Description
The SB-1 has been part of the G&L lineup since 1982, when Leo Fender put his own spin on the single-pickup passive bass using his MFD pickup design and Saddle-Lock bridge. By 1985 it had settled into the split-coil, pickguard-equipped format bassists know today, and this Fullerton Deluxe version carries that lineage forward with a few refinements to the body contours for a sleeker, more balanced feel on the strap.
Where this bass earns its keep is under the hands. The neck measures a 1 5/8″ nut width with a C-shaped profile, a 9 1/2″ fingerboard radius, and 21 Jescar 57110 medium-jumbo nickel-silver frets — a combination that keeps fast lines and chord work equally comfortable whether you’re locked into a groove or stretching out.
Tonally, the split-coil MFD humbucker is where Leo’s engineering shows: it delivers real weight and growl without smearing the note’s attack or losing string-to-string definition. Paired with the Saddle-Lock bridge, which drives string vibration straight into the body’s end grain, the whole instrument resonates more than you’d expect from a bolt-on — sustain and clarity that carry through a mix without a fight.
- 3-Tone Sunburst over Alder body, 3-ply tortoise pickguard, Caribbean rosewood fingerboard
- Andromeda over Alder body, 3-ply pearl pickguard, maple fingerboard
Built at the historic G&L facility on Fender Avenue in Fullerton, California — the same shop Leo Fender founded in 1980 and where G&L USA instruments are still made today.
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