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Gibson flying v bass guitar

#61
my 2012 sounds just like a T-bird. Same pups. No neck dive at all as there is so much wood in the two wings out back. I had often heard that they are difficult to play sitting down but this is B.S. The V fits over your leg sitting down which makes it very easy to play sitting down. I have never played a vintage V so I can't speak to their play-ability or tone but I prefer this bass to my Sg, Fender am spc, and Godin Freeway 4. The pups are throaty and very hot (again a t-bird tone)
 
#62
My buddy just dropped off his '82 Flying V bass for me to check out. I'm going to give the bass a once over, clean it up a bit and give it a fresh setup before he sells it. I snapped some pics and made some quick sound clips of it. I don't normally dig on the typical Gibson neck pickup position right under the fretboard, but this one had a lot of nice punch and clarity to it. Looks like it's all original, except the Badass bridge (and a mounting plate to bring it up to the proper height). No idea if the case is original or where it came from if not. I guess my friend bought it off an old friend/bandmate of his long ago, the original owner, who bought it new in the 80's from a shop in Hollywood and sold it when he was unemployed and needed to pay rent. Definitely a player's guitar, but in surprisingly nice condition for a 30+ year old bass owned exclusively by guys in metal bands. Just a little wear and tear on the finish and it needs a little fret/hardware polish. Not my particular taste aesthetically, but definitely a neat instrument.


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(bridge, middle and neck position fingerstyle, then some pick playing in the middle position with the bridge pickup halfway up and neck full)
 
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#65
higain617 said:
The white one Corey Y posted is awesome. Are the pickups just big single coils?
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You'd think so by looks, but they're the same pickups that were in the Ripper, so they're stacked humbuckers. Here's a link at FlyGuitars that gives a little info, they mention the V Bass.

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I actually liked the way they sounded quite a bit, I've never played a bass with them before. I know Seymour Duncan makes some Ripper replacement pickups from their custom shop. I've been working on a Ripper/G3 style body design for a home build a while, I might try them on that when I get around to finally starting.
 
#66
Corey Y said:
- definitely a neat instrument.



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(bridge, middle and neck position fingerstyle, then some pick playing in the middle position with the bridge pickup halfway up and neck full)
Click to expand...

Looks cool (better) w/the BA bridge and your last setting sounds pretty darn T-birdie. Not a bass I'd go out of my way to own, but as a long time T-bird guy I'd rock it for fun! :bassist:
 
#67
JIO said:
Looks cool (better) w/the BA bridge and your last setting sounds pretty darn T-birdie. Not a bass I'd go out of my way to own, but as a long time T-bird guy I'd rock it for fun! :bassist:
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The BA bridge is a definite improvement over the 3 point, I think. I've never owned any Gibson basses and I had a lot of preconceptions before playing it that are shattered now. If you had asked me last week about a 30.5" scale bass or this pickup placement, I would have said I wouldn't like it. The truth is though I've never owned a 30.5" scale bass and I've never played a bass with these pickups in these positions. I liked it much better than I thought I would. I didn't even notice the scale, I only measured it because someone on FB asked and I was surprised (it's huge overall, due to the shape and headstock) and normally I would say I don't favor extreme neck positions like that, but I actually really liked it with this pickup. So I'm walking away from this bass with some more informed opinions and hopefully a bit more of an open mind about designs and feature I've not yet tried personally. I didn't seriously consider offering to buy it off him or doing a partial trade with the guitar I sold him, because I'm actually trying to purge unused gear right now, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a wee bit tempted after I played it. For someone who's into that V shape it's going to be a winner for sure.

I think he's going to put it on ebay once I finish with it. I don't think he wants to bother with the hassle of local CL or forums, he's not much of an internet guy. Although, if anyone on TB is interested, I said I would pass on any offers and help facilitate a deal, along with a classifieds feedback thread since I have an established presence and good feedback and all that.

I'm interested to see how your Supernoba bass comes out, by the way JIO.
 
