Controversial Opinion: Gibson Basses Questionable Design Choices

[LetItGrowTone]

ANY thread title can morph into a worthwhile thread here, see? I wouldn't ruin that with a reply to the original topic.

 

[jd56hawk]

 

[lespaulbass]

this may not suit everyone -- regarding 'P' anything, especially bass guitars, the precisions to me are like very finely made, excellent vanilla pudding. The kind that is cooked on the stove, good pudding. really good stuff, just not very exciting in any way. The truth is, there are not many really great bass guitars available - unless you really want to spend the jack on an alembic, etc. SO, here are the choices at a certain music store -- 52 P basses, 14 j BASSES, 1 RIC, NO GIBSONS. Maybe a few imports - lots of cheap PJ basses. There was a Music Man ernie Ball -- bought it on the spot. It is really cool. However, for any gigs, the Gibson stays in tune and sounds perfect. 'NO P for me'

 

[LetItGrowTone]

To me, the J neck pickup is *the* neutral (vanilla as you said) bass sound, not that there's anything wrong with that - more beauty farther forward, more attitude farther back.

 

[lespaulbass]

It is quite possible that the top of the line Peavey bass would be really great. They have built some really great equipment over the years. They also make a really good bass amp. The appearance of a bass guitar can really be important. examples -- 1st saw ZZ TOp 1972 -- small concert --Dusty was playing an old fender telecaster Bass. It was just different enough to really stand out. Sounded brutal-- 2 big ampeg amps. Leon (Skynyrd) playing that big Gibson bass. Total presence. Absolute badass players. Old video of Chicago -- Peter Cetera was playing a Vox Teardrop bass. Looked so cool it was beyond. Steppenwolf bass -- Hollow body Ric. It wwas too cool. NOw, the P and the J are great -- many people play them very successfully. What was jack Bruce playing? All I know, it was pretty unique looking-- really added to his presence. The MAIN thing -- you gotta sound good. You gotta make your singer and band sound good. Just sound good.

 

[stevieg]

First, let me say that all of my basses are and have been Fenders or Squiers, except one Peavey that I played from 1985-2007 and a Sears Harmony that I played from 1983-1985.

I too, like you, used to dislike Gibson basses just by prejudice. Then I played a few.

Every single one of them has had a neck that just felt natural in my hand. There’s a wide variety of pickups that are available depending on the model too, but the chrome covered vintage humbuckers sound amazing. Near the neck - dark and warm. Near the bridge - also warm, but with some treble burp as you’d expect.

As far as body shapes go - check out the original Embassy and the Epiphone Embassy pro. Also, as mentioned above, the Grabber and Ripper.

I’m not offended by the body shapes matching Gibson guitar models - I’ve *always* been a big fan of the Explorer body shape (not having played one of course), I love a TBird, which is arguably much more prolific and copied for a bass shape than Firebirds are as a guitar shape, and the newer Tribute is both bad ass to play and sounds great.

I’m still not a big fan of the SG bass shape or the Les Paul as a bass shape, but I’m coming around on that too, and would love a semi-hollow body Les Paul shaped bass with dual humbuckers or the ES-335 style body shape.

Not that the Fender sounds are boring (I love my P basses!), but I did get to a point where I’d like some variety in my tones and will likely be spending money on a Gibson or Epiphone sometime this year. They don’t sound like P’s or J’s, but they definitely sound just as good and just as usable in a mix. And those necks play *so* fast.

I admit that I had general dislike for Gibson basses for no good reason except that the EB0 and EB3 had, in my opinion, serious tone problems.

Then I heard a T-bird and subsequently bought one. This totally changed my opinion of Gibson basses, except for the models mentioned earlier.

Then, one day I was scanning eBay and saw an RD Artist. My immediate thought was, great, another weird Gibson bass. A few minutes later I got a call from a co-worker who saw the same item on eBay. He said just buy it and don't think about in terms of your previous EB experiences. Apparently, he had once owned one.

So, I bought it and discovered a truly miraculous instrument and the first Gibson anything with a maple fingerboard. While it was in transit, I looked at the Bill of Lading and thought the seller had added bricks to the package. The instrument's weight was remarkable. Finally, it arrived, and I did not find any bricks though I did discover an instrument of truly remarkable tone variation and great playability, weight and all. It is one of the finest instruments I own and proudly shares a place of frequently played instruments along with my T-Bird, Epiphone Jack Casady Signature, Guild Starfire and a Fender 1956 reissue P-bass.

 

[stevieg]

The Firebird is a smaller bass....

Actually, the Firebird is a guitar with "banjo" tuners.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Interesting and extremely long thread...

My first Bass was a Jazz copy (Electra) can't actually remember exactly where I got it, but it had to be one of only a few places. The first Bass that I was eyeballing was an EB copy.

When I did a trade-in of the Jazz copy (that I really learned to play over one summer) and my Trumpet was for a Gibson Ripper. I gigged with that Bass for three years through highschool. (I also owned and played a sweet LP Custom that a guy's mom sold to me just to get it out of the house!)

These both worked well with my Marshall Plexi Super Bass 100, Ampeg V4-B and two Super Bass 100 4x12 cabinets. (As it turned out, the Marshall stacks original owner got it in '67 in SF and was hanging out in the H/A area jamming with Quicksilver Messenger Service and doing Fillmore gigs - Mount Rushmore)

Anyway, I stumbled on this thread as it's been some time that I have owned/played a Gibson Bass. I never did get an EB and only briefly had a '76 Thunderbird that got a replacement Bartolini in the bridge due to a bad pickup. Collector value being there, I sold it. Neck dive.

