My Old Gear

on the way out:

G&L SB-2
metallic redburst/rw
Circle K Balanced rounds

This is a nice older SB2 in a great metallic redburst finish. It's reasonably lightweight at 8.7lbs and an impulse bid on ebay got for me at a nice price. I plan to set it up with rounds or SIT Silencers and possibly modify it with a neck humbucker like I have my Tribute SB2. I had a Climax bass in this finish a long time ago and really liked the finish. This one has some wear but I'm hoping it still looks good.

It's got some wear but still looks great and is decently light (8.6lbs). It arrived with an awful setup. I've got it mostly under control but it needs some more work. I'm going to need to do some more setup work to get the action right. I also need to do my stack knob mod and the existing tone pot is seriously scratchy so I'll just swap that out for a new pot and start fresh. Once those things are done it should be a killer example of an older SB2.

After some work the setup is just where I like it and the bass sounds great (and I haven't touched the electronics yet). Set up with rounds it's becoming one of my favorite basses to pull off the wall and play.

In the long run there are things I love about SB2s and things I love about JB2s and I can't go with only one and not the other. And I haven't given up hope of finding "the one" - a model of bass that I'm happy with all the time. So the quest continues.

Schroeder 15+L cabinet

The Carvin LS1503 cabinets I had sounded great but were a bit big/bulky/heavy for carrying up/down stairs and for quieter things. So I tried out a Schroeder 15+L. It's pretty small, ~30lbs and is a dream to cart around. It has rhino lining exterior so it doesn't pick up bar smells like a carpeted cab (the LS1503s) and will has a more traditional 2-way bass cab voicing. It is plenty for rehearsals (including loud GDB rehearsals) and more than enough for church and coffee house gigs.

While I didn't like the sound of the angled baffle (1210, 1212) Schroeders I've had I've always been super-impressed with Jorg Schroeder's service. The 15+L is a "standard" direct firing 2-way cab and the size & weight fit what I want in a smaller cab. I'm thinking that it will serve me well for quiet gigs & rehearsals. I liked the sound well enough that I purchased second one and made them my primary rig.

So far the Schroeder 15+L is knocking me out. It sounds great (which I never thought of the angled baffle Schroeders) and is light and easy to cart around. It can handle both quiet things and loud rehearsals (the 250W from the BBT is enough for either).

I'm backing off from the "loud band" thing - I don't want to do any more bands that require earplugs in rehearsal. As such this little rig is becoming the top dog. With a medical reason to avoid heavy things I'm moving to this setup as my only rig and added a second 15+L as when I sold off my heavier stuff. A pair of 15+Ls with 500-1000W into them are louder than I want to be next to and easy to move around.

In the end I miss my midrange-equipped Carvin LS1503s too much. Lowdown Sound builds some custom 2-way and 3-way cabs with midrange drivers and I'll be getting one or two of those. That means something else has to go and one 15+L and the 12+L are it.

Schroeder 12+L cabinet

I do plenty of quieter things - rehearsals, acoustic/semi-acoustic gigs, coffeehouse-type stuff where even one Schroeder 15+L is overkill. I've tried a couple of combos and not gotten the sound I want, although the all-in-one smaller package had great portability. In an effort to get the super-easy portability with a tone I like I'm trying an even smaller Schroeder cab - a mini 12+ light. 20 lbs, 4 Ohms and I'm sure with either the BX500 or BBT500H it will crank out more sound than I need in those quiet environments. I'm giving up the total portability of the combo but I think getting the tone I'm used to will be worth it.

Initial impressions of the 12+L are that it's the essentially the same tone as my 15+Ls in a smaller package. So exactly what I was looking for. Now it's just a decision of whether the better portability of a combo has me keeping the BR12 around. The BX500 doesn't hang on the lip of the tilted-back 12+L (like it does on a 15+L) because the smaller cab's corner protectors get in the way of the feet. The cab is barely wider than the BX500. So I need a new solution to fix that and it's just a decision of "best tone w/2 things to schlep" vs. "not quite ideal tone w/1 thing to schlep".

4 distinct cab combinations (12+L, 15+L, 12+L/15+L, 15+L/15+L) should cover anything I ever do. And I guess I could actually do a 12+L/15+L/15+L stack if I brought two amps along. I am tempted by a second 12+L but I think the cab options with one 12+L and two 15+Ls are probably enough . . .

I've gone back to the modified Carvin BR12 combo as my "small rig". And in the end I miss my midrange-equipped Carvin LS1503s too much. Lowdown Sound builds some custom 2-way and 3-way cabs with midrange drivers and I'll be getting one or two of those. That means something else has to go and one 15+L and the 12+L are it.

long gone:

Fender HMT
cherryburst/rw
SIT Power Flats

These are curious basses from Fender - MIJ with a piezo bridge and a Lace P pickup. The headstock is ugly but the neck is slim. I'm not a big fan of the piezo sound (although Cafe Walter makes a piezo buffer to improve the sound) and will probably pull the active electronics and run it as a passive P only (one of the pots is broken anyway so pulling the original electronics will be the first order of business once it arrives). I may drop an extra MFD P pickup I have into it for maximum output.

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results . . . but the last time I tried an HMT bass it was working OK for me until I added a Yamaha BB714BS and an NS Wav electric upright to the mix. At which time my wrists couldn't take it. So I'm hoping that just an HMT will be something I can play as desired.

It's just not comfortable enough to play all the time and sonically an SB2 with flats gets close enough and is comfortable enough for me. So it's going to head out and hopefully I won't revisit this type of bass again.

G&L Tribute JB-2
natural ash/maple
unknown rounds

This Trib JB2 was listed on ebay brand new for a good price. I checked on the weight and was told "about 8lbs" so I went ahead and pulled the trigger. The Trib JB2 sound has never let me down live - I love how they sing throughout their range.

I wanted "just one more bass" - one to be my "experimental" bass that gets different tunings (DGCF, BEAD) without taking away from my SB2 w/flats, SB2 w/rounds, JB2 w/rounds all in EADG availability. So I sprung for another Trib JB2 to play with after giving up on the L-series thing again.

I swapped necks and the natural ash/maple combo looks good. I tried DGCF and it didn't last long. Now I'm thinking that I'll try one with rounds and one with flats and see if it's worth keeping two around.

Kala U-bass
spruce top
OEM polyurethane strings

This is bass ukelele. Reports and youtube videos show that it has a very acoustic/upright tone. I'm looking forward to playing around with it when it arrives.

I went for the fretted version as folks have reported that the very small scale length makes it hard to get good fretless intonation. And since I mostly play fretted even on my 34" scale basses I figured fretted would be the way to go. I hope that it's fun to play and gives me a very acoustic sounding option since my EUB attempt didn't work out.

A very fun little bass. Unfortunately the ergonomics are not going to work for me. So off it goes, yet another cool instrument done in by my finicky wrists.

G&L SB-2
black swirl/rw
D'Addario XLs

Skinny necked G&Ls are "it" for me in comfort. I seem to swing between the different models as to what is my favorite sounding one at any given time. SB2s have been my main players for longer than any of the other models and I needed to get a fretted one in the lineup.

This SB2 popped up on ebay with a reported weight of just over 8 lbs, good frets, good truss rod, good neck and a fairly good condition sample of the black/silver swirl finish. So I pulled the trigger to complete my little G&L collection. On arrival I found that it does weigh that little and is a nice example of an SB2. I need to get it set up with strings more to my liking (it seems to have some kind of old steel rounds that are turning my fingertips black) - either SIT Silencers or Power Flats - and then see how much I play it.

As usual the comfort is ideal, especially with the light weight of this bass. Tonally it is an SB2, and that's a good thing. I find that alone an L2K sounds better to me than an SB2. But get into a live mix, especially a dense/loud rock mix, and the SB2 is a thing of beauty that lets me get a balance that works for me.

I did my usual stacked pot mod on it and for a while it wore the fretless ebony neck from the LPB SB2. It's back to its original configuration and I've put D'Addario XL rounds on it for maximum bite. The SIT Silencers are nice compromise string, but I've learned that I prefer either the bite of full rounds or the grunt of groundwounds - so forget the compromise and go one way or the other.

The recent acquisition of another SB2 (6-bolt black one) has made this one superfluous. I keep vacillating whether to let it or the L1K go and today this bass is the one on the block.

G&L BABP L-1000
redburst alder/maple
D'Addario XLs

BABP with Guitar Man did a limited edition run of G&L L-1000 reissues. This one has a redburst finish over an alder body, a rosewood board on a #8 neck (1.5" nut width, 12" fretboard radius) with gun-oil tint finish. It's also very light with reported weights of 7.9 and 8.1 lbs.

I traded a nice G&L JB-2 for this bass since it better fits my overall tonal goals. I had one before and liked it a lot but didn't keep it around as I have a love/hate relationship with G&L MFD humbucking pickups. I hope to keep this one around and use it when the spirit moves me, and fall back to my MFD split-coil equipped basses at other times.

The L1K gives me the sounds I look for in an L2K - I'm just not a bridge pickup guy. This is my second time around with an L1K and I think the comment that "this bass makes the sounds I hear in my head" (like the Rumblefish PJ) from the first time I had one means it should stick around. I have issues with top string clarity/volume/cut through live but I think I can work through those with proper bass setup and careful attention to bass settings while playing live (time will tell). If not I'll enjoy my time with it and send it on its way.

My liking for this bass follows my usual MFD humbucker trajectory - initially I love it because I haven't played on in a while, then as time goes on I can't get the string-to-string balance I like (the G string gets lost in the mix for me) and it falls out of favor. But so far I've been unable to let it go because it's such a good bass.

G&L SB-1
fullerton red/rw
D'Addario XLs

G&L started making the SB-1 again. It's basically a P-bass with an MFD split coil pickup. This one has a #8 neck (1.5" nut width and 12" fretboard radius) and weighs in at 8.6 lbs.

I've found the MFD split-coil equipped basses work best for me and this has that plus the modern G&L features - PLEKed neck, rolled fretboard edges, etc. that make it very nice to play. This bass is slated to get set up with SIT Power Flats (the L1K is my main "roundwound wearing solid body").

It's a wonderful bass but for the second time ever I ran across a skinny G&L neck that didn't agree with me. Maybe a bit to thick front to back? I'm not sure what it was and I'm sad to see the bass go as I'm starting to believe that the bridge pickup on an SB2 is completely superfluous. I think I'll test out that theory by rewiring the next one I get as vol/tone with the J pickup left completely out of the picture.

G&L Tribute JB-2
natural ash/rosewood
D'Addario XLs

I've liked the Trib JB2s I've had lately and missed having that option in my lineup. I've been very satisfied with the Tributes I've had so being a bit on the frugal side I can see why I've gravitated towards them. I may slowly swap out the Tribbys for US G&Ls if I find the right deals/steals (I've found deals in the past, we'll see if they are still out there to be had in the future).

I will install a series/parallel push/pull pot in this JB2 and see what that does for me, tonewise. Even without the series/parallel option it's getting a lot of playing time. Jazz-style basses have never done it for me but I'm learning better how to take advantage of its strengths and it is really working well in my louder group that has a pretty dense sonic mix to deal with. It sings and the higher ranges cut through in a balanced way while the lows are present and growly with nice presence/punch throughout. Although it's not the prettiest sound solo or via headphone amp it just works live.

The effect of the series/parallel switch (actually a push/pull pot) was not as dramatic as I expected. It is noticeable, and series looks to be my favorite sound for the most part, but not as dramatic as I had thought it might be based on my experience with Rumblefish XLs (which have series/parallel/single pickup switching with a JJ setup). It is fun to have on the JB2 and I just have to remember that any of my basses will cover any of my gigs, I just need to not get hung up on tone minutiae that noone but me notices.

I really liked the Fender tapewounds on this bass. Still has a lot of roundwound punch and definition but with no finger noise and sweeter top end. They seem like slap/pop (not a technique I've mastered, to say the least) will work fairly well still. Intriguing and fun to experiment with. I ended up taking them off partially because the lower tension wasn't making me happy.

The key for me with this bass is to turn up the amp - when it starts sounding thin or choked to me I need to make the amp do more work and play more lightly. Then the sound fills in how I like it. It's actually true for me on all basses - it's just that the high output of an L2K or SB2 gets there more easily. The volume knob is my friend (as is eq when playing quietly - bump the lows & highs to get the same full sound as when the amp is cranked up more).

This bass has never let me down but I've committed (for now) to another round of simplification and the JB2s are heading out.

G&L JB-2
blue metal flake/birdseye maple
DR Low Riders

This is a US JB2 with some interesting features. Premium blue metal flake finish with matching headstock, requested light ash body and GOT (gun oil tint) on the neck. The pickups have been replaced with Nordstrand humbucking jazz pickups.

Playing the Trib JB2 at a rehearsal when it was listed for sale got it taken down and had me looking for a US JB2. A friend saw my wanted posting and offered up this beauty. It's flashy with the metalflake finish and I don't usually go for the gloss or GOT necks on G&Ls but it was too nice a bass to pass up because of that one detail. It's light enough at 8.8 lbs and will give me the traditional jazz sound (if not anything close to a traditional look). It will displace a US SB2 - I'll need to figure out which one stays and which one goes.

It has that jazz bass grind/snap/edge/thing to the sound that I like. The Nordstrands are silent and the overall sound is a bit smoother than my Trib JB2. The action is nice and low (probably because new G&Ls are PLEKed) and it's a pleasure to play. And boy is it flashy. Let's see how long it sticks around.

Not long at all. It's a good bass but the SB2s rise to the top of the heap again. And I'm on a simplification kick so the JB2s are heading out.

G&L SB-2
sparkle black metallic/rw
unknown nickel rounds

This is a nice '95 USA G&L SB-2 in sparkle black metallic finish (just a nice metallic black - I know the "official" name because that was the color I ordered for my first new G&L, an L-2000 back in 2000) with a rosewood board. It's nice and light at 8.4 lbs.

This bass needs a tone pot modification (it needs a tone pot) and will probably get some SIT Power Flats soon.

I overbought on SB2s thinking I would settle down with primarily those. And then I played my Trib JB2 at a rehearsal and felt the need for a US one. So one of the SB2s had to go and this was the last in. Playing it while getting it ready to head out brought on a little seller's remorse but I can't keep them all and was up to my limit.

Fender HMT Bass
sunburst/rw
SIT Power Flats

This is an oddball Fender - an MIJ bass with a semihollow body, a very slim neck with an ugly "heavy metal" hockeystick headstock and "sharktooth" inlays. It has a Lace P pickup and a piezo bridge with a TBX active circuit.

I picked this up because I love semihollows and am looking for one that can give me the sound of my Reverend Rumblefish PJ with the comfort of a skinny necked G&L. This may not be it but it will be fun to play with. I have a G&L MFD split-coil pickup to drop in it and will add a Cafe Walter piezo buffer if it sticks around for a while. If not I'll send it on it's way and continue looking for that elusive semihollow that ergonomically fits me.

It's here and incredibly light (7.0 lbs by the bathroom scale). The G&L MFD split-coil pickup sounds great in it. The piezo buffer makes the piezo better, but I'm still not a piezo fan. I'm thinking that I will be pulling the active electronics and having it just be a passive bass and not use the piezo at all. I need more foam under the pickup so when I find some it's slated for more surgery.

A bout of wrist issues (brought on by yardwork) led me to the re-realization that I just need to have a nice lineup of G&L basses to choose from and stick with those. All the other flavors and variations are nice but as a part-time weekend warrior hacker I just need a few basses that are comfortable to play. Everything else is unnecessary. So everything that's not a G&L or my Rumblefish is heading out.

NSDesign Wav4 Electric Upright
amberburst
OEM strings

The NS Design Wav 4 is the most affordable (read "cheapest") version of an electric upright designed by Ned Steinberger. Can do arco or pizz and has a unique pickup system to pick up either technique.

I love the sound of real upright and am curious if I'll be physically able to play this type of bass. The Wav4 is an affordable way to try it out and see if the ergonomics will work for me. It also will allow silent practice which is a must for me in my home. I hope it works for me - if so I can see a bow and endpin stand in my future, with upgrades to a better EUB and eventually something either semi or fully acoustic. It also lends itself to the acoustic/semi-acoustic/roots music I most enjoy playing.

The first impressions are good - it's fun to plunk around on although I think I need to raise the bridge some to get more room to "dig in". The OEM strings will do me for a while and I'm already planning what I can use it on this weekend even though I've had it less than a day. The different scale is really going to change the kinds of lines I play when I use it. I wonder if I can wait until I know how comfortable it is before I start buying accessories.

As much fun as it is to plunk on the comfort (as I suspected) is not there for me. So I can take EUB and AUB off the list of instruments that I can aspire to play. And, incidentally, I need to sell this one to someone who can play it.

Yamaha BB714BS
lava red/rw
OEM rounds

I've been curious about the Billy Sheehan pickup config (P plus neck mudbucker) for a while as I like the tone he gets on his Niacin work. His original Attitude bass has a wider neck that I know won't work for me. This BB714BS has a narrower neck that I hope does work for me.

I'm liking the tone and the construction seems top notch. Time will tell if the tone is something I stay with once the new rubs off it. Initial impressions of the neck & ergonomics are that they may be doable - but I'll have to take some time with it to know. I'm going to have steal back my Yamaha BBT500H head from my son and try this bass out with some of the overdriven sounds - I bet it really shines.

I need to try it live but my initial reaction is this bass gives me the sounds I want. I'm still searching for the right strap length to see if it can work ergonomically for me. If it does it will probably climb into the #1 player slot and if it doesn't I see a DiMarzio Will Power neck pickup in a G&L SB-2s future.

OK, I love, absolutely love, the tone from this bass. But no matter what I do with strap height, etc. I can't get comfortable on it. So it's going to head out and I'm going to get a Tribute SB2 and add a neck humbucker for an almost equivalent pickup configuration on a bass that's more comfortable for me.

I exchanged it for a Trib JB2 to try Dark Star pickups in (I already had a Trib SB2 on the way for "Sheehan-izing").

G&L L-2000
cherryburst/maple
D'Addario XLs

An L-2000 was the first bass the really spoke to me. Whenever I get one it's like coming home - it just sounds and feels (if it has a skinny neck) right. But over time there are some nits with them that drive me to send them on their way and try something else. The plan now is to collect a small lineup of comfortable basses (4-string G&Ls with skinny necks) that give me the sounds I like so I can play whichever one speaks to me at the moment.

