Dan Dare Posted November 11, 2023 Share Posted November 11, 2023 (edited) About 3 years back, I fancied a Sting Ray, but didn't want to pay what they go for. I looked around and read reviews and the G&L Kiloton came up as a possible poor man's Ray. So I went out and bought the Tribute/Indonesian version (which uses the same pickup/wiring as the US versions and was favourably reviewed). The shop where I bought it only had a little combo to try it with, so I attributed the fact that it sounded like a J bass with only the bridge pickup working to that. When I got it home and tried it through proper gear, it was the same. Middly, nasal and no great weight to the sound. So it went in the cupboard to be forgotten about until recently. I dug it out and thought I might as well sell it as it wasn't being used, but I worried that it would be unlikely to have much appeal with the feeble sound. I wondered whether there might have been a broken wire or one of the pots wasn't working right. So I found a wiring diagram online, took it apart and guess what. The pickup selector switch was incorrectly wired. It must have been done wrong at the factory because I bought it brand new. Don't they test things before shipping them? Apparently not. Broke out the soldering iron and switched a couple of wires on the selector switch over and blimey. It rattles the windows. Very pleasing. Edited November 11, 2023 by Dan Dare 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted November 11, 2023 Share Posted November 11, 2023 Many years ago I bought a black Hohner Black cricket bat bass - mainly because Robbie Shakespeare and Tony Gadd were using the Steinberger version at the time. Got it home I thought it sounded the nuts and used it exclusively, instead of my Westone Thunder 1a for about 18 months (I only had 2 basses back then). Plugged the Westone in one day and soon realised how much more bass it was than the Hohner. The Hohner found a new home not long after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merello Posted November 11, 2023 Share Posted November 11, 2023 Without pics...I don't believe you! 😀 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 Glad you got the wiring problem sorted as that pickup can peel paint off the doors at full pelt! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted November 12, 2023 Author Share Posted November 12, 2023 4 hours ago, jezzaboy said: Glad you got the wiring problem sorted as that pickup can peel paint off the doors at full pelt! Thanks. It really can. I'm glad I thought about selling it - gave me the motivation to try to fix it. I'm definitely keeping it now. I've treated it to a new set of flats and it's instant Bernard Edwards. Minus his technique, of course... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 A lesson to everyone - if your MFD(s) sound weak then there's something wrong, because if they're working as they should, they should sound beastly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munurmunuh Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 Has anyone tried putting a Kiloton through one of those pedals that contains a clone of the original 2-band Stingray preamp? When I ordered my SB-1, I was deeply tempted by the Kiloton. At time, it was the series setting that attracted me; these days, I think I'd like to have the pickup selector wired front coil / parallel / back coil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 16 hours ago, Munurmunuh said: Has anyone tried putting a Kiloton through one of those pedals that contains a clone of the original 2-band Stingray preamp? When I ordered my SB-1, I was deeply tempted by the Kiloton. At time, it was the series setting that attracted me; these days, I think I'd like to have the pickup selector wired front coil / parallel / back coil. Speaking as someone who owns a bass which came wired that way, I can tell you that it's the most underwhelming tonal difference I've ever heard. It's almost a DFA switch. I rewired it to be Series/Single/Parallel, at least that does something to the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 39 minutes ago, neepheid said: Speaking as someone who owns a bass which came wired that way, I can tell you that it's the most underwhelming tonal difference I've ever heard. It's almost a DFA switch. I rewired it to be Series/Single/Parallel, at least that does something to the sound. That's my favorite for MM. Mainly use parallel and some single for when thin and gritty is needed. There isn't quite enough distance between the coils to get much variation. Series often a bit overblown for me, but I can imagine it might come in handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 On 11/11/2023 at 18:08, Dan Dare said: I dug it out and thought I might as well sell it as it wasn't being used, but I worried that it would be unlikely to have much appeal with the feeble sound. I wondered whether there might have been a broken wire or one of the pots wasn't working right. So I found a wiring diagram online, took it apart and guess what. The pickup selector switch was incorrectly wired. It must have been done wrong at the factory because I bought it brand new. Don't they test things before shipping them? Apparently not. Broke out the soldering iron and switched a couple of wires on the selector switch over and blimey. It rattles the windows. Very pleasing. Well spotted! Mine had a very similar fault - the switch only selected two of the available options, and a check with a multimeter did show only two output resistances, not three.* Glad you got it sorted...they do have a lovely sound. Neck was a bit chunky for me, so mine's on permalend to a old bass playing buddy who was without a bass. (*I had to explain Ohm's Law to GuitarGuitar to get them to stop saying it didn't have a fault and accept the return 🙄 and get one that did work !) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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