Would the Stingray 5H be as good or better sounding?

I heard both basses done by Ed Friedland which he did a demo on G&L 2000 and Stingray 5HH. Still not sure how it fairs to the single humbucker of the Stingray 5.

Do comment and thank you.

Cheers

 

[r goldsmith]

Oh dear...this is the EB forum of course. Prepare for the deluge. Meanwhile, I will tell you my thoughts. G&L basses are well made instruments and deliver a fine performance, for what they set out to achieve, I suppose. G&L Tributes are supposedly the "lesser" off shore versions, nevertheless they seek to capture most of what the US versions offer. Bottom line, I owned one G&L bass, once, but got rid of it pretty swiftly. The Stingray 5 has justifiably gained a reputation as probably the best 5 string "mass production" bass available. I'd say it's one of the best, if not the best, 5 strings without qualification (regardless of its place on the "exotica" spectrum). And I'm referring to the humble H version, which is as versatile as you want, in my view. It is incredibly responsive to the placement of fingers and the method of attack. I'd feel confident of doing any gig with a single pickup SR5. Of course the dual pickup versions can offer more still, if that's what you want.

Over and out...

 

[bdgotoh]

The Stingray 5HH would be a better comparison with the L-2500. They are both great basses. Check out the Sterling 5 string too - that's what I have!

 

[davidgary73]

My sincere appologies r goldsmith and to everyone. I'm solely out to purchase a SR5H and just wanted to the difference in terms of sound.

I have friends who told me that G&L Tribute is one good bass but i know that SR5H is as good or better than G&L. Just that i don't have a SR5H to try but i did try the G&L.

Thanks r goldsmith for the comment. Really appreciate it.

 

[davidgary73]

The Stingray 5HH would be a better comparison with the L-2500. They are both great basses. Check out the Sterling 5 string too - that's what I have!

Sadly, i don't have the budget for Stingray 5HH. That would be ideal but i reckon that the SR5H would still be great and thus sound better than G&L rite?

I'm looking to buy SR5H Cherry Burst color with color matching headstock and maple fretboard.

 

[Psycho Ward]

Welcome to the forum Davidgary73! Stick around and get to know the place and have fun!

I spotted one close to what you are looking for if you you want to have a look. Here's the link...

MusicMan Basses - StingRay 5 String Fretted Basses

Good people at Bass central and the one I saw is 27th from the bottom of the page.

Make yourself at home.

 

[davidgary73]

Welcome to the forum Davidgary73! Stick around and get to know the place and have fun!

I spotted one close to what you are looking for if you you want to have a look. Here's the link...

MusicMan Basses - StingRay 5 String Fretted Basses

Good people at Bass central and the one I saw is 27th from the bottom of the page.

Make yourself at home.

Thank you sir for the warm welcome and thank you for the link.

That's the bass i'm aiming for very much.

I'm from Malaysia and sadly i can't buy from Bass Central. The local stores here are selling insanely expensive like $2500 unlike Bass central which is $1785. I asked my friend to help me to purchase SR5H as he is traveling in US for a short holiday.

 

[five7]

I have owned several G & L basses and they just don't have the tone a musicman has. So IMO there is no comparison!

 

[freddy]

I haven't played many G&L's, but what I find with my SR5 is that, not only does it sound good, but it does so distinctively- ie you can recognize it as a subtle yet distinctively 'Stingray' sound- especially if it's pushed a little in a band setting. There are very few basses on the market that have that kind of character. As another poster mentioned, it also responds well to right hand placement. Believe it or not, another major factor for me is the truss rod adjustment wheel which makes it easy to make adjustments due to temperature and humidity changes. All and all, I'd agree, in my humble opinion, of course, that The SR5 is the best 'non-boutique' 5 string on the market.

 

[Mr Light]

Who uses a G&L? I thought that company was gone! LOL!!!

 

[Aussie Mark]

G&L makes very good quality instruments, at least the US-made ones are (I don't have any experience with the "Tribute" range). I was impressed with the build quality, and considered it to be in the same ballpark as EBMMs high standards of workmanship.

I've owned 2 G&L L2000s (the 4 string, dual humbucker models), one fretted and one fretless, and I found their tone palette to be very broad, but to me the overall sound in active mode was too aggressive to be used in any situation I gigged in (and that included rock gigs). In passive mode they sound decent, but if you like the passive tone what's the point of buying a twin humbucker bass with active electronics and a multitude of switches that you'll never use.

Having owned a dual humbucker Bongo at the same time as the G&Ls I owned, I had the opportunity to A-B them, and to my ears the Bongo sound was more versatile - big enough to be aggressive when needed, but also able to be easily tamed - a wider range of useable sounds come out of the Bongo IMHO.

I'm not a five string player, but I've heard several SR5s live, including rgoldsmith above, and if I ever decided to jump into the 5 string pool a SR5 would be the first bass on my list.

 

[Aussie Mark]

Who uses a G&L? I thought that company was gone! LOL!!!

