new SB2 owner-glad i found this forum!

CB3000 · #1 10-24-2007, 05:52 PM

i just got an sb2 tribute bass and i am really digging it! my first instinct was to put stacked pots in it so i could have tone control but i started to get into the way it was made and to just really try to use it "as is".

then i have noticed that the output with the neck pickup at 100% is REALLY hot! i always run all my basses at full volume but this was distorting. i am not big on backing the volume off because it has always made the bass sound muddy and/or weak but maybe these pickups are different...

so these MFD pickups are a different animal. how do you sb2 players set your basses? i have the pickups set about 1/4" to 3/16 from the strings.

I put ghs super steels on it so maybe the all steel string really brought the output level up??

i would love to have a tribute l2000 but i need the need the skinny jazz neck.

mellofello · #2 10-25-2007, 01:53 AM

I use rotosound funkmaster strings, works for me. setup is fairly high action, plenty of room between the pickups and strings as well. when I first got mine I cranked the bass EQ and/or cut the highs(on the amp). now I run it fairly flat, like 12 o'clock for mellow stuff, 3 o'clock for aggressive stuff. not sure if this is the strings going dead or my fingers adjusting or both. I'm in the habit of cranking the neck pickup then backing it off a quarter, and turning the bridge pickup off then bumping it up a quarter as a starting point. SB-2's rock !

CB3000 · #3 10-25-2007, 09:58 AM

i also forgot to mention that the gig bag that came with my bass (g&l bag) is amazing!! the straps, pockets and even a luggage hook!

Infernal Affair · #4 10-25-2007, 11:13 AM

I've been meaning to get a G&L gig bag, but they don't offer it on the website anymore. Anybody have luck calling BBE and asking if they have any?

Nedmundo · #5 10-25-2007, 11:55 AM

Yeah, that MFD split-coil on the SB-2 is a different animal, with huge output compared to a typical P pickup. (It seems even hotter than the MFD humbucker in my L-1500, though that might be due to pickup placement.) The distortion is probably clipping in the input stage of your amp, so reduce the input gain, or maybe use the "active" input if your amp has one. On my G-K head, I use the -14db pad with my G&L basses.

CetiAlphaVI · #6 10-26-2007, 03:34 PM

Congratulations! I just bought a used Tribute SB-2 from my local dealer and immediately modded it with a switch to assign output as neck/neck-bridge/bridge, so the 2 knobs are now master volume and tone. I'm glad i'm not the only one who notices that the P pickup is hot hot hot!