This bass is light enough (8.7lbs) and cherryburst has grown on me to where I can live with it, even if I don't love it. Buyers of used instruments can't be choosers. With the natural body binding it's a classy, colorful look.

It's an L2K - plenty of growl and depth. I'm finding that very careful adjustment of pickup and polepiece height is my key for taming the sometimes uncontrollable low end from an MFD humbucker.

In the end I tire of the careful adjustment and tweaking necessary to get the sounds I like to balance - and then find that on the gig I'm not getting the response I want. So back to SB2s and JB2s which, while they don't sound as good to me solo, work better in the mix (for me, IMO). And off this bass goes to Croatia.

G&L L-2000 BABP Limited Edition
blackburst ash/ebony
SIT Power Flats

This was a limited edition done by G&L for Badass Bass Players - 23 total made. All with #8 neck, blackburst finish (not something available generally from G&L) and series/parallel/single coil switching. I had one for a while before and they are nice L2Ks with single coil mode (in addition to the standard series and parallel) and the last ebony fretted boards out of Fullerton. A pleked #8 neck with satin finish and this specimen weighs in at 8.7 lbs.

I believe I've come to the realization that I need to keep at least one L2K around all the time and this will be a nice one to put in the "L2K keeper" slot.

I like the feel of the neck, the weight is good and I'm really liking single coil mode. This bass jumped to the #1 fretted solidbody spot immediately. Let's see if it stays there and is consistently the first one pulled down off the wall to play.

My cherryburst L2K sounds so good with rounds that I put flats (actually groundwounds) on this one for the contrast and it sounds good. I think I may end up going with this combo - the L2K w/groundwounds for quieter things and the L2K w/rounds for the raucous rock thing.

And the cycle repeats - L2Ks sound great solo and I don't have the patience to deal with them live. Off it goes to an online friend.

Steinberger Spirit XZ-2
cherryburst ash/rw

This is an all-wood import version of the composite-necked Steinberger bass. For a number of years Gibson (the current owner of the Steinberger brand) sold them direct via the MusicYo website but in the last year or two they started selling the paddle-bodied Spirits via a traditional distributer/retailer model and stopped production of the XZs.

I love the engineering behind these instruments - with a full 34" scale the headless small-bodied layout is very compact to cart around and I find it a lot of fun to play. The comfort isn't quite as good, for me, as a skinny necked G&L or a couple of these with modified electronics might become my main solidbodies.

It didn't take long for my wrists to remind me that these just don't fit me. If insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results, then GAS needs to get on the recognized list of psychiatric disorders - because that's what I keep doing. I hereby remind myself not to get another Steinberger XZ/XQ as even though they are well-designed instruments they just don't fit me.

G&L Climax
sparkle black/rw
SIT Silencers

One bass type that has previously not worked for me (J-style basses) has become one of my favorites. So it was time to revisit another one that had always failed to thrill me, the "Stingray sweetspot" type bass. Since skinny necked G&Ls are my ideal for comfort a Climax or skinny-necked L-1500 was the way to go.

I owned this Climax a couple of years ago so when I saw it on CL (with my old pictures) I knew that I was familiar with it and while it's a bit worn it's a nice, solid bass. I'm looking forward to spending some time with it and seeing what I think about it these days. I will definitely try some flats on it over time to see how I like that combo. I'm thinking a nice selection of skinny necked G&Ls would be ideal to give me plenty of options so bargain US G&Ls are on my shopping list (SB2, L2K, Lynx, etc.).

I forgot how light it was - at 8.2 lbs it's a feather. As usual my first impression of a Climax is "there's enough low end here for anything". It is bright and aggressive as well but I'll bet that fits in well with my loud band.

Careful adjustment of the pickup and polepiece height along with some pressurewound strings to tame the clank has it working very well for me. I had a month where I needed Eb so I tuned it down a whole step to DGCF and it worked very well. But in the long run I was never picking it up - the SB2, L2K, JB2 (and Rumblefish PJ) all got taken out and the Climax just languished on the wall. So it's on the block to head somewhere it will get played.

Markbass CMD121P

Although a Schroeder 15+L plus a head isn't overly heavy it's still a separate head and cab. And can get very, very loud. All the church & coffeehouse type playing I do doesn't require that much volume and I thought it would be nice to be able to breeze in with a tiny combo, a power cord and an instrument cord being all I need. And with my son playing bass he sometimes needs something a bit louder than the Microbass but small enough that he can carry. Hence the Markbass CMD121P.

The CMD121P gets very loud and sounds warm and solid for such a small combo. It essentially has a Markbass Little Mark II head built in and puts out 300W into the built-in speaker and can put out 500W with an 8 Ohm extension cab (I'll have to think about whether to track one of those down). I'll see over time whether I like the combo better than I would just adding a Markbass F1 to use with a single Schroeder.

The size, form factor and volume capability of the CMD121P is about perfect for me. The only drawbacks are that it only can handle an 8 Ohm extension cab (my other cabs are 4 Ohm) and that the tone isn't quite what I'm looking for. So it's gonna head out and I'm going to try some other options to see what I can come up with.

G&L SB-2 fretless
black/ebony
SIT Power Flats

A skinny-necked G&L is the most comfortable type of bass (for me) that I've found. I like the L2K and SB2 sounds best so finding a fretless that met those requirements fills the "fretless" slot. It will get some use in semi-acoustic settings (usually church). This one has G&L's "ghostlines" (empty fret slots). I'd prefer unlined ebony but this should work and if the gaps bug me in any way I can always get them filled.

I thought that ideally I'd like an L2K fretless but I found this SB2 fretless on ebay at a good price. With the little I'll actually play fretless in public it should take care of the fretless jones pretty well. I put some SIT Power Flats on it and I'm ready to make whale sounds and experiment with microtonality (i.e. bad intonation/out of tune) again. In the long run a passive SB2 is probably a better fit for my fretless slot - less to worry about for its infrequent use.

The inevitable happened and I came across an L2K fretless (with requisite skinny neck). After comparing them side-by-side I came to the conclusion that the SB2 fretless is a better fit for me. The only drawback is this one is a little heavy at 10.4 lbs. I may look at lightening it either by swapping it out for a lighter SB2 fretless or swapping bodies with a lighter SB2 at some point. Then again I don't play a lot of fretless so it's not like I'm playing it for hours at a time.

I found a lighter SB2 fretless so this one had to go. It's a good bass and other than the weight I was never dissatisfied with it.

G&L JB-2
trans blonde ash/rw
SIT Silencers

I came across this one on Craigslist for a decent price and the seller was willing to ship to me. This bass is nice and light and extremely resonant. When I play an open E I can feel the vibrations all through my torso. I like that.

While the JB2 isn't my favorite tone through a headphone amp I really dig the sound in the live recordings I've done. I just need to keep reminding myself that's the real test - how does it sound in the mix and I like the combo of plenty of grunt, clarity, balance, and a top end sparkle/zing (that the L1K does nicely as well).

I tried SIT Power Flats on it and was reminded that I really prefer rounds on a J-style bass so I put some D'Addario XLs on instead. Much better. But now I remember that I prefer the sound of the pickups in the Tribby JB2s to those in the US JB2s. I put some Fender Custom Shop 60s Jazz pickups in and like those much better than the OEM pickups. More bottom but still zingy. Along with a series/parallel switch you've got a nice range of tones.

With rounds it slices like a razor and the tone control is definitely my friend. Growl on the lows and clear highs with a tendency to get nasal if I'm not careful. Great with fingers, not so much with a pick so far. Playing with the series/parallel, pickup balance and tone give a lot of tonal options. I need to spend some extended quality time with it to figure out how well it fits me. And it deserves a chance to show it's mettle - I've dropped SB-2s and L2Ks previously so the JB-2 needs a chance to see if it can make the sounds I hear in my head.

I switched it to SIT Silencers to smooth out the tone a little bit and am really liking them on this bass. They tone down the "razor-ness" of it a bit but still allow the bite/clank on the top end. Right now this is my favorite bass to pick up and play which is a first for me, it being a J-style bass and all. I do have to continue to push myself to be willing to turn the amp volume knob up enough to let the strings speak/sing without overplucking - odd but I'm used to MFD-equipped G&Ls where the massive pickup output means not having to turn up much at all. But the knobs are there for a reason, right?

Through the new-to-me Markbass combo it's warm, clear and sings with just a touch of bite/clank on the top that sounds great to me. Great sound in an acoustic type of setting and cranking up the tone will let it slice through a loud rock band when needed.

In the end I've fallen back to MFD-equipped G&L basses (L2K, SB2, Climax) and this is gonna head on out.

G&L Tribute SB-2
amber ash/rosewood

This is a first generation (Korean-made) Tribute SB-2 in amber over ash with a rosewood fretboard. I've had a number of these in the past and as long as the weight is good it will be a nice bass to have around.

SB-2s have been, at time, my favorite basses to play. So I was watching for a good deal on a Tribute SB2 (the Tributes, to me are 80 or 90-some percent of the goodness of a US SB-2 at a fraction of the price) and found this one. I like the trans finishes on ash from the first generation models better than the current opaque over basswood options so I snagged it. I'll have to do my stacked vol/tone mode to it and then either put SIT Power Flats or SIT Silencers on it.

The sound is exactly what I expect from an SB2. Unfortunately this ones a bit heavier than I can deal with for extended periods so it's going to head back out soon.

G&L JB
emerald blue/rosewood/mhs
OEM D'Addario XLs

This is one of the new JB basses from G&L that has traditional jazz bass styling - offset waist body, pickguard and control plate. It has dual single coil pickups (like the JB2) with vol/vol/tone controls. The neck is 1.5" wide at the nut and a 12" fretboard radius like a G&L #8 but is unique to the JB as it has 20 frets where all other G&L bass necks have 21 frets.

My JB2 experiments have left me pretty happy with the sounds from a J-style bass once I add a series/parallel option. I love the look of pickguards and control plates (Jaguar, Stingray, Sabre, Jazz, etc.) so it was a natural progression to add a bass with the look I really like from the company that makes my favorite necks - particularly once I saw this one on ebay with the deeper emerald blue color with matching headstock. I'm going to try a set of DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups in it and see what I think of those. It's reported to be 9.2 lbs - medium weight but as low as I've seen for a JB so far. Once it arrives I'll have to decide whether to keep both JB2s around along with it.

UPS sent this bass on an extra round trip - it made it to Houston then disappeared from their system for a week and then reappeared back at the seller in California. It made it all the way to my house the next time.

My forearm is getting sore after playing this bass exclusively for several days. There's just something about the offset body that seems to put the neck at a location or angle that's not working for me. So even though it sounds awesome and looks great it's going to have to go. It's going back the dealer I bought it from on ebay for a refund. Great bass. Traditional jazz bass ergonomics don't work for me. Must update G&L rules.

G&L L-2000
cherryburst ash/maple
D'Addario XLs (nickel rounds)

As usual when I don't have an L2K around I started craving the sound of one. So I found one with my requisite skinny neck and pulled the trigger. I think the rotation of L2K, SB1 and JB2 should keep me from looking for more sounds and they'll all have the great comfort of a skinny necked G&L so I can play as long as I'd like.

I daydream about doing some bigtime modifications to this bass (go all passive, L1K-type switching per pickup, vol/vol/bass/treble controls, etc.) which will probably never happen. It will probably stay as a stock L2K. I plan on exploring parallel mode a lot more (I tend to be drawn to series mode) and wonder if I'll find tones in it that will eventually make me think about dropping the JB2(s) and/or SB1 for another L2K. Probably not.

What can I say, it's an L2K. It came to me in need of some new strings and a setup to my preferences and those it got. D'Addario XLs for roundwound zing and bite. I'm going to spend more time with parallel mode than I have in the past. These days the neck pickup in parallel passive seems to be my favorite setting.

Nice bass but after playing a wedding with it I found myself missing the SB-2 sound which has been my live go-to bass for a fairly long time. So this is tentatively on the block to replace with an SB-2 (the SB-1 mentioned above is gone and I like what the bridge pickup brings to the SB2 over the SB1 anyway). I went back over my "G&L Rules" to highlight keeping SB2s and not getting L-series basses so I can try to not revisit this yet another time.

Fender Jaguar
sunburst alder/rw
OEM Fender 7205M nickel plated steel rounds

I've been curious about these so now that they are being clearanced (along with an additional discount that was ending shortly) I decided it was time to try one out. It has a slim jazz neck, alder body, single coil pickups, series mode and active/passive electronics so it will have a lot of tones in there. Comfort will be the question.

I do like how they look - I like pickguards and control plates. The sunburst with tortoise pickguard and the chrome plates looked the best to me. The upper horn reaches just about the 12th fret so I'm hoping the comfort is good. If it's not then it will go back for a refund (or get resold/traded).

Initial impressions are that the tone is super - plenty of variety with some that I really like in there. The preamp is a useful enhancer but there's still the safety net of passive mode a switch away. Neck seems good enough and the ergos in general are potentially OK -- more time is needed and will tell if the shape/balance of the bass allows it to stick or insists that it go. If it stays it will probably displace both JB2s (with some help from the L2K that arrived on the same day).

G&L SB-1
sunburst/maple
SIT Power Flats

I was pretty happy with my small selection of basses and had the long-term goal of converting the Tributes in the lineup into US G&Ls given the right opportunity (read a good enough deal on a US version that matches my likes). This SB1 came up on ebay and the seller reported a 1.5" nut width and ~8lbs by their scale so it has the right neck and weight. Based on the age it may be my favorite neck as I prefer the thicker #6s to the thinner #8s I've been finding lately.

At times an SB-2 is my favorite G&L (in rotation with L2Ks and JB-2s) and it's really the split-coil neck pickup that I dig so the SB-1 should be similar. I need to keep one around at all times to be able to use whatever bass is floating my boat at any given time. With SIT Power Flats it has an organic, grunty, throaty tone that I just love for Americana/Roots/Singer-Songwriter stuff. Similar vibe to what I get from a hollowbody in a solidbody package.

It arrived and is just pristine. I tossed a set of SIT Power Flats on it and enjoyed the grunt it produces. After a while I was digging the bite of rounds and put SIT Silencers on it instead. Nice - great top-to-bottom evenness and all the aggression you could ever want (good thing it has a tone knob). And then back to Power Flats - the JB2s will handle the roundwound action and the SB-1 will be the almost-flatwound wearer.

G&L L-2000
natural ash/unlined ebony fretless
unknown strings

When I thought about what I wanted in a seldom-used fretless I kept remembering an L2K fretless I had a few years back. I found an SB2 fretless first and bought it, but with the idea I'd replace it with an L2K fretless if the opportunity presented itself. And it did.

And once I had them side by side I realized I prefer the SB2 fretless to the L2K. So this will head back out since one fretless is plenty.

G&L L-1000
tobacco burst alder/rosewood
OEM rounds

This is a limited edition reissued from G&L in conjunction with BABP and GuitarMan. I was fortunate in that one was still available when I was looking for a new, lightweight G&L. With the single MFD humbucker in the neck position it gives me the tone I used the most out of an L2K and it's passive with slightly different electronic options. I hope it becomes the #1 player.

I was looking for a lightweight G&L as a reward and this one, brand new, was available. At 8.3 lbs it's wonderful to hang on my shoulder and it sounds great. The "OMG" mode is really growing on me - it's pretty close to my ideal tone, like a combo of L2K series low end and SB2 high end sweetness (and that's with the OEM rounds). I need to get the pickup tweaked (height, tilt, pole piece height) to get even string-to-string balance and then it's all set.

The tone is great - parallel is even and growly, single coil adds even more bite & sparkle, sc+bass boost is massive with huge lows and sweeter top end (but still with some bite). The neck is an almost-too-slim #8. I still struggle with my usual MFD humbucker complaint (problems getting the upper strings/upper end to come through in a balanced way with the massive lows) but I'm taking a patient, longer term approach to figuring out how to make an otherwise superb bass work for me.

Superb bass, absolutely superb. But the neck is almost too skinny (a problem with some #8s for me) and I think it's time to close the book on MFD HBs for me.

Carvin BX500 head

I went ahead and ordered the Carvin BX500 head when they dropped the price $100 as an introductory offer. I loved the sound of my Carvin BX1200 head and this gives that sound (and more) in a smaller, lighter package. It will put 500W into either one 15+L or a combined 500W into the pair (it has limited output into 2 Ohms so its 500W at either 4 or 2 Ohms). That's more than enough for most things but I'll have to see if 500W into the pair is enough if I ever do anything loud again.

I've done an outdoor gig (a smaller one - but the largest type of gig I worry about carrying with my rig) with the BX500 in 90+ degree weather (gotta love that Houston summer weather). I let the other two bands use my rig as well so it got a 3-4 hour workout under those conditions at 2 Ohms driving my pair of 4 Ohm Schroeder 15+Ls and did just fine. So although I have a psychological concern about it and want more power (the rumored future Carvin BX1000?) I don't need anything more than what I have.

I picked up a Carvin B800 (500W @ 4 Ohms, 800W @ 2 Ohms) as a backup to the BX500 and it ended up taking the top spot because of more watts at 2 Ohms. I had the Yamaha head up for sale and no takers so I let the BX500 go and kept the Yamaha as the backup. I want to get a lightweight combo for when even one Schroeder is overkill.

G&L SB-2
red swirl/rosewood

SB-2s are my favorite G&Ls. MFD snarl/roar with almost painful clarity and a nice throaty voice. Supremely adjustable for string-to-string balance. And never, ever buried in a mix. This is a nice, light SB-2 in the discontinued red swirl finish. I swapped out the controls for a stacked master-vol/j-pickup-vol and tone. The tone is great for taming the clank with newer rounds and I like having a master volume so I can adjust volume without affecting the blend.

Although an L2K was the first G&L bass I had and the first bass that really spoke to me, the SB-2 has grown to be my favorite G&L model. Simple, passive but with sounds I love and very comfortable to play. I need to just stop trying other 4-strings and enjoy my SB-2s.

It's got a great throaty, grunty, thump & singing tone with groundwounds on it. Although I know it's not really anything close to an acoustic sound it feels like it's meant for the same type of things. It fits in great in a more acoustic setting. I've got to watch the metallic clank on the attack but dialing down the tone control a little bit helps quite a bit. Now it's got me thinking about tapewounds . . .

I let this bass go a while back and am happy it's coming back to me. It's a nice SB2 and I think I'll start with some steel rounds on it for a change of pace from the SB1 with groundwounds. It may end up with groundwounds in the end but I'll see how the rounds do as I like the bite they can give, particularly in my louder group.