In the past 2 years G&L have made 3 "forum member only" Limited Edition models, for a forum that isn't an official G&L forum. I think that's pretty cool, no matter what you think of the company or their instruments.

As I said in my previous post, I've owned a couple but they're not my thing, however the USA-made G&Ls are very nicely made instruments.

 

[bovinehost]

In the past 2 years G&L have made 3 "forum member only" Limited Edition models, for a forum that isn't an official G&L forum. I think that's pretty cool, no matter what you think of the company or their instruments.

That is very cool. G&L make fine instruments - I even have friends who play them (don't let that get around). There are G&L freaks just like the EBMM freaks here.

But let's face it - the EBMM forum isn't exactly unbiased, eh?

 

[tkarter]

The easiest answer is play a bongo then there will be no need to ask what is the best sounding get it done bass in the world.

tk

 

[davidgary73]

I haven't played many G&L's, but what I find with my SR5 is that, not only does it sound good, but it does so distinctively- ie you can recognize it as a subtle yet distinctively 'Stingray' sound- especially if it's pushed a little in a band setting. There are very few basses on the market that have that kind of character. As another poster mentioned, it also responds well to right hand placement. Believe it or not, another major factor for me is the truss rod adjustment wheel which makes it easy to make adjustments due to temperature and humidity changes. All and all, I'd agree, in my humble opinion, of course, that The SR5 is the best 'non-boutique' 5 string on the market.

In Malaysia, Stingray is considered a boutique bass as the price overshodows many of the fenders, ibanez, yamaha, warwick basses. It's hard to get good basses here in my country due to it's high price and lack there of.

I'm purchasing the Stingray 5H without knowing/testing how it sounds and very much dependant on everyone's recommendation and comments here. Kinda scary but yet exciting. Have been hunting low and high for Stingray 5H sound clips on youtube etc.

I do hope to get the Stingray 5H by next month or so.

Cheers

The easiest answer is play a bongo then there will be no need to ask what is the best sounding get it done bass in the world.

tk

Does the Stingray 5H sound as good as the Bongo or both are equally fantastic sounding?

Sorry for such question as i have never play both basses before.

Cheers

 

[tkarter]

I have and love my Stringray 5 H. Haven't played it since I got the Bongo 5H.

This is of course my opinion. You may feel free to make fun of me all you like.

tk

 

[JasonOksa]

Either way.... a great bass!

Hi Everyone,

I'm David and wish everyone a great day.

I have a question concerning both G&L 2500L Tribute and Musicman Stingray 5H (both maple neck). I'm into pop, pop rock and funk + gospel and i'm planning to buy a Stingray 5H.

As for the G&L, i heard that it has a boost on the volume and can be very aggresive. Would the Stingray 5H be as good or better sounding?

I heard both basses done by Ed Friedland which he did a demo on G&L 2000 and Stingray 5HH. Still not sure how it fairs to the single humbucker of the Stingray 5.

Do comment and thank you.

Cheers

I own a G&L L2500, not the tribute model, it is a fine bass that produces a very very wide variety of great tones, from a very nasal punch to a super low deep dubby sound. I have played a number of SR5 basses and they were great too, the single pickup will give you variety, but not as much as the 2 pickups on the G&L. I plan to buy an SR4 single P/U in less than 10 days and can't wait. Either way you won't be let down. I am working to have a collection of all of Leo Fender's greatest designs and the SR4 is the last one to be added!

 

[Russel]

But let's face it - the EBMM forum isn't exactly unbiased, eh?

Rightfully so.

You'll like the stingray better, I think. As for a comparison between the two, it's difficult to accurately compare a G&L Tribute series with a bona fide, SLO made Stingray, if only in difference from construction and material.
If you liked the 2500, you'll probably fall in love with the Ray.


If you haven't seen it, this is a good demonstration of a Stingray, if not exactly an SR5. The mahogany block makes a difference.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ULm6_Y-fU"]YouTube - Bass Guitar Magazine -Sneak Preview SR5 20th Anniversary[/ame]

 

[PzoLover]

my uninformed opinion

Hey David,
feel free to discount my opinion cuz it's 2 yrs since I played and I've never "A-Bd" the SR5 and an L2500, however, I own and love my 2 G&L 4 Strings prettty much as my 4 SR5s but when it comes to another 5 str, I'm thinking strictly EBMM BONGOfor all the right reasons all the way through family loyalty and customer service top quality and cutting edge innovation are also strong factors .. good luck on your hunt
ATB
PL/pl

 

[Psycho Ward]

I had a Leo "collection" for a while, the only thing good to come of it was having to buy a MusicMan to complete the trifecta. I had several Fenders and a L2500 G&L, then I ordered a SR5 from Bass-Central and fell in love. The EBMM sounded great right out of the box. I love all of my Balls, I tend to grab the Sterling's more often, but I could pick an EBMM case and be happy with whatever is in it, yes, they're that good.