Gibson Midtown Club.

[JesseMalaska]

What do you mean by "reverse pickup"? Did you reverse wires? Or did you turn 180° the pickup, or what...
Thanks

Ah sorry! I turned the pickup 180degrees around! The poles move a little bit more to the neck giving a little more bass to the sound! Its small change, but easy mod Dont turn the pickup rings around, they are designed to be another way around

 

[PillO]

Wow! This is the first Midtown that I see with block inlays intead of dots, beautiful!!!

yeah! Its a Midtown Signature model! I think they made these only in 2013-2014!

Mine has trapezoids…

2014 with the 120th anniversary inlay.

 

[tellheryousawme]

Mine has trapezoids…
View attachment 3825987

2014 with the 120th anniversary inlay.

Absolutely lovely!

 

[donahue]

I have a Midtown inbound. Very excited. My first semi-hollow. It’s strung with Pyramid flats which I’m not so sure about. I will share pics/thoughts as soon as it arrives.

 

[donahue]

Midtown with its also recently acquired one year younger brother. I am loving this bass very much. Like more than I even thought I would. I took the flats off though. They sounded good but seemed to take away from its potential. I had some used Stainless med-lite rounds sitting around and threw them on for fun. Either Ken Smiths or DRs I think? Don’t usually prefer SS but they really woke this bass up! and sound the opposite of flats which is what I was going for. I may keep them on or switch for my preferred Nickel Lo Riders

I jacked the bridge pup up very high so there is a drastic difference between the tone of the bridge and neck. That’s makes for more tonal variation and a happy medium in the middle position.

I like the way the pickups sound especially with a touch of overdrive, but kind of wish the neck pup was a little louder. Might look into something else down the road. Overall very happy although I may change the tuners out. Not really loving them.

I really love the way this bass feels and the way it’s built. The neck binding job is superb. Whenever I pick it up I just want to jam some fast paced rock/blues/rockabilly riffs. Awesome.

 

[eli]

I like the way the pickups sound especially with a touch of overdrive, but kind of wish the neck pup was a little louder.

Wouldn't it be worth trying to lower the bridge pu or raise the neck pu to get them more in balance, before looking to swap the neck pu out?

 

[donahue]

Wouldn't it be worth trying to lower the bridge pu or raise the neck pu to get them more in balance, before looking to swap the neck pu out?

Perhaps. But Im trying to get as much output from the bridge pickup as possible and I haven’t looked under the cover but I think the neck pickup is a fixed height. I could be wrong. I’m going to mess with it for a while. Swapping the neck pu is not a definite.

 

[Mastermold]

Perhaps. But Im trying to get as much output from the bridge pickup as possible and I haven’t looked under the cover but I think the neck pickup is a fixed height. I could be wrong. I’m going to mess with it for a while. Swapping the neck pu is not a definite.

The neck pickup height is not adjustable. But the bridge pickup is -- so I'd just lower that one.

 

[PillO]

Perhaps. But Im trying to get as much output from the bridge pickup as possible and I haven’t looked under the cover but I think the neck pickup is a fixed height. I could be wrong. I’m going to mess with it for a while. Swapping the neck pu is not a definite.

The neck pickup height is not adjustable. But the bridge pickup is -- so I'd just lower that one.

Neck pickup is fixed, however the pole pieces are adjustable.

 

[loendmaestro]

But really the bigger issue here is a southpaw strapping on a righty T-bird! Kudos to you sir.

View attachment 3924445

Midtown with its also recently acquired one year younger brother. I am loving this bass very much. Like more than I even thought I would. I took the flats off though. They sounded good but seemed to take away from its potential. I had some used Stainless med-lite rounds sitting around and threw them on for fun. Either Ken Smiths or DRs I think? Don’t usually prefer SS but they really woke this bass up! and sound the opposite of flats which is what I was going for. I may keep them on or switch for my preferred Nickel Lo Riders

I jacked the bridge pup up very high so there is a drastic difference between the tone of the bridge and neck. That’s makes for more tonal variation and a happy medium in the middle position.

