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G&L Club Part 7

#19,281
Jim C said:
Thanks for this. Man they have some heavy basses which is odd since my natural JB2 Tribute is only about 8.5 lbs. So happy I went with Empress with the US JB though.
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I also noticed the weights when I clicked on a few of the lists. My L2500 and JB5 are both heavy, so I suppose no surprises there. L5000 is not bad at all (likely due to slimmer body). I was scared of Empress for the JB5 after having a friend complain about neck dive on his (noting that I never tried his JB5 on a strap so cannot confirm/deny his experience, but I trust him).
 
#19,282
This always seemed odd to me as well, especially compared to other brands in that (US) price range.

The JB2’s do seem to run a bit lighter, I think it is due to the smaller body size. (The JB’s, on the other hand, tend to be tanks without the Empress touch...)
 
#19,283
My JB in Empress weighs about 7.5 lbs and balances perfectly.
I like the sound of alder better when unplugged but once there is an amp involved I couldn't tell the difference.
Plus you get to have a bass made from a weed tree, so there's that.

Who else will list the weights of G&L's beside Sweetwater and Rocket Music?
Nobody in the DC area stocks G&L.
 
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#19,285
friend33 said:
I don’t think those are an option. I’ve got a set of aged ones here (GBR640) to put on my Road Worn P. I know they will work for my Player J as well. But just some loose measurements, the posts on the LB 100 are about .5 cm closer to the straight edge of the headstock than the two Fenders. The angled part of the base plates will stick out beyond the edge.

Also, size wise, the plate on the OEMs is longer below the gear, so it seems like those holes will show as well. Fail all around! :cool:
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What about a set of USA G&L tuners? The alloy posts may save a few ounces. I'm not familiar with the Tribute stuff, are the tuner plates the same size and shape as the USA ones? If so, that should be almost as much weight savings as a set of Res-o-lites. That's if Gotoh even has a drop-in Resolite set for a G&L.

Weight savings; I was considering a set of Resolites for an EBMM that's a wee bit neck heavy. Damned if I could figure out whether they make a drop-in model for my application. The standard GB 640's plates don't fit. Meanwhile, I weighed a Gotoh GB 640, then weighed an OEM EBMM tuner on an accurate postal scale. To my surprise, the Gotoh only weighed 1/10th ounce lighter than the stock EBMM tuner. Less than half an ounce difference overall, no real weight savings there for ~$100 a set...abandoned the idea.

I could check, but I think G&L and EBMM are using the same spec'd tuners (both with alloy posts). If the USA G&L's drop right in, there's your solution.

Edit: I just noticed that you already addressed the idea in a previous post. At least the actual weight measurements should shed some light. Good luck.
 
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#19,286
friend33 said:
That sounds like a dream bass, @Jim C - do you have a pic? :)

There is a really sweet ash/rosewood JB in trans green - just 8.8# - in the classifieds right now. Wish I had the coin available...
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Empress, CAR Metallic, Blocks, Painted Headstock
 
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#19,288
Iridescentone said:
What about a set of USA G&L tuners? The alloy posts may save a few ounces. I'm not familiar with the Tribute stuff, are the tuner plates the same size and shape as the USA ones? If so, that should be almost as much weight savings as a set of Res-o-lites. That's if Gotoh even has a drop-in Resolite set for a G&L.

Weight savings; I was considering a set of Resolites for an EBMM that's a wee bit neck heavy. Damned if I could figure out whether they make a drop-in model for my application. The standard GB 640's plates don't fit. Meanwhile, I weighed a Gotoh GB 640, then weighed an OEM EBMM tuner on an accurate postal scale. To my surprise, the Gotoh only weighed 1/10th ounce lighter than the stock EBMM tuner. Less than half an ounce difference overall, no real weight savings there for ~$100 a set...abandoned the idea.

I could check, but I think G&L and EBMM are using the same spec'd tuners (both with alloy posts). If the USA G&L's drop right in, there's your solution.

Edit: I just noticed that you already addressed the idea in a previous post. At least the actual weight measurements should shed some light. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking a shot at it! ;)

I don’t know MM that well, but that would be one of their higher end models, right? So those likely represent the best/lightest tuners they have, probably similar to the US G&L, Hipshots, etc.

