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G&L Club Part 7

#20,361
eccles77 said:
Got the SB2 today and it`s not a keeper I`m sorry to say. I played around with different settings and it doesn`t do anything for me. If I kept it, I would need to put in a tone control and the bridge pickup has quite a low output which was quite a disappointment.

All in all, not as satisfying as my MIM P bass which it was going to replace so back to the shop tomorrow it goes. And to be honest, it was not as nice looking in the flesh as it looked online.
Click to expand...

IOW, you'd want to re-engineer it to behave like all other typical PJ basses? Well the SB-2 is not for everyone, that's for sure, so I understand your disappointment. It takes a different mindset/approach to appreciate the intent behind this guitar. Those who "get it" seem to really like the SB-2 because it can go into a bolder sonic territory, despite its seeming tonal "limitations".

Other G&L bass models have come and gone over the decades, but the PJ SB-2 has endured. A bit of a niche bass for sure, but it excels greatly at what it does. There are a million other PJ basses from virtually every manufacturer in existence, past and present, but there is only one SB-2. I miss mine. :thumbsup:

Good luck in your quest.
 
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#20,363
Bassclef46 said:
Not at all surprising to read. No idea why anyone would want a bass without a tone control. But to each their own. Sucks you have to learn that the hard way. But at least you can return it. I hope.

sidenote. I don’t think G&L are a very popular brand and their qc issues aside I just don’t see a lot of people buying their new stuff. Reverb listings in my watch list have been there for over a year and some basses are still being offered from 2018

the quality seems to be a real big issue too. I’m 4 for 4 on defective basses. The sb1 I just got back was setup great but I noticed the e string was a a little high. So I lowered the saddle until the screw came out and I’m still at 6/64. So now I will need to shim the neck. The whole point of shipping the entire bass was so they could measure the neck pocket and make sure the neck was right. So much for that. Idiots.
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I’m really sorry to hear about all of your negative experiences with G&L recently. My (previously owned) 2016 USA LB-100 is perfect in every way. You couldn’t build a tighter neck pocket, the neck is great and the tone is pure P-bass+. If things have slid in the years since, I’ll be very disappointed to hear.
My USA G&L has been a revelation, making me wonder why more people aren’t in on the secret. But based on your experiences, maybe I just need to keep an eye out for an earlier model year used bass in great condition if I decide to scratch my L-2500 itch.
 
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#20,364
eccles77 said:
Got the SB2 today and it`s not a keeper I`m sorry to say. I played around with different settings and it doesn`t do anything for me. If I kept it, I would need to put in a tone control and the bridge pickup has quite a low output which was quite a disappointment.

All in all, not as satisfying as my MIM P bass which it was going to replace so back to the shop tomorrow it goes. And to be honest, it was not as nice looking in the flesh as it looked online.
Click to expand...

Its not the bass for everyone.

I remember playing a used SB-2 at an out of town GC while traveling for work some years back. I remember that I really liked it, bold aggressive tone, excellent balance & it simply “fit” in a way that few basses do. I remember really having fun with it.

I couldn’t justify it at the time so I have chalk it up as another memory.

Don’t sweat it, there’s so many options out there.
 
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#20,365
I have a '07 Fullerton SB-2, and my playing situation is a little different. Nobody in our band uses an amp. We all use various amp-sim pedals with in-ear monitors with our own personal mixes. I run through a Trace Elliot Transit B into our system, which has a pair of sub-woofers. So I actually run the bridge p/u at about 9 and dial in the neck pickup to add "oomph." Works really well. I was leary of getting a bass with no tone control, but I figured if Timothy B. Schmit can do it with only one volume control, surely I can figure it out with two...and I did.
 
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#20,366
Slaphound said:
Maybe an LB100 would suit you best
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Yeah, an LB-100 is at the top of my GAS list, and probably for similar reasons.

OP, have you been reading this thread very long? Way back, people wrote about how the bridge pickup volume acts like a tone control, changing the overall "flavor" of the beast not just its loudness. IIRC, there were several different "sweet spots" commonly used -- did you try any of those?

They make an SB-2(T) model which has a tone control, and there are also aftermarket kits to add a tone control which plenty of handy people have installed on their own. Yet there also remains a die-hard group that loves the SB2 as is, loudly praising the sound they get without one.

While you've still got it in your house, might be worth your time to do the TB research and then try out some of the "settings." That's up to you, of course. Myself, I'll probably get an SB-2(T) someday just to find out what all the talk is about. (But the LB-100 will come first.)

Either way, good luck to you, bass brother. Enjoy the journey.
 
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#20,367
jglunt said:
I have a '07 Fullerton SB-2, and my playing situation is a little different. Nobody in our band uses an amp. We all use various amp-sim pedals with in-ear monitors with our own personal mixes. I run through a Trace Elliot Transit B into our system, which has a pair of sub-woofers. So I actually run the bridge p/u at about 9 and dial in the neck pickup to add "oomph." Works really well. I was leary of getting a bass with no tone control, but I figured if Timothy B. Schmit can do it with only one volume control, surely I can figure it out with two...and I did.
Click to expand...

I took that approach when I was experimenting with my first SB-2 PJ. I was perfectly content with the "usual" method of blending in some J pup to spice up the powerful split MFD. But by reversing the process I found a different sound palette, more like a traditional PJ array while keeping the baked-in MFD character. The downside was the weaker overall signal strength of course, which can be compensated for. But like a lotta SB-2 fans I always thought "floor it!" with my SB-2. ;)

I think this one was my all-time fave. Butterscotch Blonde/ash, beefy #5 solid maple neck.

