bhunt1 wrote:
The split coil on the newer SB2s is supposed to be really loud and bright too.
Not really bright, but it does produce a very wide range of tones. Just varying with the volume knobs gives you a very powerful tone control already
. With the volume knob of the splitcoil set to about 8 you have your regular Precision tone. With the volume knob turned fully up, it adds some beef and top end, and an amazingly high output. With the volume control of the bridge pickup, you can add just the amount of treble you want, or go all the way for a big and very well-defined fingerstyle tone and some amazing slap sounds (and it sounds great with a pick too in any position).
I just never liked the bridge pickup soloed, it's a bit weak and thin compared to the splitcoil and compared to a regular Jazz Bass bridge pickup because it's so close to the bridge.
But overall, just the two volume controls give you a lot of tonal options. And let's be honest, how many people really use their tone pot on a passive bass?
bhunt1 wrote:
BTW they are making the SB1 again, which just has the split coil in the P bass position.
No they don't
That's been out of production for a few years now. It's a cool bass though, doesn't have the slim J-style neck but the same chunky neck profile that's on the L-series, and the SB-1 does have a tone control.