This bass is a victim of a numbers game in that I don't want to keep too many basses around. A trio of 4-string fretted solidbodies is really as many as I need and this one got edged out by three other G&Ls. And then sent to Ireland.

G&L Tribute L-2000
sunburst ash/maple
SIT Silencers (compression wounds)

This bass is part of a project. All Tribute L2Ks come with wider necks than I like (G&L #7 with 1.75" nut width). I am planning to swap the neck from a Tribute JB2 (G&L #8, 1.5" wide at the nut) onto the bass to give me a lightweight Tribute L2K with a skinny neck to back up my US one. I may also swap bridges if this one has the "Tribute" stamped bridge. I'm doing this because I prefer the L2K sound and need a narrow neck - so it's the only way to come up with a Tribute L2K that will meet my needs. Once I've done this I'll have to sell the wide necked Trib JB2 (or part it out) as it won't work for me with the wider neck.

The surgery was a success. It's a nice, reasonably weighted Tribute L2K with a narrow G&L neck for comfort. It's in the "backup/beater" slot - the bass to take when I don't want to take one of my "nicer" (read more expensive) basses. Lately for me that means outdoor gigs - I'd rather take this Tribute than one of my US G&Ls. It really sounds just as good and feels/plays pretty much as well so there's no real loss using it instead.

I've used SIT Power Flats (groundwounds) on it for a while and liked them but have gone to SIT Silencers (groundwounds) for more ring & zing. I may put D'Addario XLs on it soon for the "real roundwound" sound & feel or zag instead and do something else.

I'm giving up (again) on MFD humbuckers. Great sounds, nice basses, but I keep taking SB (MFD split-coil) or JB (single coil) basses to gigs instead of anything with an MFD humbuckers. And other than the fretless I don't want to keep around a bass that doesn't get taken out of the house.

G&L Tribute SB-2
sunburst basswood/maple
SIT Power Flats (groundwounds)

I find a Tribute G&L to be ~90% of the G&L goodness (they have US MFD pickups & electronics) at 50% of the price. So when I wanted another SB-2 I decided I didn't have to have a US one. The US models do have better hardware and feel a bit nicer but these have decent woods&hardware with US MFD pickups so they sound pretty much the same and cost enough less that I don't worry about taking them outside in Houston in the summer or to smokey dive bars.

Although I'm not a big basswood fan this one sounded just as good as an ash/rw Trib SB-2 I had at the same time so I'm working on overcoming that irrationial bias against a wood species.

At times an SB-2 is my favorite G&L (in rotation with L2Ks and JB-2s). I need to keep one around at all times to be able to use whatever bass is floating my boat at any given time. With the SIT Power Flats it has an organic, grunty, throaty tone that I just love for Americana/Roots/Singer-Songwriter stuff. Similar vibe to what I get from a hollowbody in a solidbody package.

I put a heavier set of SIT Power Flats on it (.105 E) and tuned BEAD for a while. I was suprised at how well it worked set up this way, I thought the strings would be too light for this tuning but while they were somewhat floppy it was playable. I went back to EADG power flats as being more useful to me for the things I do but having it strung BEAD was fun to play with.

I've updated it with stacked volumes and a tone and will probably drop Power Flats back on it. It's just a nice feeling, playing and sounding bass that I almost let go (but reeled back in). It's on the block again as I found a nice US SB-1 that took its spot in the lineup.

Genz Benz ShuttleMAX 12.0 amp

I wanted something with enough watts to drive both 15+Ls for outdoor gigs (I'll have to see how well that works) and finally went with the Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.0. I love the quality of the GB, their support and the indicator lights (they actually cover everything I worry about). The 12.0 takes care of the one tonal nit I had with the Shuttle 6.0 - the extra low end shape is adjustable instead of fixed. It is more complex than I'd like and larger (but still very lightweight) so I don't know if it will become the "primary" amp or not.

It turned out that the level control on the low end shape control wasn't enough for me. I'm sure with a diligent enough application of the eq I could have found an overall tone I liked it did not suit me nearly as well as my Carvin BX500 which makes me smile with everything flat (that I can tweak from there). Since I bought it new I was able to return it.

G&L Tribute L-2500
black/rosewood
TI Powerbass

This is a second generation (big G&L, small Tribute) Tribute L2500. The black body probably means basswood underneath but I've been satisfied with the tone of my basswood Tribby SB2 so I was willing to be open-minded (particularly for the price) and avoid yet another sunburst bass.

I keep finding BEAD on a 4-string unsatisfying (I miss the G) so I'm going to see if I can play an L-2500 in a limited way in my rotation. I want to see if careful attention to technique and hand positioning will let me work it into the mix. If so I'll eventually want a US L2.5K, if not I'll probably let it go.

It's a nice bass with great value and good tone. And I can play it when needed (it might take some work to be able to play it a lot). But it's just not as comfortable as my 4s and I don't see the need for it. All my current musical needs can be filled with a 4 so to knock down the gear debt it's on the block.

G&L L-2000
sunburst/maple
SIT Silencers (compression wound)

L2Ks are one of my favorite bass types and I wanted a lighter weight one than the honeyburst I had at the time. When this one popped up on ebay I pulled the trigger. It was advertised at 8.8 lbs with a 1.5" nut width and great condition. I've grown to like sunburst well enough (I'd never order it new but I can live with it) and the matching headstock looks sharp.

It's a good L2K but the alder/maple combo doesn't seem to be my "tonal nirvana". Ash/rw is sounding better to my ears theses days. However, I suspect that the nuances that make a difference to me are so far below the radar of anyone else that hears me play that I shouldn't worry too much about it.

I've tried several types of strings so far - Harke Rounds (too bright/pingy), SIT Silencers (nice), SIT Power Flats (smooth) and D'Addario XLs (good). I have some DR Lowrider Nickels that may go on when I bring it back to EADG tuning for another string taste test.

G&L L-2000
redburst ash/rw
OEM? rounds

L2Ks are my favorite G&Ls these days and I was looking for a nice one with ash body, rosewood board and a decent weight. This one came up brand new on ebay and the seller accepted an offer that was a very good deal for me. It is gorgeous with natural body binding on the redburst ash body. I expect it to take over the #1 player slot.

This is a gorgeous L2K - the redburst looks great (and it's bursted on the back was well) and the natural body binding is a classy touch. The weight is reasonable (not light, not heavy) and it will hopefully be my "main player" for a long time to come.

Although this isn't a "heavy" bass it's just a touch too heavy for my back. After an hour or so I start to feel it. Since I do have two other L2Ks that are a bit lighter this one is on the block. Comfort is king, if I can't play as much as I want with a given bass then why have it? Right?

G&L Tribute JB-2
natural ash/Trib L2K maple board
unknown rounds

Tributes are great value and this one is light at 8.4 lbs with great grain on the body and the rosewood fretboard I've been growing back to preferring these days. I got it, sold it, missed it and bought it back when the opportunity presented itself.

I originally found it up via one of my online sources but from a local player. I think on a JB2 I prefer a rosewood board to trying to tame the transients/brightness (not that I really think the fretboard wood makes much sonic difference when the string is actually contacting a metal fret).

I've been enjoying playing this bass a lot. I tried unsuccessfully to do a series/parallel switch and reverted back to normal wiring. I'm going to try again when I have the time to sit down and take my time to get it right (and double-check my research). That added capability should make me like it even more.

Right now this bass is slated for a neck transplant with the incoming Tribute L2000. That will give me a Tribute L2K that I can play with a narrow neck and I'll have to sell off the resulting wide-necked Tribute JB2.

Epiphone Allen Woody Signature Rumblekat Bass
burgundy/rosewood
unknown rounds

This is a shortscale semihollow with a pair of humbuckers, one right up against the neck, that put out a big tone with plenty of low end. It's my latest attempt to find a semihollow that I can play as much as I'd like.

This shortscale semihollow is my latest attempt to find a semihollow I can play as much as I'd like. Although I'm not a big fan of shortscales in general (I dislike the lower tension of the strings on a shortscale) I'm hoping that this bass will be comfortable for me and give me the semihollow tone I love. If it is and it does I'll adapt to the lowered string tension.

Semihollow air in the tone? check. Lots of growl/dirt in the tone (from the 'bucker next to the neck)? check. Short scale neck comfortable enough to play a lot? check. Body shape and edges causing me grief? unfortunately, check. So while the tone is very cool and the neck would probably work for me the whole package isn't a go. Note to self: stick with skinny necked G&Ls and maybe someday commission a custom semihollow (when I win the lottery or have a top-10 hit - both about equally possible, and I don't play the lottery).

G&L L-2000
honeyburst ash/rosewood
SIT Power Flats (groundwounds)

An L-2000 was the first bass that really connected for me and I would still be playing that first one if the wider neck hadn't driven me away. I should still be playing the first narrow necked one I got (or had the neck narrowed on my first one). Getting one is always like coming home and I plan on this being the main player.

I sometimes get put off by the complexity of the controls but skinny necked G&Ls just ergonomically fit me best and the L2K is the one with the most versatile tone. I need to remember that and stay put this time. I will be looking for a lightweight one for optimal comfort. I'm starting to think that this ash/rosewood combo is tonally what I like best although visually I like a maple board for seeing the side dots on dark stages.

Aaaahhh, playing an L2K after not having one for a while really is like coming home for me. I think I need to keep one around. SIT Power Flats (groundwounds) give a nice tone with plenty of grunt and organic bite.

This is a sweet bass but I'm getting spoiled by my lighter basses (not that this one is "heavy" - it's only 9.something lbs) so it's on the block while I look for another lighter L2K.

G&L SB-2
candy apple red/rosewood
SIT Power Flats

There are times I want simplicity and that means SB2 and JB2 to me since I still need that G&L comfort. I tossed in a bid on this bass on ebay not expecting it to go that low and it went through (I've got to stop doing that - or adjust my bids lower).

SB2s are very reliable for me in that I've never been let down with my tone when playing one live. They are very basic (2 pickups, passive, 2 knobs - one stacked if I've been at it) and don't have broad tonal paletted but I like the sounds they make. And they just work.

I've owned this bass before. It's a nice CAR SB-2 that I modified with my usual stacked vol & tone control setup. So I won't have to do that again. The guy I sold it to (and bought it back from) has replaced the pickguard so it's good to go.

I'd forgotten how light and nice this bass is. The matte pickguard the other owner put on it (to replace the one with the broken tip that was on it) looks better in person than in pictures so it will probably just stay put. When this one gets set up to my preferences it's going to be in the rotation with the sunburst L2K as the "go to" bass. SIT Power Flats (groundwounds) seem to be my string of choice on an SB-2 so I'll put a set of those on it tonight and it will be good to go.

In the end 4 fretted G&Ls was just too many. I kept a main L2K, a backup/experimental L2K and a Tribby SB2 as a beater. That left this fine US G&L as an extra and it's on the way out.

Fender Thinline Telebass
blueburst/rosewood
unknown rounds

This is an interesting MIJ Fender bass. Semihollow P-bass/Telebass shaped body with a big mudbucker-looking humbucker by the neck and a J pickup in the bridge.

This is my latest attempt to find a semihollow comfortable enough to play as much as I want. The body shape is right and the neck is reported as "J-like". If comfort is on-par with my solidbody G&Ls then I'm both happy and sad. Happy for having finally found a semihollow I can play as much as I like. Sad because I'll want a second one and they are pretty rare. I'd want sunburst for the second one which I've seen even fewer of than the blue. If the comfort is good and the tone is lacking I'll be looking at a pair of Darkstars in it.

Initially I'm really digging the tone and vibe. It's a semihollow and I like those and the big mudbucker at the neck gives a nice singing tone and the J at the bridge can add some sparkle/growl/snap. It's got some teething pains I need to work through and the jury is still out on the ergonomics. I'm really hoping it works out.

I'm feeling the soreness in my wrists/forearms after playing it for a couple of days so it's going to have to head on out which is a shame as I love the tone. Skinny necked G&Ls are what I need to stick to.

G&L JB-2
cherryburst/rosewood
Hartke nickel rounds

G&L does great translucent finishes and this cherryburst is no exception. I'm growing to like the J-bass sound and the JB-2 gives that sound with the G&L ergonomics that are so comfortable for me.

It came available as a great deal and I couldn't resist it. I don't know if I'll keep it or turn it. Time will tell and what I do as far as buying other basses will affect that. I've got two things to possibly try with it. #1 is a must - try a series/parallel push/pull pot on it. #2 is a maybe - have some Dark Star pickups installed. That's a major investment but since I love G&L ergonomics but can't settle down with a single G&L model as "my tone" it may have to be done. If the finish were something other than cherryburst (one of my least favorites) I wouldn't be as hesitant. I may have to try and swap it with someone before Darkstarring if it comes to that.

Simplicity is my new watchword - I want elegant simplicity in the design and function. So as much as I like L2Ks they may be on the way out - great sound but too much complexity. SB2s and JB2s have it as I like G&L ergonomics and they have the simplicity I crave. The SB-2 tone (with a little control modification) is great and now I'll figure out JB-2s for me as well (series/parallel and/or Darkstars). The question will be whether JB2s or SB2s seem dominant and whether I get a JB2 in a finish I like better ;)

The first step is going to be getting the tone right on this US JB2. I like the Tribby JB2 sound better so I have to try a couple of things - first get some more D'Addario XLs to put on it (swapping in some Hartke rounds improved the tone over whatever strings were on it when I got it but it's not there yet). If those don't give me what I want then new pickups. I'm thinking Nordstrand NJ4s, Duncan Antiquity IIs - something along those lines first. Then add series/parallel and then, if necessary, go Darkstar. I don't think it will come to that. I like the Tribby JB2 so with the right pickups and a successful series/parallel operation I bet a JB2 will become my new favorite G&L.

In the end I went back to my usual mix of L2Ks and SB2s.

G&L Tribute JB-2
natural/rosewood
D'Addario XL rounds

Tributes are great value and this one is light at 8.4 lbs with great grain on the body and the rosewood fretboard I've been growing back to preferring these days. It's exact slot in the lineup will be figured out as time goes on.

I found it up via one of my online sources but from a local player. I think on a JB2 I prefer a rosewood board to trying to tame the transients/brightness (not that I really think the fretboard wood makes much sonic difference when the string is actually contacting a metal fret).

I've been enjoying playing this bass a lot. I tried unsuccessfully to do a series/parallel switch and reverted back to normal wiring. I'm going to try again when I have the time to sit down and take my time to get it right (and double-check my research). That added capability should make me like it even more.

In the end I went back to my usual mix of L2Ks and SB2s.

G&L Tribute JB-2
sunburst ash/maple
unknown rounds

I've had a bunch of these over time. Tributes are well made and sometimes the JB-2 sound is what I want. In general J style basses don't excite me but G&Ls are very comfortable and the JB-2 with its single-coil pickups has a very edgy, lively sound.

I don't know if it will stick around when I go through a bout of guilt on the number of basses I have but these are great values. With my son starting to play bass I may lose a bass to him at some point if he sticks with it so having an extra Tribute around might be a good thing.

The solidity and growl on the low end of these is great. The sound doesn't have the heft or punch of an L-series but not much does. With the right strings and setup this, other than the low output, will be the best backup for my L-series. Eventually I'd like to pick up a natural/rw JB-2 and swap necks so I had a burst/rw one (and a natural/maple wouldn't be too shabby looking either).

In the end I came really close to keeping it but four fretted four-strings was more than I needed. So I let it go. But I may get another JB-2 someday, they are nice basses and I'm learning to love the J sound.

DiPinto Belvedere Std
gold/ebony
unknown rounds

This is a very cool semihollow made overseas from a US company/designer. It's semihollow with a solid central core and hollow chambers on either side.

I had one for a short time before and the tone was superb - one of my all time favorites. The ergonomics weren't very good so this impulse purchase may be short-lived and get turned right around. But I'm hoping to find a way to get it to work for me as the tone per dollar ratio is through the roof.

The ergonomic comfort just isn't there for me. I probably need to just stick with solidbody 4-string G&Ls and be done with the experimentation. At least until I save enough to get a true custom with G&L ergonomics in a semihollow (with dual darkstars?).

Ashdown Little Giant 1000 head

I'm gonna try the Ashdown Little Giant 1000. 3.5 kg, fairly small, 500W @4Ohms x2. So it would be able to even replace my BX1200 in non-bridged mode. I'm hoping it floats my boat tonally and proves reliable enough to keep me from investing in a Genz Benz Shuttle 12.0 Max (which will cost about 2X as much but will definitely take care of me tonally). If the tone isn't quite there for me I know the Carvin BX500 will make me happy and then I may use the LG1K as an external power amp for when I need/want to run 2 cabs and as a backup amp.

The LG1000 was fine but the Carvin BX500 is my tonal match. So I don't need the LG1000 around any more. I may try a GenzBenz ShuttleMAX 12.0 to get the same type of power but with my desire to not do gigs that require earplugs I might be able to live with the 500W from the BX500 into either 1 or 2 1x15s. If not I'll find something else, maybe a lightweight power amp, for when I need more oomph. So I'm willing to send the LG1000 on to a new home.

G&L SB-2
black/maple
D'Addario XL nickel rounds

This is an interesting bass - crinkle black hardware and pickguard but with the eye-gouger headstock. Some honest player wear on the body but a great neck and nice and lightweight. This is my #1 solidbody player - skinny necked G&L's are the best fitting basses I've found that are comfortable enough to play as much as I want and the SB-2 sound is what works for me.

I updated the controls to a stacked master volume & J-pickup volume with a tone. This gives great flexibility but I don't think I'll modify any other SB-2s that way. I'll fall back to the mod I did to my Trib SB-2 where I have a master volume and a J-pickup volume with no tone. Rolling off the volume gives a similar effect to the tone and staying with two volumes keeps things simpler. I do like the master volume so I can roll off the overall volume while keeping the P-to-J proportion the same. I never favor the J pickup on an SB-2 so only being able to vary it between 0% and 100% on with the P always 100% (proportionally) works for me.

SB-2s are often my favorite G&Ls. Unsure of what strings I wanted on it I put on a set of DR Black Beauties (coated rounds) I had in the string drawer. They look great but the sound wasn't doing it for me. I put a set of SIT Silencers on it for a while but they didn't do it for my. Then I went to D'Addario Chromes (OK, but a bit metallic), then to SIT Power Flats (nice, but I've got those on the Tribby SB-2). These days it's wearing D'Addario XL nickels which sound good and allow a lot of snap and growl that the SIT Power Flats won't do. I've got pictures of the entire "SB2 family" together (although I've since traded the red/burgundy one as being redundant and the fretless since I don't have time to get my intonation to where I'd be willing to play it in public).

