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Favorite Gibson bass

#281
ajkula66 said:
Never heard those in action anywhere. Would love to, given how you describe them.




I can think of at least one amazing guitar player who had a Gibson humbucker in his Tele, may he RIP...

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I've been listening to a lot of Terry Kath lately.

Seems like this thread is turning into an unofficial Gibson Bass thread. Not a bad thing!
 
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#283
Not my very favorite looker (always thought the Thunderbird IV looked cooler), but I know I tend to be partial to single pickup basses like the Precision and Mustang, so I’d love to try one of these some day:
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#284
ajkula66 said:
No love for my "reverse-tanned" - a phrase coined by our friend @dmt in another thread - '63? Nevermind, that one's going to my bass-playing-son anyway. The dark one gets buried with me.



Thread derail warning: which pickups did you put in the Les Paul ?
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The lighter one looks almost like Honduran mahogany, got some on my old Boston Whaler, and it's beautiful stuff, but I like my basses Dark and Red, like a glass of Merlot.
 
#285
BB Brian said:
What do you think of the current Epiphone Vintage T-bird? That tobacco burst is just so tempting.
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i like them so much that i bought two (in vintage sunburst). i had an original '63 T-bird IV and it was an awesome bass and never should have sold it. since then i had a '76 reissue that was ok but couldn't hold a candle to the '63. the epi vintage IV RI is as close as you can get and feels and sounds identical to it with the exception of having poly finish as opposed to a nitro one, and both of mine are pretty light at under 9lbs for a reverse bird.
 
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#287
dmt said:
Not my very favorite looker (always thought the Thunderbird IV looked cooler), but I know I tend to be partial to single pickup basses like the Precision and Mustang, so I’d love to try one of these some day:
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A Greco is affordable - and they RAWR, it's a very angry Bird.

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#289
Gilmourisgod said:
I'm sure there are exceptions, but I have never picked up an SG style or T-bird that didn't dive like a submarine, and I mean literally never. Where are all these balanced Gibsons? Are there certain models or years where they are more likely to balance? I can picture a long scale SG balancing, but that huge headstock on a T-Bird would have to be offset by a heavier than standard body.
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I have a 2018 T-Bird and it doesn't neck dive, it's also a light bass.
 
#291
Flat-N-Round said:
Bashing Gibson is a hobby with very real consequences.
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And I might add they’re very good consequences if you’re a buyer. It keeps the more impressionable along with many flippers away. You can still pick up some real bargains when shopping for Gibsons if you know what you’re looking for.

So in some respects I’m all for knee jerk (or maybe just jerk plain and simple?) Gibson bashing. The less in the boat the better the fishing. ;):):thumbsup:
 
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#292
Gilmourisgod said:
The belt trick works, I've done it myself, but the other part of the equation is how a bass balances for seated play, which, if you are like most people, is how you will spend most of your time playing the bass, seated without a strap. Nothing drives me crazier than fighting a diving bass while I'm practicing, it's literally the first thing I check on any new bass I try, and an immediate disqualifier unless it seems like it could be fixed with ultralites. There are plenty of well balanced basses out there that sound great and were designed with basic ergonomics in mind, no need to put up with basses that were designed with aesthetics only, features that don't work, or that require expensive upgrades. That's my primary beef with Gibson, they have been around long enough to know better, and yet continue to use some pretty questionable design elements. If I could find an SG style bass that actually balances right off the shelf, I'd probably buy it, or build my own. I always was a sucker for that reddish mahogany finish.
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I never take the neck straps off any of my basses so have always had them on when playing sitting down, I was actually surprised when I found out people play sitting without a neck strap, all I want to do is play I don't want to worry about a bass slipping out of my hands or slipping off my leg etc.
 
#295
bobyoung53 said:
I never take the neck straps off any of my basses so have always had them on when playing sitting down, I was actually surprised when I found out people play sitting without a neck strap, all I want to do is play I don't want to worry about a bass slipping out of my hands or slipping off my leg etc.
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Never found that to be a problem for me with anything I’ve played other than a Hofner Beatle Bass. That said I’ll usually play with a strap even when sitting down. It’s more a habit than a need for me.
 
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#296
40Hz said:
Never found that to be a problem for me with anything I’ve played other than a Hofner Beatle Bass. Tgat said I’ll usually play with a strap even when sitting down. It’s more a habit than a need for me.
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The few times I've done it has been a juggling act with me no matter what kind of a bass it's been. I think I'm too used to having the strap on and not having to worry about how I move.
I've done it in music stores.
 
#299
40Hz said:
Can’t fault you for it. It’s probably the smarter thing to do. :thumbsup::)
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It may stem from the time when I was 17 in 1970 and had had my brand new sunburst P bass for about two or three weeks when I decided to play it over the phone without an amp sitting on top of the cellar stairs at my parents house for my then girlfriend while holding the phone against the body while trying to also play it when it slipped out of my hands and went sliding down the stairs on it's back and landed on the cement floor, It seemed to take forever:laugh:. Man, that was a long sentence.
 
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#300
40Hz said:
And I might add they’re very good consequences if you’re a buyer. It keeps the more impressionable along with many flippers away. You can still pick up some real bargains when shopping for Gibsons if you know what you’re looking for.

So in some respects I’m all for knee jerk (or maybe just jerk plain and simple?) Gibson bashing. The less in the boat the better the fishing. ;):):thumbsup:
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That’s looking on the bright side!
 
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