Sorry, I haven't as I don't have any extra (I am at a rather remote location for the week).
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Sorry, I haven't as I don't have any extra (I am at a rather remote location for the week).
That's probably a good move on G&L's part. Save on production cost, and evidently they never quite grasped why Leo put a damper inside the springs in the first place. G&L went without the dampers for years. Unbelievable oversight on their part.
Just for curiosity sake, I should look under the pups on my MJ-4.
I am conflicted. I want the tone of the lb100' but I can't bring myself to buy a 4 string bass.
If I went with another m2500,but maybe a tribute this time and put flats omit how close would I come to an lb100 tone? With some eq tweaking and maybe a compressor...
If I went with another m2500,but maybe a tribute this time and put flats omit how close would I come to an lb100 tone? With some eq tweaking and maybe a compressor...
It's a conundrum all right. I don't want you to make a decision you'll regret. But in my opinion; it's never a bad idea to have a 4 string in your arsenal. If you really don't want a 4 string then you should look at other brands. Fender are making a 5 string P now. So do some other brands.
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I have a LB 100 and a MJ 4. I can get the MJ very close to the sound of LB by rolling to the bridge pickup and sitting it flat. I think they are going to make the MJ in a 5'er. If you really want a P then Fender or even better a Mike Lull would be my choice.
about a month ago at a nice music store in central Minnesota, I played the high priced American Standard Fender P5, the standard priced Fender P4, and a Squier CV P4.
I liked the feel of the Squier CV the best and the quality of the build was surprisingly good. My wife who has a discriminating ear said its tone was the worst of the three. The high priced Fender 5 had some issues with the B string and the setup guy at this store is very good -- all these display basses were set up very well, so it wasn't exactly a chore trying these out -- playing through an Aguilar system, they know how to bring out the best.
That was the beginning of my conflicted state.
My best option given the coming of an MJ5 may be to wait.
Or go for the LB100. In my state I'm surprised the ones available online just continue to be available, esp the butterscotch one at Rocket Music.
I could afford the LB100 or MJ5 before I could justify a Mike Lull, though I agree it could be an excellent option.
update
researching this more
The mj5 would seem to meet all my requirements/desires
-- the neck and spacing would be identical to the m2500 that suits me
--I can get that thumpy P like tone -- The Ed Friedland video on the MJ4 convinced me of that
-- the room I practice in is subject to some kind of additional electromagnetic interference that causes standard single coil pickups to hum and I like things quiet and these are re-designed noise cancelling pickups so can be used singly
-- I don't have to spend any money now. I just have to wait.
Any word on when the MJ5 would be available? If it's on the 2014 price list, one might think sometime in 2014.
I liked the feel of the Squier CV the best and the quality of the build was surprisingly good. My wife who has a discriminating ear said its tone was the worst of the three. The high priced Fender 5 had some issues with the B string and the setup guy at this store is very good -- all these display basses were set up very well, so it wasn't exactly a chore trying these out -- playing through an Aguilar system, they know how to bring out the best.
That was the beginning of my conflicted state.
My best option given the coming of an MJ5 may be to wait.
Or go for the LB100. In my state I'm surprised the ones available online just continue to be available, esp the butterscotch one at Rocket Music.
I could afford the LB100 or MJ5 before I could justify a Mike Lull, though I agree it could be an excellent option.
update
researching this more
The mj5 would seem to meet all my requirements/desires
-- the neck and spacing would be identical to the m2500 that suits me
--I can get that thumpy P like tone -- The Ed Friedland video on the MJ4 convinced me of that
-- the room I practice in is subject to some kind of additional electromagnetic interference that causes standard single coil pickups to hum and I like things quiet and these are re-designed noise cancelling pickups so can be used singly
-- I don't have to spend any money now. I just have to wait.
Any word on when the MJ5 would be available? If it's on the 2014 price list, one might think sometime in 2014.
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FYI I tried the Sadowsky flats on my MJ they were just ok. I tried the Stock XL170's that came on It and hated them. I do play the XL170's on the LB and love them on it. I just put a set of Fat Beams on like ED had on his and I am in love. I had considered selling my MJ up until I tried the Dr string and now I can't stop playing it. The 5 string MJ may be my next on.
