G&L Club Part 7

[armyadarkness]

Soooo... @bonin in the boneyard ... For some unknown reason, "Time Passages" from Al Stewart was stuck in my head this morn, so I plugged it into Amazon Music... After an hour or so, I started hearing some wicked cool SKA. Went over to the PC and checked it out. The name of the band is Authority Zero.

Holy dynamics Batman. SKA, Thrash, Punk, Acoustic... Some Breaking Benjamin, with a little Rancid, sprinkled with Sublime, ans topped of with a weird Pixies vibe. All of the tunes sound completely different. Very refreshing and surprises around every corner.

Here are two that stuck out.



Like the bass in this one

 

[XXL]

I'm there. While I still have my old Ampeg fridge and these days power is not a Blueline SVT but a Mesa D-180 biased with 6550's I freakin' love my Musicman 2x12x6. I Never should have sold the second one to Brad (bdgotoh). Watch out for him he's sneaky as he got my old V4B as well. Sometimes I reminisce that the fridge should have been an 8x12 but then I'd be in a wheelchair although at 90 lbs the Musicman is a hefty lift. Two of those suckers eat a fridge like an L2Ke eats...everything.

90 pounds for a 2x12! I was hoping to find one that sounds good and doesn't weigh quite that much.
I really want to get a D-180! Maybe run stereo with the Buster and 180 using the new Mesa pedal that combines to heads into one cab with no issues.

 

[craigb]

Any of you folks have a JB-2?

I took my new Tribute version out to my big band rehearsal last night to play three tunes that required something like that. I was surprised how little bottom end it had in a real world situation. I was able to EQ it into something that I was happy with (very defined, mid-forward, articulate sound) but it took more than I'd expected.

My Guild Pilot was like that and I added bass and treble EQ by replacing the passive tone with a stacked BQC control. That made a huge difference. However, the Pilot has active pickups. I like the idea of the JB-2 being a passive J-bass in a nicer body package and I'd rather not go down the preamp road.

Anybody have some experience that might give me some guidance re: whether what I'm getting is normal?

I've still got my latest Trib JB2. It's definitely a different beast than my L1Ks, and a different flavor.

I almost never take my amps off flat, but with a JB2 I do -- I boost the bass and mids a bit and drop the treble a bit. And I'm almost always running the pickups in series. The come in parallel with two volumes, but I either wire in series all the time or add a push-pull pot. That gives a lot bigger low end, more mids, and tames the treble some. A pickup swap can do wonders (I like DiMarzio Model Js in series) but I suggest wiring it in series first to see how that does.

I actually think the JB2 (in series) can have a deeper voice than an SB2 or an MFD in parallel or single coil, but it's got less mids so it's more scooped until you start doing series, or EQing to fix it. Oh yeah, and in my world when not in series the neck pickup is full and the bridge is rolled off some -- that opens up the sound and gives a voice I like much better than equal volumes or bridge favored. YMMV

 

[red7flag]

The last bass I bought was a Fender American Elite J bass. I bought it from Sweetwater and it came with frets sharp enough to cut your skin. That the top of the line 2k bass came in that condition from the factory and that Sweetwater did not correct the problem before shipping out (in spite of their suppossed 50 point check) was to me inexcusable. Yes, it did not cost me much to have my local music store finish the frets, but still... So neither Fender or Sweetwater were going to be considered when I decided to go for a P-style bass. I scoured the internet in general and the TB site. At this point, I became aware of G&L. I can say, had I known about them before the Fender AEJB, I would now have a G&L JB instead. I am now half way in the projected 6 week waiting period for my new JB-100 (Candy Apple Red Metallic, tortoise pickguard, 7 neck, 9.5 radius, rosewood fb). I am really excited. I read this thread every day and get excited about other G&Ls, Kiloton,
L-2000, SB-1, M-2000. But, given the two basses I have, the Fender AEJB and Lakland long scale Hollowbody, the LB-100 is a perfect compliment to them. Hopefully no more than three weeks to go, but I know how these special orders go...

 

[Band Mom]

Soooo... @bonin in the boneyard ... For some unknown reason, "Time Passages" from Al Stewart was stuck in my head this morn, so I plugged it into Amazon Music... After an hour or so, I started hearing some wicked cool SKA. Went over to the PC and checked it out. The name of the band is Authority Zero.

Holy dynamics Batman. SKA, Thrash, Punk, Acoustic... Some Breaking Benjamin, with a little Rancid, sprinkled with Sublime, ans topped of with a weird Pixies vibe. All of the tunes sound completely different. Very refreshing and surprises around every corner.

Here are two that stuck out.



Like the bass in this one

Oh, yeah! I love that band. I remember them having a couple of radio hits back during the pop punk popularity in the early 2000s, but they kind of faded away once the pop punk thing was done. Much like the Deftones in nu-metal, I always thought that they were much better than the genre they were associated with, and was disappointed that the death of those fads also impacted these much better bands.

