G&L Club Part 7

[dwellers]

Family picture. Kiloton newest member. Greg at Rocket is the best.

That's a beauty. The grain through the clear finish is very striking. Is that swamp ash?

How do you like the SB-2 with the tone control? I've been thinking of one but can't decide if the tone control is necessary.

Finally, I know that the Kiloton, SB bodies are the same and quite different than the M and L bodies. Is the JB body more akin to the SB body, albeit with the Jazz Bass asymmetric look to it? Or is it more like the M and L bodies?

Thanks and congrats on the new bass! If you haven't had a Kiloton before, I think you'll love it. I loved mine so much I had to get it a brother!

 

[jmlee]

I little while back (bored with COVID isolation), I A/B'ed the pickup in my LB-100 against those in my other P-type basses. I was not impressed; the pickup seemed relatively low in output (at equivalent height) and a bit bland. I decided to order a Lindy Fralin pickup (my favourite ) and install it.

This was the first time I'd opened up the cavity in this bass and I thought I'd share the remarkable shielding job that G&L had done in this option order bass. You guessed it! Nuttin! In fact, the cavity had a remarkable shaggy router cut that hadn't even been smoothed down. I've learned not to expect much from G&L by way of shielding, but even by their standards this was crap.

Anyway, it's all fixed up and copper-clad to beat the band. Much quieter, I must say. The Fralin sounds terrific (as usual) and I *love* the white pickup covers with the white pearloid pickguard and white blocks.

 

[dave64o]

Family picture. Kiloton newest member. Greg at Rocket is the best.

All beautiful basses, but I LOVE that Kiloton. The clear orange finish and maple fretboard look great together.

 

[SJLee]

I little while back (bored with COVID isolation), I A/B'ed the pickup in my LB-100 against those in my other P-type basses. I was not impressed; the pickups seemed relatively low in output (at equivalent height) and a bit bland. I decided to order a Lindy Fralin pickup (my favourite ) and install it.

This was the first time I'd opened up the cavity in this bass and I thought I'd share the remarkable shielding job that G&L had done in this option order bass. You guessed it! Nuttin! In fact, the cavity had a remarkable shaggy router cut that hadn't even been smoothed down. I've learned not to expect much from G&L by way of shielding, but even by their standards this was crap.

View attachment 3833162

Anyway, it's all fixed up and copper-clad to beat the band. Much quieter, I must say. The Fralins sound terrific (as usual) and I *love* the white pickup covers with the white pearloid pickguard and white blocks.

View attachment 3833163

Wish I could like that a 100 times. What a beauty!

 

[chrisp2g]

That's a beauty. The grain through the clear finish is very striking. Is that swamp ash?

How do you like the SB-2 with the tone control? I've been thinking of one but can't decide if

Finally, I know that the Kiloton, SB bodies are the same and quite different than the M and L bodies. Is the JB body more akin to the SB body, albeit with the Jazz Bass asymmetric look to it? Or is it more like the M and L bodies?

Thanks and congrats on the new bass! If you haven't had a Kiloton before, I think you'll love it. I loved mine so much I had to get it a brother!

Swamp ash yes. I love the SB2 with a tone knob. I wouldn't like it without it. I know it's crazy but I dime everything and adjust everything through pedals. This is my first Kiloton and I'm digging it. SB has been my main bass the last two years, but this kiloton is awesome.

 

[dave64o]

I little while back (bored with COVID isolation), I A/B'ed the pickup in my LB-100 against those in my other P-type basses. I was not impressed; the pickups seemed relatively low in output (at equivalent height) and a bit bland. I decided to order a Lindy Fralin pickup (my favourite ) and install it.

This was the first time I'd opened up the cavity in this bass and I thought I'd share the remarkable shielding job that G&L had done in this option order bass. You guessed it! Nuttin! In fact, the cavity had a remarkable shaggy router cut that hadn't even been smoothed down. I've learned not to expect much from G&L by way of shielding, but even by their standards this was crap.

View attachment 3833162

Anyway, it's all fixed up and copper-clad to beat the band. Much quieter, I must say. The Fralins sound terrific (as usual) and I *love* the white pickup covers with the white pearloid pickguard and white blocks.

View attachment 3833163

And another beauty! Totally agree about the white blocks, pickguard and pickup cover - especially with the maple fretboard.

 

[FantasticFour]

View attachment 3833162

Anyway, it's all fixed up and copper-clad to beat the band. Much quieter, I must say. The Fralins sound terrific (as usual) and I *love* the white pickup covers with the white pearloid pickguard and white blocks.

View attachment 3833163

And there I was thinking I'm the only pearloid lover here!
I am not a huge Clear Blue fan but this looks perfect.

 

[FantasticFour]

Family picture. Kiloton newest member. Greg at Rocket is the best.

Margarita Metallic! Stop winking at me!

 

[chrisp2g]

Margarita Metallic! Stop winking at me!

My first g&l. I love it!

 

[FantasticFour]

My first g&l. I love it!

I kinda regret going for more "classic" colors.
That said, when I look at LPB, I find it very smurf-like

 

[Holdsg]

I don't find LPB smurf-like, but I do like G&Ls version better than some others
my SB-1

 

[FantasticFour]

I don't find LPB smurf-like, but I do like G&Ls version better than some others
my SB-1

View attachment 3833414 View attachment 3833415 View attachment 3833416 View attachment 3833417

LPB can look like almost any shade of blue, from teal to lavender, according to light.
Before I got one, I thought it was just the pictures from Google Image. It isn't.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

How do the TI flats compare to the chromes for time? Are the ties a little more flexible?

I'm not sure I understand the question. If you mean how long do each of the products last, I don't know. I don't understand what ties means?

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

So far you're right! I am really liking these strings. The feel is great and they sound quite alive. They are a round core so I hope that tuning isn't an issue but I've never had problems with G&Ls staying in tune. Most basses for that matter. I like the gauge sizes too. And the green wrap isn't bad.

So many strings...I hope to settle on one line/brand for rounds and one for flats!

My favorite rounds are DR Pure Blues. My favorite flats are TI.

 

[TDR1138]

How do the TI flats compare to the chromes for time? Are the ties a little more flexible?

TIs are much more flexible than Chromes. TIs feel to me like light gauge rounds, in terms of flexibility.

 

[armyadarkness]

I little while back (bored with COVID isolation), I A/B'ed the pickup in my LB-100 against those in my other P-type basses. I was not impressed; the pickup seemed relatively low in output (at equivalent height) and a bit bland. I decided to order a Lindy Fralin pickup (my favourite ) and install it.

This was the first time I'd opened up the cavity in this bass and I thought I'd share the remarkable shielding job that G&L had done in this option order bass. You guessed it! Nuttin! In fact, the cavity had a remarkable shaggy router cut that hadn't even been smoothed down. I've learned not to expect much from G&L by way of shielding, but even by their standards this was crap.

View attachment 3833162

Anyway, it's all fixed up and copper-clad to beat the band. Much quieter, I must say. The Fralin sounds terrific (as usual) and I *love* the white pickup covers with the white pearloid pickguard and white blocks.

View attachment 3833163

Cripes man. That is the worst I've seen. What did you put the pup up against when testing? I've been trying to get more specs on the LB pup for quite some time, and I think I'm ready to ditch the Duncan QP in my battle P, so I was considering replacing it with either an LB pup or trying the 62 P pup.

 

[armyadarkness]

BTW, by worst I've seen, I mean the routing job in the control cavity.

 

[4stringsjack]

It looks like they accidentally swapped out their router bit for an old corn cob.

 

[gunai]

G&L posted this on their social media a few days ago and I thought "huh, that does look good, but why not ebony board?"
Soon after the customer who ordered it chimed in with how the spec sheet specified ebony and a quartersawn neck.
Would anyone not be okay with spending an extra hundred or two to assure that the quality control remains as good as the one that built G&L's reputation?

 

[jmlee]

Cripes man. That is the worst I've seen. What did you put the pup up against when testing? I've been trying to get more specs on the LB pup for quite some time, and I think I'm ready to ditch the Duncan QP in my battle P, so I was considering replacing it with either an LB pup or trying the 62 P pup.

Yeah, it's magnificent. It's unbelievable that it was left in that state—and got by QP. The external finish is spectacular, but I've always felt that what's on the inside tells you about how much the craftspeople care about their art. Mind you, the normal G&L option order cavity is still rough and occasionally with one half-arsed coat of conductive paint.

I compared the pickup with my '68 P-bass, the P-pickup on my Yamaha BB1025X, a build with a Bartolini Classic P, another build with a Duncan Antiquity II, and (for laughs) my SB-2 and L-1000 in various modes. I'm very familiar with Geezer and Fralin pickups from previous projects.

It's interesting that, once I completed the re-wiring, re-assembled and set the pickup height, the Fralin tone in the LB-100 was right, however the output seemed low (as it had before the pickup swap). Makes me wonder about the electronics. Looks nominal: a couple of 250k pots, a roll-off capacitor for tone and a small treble bleed on the volume control. Still...

[Edit: Just went back and A/B'ed with the Barts. Level's fine.]