I like the way the pickups sound especially with a touch of overdrive, but kind of wish the neck pup was a little louder. Might look into something else down the road. Overall very happy although I may change the tuners out. Not really loving them.

I really love the way this bass feels and the way it’s built. The neck binding job is superb. Whenever I pick it up I just want to jam some fast paced rock/blues/rockabilly riffs. Awesome.

 

[Mastermold]

Neck pickup is fixed, however the pole pieces are adjustable.

Are they? I know they are on my EB-2 but I seem to recall they're not on my Midtown. I'll have to check that out.

 

[donahue]

Update: the Midtown has become an instant favorite and I’m sticking with the stocks pups for the foreseeable future.

Since I got this bass, it’s the only one of my basses I’ve been picking up. I love it!

 

[donahue]

Are they? I know they are on my EB-2 but I seem to recall they're not on my Midtown. I'll have to check that out.

The pole pieces are adjustable but they are more for looks. I.e. if your screwdriver doesn’t want to stick to the pole pieces, not a good sign that any adjustments will make a difference.

 

[Mastermold]

Update: the Midtown has become an instant favorite and I’m sticking with the stocks pups for the foreseeable future.

Since I got this bass, it’s the only one of my basses I’ve been picking up. I love it!

The Midtown is a unique bass, full scale semi-hollow and very fun to play.

 

[donahue]

I made some cosmetic changes to the Midtown. I also modded the neck pickup and it’s much louder now. I added two neo magnets under the pickup matched to the corresponding polarity of each coil and it it made the pickup sound the same but louder. It’s a trick they do over at the Ric club. I ordered the magnets for my Rics and thought I’d try it on the Midtown. Now the neck pickup is just as loud or louder than the bridge pickup. I love this bass. It’s become a favorite.

 

[JesseMalaska]

View attachment 3934850 View attachment 3934851 View attachment 3934852 View attachment 3934853 View attachment 3934854

I made some cosmetic changes to the Midtown. I also modded the neck pickup and it’s much louder now. I added two neo magnets under the pickup matched to the corresponding polarity of each coil and it it made the pickup sound the same but louder. It’s a trick they do over at the Ric club. I ordered the magnets for my Rics and thought I’d try it on the Midtown. Now the neck pickup is just as loud or louder than the bridge pickup. I love this bass. It’s become a favorite.

Wow! nice!
How did that bridge change affect the bass?

 

[donahue]

Wow! nice!
How did that bridge change affect the bass?

Thanks. It had a chrome Supertone on it before so I can’t comment to the original bridge, but Supertone to the original is most likely easier to dial in and set up. Very nice bridges.

 

[krfoss]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the Midtown bass, so I'm here to ask the age-old string question, but I want to add the tension component to the conversation.

The bass currently has, according to the previous owner, rotosound strings, but they feel like a huge and heavy gauge.

So, I'm considering pure blues, but could also be talked into a set of flats. Do people here find the bass does better with lighter or more medium gauges, or does it even matter?

 

[donahue]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the Midtown bass, so I'm here to ask the age-old string question, but I want to add the tension component to the conversation.

The bass currently has, according to the previous owner, rotosound strings, but they feel like a huge and heavy gauge.

So, I'm considering pure blues, but could also be talked into a set of flats. Do people here find the bass does better with lighter or more medium gauges, or does it even matter?

Fwiw I have medium lites on mine, so basically lites, and I feel no need to go heavier. Im going to stick to the lighter side because they feel great on there.

 

[PillO]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the Midtown bass, so I'm here to ask the age-old string question, but I want to add the tension component to the conversation.

The bass currently has, according to the previous owner, rotosound strings, but they feel like a huge and heavy gauge.

So, I'm considering pure blues, but could also be talked into a set of flats. Do people here find the bass does better with lighter or more medium gauges, or does it even matter?

I tried a number of strings on mine.

I tried Cobalt Flats and Chromes and decided that I don't like flats.

For rounds, i have tried a few, most were OK, but I hated GHS boomers.

In the end I have DR Fat Beams on mine and absolutely love that sound. I don't know if will ever try anything else.