On the various budget lines, the tuners tend to be heavy (except for the Lakeland Skylines). For the Fender Players, the OEMs are said to be 95g each (verging on a pound just for tuners!), while the GB640 are 62g, so for a set of 4 it’s a difference of 132g, or about 4.65 oz. (Hipshot HB7 direct drop-ins are listed at 85g, so a better tuner with a finer gear ratio, but just 1.4 oz in weight savings. The Hipshot ultralights are closer to the Res-o-lites.)

I’m assuming the Tribute tuners are pretty similar to those in the Player - people who have done a change out have described them as very heavy compared to the Hipshot ultralights, and that swapping those in made a big difference. Just still wondering if there are any other options that would be less “messy“. Getting a pretty clear sense that there likely is not...

I have some time to decide, since I have two other basses that need attention first - going to clean up the fret ends on the Player and do a string change, and then I will stick the aged Res-o-lites on the Road Worn and clean up a few errant frets on that one as well. Changing those tuners out should give me some idea, also, about whether it’s worth it or not on the LB-100.
 
#19,289
friend33 said:
Thanks for taking a shot at it! ;)

I don’t know MM that well, but that would be one of their higher end models, right? So those likely represent the best/lightest tuners they have, probably similar to the US G&L, Hipshots, etc.

On the various budget lines, the tuners tend to be heavy (except for the Lakeland Skylines). For the Fender Players, the OEMs are said to be 95g each (verging on a pound just for tuners!), while the GB640 are 62g, so for a set of 4 it’s a difference of 132g, or about 4.65 oz. (Hipshot HB7 direct drop-ins are listed at 85g, so a better tuner with a finer gear ratio, but just 1.4 oz in weight savings. The Hipshot ultralights are closer to the Res-o-lites.)

I’m assuming the Tribute tuners are pretty similar to those in the Player - people who have done a change out have described them as very heavy compared to the Hipshot ultralights, and that swapping those in made a big difference. Just still wondering if there are any other options that would be less “messy“. Getting a pretty clear sense that there likely is not...

I have some time to decide, since I have two other basses that need attention first - going to clean up the fret ends on the Player and do a string change, and then I will stick the aged Res-o-lites on the Road Worn and clean up a few errant frets on that one as well. Changing those tuners out should give me some idea, also, about whether it’s worth it or not on the LB-100.
Click to expand...

Yes, a USA Sterling. I just now measured the tuner plate mounting screws for an old Schaller G&L, a newer G&L tuner with alloy posts, and the EBMM. They're all exactly the same, so if your old G&L Schallers fit your Tribute, then you should be good to go with a new set of USA G&L's.
 
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#19,290
friend33 said:
Yeah, the annoying thing with the G&L website/ultralights is that they provide no specs at all. So it is difficult to know how much weight savings might be achieved, how many extra holes need to be drilled/whether or not you can use some of the existing holes, will it cover the existing holes, etc.
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When I bought my Tribute L-2000 it had Ultralights on it, I wanted them to go on another neck so swapped them for generic Chinese tuners.

While I had them off I weighed them, 2.3oz (64.875gm) each. The generic ones I replaced them with came in at 3oz (85.25gm) each, both just the tuner without screws or bushings.

New pilot holes need to be drilled for the Ultralight mounting screws and as far as I recall the the original screw holes were covered by the Ultralight plates.
 
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#19,291
delta7fred said:
When I bought my Tribute L-2000 it had Ultralights on it, I wanted them to go on another neck so swapped them for generic Chinese tuners.

While I had them off I weighed them, 2.3oz (64.875gm) each. The generic ones I replaced them with came in at 3oz (85.25gm) each, both just the tuner without screws or bushings.

New pilot holes need to be drilled for the Ultralight mounting screws and as far as I recall the the original screw holes were covered by the Ultralight plates.
Click to expand...

That’s just about a 25% reduction in weight: pretty useful out there on the headstock—especially 4-inline.
 
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#19,296
RE: USA tuners on a Tribute bass, I have done this. Didn't measure the weight difference but they definitely cleared up a case of mild neck-dive. I filled the original holes with round toothpicks and white glue, took off the excess with a razor blade and then punched and drilled new holes.

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#19,300
Jim C said:
Crap; I was holding out on the empress. OTOH, Congrats!
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Mine is a 2020 candy apple red metallic matching headstock. Empress. 7.6lbs. I bought from the seller direct so no tax and with free shipping it was $1500 total.

I had to send it to G&L for warranty repair cause the pickups had super low output. G&L replaced both pickups. No cost for the repair or any shipping. They took care of everything.

here is the spec sheet if you want to compare.
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