Here's my Tribute M-2000 which I got a few months back. Its really hard to capture the real colour in a photo, it really is "transparent" black.
Lovely bass this, the neck is fantastic and much comfier for my hands than the L-2000 tributes I tried which were just a bit too chunky. The preamp is incredbily versatile and you can get the full range of boost on each knob without the sound distorting (my last bass would distort well before you reached the maximum level).
My only real complaint is that the output is insanely hot which makes swapping between this and my passive Yamaha a real pain. Although to be honest this bass is so nice that the Yamaha has definitely been relegated to "backup". I think at somepoint I'll try monkeying with the pickup heights a bit to try and tame it slightly.
I'd love to try a USA G&L now. Sadly they're pretty rare over here in the UK.
Lovely bass this, the neck is fantastic and much comfier for my hands than the L-2000 tributes I tried which were just a bit too chunky. The preamp is incredbily versatile and you can get the full range of boost on each knob without the sound distorting (my last bass would distort well before you reached the maximum level).
My only real complaint is that the output is insanely hot which makes swapping between this and my passive Yamaha a real pain. Although to be honest this bass is so nice that the Yamaha has definitely been relegated to "backup". I think at somepoint I'll try monkeying with the pickup heights a bit to try and tame it slightly.
I'd love to try a USA G&L now. Sadly they're pretty rare over here in the UK.
Sweet bass, I really like the flame top with the body binding and black headstock. Lowering the pickups helps but I'm finding that even then I still need to back off the volume. That 18v preamp is hot!
Chef
In Memoriam
Hi All,
I posted this on Rocket Music's page but thought I'd ask here too.
Does anyone have a sound clip of an SB-2 with the tone control added? I'm just curious what it does to the sound.
Also, for anyone who has one of these, how do you use the tone control? Do you max the pups and then back the tone off? Does it do anything weird to the tone if you back it off with the pups not at 100% (since the volume also changes the tone on normal SB-2s)?
Any insight would be helpful.
Thanks!
I posted this on Rocket Music's page but thought I'd ask here too.
Does anyone have a sound clip of an SB-2 with the tone control added? I'm just curious what it does to the sound.
Also, for anyone who has one of these, how do you use the tone control? Do you max the pups and then back the tone off? Does it do anything weird to the tone if you back it off with the pups not at 100% (since the volume also changes the tone on normal SB-2s)?
Any insight would be helpful.
Thanks!
Liking my ASAT very much. Strung with Fender flats it's a punchy beast.
Takes a li'l getting used to the eq and switching. Basically I leave it in passive mode mostly, unless a song requires a Lotta tops for example, the I switch it to active or even active with the Treble boost.
Takes a li'l getting used to the eq and switching. Basically I leave it in passive mode mostly, unless a song requires a Lotta tops for example, the I switch it to active or even active with the Treble boost.
Quick question about the L2000 controls.. want to make sure I am reading correctly.
For the Series/Parallel switch, flipping the switch TOWARDS the headstock is Series mode, correct? Towards the saddle = parallel?
For the Series/Parallel switch, flipping the switch TOWARDS the headstock is Series mode, correct? Towards the saddle = parallel?
For USA models, that's generally correct. However, your ears will tell you - series sounds HUGE and loud and fat, parallel sounds bright and mid-scooped with plenty of bottom, but more clarity and not quite as loud.
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I did a tone pot mod years ago to my mid-90s SB-2 and found that its greatest use, for me anyway, was to tame new strings. Once broken in a little, I basically turned it off unless I needed it. BTW - the mod has long since been removed back to stock.
The tone pot on an SB-2, either from the factory or via mod, is nothing more than a passive treble cut using a 250K pot and a .047mfd cap. It might be called a tone control, but it's the same treble control as found on the L Series. If you've ever messed around with the tone control of a Precision or Jazz, having one on the SB-2 will be pretty similar. The MFD pickups have a lot of midrange bark and the tone control can cut that a little.
The split pickup on an SB-2 does most of the work, from easy going to outright aggressive. The SC bridge adds flavor and can use that flavoring to act, to a certain degree, as a sort of tone affector (It's a word! I just made it up!).
Howzat?
Ken...
