G&L SB2 Phase issues

[AlexKidd]

Hey folks,

so my American SB2 just arrived. I bought it second hand from a guy and the pickups are acting strangely (I think?)

It should be noted that the previous owner changed the P pickup to some kind of dimarzio.

So if I have either pickup up at 100% (with the other completely off) there don’t seem to be any issues but when I start trying to blend them the mayhem begins. If the P pickup is open at all and I get to around 95% volume on the bridge, suddenly the volume drops significantly and the sound really thins out, I can only describe it by saying it sounds out of phase (especially the D and G strings)

I have had guitars in the past that had some strange modifications done where you would switch the pickup selector and suddenly things were out of phase but it seems unusual to me that it’s happening with this setup (no pickup selector, only two volumes).

Can any of you SB2 vets help me with this? I will take it to my luthier when he has a minute but would be nice to know in the meantime why it’s happening.

Thanks in advance. The bass plays like a dream, really happy with the purchase (pickup issues aside)

 

[Kenan]

That is classic symptoms of out of phase pickups. Switch the leads on either pickup and it will be resolved. It's a really easy fix and will make a huge difference, for the better.

 

[AlexKidd]

Thanks so much for the response. Yeah, I have come across it when using a pickup selector but it just seemed odd with it happening after turning the volume to a certain level.

I’ll get on it as soon as I can. Appreciate it

 

[Kenan]

Thanks so much for the response. Yeah, I have come across it when using a pickup selector but it just seemed odd with it happening after turning the volume to a certain level.

I’ll get on it as soon as I can. Appreciate it

I had the exact same issue on a bass. Once the pickups were close to equal volumes, it would sound thin and crappy. I switched the leads on one of the pickups and the problem was solved. The bass sounded a hundred times better. Congrats on your new bass!