G&L Club Part 7

[Jim C]

Hey everyone
I had Steve Araujo from The Bass Hang / G&L as a guest on my podcast. I thought you guys might like it:


Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jau9K8
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2DX5c60

Dear @Iv@N,
You're videos are near perfect. Especially like the ones where you play the same bass line along to a backing track / drum machine. Almost always agree with your thoughts and assumptions. IMO, adding folks dilutes the honest, clear thinking that you are known for. I just watched nearly all 2 hours and learned very little relative to the time investment.
No slight intended to Steve, Tony, or any of the others tied to G&L and their hang out videos. They are fun to watch and serve a purpose.
My advice is to keep doing your own thing as before. We love what you have going brother!

 

[jefff100]

Just thought I'd throw this out there for anyone hunting for strings. I just pulled off a set of round wounds off an L2k that have seen very little use.
I'm 95% positive that they are DR Pure Blues (high nickel alloy) but I didn't save the package so I cant be 100%.

free for the asking otherwise they are destined for the scrap metal bin.

 

[dave64o]

Swapped out my white JB pick guard for a new black one. Love it!
View attachment 4033224 View attachment 4033225

If you posted pictures of the bass with the original white pickguard on it, then I'm sure I saw it and drooled over it. I just can't remember it, though.

But seeing that picture, it seems like the black pickguard probably makes the green appear lighter so the grain pops a little better. Beautiful bass!

 

[dave64o]

I had been whinging earlier in this thread, wanting to find a string with less zing and top end than strings I've typically been using (d'Addario XLs, DR Fat Beams, EB Slinkies), but flats are too much the other way.
So.....
Tried Sunbeams - still too bright, really didn't hear much of a difference between these and Fatbeams to be honest.
So on a whim I tried D'Addario NYXLs. Interesting string. A little bit expensive, and not quite what I want to achieve but the top end is definitely a little more subdued than standard XLs or DR Sunbeams, with slightly more girth in the mids and low mids to my ears. Pairs well with both pickups\ parallel mode on my L2000.
Over next few weeks I'm gonna try to get a hold of both some D'Addario half rounds and some GHS Pressurewounds..... I feel one of these will get the job done.
Just thought I'd report.

I'll be looking forward to hearing your opinions about the Half Rounds and the Pressurewounds, tone and especially the feel. I still like the Chromes I have on my L-2500 and might be happy to go back to nickel Lo Riders (still my favorite strings overall), but I'm always curious about what's out there and what might fit my preferences for tone (not boomy, good low mid punch, and clear highs without being too bright and zingy) and feel (pretty stiff).

 

[IvanBassist]

Dear @Iv@N,
You're videos are near perfect. Especially like the ones where you play the same bass line along to a backing track / drum machine. Almost always agree with your thoughts and assumptions. IMO, adding folks dilutes the honest, clear thinking that you are known for. I just watched nearly all 2 hours and learned very little relative to the time investment.
No slight intended to Steve, Tony, or any of the others tied to G&L and their hang out videos. They are fun to watch and serve a purpose.
My advice is to keep doing your own thing as before. We love what you have going brother!

Thanks for the honest feedback! I really appreciate it

 

[jfh2424]

Thanks for the honest feedback! I really appreciate it

More honest feedback: I enjoyed learning about the possible G&L model changes. I hope they don't change the SB-2 too much...I understand it's perceived short comings, as discussed. I own two...they are really killer instruments, with a tone knob. I would really prefer if they just add the tone knob to the Tributes. If they want to change the back pick up to something else, than fine. Just call it something else and keep the SB-2 the way it is.

Now that Ed Friedland no longer seems to be doing G&L demos, I think you are the best G&L video reviewer, Iv@N. I hope G&L is intelligent enough to keep you on board.

I also really like your calm, laid back, humble style of communicating.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I think you are the best G&L video reviewer, Iv@N. I hope G&L is intelligent enough to keep you on board.

+1
And as a demonstrator especially. Steve is a great player, but his style is so strong that its really hard to hear the differences between the instruments he's comparing - when trying to listen to him, my ears are mostly noticing his style of playing, and find it hard to take on board the differences between instrument A and instrument B, or between pickup A and pickup B. I recently compared his YouTube demo of the Kiloton with Greg's. He made the Kiloton sound like something I could live without; Greg left me feeling I was an idiot for not having one on the way.

 

[jefff100]

Just thought I'd throw this out there for anyone hunting for strings. I just pulled off a set of round wounds off an L2k that have seen very little use.
I'm 95% positive that they are DR Pure Blues (high nickel alloy) but I didn't save the package so I cant be 100%.

free for the asking otherwise they are destined for the scrap metal bin.

These have a new home.

 

[Spidey2112]

In case anyone wanted to know, (or even if you didn't ) My Tribby L-2500 has 6mm split shaft pots.

