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G&L Club Part 7

#26,462
Ricky Rioli said:
Sep 2020 pink SB-1 ordered
Dec 2020 ...returns to factory...

Mar 2021 ...gets sent across the ocean wide...
Nov 2021 ...eventually gets back home to @RocketMusic who sells it in under 48 hours
Dec 2021 gold SB-1 ordered

Mar 2022 ruby LB-100 ordered
Jun 2022 gold SB-1 arrives

Jan 2023 finally.......

View attachment 4942068

I'm feeling kinda sleepy. And relieved. And pleased.

As we know, none of G&L's metallic colors help the photographer — my first attempt of this came out looking black. So this rubbish photo is as good as it's going to get.

A Dimarzio Model P and some Pro Steels will be added shortly, but I'm just going to enjoy the bass stock for a while.

Greg fitted some GHS Boomers for me — exactly the same strings that felt and sounded weirdly pathetic on the SB-1 feel and sound great on the LB-100. I'm very pleased that the two instruments have such very different characters. The LB-100 is even lighter than the SB-1 — 7.0 lbs, quoth Greg.

Random thought: I know that G&L use a particularly pale supply of maple, but their "vintage tint" really isn't. It is nice, but there's zero sense of the richness that the passing of time might have supplied.

Street prices Mar 2022 / Jan 2023

LB-100 — $1400 / $2450
Empress — $100 / $100
Quartersawn — $100 / $100
Pearloid — $50 / $0
Gloss neck — $150 / $150
Total — $1800 / $2800

Last February, knowing that prices were more than overdue a rise, the moment I had some financial good news I grasped the nettle and made a quick decision to get this upgrade on my Squier Matt Freeman P. Nice to have combined wisdom and haste, for once. Not my usual style :smug:
Click to expand...

Finally!
As odd as this may sound, over the past few months I've found myself wondering when tf you were gonna get your bass.
 
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#26,465
Can I join the club? Just got this beauty a few days ago, totally in love with it.
 

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#26,466
Putting my availability/weight/price obsessions to one side....

At the moment I've got a 45-105 set of Chromes on my SB-1 (double checking that I want flats-strung bass in my life) (yes, I do)

I knew they would sound good, but from time to time I find myself wondering how they would sound with just a little bit of the SB-2's bridge pickup added in.

So if you've got an SB-2 and you've strung it with Chromes at some point ... do tell :)

(I think this is a prompt for @TDR1138 ;))
 
Last edited:
#26,470
Ricky Rioli said:
According to the G&L website:

Kiloton Tribute — 1½"
Kiloton Fullerton Deluxe — 1⅝"
Kiloton Build To Order — 1½"

SB-2 Tribute — 1½"
SB-2 Fullerton Deluxe — doesn't exist
SB-2 Build To Order — 1⅝"

Nuts.
(Sweetwater listing for the Kiloton Deluxe is 1½")
Click to expand...
SB-2 Fullerton Deluxe — doesn't exist, but the SB-1 Fullerton Deluxe is 1⅝"
 
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#26,471
Glazenn said:
SB-2 Fullerton Deluxe — doesn't exist, but the SB-1 Fullerton Deluxe is 1⅝"
Click to expand...
Not much help for anyone wanting the traditional SB-2 specs of (i) 1½" nut and (ii) two pickups

My point was that originally both the SB-2 and the Kiloton had J necks. Thanks to their switching from one thing to another to another, the specs for these two models are now a mess.

(Whether reality will follow what's published is another matter)
 
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#26,472
Ricky Rioli said:
Putting my availability/weight/price obsessions to one side....

At the moment I've got a 45-105 set of Chromes on my SB-1 (double checking that I want flats-strung bass in my life) (yes, I do)

I knew they would sound good, but from time to time I find myself wondering how they would sound with just a little bit of the SB-2's bridge pickup added in.

So if you've got an SB-2 and you've strung it with Chromes at some point ... do tell :)

(I think this is a prompt for @TDR1138 ;))
Click to expand...

The bridge pickup does two things - it brings in some high end, but it also scoops out the middle a bit. It's hard to discern the subtle changes from just barely on to somewhat on to mostly on. Almost like you have three options: fully off (0), fully on (10), or somewhat on (1-9). I'm still really exploring the bass, been actually enjoying bridge on 10, neck on 9 and the tone about midway. Fat but clear.

When I had my first SB-2, it was all snarl and bark. I had it strung with Roto Swing 66 strings and added a tone control and put the bridge pickup on an on/off switch. Played it mostly as an SB-1. With my new one with Chromes, I'm enjoying the added flavors with the bridge pickup and rarely solo the neck pickup.

Ricky Rioli said:
SB-2 Build To Order — 1⅝"
Click to expand...

Which, apparently, they changed right after I ordered mine with the paid option of moving from 1-1/2" to 1-5/8", though I did also get the 7-1/2" radius, so I'm not entirely bitter. :p
 
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#26,473
I have GHS light flats on my SB-1 from 85. They feel like the right strings for that bass.

i also just put in a bill Lawrence P pickup and added a push/pull series parallel tone pot. Never was a huge S/P fan but this allows for a less punchy J sound when it fits the music. Kills my desire for a bridge pickup.
 
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#26,475
TDR1138 said:
The bridge pickup brings in some high end, but it also scoops out the middle a bit.
Click to expand...

I was wondering if there was a point where the added treble was meaningful and the reduction in the mids only negligible. But perhaps with MFD+Chromes, the reduction of the mids isn't enough to create any kind of hollowness?

TDR1138 said:
I had my first SB-2 strung with Roto Swing 66 strings. Played it mostly as an SB-1. With my new one with Chromes, I rarely solo the neck pickup.
Click to expand...

I found the Swing Bass put a slant on the character of my SB-1, but the Chromes are slightly inhibiting its range of colors.

• Since I want a balance of warmth and liveliness on this bass, Roto Bass have been the most successful strings for me :cigar:
• The Swing Bass replaced the charm with impressive hardness, so successful in a different way :woot:
• Deep Talkin Flats sounded good, but have such a specific character, they took over :meh:
• These Chromes are good — but I think I will want them on a bass with more tonal controls. Here, I'm having to engage the MFD afterburners most the time, just to get the basic sound right :cautious: I'll be going back to Roto Bass 50-110 sooner rather than later
• GHS Boomers just sounded all wrong, jangly and weak, the bass sounded sulky :rollno:

deepestend said:
My SB-1 has the 1.6" nut width, between J and P. That's my favorite.
Click to expand...

Were the 1 + 9/16" and 1 + 11/16" nuts buried with St. Leo? :whistle:

I've got a pair of 1⅝" necks now, and am happy with them, but would have been even happier with 1 + 9/16" on the SB-1 and 1 + 11/16" on the LB-100 :smug:
 
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