Favorite Gibson bass

[Blaze Barlow]

Alright, here goes...
I've yet to really hear a Gibson Bass I like. I'm usually a Fender Jazz kinda guy (for hard and heavy stuff). So who all out there is a Gibson fan and which models are generally the favorites?
From YouTube, the only model I've heard a demo of that sounds good for what I like is the Victory model.

yes..I have been playing fender jazz basses all my life..bought a Gibson Victory Artist bass in 1981 when it came out..it will always be my number 1..it plays and sounds so sweet..many complain that its heavy..and it is at 11.5 pounds..the weight doesnt bother me..never has..the bass is both passive and active with humbuckers at both positions..the best bridge and machine heads came on this one..also has a brass nut..round wounds really make this bass sing..mine was an early production out of nashville..at $900 I considered it rather expensive in 1981..but it was love at first sight..when I sound checked it..I plugged it into an 18 inch peavey black widow at the music store..the tone was a monster low end and a chiming bell type high end..perfect balance with no neck dive..and a full 2 octave neck..its a classic I will never part with..

 

[BarfanyShart]

I love the look of Les Paul basses like this

 

[Skullie]

I'm a big fan of the '72-'79 EB-0. The mudbucker was moved to the middle position, the body got a redesign became a little bigger and the neck went to a 3 ply maple. The '72 still had the 2 point bridge from the late 60's and an embossed pickup cover. In '73 the 3 point bridge became standard. I love the slab body '59 & '60s and the '61 to '71 EB-0s, but the '72 and later are my favorite Gibsons.

 

[bobyoung53]

Hey Bob! Any chance you have audio of a disconnected choke? I have three Rivolis, ('65, 67, 96) and wonder if I should try it. And I agree, they play great, and I use mine a lot.

No I don't but there is a big difference especially as go up higher, it opens them up, you can get the big high notes that the choke kind of deadens, very simple to do you just take the bridge off and the choke is right under the wax and the wire is on top.

 

[FranF]

Yeah, I'm familiar with the layout, and have no qualms about doing the work, just mostly curious! I should check YouTube. ;-)

 

[elberon]

A friend of mine used to play a Ripper fretless, it (and he) sounded awesome. Steve Swallow used to regularly play an EB-1 (the one that looks like an ES 335?) with the Gary Burton quartet and quintet from the 70s through the 80s before he switched to a Parker Fly. He made it sound great. I never could get along with how the Thunderbird sat in my lap. I always felt like I had to stretch to reach the lower positions so it was pretty uncomfortable. Never played it standing. I have to admit that the t-bird does have a certain badass factor as others have mentioned.

 

[SubHuman]

I’ve got a Gibson ‘72 slotted headstock EB-3 that is dark mahogany and it is a tone monster long scale with a pencil thin neck. The bridge mini-humbucker dials in the highs so the the mudbucker can rumble your teeth. It’s like anchovies...not for everyones taste but if you love that tone you own it! Light as a feather and no neck dive.

 

[bobyoung53]

Yeah, I'm familiar with the layout, and have no qualms about doing the work, just mostly curious! I should check YouTube. ;-)

It made a big difference in mine, it's a '66 EB-2, the choke also deadens the mids, it will sound more like an EB-0, but make it a lot more present, they remind me of uprights with the chokes intact with the big lows and anemic high fundamentals, removing the choke allows the fundamentals to boom all the way up the neck, it's easily reversible as long as the wire doesn't break which happened to mine.

 

[bobyoung53]

I’ve got a Gibson ‘72 slotted headstock EB-3 that is dark mahogany and it is a tone monster long scale with a pencil thin neck. The bridge mini-humbucker dials in the highs so the the mudbucker can rumble your teeth. It’s like anchovies...not for everyones taste but if you love that tone you own it! Light as a feather and no neck dive.
View attachment 3894594

I had a 70-71 just like that. My next Gibson is going to be a slothead EB-3L.

 

[WillyW]

I wasn’t expecting to love the newer EB basses like I do. She is my favorite fretted.

https://images.gibson.com/Products/.../Documents/EB-Bass-4String-2018-One-Sheet.pdf

They have been called EB4’s but I don’t think that’s the Gibson nomenclature.

She has the best sounding pickups I have ever experienced in either humbucking or split.

I also like thunderbirds, but not as much as this EB.

 

[bobyoung53]

A friend of mine used to play a Ripper fretless, it (and he) sounded awesome. Steve Swallow used to regularly play an EB-1 (the one that looks like an ES 335?) with the Gary Burton quartet and quintet from the 70s through the 80s before he switched to a Parker Fly. He made it sound great. I never could get along with how the Thunderbird sat in my lap. I always felt like I had to stretch to reach the lower positions so it was pretty uncomfortable. Never played it standing. I have to admit that the t-bird does have a certain badass factor as others have mentioned.

EB-2, the EB-1 looks like a violin. They made them before Hofner.

 

[Gibson Victory]

The Gibson Victory of course. Lot’s of others are good, but these for me have the the looks, the sound, and the style.

 

[TolerancEJ]

In general, I've rarely been drawn to Gibson basses. The following are a handful of Gibson basses over the years that captured my interest:
G3

Q80

20/20 almost Steinberger-style

And if we go waaaay back, the Bass Banjo and MandoBass

 

[bradd]

Big Gibson fan here. I think I have 7 or 8 of em. My favorite one is the Les Paul Triumph. Unfortunately they're a big hunk of mahogany and weigh over 10 lbs. You can get almost any sound out of them, save an active bass.

 

[bradd]

 

[elberon]

EB-2, the EB-1 looks like a violin. They made them before Hofner.

Yeah, Felix Pappalardi played an EB-1 with Mountain right? So what did Jack Bruce play with Cream, an EBO?

 

[mikewalker]

The Gibson Victory of course. Lot’s of others are good, but these for me have the the looks, the sound, and the style.

Another vote for the Victory. Mine was extremely heavy (solid maple) but yielded a super solid sound with lots of definition.

 

[bobyoung53]

Yeah, Felix Pappalardi played an EB-1 with Mountain right? So what did Jack Bruce play With Cream, an EBO?

Jack played an EB-3, it's like an EB-0 with a bridge pickup.

The one on the left is an EB-3, the other is an EB-0, the violin is an EB-1 (actually EB) the two bottom ones are EB-2's.

 

[Skullie]

Yeah, Felix Pappalardi played an EB-1 with Mountain right? So what did Jack Bruce play With Cream, an EBO?

Jack played a few different EB-3's with Cream. He did play an EB-1 during Cream's reunion in the 2000's.

 

[Gibson Victory]

I’ve got a Gibson ‘72 slotted headstock EB-3 that is dark mahogany and it is a tone monster long scale with a pencil thin neck. The bridge mini-humbucker dials in the highs so the the mudbucker can rumble your teeth. It’s like anchovies...not for everyones taste but if you love that tone you own it! Light as a feather and no neck dive.
View attachment 3894594

For myself, there is almost nothing better in the world than looking at a nice Gibson Bass like this that has the yellow/gold lining. Regardless of the color of the instrument, it really sets things off, like musical history is escaping from the case or something when you open it.