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Just got an EB5 -- is there a war on Gibson?
- Thread starter oldfclefer
- Start date
I played the 4 string version in a store for a while, and if I’d had the money at the time, it probably would’ve come home with me. It’s a nice bass.
The EB series since 2013 are fantastic.
And then you have people who criticize Fender for the same reasons. IME, both Fender and Gibson have been producing some excellent instruments at various price points for awhile now. Especially when you include the Squier, MIM and Epiphone lines.
I mean, if you think about it, @lz4005 has a point. The majority of their designs are just rehashed guitar designs that typically suffer from neck dive. A lot of their bass offerings are short and medium scale, too. Most of them definitely seem like basses designed by guitarists.
That being said, I dig the old Victory basses. I also own a 2014 EB and would rock the heck out of a T-Bird. Also, the LP Bass (a la Jack Casaday) was killer, though I'm not as into its current Epiphone reincarnation.
Gibson have produced a pretty varied line of basses over the years . For the longest time they stuck a humbucking pickup right at the end of the neck . Absolute mud . Then they decided to fix that by putting another right next to the bridge . Clank . For some reason it took them a while to grasp "the sweet spot" . So when the re-imagined DC Jr was announced I was excited to see them address that . I was imagining how things might have gone if they had done that in the first place . They might well have given Fender much more competition than they did .
I have a 2013 EB4 and 2018 EB5, and I love them both. They don’t hang like a Fender, but they play and sound great. They definitely improved the pickups on the newer model.
Gibson has very often been their own worst enemy too many times to count but occasionally they make a great guitar or bass along the way. I had a G3 that I loved for many years and now I do love my EB 2014 5 String in Boullion Gold with the very flamed three piece neck and the plethora of tones.
I recently bought a pretty serious Gibson guitar. I don’t think the current management takes anything away from the instruments or the iconic brand. I think the same thing about my Harley-Davidson.
I think it’s incredibly stupid that Gibson thinks they can enforce a trademark they haven’t really enforced in decades, and that it’s dubious to trademark a guitar shape in the first place (the shape of a guitar is a functional element, they never could have gotten a patent for it, and if they had, the patent would have expired).
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they think they can get a political win. Gibson is associated with conservative politics (problems with Obama administration, support of Trump administration, Trump’s perceived support of American brands being made in the US). If this case goes to the right judge, and they’ve been stacking the courts, or if the president endorses their legal fight, all bets are off; anything could happen. They probably see this as a long shot if the stars align, but they could.
I think it’s incredibly stupid that Gibson thinks they can enforce a trademark they haven’t really enforced in decades, and that it’s dubious to trademark a guitar shape in the first place (the shape of a guitar is a functional element, they never could have gotten a patent for it, and if they had, the patent would have expired).
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they think they can get a political win. Gibson is associated with conservative politics (problems with Obama administration, support of Trump administration, Trump’s perceived support of American brands being made in the US). If this case goes to the right judge, and they’ve been stacking the courts, or if the president endorses their legal fight, all bets are off; anything could happen. They probably see this as a long shot if the stars align, but they could.
They lost their trademark cases in Europe on the Firebird and Flying V last year.
Here's my EB4 out in the wild (with a friend). It's a great playing instrument and the coil tap feature is actually very useful. I play in single coil mode most of the time. I'm very happy with this 2018 model.
I don’t like the skinny neck , but the best bass pickups I have experienced... love the split coils the most..
I bought an '18 EB 4 string when Zzounds was blowing them out for $600. I like it ALOT. The pickups really are unbelievable. The weight, balance, and ergonomics are outstanding. You can tell that a team at Gibson really spent some time thinking about bass players with this design. Of course because it doesn't look like a Les Paul, Firebird, or SG it sucks - right? Sadly for Gibson and basses that's how it seems to work. I have to say my EB plays circles around my recently acquired G&L USA L-2000 tonally and ergonomically. I hope they can gain traction in the market with it and that it endures the test of time. It really is a great bass.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I have a four string version of the slightly earlier design. They are awesome. A reason for test run videos and more GAS!
There’s Gibson bashers here, theres Fender bashers here, theres short scale bashers here, there’s “anything less than $2500” bashers here. If you like your new LP DC bass, that’s all that matters. Enjoy!
I kind of wish I'd done the same thing, those EBs look pretty sweet. I just ordered a Les Paul DC while they're cheap, not gonna make the same mistake twice.
