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I think a SB-2 with a MFD humbucker at the bridge would be nice.
In fact, I think I'll take the 'bucker out of my Kiloton and put four split coils into it. I could wire it with a half-dozen or so switches so the individual coils of each of the split coil pickups could be switched in and out to create an endless combination of tones that nobody could figure out!
Send me the Kiloton before you do something that we'll both regret…
You joke, but G&L kind of did this on a guitar once. Comanche VI had 6 selector switches on it. 3 for pickup on/off. 3 for pickup only covering 3 low strings, pickup using full pickup, pickup only covering 3 high strings.
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Thankfully, they've refined the Comanche, but it still has a bunch of combinations. The 3-way Strat-style switch works one way wit a push/pull switch up and another way with the push/pull switch down, so six (I think) pickup combinations in that one guitar. G&L's S500 guitar is the same way (I think) just with different MFD pickups.
Your opinion about the single coil in the SB-2 gen 2 is the prevailing opinion, so I listened to those saying that and didn't add it to a Kiloton. (And BTW, I was going to buy a used Tribute for my experiment and not butcher up my '18 Fullerton.) That being said, my '07 gen 2 SB-2 has a fine sounding bridge pickup. There is almost no output drop-off, and the tone is not bad when it's soloed--actually considerably better tone than most jazz bass bridge pickups IMO.This is what made me think it might sound good as a mid pickup on a Kiloton. Did I just get lucky and end up with one of the old single coils in my SB-2?No shouting down from me, might be a nice compliment to the Kiloton. That said, I'm not convinced that the 2nd gen SB-2 bridge pickup is the same wind as the 1st gen s/c SB-1 and SB-2 pickups. If I had an SB-2 right now, I could A/B it to a Lynx and prove it to myself once and for all.
Even so, I've been through a buncha gen2 SB-2's. Whenever I solo'd their bridge pickups all I heard was a noisy, low output that was unusable in any context (to my ears, at least). Good as an enhancer for the split MFD though, for sure. OTOH, the Lynx bridge pickup solo'd sounds decent enough to be possibly useful to someone, even if that someone isn't me.
In keeping with the G&L spirit, I'd be interested to know what a split MFD might add to the Kiloton's voice. Fire up the router!
My thought is that it's mostly the position. Split-coil SB-2 is closer to the bridge than the dual-single SB-2. Kinda like the 70s vs 60s Jazz bridge pickup position.
And to that end, I'd think it would sound good in the neck position of a Kilo, but I'd just be concerned with polarity when splitting the bridge pickup to one coil.
Though if I had a Kilo, I'd probably just put another L-series MFD in the neck position.
Your thoughts about that are exactly what I thought...that it was all due to position. But wiser heads than I told me no, it was specifically wound to act as a tone control. Though I found this doubtful in my own experience, I still listened to those wiser heads and canceled my Kiloton mod experiment...or should I say I postponed it?
I liked the stock strings, EXL170, they are to bright at first but mellow out perfectly.
Very clever reasoning, my friend. Think RWRP! My JB-5 is RWRP.
But then, don't you almost get an L-2x00 ?
Having owned and played an SB-2 ('99) for several years, I concur with wiser heads' opinion, and I never found how to use the bridge pickup solo'ed. I even never felt the need to add a additional tone control like on the SB-2T.
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I typically use DR hi beams, but they were a little too clicky for me on the high end. Just put a set of DR Lo Riders on it, and loving it so far.
I'm still using the OEM D'Addario EXL170-5SL 45/130 set on my Kilo-5 (as the build sheet says). I am pleased with the bite/bark/growl these strings give (w/maple fingerboard).
I have GHS Precision Flats on my L-2500 and these are right with the active controls (it has a 3-way switch: serial w/OMG - outer single coils - parallel).
I have GHS Precision Flats on my L-2500 and these are right with the active controls (it has a 3-way switch: serial w/OMG - outer single coils - parallel).
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Like you, I have no desire to add a tone control to my SB-2. It is actually one of two basses I own that have no tone controls, and the other has only one pickup.
I have never soloed my SB-2's bridge pickup while playing, but when I'm sound-checking myself, I haven't noticed that the bridge pickup is unusually low on volume or has a tone that is worse than a regular P-J's bridge pickup (though it obviously is different from said P-J's pickup and IMO, sounds better). While the tone on an SB-2 relies on the balance between neck and bridge pickups, is that really different from other P-Js or a jazz bass even though they have tone controls? My experience tells me the SB-2 bridge pickup is a full-blown pickup as far as volume/gain goes.My GAS for that mod on a Tribute Kiloton is (probably) in the past. The biggest problem is that that pickup is a proprietary size, so cutting the pickguard to fit, then discovering the idea sucked, might require a new pickguard to return it to normal. If you use a regular jazz pickup and don't like the results with the first one, there are a hundred more to try that will drop right in.
I was looking at pics of the Kiloton and the L2000 on the G&L website. The bridge pickup on the L2000 looks considerably closer to the bridge than the pickup on the Kiloton...maybe an inch or even more closer, though that's a wild guess. That would certainly be another difference.
