Controversial Opinion: Gibson Basses Questionable Design Choices

[IamGroot]

I think it made perfect marketing sense for instrument manufacturers back in the day to copy the distinctive features of their hottest selling electric guitars to other instruments. Look at Fender headstocks, they are one acoustic guitars. You knew immediately back in the 60s when you were looking at a Fender Product.

 

[danesdad]

So I was thinking about why Gibson Basses are so rarely used and why I have never felt a connection to any Gibson bass I have ever played and it hit me:

Gibson's approach to basses is to simply make a larger guitar. There is no consideration of it being its own instrument with its own needs. They simply make a larger version of their guitars, take two strings off, and call it a bass.

Now I understand there are many guys who like their Thunderbirds, and I'm not trying to poopie in anyone's cereal, I'm just pointing out that while Fender designed the P and Jazz basses from the ground up as unique instruments, Gibson simply made a Les Paul bass, an SG bass, a Firebird bass... Why couldn't they have a designer work with some working bassists and design a bass that wasn't just an upscaled guitar. They build some of the finest guitars ever made, why can't they make great basses as well?

I'm pretty sure John Entwistle was involved in the design of the RD Artist bass.

 

[Element Zero]

9 years and only 11 posts? #doyoueventalkbassbro?

 

[thetragichero]

here i thought this thread was about Gibson's refusal to improved known design flaws in their necks

 

[Kmonk]

I've never found the Gibson designs attractive. I like Les Paul guitars but have never liked SG, Firebird, Thunderbird, EB styles. I also do not like the sound of their basses. I have friends who use them and I respect that, but Gibson basses never did anything for me.

 

[Mosfed]

So I was thinking about why Gibson Basses are so rarely used and why I have never felt a connection to any Gibson bass I have ever played and it hit me:

Gibson's approach to basses is to simply make a larger guitar. There is no consideration of it being its own instrument with its own needs. They simply make a larger version of their guitars, take two strings off, and call it a bass.

Now I understand there are many guys who like their Thunderbirds, and I'm not trying to poopie in anyone's cereal, I'm just pointing out that while Fender designed the P and Jazz basses from the ground up as unique instruments, Gibson simply made a Les Paul bass, an SG bass, a Firebird bass... Why couldn't they have a designer work with some working bassists and design a bass that wasn't just an upscaled guitar. They build some of the finest guitars ever made, why can't they make great basses as well?

that’s about as controversial as claiming that the world is f’ed

 

[MtManiac]

The P-bass came before the strat.

Fun Fact - The Strat came out in 1954, at which point the Precision was still based on the Telecaster, with an extended upper horn for better balance for the longer neck. The Strat's body shape was 100% borrowed from the Precision. Then the Precision was redesigned for 1957 to be more like the Strat, with body contours and curvy edges, quieter pickup, redesigned pickguard, and of course the new Strat-style headstock.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

FENDER: How can we make the Precision BETTER from what we've learned from our guitars?


GIBSON: Too neck divey-Firebird?... Hold my beer....

 

[Fender_Bender]

To be fair to Gibson, they weren’t the only ones to go with “enlarged guitars’. I’d bet nearly every other manufacturers short scale bass was an enlarged guitar. It was the early days, standards were not standards yet.

 

[Chrisk-K]

The P-bass came before the strat.

I was talking about the split-pickup P bass, the most widely used bass.

 

[Sixgunn]

So I was thinking about why Gibson Basses are so rarely used and why I have never felt a connection to any Gibson bass I have ever played and it hit me:

Gibson's approach to basses is to simply make a larger guitar. There is no consideration of it being its own instrument with its own needs. They simply make a larger version of their guitars, take two strings off, and call it a bass.

Now I understand there are many guys who like their Thunderbirds, and I'm not trying to poopie in anyone's cereal, I'm just pointing out that while Fender designed the P and Jazz basses from the ground up as unique instruments, Gibson simply made a Les Paul bass, an SG bass, a Firebird bass... Why couldn't they have a designer work with some working bassists and design a bass that wasn't just an upscaled guitar. They build some of the finest guitars ever made, why can't they make great basses as well?

The Firebird is a smaller bass....

 

[IamGroot]

here i thought this thread was about Gibson's refusal to improved known design flaws in their necks

Gibson's HDQ is in da Nile

 

[superheavyfunk]

View attachment 3688343

I really like these

I always liked those basses. They look cool and sound great!

 

[GretschWretch]

The P-bass came before the strat.

And was based on the Telecaster.

 

[TolerancEJ]

I have always liked Gibson guitars, possibly because father has always owned an ES-120T and I would pick it up often while I was growing up and learning to play. Today, I personally own 3 Gibson guitars: Les Paul Studio, Flying V, and Explorer. I have a number of other Gibson guitars on my wishlist including a Firebird, Moderne, and a few other oddities from their history.

Having shared this, I haven't really connected to a Gibson bass in their regular line-up. I respect that all players have different preferences and many are huge fans of Gibson basses. A few that interest me include the Grabber/Ripper G3, Q-80/Q-90 that were made in Japan in the 1980s, and the 20/20 bass (a headless Steinberger-style). Oh, and 2 very early period vintage items, being the Florentine Bass Banjo and the Mando Bass.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

I’m a Fender fan boy, but the OP’s claim is nonsense. The most widely used bass ever, the Precision, is an enlarged Strat with two fewer strings and two fewer pickups.

Time for some edumacation...

The Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument equipped with a single split-coil humbucking pickup and a one-piece, 20 fret maple neck with rosewood, pau ferro, or maple fingerboard.[1] Its prototype, designed by Leo Fender in 1950, was brought to market in 1951.[2] It was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use, remaining among the best-selling and most-imitated electric basses with considerable effect on the sound of popular music.

The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster from 1954 to the present. The first model offered for sale was the 1954 Fender Stratocaster[7]. The design featured a solid, deeply contoured ash body, a 21-fret one-piece maple neck with black dot inlays, and Kluson SafeTiPost tuning machines.

Yup, I saw it on the Googalweb. It's gotta be true.

 

[arbiterusa]

Why couldn't they have a designer work with some working bassists and design a bass that wasn't just an upscaled guitar. They build some of the finest guitars ever made, why can't they make great basses as well?

Steinberger. That didn't go well.

Gibson doesn't care about basses, never has, never will, and it shows.

 

[Guzzi Toad]

I always liked those basses. They look cool and sound great!

I like them too. Especially the 2014s with the side jack. I've never owned one. Some have suggested they have very hot pickups (too hot?). I dunno, one of these days I'll find the right one.

 

[Engineer_Josh]

A big chunk of this is due to promotion, Fender promoted their bases more, earlier. They made the smart move of giving one to Elvis’ bass player, and had the good fortune to be located closer to the Hollywood concentration of the entertainment business.

all these factors got the “Fender Bass” our there in quantity and contributed to people being trained that the P Bass was how electric bass should sound. All great business decisions or serendipity. Which of these did Gibson do to the same extent as Fender as early as Fender? How much did that contribute to “this doesn’t sounds like that other player’s Fender, can you use a Fender instead?” to which most working musicians said “yes”

 

[TBird1958]

Oh good, another Talkbass Troll Gibson thread in which folks who don't play them have to tell us about their 7enders.

Thanks, no, I'll keep my Gibson basses, I got over 7enders 40 years ago.