But I had great success in 2018 with an LPB-3. I took the Bartolini pickups/preamp out. Put in a custom set of Rio Grande Muy Grande Pitbull's, 3 way switch and a Stellartone Tonestyler Bass 10 in Drop C and boy howdy...that thing just screamed in a hard rock context with two 7 string guitar players!

Maple/Mahogany/Ebony...

I was reading just the other day where Warren Haynes (Govt Mule) talked about the evolution of Bass in music and the movement toward sterility. But, also being nice to hear a bit more hair in the tone coming back overall to some degree. Also, that Allan Woody was a dirty tone hound all the time.

So it got me thinking about my FSO tendencies, how bada** that Gibson LPB-3 had been and wondering how Andy West is such a great player with a pick as is Phil Lesh? (Both play six string Bass with a very narrow string spacing!)

It caused me to consider a familiar path less traveled, expanding my thinking and conceptualization and got my creative juices moving...

Another Gibson on the Horizon...?

 

[jimmydean]

One day Gibson will outfit an EBO with MM or Jazz Pickups and decide EBO's don't need to be in that cherry finish . The Grabber, Victory and those other ugly designs will be designs of the past and will never be rolled out of a Gibson factory again ......who's with meeeee!

 

[ctmullins]

One day Gibson will outfit an EBO with MM or Jazz Pickups and decide EBO's don't need to be in that cherry finish . The Grabber, Victory and those other ugly designs will be designs of the past and will never be rolled out of a Gibson factory again ......who's with meeeee!

I'm definitely not with you.

 

[BassmonkeyJ]

I'm definitely not with you.

I totally dig my RD, so I'm with you on not being with him.

 

[bassclef112]

Let's not overlook the Gibson IV. For all intents and purposes it's an all mahogany set neck P bass with Thunderbird pickups. And actually very nicely done for a P player to transition into. Kinda like a Victory.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Let's not overlook the Gibson IV. For all intents and purposes it's an all mahogany set neck P bass with Thunderbird pickups. And actually very nicely done for a P player to transition into. Kinda like a Victory.
View attachment 5453091

There is a white one for sale on Reverb right now...

 

[Ostie]

I don’t agree. The EB series, SG, Grabber, Ripper, and T-Bird are all considered classics. You may not like them, but that doesn’t change the fact.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

But I had great success in 2018 with an LPB-3. I took the Bartolini pickups/preamp out. Put in a custom set of Rio Grande Muy Grande Pitbull's, 3 way switch and a Stellartone Tonestyler Bass 10 in Drop C and boy howdy...that thing just screamed in a hard rock context with two 7 string guitar players!

Boy howdy, people are screaming in here now. Oh the humanity, I mean clarity, of a drop c tuning on a bass in a mix with two 7 string guitars. Awesome looking bass though.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Boy howdy, people are screaming in here now. Oh the humanity, I mean clarity, of a drop c tuning on a bass in a mix with two 7 string guitars. Awesome looking bass though.

Have I said something to upset you young man... their living room was well suited for recording, too. It was the first time I could get the Bass to feedback right along with the guitar players and they liked that Sh*t..!

 

[MotorCityMinion]

Not upset at all, to each his own. Just thought I'd share my opinion on the matter as well. I'm just the opposite from young. Ya want more feed back, get a hollow body with micro-phonic pick-ups. That will show them.

 

[Dbassmon]

This is a matter of taste. I like blondes, you like brunettes; we are both right.

If you like EBO, Grabber or Thunderbird, or Les Paul bass, play it with pride. The is room for everybody. If you choose a Les Paul Bass, better have your Chiropractor on speed dial.

In world of bass players, Leo Fender created a aesthetic, both in form and tone that the overwhelming majority of the bass playing world has embraced. I am not just referring Fender basses, but also the cousins, MusicMan and G&L instruments.

There are a minority of players that like Gibson designs, and more than a few seminal recordings with guys playing Gibson basses. They are legitimate instruments.

Gibson sells enough basses so that the have not abandoned bass production. I assume the effort produces some profit, but nowhere near what is generated from Fender Designs, whether from Fender, the cousins or boutique bass makers.

Play what you like! What else is there?

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Not upset at all, to each his own. Just thought I'd share my opinion on the matter as well. I'm just the opposite from young. Ya want more feed back, get a hollow body with micro-phonic pick-ups. That will show them.

Good point, the only hollow body Bass I ever owned was a Guild BIG body BE-40 (or something like that?) with a piezo pickup. I've always been a solid body electric player for the most part.

Those Rio Grande Muy Grande Pitbull's (2x'51 coils) will tear your face off, throw it on the floor and stomp on it for ya!

 

[bylar13]

I had a 73' Fender Jazz as my primary bass for 22 years.

After a playing hiatus, I started playing with a band again in 2017 and realized I never really liked the sound of it all that much.

I was always trying to get something out of it it didn't seem to want to give me. Different amps, different speaker configurations, different effects etc.

Once I got past the fact that it was more valuable/better because it was "vintage", I deliberately went in a different direction and ended up with a 2014 Thunderbird.

Very happy I did and the jazz wen to a new home. I really love my Gibson bass.