And that bassist is a beast. I loved listening to it even before the days of my full commitment to being a bassist.

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

Soooo... @bonin in the boneyard ... For some unknown reason, "Time Passages" from Al Stewart was stuck in my head this morn, so I plugged it into Amazon Music... After an hour or so, I started hearing some wicked cool SKA. Went over to the PC and checked it out. The name of the band is Authority Zero.

Holy dynamics Batman. SKA, Thrash, Punk, Acoustic... Some Breaking Benjamin, with a little Rancid, sprinkled with Sublime, ans topped of with a weird Pixies vibe. All of the tunes sound completely different. Very refreshing and surprises around every corner.

Here are two that stuck out.



Like the bass in this one

Good stuff!

Echoing a bit of what Band Mom said, it's always tough for bands that cross genres. And tougher still when a band's genre is on the wan popularity wise.

 

[armyadarkness]

I've still got my latest Trib JB2. It's definitely a different beast than my L1Ks, and a different flavor.

I almost never take my amps off flat, but with a JB2 I do -- I boost the bass and mids a bit and drop the treble a bit. And I'm almost always running the pickups in series. The come in parallel with two volumes, but I either wire in series all the time or add a push-pull pot. That gives a lot bigger low end, more mids, and tames the treble some. A pickup swap can do wonders (I like DiMarzio Model Js in series) but I suggest wiring it in series first to see how that does.

I actually think the JB2 (in series) can have a deeper voice than an SB2 or an MFD in parallel or single coil, but it's got less mids so it's more scooped until you start doing series, or EQing to fix it. Oh yeah, and in my world when not in series the neck pickup is full and the bridge is rolled off some -- that opens up the sound and gives a voice I like much better than equal volumes or bridge favored. YMMV

@craigb One of my favorite mad scientists!

 

[armyadarkness]

The last bass I bought was a Fender American Elite J bass. I bought it from Sweetwater and it came with frets sharp enough to cut your skin. That the top of the line 2k bass came in that condition from the factory and that Sweetwater did not correct the problem before shipping out (in spite of their suppossed 50 point check) was to me inexcusable. Yes, it did not cost me much to have my local music store finish the frets, but still... So neither Fender or Sweetwater were going to be considered when I decided to go for a P-style bass. I scoured the internet in general and the TB site. At this point, I became aware of G&L. I can say, had I known about them before the Fender AEJB, I would now have a G&L JB instead. I am now half way in the projected 6 week waiting period for my new JB-100 (Candy Apple Red Metallic, tortoise pickguard, 7 neck, 9.5 radius, rosewood fb). I am really excited. I read this thread every day and get excited about other G&Ls, Kiloton,
L-2000, SB-1, M-2000. But, given the two basses I have, the Fender AEJB and Lakland long scale Hollowbody, the LB-100 is a perfect compliment to them. Hopefully no more than three weeks to go, but I know how these special orders go...

#7 neck on a J? Your stock is rising Number Two. I like the cut of your Jib Mister! Well my Kilo came in less then 4 weeks, so, I'm sure you'll be soon. Happy to have you here, now go and grab yourself one of each!

 

[armyadarkness]

Oh, yeah! I love that band. I remember them having a couple of radio hits back during the pop punk popularity in the early 2000s, but they kind of faded away once the pop punk thing was done. Much like the Deftones in nu-metal, I always thought that they were much better than the genre they were associated with, and was disappointed that the death of those fads also impacted these much better bands.

And that bassist is a beast. I loved listening to it even before the days of my full commitment to being a bassist.

Your street cred is high with me, so after that endorsement, I'll be thoroughly exploring their catalog! Amazon Music is pretty cool. Has the bass player done anything else?

 

[armyadarkness]

Well we're on page 501...

 

[TDR1138]

#7 neck on a J? Your stock is rising Number Two. I like the cut of your Jib Mister! Well my Kilo came in less then 4 weeks, so, I'm sure you'll be soon. Happy to have you here, now go and grab yourself one of each!

Pretty sure he meant LB-100, but it's nice to know that there's a space in that heart of yours for some J love.

 

[TonyP-]

I have a Tribby JB-2 as well, and yeah, I brought it to practice once (high gain rock band) and it went straight to clankville. Like you, I fiddled with EQ and the tone knob enough to get a passable sound, but nowhere in the ballpark of my other basses. That said, most of my other basses are double buckers, so it's not all that surprising.

I use it now as my home-only slap practice bass, which it does much better than my otheHer basses. I don't really have a need for slap in my current project, but it's fun to learn.

You JB-2 folks who find them thin sounding might want to check out Dimarzio model J pickups...They IMHO are the thickest J pickups that still sound like a J bass.

