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Gibson bass with Casady body?

eli

eli

Mad showoff 7-stringer and Wish lover
Supporting Member
Dec 12, 1999
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#1
So I saw a bass on craigs that has a Jack Casady body (much smaller lower horn) made of mahogany (clearly visible through the f-holes), and a Gibson 2+2 headstock (like an EB-0) and 2 pickups. No pickguard. Has a 120th Anniversary inlay at the 12th fret. Advertiser said it's a "Midtown Signature", but on the Gibson website, the Midtown has a 335/339 style body with nearly equal horns.

What is this thing? Couldn't find that Casady body shape anywhere on the Gibson website. Something special for the anniversary? How long was it produced? And whose signature?

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#2
Gibson discontinued... pretty much everything, basswise, a couple of years ago amid the controversies with their CEO and a lot of stuff that’s been covered to death already in TalkBass forums. This was one of the casualties. The Craigslist post actually goes into good detail about the bass. Personally, I haven’t found a late model Gibson bass that I thought had a good feel, but that’s just my experience.
 
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#3
That's the second version of Midtown in that ad, the first one had the horns of the equal size and shape.

Not a bad instrument but prone to pretty severe neck dive, and - like most Gibbys produced in this millennium - should be played before purchase since QC was spotty in the second part of King Henry's reign.

Regardless of the pretty colour, I'd never pay $1300 for one though.
 
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#4
eli said:
So I saw a bass on craigs that has a Jack Casady body (much smaller lower horn) made of mahogany (clearly visible through the f-holes), and a Gibson 2+2 headstock (like an EB-0) and 2 pickups. No pickguard. Has a 120th Anniversary inlay at the 12th fret. Advertiser said it's a "Midtown Signature", but on the Gibson website, the Midtown has a 335/339 style body with nearly equal horns.

What is this thing? Couldn't find that Casady body shape anywhere on the Gibson website. Something special for the anniversary? How long was it produced? And whose signature?

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More info here :-)
Gibson Midtown Club.
 
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#8
It’s funny how the Jack Casady and Midtown basses look more similar from memory than they do from a direct comparison

Similar but not the same. I’d jump on a Gibby Midtown if I found a nice used one with an OHSC for less than $1k

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#10
B-Mac said:
It’s funny how the Jack Casady and Midtown basses look more similar from memory than they do from a direct comparison

Similar but not the same. I’d jump on a Gibby Midtown if I found a nice used one with an OHSC for less than $1k
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Well, JC was based on Les Paul Signature Bass, which was a weird animal in its own right and sold poorly when originally introduced.

I've seen Midtowns under $1K regardless of what various optimists on Reverb and elsewhere ask for theirs. Like so many other Gibby basses, it never caught on and is unlikely to do so in the near future IMO.
 
#15
georgiagoodie said:
Like this?

Gibson Les Paul Recording Bass Walnut 1969 | Reverb
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He could've spared a word or three to clarify, but his point was that the bass in this extended OT was never called that way by Gibson. It was always either only "Les Paul Bass" ('69-'71) or "Les Paul Triumph" (late '71-'74). ["Les Paul Recording" - and "Les Paul Professional", for that matter - are strictly 6-string guitar model names.]
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#17
eli said:
But that body sure seems the same as the Casady design to me.
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Look at the different placement of the control knobs against the treble-side F-hole; also at the similar location of pickup selector switch (Midtown, which by the way has a side output jack) vs. front output jack (Epi Casady Sig/Gibby LP Sig, which have the varitone switch between the F-hole and the edge of the body); finally, the Casady looks to me like it has a noticeably girthier lower bout than the Midtown.

Also, and as noted above: one pickup vs. two, one is arched vs. the flat-topped other, and both are based on the Les Paul Signature bass, but the Casady is practically a reissue of the latter in nearly all but name, while the Midtown ("II"?) is only inspired, albeit quite a little.
 
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#18
ajkula66 said:
I bought one of those back in '83, it was my first Gibson bass. Like @HaphAsSard correctly pointed out, the "Recording" moniker was reserved for 6-string instruments only, as were "Personal" and "Professional". That bass was known as "Les Paul Bass", no more, no less.
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Sure, Gibson did not officially call it "Les Paul Recording Bass", but that bass is/was definitely known/called "Les Paul Recording Bass", even the "Triumph", by most everybody...except YOU I guess.
 
#19
georgiagoodie said:
Sure, Gibson did not officially call it "Les Paul Recording Bass", but that bass is/was definitely known/called "Les Paul Recording Bass", even the "Triumph", by most everybody...except YOU I guess.
Click to expand...

Maybe in your neck of the woods.

Where I grew up people who were in this business understood the differences between the models and ignorance was not tolerated.

Should I thank you for correcting me by proving that I was correct in the first place ?

Have a great rest of the day.
 
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