G&L Club Part 7

[woodyng2]

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!!

I'd like to try a kiloton,i think i might like one even more than my lb100.

 

[BassPilot]

I'd like to try a kiloton,i think i might like one even more than my lb100.

I got an LB-100 about 4 months ago and it's my main player - Amazing bass and truly the sound I've always been trying to find in a bass. The Kiloton is also cool but for me the LB-100 is just magnificant meat and potatoes .

 

[woodyng2]

I got an LB-100 about 4 months ago and it's my main player - Amazing bass and truly the sound I've always been trying to find in a bass. The Kiloton is also cool but for me the LB-100 is just magnificant meat and potatoes .

I agree,And i do also really like mine!
But tonally,it does the Precision thing of "blending" a little TOO well,and i find myself gravitating to my JB2,My Rickenbackers,or even my Epiphone Embassy Pro for a bit of aural color to stand out.
Is the Kiloton body shaped any differently to the lb100?

 

[BassPilot]

The Kiloton and SB1/SB2 share the same body style but the LB-100 is a standard P-Bass body style.
I really do like the Kiloton/SB body style.

 

[woodyng2]

The Kiloton and SB1/SB2 share the same body style but the LB-100 is a standard P-Bass body style.
I really do like the Kiloton/SB body style.

Do you know if the kiloton/sb body is any smaller/slimmer than the lb100/P body?
Edit- i've found i prefer the p body to a standard J,but i also really like the much smaller body on the GL JB2 best of all.
2nd edit- I just went onto the GL website,where it said the Kiloton is Leo's most comfortable,contoured body ever.
That is very interesting... i'm also intrigued by the passive MFD pickup,as i stay away from active pickups.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Do you know if the kiloton/sb body is any smaller/slimmer than the lb100/P body?
Edit- i've found i prefer the p body to a standard J,but i also really like the much smaller body on the HB2 best of all.

The LB-100 is not a standard P, but fairly close. The SB is slimmer in the waist than the LB-100 or standard P.

 

[jmlee]

The LB-100 is not a standard P, but fairly close. The SB is slimmer in the waist than the LB-100 or standard P.

That's correct. The SB/Kiloton body is quite a bit slimmer than a standard P—more elegant to my eye and also a bit lighter with the same body wood being used. I quite like my JB-2 since it is essentially a J-bass with a P-body. Much as I love my J-basses, they inherently have a lot of wood in their design (increased weight) and they don't sit right on a Hercules-type floor stand—which is annoying. It's too bad the JB-2 is only available in a Tribute version now, although mine is a Tribby but with Bart pickups in it now.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Any thoughts on swapping the pickup out of an LB-100 for an MFD? My 1994 LB-100 sounds fantastic, but there's a noticeable hum - especially in the studio. I probably need to spend a little time with some copper shielding tape, but there's more hum than I've ever experienced from a standard P pickup that was in good working order. Not at all sing-coil levels, but definitely there.

I have another pickup I can swap in (a Honey Badger, which is nearly every bass I own except my G&Ls), OR I can put in an MFD to make it a little more SB-1ish. Or I could get an a LB-100 pickup from G&L for the same price as the MFD.

 

[jmlee]

Any thoughts on swapping the pickup out of an LB-100 for an MFD? My 1994 LB-100 sounds fantastic, but there's a noticeable hum - especially in the studio. I probably need to spend a little time with some copper shielding tape, but there's more hum than I've ever experienced from a standard P pickup that was in good working order. Not at all sing-coil levels, but definitely there.

I have another pickup I can swap in (a Honey Badger, which is nearly every bass I own except my G&Ls), OR I can put in an MFD to make it a little more SB-1ish. Or I could get an a LB-100 pickup from G&L for the same price as the MFD.