There are many advances in medicine, which my be helpful in your case.

 

[armybass]

Stupid question but do the Tributes use the same electronics as the US models?

 

[richwag]

Stupid question but do the Tributes use the same electronics as the US models?

No. The pickups are the same but the electronics are different.

 

[Spidey2112]

Stupid question but do the Tributes use the same electronics as the US models?

There are no stupid questions, just answers of both yes and no.

 

[richwag]

More honest feedback: I enjoyed learning about the possible G&L model changes. I hope they don't change the SB-2 too much...I understand it's perceived short comings, as discussed. I own two...they are really killer instruments, with a tone knob. I would really prefer if they just add the tone knob to the Tributes. If they want to change the back pick up to something else, than fine. Just call it something else and keep the SB-2 the way it is.

Now that Ed Friedland no longer seems to be doing G&L demos, I think you are the best G&L video reviewer, Iv@N. I hope G&L is intelligent enough to keep you on board.

I also really like your calm, laid back, humble style of communicating.

I hope they keep the SB-2 as it is also.

An L2K pickup in the rear with the SB-2 split in the front could be an interesting bass especially if you can go single coil mode. You could still get the SB-2 sound in single coil or using both rear coils get more of an L1500 sound.

 

[armybass]

No. The pickups are the same but the electronics are different.

cheaper pots ect?

 

[jfh2424]

I hope they keep the SB-2 as it is also.

An L2K pickup in the rear with the SB-2 split in the front could be an interesting bass especially if you can go single coil mode. You could still get the SB-2 sound in single coil or using both rear coils get more of an L1500 sound.

Yes, a rear pickup MFD would be cool. I could really see the popularity and usefulness of a bass like that.

But the current SB2 really has its usefulness too...I hope they don't do away with it.

 

[richwag]

cheaper pots ect?

Yea. I had a Tribute M2500 and US MJ-4. Same controls but different electronics. I couldn't tell a difference in pot feel but they are different.

 

[IvanBassist]

More honest feedback: I enjoyed learning about the possible G&L model changes. I hope they don't change the SB-2 too much...I understand it's perceived short comings, as discussed. I own two...they are really killer instruments, with a tone knob. I would really prefer if they just add the tone knob to the Tributes. If they want to change the back pick up to something else, than fine. Just call it something else and keep the SB-2 the way it is.

Now that Ed Friedland no longer seems to be doing G&L demos, I think you are the best G&L video reviewer, Iv@N. I hope G&L is intelligent enough to keep you on board.

I also really like your calm, laid back, humble style of communicating.

+1
And as a demonstrator especially. Steve is a great player, but his style is so strong that its really hard to hear the differences between the instruments he's comparing - when trying to listen to him, my ears are mostly noticing his style of playing, and find it hard to take on board the differences between instrument A and instrument B, or between pickup A and pickup B. I recently compared his YouTube demo of the Kiloton with Greg's. He made the Kiloton sound like something I could live without; Greg left me feeling I was an idiot for not having one on the way.

Thanks, guys! This is helpful Just for transparency: My "deal" is with the German distribution of G&L, which means that there's gonna be material coming as long as they keep me on board. As I've mentioned a few posts back, I've got a Matador on the way, so there's gonna be a demo of that + comparison between the LB-100 and JB. I'll try to get a (tribute) Fallout sometime, too.
Let me know if you have any wishes or would like to have something featured on the channel. Having comments/messages always helps when trying to work with companies

 

[Protagonist]

Yes, a rear pickup MFD would be cool. I could really see the popularity and usefulness of a bass like that.

But the current SB2 really has its usefulness too...I hope they don't do away with it.

I wish they'd bring the El Toro pickups back, that would make an ideal bridge humbucker for an SB bass update. Looks wise anyway. I've only seen one video demoing an El Toro. Need to watch it again to see if they differ so much from the L2k pickups.

 

[TomB]

Yes, a rear pickup MFD would be cool. I could really see the popularity and usefulness of a bass like that.

But the current SB2 really has its usefulness too...I hope they don't do away with it.

Agreed! I understand why some players want to mod their SB-2 to make it more versatile, but man, for so many it is a wonderful and unique instrument as is. Sure, other variants would be cool, and maybe even sell better to a broad market, but let's not kill the goose that laid the golden egg!
Thanks Steve, for surfacing that line of G&L thinking, and thanks Ivan, for sharing it.

 

[jefff100]

Its my understanding that the bridge P/U on a SB-2 bass is not really meant to be used alone, rather its to be dialed in to taste as a tone enhancement, or rolled out completely to leave you with the
split coil hum-bucker central position. The one I played I sort of liked for its simplicity, if it had been a woodgrain I might have been tempted to buy it and have them ship it home.