G&L CLF L-2000 Old School Tobacco Okoume

This USA-made G&L L-2000 Bass features:

• Okoume body, 3-Tone Sunburst finish, 9.4 pounds
• CLF Research 'Slim C' profile (1-5/8" width at the nut), 9.5" radius
• .800" depth at first fret, .900" depth at 12th fret
• Vintage gloss finish maple neck
• '81 Control plate with color coded switch tips
• (2) G&L Heritage Magnetic Field Design (MFD) Humbucker pickups
• Volume, Treble and Bass controls
• Passive, Active, or Active with upper EQ boost, activated by lower mini-toggle
• Series/Parallel pickup mode (middle mini toggle)
• Three position pickup selector (upper toggle)
• Massive patented Saddle Lock Bridge (a locking saddle screw clamps the saddles together for better sustain)
• Lightweight Aluminum tuning pegs for better instrument balance
• Plek ® laser-guided fret finishing
• Deluxe hardshell tolex case

In addition to the CLF Research nostalgic touches, this bass comes with a modern twist: an Okoume body. Okoume is an African hardwood that has a grain and coloring similar to mahogany, and is popular as a laminate for decorative woods and structural products. When used on acoustic guitars, it is said to have tonal properties similar to maple. On a solid body however it behaves a bit more like Mahogany. It's warmer than Swamp Ash, but has better note separation than Alder, especially in the lower registers. It has clarity almost like Empress, but softer around the edges. We approve.

The neck profile on this L-2000 is Leo's original 'Slim C' bass profile. It has the 1-5/8" nut, a moderately curvy 9.5" radius, and proves to be very comfortable. The slim profile and radius combination makes it easy to really wrap around the neck no matter where you are. This is a neck that even a 6-stringer would enjoy. The vintage gloss tint is attractive, and like every USA G&L it's Plek'd to perfection so you can enjoy smooth playability across the entire board.

The L-2000 has what looks like a complex control format but it's quite intuitive, and the '81 control plate is offers color coded switches for good measure. From top to bottom the knobs are Volume, Treble and Bass. In the active mode these controls provide true frequency boost and cut. In passive mode they work much like G&L's passive treble and bass controls on their Legacy guitar series.

First there is the Black toggle, which is a three-way switch that works exactly like a three-way pickup selector on an electric guitar (neck, both, bridge). The Red toggle puts the pickups in series or parallel mode. Parallel has a leaner, brighter tone, while the series mode adds a more pronounced midrange fullness. Lastly, the White toggle controls whether the guitar is passive, active, or active mode with a treble boost.

The tonal difference between active and passive is not dramatic, but active mode is a little crisper with a slightly sharper attack and more responsive tone controls. Neither is "better" but active mode is naturally more flexible, and you might only need passive mode if your battery goes dead or if you play an amp with very limited headroom.

With all this tone shaping capability, the CLF Research L-2000 is capable of anything from bright slap bass, to warm jazz, fat growling low end, or trashy punk. With broad dynamic range and excellent overall sustain, it's really just a matter of a little experimentation to dial in the guitar to suit your style or particular gig.

The G&L CLF Research L-2000 is immensely flexible instrument, that blends a powerful but easy-to-use control format along along with G&L's top notch materials, hardware, fit and finish. The CLF Research L-2000 blends history without giving up anything to functionality and performance.