Even with G&L's standard crappy shielding job, my new LB-100 is pretty much dead quiet. I have thought about the MFD switch. The stock LB-100 pickup that I have, on my LB with La Bella DTFs and an Empress body, sounds lovely, warm and woody: a characteristic sound that I associate with the Lindy Fralin pickups I have elsewhere. My Tribby SB-2's MFD split pickup sounds quite different, with more bite and character to it—especially when dimed. It says "G&L" when I hear it. BTW, as an experiment, I bought an SB MFD pickup and put it into an old Yamaha BB300 that I had on the rack, and that pickup character is still there (absent the rest of the SB bass's feature set). That thing's a great-sounding tank of a P-bass now.

 

[TDR1138]

Any thoughts on swapping the pickup out of an LB-100 for an MFD? My 1994 LB-100 sounds fantastic, but there's a noticeable hum - especially in the studio. I probably need to spend a little time with some copper shielding tape, but there's more hum than I've ever experienced from a standard P pickup that was in good working order. Not at all sing-coil levels, but definitely there.

I have another pickup I can swap in (a Honey Badger, which is nearly every bass I own except my G&Ls), OR I can put in an MFD to make it a little more SB-1ish. Or I could get an a LB-100 pickup from G&L for the same price as the MFD.

My house has bad wiring. I've never had a problem where I gig, but I'll get hum at my house, depending on which outlet I use. So I went to town with copper shielding on my '93 LB-100 and it's dead quiet now. (Did my L2k as well, with equally successful results.)

I do love some MFDs, but I think that would change the character of the bass without really addressing the problem.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Even with G&L's standard crappy shielding job, my new LB-100 is pretty much dead quiet. I have thought about the MFD switch. The stock LB-100 pickup that I have, on my LB with La Bella DTFs and an Empress body, sounds lovely, warm and woody: a characteristic sound that I associate with the Lindy Fralin pickups I have elsewhere. My Tribby SB-2's MFD split pickup sounds quite different, with more bite and character to it—especially when dimed. It says "G&L" when I hear it. BTW, as an experiment, I bought an SB MFD pickup and put it into an old Yamaha BB300 that I had on the rack, and that pickup character is still there (absent the rest of the SB bass's feature set). That thing's a great-sounding tank of a P-bass now.

I really love the sound of my LB-100, and likely wouldn't swap the pickup if not for the excessive (for a Pbass) hum issue. In reality, it's not noticeable live, but I do sessions and it's a bummer to have an otherwise great sounding and playing "studio standard styled" bass that gets the stink eye in the studio from unexpected noise. Proper shielding would go along way, I'm sure.

I really wish G&L would do a 5-string version of the SB-1. Then I'd keep the Alnico V in my LB-100 and just get an SB-15 for my MFD fix.

 

[ahbass2500]

I would shield before pickup swap to solve a hum issue. The noise improvement from shielding on my JB5 was insane. As for the 5 string SB-1, find an L5000. I bought one years ago on here and love it. Even with the narrow string spacing.

 

[RocketMusic]

My house has bad wiring. I've never had a problem where I gig, but I'll get hum at my house, depending on which outlet I use. So I went to town with copper shielding on my '93 LB-100 and it's dead quiet now. (Did my L2k as well, with equally successful results.)

View attachment 3352854

I do love some MFDs, but I think that would change the character of the bass without really addressing the problem.

Wow, super job on the shielding! I do that to all of my basses, too.

I've never seen the inside of the pickup cover done before, but why the heck not?!? Just curious - in your experience, does that sufficiently ground the pole pieces? Or do you still do that on underside of the pickup?

I dig the spring standoffs under the pickups, too. Nice touch!

 

[RocketMusic]

Any thoughts on swapping the pickup out of an LB-100 for an MFD? My 1994 LB-100 sounds fantastic, but there's a noticeable hum - especially in the studio. I probably need to spend a little time with some copper shielding tape, but there's more hum than I've ever experienced from a standard P pickup that was in good working order. Not at all sing-coil levels, but definitely there.

I have another pickup I can swap in (a Honey Badger, which is nearly every bass I own except my G&Ls), OR I can put in an MFD to make it a little more SB-1ish. Or I could get an a LB-100 pickup from G&L for the same price as the MFD.

