The Tribute Is Here

Low Tone · #1 05-05-2009, 08:14 PM

My SB-2 Tribute arrived today.

I'm not as impressed with the color as I thought I'd be. The seller's pics made it look far more red. This sort of goes between brown, copper and dark burgundy depending on the light.

The tone is a bit bright for me as well. I'm wondering if flats would fix that or if I need to install a tone knob.

Or trade it for a good MIM Precision and some cash...

At this point, I'm underwhelmed.
Will see how it mixes at band practice tomorrow night.

snappytom · #2 05-05-2009, 09:13 PM

Give it a chance. If it is too bright, dial back the volume to about 70% on the neck pickup and 20% on the bridge. Experiment from there to get a tone you are happy with. I personally like the tone mod on my SB-2 but some prefer them un-modified. Have tried many different strings and recently put on a set of GHS Brite-Flats ... which I really like.

They are great basses. I have had 4 of them in the past few years and have 1 USA left that I will never sell .... it is "The one".
IMO, replacing yours with a MIM Precision would be a downgrade.

oldrookie · #3 05-06-2009, 03:52 AM

I put Chromes on my L2500. Smooths her down a bit and takes out some of the bright.

fearceol · #4 05-06-2009, 04:51 AM

Admittedly, the red looks a bit dull. I agree with snappytom that a move to a MIM precision would be a downgrade. Flats might be the way to go if, after experimenting with the EQ, you still find the tone too bright. In this case I'd recommend TI jazz flats. I'd also +1 the "give it a chance" advice.

ac11367 · #5 05-06-2009, 06:19 AM

Hey Low Tone, SB-2 owner here. One thing about the knobs on this bass, they are somewhat of a mix of volume and tone control. For each knob, the more you turn up, the sound becomes more brighter and louder at the same time. But with my SB-2, it becomes more brighter than it is louder.

Low Tone · #6 05-06-2009, 09:27 AM

Thanks for the tips, guys.

I'm still debating on whether it will stay or go.
If I liked the color a little better, I'd be more inclined to tweak it to get a better tone. I love the neck and the playability of the thing but these other factors are leaving me a little put off with it. I'm not fond of the one piece pickguard either. I think a 3 layer B/W/B would set it off far better.

We'll see how she sounds at practice tonight.

snappytom · #7 05-06-2009, 07:52 PM

Color is one of those things that can steer us away from an otherwise great instrument. My USA SB-2 is ButterScotch Blond (translation: YELLOW !) which almost made me not buy it. Got it off Ebay too, so it was a real gamble. It actually is a transparent finish and the Ash grain looks realy cool. It also has the GOT (Gun Oil Tint) option on the neck which complements the color nicely (RW fretboard and Tort PG complete the look).

But the point is that this bass has the best feel and soul of any bass I have ever played. Once I fell in love with the bass the color issue was meaningless. I now realize how unique it is and have grown to like it. I vow never to sell it.

I have owned Korean and Indonesian Tribute SB-2's and will admit that I was a bit underwhelmed with the Indonesian one. You are right about the pickguard, the thin one-ply PG screams cheap and on mine was installed poorly resulting in dimples and crooked screws. The overall tone of that particular bass was not bad and I tried hard to love it, but it did not work out.

The Korean SB-2 was far better. I think it is currently for sale here on TB by CraigB.

SB-2's are killer basses, don't give up on them if this one does not work out for you.

SmF · #8 05-06-2009, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappytom

I have owned Korean and Indonesian Tribute SB-2's and will admit that I was a bit underwhelmed with the Indonesian one. You are right about the pickguard, the thin one-ply PG screams cheap and on mine was installed poorly resulting in dimples and crooked screws. The overall tone of that particular bass was not bad and I tried hard to love it, but it did not work out.

The Korean SB-2 was far better. I think it is currently for sale here on TB by CraigB.

SB-2's are killer basses, don't give up on them if this one does not work out for you.

Hi there, I'm a SB-2 lover and was wondering what's the difference between the Korean & Indonesia Tributes? I own an Indonesian one and I am loving every single bit of it, just wanted to know what the big differences are because I never thought I could love my SB-2 tribute anymore than I already do.

Low Tone · #9 05-06-2009, 08:45 PM

My pots are bad.

For some reason, I didn't notice it running through my recorder last night but it became blatantly obvious when I plugged it into my amp at practice this evening. All kinds of scratching and volume variances. Tap one of the knobs and the sound would almost disappear. Tap it again and it was so loud my amp was distorting. Keep in mind I said "tap" not "turn." Turning them did almost nothing.