In the end I had grown to having five 4-string solidbody G&Ls and that was too many. This was the odd one out and it went to a new home.

Big Bass Rig:
Carvin BX-1200 head
Carvin LS1503 x2

This is new ground for me. The Carvin LS1503 cab is actually a 3-way PA cab with enough volume for usable lows from the 15" driver. In theory this rig will be extremely clear/uncolored and will do double-duty as PA when needed. At 58lbs (nominally) the LS1503 is heavier than I'd like but a single cab handles loud rehearsals and small gigs. The pair should handle my outdoor events better than my previous cabs could. These cabs are 58lb, 400W 3-way PA cabs.

I moved to the Carvin BX1200 head from a rack rig to simplify things a bit. It has plenty of power (it's equivalent to my old faithful Carvin DCM1000 power amp) and all the features (mute, switchable effects loop, biamping) that I could want. Also my favorite tone in recent years was my Rumblefish PJ through a Carvin B800 so I'm hoping I can reproduce that experience with the BX1200. The only place it lacks for me is that it weighs a little more than I'd like - but not too much (which is why I didn't go with the Carvin B1500 - it weighs "too much").

The recent addition of a wind synth makes having/using a 3-way speaker a great benefit as I can use the rig (albeit with a mixer&power amp instead of a bass amp) for wind synth amplification as well. I can also use the Yorkville 12+tweeter wedges I have as my "wind synth" rig.

Hi-fi, full range speakers are "polite" to my ears after years of using Avatars with harsh tweeters. My testing showed it's just that the tweeters/high-end on the Avatars were loud/hyped. The LS1503 can get just as bright/sharp and then some by turning the high end EQ up some. So they have more solid lows, as much high-end as you want and are smoother overall.

I've dropped Eminence 3015LF drivers into the LS1503s to drop some weight (5 or 6 lbs) and incidentally get better low end extension and higher power handling. The gaskets are larger/deeper so I need to keep an eye on whether I have any grill noise issues going forward. The weight savings wasn't that noticeable but every lb helps since these are a bit heavier than I'd like.

The crossovers are suspect (I've replaced them once already) so I may need to upgrade to a more robust Peavey 3-way crossover. It is bigger, heavier and not as convenient from an interconnect standpoint but those are the breaks. If these Carvin crossovers give out again (and I'm only going to run the BX1200 in stereo, so only 275W per cab) then I'll get replacements and not use them (I'll upgrade to the Peavey crossovers instead). I may also try biamping the rig to reduce stress on the crossovers.

One LS1503 is the "medium rig" and it can handle quite a bit. On a recent outdoor gig I got distracted and only hooked up one of the LS1503s instead of both and although it didn't like the B on a 5-string at that volume (I may need to add some spacing on the grill since the 3015LFs apparently can slap the grill) it cranked out all the volume and bottom I needed with a 4-string.

I love the sound of this rig but a recent medical condition has me minimizing the weight of everything I've got. So as good as this rig sounds I'm going to sell it off and stick with lighter weight things. I may try an Acme Low B1 or two to keep the 3-way option in my collection but in a smaller, lighter package. I'm also going for a Carvin BX500 head for the same tone as the BX1200 in a lighter package that matches better with my other cabs.

Musicman Sterling
honeyburst ash/rosewood

I made a trade deal after giving up on having enough time to get my fretless intonation into a shape that I was willing to display in public. And a Musicman Sterling was the product of that. EB Musicman products have superb quality and I'm looking forward to having one again and seeing how I like the neck and what sounds I can get from it.

My first "good bass" was a Musicman Stingray and while I really liked some things about it (the quality of the construction, the aggressive tone) I eventually let it go because it couldn't do a "motown" sound. At least in my hands at that time. It's been quite a while and I'm looking forward to trying a Musicman again - this time a Sterling which should have a narrow enough neck for my hands/wrists. Having a Sterling, an L2K and an SB-2 will give me quite a range of pickup configurations and I should be able to find something I like at any time for any type of music. I'll have to see if I like it enough to keep it around or end up looking to turn it into a Sterling HS or HH in the future.

These are really nice basses - I think I have to give them a nod as being a touch better overall quality than my favorite G&Ls. The neck is a wonderful satin feel with rolled edges and very, very solid. The truss rod wheel is a great feature and the electronics are dead quiet. And it's not particularly heavy, either. Unfortunately the tone is not what I'm looking for and the neck is, if anything, too slim for me (how's that for picky?). So it's going to head on out and I'll look for another skinny necked G&L (maybe I'll spring for a LE L1K from somebody) instead. At this point I'd like to have one "main" bass, a backup and my Rumblefish (maybe a fretless, too if I come across the "right" one).

G&L SB-2
clear geen ash/unlined ebony fretless
TI Jazz Flats

An objective look at my bass setup made me realize I didn't need any more fretted basses (athough there are plenty that I'd like to add) so fretless was the place to add another. I did regret letting my last fretless go - they are nice to have around. So I found a G&L fretless with a skinny neck and it's on the way.

I've owned this fretless SB-2 before and it was a good one. I look forward to whale sounds and microtonality again. I'd forgotten how abrupt/sharp the edge of the ebony fingerboard is on this bass - if I ever take it in for work I'll get the edges rolled for a more comfortable feel.

I love how this bass sounds and feels. Unfortunately I don't have time work on my intonation and the tape doesn't lie (or the bits in this case). I recorded a rehearsal where I used the fretless and my intonation was not to a level that is acceptable to me to play live. Because of that lack of time to work my intonation into an acceptable level I traded it for a fretted Sterling.

Reverend Rumblefish
'57 Turquoise/rosewood

I've tried a second Rumblefish a number of times and unfortunately they aren't comfortable enough to play 100% of the time. But they are my favorite bass sound and I don't like taking my bugeye PJ many places because of the sentimental value. So the plan is 2-3 G&Ls for comfort and 2 Rumblefish for semihollow tone (not that the G&Ls have bad tone, quite the opposite, in fact - it's just not semihollow tone).

I've owned this bass before and it sounds good and plays well. It does have a fix in the top that you can see close up but whoever did the repair did a great job and you don't see it from any distance (and your arm covers it when playing anyway).

Oh, my aching wrists! I got reminded again that while I love the Rumblefish sound the ergonomics just aren't there. So it's going to have to head back out. I need to update my rules to say "No More Rumblefish!" so I don't do the same thing again in the future.

G&L SB-2
metallic burgundy/maple
SIT Power Flats (groundwounds)

This nice and light SB-2 (8.5lbs) with a maple board popped up for sale from an online friend and I couldn't resist.

I really liked the color of a previous candy apple red G&L I had but prefer maple boards (for visibility of side dots on dark stages). When this light one came available I couldn't resist it. This bass got strung up with a nicely broken-in set of SIT Power Flats, a groundwound string.

In the end the call of variety in my small bass collection won out over homogeneity. I found a second Rumblefish (that I had owned before) to trade for this SB-2.

BFM Omni 10.5 speaker

I tried out a Bill FitzMaurice designed Omni 10.5. It's also a PA speaker so should be more like my LS1503s although with much less real low end (hey it's a single 10" driver in a smaller box). If I like it a lot or better than the Schroeder I may end up building a couple more myself. But buying one built by someone else to try is a quicker way to see what I think of the sound.

The Schroeder made me much happier as a small/light bass speaker and I don't have a need to keep it around for other uses so it's on the block.

I may give this a try as a speaker in a compact wind synth rig if it sticks around. It may or may not do better there than my existing 2-way wedge monitors for a small/light setup. It won't hold up to the LS1503(s) for a big setup but would be smaller and lighter.

G&L Tribute SB-2
metallic burgundy/rosewood

I wanted to set up a bass BEAD and didn't want to lose the tones from any of my others. So I found a Tribute SB-2 (inexpensive but great comfort and tone) to convert that way. The only danger is that I get hooked on BEAD and want a US G&L setup that way as well.

This actual bass passed through my hands (quickly) over the summer when I was doing some churning. It will give me Tributes from both 1st and 2nd generations that I can compare. It may end up leaving again if I decide on a different bass arrangement (i.e. want a JB-2 for BEAD, don't need 2 EADG SB-2s, etc.).

A lightweight US SB-2 at a reasonable price popped up and I decided to snag it. That made this bass extraneous before it even reached my door (again). It will find a new home and I will not buy it back a third time as it's not fated to be mine.

G&L Tribute JB-2
sunburst ash/maple
SIT Silencers (compression wound)

An impulse bid on ebay that I didn't expect to win yielded this bass. Tributes are good enough, I like G&Ls with skinny necks and the JB-2 sound (with OEM single coil pickups) is sometimes the sound I want. So maybe this will stick around.

I like the JB-2 sound some of the time (the lows are nice and growly and it's a pretty even sounding bass without the thump/transient from the SB-2) and this Trib feels great to play. So I should keep it around as a tonal option and being a Tribute I don't feel bad about taking it anywhere. The biggest adjustment is getting used to how high I have to crank inputs/volumes with it because of the much lower output than MFD-equipped G&Ls.

I tried some DiMarzio Model J pickups in it and while they did what I wanted (more lows, tamed the highs and more output) they were very much a "great in the mix" and not so nice sounding solo pickup. I play enough in a semi-acoustic setting where I want that nicer sound out of all my basses so I swapped the OEM pickups back in. I may try another type (DiMarzio Ultra Jazz?) at some point.

This bass has been on and off the block repeatedly as there is so much to like about it. It's lightweight, comfortable like skinny necked G&Ls are for me and has that jazz bass sound. And I like that sound (sometimes). But in the end the SB-2s win out and it's gotta go.

G&L SB-2
candy apple red/rosewood
SIT Silencers (compression wound)

This SB-2 came up on ebay and I impulse bid on it (with a BIN). It's a nice example of this type of bass and the CAR looks much better in person than I expected. I modded it to have stacked master-vol/J-pickup-vol and tone. This gives me the sonic flexibility (such as it is from an SB-2) that I like. I did it right away when I first received the bass and was swapping out strings.

It needs a new pickguard eventually as it has the "broken corner by the input jack" syndrome. I'll probably stick with a BWB one although I'm considering black pearl or other fancy black variations. I wired up the stacked pot backwards from what I intended so I'll fix that when I get around to buying a new pickguard and have it apart again.

The black/maple SB2 pushed this on out of the top 2 SB-2 spots and with the way I've been spending on gear it doesn't make sense to keep a US SB-2 around for BEAD experiments. I'm looking to sell it and add another Trib for BEAD (either an SB-2 or JB-2).

Lakland Skyline Hollowbody
candy apple red/rosewood

This is a Hollowbody bass from Lakland's imported Skyline line. It was designed by Michael Tobias and sports a pair of Bartolini humbucking pickups. It will be my first Lakland and I'm looking forward to checking it out. Candy apple red is a discontinued color for these basses (they now only come in 3-tone sunburst) and they also now ship with Lakland Chi-Sonic pickups instead of the Bartolinis.

My favorite sounding basses have all been hollowbodies (Rumblefish PJ, DiPinto Belvedere Std, Waterstone ME-1/ME-2, Epiphone Jack Casady) which have fallen down for me in the comfort department. Getting this Skyline HB is continuing my search for the one, that mythical instrument that will be the be-all end-all for me in terms of tone and comfort. So far G&L's with skinny necks are the be-all for comfort and a few of the semihollows I've tried have been the be-all for tone. With luck this bass will combine comfort and tone into a single package for me.

Very nice bass but not "the one". The neck isn't quite what I like - a little wider at the nut and I was feeling the stretch. My Rumblefish was actually more comfortable so off it goes.

G&L SB-2
emerald blue/rosewood
SIT Silencers (compression wound)

SB-2s seem to always end up on the top of the G&L heap for me. A massive, aggressive tone with great clarity and a throaty/grunty quality. Tie that with the passive simplicity and the great feel with the skinny neck and I'm sold.

My G&L preference wheel has turned back to the SB-2. I wish this one had a maple board and I may keep looking for an ultralightweight one with maple board (which might just end up as an addition to this one if the Trib L2500 doesn't work out).

While it's a nice bass it's not "the one" and I've got other SB-2s around so it's gonna head to a new home and I'm going to continue the hunt.

G&L Tribute L-2500
natural ash/rosewood

This is a first-generation Trib L-2500 (make in Korea) with ash body and rosewood fretboard. I've said Tributes are 80-90+% of G&L goodness at a fraction of the price so a Trib makes sense for my foray into five-strings.

I want to be able to play fives as having access to Eb, D and C below E is useful when changing keys. But the wider necks usually wreak havoc with my hands & wrists. I've tried DGCF (goes low enough but messes with things played/learned in standard EADG tuning) and BEAD (miss the G string) and may have to fall back to those again but for now I'm trying this Trib L2.5K.

As usual my wrists can't take the wider neck so even though it sounds great and it's nice to have access to those lower notes a 5-string is not the way for me to do it. BEAD four-string here I come.

G&L L-2000 BABE Limited Edition
blackburst ash/ebony
TI Super Alloys (roundwound)

This was a limited edition done by G&L for Badass Bass Players - 23 total made. All with #8 neck, blackburst finish (not something available generally from G&L) and series/parallel/single coil switching. I bought it from an online friend who I've bought 4 G&L L-2000s from. I hope I hold on to this one.

I have some mixed emotions the limited edition aspect of it as it will be a player for me - I don't collect and won't treat it any differently from my other basses because of that. I'm fickle and have come close to selling this a time or two. But I think my best approach is to keep an assortment of G&Ls around so I can use the one that is tickling my fancy at any given time. If I'm smart I won't not have an L2K in the small collection ever again.

I'm not sold on the SuperAlloys. I may need to keep experimenting on strings to find my favorite for this bass.

While I love an L2K I seem to always, in the end, give it up for an SB-2 (and vice versa). The L2K has a tone more lows, more growl and more versatility but I like the clarity, simplicity and grunty/throaty quality to the tone of the SB-2. I found that the BABE was never leaving the house for gigs - they were all going to the Rumblefish PJ and the Tribby SB-2 so I decided a US SB-2 would get more use than the L2K.

Markbass LittleMark II head 

The Markbass LittleMark II is 350/500W at 8/4 Ohms in a 6.4 lb box that's all solid-state with less indicators and connectivity but maybe a better sound for me than the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 I tried. I prefer the sound of the BX1200 through the LS1503s but it weighs about 4 times what the LMII does. I may find another Yamaha BBT-500H for a lighter carry (11-12lbs) when I dont' need the volume and pair it with the BX1200 where the BX1200 does the heavier lifting and the BBT does the quiet things. Or I may really like the LMII with the Schroeder and stick with it.

The LMII was nice and clear with big bottom end (which fixed my complaint with the Shuttle 6.0 - lack of real lows) but when combined with my LS1503s it was too shy of top end presence. And the lows could get a bit pillowy/loose at times as well. I found I liked the BX1200 combo with the LS1503s much better. So I'm offing the LMII and looking for another BBT500H for quieter things when I can tradeoff lower power for lighter weight.

G&L Tribute L-2500
natural ash/maple
OEM Strings (D'Addario XLs?)

Another impulse buy. 5-string necks are wider than is comfortable for me to play for a long time but I crave the B string. With Tribute prices getting a significant bump (weak dollar, expensive fuel) I found a deal on one without the price increase. I hope that with time I can work on my technique to the point where I can play it comfortably (in which case a US L2.5K will jump to the top of the GAS list). If not I'll have it for when I absolutely, positively have to go below E.

I like having the low B string (although I rarely go below D) and the growly tone from using it. The neck is bigger/wider than I like but maybe I can get used to it by phasing it in slowly. If not it may leave and the JB-2 get strung up BEAD but for now I'm going to work the L2500 into my playing rotation and see how it goes.

In the end the extra stretch was starting to cause discomfort. If I feel the need for anything lower than E I'll have to string up the Trib JB-2 lower.

G&L Tribute JB-2
sunburst ash/maple

Another impulse brought another Trib JB-2 in. Two is more than I need as I'm going for diversity and no duplication at this time. It still has the protective plastic film on the pickups and control cavity cover. But it's a touch heavier than the other one I have so the lighter one is staying.

G&L Tribute SB-2
burgundy metallic basswood/rw

Slated for flats or/and BEAD/DGCF stringing and a black pickguard to replace the white pearl.

An impulse buy after seeing one with a black pickguard on ebay I ended up with too many basses and decided an assortment of G&Ls (L2K, Trib SB-2, Trib JB-2) was the best approach rather than doubling any up at this point.

Carvin B800 Amp

I picked this up in trade. I like the sound - it's a little brighter/grindier than my Markbass LMII and more compact than my Carvin BX1200. But I've been buying too much stuff so rather than keep a 3rd amp (4th if you count the preamp/power amp setup that usually gets used for PA) I decided to sell it.

G&L L-2000
honeyburst ash/ebony
TI Super Alloys

The blueburst L2K had converted me back to my L2K roots and I decided a pair of fretted L2Ks, one with flats [SIT Powerflats - groundwounds] and one with rounds would cover my fretted solidbody needs. So I sold an SB-2 and Climax and tracked down this L2K. I like honeyburst and it has a matching headstock which is nice. A skinny neck and ebony fretboard complete the picture - this is my first fretted G&L with an ebony board. I liked the ebony on my past fretless SB-2s so I suspect I'll like it here as well and it's kind of rare since G&L won't do fretted ebony any more.

This L2K is nice and light - lighter than my previous Blueburst one and the ebony board is nice. The neck feels slim front-to-back as well as side-to-side and I think it's a #8. It sounds like an L2K should and looks great. I think that a pair of L2Ks should keep me happy from a fretted solidbody standpoint (although a third one to string up BEAD would be nice).

I strung it up DGCF for a while and that was fun but when I sold my other L2K this one moved into the top slot. At the same time I ended up moving back to rounds on it (TI Super Alloys) which give more bite and ring than the groundwounds I had been using.

In the end gear debt and 2 L2Ks wasn't something that went well together so this one went off to a new home and I kept the BABE L2K. Maybe I'll get a second L2K again someday but for now one is enough (along with an SB2 (tribute) and a Rumblefish PJ).

Steinberger Spirit XZ-2
black/rosewood
OEM steel rounds

I love the engineering behind these. The compact size & light weight, the simple elegance of the bridge and tuners, the ease of use for double-ball strings. Spirits are all-wood versions of the originals that use graphite composite - so they don't sound quite the same but are much cheaper. These are the ultimate backup and travel basses IMO.

