NBD. G&L SB-2 Tribute

[Lfalex v1.1]

 

Purchased yesterday from simon88wilson, thereby filling the gap for an appropriate passive instrument in an otherwise all-active bass collection since the sale of my Squier VMJ, MIA s1 Jazz and Yamaha Attitude.

Satin maple neck and maple board. Sonic Blue (although it sometimes looks minty green) over Mahogany body.

Feels solid and substantial but not heavy or clumsy. 

Biggest surprise is how well the two control layout works without a tone control. Just tweak the volume controls a bit and there's plenty of useable tones, certainly more than a 3 position switch would give. 

Hardware and pickups are really chunky.

Tried it briefly last night, and it sits nicely in the mix. Until you push the volume control/s, and it comes out fighting. 

All in all, a simple,  tough and well-thought out bass. Only minus point? They don't do a 5 string, so I might drop-tune it to DGCF to cover a bit more low-end territory.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Lfalex v1.1

[Guest]

If people want to hear a demo of the tones on this bass, the couple of minutes from from 2'40" goes through them in turn, including showing how much change in the tonal character of the MFD comes when the volume is turned down.

 

 

[Bigguy2017]

Nah, it needs a tone control.

[cocco]

G&L instruments are so good! You really get the feeling that they're the product of a lifetimes worth of work and experimentation. 

[Wilson_51_]

It was great meeting you yesterday. They are great instruments and I hope it serves you well! 
 

I do find it quite remarkable the tones that can be coaxed from these basses especially with backing off the pickups. 

[EJWW]

I had my eye on this in the for sale section and am glad it's gone to a good home!

I love G&L gear but what particularly attracted me about this one was the sub 4kg weight. The lack of tone control does bother me a little I must admit but not enough to put me off trying one one day.

Enjoy!

[neepheid]

1 hour ago, Bigguy2017 said:

Nah, it needs a tone control.

 

It needs a muzzle.  One time when I was soundchecking with one of these, the sound guy asked me if it was active

 

OP: Welcome (back, if you've been here before) to the G&L club.

Edited August 17, 2021 by neepheid

[TheGreek]

2 hours ago, Bigguy2017 said:

Nah, it needs a tone control.

They don't - once I got used to mine it seems so obvious. Made me question why any bass needs a tone control.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Played some more this evening, and I'm really enjoying the SB-2.

There's something about the immediacy of a high-output all-passive bass. I think it's related to the fewer number of components in the signal path before it undergoes some sort of amplification (I don't really use effects much)

Edited August 18, 2021 by Lfalex v1.1

[Duarte]

Glorious bass. I'm looking out for one too. Certainly no tone control needed!

[Lfalex v1.1]

Just cracked out the Allen keys to make a few slight adjustments for personal preference. 

I can confirm that the hardware on Tributes is definitely American.

My metric Allen keys don't fit 🤣

I'll have to dig out the Imperial set from the shed.. only other bass I've had to use those on was my MIA Jazz.

[cocco]

6 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Just cracked out the Allen keys to make a few slight adjustments for personal preference. 

I can confirm that the hardware on Tributes is definitely American.

My metric Allen keys don't fit 🤣

I'll have to dig out the Imperial set from the shed.. only other bass I've had to use those on was my MIA Jazz.

Hardware and electronics are the same as on the USA ones if I remember correctly. 

[Lfalex v1.1]

Drop tuned to D standard now, and the 50-110 DR Lo-Riders are fretting much more swiftly and positively now.

"Borrowed" a nice grippy leather strap from another bass as the one I was using was causing all sorts of problems sliding around. 

Bingo.

Its amazing what difference a few tweaks (and a non-cr@p strap) can make to your playing experience.