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G&L Club Part 7

#16,543
Jim C said:
They offer a wood for the US models called empress that is super light weight.
Some say it sounds different but most say it's OK. In a perfect world alder and 8.5 lbs with a good neck is a home run. Good luck with your search.
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I have two empress-bodied G&Ls, a JB-5 and a Comanche guitar, and I think empress is great. The JB-5 is very light, extremely resonant, and has outstanding tone IMO, so I wouldn't hesitate to go with empress for an option order bass. It reminds me of the 2008 Fender Jazz V I owned previously, which was light for an alder-bodied bass and was also highly resonant. Unfortunately the G string saddle has bottomed out, so it might need a shim, and it might have a high fret or two. (These issues might go to your comment about QC. I bought it used, and don't know when it was made.)

The Comanche is excellent, and noticeably lighter than my alder Strats, but it might be on the heavy side for empress. Before I ordered it, I tested a fantastic empress-bodied Legacy Special that was a true featherweight, and definitely lighter than my Comanche, but I don't know which is more typical.
 
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#16,545
Holdsg said:
@mazdah
How would you characterize the tone difference between the L1000 and the Climax? This question still fascinates me.
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COMPLETELY different beats - both manually and soundwise.

L-1000 is like a much fatter Precision. Especially that mine has mahogany body. The neck is wider, more like a modern Precision.
Climax is like a much brighter Stingray, but with some of Jazz Bass bridge pickup flavor. The neck has a profile that reminds me a 70's Jazz - thin but quite deep.

The difference is so big, that I can honestly say I adore my L-1000 and I'm still not sure about the Climax.
I've already did a "pickup mod" to the Climax (added a .001 uf capacitor to restore L-1000/L-2000 characteristics) and I'm wondering asbout the preamp mod, since it has a heavy bright boost when on.
 
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#16,547
I've had an MJ-4 for about a year now and was never really pleased with its sound. It's a pretty laid back tone and to me didn't work with the music I played. Mostly it sat and I played my SB-2 and L2K instead.

Before selling it I thought I'd try a pickup upgrade. I put in some DiMarzio Model Js and I finally like it.

I've always liked the aggressiveness of my other two G&Ls and now the MJ-4 has that same punch. It's still unmistakably a jazz bass sound, but comes through the music I play much better.

I know tone is a very personal thing, but I finally like playing this bass (up till 3am playing it last night).

It's weird too because I hear good things about their other jazz bases.
 
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#16,548
We all here it differently.
I put Model J's in my 74 J when the neck pup died while in the case in approx. 1976.
Back then, that was the ONLY replacement pup.
I find it sounds nothing like my 73' J.
Back then I don't think they recommended replacing the 250K pots to 500K or if they did, I never did. Perhaps that's the difference.
If any thing, the solo'd neck pup sounds closer to a P.
To me, two very different but awesome sounding pups.
What value are the volume pots in your J?
 
#16,556
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#16,557
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#16,559
Jim C said:
We all here it differently.
I put Model J's in my 74 J when the neck pup died while in the case in approx. 1976.
Back then, that was the ONLY replacement pup.
I find it sounds nothing like my 73' J.
Back then I don't think they recommended replacing the 250K pots to 500K or if they did, I never did. Perhaps that's the difference.
If any thing, the solo'd neck pup sounds closer to a P.
To me, two very different but awesome sounding pups.
What value are the volume pots in your J?
Click to expand...

I'd say I agree that the soloed neck pickup is closer to a P than a J. With both pups both on, I hear that characteristic jazz bass scoop but it's still punchy to me now.

Given that the MJ-4 stock pups were dual coil, I wonder if that's where the sound difference comes between it and the JB.

I'll need to open it up to look at the pots on it. Like the M2000, it uses a blend, master volume and bass/mid/treble cut/boost.
 
#16,560
richwag said:
I'd say I agree that the soloed neck pickup is closer to a P than a J. With both pups both on, I hear that characteristic jazz bass scoop but it's still punchy to me now.

Given that the MJ-4 stock pups were dual coil, I wonder if that's where the sound difference comes between it and the JB.

I'll need to open it up to look at the pots on it. Like the M2000, it uses a blend, master volume and bass/mid/treble cut/boost.
Click to expand...
My mistake!!!
I didn't realize the MJ used dual coils as the JB and JB2 are single coils in both the US and Tribute models.
I imagine they have a lot more "beef" than the single coils regardless of the pre-amp.
 

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