DO Gibson basses need to be played differently?

[whm3223]

My Les Paul DC bass has fantastic sustain when it's got roundwounds on it. Even with the short scale and stock 3 point bridge. YMMV.

 

[simongpaez]

I agree, you are not crazy
I also play and feel very different playing Gibson vs Fender, both are amazing in their own way and I don’t prefer one over another just different.

For example I love how Gibson basses sound with a pick, I play with fingers and I suck at playing with a pick but the tone Gibson basses with a pick is amazing to me.

 

[rockscott]

Gibsons dont eq like fenders!

 

[Peaveylover]

Height of strings to the pickups, string brands, your playing style, and so on will contribute to the different sounds you hear. If the basses are not all setup (adjusted action and intonation), and strings are somewhat fresh, it's hard to compare anything here. With a good setup and newer strings, ANY bass will sound noticeably different and likely better than when you started. Nothing makes a bass sound like garbage faster than an old set of strings.

Have you changed out the Explorer strings yet?

Yes. Got the bass brand new and switched out the strings right away. I set it up with low action.

 

[Peaveylover]

Check pick up height. Not sure if you adjusted it at all. From my observations, and someone please correct me if I am wrong, the strings on a GSO with tend to sit further away from from the body as you move towards the bridge. Gibson fingerboards aren't coplanar with the top of the body like Fenders are (neck relief and FB radius notwithstanding). What may look like correct pickup height, in relation to the body, for a Fender may not be for a Gibson.

Curious what the right measurement would be. Right now pickups seem low on the explorer.

 

[Gaolee]

Yes. Got the bass brand new and switched out the strings right away. I set it up with low action.

Raise the pickup height on your Epiphones and Gibsons. The pickup height makes a big difference. If they are set low, the sound won't be as strong. I doubt that's your sustain issue, but it could contribute. I'm very surprised that you are having sustain problems with them.

The pickups should be as close to the strings as you can get them. The exception to this rule is a bass equipped with DeCola pickups like on a 2015 Thunderbird, but I don't think you need to worry or even think about that exception for now.

 

[NathOBX]

Curious what the right measurement would be. Right now pickups seem low on the explorer.

You need to measure pick up height as distance from the string to the pickup. Plenty of specs out there.

 

[EdO.]

If it has one of these, it would be my main suspect.
View attachment 4551863

I call bullsh!t. I have two T-birds with the floating bridge and they sustain at least as well as any of my other 12 basses. I know there are a lot of haters out there for this type bridge but I've never had an issue and most who actually have hands on experience with them don't either. But haters gonna hate, pay no attention to the haters.

Had several Thunderbirds over the years and yes they have a definite sonic punch but they've always had loads of sustain.

Ditto. Nothing else to add.

 

[bylar13]

Pictures would help as well.

Maybe some of the bass and some of the amp eq's.

I have a Gibson Thunderbird and find that it has more sustain than any other bass I have owned.

 

[Johnny Fingers]

Make sure all the knobs are set to 10.

 

[mellowgerman]

I typically don't like to generalize traits like sustain or resonance to an entire brand of instrument. In my experience of having owned well over 100 basses over the last 20 years, I think it has a lot more to do with every individual chunk of wood and it's unique characteristics.
I do recall my Epiphone Korina Explorer bass being a bit lacking in sustain but only on certain areas of the fretboard. It was an odd bird but, of course, it looked cool and was fun to play.
The Thunderbirds I've owned (both Gibson and Epiphone) mostly had nice even sustain across the board.
My 1962 EB-0 on the other hand has TONS of sustain.

 

[Gluvhand]

I would say it’s not so much the bass, it’s how it’s EQ’d, the amp settings, as well as the strings would have more of an impact that the instruments themself. Using the same amp and EQ settings for both will magnify the differences, but by twisting the dials, you may be able to mitigate the differences.