The upper horn doesn't go out as far as I like so I add another strap button half way up the back of the body to get it to hang in a better position. The EMG Selects are "decent for the price" but I plan on substituting some better pickups (I'm thinking G&L MFD humbuckers) for a beefier sound. With those changes and some better strings this guy might climb into a top player spot - and if that happens I may have to track down an ash-bodied version to make the same mods to.

I broke one of my rules - "Don't rebuy basses that have failed me ergonomically" and now have to move this one. Maybe I'll learn someday.

G&L Tribute SB-2
natural ash/rosewood
unknown rounds

Tributes are G&L's imported/budget line and only the SB-2s and JB-2s are available with the skinny necks I like. So to fill my backup/beater slot I found a used 1st generation Tribute SB-2. I would have preferred a maple board but cheap guys can't be choosy.

I like the 1st gen Tribute SB-2s because you can get an ash body (2nd gen are basswood only) and a maple fretboard although this bass doesn't have that. I prefer the Trib SB-2s to the JB-2s (which are available ash/maple 2nd gen) because of the MFD split-coil pickup. If G&L made Tribute L2Ks with skinny necks I probably wouldn't have two US L2Ks. You get most of the G&L goodness and tone at a fraction of the cost with a Tribute.

Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 head

The Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 is 375/600W at 8/4 Ohms in a 4lb box. It has a tube preamp and great indicators and connectivity. Great power, great size, great features. But in the end the tone didn't do it for me so it's on the way out.

G&L L-2000
blueburst ash/birdseye maple
SIT Power Flats

I saw this for sale on an online site and "had to" have it. I was craving an L2K anyway and I decided to sell two Tributes to get this one US G&L. An L2K was the first bass I really bonded with and it started me down a long G&L path. Getting an L2K and plugging it in sounds like home to me. An L2K with a satin #6 neck (and this one has nice looking figured/birdseye maple) just feels and sounds great to me.

An L2K was the first bass I really bonded with. Mine was sparkle black metallic over alder with a rosewood board and, unfortunately, a wide #5 neck. In the end the neck drove me to sell it/trade it. I've had a number of L2Ks with narrow necks since then and never seem to stick with them. I hope this time is different.

I put some broken-in SIT Power Flats on it (strangely enough I'd never tried any kind of flat or semi-flat strings on an L2k) and am really digging the sound. I've always liked L2ks but found them lacking a little "something" (that I couldn't really put my finger on). Using flats seems to fill that gap. I've found that I can get a sound that approaches what I like from an SB-2 and have all the other L2k sounds available as well.

I liked the L2K so much this time around that I sold off my other G&Ls and picked up a second L2K so I can have one with flats and one with rounds (actually groundwounds and compression wounds but you get the idea).

In the end having two L2Ks wasn't a necessity and this one was heavier than the other. So I sold it off and may not even replace it at this time. I may drop down to 3 basses and stick there for a while.