Now debating if I want to contact the seller, G&L, or just take it to my local guy and get the mod with the stacked vol/tone knobs done. I really don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it back to the seller and I don't have an authorized G&L dealer close by to do the repair so not sure what to do next.

unclejane · #10 05-06-2009, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Low Tone

My pots are bad.

For some reason, I didn't notice it running through my recorder last night but it became blatantly obvious when I plugged it into my amp at practice this evening. All kinds of scratching and volume variances. Tap one of the knobs and the sound would almost disappear. Tap it again and it was so loud my amp was distorting. Keep in mind I said "tap" not "turn." Turning them did almost nothing.

Now debating if I want to contact the seller, G&L, or just take it to my local guy and get the mod with the stacked vol/tone knobs done. I really don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it back to the seller and I don't have an authorized G&L dealer close by to do the repair so not sure what to do next.

Try some tuner cleaner on the pots. They may just be dirty and need a cleanup.

tho I'd be ticked off too if a brand new bass had dirty pots, so yeah I'd send it back if tuner cleaner doesn't do it.

As for the sound, the newer G&L's seem to be really bright. My L2500 FL is about a year old and was impossibly bright with roundwound strings on it. Gave a good grind but it just wouldn't calm down to give a more velvety Jeff Berlin type tone like I like. Also the B was absolutely overpowering; I was also worried about the rounds chewing up my fingerboard. Put Chrome flats on it and that calmed it right down.

My L2000, tho, is a late 90's model with the old bi-cut neck and 3 bolt attach. It's got a much more wooly low midbass tone with not nearly the highs of my L2500. Tho it now has Chrome flats on it too also to protect the fingerboard.

But the L2500 calmed down like this really sits well in a mix with a nice dull pop to the notes with the bridge PU soloed. A bonus is a really good Precision bass emulation with just the neck PU....

LS

Ken Baker · #11 05-06-2009, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Low Tone

Now debating if I want to contact the seller, G&L, or just take it to my local guy and get the mod with the stacked vol/tone knobs done. I really don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it back to the seller and I don't have an authorized G&L dealer close by to do the repair so not sure what to do next.

This is, or course, much suckage.

If you're reasonably handy with a small soldering iron, fix it yourself. Cheap. Get a couple of 250K volume pots, such as you'd find on an import Jazz bass, and solder 'em up. Just make sure that the shafts on the new pots will accept your bass' knobs. Wire them exactly the same as your current ones and you're good to go. A few bucks, an hour's time (if that), and you're done with it. Maybe write the seller a nasty email just to let him feel the love.

Ken...

TDR1138 · #12 05-07-2009, 08:28 AM

Ken's right, if you can solder, it's a pretty simple and cheap fix. The pots on mine were really scratchy, so after about a month, I replaced them with some better ones, and in the process converted it to vol/tone/3-way mini-toggle. Personally, I think this is a must, but tons of folks here are plenty happy without. (For what it's worth, I almost never use the bridge pickup, and when I do, the tone's usually rolled about 2/3 off.) I've had it done this way so long, I don't miss the blendability of 2 volumes, probably just because I don't remember what it's like.

Also, if you're really not feeling that color, the first-generation (Korean) Tribute SB-2s were offered in more of a candy apple red...

Low Tone · #13 05-07-2009, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Baker

This is, or course, much suckage.

If you're reasonably handy with a small soldering iron, fix it yourself. Cheap. Get a couple of 250K volume pots, such as you'd find on an import Jazz bass, and solder 'em up. Just make sure that the shafts on the new pots will accept your bass' knobs. Wire them exactly the same as your current ones and you're good to go. A few bucks, an hour's time (if that), and you're done with it. Maybe write the seller a nasty email just to let him feel the love.

Ken...

I really don't want to give the seller too much grief. He set one back because of this issue and sent this one on to me assuming the problem was fixed. (Although he probably should have tested it first.)

As far as me with a soldering iron.... well, that's sort of like giving permanent markers to a one year old.... There's no telling what sort of damage may occur.

Low Tone · #14 05-07-2009, 01:35 PM

After much consideration, I think this one is going on the chopping block. I've tried hard to like it but I can't get past the color and the overall personality of the bass. No matter how hard I try, I'm just not feeling it. Perhaps I've been spoiled by my custom for too long.

I'm going to have the pots cleaned or replaced by my tech guy but I'm leaving it stock so someone else can do the stacked knob mod if they want. Once I get it back from him, it will go up for sale.