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Gibson Midtown Club.
- Thread starter loendmaestro
- Start date
-
- Tags
- club
- Nov 28, 2008
- 866
- 43
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Curt Mangan Strings, Luther Lee Pickups
- Feb 24, 2004
- 4,103
- 642
- 68
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
bufert57
Ashdown User
bufert57
Ashdown User
Here's my latest Midtown, #3. The first Midtown had to be sent back due to a problem with the finish (despite being drop dead gorgeous out of the box), and the second one I received had way too many of the common Gibson QC flaws (orange peel, sloppy work, etc...) to tolerate, so it went back as well.
This one is spot on for fit and finish, and the prettiest of the three since it has a lot more interesting grain pattern in the maple top. It was hard to photograph, but you can sort of make it out. The binding on the fingerboard is by far the best of the three also, and the edges have all been nicely smoothed and it just feels "right". You can tell by looking that someone took their time and did it by hand. The black paint in the F holes is comparable to the first bass, not perfect, but very acceptable, and the nitro is very nicely done with zero orange peel. Being a Gibson, it did have to have at least one flaw: the neck pickup was literally flopping around under the cover enough to make a "thunk" sound. I removed the cover, added another piece of foam, and it's back in business. The sound is very good, and it isn't as soft as the first one I received, but it also isn't as P-bass'ish sounding as the second one. This one resides somewhere in between.
Assuming the finish doesn't fall off this one like the first one, or something else weird happen - it's a keeper. I went ahead and added an old set of GHS Precision Flats, silver top knobs, and gave the fingerboard a good oiling - and she's ready to go for tonight's gig. I also switched the bridge pickup around so the pole pieces were a little further away from the bridge - taking just a little bit of edge off it.
okay i'm sold. red it is.
Yes, I am a bit partial to the cherry myself. I'm sure you can find a 2013 for cheap somewhere. They look way better than the new ones IMHO.
Good luck!
Good luck!
bufert57
Ashdown User
She was great at both gigs this past weekend. Definitely a keeper. Action shot below.
I took mine to her first gig yesterday. We were opening for the danish band The Movement.
I found it really hard to get a good sound with it.
Since I actually wanted the fat and creamy sound of the neck pickup alone, I had to dial in my amp for that which made it impossible
to switch the pickups during the gig because of the very audible volume difference.
It was very boomy and I had to dial out a great amount of bass to make it work.
Also I get a really intense midscoop when I use both pickups. the bridge alone is so weak in output when compared to the neck that there is noe real use for it.
Now I think there might be something wrong with the wiring or I don't get how to set up that bass properly? Will it help to rewire the neck pickup to paralell or use a blend poti instead of the selector switch?
I found it really hard to get a good sound with it.
Since I actually wanted the fat and creamy sound of the neck pickup alone, I had to dial in my amp for that which made it impossible
to switch the pickups during the gig because of the very audible volume difference.
It was very boomy and I had to dial out a great amount of bass to make it work.
Also I get a really intense midscoop when I use both pickups. the bridge alone is so weak in output when compared to the neck that there is noe real use for it.
Now I think there might be something wrong with the wiring or I don't get how to set up that bass properly? Will it help to rewire the neck pickup to paralell or use a blend poti instead of the selector switch?
Just to keep the information going.
Curtis Novak will make a Bisonic for me that will fit into the Cover of the neck pickup. I am very exited about the result. I should know more in about 3 weeks.
Curtis Novak will make a Bisonic for me that will fit into the Cover of the neck pickup. I am very exited about the result. I should know more in about 3 weeks.
- Feb 24, 2004
- 4,103
- 642
- 68
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
I cranked my bridge p/u as close to the strings as possible and it is useable on its own. Yes, massive mid-scoop with both.
I put a Curtis pickup in the neck position and it made all the difference in the world. the sounds is way better than the stock pickup.
FYI, the Curtis pickup is not a drop in. The base plate has 90° corners so some routing is necessary.
Which one did you use? He offers 3 diferent types that might fit in.
I went for a shimmend down version of the EB-BS.
For what it's worth I got the SGD neck pickup, while there are some problems with getting David to make you a pickup and send it to you within 1 year, the reason I mention it is because another guy on here fellow TB'er Bednarski, whom had Novak make him a Fatbucker which when we compared them sound very similar. If I was going to get another pickup instead of the SGD I would get the fatbucker from Novak. It gets rid of the overcompensated boom of the pickup. I also got a mini humbucker from SGD which on it's own is as loud and full as the neck pickup, although I did move it closer to the P/rickenbacker bridge position. Now I have to to fill in the cavity and put a cap sheet on the top and refinish,BUT.... now it's a bass that I will not sell primarily because I can't get the money I put into it out of it, but also because it makes the sounds I love.
Sorry, I haven't been on here in a while and see some responses that maybe I can help with. The Curtis just needed the corners squared off in a simple rout of the body as his base plate was not rounded. The character off the bass didn't change at all as Calexia said but the "woofy" tones were all gone. Now just clean, clear full range sound from the neck pickup. If I had more cash I'd get the Curtis replacement for the bridge PU too but it sounds pretty darn good now so maybe I won't. FYI, I got the Fatbucker model. I was tempted to go for the Bisonic but I wanted the low Gibson sound.
