G&L SB-2 Tone Mod

[StrangerDanger]

OK so there are a lot of opinions of how to do the SB-2 tone mod. I want to know what is the best method that doesnt involve drilling holes in wood. Please be specific about pot and values and links to buy such products might be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance TB!

[plankspanker13]

I've never heard of any of the mods requiring any wood modification; it's all pots and wiring. What intrigues me the most about the SB-2 is the "double tone mod," which is also the simplest one to wire. It involves the installation of stacked V/T pots for each pickup, and allows you to independently control the tone of each pickup.

[Bobster]

Could regular 60's Jazz bass concentric pot wiring be used for that? I'd guess so...

Bob

[StrangerDanger]

Ok well I ordered some of the '62 jazz concentric CTS pots today. We will see how that goes.

[StrangerDanger]

Originally Posted by plankspanker13

I've never heard of any of the mods requiring any wood modification

What I meant was not drilling for a side jack.

[Crater]

Originally Posted by plankspanker13

... and allows you to independently control the tone of each pickup.

Independently controlling the tone of each pickup isn't possible without either a pickup switch or an active preamp. If you have two tone controls, they will interact with each other. I would just go with a master tone control using a single stacked pot.

[Bobster]

This is why the Fender circuit includes the capacitors for each tone pot to filter.

Here's a link to the drawing: http://support.fender.com/service_di...0209C_SISD.pdf

See the 2nd sheet. .05 cap on the neck, .03 on the bridge.

Bob

[StrangerDanger]

Interesting. Now I have two .047 caps, so I guess I'll have to find a .03 cap?

[Bobster]

You don't have to, although Radio Shack would certainly have one.

The bigger cap value will darken the tone. The .03 just keeps the bridge a little brighter.

Bob

[walterw]

the double tone still causes each tone knob to affect everything, not just its own pickup. it also loads the signal more overall, darkening things a little.

the old fender setup uses resistors to isolate the pickups from each other to reduce the effect, which it does, but also at the cost of lost output.

i vote one stacked pot and one regular pot, for V/V/T.

[walterw]

if you aren't doing blending, but rather "all P pickup" or "all P+J", you could go with a regular one volume/one tone arrangement but with push-pull pots to turn one pickup or the other off.

if you don't use the J pickup by itself, then one push-pull will suffice to switch it on or off, leaving the P pickup on all the time.

[Handyman]

Originally Posted by walterw

the double tone still causes each tone knob to affect everything, not just its own pickup. it also loads the signal more overall, darkening things a little.

the old fender setup uses resistors to isolate the pickups from each other to reduce the effect, which it does, but also at the cost of lost output.

i vote one stacked pot and one regular pot, for V/V/T.

I'm in this camp. There's a reason why Fender ditched to two tone control arrangement. Just doesn't work very well.

[SturmUndDrang]

You dare question the sanctity of father Leo's original design? Shame on you Actually I'm kidding. On a serious note, careful not to treat your G&L like a fender, they are not the same animal. A good place to check out would be the g&l bass support site. Tons of useful info about SB2 tone mods there. You can find it at bassesbyleo.com

[SturmUndDrang]

http://www.bassesbyleo.com/forum/vie....php?f=4&t=455

[StrangerDanger]

I think I am going to try the dual concentric pots ('62 jazz style) first and see how it goes. If it doesn't work I'll try the vol, vol/tone setup.

[Bobster]

StrangerDanger,

Here's my opinion. The two tones may slightly affect each other, maybe. In a practical sense it would be extremely hard to tell since when either pickup's tone changes it will change the overall sound.

To me, I feel like this this setup gives me a lot more subtle control of the tone.

I haven't really had any issues with low output either.

Best of luck with the mod and I hope you really enjoy it!

Bob

[StrangerDanger]

Thanks Bob. I'll be reporting back post mod.

And thanks everybody really. I like to hear all sides.

[Stealth]

If you're going the dual-tone route, I suggest using two resistors in series to get a bit of isolation between the pickup's tone controls. That's the only passive way of getting each tone control to affect its own pickup. The price is a loss of output, so you'll have to turn up the input gain on your amp.

It works something like this. Ignore the fact my wiring was made for a dual humbucker bass.

[StrangerDanger]

Originally Posted by Stealth

If you're going the dual-tone route, I suggest using two resistors in series to get a bit of isolation between the pickup's tone controls.

It works something like this. Ignore the fact my wiring was made for a dual humbucker bass.

Cool, that's very helpful. Thanks!

[iunno]

Would adding resistors to the pickup hots be better than rolling the volumes down? I find when you roll down the volume it cuts out some definition and treble.