Dean Playmate Acoustic Bass Guitar natural satin/rw	This ABG is aimed at acoustic volume (large body) rather than plugged-in sound (passive piezo only). Any time I need to plug in I'd rather use a G&L for comfort. Construction quality was pretty low (what can you expect for ~$159?), the body was big, it wasn't very loud at all and I decided I'd rather return it and get a Pignose Hog 30 rechargeable amp for the infrequent times I want to play somewhere away from power outlets.
Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0	I tried a Genz Benz NeoPak and loved the tone but found it a little lacking in wattage for my needs (doing a rehearsal with my too-loud band with a single 8 Ohm cab). So I located a nice deal on a Shuttle 6.0 which gives me essentially the same preamp/sound in a smaller/lighter package (3.75 lbs) with more watts (375/600 Watts at 8/4 Ohms) at the cost of no 2 Ohm operation. The tube pre can vary from clean and quick to overdriven and burpy. The key is finding the sweet spot for the sound you like - for me that's getting a bit of drive on the top but keeping the bottom clean and defined. The small size and easy haul will be nice. The Shuttle was wonderful for size, weight, power, features and cost but the tone wasn't quite what I wanted. With tone being the one thing that can't be compromised I decided to let it go and try another approach, probably the Markbass route this time.
G&L SB-2 clear blue over ash/ebony unlined fretless SIT Power Flats	Having finally tried a fretless I was bit by the bug. I loved the growl/mwah and the feel. Intonation was and will be a long term challenge but it will be fun. The sound will fit perfectly with Hybrid Karma. I couldn't find a used G&L fretless with skinny neck (they are rare as hen's teeth) so I bit the bullet and ordered a new one. From the day of delivery I was very happy with my choice of clear blue - probably more so than the other two G&Ls I've ordered new in the past (sparkle black metallic, lake placid blue). The weight is reasonable and the feel is great. I swapped the SIT Power Wounds it shipped with for SIT Power Flats to both control string noise and to reduce fingerboard wear. I modded the controls for stacked master-vol/J-vol with a tone and am in heaven. I'm loving the fretless growl/mwah and am thinking I need to get good enough intonation that I can play it for everything. The quieter group I bought this for has dissolved. But I really love the sound it gets. If I could get my intonation on the higher frets to an acceptable level I'd probably play this more. But I still subject my bandmates to my "experimental notes" with this when the mood strikes. In all honesty my intonation is not to a level that satisfies me and I don't see myself getting enough time in the forseeable future to work on it. In the effort to be a player and not a collector I'm putting it on the block.
Genz Benz NeoPak	The NeoPak is a reasonably powerful head (225/350/500 Watts at 8/4/2 Ohms) in a very lightweight (8.5 lbs) package. It reduces my poundage haul required for most things (rehearsals, small-med gigs, etc.). It has a tube pre and parametric mids for plenty of tonal flexibility along with a mute switch (required for me). The tube pre can vary from clean and quick to overdriven and burpy. The key is finding the sweet spot for the sound you like - for me that's getting a bit of drive on the top but keeping the bottom clean and defined. The NeoPak sounds fabulous, just great. But I need a little more oomph for rehearsals with my too-loud band with a single 8 Ohm cab. So I found a nice deal on a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 which give me essentially the same preamp section but a little more wattage (375/600 Watts at 8/4 Ohms) in a smaller package at the cost of no 2 Ohm operation. I'm keeping the BX1200 as the "backup" amp because it can bridge to 800/1200 watts at 8/4 Ohms and can be used as a power amp if needed. If over time I don't find myself needing it then it may leave to be replaced by a true power amp for backup/PA use.
Dr Bass 1260 Neo cab	I've found a used Dr Bass 1260 (3-way cab with a Neo 12, 6" midrange and tweeter, 42lbs) since the LS1503s sold me on 3-way cabs but the weight was a bit more than I want to lug around and the crossover reliability had me worried. I ordered a second Dr. Bass cab - a 115LF neo that's not on the website yet (36lbs, tweaked Kappalite 3015LF, 4 Ohms) to match up with the 1260 when needed. Eventually I will probably look at a second 1260 for maximum versatility & backup potential. They have a hard coating (no carpet) which I like and are solidly made with beefy hand-wired crossovers. The 12 in the small box was just not gonna cut it for me, particularly after getting used to the 15s in the LS1503s. So it headed back out immediately. It is a nicely made cab and I really liked the midrange and tweeter (and having level controls for them) but in the end I decided to stick it out longer with the 1503s and deal with their drawbacks.
Schroeder 1212L	I was doing some cab churning and for a time thought I was going to have only one 12-based cab around and didn't think that would cut it alone for my spring festival gigs. So I found a used Schroeder 1212L (~42lbs, 4 Ohm, rhinolined) to be my "backup" cab. It is smaller and lighter than the LS1503s and will get pretty loud (albeit not nearly as low) so I'll see how it fits in the overall rig solution. Great compact, lightweight and very loud cab. I've been spoiled by the low end in the LS1503s and am not willing to give it up. So I rededicated myself to making the LS1503s work for me and let this cab go.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-25 white over maple/rosewood	I love the engineering behind Steinbergers and even these Spirit all-wood versions represent enough of that to make me like them. Cheap, effective, light and so compact they are the ultimate travel and backup bass. Once again I fall to one of my big failings - revisiting ergonomically failed basses. So off it goes.
G&L JB-2 sunburst ash/maple SIT Silencers	Impulse and a paypal balance strike again. I was plenty satisfied with the quality and tone of my Korean Tribute SB-2 and expect to be equally impressed with this Indonesian Tribute JB-2. I really liked the one US JB-2 with original pickups that I tried (didn't like the 2 with aftermarket and/or buggered pickups). It will be very low output compared to the SB-2s but will still be nice and organic. I forsee a series/parallel modification (possibly with blend if I can find the necessary switch) in its future. I like Tributes since as a cheap guy I don't like taking my US G&Ls and Rumblefish to certain venues (like outdoors in Houston in August, or with rain threatening). Having a "beater" bass will make life easier (although Tribute G&Ls are pretty darn nice "beaters"). The only risk is I'll like it so much I'll want a US JB-2 in the future. Great construction and feel. Nice and lightweight although the #8 neck is slimmer than I like front-to-back. The only issue was some protruding fret ends but a couple of weeks in the humid Houston climate took care of that. It's definitely a slightly different flavor of tone than my SB-2s. While I may not find the tone as pleasing in a headphone amp as other basses, in a dense loud mix (my usual band situation) it shines. It's present, punchy and clear with plenty of depth and growl. At both rehearsals and gigs it has been superb and it's still the first bass I'm reaching for to practice with the headphone amp. I'm trying to figure out how to afford a new one with a #6 neck for maximum comfort. I switched it from the OEM D'Addario XLs to SIT Power Flats (groundwounds) and that took care of the edgy/clanky quality of the sound and gave it more, clearer fundamental. The top end doesn't ring out quite the same but it's a cleaner sound. Then I switched to SIT Silencers to get more of the roundwound ring & sustain without the finger noise - a nice compromise string. In the end I'd rather have a Tribby SB-2 for my beater/backup (with a pair of L2Ks as my primary solidbody fretted basses) so this is on the block to fund that goal. I hope the replacement(s) are as light and nice to play.
G&L SB-2 red swirl, rw fretboard SIT Power Flats	SB-2s are my favorite G&Ls. MFD snarl/roar with almost painful clarity and a nice throaty voice. Supremely adjustable for string-to-string balance. And never, ever buried in a mix. Here are some pics of my SB-2 family. This is a nice, light SB-2 in the discontinued red swirl finish. I swapped out the controls for a stacked master-vol/j-pickup-vol and tone. The tone is great for taming the clank with newer rounds and I like having a master volume so I can adjust volume without affecting the blend. Although an L2K was the first G&L bass I had and the first bass that really spoke to me, the SB-2 has grown to be my favorite G&L model. Simple, passive but with sounds I love and very comfortable to play. I need to just stop trying other 4-strings and enjoy my SB-2s. So far I've tried DR Black Beauties (too ringy/zingy/metallic and no grounding), D'Addario Chromes (good grunty tone but too much metallic ping), SIT Silencers (too bright the first and second time around on this SB-2), D'Addario XLs (way to ringy/zingy/metallic) and SIT Power Flats (nice deep, smooth tone with some thump). I need to stick with the Power Flats as they just fit the bass best, but Silencers let me control the brightness via the tone control and fit my louder rock band life these days. It's got a great throaty, grunty, thump & singing tone with the groundwounds on it. Although I know it's not really anything close to an acoustic sound it feels like it's meant for the same type of things. It fits in great in a more acoustic setting. I've got to watch the metallic clank on the attack but dialing down the tone control a little bit helps quite a bit. Now it's got me thinking about tapewounds . . . I didn't think I'd let this one go but I've migrated back to my L-2000 roots. So I'm looking to convert this SB-2 into a second L2k so I can string one with flats [groundwounds] and one with rounds [compression wounds]. With the extra cost of replacing the crossovers in my LS1503s I might look at not replacing this bass right away (Oh, the pain!) and wait until I've saved up some gear funds.
G&L Climax sparkle black/rw	A great deal on ebay. My expectation is that this will replace the Tribute JB-2 as my "beater" bass. It's a US G&L and has a #6 neck instead of #8 so it will fit my hands better and the high output from the MFD pickup will match up better with my other G&Ls. One of the Climax and JB-2 should go (although they may both stay). I may have owned this bass previously back in 2001. A sparkle black Climax was one of the first 3 G&Ls I bought and I played a gig or two at the Crooked Ferret (now defunkt) with it. I got the Climax and immediately remembered why I didn't keep one previously. I like neck pickups. Tonally it just doesn't do it for me. It's got it's own voice compared to my other basses but I prefer theirs. So I'd rather have the JB-2 around than the Climax. My "G&L Rules" are being updated to included "No Climax/L-1500 basses".
BBE Bmax preamp	My "go to" preamp. But I tired of the rack rig and wanted to try an integrated head again (Carvin BX1200) so off it goes.
QSC PLX1804 power amp	You can't beat the weight (13 lbs), size (2 rack sp, 8.95" rackable depth, 11" total) and the power (600W/side at 8 Ohms and 900W/side at 4 Ohms). But I wanted the simplicity of the integrated head so off it goes.
G&L JB-2 sunburst ash/maple D'Addario XLs (.065-.135)	I liked my first Trib JB-2 so much I found a second one out there used to add to the stable. I wanted the other finish option (natural/rosewood) to make them look different but when a burst/maple one (which I prefer over the nat/rw) was available for the right price I went with it. I'll have to put on a sticker or something to make it easier to tell them apart. If these had #6 necks I'd be all set but I'd like to eventually get a US one with #6 neck (which means order it new) as my #1 player if these stay favorites. I need more paying gigs :) It came with D'Addario Chromes which are nice strings but I'm good with the Silencers on my other JB-2. So I fired up the dremel (to widen the nut slots) and put some .065-.135 D'Addario XL Nickels on it for BEAD. I really like the growl and sonically taught sound of the B. With the saddle all the way down it still seems a little high (which means shimming the neck to go any lower) but it's workable. I took it to a rehearsal for a specific event to just try it out through the rig and ended up playing it on most of the tunes. I really like having the low D available. B-C# aren't used much but D on the B string is a staple and I think I prefer having BEAD to DGCF since there are so many things predicated on having EAD as open notes (I know I should use them less but they work well on a lot of "guitar tunes"). Very nice and it makes the pair of JB-2s the primary playing set since their output is so different from my other basses that it's just easier to stick with the same type. I think I need a sticker or something on one of the JB-2s to keep them straight. A gorgeous used L2K came available on TB and I "had to" have it. The way that I figured out to get it was to let two Tributes go. I've survived a long time without BEAD so this one was expendable. My other JB-2 is lighter (plus) and has some fret sprout (minus) so I'm selling the one without the sprout. I may convert the other JB-2 to BEAD as well or just leave it EADG and have it fill the beater slot.
G&L Tribute SB-2 cherryburst over ash, maple fretboard SIT Silencers	This is the discontinued SB-2 model from G&L's import Tribute line. US pickups in an instrument built in Korea with slightly downgraded hardware (cast bridge instead of milled, no bi-cut neck) but it's a very solid feeling and good sounding instrument. 80+% of G&L goodness at 50% or less of the price. I put SIT Silencers on it and modded the controls to stacked master-vol/J-vol and tone and it's wonderful. It's got the "beater" slot meaning when I'm playing an outdoor gig in the Houston summer heat this bass gets the call. Or if it's somewhere I don't feel comfortable taking one of the more expensive basses. The SB-2 (Tribute or US) is the most sonically reliable (in the sense I can get sounds I want out of it regardless of room, amp, band situation) bass I've found given my wants/needs/situations. It's got great string-to-string balance and a clarity/purity of tone that really lets you hear what you are playing - and with the addition of the tone control you can tone that clarity/brightness down when desired. I've never liked cherryburst although I've learned to live with it. It came down to wanting a used US G&L L2K that was being offered up online and deciding that I don't need duplicates. I don't play out enough to really need identical backups/beaters. So this bass went to a guy who really wanted it and I kept the US SB-2 I had and added the L2K.
QSC PLX-2402 power amp	A reliable, lightweight (21 lbs) power amp with plenty of watts (2400W @ 4 Ohms bridged). I moved to a QSC PLX1804 to get slightly more watts at 8 Ohms stereo (600W up from 425W) and drop some weight from my rack (13lbs down from 21lbs). It's a bit too powerful for my monitors so once the 1804 arrives and works fine I'll sell this 2402. I would have liked to keep it around for PA use but 3 power amps is more than I need and I crave other gear. This will fund either an Akai EWI4000S or another bass (new JB-2, used SB-2 or Tribute JB-2/SB-2).
Reverend Rumblefish XL black/silver pg/rw	Rumblefish have my favorite sound with their semihollow air. They aren't quite as comfortable for me as skinny necked G&Ls but are the best-for-me semihollows I've found. Since I don't like to take my PJ many places (too much sentimental value) having a second 'Fish is a nice luxury for me. While waiting for this to arrive I started playing my Rumblefish PJ every day. And then my hands/wrists started to ache. So it's not going to stay and will either get traded for a skinny necked G&L or sold outright. I'm going to included my extra Rumblefish PJ parts with it and drop that dream of a second Rumblefish for the sake of my hands/wrists.
G&L El Toro trans blue ash/rw	This will be my first MFD mini-humbucker bass and I'm very curious about them. I'm hoping for MFD growl and bite with better evenness (less uncontrollable low-end) than the L-series MFDs. It does have a 1-5/8" nut width which is wider than my personal preference so time will tell if it will work ergonomically or not. If not but I love the sound I may have to find a 3-bolt #6 neck to make it work for me. It sounded very cool - a twist on the G&L family sound with more mids than an L2K. The bottom end was totally solid with a tasty growl and not overpowering like an L2K can be (in series mode). With a pick or slapped (not that I can slap) it is very nasty in a good way. But the neck was not my cup'o'tea so I sent it off in trade for a Rumblefish.
G&L L-2000 emerald blue, natural body binding, GOT maple fretboard SIT Silencers	An L-2000 was the first bass I had that truly "did it" for me. In the end the wider neck of that bass made my hands & wrists ache and sent me down the path of finding what worked for me. Since then I've had a number of L-2000s with narrow necks that worked for me ergonomically but left me searching tonally. Now I'm going back down that path again even though I know where it's led in the past . . . I like the L2K a lot but I remember both why I like them so much, and why I've always dumped them for SB-2s in the past. It has great tones and awesome low end but there's something about the tone that rubs me the wrong way sometimes. Although it's something I'm willing to bet noone else would notice it's enough for me to let it go.
Yamaha BBT-500H	The BBT-500H is 11 lbs, 500W @ 2 Ohms and has a programmable digital front end. It can sound clean, tubish, SVTish, etc. A wonderful little amp with tons of features but not quite enough watts for my new cabs-of-choice, the 8 Ohm only Carvin LS1503s. So it's gonna head on out to someone who can get more use out of it.
Avatar B210Neo (4 Ohm/500W/44lbs)	My Avatar cabs have served me well for a long time and I have only good things to say about them. The B210Neo ended up as my favorite but they all had their moments and uses. You can't beat them for value, solid construction, quality parts and nice sound. Line-X coating should be mandated for all cabs.
Avatar SB112 (8 Ohm/500W/48lbs)	The SB112 was a great cab as the bottom in a 2 1x12 stack or paired up with a 2x10. I never grew to like it on it's own. Great value - I'm still an Avatar cab fan.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-2 honeyburst over ash, rw OEM steel rounds	I love the engineering on these although the ergonomics let me down a bit. They are the ultimate backup bass and I'm glad MusicYo had them in stock again. They are just fun to play. I've put an extra strap button on the back of the body to adjust where/how it hangs and am getting used to having one again. I've got the parts to change it from VVT to VBT with higher quality pots and need to do that when I find a free hour or two. I also have some compression wound strings to try on it. I played it for a set at a wedding gig and just had a blast and it sounded fine. I should probably snap some pics of it as well for the page. If the ergonomics fit me better then I'd probably buy another one or two of these, swap in some higher-end pickups (like Rio Grande Pitbulls, Q-Tuners, G&L MFDs or Darkstars) and enjoy the small, lightweight, easy-to-carry life. But they don't fit me well enough and my skinny necked G&Ls are where the comfort is. And in the end, with my wrists crying "Uncle!" I decided it had to go and I should never buy another one again.
Avatar B112 (8 Ohm/450W/40lbs) Avatar B112 shell	One of these was my first Avatar cab. Although the Kappa Pro 12 isn't really a bass speaker and the enclosure was pretty small for it I liked the tone that came out (probably no real lows but it still sounded good and tight). At one time I had Neo 12s in these and they were a joy to carry. But I was reduced to just a very loud band and would have needed two of them (which would have come close to 70-80lbs for the pair even with Neo speakers). So I went in a direction of heavier cabs but a single one could handle rehearsals with my loud band at nominally 58 lbs. I picked up the second shell with the intention of dropping Neo speakers into the pair and using them with an ultralight head. But the dual-use Carvin LS1503s took me in a different direction and out they went.
Avatar B212Neo (4 Ohm/500W/56lbs)	A nice cab that was too "old school" for me. The LineX coating is great - I much prefer it to carpet. The weight at 56 lbs was workable and the size OK. It was loud enough that if I had liked the tone better it would have probably become my main cab. But I only liked it as part of a stack with the 210 and when I moved in a different cab solution off it went.
G&L JB-2 honeyburst over ash, rw	I've had two of these in the past. One I loved, one I didn't. The one I didn't like so much had replacement pickups so I suspect this one with the OEM pickups will float my boat. 3 strikes and yer out! No more JB-2s for me. They are nice jazz-style basses but that just doesn't float my boat. I'd rather play an L2K or SB-2.
Musicman Sub Sterling burgundy, rw	My first "good bass" bass was a Stingray but I went on a tone search that ended with an L-2000. Since then I've tried a Stingray again a couple of times but ergonomically the neck was just too big. I'm hoping that a Sterling will fit me better, at least physically. I've been curious about the HH Sterlings since they came out but don't know if a Sterling will work for me ergonomically. This US-made, inexpensive, Sub Sterling will answer that question and may find a place in my small lineup. Then again the lack of body contour may limit it to a short stay to see how the neck works for me.
Peavey DPC-1000	500W/channel at 4 Ohms. 1000W at 8 Ohms bridged. Only 12lbs. Single rackspace. But a hair too deep for my Gator shallow racks. So even though the size, weight and power are pretty much ideal for me it's going back out because I'm not willing to use a rack deeper than the Gators (call me shallow).
Ashdown Superfly	Heavier than expected for the small size because of the casing. It was too warm (read not clear enough) for me and my current band just gets too loud. It also had an annoying whine/buzz even with no instrument plugged in so back it went.
Behringer V-amp Pro	I thought I'd try this out as it would include both preamp and effects functionality in one rack unit. It sounded "OK" to me (not exciting but OK) as a preamp but the effects were pretty lousy IMO. So I returned it. A nice idea but not my cup'o'tea.
G&L L-5000 sunburst, rw	I spotted this listed as a "project bass" in a bunch of bass gear listed on Houston Craigslist and picked it up to try and restore it full operation. The L-5000 is about the only 5-string I have a hope of playing because of the narrow neck. And it doesn't hurt that I like the sound. The pickup is fully functional (if a bit rusted) and I've got it slated for a pot & jack replacement when I find the time. It also needs a good cleanup and a new set of strings. Then it will be good to go. I'm still not sure what I need a 5-string for but this will fill the bill when I do need one. After cleaning it up and restringing it I played it a bunch and felt the pain in my hands & wrists. So off it went to someone who could play it. I could have kept it around and played it for short periods of time but my current musical situation lets me play what I want and I'll stick with my high-comfort 4-strings and use an octave effect when I want more depth.
Yamaha BBT-500H	A nice sounding lightweight amp (11 lbs, 500W @ 2 Ohms) but underpowered for what I need. I keep trying them and loving the sound & size but needing more watts. And in the end I'd rather do the pre/power setup than carry both the BBT & a power amp to everything.
G&L SB-2 clear blue, rw D'Addario XLs .65-.135 or .45-.105	This was an "impulse bid" on ebay just after I sold a beautiful (and much better condition) burst/maple SB-2. It's a touch heavy, a bit worn and has an ugly bumper plate pickguard. I modded it by painting the pickguard flat black, giving it my preferred stacked master-vol/j-vol and tone controls, and stringing it up BEAD. In the end 3 fretted SB-2s are excessive. This was the newest-to-me so it was the one to go.
Spector Spectorcore 4 trans teal, rw	On paper this bass is a combination of a bunch of features I really like - semihollow, magnetic & piezo pickups, lightweight, upper body horn for balance. I've had other basses that were, on paper, exactly the combination of features that looked good to me that didn't work out for ergonomic reasons. Time will tell whether this one will be a keeper or not. It has some very nice sounds and the neck feels great. It's also very light and well made (the truss rod is as smooth as any I've tweaked). But in the end my ideal sound is my Rumblefish PJ or a DiPinto Belvedere - and the Spectorcore doesn't quite get that sound and isn't any more comfortable to me than the 'Fish. So it's gonna head back out. I had it listed on ebay but a local friend was interested and decided to buy it so I cancelled the auction as it hadn't hit my reserve. I suspect I'll be seeing it in the future when we play the SMF or other events.
G&L SB-2 sunburst over ash?/maple D'Addario XLs	These are the most comfortable basses in existence (for me) and sound pretty darn good, too. This one came with TI Jazz Flats on it and they have gotten rid of my only complaint on the sound of an SB-2: that it can be too clanky/harsh. I ended up moving through some string types before settling on SIT Silencers - a pressurewound string that gives some roundwound brightness and snarl but reduces finger noise and clank. Like all SB-2s this is super-clear with a throaty, edgy quality to the sound. Loads of thump and incredibly high output for a passive bass. I sold this one after Winter NAMM '06 to get an EWI 4000S wind controller. But those weren't available right away and I never got one. Then in early '07 I had the chance to get it back and I took it. It will take the "SB-2 w/rounds" slot in my lineup and be my primary player for the GDB. But in the end I was overspent and put this one on the block. I can put Silencers on my red swirl SB-2 and use it for everything for now. I also still have some basses I want to experiment with (ASAT SH, Spectorcore) and may actually go for an EWI4000S now that they are really available.
Yamaha Magicstomp	A nice little multieffect, but it just doesn't excite me. And hooking it up to the computer to tweak the sounds seems like just too much work for too little gain as I only used effects on about 2 songs out of 40 on my last gig. So I'm going to pass it on and stick with my cheap Zoom for my limited effects needs.
