Alnico pickups in the JB & LB. My USAs both have MFDs. I wonder if that has anything to do with it? On my SB-2, even the single coil MFD has a very negligible amount of hum
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I'm a little late to the JB-2 lovefest.
Things I love about mine. The classic j bass sound in a smaller, more comfortable p bass body. Complete lack of pickguard.
Things I don't love. The neck spec is too narrow and rounded for my preference. (1.5" nut, 7.5" radius).
I would prefer something more P like there, too.
I'd trade it for a Kiloton if I could find one with a a wider nut and a 12" radius. I think that would have to be a custom order.
Things I love about mine. The classic j bass sound in a smaller, more comfortable p bass body. Complete lack of pickguard.
Things I don't love. The neck spec is too narrow and rounded for my preference. (1.5" nut, 7.5" radius).
I would prefer something more P like there, too.
I'd trade it for a Kiloton if I could find one with a a wider nut and a 12" radius. I think that would have to be a custom order.
I used to own an SB-2 Tribute, and given the "right" EMI environment, the SC MFD would hum pretty loud.
I have a friend who had some hum issues with a Tribute SB-2, which was shielded with paint from the factory. He went in and layered copper tape everywhere...still hummed. It turns out his neighbors were using some high-powered grow lights in a small herb farm in their garage. They moved and the hum diminished significantly. My Tributes--a Kiloton, an LB-100 with an MFD, and an L2500--are all shielded with paint. The L2500 has a slight hum in single-coil mode, but other than that, they're as quiet as a mouse in church. I guess my basses just know the words.
Biggest thing I can recommend for your board is some form of HPF/LPF (assuming you are not taking care of this on your amp). My personal favorite is the Broughton RFE.
I have two boards
Basic Board is tuner, compression, and tone enhancers
Large Board is more fun. Tuner, 2 Compressors, 2 envelopes, 2 fuzzes, 2 overdrives, phaser, chorus, octave, HPF/LPF, tube boost. I run two compressors. One set to minimal compression at the start (to play with how/when the envelopes kick in) and one at the end to do general compression/coloration. The Ashdown Bass Exchange is a neat little problem solver, but I wish someone would make a better version of it. I can overdrive it with G&L MFD Pickups if I am not careful.
Basic Board:
XSW-D Wireless -> Pigtronix Tuner -> Broughton Fliptop Boost -> LBA 2020S --> Broughton Omnicomp -> Broughton Studio One
Large Board:
XSW-D Wireless -> Ashdown Bass Exchange (to handle level differences between instruments) --> Polytune --> Empress Bass Compressor --> Broughton Valve Champ --> Broughton Subsonic --> IE Oxide --> Broughton Calamity --> Broughton Josh Wah --> IE Xerography Deluxe --> Broughton Scoprion --> Southampton Fifth Gear --> Broughton Carina --> Analogman Mini Chorus --> Effectrode LA-1A --> LBA 2020S --> Broughton RFE
Large Board:
XSW-D Wireless -> Ashdown Bass Exchange (to handle level differences between instruments) --> Polytune --> Empress Bass Compressor --> Broughton Valve Champ --> Broughton Subsonic --> IE Oxide --> Broughton Calamity --> Broughton Josh Wah --> IE Xerography Deluxe --> Broughton Scoprion --> Southampton Fifth Gear --> Broughton Carina --> Analogman Mini Chorus --> Effectrode LA-1A --> LBA 2020S --> Broughton RFE
I wouldn't know where to begin
Most of the time, the octave, fuzzes, overdrives, envelopes, and chorus/phaser are off. Once you realize that it is quite easy to manage.I wouldn't know where to begin
My alder body CLF L-1000 Series 750.
May have a need for a 5-string in the not too distant future (new project). Haven't liked any of the 5-strings I've played so far due to string spacing. May need to find a 750 to see if I'm more comfortable with it. Or just learn to deal with tighter string spacing. Really haven't spent much time with any fiver. Just a song or 2 on a borrowed bass.
They're ALL worth trying if you don't have a preference. 17.5 vs 18 vs 19 is purely a personal decision. If you care about that spacing (some don't), make an effort to try them all. I have, and after years of flipping, found my sweet spot. Good luck!
