GIBSON Club. Part II

[s_wood]

Look at this mutant beast, currently listed for sale at Heritage Auctions....a 6 string RD Artist bass!

They describe it this way:
1976 Gibson RD-Artist Natural 6-String Electric Bass Guitar. Very rare, most likely a prototype, RD Artist style body with grabber, ripper and marauder style pickups, and 6-string to boot. Very cool with some oddities. The pick-guard is somewhat crude at the edges but is likely original. Pots date to 1976 (latter weeks). Oddly also has a scarf joint neck with GS7 stamped or scratched onto the back. No truss rod cover but it would likely be standard Gibson 3 ply B/W/B.
Hard case included. Condition: Very Good.

 

[ajkula66]

Look at this mutant beast, currently listed for sale at Heritage Auctions....a 6 string RD Artist bass!

Talk about different...four decades ago. All jokes aside, that must be one interesting instrument but I would not want to find out the weight of it...my old RD was a chunkster, and this one must be heavier by a decent margin...

Extremely interesting nevertheless, thanks for posting @swood_de ...

 

[Basshappi]

Very cool! Definitely a prototype of some kind. I notice a varitone control on there and it probably doesn't have the Moog electronics in it unless the the varitone is a replacement for the dual switches of the Artist model.

My RD Artist weighed just under 14lbs, but I still miss it.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

On the subject of odd Gibson basees... anybody got a guess on this thing?

Vintage GIBSON Bass Long Neck With Original Case Age Unknown | eBay

 

[bobyoung53]

Here's a lousy photo before I picked it up when I bought, it looks a little better now. 1965 EB-3, finish was stripped and had the obligatory headstock break many years ago, also My 66 EB-2:

 

[aproud1]

On the subject of odd Gibson basees... anybody got a guess on this thing?

Vintage GIBSON Bass Long Neck With Original Case Age Unknown | eBay

Here is a question on the bottom of the auction.

"WOW,,,,this is a proto type of a L-6 BASS MADE IN THE MID 70,S,,,,THEY NEVER MADE THIS BASS,,,,,AND TO SEE ONE IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE! WHERE DID YU GET THIS FROM??,,,AND ITS FRET-LESS!! THE CASE WAS FITTED FOR THIS BASS ALSO,,,HAD ALL THE GUTS OF A GIBSON EB-3 BASS,,,STILL VERY HARD TO FIND,,IF YU LOOK UP A L-6 SIX STRING GUITAR,,YU WILL SEE THE SAME BODY ALMOST,,THIS IS JUST BIGGER IN SIZE,,,JUST MIGHT BID ON THIS ONE,,PEACE OUT,,JOEY Oct-05-17
A: Thanks for the info, I've also heard it has the same electronics package as a Gibson L9 Bass. Also informed the case is from the 60's."

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Thanks @aproud1, didn't see that...

So, this is actually a unicorn then... hmmmm. Never ever say never with Gibson.

 

[aproud1]

Thanks @aproud1, didn't see that...

So, this is actually a unicorn then... hmmmm. Never ever say never with Gibson.

Possibly. Or that guy asked his buddy, or just posted from another account about the L6.

Either way I'm pretty sure I think it's cool...

 

[Nocturnal]

On the subject of odd Gibson basees... anybody got a guess on this thing?

Vintage GIBSON Bass Long Neck With Original Case Age Unknown | eBay

I believe one of these is in the Gibson Bass Book. Very rare for sure.

 

[ajkula66]

On the subject of odd Gibson basees... anybody got a guess on this thing?

Vintage GIBSON Bass Long Neck With Original Case Age Unknown | eBay

There was also a similar one on Reverb not that long ago:

Gibson L5 Bass 1970s sun burst | Subway Guitars

While most of us will agree that Norlin era produced some of the worst pieces ever to bear a Gibson logo, they were obviously experimenting a lot at the time, and not all of those experiments were all that off-base, although they would've likely been complete non-starters at the time.

 

[hillerup]

There was also a similar one on Reverb not that long ago:

Gibson L5 Bass 1970s sun burst | Subway Guitars

While most of us will agree that Norlin era produced some of the worst pieces ever to bear a Gibson logo, they were obviously experimenting a lot at the time, and not all of those experiments were all that off-base, although they would've likely been complete non-starters at the time.

I kinda liked the barebones The Paul from that era, but didn't like The Marauder which was a pretty crappy guitar with bolt-on neck... No wonder Paul Stanley used them for smashing up during Kiss live shows back then...

 

[ajkula66]

I kinda liked the barebones The Paul from that era, but didn't like The Marauder which was a pretty crappy guitar with bolt-on neck... No wonder Paul Stanley used them for smashing up during Kiss live shows back then...

The Paul and The SG were all-walnut with ebony fretboards and Dirty Fingers PU's. What's there not to like?

Granted, they didn't sound like one's run-of-the mill LP/SG from that era, but I'd much rather own a "cheapo" The Paul than one of the nasal-sounding, maple-necked Standards, DeLuxes or Customs from that period...and I'm somewhat of a Gibson buff.

Marauder and S-1...gawdawful IMO. Sonex was *slightly* more palatable. And then you have the RD range, built at pretty much the same time, which was extremely interesting albeit quite polarizing for many players...trying to make sense out of Norlin-era Gibson designs is a shortcut to a massive migraine, at least in my book.

My $0.02 only...

 

[fretno]

Witch hats with Gold

 

[gustophersmob]

View attachment 2777252

View attachment 2777253

Witch hats with Gold

Looks nice! Did you have any trouble getting the old knobs removed?

 

[ajkula66]

Witch hats with Gold

I've got two more hats. Who's bringing the witches?

 

[Cobalt60]

Been interested in this lil suh'um for years now. My fender p/j hasn't left the case since it got here. Oh, the tones and the punch.

 

[fretno]

Looks nice! Did you have any trouble getting the old knobs removed?

not too bad , the tone knob was the toughest . I put a thin rope under that and pulled it off . They had those suckers on there good though .

 

[gustophersmob]

not too bad , the tone knob was the toughest . I put a thin rope under that and pulled it off . They had those suckers on there good though .

Cool, I'm glad they came off without too much hassle!

 

[haystack55]

My beloved 1973 EB-3L

 

[haystack55]

My beloved 1973 EB-3L

View attachment 2778007

Has anyone had any luck getting this sort of finish hazing cleaned up? I've tried Naptha and some other commercial cleaners, to no avail.