Carvin B800	A nice 300/500/800W head. I'd prefer if it were rackable for protection when transporting it, but haven't had any actual problems with that. If cost weren't an object I'd keep it around but I have the BRX112Neo as well which is a 1x12 combo with the same head in it. So it's on the block, but I'll keep it if I can't get enough for it as it's a nice piece of gear.
Carvin BRX112Neo	A superb combo. Compact and lightweight enough to be easily transportable but powerful enough for rehearsals and small gigs. And it handles medium gigs with an extension cab too. In the end I didn't like the preamp section enough. I want effortless volume with a completely clean sound and I didn't always get that from either the B800 or the BRX112Neo. So even though I hate the carry more I'm sticking with the old faithful Bmax rig and letting my two Carvins go.
Godin Freeway metallic red over maple/poplar, rw board	I really liked the neck on the Godin A4 I used to have. I feel it may be one of the only necks that I can get along with long-term (other than a skinny G&L neck). So getting this bass will let me test out that idea in a bass with much better balance than the old A4. If it passes that test then I'm going to string it up BEAD to give that setup a whirl. If I really like it and start to use it then I'll probably set up an SB-2 that way. Although the neck seemed good for me I didn't like the slab body - to sharp an edge where I rest my forearm. I've gotten over that with other basses but it didn't seem worth the work on this one so I'm looking to send it on its way. But it is a nicely made bass (assembled the the USA from parts made in Canada) and a great price. It's a great alternative to a Mexican Fender IMO.
G&L L-2000 honeyburst over figured maple/ash, maple neck/board DR Sunbeams	A G&L L-2000 was the first bass I really bonded with. I ordered it new in 2000 (sparkle black metallic finish, alder body, rosewood fretboard, standard #5 neck) and played it for over a year, digging the sound the whole time. But over time my hands/wrists grew to not like the wider #5 neck and eventually I had to stop playing it because it made them ache. I've had a number of other L2Ks over the years and not really bonded with them. But when I get one it's like coming home. This beauty was being offered up by a fellow I know online and I couldn't pass it up. It's got a gorgeous figured top and a maple #6 neck which is my ideal bass neck. But it broke one of my hard-learned bass rules "don't buy a G&L L-series". And the usual thing happened. I like it a lot, and it has a lot of good tones in the settings. But I spend too much time playing with the switches & knobs looking for sounds when an SB-2 gives me what I want without any hassle in a less expensive all-passive package. I just like the MFD split-coil better than the MFD humbucker. So off it went to be replaced by an SB-2.
QSC PLX1804	13 lbs, 600/900W per side into 8/4 Ohms. No bridged or 2 Ohm operation. 8.95" deep from front rack surface (11" overall). The most power in the smallest, lightest, reasonably affordable package I can find. I don't want to need that much power. If I can't get it down with the 300-800W in the Carvin BRX112Neo combo (same as the B800 head) I don't want to do it. So I'm parting out the rack rig and moving on.
ART Tube Channel	Tube pre, optical compressor and tube-based parametric EQ in a single rack space. A low-cost channel strip that makes a good bass preamp. When going away from a rack rig I thought about keeping it as a backup paired with the Carvin power amp I use to drive monitors (usually). But tubes make me nervous for some reason so if I do go with a rack-based backup rig I'd rather have my "old faithful" BBE Bmax solid state preamp in there for infrequent use.
Steinberger XQ-2A Cherryburst over ash LaBella USA S100S	I love the engineering behind headless basses and have played around with them via the Steinberger Spirit line. I always ended up preferring the ones with more "normal" bass bodies but found the four strings a bit lacking, probably from the relative lack of rigidity in the skinny wooden necks. When I saw that MusicYo had blem USA XQs with composite necks, active EMGs and Haz labs preamps for a great price I had to have one. I never expected to get one because of the price of a new one (and the rising prices of used ones) but couldn't pass up the deal. While it fixed all the problems I've had with Spirit XZ-2s (probably because of the composite neck) and was perfect (not a blem to be found) it still didn't work for me ergonomically. I wasn't willing to put an extra strap button on the back of the body like I'll do with XZs and it didn't "blow me away" sonically so I sent it back. As primarily a "for fun" player I'll just have to stick with those basses (skinny necked G&Ls) that work for me ergonomically without any adjustment.
G&L SB-2 clear green over ash/ebony unlined fretless D'Addario Chromes	I was looking for a cheap fretless to be my #2/backup/beater fretless and ran across this. I couldn't pass it up. It's in great shape and sounds very nice. It's a bit older than my blue fretless and has a 3-bolt neck. One other difference is the side markers on this bass are black and in the maple of the neck, while on my blue fretless they are white and in the side of the ebony fingerboard. The Chromes are interesting - a bit brighter and pingier than SIT Power Flats (and less depth) but a good organic sound. They'll stay on for now (I may need to take both fretlesses to a rehearsal and compare the strings in the "live" mix). After much back-and-forth I've decided that my brain is right - I don't have enough time to devote what is needed to getting good intonation. So I don't need two fretlesses. I like the blue one better (although it's basically impossible to pick between them based on sound) so it's staying and the green is going.
Yamaha BBT-500H head	11.5 lbs, 500W @ 2 Ohms and a very compact size. It sounds good with "EQ" rather than modelling to get some different sounds. I can't beat the size/weight/wattage/cost tradeoff. But this one had the display start flaking out on me at a recent rehearsal. So it had to go back and it was the second one I've had with a problem (the other had a dead headphone out at delivery) so I don't want another one. It also didn't have a power amp clipping indicator which I would have really liked to have. Especially when it's on the edge of the power level I need I want a visual indicator of when I'm hitting that limit (since the sonics can get buried in a loud environment).
Dean Stylist Cabbie yellow & checkered semihollow	An impulse buy when I saw a B-stock model on ebay cheap at a time when I had rearranged my gear to have just a touch of breathing room funds-wise (it put me over the top again, but only a little). I love semihollows and I'm hoping this one being 32" scale will work for me. I've got my strapture strap ready for it. The yellow and checkered look is quite amusing to me. Nicely made, sounds good, nothing wrong with it - but it didn't excite me like my Rumblefish or other hollowbodies (DiPinto Belvedere, Waterstone ME-1) have. So it's gonna head on out.
G&L L-5000 black, rw board	I was looking to sell a G&L JB-2 and had the opportunity to trade it and a few other things I had laying around for this G&L L-5000. The L5K is like a 5-string SB-1 - it has a Z-coil 5-string P pickup and a fairly tight string spacing (and 1-3/4" nut width). I've had problems with 5ers in the past but with how well G&L 4-strings fit me (albeit with skinny necks) I'm hoping the L5K works for me. I know I'll like the sound and hope the ergonomics work out for me. If not I'll turn it. In the end I could feel the pull/stretch of the wider neck and dealing with 5-strings with my right hand and decided it just wasn't worth the pain/potential-pain. I can live with 4-strings only, I may just have to string one up BEAD or DGCF if I feel the need for lower notes (and can't fill the need with the judicious use of an octave effect).
QSC PLX-2402 power amp	21lbs. 425/700/1200W per side at 8/4/2 Ohms and 1500/2400W at 8/4 Ohms bridged mono. But I wanted even lighter weight and was willing to put up with the quirks of a PLX1804 (no 2 Ohms, no bridged mono, no filtering, no paralleling inputs) to drop to 13lbs. I thought about keeping this over my Carvin DCM1K but the PLX2402 was worth almost as much as the PLX1804 I found used, the Carvin matches up better with my Yorkville monitors and at 25lbs it's only a little bit heavier.
G&L JB-2 clear orange over ash w/body binding, maple board	I missed the JB-2 I had and sold a while ago so I picked up this one when it was available for a good price on ebay. It has SD pickups instead of the OEM ones so I'll see what I think of those. Nice and light (8 lbs!) with a satin neck. But I've bought too much stuff and it's gotta go. I traded it for a G&L L-5000 as I'm having that itch to try a 5-string again and love G&Ls.
Schroeder 1210L and 1212L cabs	These cabs are amazing for their compact size, light weight and the volume they produce. The only problem I found is that I'm one of the admittedly few people to whom they sound "muffled" in some part of the sonic spectrum. And for me the part of the spectrum that's not coming through right is the part that gives the character I love to my Rumblefish PJ and G&L SB-2 basses. So combining that with the fact that I overbought in fall '06 these went to new homes where they will rumble the world without breaking anyones back. Jorg is a prince of a guy and I wish I had loved the sound, but I didn't and they were too expensive (I'm a cheap guy) to keep without loving them.
Avatar B112	Great little cabs - I still kept one. 40lbs, 18x18x16, 1x12+tweeter. I sold this while trying some Schroeder cabs.
Sansamp RBI	A nice solid state pre, but not quite what I want.
QSC PLX-1804 power amp	13lbs, 9" deep, 600/900W per channel. I would have kept it as additional power for outdoor gigs (and still might if it doesn't sell). I decided the "complexity" (not a big deal, really) of a rack rig was not what I wanted. So just like I prefer the simplicity of an SB-2 over an L2K I prefer an integrated head over a rack. And almost immediately after I sold it I came to the conclusion that the answer to my rig desires was a compact 1-cab solution that needed more power than I was getting from an integrated head. And so the wheel spun again. But I found that I prefer bridgeable power amps and went looking for a PLX/PLX04/XTi.
ART Tube Channel	Sounds good and has tube pre, optical compressor and tube-based semiparametric EQ in a single rack space. But in the end I want simpler, simpler, simpler and went to a all-in-one head (without compressor or semiparametric EQ). The only drawback to it was the input was on the back - not a big deal.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-25 honeyburst over ash, rw OEM stainless rounds	I love the engineering behind Steinbergers. The compact size and often lighter weight makes them a dream to both cart around in a gig bag and strap on and walk around in a crowd or crowded stage. These Spirits are all wood and imported from Korea (so they don't have the composite construction advantages of the original US Steinbergers) with EMG Select pickups. The sound reasonably good, have the benefits of headless and are just a lot of fun to play. These have very narrow necks (1-5/8" wide at the nut) and string spacing at the bridge which makes them as comfortable a 5-string as I've found (I like jazz-like necks for 4-stringers). In the end the comfort is not there for me to play it all the time or as much as I want. Tie that in with the sound being "OK" and not "fabulous" and I just can't convince myself to keep it. Nice though it is I'd rather have another Tribute SB-2 tuned BEAD or something similar if I ever need anything other than EADG (which I've survived with nicely so far). So I returned it to MusicYo (a great place with excellent customer service and gear that's at really a high bang-for-the-buck level).
G&L L-2000 burst over alder, #8 neck, maple fretboard SIT Silencers	An L2K was my first bass that I really loved - it had it all and I only sold it because it had the standard wide neck and after over a year started really killing my wrists. I've had others on and off over the years and am going back home to the L2K again. A wonderful bass and a sweet trip down memory lane. And in the end it was the same old thing - I have trouble getting an L-series G&L to sit in the mix right for me. An SB-2 works much better for me so I've gone back to them and pledge to not buy an L-series G&L again.
G&L L-2000 burst , #8 neck, ebony unlined fretless D'Addario Chromes	I liked my SB-2 fretless so much I picked up another G&L fretless. It's got a #8 neck which is flatter in radius and slimmer front-to-back which I don't like as much as the slightly meatier feel of the #6 on my SB-2 fretless. But the unlined ebony board is slick and there's a large variety of nice sounds in the L2K. A very nice bass but time will tell if the neck dimensions will wear me down to where I send it off. It's really very resonant and vibrates nicely against your body while playing. But my almost acoustic group is in the process of folding so I don't know how much fretless I'll get to play now. It came with the D'Addario chromes on it and they feel and sound great. I didn't like them much on a fretted SB-2 but on this fretless L2K they are very nice. I may have to try a set on my fretted L2K and see what I think of them there. The dissolution of my acoustic group and the daunting amount of work required to get acceptable (to me) intonation for playing in public led me to the conclusion that I don't need 2 fretless basses. I'll keep the fretless SB-2 around because the sound and feel of playing fretless is so nice. But a realistic look at the amount of time I can devote to things and my playing opportunities indicates I'll be spending most of my time on fretted basses anyway.
Crate Powerblock	The Powerblock is actually a guitar amp and I'm picking one up because it's only 4.5 lbs and 150W at 8 Ohms or 75W into 4 Ohms stereo. I figure I can use it for "almost unplugged" practices where bass is the only thing amplified and it might also work as a micro power amp to run the PA with my quiet group for rehearsals (have to try it and see). As a $99.99 special deal (closeout?) from MF I couldn't resist trying it out. Who knows what my kids will play and what I'll be doing in the future so having it around will be just fine. It's got a headphone out and RCA CD in so it can be used as a headphone amp as well as a guitar/keys/whatever amp. It's unusable as a bass amp (IMO) - too much distortion at any reasonable level into a single Avatar 12 (either directly in or with my Dunlop M80 DI into the effects return). It sounded nice as a guitar amp (I do have an electric guitar sitting around) and I haven't tried it as a keys or PA-type amp. But since I can't get bass volume out of it I'm not sure I'll get reasonable clean volume for anything out of it so it's probably going to go back to MF.
Carvin B800	The Carvin is maybe a touch heavier than I'd like but 500W @ 4 Ohms should take care of me (and it will do 800W @ 2 Ohms so I can do 3 or 4 8-Ohm cabs when needed). I'll see how I like the sound. The only things I see that are missing on it feature-wise are rackability, series/parallel on the effects loop and switchable overdrive. But those are all things I can live without. Sonically the B800 varies from "clean, quick and quiet" to "edgy and nasty" depending on how much drive you apply. And I like that in a rig. Relatively small, light and compact it's easy to cart around and fits nicely on my Avatar 12s. I played a small festival gig with it and my bugeye Rumblefish PJ and achieved tonal nirvana. But then I played an outdoor/parking lot gig with it and a pair of my Avatar 12s and couldn't get the clean volume I wanted (that I had gotten with a pre/DCM1000 rig). I got plenty of volume but it was more overdriven than I necessarily wanted. So although I really like the sounds out of this rig the B800 isn't quite enough watts for me with my current cabs. So I'm heading back to a rack rig for clean volume with my cabs.
G&L SB-2 white over alder, rosewood, tort pickguard TI Super Alloys	SB-2s are my favorite G&Ls these days - the sound, the simplicity, the feel. So I've reverted to having a couple of them again. They are the most comfortable basses for me to play and sound great to me. This one is decently light at 9.1 lbs (although it feels even lighter because of the great balance) and sounds good. With the right strings it will move into my #1 player slot (I like the Rumblefish sound the best but can't play it all the time for comfort reasons). I modded the controls to stacked master-vol/J-vol and a tone. That's the perfect setup for me. My Rumblefish, fretless SB-2 and Tribute SB-2 have been getting all the attention. So it's on the block in a relaxed fashion (no hurry). I've got an L2K on the way so I really don't need this bass any more (the Tribute SB-2 will give me the fretted SB-2 tone when I want it). Instead of being replaced with another bass in the future it might get replaced with an Akai EWI-4000s wind controller.
Reverend Rumblefish '57 Turquoise	After several iterations of "gotta have a second Rumblefish" followed quickly by "Oooh, can't play it every single day, replace it" I'm back in the "gotta have a second one" camp. This one came to me as a regular JJ Rumblefish but I've got a PJ pickguard on order and will be converting it as soon as the pickguard arrives. The tone of my bugeye PJ is just "it" for me to the degree that I want to play it for everything I use a fretted bass for. But I don't like to take it most places as it has extreme sentimental value. Having a second PJ 'Fish will take care of that concern and I'll be able to play it anytime and anyplace I want. In the end it just felt too excessive to have 3 fretted 4-string basses. So this is up for trade/sale to be "replaced" by either a 5-string or a second fretless 4.
QSC PLX-1804	An amazing combination of light weight (13 lbs), power (600W/side at 8 Ohms, 900W/side at 4 Ohms) and compact size (8.95" rackable depth, 11" overall, 2 space). But when I decided that the Carvin B800 was the amp for me it didn't make sense to keep it around when it could be sold and the funds used for other pieces of gear.
Godin Acoustibass natural spruce, ebony lined fretless	This bass has a great acoustic sound and is very lightweight. Subtly lined fingerboard, piezo pickup and 3-band eq. But in the end the ergonomics just didn't agree with me and it had to go.
BBE Bmax SS preamp	These have been my "goto preamp" for the last few years. But after getting used to the BBT-500H flat and driven sounds I find that the clear, clean but not sparkly top end is just not working for me. And I really want a mute. And the whole rack-rig thing is bulky and big and getting old (400-500W into a pair of 12s has taken care of me for anything I've needed over the last few years). Even with the light weight of the PLX1804 I'm just not feeling the whole rack scenario any more. I may try another preamp, but haven't located any with the features I want. I have a Carvin B800 coming (scratch'n'dent direct from Carvin) and if it works for me I may forgoe the rack deal entirely.
Yamaha Magicstomp	MF was clearing these out so I thought I'd give one a whirl. In general I found I didn't like the overall effect on my sound quality. Although the effects sounded good enough I felt there was an overall "muffling" of my sound and I didn't like it. So it went back and I'll stick with my old Zoom BFX708/Boss LS-2 combo for the time being.
Reverend Rumblefish black, silver pickguard, rw board TI SuperAlloys	The sound of my Rumblefish PJ is my favorite bass sound so far. But with the sentimental value it has I just don't feel comfortable taking it everywhere. So I gave in to impulse and snatched up this Rumblefish when it was offered up on the Dudepit at a very reasonable price. In the past I wasn't particularly thrilled by regular JJ Rumblefish. But I was pretty pleased with a Rumblefish XL (same bass but controls were a series/parallel switch, vol & tone). The pots were scratchy so I replace them and gave it XL-like controls (series/parallel/bridge pickup selector switch, vol, tone). Even with XL-like controls the sound just isn't, to my ear, as good as my PJ 'Fish. And my main/quieter group is really working with fretless. So another fretless G&L would be much more useful than this Fish, even converted to PJ. So it's gonna go . . .
Yamaha BBT-500H	The sounds on this little head were great as was the size & weight (<12lbs). But the power, 500W@2Ohms, wasn't enough if I were going to drive inefficient cabs (like Acme Low B2s). So in the end it went to be replaced by a rack rig based around a very powerful but equally lightweight power amp (PLX1804).
Carvin DCM-1000	A great combination of compact size, lighter weight, lower cost and good reliability. I still have one of these but picked up a QSC PLX1804 (13 lbs, 600/900W per side at 8/4 Ohms, also nice and compact) for greater power and lighter weight in my bass rig rack.
Schroeder 1210L 4 Ohm	The Schroeder cab is suprisingly smooth on the top end and gets plenty loud. At 42 lbs it's not too heavy and bulky for easy cartage. It puts out as much sound as my pair of Avatar 12s (B112/SB112) and is no bigger or heavier than the SB112 alone. One of these by itself should handle anything I do fairly easily. Two would rule and probably knock down walls. In the end I was overextended and had to choose between keeping the Schroeder and a Rumblefish I picked up at an excellent price. Schroeders are still being made and Rumblefish are not. Combine that with my Avatar setup having not let me down over the years I've had it and the ultralight (for the output) Schroeder was the one to go.
Waterstone ME-2 sunburst over flamed maple/rosewood	The sound of the Waterstone ME-1s I had was right up there with my Rumblefish PJ as "perfect" for what I want. The lack of comfort did them in. But I've found some stretches through TBL that I'm using and hope will allow me to play these "almost comfortable" basses (Rumblefish, Waterstone) as much as I'd like. If that fails then this one will probably end up leaving as well. I just can't justify keeping multiple basses around that I can only play some of the time. In the end it wasn't as comfortable to play as skinny necked G&L and didn't sound quite as good to me as my Rumblefish so it's gonna go. I'd like a second Rumblefish in it's place since my stretches are making the Rumblefish more doable (but still not as nice as an SB-2). Or maybe an XZ-25 for messing around with a low B.
G&L SB-2 sunburst over ash/rosewood	I missed having one of these - they have a clarity and throatiness that the L2K and JB-2 don't have. This particular one is a bit heavy (10.5 lbs) but has some nice features (crinkle black pickguard and bridge, veneer fretboard) and is a transitional model. It sounds great - clear, defined, throaty, growly and aggressive. Some groundwounds tamed the clank/harshness a bit but still growl and sing nicely. I find the E string a bit "hollow" through a headphone amp but it never disappoints through an amp or recorded. I ended up with 3 fretted SB-2s and a fretless on order. That was more than I needed and this one ended up being the one voted off the island. With the transitional features it is probably more collectable than the ones I kept but I liked their satin necks and lighter weight (and lower cost/value on the Tribute).
G&L JB-2 honeyburst over ash w/rosewood #8 neck	A G&L with a skinny neck is the most comfortable bass type to play I've found. I hesitated a long time on trying a JB-2 because it didn't have MFD pickups, I don't generally like J-style basses and no Leo or George influence on the design (it's a post-Leo BBE design). But now that I've tried one I like it. The output is pretty low but that's what gain knobs are for. Crank up the gain and you've got plenty of bottom, nice jazz growl and good evenness (which is one of my pet peeves - uneven output across strings or high-to-low). It matches well with my L2K and I have some pics of my little G&L collection. I've grown to really like the sound, but it needs different strings. With some groundwounds (SIT Power Flats) it growls and sings without harshness. The low output can be a pain if there's not enough gain to bring it up. With my normal strap length the #8 neck is a little less comfortable than a #6. Ordering the fretless SB-2 put me in a position of having to sell one of my fretted basses. Tonally I voted the L2K off the island - I always picked up something else to take to a gig. But comfort-wise the L2K won out over the JB-2. I've never noticed the difference between a #6 and #8 neck before so I'm thinking this one was just extra-slim (part of the natural variation that occur with hand-shaped necks).
G&L L-2000 honey/amber over flame maple/ash? w/rosewood #6 neck	A truly gorgeous G&L. It's fairly light and looks to be ash from the grain on the back of the body. It arrived with older flatwounds on it (not my number one choice for an L2K) but it still growled in all settings. It's got the tightest, deepest low end (I love the lower register on an L2K and the upper register on an SB-2) around and is soooo comfortable. A couple of dings on the back of the neck (it was leaned up against something it shouldn't have been, maybe) but nothing I notice when playing. I strung it up with SIT Silencer strings (compression wounds) and it was just like coming home. This is the most comfortable bass to my hands. And it sounds pretty darn nice, too. In the end I reverted back to liking/wanting the simplicity of the SB-2. When playing the L2K I was constantly flipping switches and playing with knobs rather than concentrating on just playing music. So it got sold to be replaced by another SB-2 and to help pay for the fretless SB-2.
BBE Bmax SS Preamp	My favorite "budget" preamp. A great clean sound. The lows are tight and full while the highs are clean and clear without harshness/buzz/etc. I don't really use the compressor (other than to set the input gain) or the maximizer section but I like the basic sound. It could use a mute button, tuner out and effects blend (footswitchable) to be "ideal" but for the price and sound who's gonna complain about it?
Waterstone ME-1 burgundy fretted	This is, in some ways, a "dream bass" for me. Semihollow, slim neck, an upper horn. It hangs nicely (not particularly neck heavy) and the neck is pretty good. Not G&L #6 satin-finish good, but workable so far. The bass is well put together and I really like the sounds it makes. I junked the lighter-weight steel rounds it came with for SIT Silencers (.105 E groundwounds) and am getting to know it. I'm really enjoying the sound of the "bridge" pickup (looks more like a Stingray-type placement) - nice growl and throatiness with the air and depth from the semihollow construction. Getting at the higher frets (17 and up) is tricky and I'm working on it (I only use them occasionally but it's nice to be able to do an octave slide from the 5th or 6th fret). I love, absolutely love, the sound of this bass. It's right up there with my Rumblefish PJ as far as sounding how I want a bass to sound. But after playing it for a couple of weeks my wrists were aching and that meant it didn't quite fit me. So even though it was a steal, well-made and sounded wonderful it had to go.
