L500-L vs. L500-XL

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bsp01	L500-L vs. L500-XL		Lead	[-]
Posts: 8 Thu, Jun 4, 2009 17:18:35	Tags : None I finally started trying to use my L500-L equipped guitar on a regular basis and have been feeling like I'm missing a little drive. I've had to crank up some of the gain settings in my preamp to compensate. What am I missing using the L as compared to the XL? I'm thinking about swapping out the L for the XL. I don't really play "metal" but rock/hard rock. Big fan of Nuno's tone and what not. Can anyone enlighten me, would I get a little closer to that Nuno tone with the XL as opposed to the L.
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fuzzy beard		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1854 Thu, Jun 4, 2009 20:31:15 Contrib. Gold Charter Member Wilde Tech	Nunos tone is due to his rig, his fingers and the fact that he's Nuno ;-) The XL has a bit mellower high end response, and the output is a tad higher, but we're talking millivolts here. Adjusting the amp settings is standard procedure after installing new pickups. However, I've replaced a couple of L-500Ls with XLs for my customers and they've been very happy with the result. Playing at full throttle, loud stage levels, you'll hardly notice any difference between the R, L and the XL, but if you play mainly at modest volume levels, the XL will overdrive the preamp section a little easier. hth :-)
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bsp01		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 9 Fri, Jun 5, 2009 00:24:13	Thanks for the input... think what I'm looking for is the L-500 only a little more output and a little more smooth. The XL sounds like it would fit the bill slightly better for me. For the record, I'm not trying to sound like Nuno, and can only aspire to play as well, but I would like to cop a bit of his overall sound. I'll probably just order one and try it out.
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hopdybob		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 544 Fri, Jun 5, 2009 08:46:30 Bronze Member	can it be that you have wired the l500 with a other brand pickup? and maybe you have a fase problem?
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bsp01		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10 Fri, Jun 5, 2009 12:02:23	No, it's working fine.
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gonzo		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 169 Fri, Jun 5, 2009 15:16:38 Bronze Member	i think, that its' not so much 'drive', as it is clarity. the increased clarity of the 500L, can lead one to think that they're not hot enough, when in fact, they're plenty hot, but much more balanced across the entire spectrum i have two guitars with lawrences in them, one with 500L in bridge, and two other guitars that have other manufacturers (SD) the SD pickups, thru the same exact setup amp-wise, sound blurry and indistinct, next to the lawrences... which actually works sometimes, for recording, when solo tones and rhythm tones are sought that gloss over mistakes in technique. just depends on what you're going after... that's why i have them, to mix different tones and distortion quality to create a bigger picture. but i'd have to agree with fuzzy, in the case of the lawrence equipped guitar, just change your amp to suit the pickups, that's really the best way to approach any guitar, and any set of pickups.
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gatguy		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 436 Mon, Jun 8, 2009 04:45:01 Contributing Silver Member	How many, and what value, pots are you using? I found my L500 R+XL to be a bit too bright in my setup (2x500k pots). I added a cap/resistor in parallel to the pups and it thickened the tone up a bit. You can probably accomplish the same with some deft EQ-ing, but since I play a number of guitars and don't want to be re-eq-ing, I preferred to adjust the resistive load of the guitar's circuit.
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bsp01		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 11 Mon, Jun 8, 2009 12:27:56	It's got two 500K pots. I find the L to be a little harsh. I can dial it out somewhat with the eq but it's not quite right. From what I understand the "L" is designed for and works best with 250K pots, to live in a Fender environment, but the "XL" is best with 500K pots? I'm just going to get an XL to try it out, the price is good so why not. If it sounds a little better, and give me a bump in output, as well as a mellower high end as fuzzy beard mentions, it worth a shot.
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fuzzy beard		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1859 Mon, Jun 8, 2009 19:44:15 Contrib. Gold Charter Member Wilde Tech	gatuys comment about the cap/resistor is a good one! I've used both 500K and 250K pots with the XL, and personally I prefer the 250.
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grimm26		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3 Mon, Jun 8, 2009 21:03:22	Yeah, I don't understand why it is said you need "at least" 500k pots with an XL. If it is too bright for you, use 250k's.
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grimm26	cap treble bleed	#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4 Mon, Jun 8, 2009 21:20:32	gatguy, out of curiosity did you put a .001uf cap on your volume control or what?
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gatguy		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 437 Mon, Jun 8, 2009 21:40:19 Contributing Silver Member	Grimm26, Check out this thread for all the info: http://www.guitarsbyfender.yuku.com/topic/10057
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