Thanks! It needs some TLC but I feel it's a keeper. Plus, it's fairly light weight at 9 lbs (4 kg) - which can only get better when I put Ultralites on.
The wood grain looks better than the Japanese Tribute I had too. Love them in natural.
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The wood grain looks better than the Japanese Tribute I had too. Love them in natural.
Nice bass! Good luck replacing those tuners. Just a heads up, you might have to drill new holes. I say this from my own experience.
Yup I expect to drill new holes, but that doesn't seem like a super hard feat to me.
The problem isn't really drilling new holes. It's getting the G&L Ultra Lites. They are almost never available on the online store.
With all the talk of single coil MFDs lately, I've been spending time with this classic. It's an odd sounding bass. Very nasal bright and clangy. Which is why I really like it.
Check the highly mismatched bi cut neck! It looks pretty interesting. It's impossible to capture in a photo but the finish has sunk enough such that I can tell it's a three piece body. Two "wings" and a 1 inch strip just off center. Probably scrap maple.
Check the highly mismatched bi cut neck! It looks pretty interesting. It's impossible to capture in a photo but the finish has sunk enough such that I can tell it's a three piece body. Two "wings" and a 1 inch strip just off center. Probably scrap maple.
Update from my post about my super midrange heavy L2K.
Someone suggested installing a set of Hi-beams onto the bass. Well, that did the trick.
The overly heavy midrange character was completely tamed and a nice balanced tone was brought out. I played the bass at a show and it sounded fantastic.
I typically do not like high beams whatsoever. They tend to have too much highs and kill your midrange, but not in this case. I had this set of hi-beams sitting for about 4 years.
I guess I am a fan of these strings now.
Someone suggested installing a set of Hi-beams onto the bass. Well, that did the trick.
The overly heavy midrange character was completely tamed and a nice balanced tone was brought out. I played the bass at a show and it sounded fantastic.
I typically do not like high beams whatsoever. They tend to have too much highs and kill your midrange, but not in this case. I had this set of hi-beams sitting for about 4 years.
I guess I am a fan of these strings now.
The right strings on the right bass can be magical. Sometimes it's hard to figure out the best combos with limited time and resources.
yep, it can be really hard. for one stingray i have, i tried like 6 sets, SOLD the bass, re-purchased it, and then finally found out that it needed chromes.
I find that strings that would be on the "mellow" side on other basses, can still retain plenty of aggressiveness on MFD-equipped basses - my Kiloton as a case in point with the broken-in Legends. It can still growl if I want it to
.
Got OEM replacement pickguard from G&L to bring my fretless back to the stock livery it wore upon leaving the factory. Very fast turnaround on the order, gotta love that bulletproof packaging.
I was thinking the same thing as it would have been a tight fit in my mailbox but he brought it to the door. Received mine the same time. They must wait to do these until they've sold a few. SB1, perfect fit. Leaving plastic on until final assembly but now have everything including black bridge. Mockup with parts from my '93 SB1 fretless- it's black aluminum guard is 3/16" shy and since the body is a 2023, the mounting screws are off by the same.
Reverse headstock, quartersawn neck, ebony board with dot delete, stainless steel frets. I have several P pickups and SB2-heavy so the pup won't be G&L.
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As we know, MFDs rule, and lately I've been appreciating something about them beyond the versatile, monstrous tone: string-to-string balance. Even with the poles set flush, my M-2500 had great balance, much better than your typical J-bass with flush poles (which is most of them). But recently, I raised the poles under the A string just slightly (about 0.5mm), and the balance is even better. It's just amazing, and this isn't possible with the vast majority of pickups out there.
I've been struggling to get optimal string-to-string balance on my Sandberg TT-5 (J5), which is otherwise a phenomenal bass. The balance has been improved with some Aero pickups, and I suspect different strings might improve it further, but with MFDs there's simply no problem. If one of the strings is a little weak, raise those poles. Done. Why is this not more common?
The JB-5 MFD can't come soon enough.
I've been struggling to get optimal string-to-string balance on my Sandberg TT-5 (J5), which is otherwise a phenomenal bass. The balance has been improved with some Aero pickups, and I suspect different strings might improve it further, but with MFDs there's simply no problem. If one of the strings is a little weak, raise those poles. Done. Why is this not more common?
The JB-5 MFD can't come soon enough.
I am scoping out JB-5s lately, and man I should prolly wait for these! I've had L2500s, and now my Kiloton V which I LOVE. But I need another fiver, something a little different from the Kilo (I need a fiver with flats and one with rounds). A Jazz V of some kind always makes sense, but I've never been able to try a JB-5 to suss out the B string....
I'm eyeing at these... However I still have a doubt about the nature of the posts : aluminum (meaning Ultralite) or chrome plated metal...
Made in USA or Japanese ? What do you guys think ?
On the upper picture, one of the screw holes on the tuner at the bottom left seems to be different in diameter...
Also seems to be the very one at the bottom on the second picture.
Made in USA or Japanese ? What do you guys think ?
On the upper picture, one of the screw holes on the tuner at the bottom left seems to be different in diameter...
Also seems to be the very one at the bottom on the second picture.
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