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G&L Kiloton
- Thread starter Bulky Bass
- Start date
As a big G&L fan I was looking forward to the new model with great anticipation. And now I'm sad because it's not aimed at my personal likes/dislikes 
. Essentially a passive L-1500/Climax with an SB-2 body & pickguard. Looks great - SB2 is my favorite G&L body and I like pickguards, but tonally it just isn't my bag. If it were I'd still have one of the Climax basses I've run through over time -- all played passive only. I've got to have a neck pickup and can take or leave the bridge pickup - L1K, JB-2, L2K, SB-2, SB-1, . . .
I was hoping for something not already represented in the lineup - dual single-coil MFD, split-coil with bridge humbucker, bridge humbucker with single coil neck, etc. Even my active-capable G&Ls tend to just get played passive so the active/passive difference is not a big deal to me (other than not liking the limitations of the active-only M and MJ series).
So now there are active & passive dual single coil basses (MJ and JB) and sweetspot humbucker basses (L-1500 and Kiloton). You could even say active and passive-optional dual humbucker basses (M2?K and L2?K) even though the comparison is not exact.
I wish G&L great success with the Kton and will watch curiously to see where they go next.
. Essentially a passive L-1500/Climax with an SB-2 body & pickguard. Looks great - SB2 is my favorite G&L body and I like pickguards, but tonally it just isn't my bag. If it were I'd still have one of the Climax basses I've run through over time -- all played passive only. I've got to have a neck pickup and can take or leave the bridge pickup - L1K, JB-2, L2K, SB-2, SB-1, . . .I was hoping for something not already represented in the lineup - dual single-coil MFD, split-coil with bridge humbucker, bridge humbucker with single coil neck, etc. Even my active-capable G&Ls tend to just get played passive so the active/passive difference is not a big deal to me (other than not liking the limitations of the active-only M and MJ series).
So now there are active & passive dual single coil basses (MJ and JB) and sweetspot humbucker basses (L-1500 and Kiloton). You could even say active and passive-optional dual humbucker basses (M2?K and L2?K) even though the comparison is not exact.
I wish G&L great success with the Kton and will watch curiously to see where they go next.
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As a big G&L fan I was looking forward to the new model with great anticipation. And now I'm sad because it's not aimed at my personal likes/dislikes
I was hoping for something not already represented in the lineup - dual single-coil MFD, split-coil with bridge humbucker, bridge humbucker with single coil neck, etc. Even my active-capable G&Ls tend to just get played passive so the active/passive difference is not a big deal to me (other than not liking the .imitations of the active-only M and MJ series).
So now there are active & passive dual single coil basses (MJ and JB) and sweetspot humbucker basses (L-1500 and Kiloton). You could even say active and passive-optional dual humbucker basses (M2?K and L2?K) even though the comparison is not exact.
I wish G&L great success with the Kton and will watch curiously to see where they go next.
I was a little disappointed as well. They basically did what I thought they'd do minus one pickup in the middle position.
I've been hoping for a P MM with my favorite pickups, MFDs. I'm a SB fan but always wanted to have some sweet spot humbucker tones with my P tones.
I know there is a space limitation that makes that difficult but you can move the pickups a little or reverse the P pickups DG coil to the neck side to help some.
Still, this Kiloton seems like it'd make a good fretless or something to throw flats on to warm it up some. It does have series mode and a tone knob so it should be able to get some thumper sounds.
Having owned an L-1500, I bet the Kiloton would be an awesome fretless. And it should be able to thump, at least sometimes. I found my L-1500 wildly inconsistent across different rigs. Through some, usually more old-school rigs, it sounded just incredible -- like the nastiest possible blend of P-bass and StingRay. Through others, it was thin and nasal, i.e., more of a classic bridge pickup tone, which is not my thing. Unfortunately my gear fell into the latter group (at least in most rooms -- yet another variable), until I ran the 1500 through an Aphex Bass Xciter. That added the necessary phatness, and gave me some truly amazing rock tones. Problem is, I greatly prefer a more plug-and-play experience, and don't like relying on effects all the time. Heck, I haven't used any effects on stage in years.
I agree, a passive SR is neat-that's why I have 2 of them.
