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Guys, thinking about a Tribute Kiloton. I play a Sterling Ray4 so I am kinda used to the single humbucker sound. Thoughts? Suggestions? Unfortunately no local music stores has these. I have listened to samples, @LowEndLobster has a review on the fretless model. Which sounds good. thanks in advance.
I'm such a big fan of Kilotons I have two of them...a USA model and a Tribute model. Some folks complain about a lack of low end or too bright a sound. I think the Kiloton sound is great--both lows and highs. And for a single-pickup-bass, it's very versatile. Mine are both fretted models so I can't directly testify about the fretless model, but in my mind, I can hear how it would be great as a fretless.
People say the same about the Sterlings, I just bump the highs down a little, turn the lows up.
The Kiloton is a passive bass, so I usually play mine with the pickup in series and just back down the tone control slightly. Then as I play it, I watch as fillings vibrate out of the mouths of people in the audience. It's a rewarding experience.
Here it is! It was definitely refinished at some point, but it plays great sounds great and has a ton of mojo!
I'm not much of a jazz or P guy but this bass seems to be a great alternative to those. Anyone else here have one of these pre PJ SB-2s?
I'm not much of a jazz or P guy but this bass seems to be a great alternative to those. Anyone else here have one of these pre PJ SB-2s?
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I like it but ran into an issue. I take a weekly bass lesson and left it with my instructor so he could adjust the action and bridge (intonation). When I went back the next week he pointed out to me that there is a hairline crack in the body that runs parallel to the neck but travels along the front face, through the body thickness, along the back face and through the body again where it meets up with the crack on along the front face. The dealer that I bought it from is working with G&L to rectify the issue. I am pleased with the dealer and G&L so far and everything looks to be in good order to keep me happy.
I played somewhere around a dozen different new 4-string basses in the $500-$1100 range before buying the Tribute Kiloton. Most of those I tried had some great aspect to them but I wanted to try every bass I was considering before making a purchase (I was adding this purchase as a second bass in addition to my 94' Yamaha RBX350). The Kiloton just played great and as it was at the last dealer for the list of basses that I wanted to try I knew as soon as I played it that it was the one for me.
The neck and fingerboard played a lot more naturally for me than did the others I tried.
- Feb 3, 2005
- 7,331
- 10,199
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
I love my Tribute Kiloton. It is a fantastic sounding bass. It really fills in nicely without being overpowering or boomy. Just a fat tone that sits perfectly in the mix in many scenarios. It is sharing a rack with a MIJ Yamaha, MIA Fender, etc, and I never feel like I'm grabbing a lesser bass either. I keep thinking about getting a USA Kiloton, but I'm not sure I'd really get that much in return honestly. I will note that my Tribute has been Plek'd, so it plays absolutely top notch.
I'm not putting down your luthier, but please make sure this is not a finish crack, which is a lot more likely than a crack in the body. I have a bass or two with finish cracks. Since it's new, G&L should still take care of that.
You guys have me jonesing. My Tribby Kiloton won't be with me until 2 or 3 weeks from now. I hope.
I really didn't make a judgement as to the extent of the crack (but I guess, in rereading my previous post, that I did say "In the body" [which I guess that I meant - versus in the neck]). I am not well/versed in guitar issues. It seemed to me that it could be where different portions of the body are glued together - but I could easily be wrong. I sent photos of it to the dealer - who is a roughly two hour drive from me (as there didn't seem to be any G&L dealers near Dayton, OH, USA - let alone any who had anything in stock, when I wanted to try 3-4 different G&L models and purchased the Kiloton). They sent the photos on to G&L who are working with the dealer on a resolution.
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A well set up Tribute is still not quite a US one (still has hardware, minor electronics, and materials quality differences), but I seriously doubt you would be much happier to have the US one. The main reason to buy a US one is to get options not available on a Tribute. If you are already happy with what you have, then you probably do not need those options.
G&L Dealer roughly 2 hours from Dayton, OH... If it was Guitarworks, they were very helpful on getting my US Kiloton in for warranty neck repair. This was on a bass that I bought direct from G&L and not from the dealer. Regardless of if it was them, hopefully you get everything sorted out.
In my experience so far Guitarworks is a great dealer.
I have been happy with them for a long time. Took lessons there for 10 or so years (I started playing when I was 12 and started lessons then). I always use them for setups and repair work.
Just saw G&Ls New SB2 instagram post. Apparently Fullerton Deluxe SB2 all have tone pots now.
When I clicked on the link I got:
lol. That is even worse than the errors we were finding earlier. Mine shows the same now (it was actually an updated webpage earlier today).
Lol, no beta testers at G&L I guess. Thankfully their guitars and basses are better built than their web pages.