Here is tune with the bass that has those pickups (warmoth J) flat in passive mode (although I like the Nordstrand Preamp with these pickups).

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

You JB-2 folks who find them thin sounding might want to check out Dimarzio model J pickups...They IMHO are the thickest J pickups that still sound like a J bass.

Here is tune with the bass that has those pickups (warmoth J) flat in passive mode (although I like the Nordstrand Preamp with these pickups).

I wonder about split-coil J pickups.

I've mentioned I have Warwick that feels and plays amazing, but manages to sound both wimpy and harsh at the same time. I've been considering droping something like Fralin +5% splits in there.

I dig this groove, btw!

 

[TDR1138]

I had the Model Js at one point I a J build. Thicker than a normal J, yes. Hot, yes. But I found them very lacking in character. And I tried them a number of ways - series and parallel for both the individual pickups themselves and between the two pickups as well. Just always felt they they sounded bland. Plus they're pretty tall, and I couldn't get them low enough that they didn't tend to overdrive (or fart out, really) a bit when I'd dig in. Just my experience.

But I will say that DiMarzio's customer service is top notch. They were responsive with requests for wiring info and they also sell chrome slugs for these that you can swap in for a little more traditional look.

 

[armyadarkness]

Pretty sure he meant LB-100, but it's nice to know that there's a space in that heart of yours for some J love.

You wrecked it! Yes. I will never deny that I love @Mammoth_Bass and @guy n. cognito J's

 

[armyadarkness]

You JB-2 folks who find them thin sounding might want to check out Dimarzio model J pickups...They IMHO are the thickest J pickups that still sound like a J bass.

Here is tune with the bass that has those pickups (warmoth J) flat in passive mode (although I like the Nordstrand Preamp with these pickups).

Yummy... Nordstrand can even make a Briggs and Stratton sound sweet!

 

[BassPilot]

I had the Model Js at one point I a J build. Thicker than a normal J, yes. Hot, yes. But I found them very lacking in character. And I tried them a number of ways - series and parallel for both the individual pickups themselves and between the two pickups as well. Just always felt they they sounded bland. Plus they're pretty tall, and I couldn't get them low enough that they didn't tend to overdrive (or fart out, really) a bit when I'd dig in. Just my experience.

But I will say that DiMarzio's customer service is top notch. They were responsive with requests for wiring info and they also sell chrome slugs for these that you can swap in for a little more traditional look.

I had a set of Dimarzio Model J's in a Squier VM Jazz. They were really big and bold - BOOM!
I got a set of Dimarzio Area J's and, to me, these sound much more like a jazz bass and just what I was looking for.
I think it's great that we can get multiple people in a conversation and each one has their own and differing opinion. There is NO one size fits all!

 

[armyadarkness]

I think it's great that we can get multiple people in a conversation and each one has their own and differing opinion.

Usually. But don't say that too loud, they still burn witches in these parts! Just saying J can get you sold to a gladiator school! lol

 

[TonyP-]

I wonder about split-coil J pickups.

I've mentioned I have Warwick that feels and plays amazing, but manages to sound both wimpy and harsh at the same time. I've been considering droping something like Fralin +5% splits in there.

I dig this groove, btw!

Thank You BITB
It's not a tone I wrote and I was not uber thrilled, but I appreciate it.

BYW Carey does an overwound pickup called the El' Camino (not on site) it's %4 overwound basicially in J style...That might be an option.

 

[jmlee]

I've still got my latest Trib JB2. It's definitely a different beast than my L1Ks, and a different flavor.

I almost never take my amps off flat, but with a JB2 I do -- I boost the bass and mids a bit and drop the treble a bit. And I'm almost always running the pickups in series. The come in parallel with two volumes, but I either wire in series all the time or add a push-pull pot. That gives a lot bigger low end, more mids, and tames the treble some. A pickup swap can do wonders (I like DiMarzio Model Js in series) but I suggest wiring it in series first to see how that does.

I actually think the JB2 (in series) can have a deeper voice than an SB2 or an MFD in parallel or single coil, but it's got less mids so it's more scooped until you start doing series, or EQing to fix it. Oh yeah, and in my world when not in series the neck pickup is full and the bridge is rolled off some -- that opens up the sound and gives a voice I like much better than equal volumes or bridge favored. YMMV

OK, that's a very helpful suggestion and easy to implement. I'll give the series configuration a go. Thanks! [My previous soldering burns have just about healed up...]

I'm not liking the idea of doing a pickup swap since the clarity and overall character of these pickups is very good. I do like having the JB-2, though. I find that I very much like not having to put up with a heavy, oddly shaped J body to get a couple of single coil pickups which sound typisch. At rehearsal last night, I put the JB-2 down on its little Hercules stand while I played upright and it sat there very nicely—unlike my main "real" J which has that dopey body offset, or worse yet my Pilot which takes that bad idea and makes it worse!