My RB820 & 920 sound and play great. They are not quite as pimped out as a G&L with the saddle lock and Pleking, but they do have a cast bridge, 1 5/8" nut (which I kind of prefer over a 1.5" lately), weigh in the 9# range and possess that classic, golden era Ibanez MIJ build quality.
The Kiloton is for those who prefer G&L basses. I know I like them, my El Toro is killer. I'm just too cheap to shell out over $750+ for a bass.
i really NO NOT want all those knobs. and I don't need them.
I agree, a passive SR is neat-that's why I have 2 of them.
My RB820 & 920 sound and play great. They are not quite as pimped out as a G&L with the saddle lock and Pleking, but they do have a cast bridge, 1 5/8" nut (which I kind of prefer over a 1.5" lately), weigh in the 9# range and possess that classic, golden era Ibanez MIJ build quality.
The Kiloton is for those who prefer G&L basses. I know I like them, my El Toro is killer. I'm just too cheap to shell out over $750+ for a bass.
Ibanez makes a good bass, even their cheap stuff is good.
I have a Talman I keep around as a bass I just play and don't care too much about. I was pretty surprised with the quality of the hardware on a bass that cheap. The only parts that feel cheap on it are the pickups, which is easy to fix. Not bad for a bass I bought new for 150 bucks on sale at GC.
G&L is definitely what I prefer though. I just dig the quality and the MFD pickups. I'd buy Tribute models if they had more options but so far I've been OK shopping used. All the G&Ls I own I purchased used.
This Kiloton is making me think of ordering one for the first time just because I'm in the market for a fretless and nothing caught my eye yet on the used market that is a G&L.
What makes you think we haven't already done that, Nancy?
News flash; An L-2500 is not the be-all/end-all bass that some seem to think it is.
Yes they are!
Well, I'd really go for an LM-3600, but if I want one I'm afraid i'm going to have to build it myself.
The MFD humbucker is narrower than an MM pickup and is placed roughly 1/4" closer to the bridge compared to a Stingray/Sterling, so getting a P/MM type combo using the MFDs might be possible without fussing over pickup position to much. The SB-1 pickup is placed about 3/8" closer to the bridge. I think you might be able to fit a split-coil MFD in there if you move it forward into the standard P postition.
Good point. I knew the SBs had the pickup moved a bit vs. a Fender P but didn't think about it that way.
Yeah and when you add two pickups it changes the dynamic a bit since you can blend them. PJs move the bridge pickup a little towards the bridge than a Jazz bass has it but you have the P pickup for fatness.
There's a guy around here somewhere that did something like this on a L1500. If I remember he did move the split MFD towards the neck some. I'll have to find his post, I think it's in the G&L club thread somewhere.
I remember that modded L-1500.
Out of curiosity, I cut out a piece of paper with the same dimensions as an MFD humbucker and set it on my SB-2 in the L-1500 position to see how close it would be to the mfd split-coil. Assuming my measurements are correct, there was about a 1/8" gap between the split-coil and paper. So there's a chance that an SB-K is possible using the standard pickup positions.
Out of curiosity, I cut out a piece of paper with the same dimensions as an MFD humbucker and set it on my SB-2 in the L-1500 position to see how close it would be to the mfd split-coil. Assuming my measurements are correct, there was about a 1/8" gap between the split-coil and paper. So there's a chance that an SB-K is possible using the standard pickup positions.
Dang now I'm wondering if I shouldn't get a cheap old used L1500 and then just mod it. That's awesome.
I couldn't do the reverse to my SB-1. I like it too much the way it is.
Did the SB-2 seem to have the bridge pup route left over with the MFD in the L1500 spot?
Well I like it. A passive Stingray in a more compact body. I think it's an interesting alternative.
Looks great but I'd need a neck pickup too. I'd like to see a version with the pup in the p spot...megaton?
I was thinking that would be a more sensible alternative, rather than buying a new Kilton and modding it.
Yes, the bridge p'up route sits a bit behind it but there is a bit of overlap.
Kilotone might be a better moniker. "A thousand tones with a classic feel". Takes it a step away from violence. I would love to try one.