I would definitely try adding some shielding before swapping the pickup. My guess would be that even a different pickup would still exhibit the noise problem if you just did a straight swap. G&L's shielding leaves a bit to be desired (as does the shielding from most manufacturers). That G&L pickup should be dead quiet when better shielding is added, and it sounds really nice.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

It's amazing they still don't shield their instruments under construction.

 

[TDR1138]

Wow, super job on the shielding! I do that to all of my basses, too.

I've never seen the inside of the pickup cover done before, but why the heck not?!? Just curious - in your experience, does that sufficiently ground the pole pieces? Or do you still do that on underside of the pickup?

I dig the spring standoffs under the pickups, too. Nice touch!

Thanks.

The shielding of the cover didn't make a difference I tried with and without. The only thing it did was make the covers tougher to get on or off. I read somewhere that it was a good idea to do that, otherwise you didn't have a complete faraday cage, but really the shielding in the bass and the pickguard is what made the difference. Maybe it would make more of a difference on a true single coil like a Jazz Bass, so I might eventually try it on my J. The bass is an older model, 1993, and the factory Gotoh pickup does have a ground plate on it. The pickups in the picture are actually Fralins, but I ended up putting the Gotohs back in at some point.

The spring standoffs were from the factory. There is a small foam strip in the middle of each to dampen any unwanted vibration.

 

[woodyng2]

The LB-100 is not a standard P, but fairly close. The SB is slimmer in the waist than the LB-100 or standard P.

Very interesting....this is fanning the flames of my GAS,lol.
When i put my lb100 and Jb2 side by side,the jb2's body seems slightly thinner across,and thinner in depth as well.

 

[RocketMusic]

Thanks.

The shielding of the cover didn't make a difference I tried with and without. The only thing it did was make the covers tougher to get on or off. I read somewhere that it was a good idea to do that, otherwise you didn't have a complete faraday cage, but really the shielding in the bass and the pickguard is what made the difference. Maybe it would make more of a difference on a true single coil like a Jazz Bass, so I might eventually try it on my J. The bass is an older model, 1993, and the factory Gotoh pickup does have a ground plate on it. The pickups in the picture are actually Fralins, but I ended up putting the Gotohs back in at some point.

The spring standoffs were from the factory. There is a small foam strip in the middle of each to dampen any unwanted vibration.

My understanding has always been that a bit of capacitance develops between the back of the pickup and the bottom of the pickup cavity when those two things are not shorted together. I'm guessing there's a 1/(R^2) sort of thing going on that mitigates the effect on the topside of the pickup? Who knows. So I do the foil thing in all the cavities and on the back of the pickup, and then I also usually run a wire from the ground terminal on the pickup to the foil tape on the back of the pickup, and then another wire from the pickup tape to the tape in the pickup cavity. That creates a short (circuit) which is... short (lengthwise). I'm waiting for the day that I create a ground loop, but so far so good.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I would definitely try adding some shielding before swapping the pickup. My guess would be that even a different pickup would still exhibit the noise problem if you just did a straight swap. G&L's shielding leaves a bit to be desired (as does the shielding from most manufacturers). That G&L pickup should be dead quiet when better shielding is added, and it sounds really nice.

I've used a special nickel EMI shielding paint for many years in many other basses with good success, and I've also gone so far as to solder the overlapping joints in copper tape in some basses. I've just been too lazy to do the same on the LB-100, but I've got to do it soon as it's going to have a busy April with several album projects between Colorado and home.

Ungrounded shielding on the pickup cover or pickguard does create a capacitor with the shielding in the pickup cavity, which in turn crackles and pops as you touch the plastic on the other side. You can't just rely on a mechanical connection of foil under a pickguard - you really need a solid electrical connection to make it work.

 

[rust_preacher]

People frown on my aluminum tape I buy from a cheap auto parts outlet, but it works, and you don't need to worry about connections over the gluing, as it conducts very well across strips if they just overlap. Much cheaper than copper shielding tape and just as effective.