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Curious to know if there was two different batches of JB-2 pickups that sounded differently...
John
John
Not if you're going to molest a gorgeous ASAT with a pickguard.
Leo is turning in his bass case.Or flip flopping. It's officially Darkstar Tuesday. Which shall succumb to the Dremel? I can be such a Hamm on this.
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No.
No. No. No.
Do not molest either of those basses.
Better yet, send me the Darkstar so you are no longer tempted.
My vote is for the natural finish 2k. I think it will show off the chrome of the Darkstars ring betterNot if you're going to molest a gorgeous ASAT with a pickguard.
Or flip flopping. It's officially Darkstar Tuesday. Which shall succumb to the Dremel? I can be such a Hamm on this.
It's only a matter which of that younger pair jumps first. Both fretted and fretless will be assimilated.
The burning question is which shall be a Hamm and which shall have No Curtisy.
No worries, they have backup- mom and dad have already signed the consent form.
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Then I'd start with the blue, since it's a bit of a mutt anyway.
But again, I'd happily remove the temptation for you.
Mutt? Who you callin' MUTT?
My 1st Gen SB2 is modeling Bloozie's neck at the moment. I'm anticipating the Dark-starred pair could replace my 1st Gen fretted SB pair and if so they'll go on the block. Then maybe I'll boot the fretless neck to my decapitated El Toro. Converting the blue first would allow auditioning the Darkstar both fretted and fretless. The white whale SB-2 pictured here is the infamous "John Paul Jones" one that Chef sold.
That's a very good question, and one that I've asked before but never got an answer. Never bothered to put a meter on any of them, but I'm of the opinion that there were very noticeable (almost drastic) tonal differences between some USA JB-2 pups. Having owned 9 USA JB-2's (big fan here), ranging in build dates from 2001 (first year) to 2012 and dates in between, I've noticed what seem to be two distinct pickup types....
Type 1) Very bright with nice sparkly hi freqs, along with well represented lows and mids. To me, these are "the good ones". To others, these may seem a bit harsh...I've read the word "gak" used at times. I prefer the term "lively". Good presence and musical sounding (at least for my tastes).
Type 2) Not so bright, no sparkle. Kinda bland sounding and one-dimensional. My JB-2's with these pickups were nice basses but kinda "meh" sound-wise. I noticed that these pups were also a bit less microphonic.
Finding examples of both pickup types on JB-2 basses with various combinations of alder and ash bodies, maple and rosewood boards, I'm fairly sure we can rule out any tonal influence from the different wood types as being the contributing factor here.
G&L is known for winding their pickups in-house, right? I wonder if that's always been the case with the JB-2, or if after-market pups may have been factory installed at any time during the JB-2's lifespan? Curious about why these pickups can sound so wildly different.
(no clue about Tribute JB-2 pickups)
I think either type could be EQ'd to sound like the Tribute demo, with roundwound strings.
I use flats on mine (TI's and La Bella's), so the livelier pickups work best for me. I like their extra level of brightness. YMMV
Hi everyone.
Could one of you L2500-owning chaps measure the length of the L2500 humbucking pickup for me?
Thanks in advance,
Jake.
Could one of you L2500-owning chaps measure the length of the L2500 humbucking pickup for me?
Thanks in advance,
Jake.
IvanBassist
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- Jun 8, 2008
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Just for reference, I recorded the intro song using the DI of my Mesa WD-800. The amp was set flat, but also set to POST-EQ to get some of the preamp tube vibe going. All the sound examples were recording using an RNDI and just a bit of compression to even things out
Thanks Ivan. To me it sounds a lot like the live sound I get from my Tribby JB-2, too. I like it. Really dig all your demos too.
Going back to the Trib, I guess I'm just trying to find out if this is the sound people get before they want to change their pickups or feel that the pickups are "weak" in these basses. If so, we have a different view on j pickups. To me what you posted sounds great, especially for j style basses. I've often been underwhelmed by the fatness of j basses. I tend to lose them in the mix. I don't lose my Trib in the mix.
But you know, everyone's opinion is different and worthwhile.
John
No, Ivan's sound in his demo is very good, and also very different from the sound offered by the stock pickups in my one Tribby JB-2. I've had lots of J-basses over the years and many pickup varieties. Those particular pickups had very low output even when raised to maximum and what I'd describe as an insipid, bland character. Since that bass was otherwise excellent value for money and an interesting design I spent some capital and replaced the pickups with Bart Classics. The difference was dramatic and satisfying. I'd also mention again here that the pickups on my Tribby JB-2 were identical in size at neck and bridge while the contemporary pickups in the US version were different in size. Again, these cannot have been the same pickups. Since Ivan's pickups seem to have a much better character than mine, it seems to me that there's been some change in sourcing during the intervening time.
Ooooo! Finally an au currant JB-2 discussion! My first G&L was a Tribby JB-2. I eventually put DiMarzio Model J's into it (NOTE: The pickups are the same size, unlike the USA version, or American Standard Jazz bass).
My two Yankee JB-2s are a study in contrasts. The QMT-over-alder has DiMarzio Model J's, and the swamp ash one has DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups. I had also experimented with Quarter Pounders in both, but enjoyed having no buzz, in any situation. The JB-2 model is not an archetype, like a P, J, or 'Ray, so I do not feel bad at all about my mods. Changing out an MFD pickup is an anathema, but that is not an issue at all, with a JB-2 of any kind.
Both of my USA JB-2s were in heavy rotation during a period of heavy variety band gigging, 2009-2015. I'm only a short-term project kinda guy, these days, largely by virtue of not quite being old enough for the senior citizen circuit, but feeling a bit beyond my prime hot spot gigging era. When the right project and I can connect, there will be gigs again. I'm cool with that. A most effective partner to the JB-2 in a variety band is a pedal preamp with multiple tones available at the stomp of a foot. Between the pedal and the classic J controls, I could get whatever sound was needed for the material.
My USA JB is left bone stock. It's perfect; 1964 holy grail tone. It's great for those occasions when only a vintage J-bass will do, either sonically or visually. The pedal preamp is also very effective with it, too. With a tuner at my feet, and AC power for it, I never worry about a battery loss, when gigging.
My two Yankee JB-2s are a study in contrasts. The QMT-over-alder has DiMarzio Model J's, and the swamp ash one has DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups. I had also experimented with Quarter Pounders in both, but enjoyed having no buzz, in any situation. The JB-2 model is not an archetype, like a P, J, or 'Ray, so I do not feel bad at all about my mods. Changing out an MFD pickup is an anathema, but that is not an issue at all, with a JB-2 of any kind.
Both of my USA JB-2s were in heavy rotation during a period of heavy variety band gigging, 2009-2015. I'm only a short-term project kinda guy, these days, largely by virtue of not quite being old enough for the senior citizen circuit, but feeling a bit beyond my prime hot spot gigging era. When the right project and I can connect, there will be gigs again. I'm cool with that. A most effective partner to the JB-2 in a variety band is a pedal preamp with multiple tones available at the stomp of a foot. Between the pedal and the classic J controls, I could get whatever sound was needed for the material.
My USA JB is left bone stock. It's perfect; 1964 holy grail tone. It's great for those occasions when only a vintage J-bass will do, either sonically or visually. The pedal preamp is also very effective with it, too. With a tuner at my feet, and AC power for it, I never worry about a battery loss, when gigging.
Hello Plankspanker13. Do you have some JB-2 bass porn? Don't think I've seen one with QMT.
Thanks!
John
Thanks!
John