That said, they are different instruments and one should expect some differences, even if they are the same instrument made by the same manufacturer but a different series. My son and I both have Fender MIA PJs but different series. Mine sounds more like a JB, and his sounds more like a PB.

This right here. They require completely different eq'ing from a P.

 

[Rib 13]

This is just an opinion, but I honestly believe that - for the longest time - Gibson basses were designed by folks with little bass background and applied guitar luthier paradigms to their basses....basically, they made guitars and put bass strings on them.......With the exception of a few models (G series, T-Birds, RDs, Victory, EB14s, a few 90s models not mentioned) most of their popular classic basses (EB- x/ SGs, early LP models, etc) have a guitar feel to them

 

[40Hz]

A lighter touch usually works better with Gibson basses. The pickups (almost always either a standard side-by-side or sidewinder design humbucker) are louder and more sensitive to your playing dynamics than your average single coil. But I don’t know about the comment about sustain. Every Gibson I’ve ever played has sustain to last for days. Don’t know about playing them slower either. I’ve used them for speed riffs without any problems.

 

[Gizmot]

This is just an opinion, but I honestly believe that - for the longest time - Gibson basses were designed by folks with little bass background and applied guitar luthier paradigms to their basses....basically, they made guitars and put bass strings on them.......With the exception of a few models (G series, T-Birds, RDs, Victory, EB14s, a few 90s models not mentioned) most of their popular classic basses (EB- x/ SGs, early LP models, etc) have a guitar feel to them

You are correct! I used to know several people in marketing at Gibson and about 20 years ago, I was invited to participate in a focus group to talk about their products. The subject of basses came up and everyone of the Gibson people admitted that they haven't invested any time or effort to make a good sounding bass - - and they even admitted that none of them knew what a good bass is supposed to sound like! All they've done for decades is to simply take guitar designs and scale them up to be able to handle bass strings. Since I was involved in these meetings, they've come out with one or two more dedicated bass models, but they still haven't invested the time or money to make these a serious effort to make these instruments what bass players really want.

 

[70spbase]

I find that the neck of a Gibson bass guitar is just a completely different animal. Oh and of course the neck dive because the bodies are usually light and the necks are heavier causes a problem. I did an out of town gig and the back line was a Gibson SG style. I guess like the EBO or EB1 ,not sure what model it was but I hit more wrong notes after playing one set of songs that I have been playing for 12 years that I ever did on any of my Fender basses. Goes to show you we like what we like and we get used to it.

 

[bobyoung53]

You are correct! I used to know several people in marketing at Gibson and about 20 years ago, I was invited to participate in a focus group to talk about their products. The subject of basses came up and everyone of the Gibson people admitted that they haven't invested any time or effort to make a good sounding bass - - and they even admitted that none of them knew what a good bass is supposed to sound like! All they've done for decades is to simply take guitar designs and scale them up to be able to handle bass strings. Since I was involved in these meetings, they've come out with one or two more dedicated bass models, but they still haven't invested the time or money to make these a serious effort to make these instruments what bass players really want.

Have you tried one of the new NR T-Birds yet? Mine has become my favorite out of all my Fenders, Rics and Gibsons. I think they hit it out of the park with these. Best and easiest playing neck of any bass I own.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

If I played my Hofner the way I played my pbass, the bridge would have shot across the room and blown a hole in the wall. Each instrument has its own characteristics- so yes, I think there is a difference. With that said, you can play any kind of music with any kind of bass.

All I’m saying is there are differences but not limitations although some adjustments have to be made.

just another opinion

 

[bobyoung53]

Yes. Got the bass brand new and switched out the strings right away. I set it up with low action.

Is the neck straight? Even if, make sure the truss rod is at least engaged. It sounds like a setup problem to me. Long scale or short scale, what gauge strings did you put on them?

 

[Leonid Nidis]

I would say Gibson's in general are more dynamic and punish you for bad technique more that other basses.

It always takes me a few moments to remember how to play my sg bass and not sound muddy.
A fender is more plug and play.