NBD!: '92 G&L SB-1 :D

I really wasn't looking for another bass, but I couldn't resist this one when I saw @TimBosby 's post on it being available & a couple short days later here it is :


I still haven't had a chance to get serious w/ it yet but the 1.5 hours or so I got in today on it between afternoon meetings leave me feeling very glad I went for it.

I'm particularly fond of the neck profile so far, it's a bit wider at the nut w/ a higher radius thickness to it than I would typically think would work for me, but it's feeling natural as can be here:

The ergonomics seem phenomenal for me w/ a great balance & a belly/ribcage cut that just makes it disappear into my body playing it seated & a very comfortable forearm area. The neck seems to sit a tad bit further out than my other full scales, probably pretty close to the reach on the B-301, but still seems very manageable:

Very early for a true tone assessment but so far I love the split MFD in here. There's a great weight in the low mids through the frankenrig so far that seems pretty special. Best verbal desciption I can come up w/ at the moment is a warm punchiness, but focused enough that I think it stands a good chance of sitting nicely in a mix. Judging from the metering on the compressor it seems to be about even output to the JMJ Mustang, but definitely seems like it wants to rock a bit more w/ some nice growl to it when digging the right hand in moderately

I couldn't resist borrowing a couple of the CLF knobs I had on my Doheny to throw on here:

It came set up just about perfect for me w/ some cool powdercoat black lollipop Hipshots that hook up w/ the bridge base & neckplate really well to me :

About the only change I could see making to this one is strings if I discover a tonal annoyance when I get deep into it that I haven't yet, & I'm planning to cut a guard for it from bakelite to mostly complete the blackout treatment. The guard it came w/ is a truly impressive looking black abalone material but I think it might be even cooler looking to me w/ the matte black w/o the white outline of the guard.

Anyway, super jazzed w/ this one so far Thanks for taking a look!

 

Thanks!

I wasn't meaning the reach thing as a negative necessarily. I don't have issues w/ the B-301 or this one so far, I just notice that I'm using my wingspan more than w/ the Ric or the Jazz Bass on either.

I probably shouldn't have opened the thread when I saw it, but I'm awfully glad I did

Awesome man, thanks! For the knobs & for moving this one along to me

 

LOL, I feel reminding people their workspaces are plenty organized by comparison might be a calling for me

 

Thanks guys! Further play has only reinforced my feelings on this one, it's just a damn great bass for me

I traced out the guard on some bakelite this afternoon, hopefully I'll feel motivated to get started on the cutting tomorrow:

 

Little update on this one:

1st as expected I've only fallen deeper in love w/ the sounds of this one through either of the amp setups I've plugged it into (even more so through the PF50T). I'm on the fence if I want to give a set of LaBella RX4NB .045-.100 out on here, but it would be mainly just for the slightly smaller 4th string & nice flexible feel of the whole set. Whatever machismo I possess says I should man up & leave these on here, but I think my joints are (for now) politely lobbying for the switch.

I also finished the rough cut of the outer perimeter of the bakelite guard this evening. Here it is sitting under the strings on top of the current guard w/ everything still loaded up on it:

Still need to sand the shape, cut the somewhat tricky pickup hole, & drill it, but I think it will wind up hitting the spot nicely for me once I get it finished up & take off the protective film. Hopefully I can get it mostly done on Saturday.

 

Hehe, definitely feels like the prevailing wind around here is to put tort or something like it on anything, but it's all preference & all good (OffsetGuitars was the same way). Bakelite guards are kind of like my tort that way.

Don't get me wrong I like the abalone guard (& tort on the right instruments), I just think to my eye it takes focus away from the bass as a whole & that awesome mini flake in the finish. I also like the hookup in matte textures between the hardware & the guard w/ little accents of steel, nickel & chrome to break up/pop out of the sea of black.

I think the bakelite is 99.9% certainly the way for me so the black abalone one will likely be available once I have the replacement I'm happy w/ installed.

 

Got the guard for this one most of the way there today:


I'm thinking I'll probably do a bit more sanding & hit it up w/ a couple/few coats of satin lacquer at some point in the not too distant future.

 

Little (but actually quite huge ) update to this one today, earlier in the week I finally took the plunge on a set of TI JF344 to put on here & they wound up arriving this afternoon:

I had some hemming & hawing about whether the action would wind up too low resistance/squishy for me when I'm not doing my best approximation of finesse playing & if it would wind up too dull tonally, but after very slight relief & saddle height tweaks I couldn't be more sure that my fears were entirely unfounded on both fronts. These seem like 1000% the right string for this bass for me I was super surprised to find the clarity & mid punch seem like marked improvements for me over the D'Addario rounds & it's full on goldilocks zone for easy fretting & bends vs. resistance to rattle/buzz when I'm extra exuberant in my fingering or popping w/ the right hand.

The only bit that wasn't perfect for this bass were the red silk wraps but that was easily remedied to my satisfaction w/ a Sharpie: