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High-res photos of the upcoming Fallout Bass 
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IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,757
- 11,170
- Disclosures
- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
Hey guys, I just did a demo on this JB tribute bass. It's probably one of the coolest sounding single coil Js I've played or heard.
What do you think?
What do you think?
Check out the L1K from last night. Love this bass!
I am happy with mine. The only thing I did not like about the bass when I got it was the lack of shielding. Easily remedied with a roll of copper tape and an hour or so. Electronics were noisy prior to shielding.
I find the low B solid on it. That said I have never owned a bass that I thought had a weak low B to me so maybe I have a poor frame of reference?
I ended up swapping electronics in mine. I was happy with the stock setup, but put in a John East J tone to gain active/passive. Swapped in Nordstrand 60s wind Alnico III pickups while I was in there to mellow things out a little. Pickups and pre were purely personal preference items and not at all necessary swaps. Stock setup had a good J sound. I now have a more flexible J sound.
I find the low B solid on it. That said I have never owned a bass that I thought had a weak low B to me so maybe I have a poor frame of reference?
I ended up swapping electronics in mine. I was happy with the stock setup, but put in a John East J tone to gain active/passive. Swapped in Nordstrand 60s wind Alnico III pickups while I was in there to mellow things out a little. Pickups and pre were purely personal preference items and not at all necessary swaps. Stock setup had a good J sound. I now have a more flexible J sound.
Very nice demo and a great-sounding Tribby bass.
That's a really odd sunburst, though, don't you think?
I notice it even more on the back when you flipped the bass around than the front.. It's more discrete black/red/yellow without much feathering of the one colour into the next colour. Not typical of G&L's usually-superb bursts—although at least on this Tribute they did burst both the front and back rather than leaving the back black.
IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,757
- 11,170
- Disclosures
- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
Thanks! I'm usually not a sunburst fan, but I like this oneVery nice demo and a great-sounding Tribby bass.
That's a really odd sunburst, though, don't you think?
I notice it even more on the back when you flipped the bass around than the front.. It's more discrete black/red/yellow without much feathering of the one colour into the next colour. Not typical of G&L's usually-superb bursts—although at least on this Tribute they did burst both the front and back rather than leaving the back black.
While I do agree that the blending could be better, I'm a huge sunburst fan so I love it regardless. 
Actually, I also think that the combination of the burst with the maple fretboard and the black pickguard and blocks makes it look even better and gives it kind of a 70's vibe. It's a beautiful bass!
Actually, I also think that the combination of the burst with the maple fretboard and the black pickguard and blocks makes it look even better and gives it kind of a 70's vibe. It's a beautiful bass!
SB2 - Just how good are these?
I recently bought a JB2 (with the 6-bolt neck); the price was right and I was going to mod it into a P/J
It's too nice a bass too modify!!
Since I want P (or PJ style) with a 1 1/2" nut, the choices are SB2 or LB100 with a special order 1 1/2" neck.
Thye SB2 only comes with a 4-bolt neck mount.
Any issues with these?
I come from the land of 70's Fender's with ski jump necks at the body mount and would like to stay away from that problem
TIA
I recently bought a JB2 (with the 6-bolt neck); the price was right and I was going to mod it into a P/J
It's too nice a bass too modify!!
Since I want P (or PJ style) with a 1 1/2" nut, the choices are SB2 or LB100 with a special order 1 1/2" neck.
Thye SB2 only comes with a 4-bolt neck mount.
Any issues with these?
I come from the land of 70's Fender's with ski jump necks at the body mount and would like to stay away from that problem
TIA
I had an American SB-2 and I'm pretty sure it had a 6-bolt neck mount. Also, it came stock with the wonderful G&L 1.5" nut and "C" shaped neck. This combined with the SB-2 body shape and you get an excellent feeling and playing instrument. I just never gelled with the MFD pickups. I have an American Kiloton and I'm still trying to make it work for me. I traded the SB-2 for a JB with an Empress body....Wow!
I ordered an LB-100 with that same neck - BEST P I've ever played!
Between the JB and LB-100 I don't find myself wanting for any other instruments. Feels kinda weird
.
I thought the SB2 was a 6 bolt. Maybe they updated it. That said, I have a 3 bolt (L5000), 6 bolt (L2500), and 4 bolt (JB5). No issues for me in any of them. Been around G&Ls for awhile and the only one I have ever heard issues out of is 3 bolt and I think more of that was people fearing 3 bolt issues (thanks to Fender) than actual 3 bolt issues. I have played several of the them and have yet to play one with issues.
They're amazing, but not for everyone.
Have you played any G&Ls with the MFD pickups before? They're a different animal. For me they're pretty much all I play anymore: an L2k, an SB-1, an SB-2, and a Kiloton on the way. But the JB and the LB have alnico pickups, so they won't really give you an idea of what any of the MFD-loaded basses are like.
So try before you buy. Or get a tribute model.
Re: neck bolts, my 2017 SB-2 has six bolts, as does my L2k tribute. My SB-1 is from the 80s and has seen a LOT of use (the frets are practically inlays now), but the neck is dead straight and stable with a three-bolt mount.
Are you talking Tribute? Because I believe American is 6-bolt now.
I had a 4-bolt Tribute SB-2 for years, and I was pretty hard on that bass, too, and never had an issue.
The only G&L neck I have had an issue with (out of about 14, mix of US and Tribute, guitar and bass) was on my '93 LB-100, which is a 3-bolt. A prior owner had cranked the neck tilt screw down so hard that it pushed the metal contact plate into the base of the neck, slightly cracking it at the heel. Didn't look like much, but made the heel of the neck twist and ramp on the lower strings. Had to do a little surgery to get it out, but it's a great player now. Point is that the only issue I've run across was due to human error.
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Really nice. I love mine.
Here is a great video review by a fellow TBer. It's a Trib, but the Tribs sound just like the Americans.
John
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Sorry to not be clear.
The current Tribute SB2 has a 4-bolt neck as does the Tribute JB-1.
From what I can tell, the JB-2 is the same bass without a pickguard and front mounted controls but it comes with a 6-bolt neck. Go figure.
I didn't realize they made a LB100 as a Tribute and the ones on Reverb show 6-bolt too.
Sounds like the number of bolts makes no differernce in the stability of the neck.
So let me stir things up a bit.
The US models with Empress wood now get into boutique weights.
Is 7.5 lbs too light (neck dive) and, assuming you don't believe too heavily in tone woods, does it work out OK as a material to build a bass body?