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#69
After posting that, it dawned on me that they were probably Ripper pickups. I haven't played any Gibsons from that era. I have a '92 LP bass with TB pickups, and the bridge is a Badass "high mass" style that Gibson used at the time. Their basses are pretty underrated IMHO. That thing screams mid-80's thrash.
 
#70
Corey Y said:
The BA bridge is a definite improvement over the 3 point, I think. I've never owned any Gibson basses and I had a lot of preconceptions before playing it that are shattered now. If you had asked me last week about a 30.5" scale bass or this pickup placement, I would have said I wouldn't like it. The truth is though I've never owned a 30.5" scale bass and I've never played a bass with these pickups in these positions. I liked it much better than I thought I would. I didn't even notice the scale, I only measured it because someone on FB asked and I was surprised (it's huge overall, due to the shape and headstock) and normally I would say I don't favor extreme neck positions like that, but I actually really liked it with this pickup. So I'm walking away from this bass with some more informed opinions and hopefully a bit more of an open mind about designs and feature I've not yet tried personally. I didn't seriously consider offering to buy it off him or doing a partial trade with the guitar I sold him, because I'm actually trying to purge unused gear right now, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a wee bit tempted after I played it. For someone who's into that V shape it's going to be a winner for sure.

I think he's going to put it on ebay once I finish with it. I don't think he wants to bother with the hassle of local CL or forums, he's not much of an internet guy. Although, if anyone on TB is interested, I said I would pass on any offers and help facilitate a deal, along with a classifieds feedback thread since I have an established presence and good feedback and all that.

I'm interested to see how your Supernoba bass comes out, by the way JIO.
Click to expand...

I read all the time about the "general consensus" of basses out there and know that in fact there are players who swear by a particular brand/model/year (like Pyntch) that others universally dis. I take interest in hearing all opinions but until I play an instrument myself I know it can go either way. I've had an unlikely bass sneak up on me playing it for a lark.

Thanks - the Supernova is going to start taking shape (finally) now that I got the neck -
 
#71
higain617 said:
After posting that, it dawned on me that they were probably Ripper pickups. I haven't played any Gibsons from that era. I have a '92 LP bass with TB pickups, and the bridge is a Badass "high mass" style that Gibson used at the time. Their basses are pretty underrated IMHO. That thing screams mid-80's thrash.
Click to expand...

I had a '78 Grabber that I got REALLY cheap, to fix up. The bridge was broken and it wasn't playable. I threw a Hipshot A on there, set it up really nice and it played and sounded great, then I had some moving expenses and had to sell it immediately. I've been wanting to try out a Ripper for some time since then. Trying out the pickups on this one has renewed that a bit.

JIO said:
I read all the time about the "general consensus" of basses out there and know that in fact there are players who swear by a particular brand/model/year (like Pyntch) that others universally dis. I take interest in hearing all opinions but until I play an instrument myself I know it can go either way. I've had an unlikely bass sneak up on me playing it for a lark.

Thanks - the Supernova is going to start taking shape (finally) now that I got the neck -
Click to expand...

That's the internet in general, right? Well, people in general even. How many of us have started up a thread asking questions about a specific piece of gear and been bombarded with responses that start with "I've never owned/played one of these, but..."? People love to recite the "general consensus" about things online, with no direct experience or reliable source. One of my all time favorite amps has been my Traynor YBA-1 and I can't count the number of times I've read online that they're not loud enough to gig. I've gigged with mine and an Ampeg 810 and been the loudest bassist on a bill of metal bands, playing with two guitarists using full stacks. I can totally understand if someone else didn't like the TONE I got at that volume and could only get the one they do like at a much lower one. Hence "Your Mileage May Vary" and all that.

Can't wait to see the body take shape on that man. Really far out design.
 
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#78
is this a gibson?

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Jeff Pinkus!!


Pinkus' bass is a short scale Arbor or something like that. I know he has a Harmony as well. He loves that thing. I think it's a piece of crap personally. He plays an aluminum copy of it now made by Electrical guitar company.
 

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