100_0237.jpg
 

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#20,368
eccles77 said:
Got the SB2 today and it`s not a keeper I`m sorry to say. I played around with different settings and it doesn`t do anything for me. If I kept it, I would need to put in a tone control and the bridge pickup has quite a low output which was quite a disappointment.

All in all, not as satisfying as my MIM P bass which it was going to replace so back to the shop tomorrow it goes. And to be honest, it was not as nice looking in the flesh as it looked online.
Click to expand...
The bridge pickup is designed that way on purpose. You can't think of the SB-2 as a PJ bass. Its a hot p bass. The bridge pickup is designed to move the midrange emphasis. Think of it more like a midrange control on an active bass. The design, as is, is quite ingenious but you have to make the mental leap that it is not what you expect. It is what it is. I went through the same thing many years ago and realized after I did the mods that it was better the way it was. (But I find that with most mods, which I think in general are a waste of time and money.)
 
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#20,369
eccles77 said:
Got the SB2 today and it`s not a keeper I`m sorry to say. I played around with different settings and it doesn`t do anything for me. If I kept it, I would need to put in a tone control and the bridge pickup has quite a low output which was quite a disappointment.
Click to expand...
My feelings also.

I couldn't do without a tone control so I wired mine as an SB-1 and love it. I gigged it for about 3 years before rediscovering my L-2000, which took over as my gigging bass, and it now resides in a friends studio where we did weekly live Youtube streaming until Covid stopped us. With the easing of restrictions we have just started to pick up where we left off 15 months ago.
 
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#20,372
eccles77 said:
I had one a Fullarton Deluxe and like a fool, moved it on.

Thanks for all the reply`s. The bass is a different animal, more kind of it`s own thing and it just wasn`t for me but I will buy another G & L of some kind in the future.
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Nothing at all wrong with this. If a bass doesn't click with you, there's no reason to keep it.

I picked up an SBMM Stingray short scale and it's going to go to a new home. Tried everything I could and I just never bonded with it. Same thing with Squier 70s Jazz bass.
 
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#20,374
Nothing wrong with not bonding with a bass and selling it to someone who hopefully will love it. About three years ago I bought a used EBMM 4H StingRay online from Guitar Center. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with the StingRays. Nice bass but I could never get the tone out of it that would satisfy me. I adjusted the four different knobs, removed the 9 volt battery to make it passive....nothing satisfied me. The G and D strings sounded weak. I sold it about a month or so later. No use keeping a bass that you don't like. And now I'm GASing for a G&L USA LB-100 or SB-1 and, having no experience with any G&L basses in the past, and no dealers that I know of in the St. Louis area, I'm a little hesitant to jump in and buy an SB-1 since I'm not familiar with its tone. I think I'd be safe with the LB-100, since I already have a 2005 Fender American Standard P-Bass and an EBMM Cutlass, knowing that the LB-100 would sound similar to the P-Bass. But the MFD pickups concern me because I can't sit down with an SB-1 and play it before buying it and hearing it for myself how they sound.
 
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#20,375
FJBass82 said:
Nothing wrong with not bonding with a bass and selling it to someone who hopefully will love it. About three years ago I bought a used EBMM 4H StingRay online from Guitar Center. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with the StingRays. Nice bass but I could never get the tone out of it that would satisfy me. I adjusted the four different knobs, removed the 9 volt battery to make it passive....nothing satisfied me. The G and D strings sounded weak. I sold it about a month or so later. No use keeping a bass that you don't like. And now I'm GASing for a G&L USA LB-100 or SB-1 and, having no experience with any G&L basses in the past, and no dealers that I know of in the St. Louis area, I'm a little hesitant to jump in and buy an SB-1 since I'm not familiar with its tone. I think I'd be safe with the LB-100, since I already have a 2005 Fender American Standard P-Bass and an EBMM Cutlass. But the MFD pickups kind of worry me because I can't sit down with an SB-1 and play it before buying it and hearing it for myself how they sound.
Click to expand...

MFDs are really addictive. (I speak from experience.) However, they’re hot in output and if you back the volume off to 70-75% you’re in very nice P-Bass pickup land. Best of both worlds. The SB-1 has that lovely slightly more carved body seen in the Kiloton as well. Lots to recommend that bass.:thumbsup:
 
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#20,378
jmlee said:
MFDs are really addictive. (I speak from experience.) However, they’re hot in output and if you back the volume off to 70-75% you’re in very nice P-Bass pickup land. Best of both worlds. The SB-1 has that lovely slightly more carved body seen in the Kiloton as well. Lots to recommend that bass.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
As an old dinosaur, I like to set my stage volume with the volume pot on the bass at full. Understood that some really hot pickups become somewhat limited this way. Is it possible to wire in a switch with a resistor so that you could leave the volume pot on full and use the switch to toggle to a 70%ish pre set?
 
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#20,379
richwag said:
Nothing at all wrong with this. If a bass doesn't click with you, there's no reason to keep it.

I picked up an SBMM Stingray short scale and it's going to go to a new home. Tried everything I could and I just never bonded with it. Same thing with Squier 70s Jazz bass.
Click to expand...
Ergonomic reasons or tone? I have one too and if I play it sitting down I have to move it to the center of my lap, not on my right leg. That causes all new comfort issues of course, but my left arm is happier that way. I've thought about getting rid of mine as well, but I traded necks with someone so I feel weird about getting rid of a unique bass.

I really want to try a Fallout. I expect the ergos will be right for me.
 

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