I'm really a 4-string player, but I've always had a 5 around for about the last 15 years or so. I rarely play the 5. In that time, I've had a few G&L Tributes with the 17.5mm spacing, and that always felt too tight and was a little bit of an excuse for me to not play the 5. My current 5 is a Fender Jazz 24V, which has 19mm spacing. To me, it doesn't make it any easier to play. And since getting it, I've acquired a couple of Gibson basses with about 17mm spacing on their 4s. I thought these were tight at first, but playing them for a while has made me get used to them and they're pretty comfortable now. So much so that I'm actually thinking of ditching the Jazz 24V and going back to a Tribute L-2500…
Point is, play it enough and you'll get used to it, whatever it is.
Usually a comp, a light OD for just a shade of hair and some sort of DI/EQ, as I generally go direct to PA (churches, usually). Those are generally always on as part of "my sound."
Combos I've been using have been:
Walrus Mira (comp) into Solid Gold FX Beta (OD) into Tech21 Q-strip, for basses with flats.
Keeley Bassist (comp) into TC Spark (OD/boost) into Tech21 SansAmp, for basses with rounds. The SansAmp does have a drive, so I will often just use the Bassist and SansAmp for simplicity.
Oh, and always a tuner that mutes at the start of the chain.
Occasionally an octave or fuzz, but that's more for fun.
About 15 years ago I decided I really wanted an L2500 despite the "narrow" (17mm) spacing. I was in the "I can't play anything less than 18.25mm (Fender), and 19mm is better" camp, but I REALLY wanted that L2500. So I got one and very soon realized that it was just a fairly meaningless number that had little to no effect on my actual ability to play the bass. I'd been playing 5s and 6s since 1997-ish, so it wasn't an issue of being uncomfortable with extra strings.
These days I have 17mm, 18mm, 18.25mm, 19mm, and 20mm 5/6 string basses, and all of them are equally playable.
These days I have 17mm, 18mm, 18.25mm, 19mm, and 20mm 5/6 string basses, and all of them are equally playable.
Tuner into some Damnation pedals (Mbd or spite box) then a hp/lp filter. I occasionally use the compressor when not using distortion.
Hi all.
Just put up a killer Kiloton for sale in the classifieds:
https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/g-l-kiloton-binding-blocks-quartersawn-light-weight.1659756/
Just put up a killer Kiloton for sale in the classifieds:
https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/g-l-kiloton-binding-blocks-quartersawn-light-weight.1659756/
Attachments
This is weird. The G&L store has a Tribute sonic blue JB-2 B-stock for $499. Musicians Friend (no affiliation) has a Tribute "A-stock" JB-2 (in shell pink) for...wait for it...$499. Sweetwater (again, no affiliation) also offers "A-stock" Tribute JB-2s for $499. Where is the discount for the B-stock? Or am I just missing something?
g-l-online-store.myshopify.com
G&L Tribute JB-2 Electric Bass Guitar JB-2&index=1
B-Stock Instruments - Tribute JB-2 - Sonic Blue - RW
Series: Tribute Series Model: SB-2 Serial Number: 240209489 Body Finish: Sonic Blue Body Wood: Poplar Neck Wood: Maple w/ Rosewood Neck Finish: Satin Weight: 9.4 LBS Condition: B-Stock. Neck pocket gap. Minor neck pocket shelf. (May be difficult to see in photos). Note: Color is off in later...
g-l-online-store.myshopify.com
G&L Tribute JB-2 Electric Bass Guitar JB-2&index=1
This is weird. The G&L store has a Tribute sonic blue JB-2 B-stock for $499. Musicians Friend (no affiliation) has a Tribute "A-stock" JB-2 (in shell pink) for...wait for it...$499. Sweetwater (again, no affiliation) also offers "A-stock" Tribute JB-2s for $499. Where is the discount for the B-stock? Or am I just missing something?
B-Stock Instruments - Tribute JB-2 - Sonic Blue - RW
Series: Tribute Series Model: SB-2 Serial Number: 240209489 Body Finish: Sonic Blue Body Wood: Poplar Neck Wood: Maple w/ Rosewood Neck Finish: Satin Weight: 9.4 LBS Condition: B-Stock. Neck pocket gap. Minor neck pocket shelf. (May be difficult to see in photos). Note: Color is off in later...
G&L Tribute JB-2 Electric Bass Guitar JB-2&index=1
Webstore is still doing 10% off of everything so it is less than 499. Still not as good of a discount as they sometimes do on B stock.
Could also be a sign that Tribute prices are going to go up I suppose. Based on their instagram, these are probably from a recent delivery of Tributes that may not have hit dealers yet.
