Grateful Dead Music Forum

I am a guitar player looking to get a basic but totally serviceable Phil-ish bass rig for my basement jam space for the use of visiting players. I have my eye on a cool used early '80s G&L L2000 bass (I think Phil actually used one of these for a tour or two, no?) but I am at a loss as to amps, etc. There seem to be tons of cheapo bass combos out there, but I suspect the bulk of them are underpowered and, um, sucky. Questions: a) L2000 -- good call at $700 or so? Or better options? b) amp? What would something non-sucky cost me and what, if anything, would you specifically recommend. Top budget say another $500-$700. Any advice from those of you who hold down the low end much appreciated. Cheers!

Unless you want a 5 string I'd go cheaper on the bass and spend more on the amp and cab. Maybe an ibanez if you want active electronics. Lots of decent passive 4 strings out there for 300-400 dollars. The L2000 is a great bass tho.

If you can score a US made L2000 for $700 I say go for it! I rarely see them quite that cheap. I'm casually on the hunt myself mostly because John Kahn used one from 82-83, Phil used his in 81/82 I think, right around the time of the stripped-finish Jazz (I guess he hated finishes in those years?), just before the first 6-string Modulus. I agree that it's overkill for a beginner but sometimes you have to take a bargain when you find it.

Not much amp advice for you, sorry. Personally unless I'm in a theater setting I'll happily use pretty much anything that comes my way as long as it's loud, clean, and relatively uncolored. Talkbass is a good source for info, or amazon/musicians-friend reviews.

Thanks for the wisdom, guys. I'm seriously thinking about picking up this bass (my first guitar was an early 80s G&L S-500, which I still love).,,will worry about amp secondarily.

What's your budget? You could get a great amp for about $1500 + another $500 for speakers, is that too much?

Yeah, that's probably more than I'd be looking to spend. Basically want some kind of "good enough" setup for basement jam space....

HeadSpace wrote:Yeah, that's probably more than I'd be looking to spend. Basically want some kind of "good enough" setup for basement jam space....

Yeah, understood... I would look at the Eden World Tour DI pedal for about $150 and then any cheap combo amp you can get off Craigslist

Where do you live? I have some gear that could fit the bill that I wouldn't mind unloading.

My amp for my basement jam space was free, an old Peavey 1x15" keyboard amp that somebody didn't want. Works great for that application, not especially great tone but loud and clean enough to keep up with a drummer and sound like a bass amp.

I have one of those Eden DI pedals that I'd be willing to part with too, I don't really find myself ever using it.