NBD- G&L SB 2 Tribute

[Jonesy]

Hahahaha, I did think that after taking the pic, but laziness prevailed.

 

You're more than welcome to nab it next time you're around these parts if you fancy a loan 😃

[OllyW]

On 03/01/2022 at 21:01, Jonesy said:

My only niggle is the nut isn't quite cut properly and there's a bit poking out on the top of the neck. I can't say I've felt it when playing and I may have a go at removing it.

The Kiloton Tribute I got from Andertons a couple of weeks ago was exactly the same, there was a little plastic tab protruding from the end of the nut and the slots weren't cut deep enough. I've got a set of Hosco nut files so it didn't take long to sort out the nut height and I carefully removed the tab at the same time.

[BillyBass]

On 03/01/2022 at 21:01, Jonesy said:

Well........a few days ago I had a knock at the door and a rather lovely box from guitaguitar arrived with my new SB2 tribute in it!

 

My first thought, just as the delivery guy handed it over, was......gutted, they've sent me out a guitar by mistake. A box this light can't contain a bass. To my delight, I was wrong!

 

The neck on it is lovely, feels really smooth and is easy to get around, with no sharp fret ends. The fret board is a touch dry, but that's easily sorted. My only niggle is the nut isn't quite cut properly and there's a bit poking out on the top of the neck. I can't say I've felt it when playing and I may have a go at removing it.

 

Finish wise, the matte black looks great and is really smooth. When I'm playing with a pick on some basses I have to use a wristband so I don't get stuck to the bass. Not with this though. With the smooth neck, finish and monsterous pups, this bass wants to be played with a pick.

 

Speaking of pups, the MFDs are a beast! Think P bass on steroids, then give it 9 pints of Stella and a flick knife. That's how aggy they are. The lack of a tone control doesn't bother me, it's plenty versatile without it. I've always been a bit unsure about PJs in the past, thinking they don't really know what they want to be, but both pups on this are great and it sounds huge.

 

Here's some pics. The room light makes everything a lot more amber looking than it is in reality.....

 

 

 

 

How do you find the bridge pup?  Does it have the same output as the neck pup?  And is it noisy?  I assume its not hum cancelling.

[Jonesy]

3 hours ago, BillyBass said:

How do you find the bridge pup?  Does it have the same output as the neck pup?  And is it noisy?  I assume its not hum cancelling.

 

There is a drop in output when soloing the bridge pup, but it's not that noisey in the whole grand scheme of things, the drop is also less than I hear in my G&L JB Tribute (which has the Fender 74 vintage pups in it). I wouldn't typically play with just the bridge pup, so I can't say it impacts me and the pups are pretty hot, so are already sending a chunky signal to the amp too. 

 

This vid is a pretty fair review of it and it might be useful to you

 

 

I'm only in Enfield, so if you're thinking about buying one and want to try it out first, then you're more than welcome to pop over

[Jonesy]

On 05/01/2022 at 08:58, OllyW said:

The Kiloton Tribute I got from Andertons a couple of weeks ago was exactly the same, there was a little plastic tab protruding from the end of the nut and the slots weren't cut deep enough. I've got a set of Hosco nut files so it didn't take long to sort out the nut height and I carefully removed the tab at the same time.

 

That, and having a go at a setup, is on my to do list for this weekend. I'll probably soon be posting pictures of a neck that looks like its been butchered with a bread knife and asking for help 😃

[BillyBass]

5 hours ago, Jonesy said:

 

There is a drop in output when soloing the bridge pup, but it's not that noisey in the whole grand scheme of things, the drop is also less than I hear in my G&L JB Tribute (which has the Fender 74 vintage pups in it). I wouldn't typically play with just the bridge pup, so I can't say it impacts me and the pups are pretty hot, so are already sending a chunky signal to the amp too. 

 

This vid is a pretty fair review of it and it might be useful to you

 

 

I'm only in Enfield, so if you're thinking about buying one and want to try it out first, then you're more than welcome to pop over

PM'd

[Munurmunuh]

17 hours ago, Jonesy said:

I wouldn't typically play with just the bridge pup, so I can't say it impacts me and the pups are pretty hot, so are already sending a chunky signal to the amp too. 

 

This vid is a pretty fair review of it and it might be useful to you

 

 

I'm pretty certain that the single coil pickup is even closer to the bridge than on a 70s Jazz – I always presumed that it's there to add a little or a lot to the sound?

 

I do like Ivan's reviews, but I think demoing the bridge solo was a waste of time, it just sounds like a riled bee. I would love to have heard him doing neck ¾ + bridge ¼, or neck full + bridge ½.

 

I'm curious to know how much bridge you can add before the cancellation (or whatever the right term is) starts eating into the core of the tone.

 

PS please do keep us updated with how you find those EXL170s as time goes on. On my TRBX I found them desperately unequal to the task of giving the bass some depth of character. Not a problem they'll be facing on your SB!

