Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
That's a beautiful finish (I have a cherryburst L-2500)!
Did some work on my JB5 today. Posting info here for anyone considering the same. Today was shielding, new factory pick guard (stock one was scratched up) and Nordstrand NJ5F 60s wind with Alnico III Magnets (they are usually made with Alnico V). I installed a John East J-Tone preamp a little over a week ago.
General observations.
Shielding: If you own a JB either shield it or buy a shielded pre. I have no idea how people stand hum that is easily eliminated and I wish G&L would spray some shielding paint in there at the factory but they do not. Prior to shielding and the J-Tone pre, I had a Richter shielded PCB passive preamp installed and the noise was significantly reduced. Shameless plug, the Richter is for sale in the classifieds currently. Note the hum I am referring to here is not 60 cycle hum. That is still present, but less noticeable since it is not more hum on top of hum.
J-Tone: If you like the passive tone of your JB/JB5, but think you would use active then get the J-Tone. Passive circuit sounds like stock when you have the correct tone cap installed. Active mode with EQ flat sounds exactly like passive mode. EQ is extremely flexible. I did not like the factory active settings, but after dialing in the bass and treble voicing I am happy. With the ability to dial in voicing and 4 passive tone caps, you have to spend some time getting things dialed in. It is easy to adjust and insanely flexible. The J-Tone installs with no modification to your bass (other than desoldering your pickups from the factory harness).
Nordstrand NJ5FA3 pickups: I wanted to add some warmth to my JB5 and these did it. After watching a video posted by another Talkbass member and discussing via PM, the Alnico V NJ5Fs sound nearly identical to the stock pickups. Since I wanted close to stock with some added warmth, I figured the NJ5FA3s would be for me. I ended up finding a video with Andy Irvine playing them in his JB. Liked the tone in the video and decided to try them. I would describe the sound in more detail here, but Nordstrand pretty much nails it. From their website
I was happy with the JB5 in the factory configuration (except for the lack of shielding). I like it even better now. Shielding killed the noise. J-Tone adds flexibility while maintaining passive jazz bass tone. Nordstrand pickups warmed things up a bit (more in line with my personal preferences).
General observations.
Shielding: If you own a JB either shield it or buy a shielded pre. I have no idea how people stand hum that is easily eliminated and I wish G&L would spray some shielding paint in there at the factory but they do not. Prior to shielding and the J-Tone pre, I had a Richter shielded PCB passive preamp installed and the noise was significantly reduced. Shameless plug, the Richter is for sale in the classifieds currently. Note the hum I am referring to here is not 60 cycle hum. That is still present, but less noticeable since it is not more hum on top of hum.
J-Tone: If you like the passive tone of your JB/JB5, but think you would use active then get the J-Tone. Passive circuit sounds like stock when you have the correct tone cap installed. Active mode with EQ flat sounds exactly like passive mode. EQ is extremely flexible. I did not like the factory active settings, but after dialing in the bass and treble voicing I am happy. With the ability to dial in voicing and 4 passive tone caps, you have to spend some time getting things dialed in. It is easy to adjust and insanely flexible. The J-Tone installs with no modification to your bass (other than desoldering your pickups from the factory harness).
Nordstrand NJ5FA3 pickups: I wanted to add some warmth to my JB5 and these did it. After watching a video posted by another Talkbass member and discussing via PM, the Alnico V NJ5Fs sound nearly identical to the stock pickups. Since I wanted close to stock with some added warmth, I figured the NJ5FA3s would be for me. I ended up finding a video with Andy Irvine playing them in his JB. Liked the tone in the video and decided to try them. I would describe the sound in more detail here, but Nordstrand pretty much nails it. From their website
"Alnico III magnets differ from Alnico V in that they are warmer with a softer character. Think of them like a 60's J style sound taken even further down the warm and fat path. Alnico V by contrast is brighter, cleaner and punchier, and will have a more wiry, stringy character. As another example, we'd recommend A3 for fretless or a fat 60's Jaco type thing and A5 is great for a modern slap type thing or an R and B sound."
I was happy with the JB5 in the factory configuration (except for the lack of shielding). I like it even better now. Shielding killed the noise. J-Tone adds flexibility while maintaining passive jazz bass tone. Nordstrand pickups warmed things up a bit (more in line with my personal preferences).
Last edited:
Have you guys seen this before? I really think a pickguard and control plate would take the ASAT bass to the next level of coolness!
It may have gotten done by Godin.
I feel very fortunate that it was in stock at a local privately owned music store. Wow does this bass have ba__z when recording! I love the neck. Very easy to play with my modest sized ( not large lol) hands
Question for LB-100 owners : Are the pickup pole pieces exposed on the underside? I noticed recently that my most comfortable playing position has me touching the pole piece sometimes when playing on the E string, creating a static pop. I'm trying to see if it's worth it getting it all taken apart to ground the magnets as a permanent solution or if I should go with tape or some kind of lacquer on the top side.
Sounds to me as if your pickups are too high. (Or could be right-hand technique.)
If you like the overdriven tone you get from having the pole pieces very close to the strings, then the easiest solution to the "pop" is to apply clear fingernail polish sparingly to each pole piece. That should fix it.
Pickup height should be close to stock: The top-of-pole-piece-to-bottom-of-E-string-gap is about 5mm. I don't have a heavy hand and play with fingertips only. I really have to "mean it" to make the pickup bark, but I like to have that option so I'd rather not mess with pickup height.
It could indeed be a technique issue...the problem for me lies in the fact that the sweet spot in terms of the sound I prefer is when I'm playing right over the pickup (which kind of makes sense I suppose). I tried moving my right hand slightly towards the neck or towards the bridge, and while it solves the problem it doesn't sound or feel right to me. The pop happens only occasionally, but I'd rather not have to worry about it.
Thanks for the suggestion of fingernail polish, I'll give that a try next time I change my strings (tried electrical tape yesterday, which works but looks terrible).
Still, if anyone has taken apart his/her LB-100, I'd like to know what the bottom side of the pickup looks like (couldn't find a proper picture of the stock alnico pickup). If the magnets are accessible from the bottom I'll do the whole copper foil / ground wire mod to tie them to ground.
I'm not seeing any aged finishes on there. Am I not looking in the right place?
There are a lot of pictures on that page. Have you been through all of them?
If you click on a pic you'll get a description of the instrument typically with a description of the finish.
If you don't find one there I can't be of further help. Try calling G&L.
And on the Kiloton, yeah, it's a freaking COOL instrument. I really like mine through my GK 700RBii into a Bergantino AE410 (or any of my Bergantino cabinets). It's a MONSTA!!
If you click on a pic you'll get a description of the instrument typically with a description of the finish.
If you don't find one there I can't be of further help. Try calling G&L.
And on the Kiloton, yeah, it's a freaking COOL instrument. I really like mine through my GK 700RBii into a Bergantino AE410 (or any of my Bergantino cabinets). It's a MONSTA!!