Waterstone ME-1 natural quilt fretless	I swapped the lighter-gauge steel rounds for a set of .100 E SIT Power Flats (groundwounds) to conserve the rosewood fretboard. The side dots seem to be in "fretted bass" position instead of where the frets would be. It sure is fun to make whale noises with it. As my first fretless it's going to take some work before I'd be willing to play it anywhere but I can see how the tone and feel are addictive. I was unhappy that this didn't fit me physically as it sounded wonderful. But aching wrists make me unhappy so it had to go. But it did give me a great desire to own a fretless that will fit me.
Raven Labs PHA-1 headphone amp	A great little box that has served me well for quite a while. I consider the PHA-1 and Cafe Walter as the ultimate ways to hear what a bass actually sounds like. No amp or speaker coloration to gloss over tonal inadequacies. I've had the PHA-1 at work in my office for lunchtime practice and it's been great. My company is moving us to cubes later this year so I don't need both the PHA-1 and Cafe Walter at home (no more lunch time practice for me).
ElectroHarmonix POG poly-octave generator effect	My second go-round with a POG was ended because I didn't have any real-world use for it. It sounds great, tracks well and I love that it's polyphonic. But I had impulse-bought the Waterstones and needed to pay for them. Since the POG didn't get used for anything but playtime it went.
Sansamp Programmable BDDI	A nice improvement over the original BDDI. 3 programmable settings makes it very flexible. But in the end I wanted a mid control and having presets like that makes live tweaking more difficult. I'll have the same issue with the BBT but it will at least be easier to reach and see (being in the rack). The MXR M-80 does better because it's got a base setting (with mid control) that is tweakable live and you can stomp over to the distortion/drive setting (which it would be nicer if it didn't have the color built-in). So the M-80 works a bit better than the PBDDI for my wants/needs.
Thunderfunk TFB-420 head 400W @ 4Ohms, 15lbs	It's a great lightweight SS head. Nice sound and the enhance and timbre controls are about all you need to tweak your sound. I'd like a mute switch (std on the current model, TFB-550). I let it go because my "ideal rig" needs a stereo power section (preferably good to 2 Ohms) because some of the time I'm just going through the PA (and my power section becomes the PA power section). So this didn't quite fit where I wanted to go. Now if Dave releases a preamp (rack or stomp) that's in my price range I'll have to look at it very seriously.
Fender HMT bass black semihollow body, rosewood board	I'd been wanting to check one of these out for a while and when a Dudepitter posted about one with a relatively bargain BIN on ebay I snarfed it up. It's really lightweight and the neck is slim and quick. The unbuffered piezo is harsh and the electronics are a bit weird. After trying it for a while it is comfortable, much more so than the Godin A4. It also sounds really, really good in my current "acoustic" project (acoustic guitar, bass, congas, flute/clarinet/sax). So it's going to take the "acoustic" slot in my lineup while I continue my search for a Godin Acoustibass with a skinny neck. This bass is hanging in by the skin of its teeth - only because I like the acoustic-ey sound and want to do more acoustic-ey stuff. But during a bout of sore wrists/arms this is the one most likely to be voted off the island for another G&L. An SB-2 with a nice set of flats will get most of the singing acoustic-ey tone I like and still be the most comfortable type of bass I've got. I installed the Cafe Walter PZP-1 piezo buffer and a Reverend 8.7K P pickup and that has improved the sound a bunch. But I'm on a comfort kick and would rather get the Thunderfunk back and save up for an SB-2 than keep this around right now. So its on ebay. Went out the door because of comfort. It sounded great with the Cafe Walter PZP-1 and Reverend Pickup installed but made my wrists ache. Listening to some live recordings of it (before PZP/Reverend upgrades) it was wonderful with my semi-acoustic group.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-2db honeyburst/rw	After selling off my 4 & 5 string Spirits I realized that the 4-string was the ultimate backup/beater bass. There are times & places where I just don't want to take one of my nicer basses (like an August all-day outdoor gig in the Texas heat & humidity with a threat of rain). So I broke down and ordered another XZ-2 and went for the detuner option. You can't beat the compact size and light weight. I may drop some different pickups in it to see what they do for it. If it sounded a bit better (more like my G&Ls) I could easily be persuaded to move to these as my "primary" basses as I'm a weekend warrior/hobbyist and the portability, light weight and just plain "fun factor" of playing them is very high. I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for a bargain "real" Steinberger with composite neck . . . I decided that for my limited gigging I'd rather cart 2 full sized basses (and swap them out for different sets) than keep this bass around when I'm not using it. Another comfort-related victim.
Yamaha BBT-500H head & Yamaha BBT-210S cab	The cab seemed heavier than the speced 46 lbs. It was akward with the side spring handles and didn't sound particularly good or loud. So in the end it just wasn't worth holding on to. The BBT-500H head (500W @ 2Ohms, 10.5 lbs, digital pre w/5 programmable sounds) sounded very nice to me. I liked the quality and variety of the sounds it made. I felt it didn't have enough oomph to deal with my loud group without revamping my cabs to get 2 - 4 Ohm cabs. It also seemed to cause noise in my noise-susceptible basses (Rumblefish and L2K - it was silent with the XZ-2db and HMT) and that's not good as those are my main players. So it went back. I actually got a second one to try again, which was also returned. The number one complaint was it was too "fiddley" to get the most output. It had 4 places to adjust the gain/output: input level, gain & master on the amp type and output level. It was too fidgety to get the maximum output without some clipping of the preamp (which didn't sound good) and with the limited power, it's not like there was headroom to spare. If it was a BBT-1000 then I probably would have kept it, but 250W @ 4 Ohms wasn't enough power to deal with the nature of it.
Reverend Rumblefish P-J moroccan gold	I really, really like my bugeye PJ Fish but, since it is a present from my family, there are times and places I'm not comfortable using it. So I (for a second time) gave in to the impulse to get a second one so I have one that I don't have to be as concerned about. Since they are no longer made I still won't be careless with it but it doesn't have the sentimental value my bugeye Fish does. Once I got this in I took some pics of my small school of Rumblefish If a Rumblefish PJ is my favorite bass making my favorite bass sound why did I off this one? Because it's not ergonomically as comfortable for me as a #6/#8 neck G&L. So having one is enough. I'm currently debating whether to replace it directly with another G&L (probably an SB-2) or just drop down to four fretted basses. That's plenty since I only need one at a time anyway (two if you count taking a backup to a gig).
G&L SB-2 sunburst over ash?/maple	These are the most comfortable basses in existence (for me) and sound pretty darn good, too. This one came with TI Jazz Flats on it and they have gotten rid of my only complaint on the sound of an SB-2: that it can be too clanky/harsh. I ended up moving through some string types before settling on SIT Silencers - a pressurewound string that gives some roundwound brightness and snarl but reduces finger noise and clank. Like all SB-2s this is super-clear with a throaty, edgy quality to the sound. Loads of thump and incredibly high output for a passive bass. Winter NAMM '06 did it in, in that Akai introduced the EWI 4000S wind controller that really, really caught my fancy. To afford one I had to cut down my number of basses and this was the one to go. Four basses (all fretted 4-strings) is really enough if I look at things logically.
Avatar SB112s Eminence Delta 12LF speaker	These are good, inexpensive cabs. They are relatively compact/lightweight and sound good. But I prefer the sound and luggability of my pair of Avatar B112s. And I don't really need all 4 cabs. The 2 B112s are really enough (with a 1000W hitting them) to cover pretty much everything I do. In fact 1 B112 really covers most stuff (with enough W hitting it). So I'm going to pass one of these on.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-25 black over maple, rw fretboard	These have super-narrow necks (1-5/8" wide at the nut) which make them as close to workable as a 5-string is going to get for me. It's fun to have the variety of positions available that a 5 provides although I don't really need the lower notes for what I do. As I get accustomed to it I'm really enjoying the extra options presented by the extra string - not necessarily the lower notes, but the position choices and different voicings available. Another victim of my gear rationalization - it's on the block and will be leaving as soon as I find a buyer. It's on its second ebay listing (the first "buyer" never responded to contact and I had to file for fees and relist).
GK 700RB-II	I love the light weight of the GK (17 lbs for 480W @ 4Ohms) and some of the features (front panel DI, front panel tuner out, tuner mute) and the only thing it is missing for me is a power section clip light. However I'm still struggling a little with the sound. In the end the tone of the Bmax won out so the GK is on the block to pay for other things I'll use.
Godin A4 black, jazz-sized neck, semi-hollow w/piezo	I really dig this bass a lot of the time, and like it the rest of the time. A Strapture strap fixed most of my ergonomic issues with it. I really like the smooth/sweet upper range and the ability to get a fairly acoustic sound. I sometimes think about playing it as my #1 bass but the sharp body edge is still a pain (literally if I'm not careful) and sometimes I just can't get the piezo quack out and keep a sound I like. I was unable to adjust the truss rod so it needs some work (maybe a new neck, gack) but the action and relief is good for now so I'm just making do. After chatting with the proprietor of my favorite local shop I ended up selling it as-is with full disclosure about the neck (and a discount for that) and it went very, very quickly.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-2 fireburst (3-tone sunburst)	While these have failed me in the past (as far as getting comfortable on them) I've been adjusting to the Rumblefish which are somewhat close to these (neck sticks out, etc.). So I'm trying again. This bass is targetted at backup & travel use (small and easy to carry) as well as tuning experiments (primarily BEAD) because the zero fret and Steinberger bridge make it very easy to try different strings. There's the future potential for having a replacement body made (semi-hollow, different pickups) while cannibalizing the neck and hardware to prototype my "dream custom" (semi-hollow, headless, . . . ). While considering selling this I spent some time playing it again. The ergonomics/geometry don't quite work but it's so much fun to play that I've started the hacks I originally anticipated trying on this. See the hack page for details. While going through a brutal evaluation of my gear I came to the conclusion that with the iffy ergos for me its just not worth holding on to. So out it went.
ElectroHarmonix POG poly-octave generator effect	A superb-sounding effect. Sliders for octaves down, up and up 2 with detuned versions as well. It sounded absolutely fabulous. The only drawback was that to use multiple settings you had to either crouch down and play with the sliders or put it up higher and do something about the footswitch. Give it a digital front end for multiple settings (like a Sansamp BDDI programmable) and it would absolutely rule. Best octave-up effect I've tried (over Akai Unibass, Boss Supershifter, Zoom BFX-708).
G&L SB-2 black over alder/rosewood	I got tired/fed-up with the Climax bass (a good bass, but I stopped playing it for various sonic reasons) and ended up finding another SB-2 to replace it. Lighter than my burst/maple and in better condition this is nice addition. But I gave into the craving for an L2K - and after all it's better not to have exact duplicates in the collection so there's more tonal variety, right?
G&L Climax trans blue over ash/maple	A great, yet not very popular, G&L bass. I only use them in passive mode as active mode is just too harsh. It came with TI Jazz Flats after a fair trial I've put rounds on it. I didn't have any more TI Powerbass around but did have a set of SIT Powerwounds. Those are the OEM strings G&L uses and they definitely work on this bass. The single MFD in the "Stingray sweetspot" provides a lot of growl, enough depth and punch as needed. It doesn't have the "big transients" on the attack that a P-style bass does (usually referred to as "thump", I believe) but has all the agression you could want (snarl, growl, punch). Depending on my mood sometimes this is the sound I want.
G&L L-2000 black, #6 neck, '87	A G&L with a #6 neck is the ultimate in comfort for me. And an L2K was my first G&L and started me on my G&L odyssey. So when an opportunity presented itself I picked up this nice black L2K. It doesn't have the resonance or "air" of the semihollows, but they don't feel as comfortable. So it's a tradeoff. The only things I don't like about it are the gloss finish on the neck (I prefer a satin/bare wood feel) and black shows fingerprints and marks really easily. I ended up trading it for an SB-2 that has the satin neck and just overall "feels" a bit better to me.
Reverend Rumblefish P-J black phenolic	My love for the sound of my bugeye black Reverend Rumblefish PJ was so much that I wanted a second one for backup/office use. I also thought that there may be times that the bugeye finish was "too much" and something more reserved might be better. So when this black-on-black PJ showed up on IE I picked it up. It's very nice, sounds the same (allowing for string differences) and definitely has a more reserved appearance. In the end I missed the absolute comfort of a #6 necked G&L so I bit the bullet and let it go.
Reverend Rumblefish XL bugeye black chrome	I wanted another Fish because of the "unique" ergonomics - I wanted to practice and play on the same type of bass as much as possible to get really comfortable with it. Rumblefish 4s are scarce, and P-Js are even scarcer. I had hesitated about this one because it's both a J-J version (J-J basses for the most part don't do much for me) and it's bugeye (the same as my P-J) but when it showed up on ebay after I'd been watching it on Instrument Exchange it was fate. It was in pretty good shape with one noticeable defect. It played well, the same as my P-J, and sounded pretty good. Series was the position for me. But it did sound just a touch "muted" and when a used P-J popped up on IE at a time when I had the case to make the switch, well I made the switch.
G&L SB-2 honeyburst over ash, rosewood	The SB-2 is my favorite G&L bass - because I can get an even low-to-high sound with it and the #6 neck just fits in my hands perfectly. While looking for another I found that prices had really gone up lately and while I tend to prefer alder bodies this one became available and I couldn't pass it up. It has all the SB-2 goodness (comfortable feel, sparkling clarity, throaty tone) and all the SB-2 badness (can be clanky - really needs a tone control). It's a winner but was been demoted to #2 by the Rumblefish P-J. I got comfortable enough with the Reverend that I went for a second one of those and let this go.
Peavey Axcelerator 4 gold, rosewood, active	The neck was very slim front-to-back but a touch wider than 1.5" at the nut and just didn't feel right. The sound was good and you can't beat a US-made active dual humbucker bass for $201.50 plus shipping. But without a really comfortable neck it wasn't worth holding on to.
G&L Climax gold, rosewood, black headstock	While this bass is super comfortable (light, slim neck) and sounds good I just get unhappy with G&L MFD humbuckers. I like series mode and find parallel to be too thin for me. And in series mode while the E&A strings are awesome they completely overpower the D&G strings even with the bass rolled way, way back. This can be mostly compensated for with carefull pickup & polepiece adjustment but I'd rather have the simplicity of an SB-2.
Dean Razor Std ash body, 5-piece maple/walnut neck	The end of the cheap bass (and jazz-style bass) junket. I picked it up on clearance from Zzounds and it was worth every penny as far as construction quality and sound. The small body made it light and the 2+2 headstock and small body made it feel small. It had a fairly powerful active sound and it would have been a great backup/BEAD bass except the neck just didn't agree with me well enough.
G&L L-2000 ash body, #6 maple fretboard	With extensive tweaking of pickup height and pole piece height I was able to balance out the sound to an acceptable level. And nothing I've used has the same punch and growl as an L2k. But in the end it just wasn't as important to keep it once my band situation changed. And I think I'd rather have the simplicity of an SB-2 for my solid-body needs. So it went.
Fernandes Retrospect Deluxe unknown body wood, maple/rw neck, active electronics	As part of my cheap bass junket went this was a winner. A MIJ Fernandes it was very solid and well put together but I just did not go for the sound. The neck would have probably been workable but as an overall package I just didn't like it enough to keep it.
Yamaha BB1500a alder body, maple/rw neck, dual J pickups	I went on a "cheap bass" tear. This is a very nice Yamaha that originally listed for over $1K and I was able to pick it up cheap on ebay. I liked it quite a bit but the neck was slightly larger than jazz size and it was just too much for me.
Fernandes Retrospect 5X sunburst over alder, rw board	Sold off a bass, returned another and had money burning a hole in my pocket. For some reason I remembered I'd always wanted to go 5 but never found one with a neck I could deal with. Then I remembered this puppy has a 1-5/8" nut width which has worked for me with 4 and 8 string basses in the past. It worked for a while but then my hands & wrists just couldn't take it. And that's too bad because I really dug using the D on the B string (and occasionally the B-C also). For such an inexpensive ($300) MIC bass it was nicely put together and sounded and played very nicely.
G&L SB-2 black/silver swirl, #6 neck, rw board	This bass came with rounds and I really like the sound of rounds on an alder/rw SB-2. It was kept in preference to my alder/maple one when push came to shove (and the fact that I just like the look of the swirl a whole lot better than sunburst). It eventually left so I could try the L2K thing again, then the L2K left and I was looking for another SB-2. And so it goes.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-2db honeyburst, headless, db tuner	As much as I love the engineering behind headless basses the Musicyo Steinbergers just don't cut it for me in the comfort department. The culprit is the 24 fret neck and how it attaches to the body. It makes the neck stick out too far to the left when the body is in the "comfortable spot" to hang. Maybe someday I'll save up enough gig money to have a custom headless put together where the top of the body attaches to the neck at the same spot as a G&L bass and the lower cutaway is very pronounced to give access to the frets. Maybe a headless single-cut style bass . . .
G&L L-2000 lake placid blue, #6 neck, maple board, matching headstock	I love the sound of an L2K by itself. But once I get it in my band situation it just doesn't do what I want. I like the beef and tone in series mode but then the D&G strings get lost in the mix. And I like the ergonomics on the SB basses slightly better. So to pay off gear debt and simplify I sold it.
DiPinto Belevedere Std gold top, two single coils, semi-hollow	This bass had a very nice sound. Semi-hollow warmth/bloom but with a lot of edge from the roundwounds it came with. It's overall character (with those strings) was "zingy". If I had been able to get comfortable with it I probably would have kept it. The neck just stuck out so far that even the strapture strap couldn't save it. I returned it where I bought it (Music123.com via ebay).
G&L SB-2 sunburst, #6 neck, maple board	I've bought and sold/traded this particular bass 3 times now. This last time I sent it off in trade for a G&L L-2000 (again). When I've got an L-2000 I miss the clarity and evenness of an SB-2 (at least through my band's main PA which tends to be muddy, at least during practices). When I have only SB-2s I miss L2Ks. Maybe I should keep one of each?
Modulus Vintage Jazz composite jazz sized neck, blue quilt maple top over ash, bartolinis, hipshot	Very nice - I really like the feel and balanced sound on the composite neck. Now I just need to get adjusted to the lower output (relative to my G&L). It came with old flats which are very sweet on the top end but it may need some rounds to snarl. The sound is very "polite" and I may end up trying out different pickups to get a more aggressive/raw/nasty/punchy sound out of it.
G&L L2000 2002 - lake placid blue, #6 neck, rosewood board	L2000s are one of my favorite basses. With the MFD pickup in the neck position they get a depth to their sound that is almost unrivalled in my (admittedly limited) experience. That is both their strength and their weakness. The lows they put out in series mode are so powerful that I find I must roll them back, and getting a good balance to the sound can be challenging - particularly if you are dealing with a PA & stage monitors. They can also put a lot of pressure on your amplification to reproduce them. There are times I yearn for an SB-2 which doesn't have as much power, but is better balanced. But in a more controlled environment (using my amp for the only sound) it gets depth and growl the SB-2 can only hint at. The highs are not quite as sweet & clear.
G&L Climax metallic redburst, #6 neck, rosewood board	Another great G&L bass. Very throaty, very aggressive with a ton of growl & bite. But the squarer body edges were not that comfortable for me where my right arm rested on the body. So even though I like the sound, without comfort I just can't play it for long.
MTD Beast 4 Pearl Blue, wenge board, NOS	I like the Beast (see my Beast info further down) but I got this with store credit (and cash) and traded it almost immediately for another G&L.
Dean Rhapsody HB 2002/2003? - amberburst, semi-hollow, single humbucker	This is a relatively inexpensive imported bass that gets a nicely balanced P-type sound (as you would figure from the pickup placement) with some added clarity on the top end. It's got a comfortable neck, is pretty light and fun to play. I'm not sure I'm sold on the 2-piece bridge and putting some nickel rounds (even the cheap-o Snarling Dogs ones I had in the drawer) really made it easier to play and sound better than whatever the OEM strings were (felt like steel rounds, fairly lightweight). Returned it to the store and got an MTD Beast (much better bass) with the credit and some cash.
Genz Benz ML-12T 135W, 1x12+tweeter, tiltback	My first bass amp. A trooper that has done practices (before the PA), house parties and stage monitoring. Very solid and dependable. More of a "vintage" sound than my new GB. Well build and more of a "dark gray" than "black". But I'm tired of the 2-combo rig and moving to separates.
Steinberger Spirit XZ-2db honeyburst, headless, detuner bridge	I really liked this, especially for the price. The headless design makes it lighter and shorter than a headed bass and although this was all wood (with a dead/weak spot) it seemed like the dead spot moved a ways up the neck from the standard "Fender dead spot". However it hung too far to the left (I looked down at the 21st/22nd fret as opposed to the 17th/18th or so on a more traditionally styled bass) and was bugging my hand/wrist for a longer practice session. So it got returned. But I do like the headless thing - maybe a standard Fender-style body with a Moses headless neck . . .
Godin A4 cognac burst, jazz size neck, fretted	Great bass, comfortable neck and oh, the sound. Deeper and warmer than even my G&L L2000. But I couldn't deal with the body edge for even a 1/2 hour practice session. So it had to go. But I'd love a semi-hollow like this if it were contoured. But the Lakland is a bit out of my price range.
Schecter Stiletto Studio 8 mahogany/bubinga body, 5-piece neck, 1-5/8" wide at the nut	The 1-5/8" nut width was working for me. But with 2 guitars in the band an 8-string wouldn't work there and it didn't really give "guitar-like" sounds that I could use in my songwriting. So it went.
G&L SB-2 sunburst, #6 neck, maple board	I love G&Ls. I love the clarity and evenness of the SB-2. But I love my L-2000 more. If I had the money I'd have an L2000, SB-1/2 and Climax/L-1500 - but I don't right now.
G&L Climax emerald blue/rosewood, #6 neck	A great super agressive bass. I just like the low rumble of an L-2000 more than the growl and bite of a Climax.
Reverend Rumblefish 4 black phenolic, rosewood board	The non-contoured body got me. It was OK but I'm just not a jazz-pickup guy, I guess. Give me humbuckers.
G&L L2000 natural, #6 neck, rosewood board	I guess I don't like ash-bodied L-2000s. It looked and felt great, I just wasn't enamoured of the sound as well as the alder bodied L2000s I've had.
Modulus Genesis Vintage Jazz Bass sunburst/grenadillo	Nice bass, jazz pickups aren't my thing.
G&L SB-2 black, #6 neck, rosewood board	I had 3 SB-2s (2 rw, 1 maple) and kept the maple as it was more biting and aggressive for a general purpose rock bass. I'd like to have a rw SB-2 again someday when I'm adding to a "collection" instead of putting together what I "need" to play for fun.
2000 G&L L2000 tobacco burst, #6 neck, rosewood board	Probably the prettiest G&L I've had. After a while the sound just wasn't doing it for me. Probably because the body was ash. At least that's my excuse.
MTD Beast metallic blue, maple board	Pretty bass, well made. The best sounding jazz-style bass I've had. But it lost out in the comparison to the L2000 above.
2000 G&L L2000 sparkle black over alder, #5 neck, rosewood board	My original L2000 bought new. I loved this bass but couldn't handle the #5 neck after about a year. I now wish I would have just had the neck narrowed and kept it. Oh well, live and learn.