 

PPS as soon as I posted that I went to listen to this demo

 

 

When the caption says "Slap bridge" its actually both pickups – he turns up the second knob without turning down the first (as if he thinks he's turning a blend knob from one extreme to the other) At any rate, it sound great

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Ricky Rioli

[neepheid]

Lol at "riled bee"

 

[BaggyMan]

I made a scratchplate for My SB-2, got the bass unloved for only £120, best buy of my life!. 

Now also own a tribby Kiloton (same body as the SB-2) and a JB.  JB is waaaaaaaay heavier than the other two.     MFD pickups ...DAMMMMN.  as with most of us on here i have other basses and coming back to the sb-2 is startling every time.  Love 'em.

 

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, BaggyMan said:

got the bass unloved for only £120, best buy of my life!. 

 

*rapid involuntary ejection of brewed beverage from mouth*

 

£120?  Bloody bargain - well done!

 

I'd put up with the bridge pickup being there for £120...

Edited January 31, 2022 by neepheid

[BaggyMan]

7 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

*rapid involuntary ejection of brewed beverage from mouth*

 

£120?  Bloody bargain - well done!

 

I'd put up with the bridge pickup being there for £120...

Yeah it was unloved a little, needed a lot of set up work and a new scratchplate (the old one was warped) but it is a wonderful thing...my go to live bass over a couple of Stingrays....

 

[Munurmunuh]

On 08/01/2022 at 09:40, Ricky Rioli said:

PS please do keep us updated with how you find those EXL170s as time goes on. 

 

Pleeeeeeeeeease? 🙏🥺😁

[Lfalex v1.1]

On 08/01/2022 at 09:40, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I'm pretty certain that the single coil pickup is even closer to the bridge than on a 70s Jazz – I always presumed that it's there to add a little or a lot to the sound?

(Snip...)

On 08/01/2022 at 09:40, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I'm curious to know how much bridge you can add before the cancellation (or whatever the right term is) starts eating into the core of the tone.

 

 

Both the pickups are unusually hot. The P isn't particularly linear in the way it gets louder as you turn it up (irrespective of what the J is doing)

This means that both pickups are usable across a wide range of volume control positions. 

 

If you run the P at about ⅓ and the J off, it'll deliver a classic "P with the tone rolled off" getting progressively brighter and louder as you turn it up. I just use the J for more sparkle ( so basically as an expensive tone control!)

 

I just keep coming back to mine in spite of having "better" instruments to choose from. It just sounds and feels right, and is just "fun" to play. 

[Jonesy]

On 05/02/2022 at 08:05, Ricky Rioli said:

 

Pleeeeeeeeeease? 🙏🥺😁

 

I'll be honest, I haven't played it for more than 10 mins since the MIJ P turned up, so I'm not in the best place to answer that yet! 

 

However, they seem really nice. Not as aggy as the Roto's, but still pretty bright. I'd imagine Roto's paired with the MFDs would be aggy enough to end most bar fights

[Munurmunuh]

4 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

I'd imagine Roto's paired with the MFDs would be aggy enough to end most bar fights

 

The cute-looking pink and maple SB-1 was strung with them.... 😇

[Munurmunuh]

38 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

However, they seem really nice

 

Since a polite alnico TRBX humbucker and an MFD split are pretty different, I think that when my next attempt at an SB-1 turns up, I'll give the stock Daddarios a second chance to win my affections.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Mine came with DR Lo-Riders.

Which sound.... enormous.

[Munurmunuh]

32 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Mine came with DR Lo-Riders.

Which sound.... enormous.

Nickel-plated or pure steel? I've been thinking about the Nickel version. But £30 before postage.... 

[Lfalex v1.1]

I actually don't know,  but they sound like steels. Too much mid for Nickels.

Either way,  they're lasting really well. 

[Munurmunuh]

6 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Too much mid for Nickels.

 

For what it's worth, the Lo Rider Nickels were recommended to me (repeatedly!) on TB when I was wanting to find some mids-rich nickel-plated hexcore rounds. The only way of differentiating that I would trust myself with is asking myself, are these rounds shiny enough to be nickel-plated?

[Tokalo]

I also purchased an SB-2 from GuitarGuitar in January: the surf green version with a maple fingerboard.
I changed strings immediately because the EXLs felt scratchy against the frets.
Once it was loaded with TI flats however, it became a thing of joy, beauty and wonder. Such a pleasure to play.
Then I read this thread and thought I should take the protective film off the bridge because it looked a bit “bumpy”.

But… there is no film on the bridge.

 

I guess it must have been a fault with one of the layers below the chrome - see pix - and (eventually) I swapped it for a replacement, which is fine (i.e. awesome!)

 

 

 

[Jonesy]

Glad that you got it swapped over and sorted. A couple of years ago I tried out a G&L JB in Andertons that had the same issue with the bridge, it looked like the chrome was pitted and there were also a few issues with the binding on the neck. Maybe its a common QC issue?