Those are seriously good looking basses. I love the burst on the special, but also love the beautiful gloss nitro on the standard. I'd have a hard time choosing which one to play!
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Those are seriously good looking basses. I love the burst on the special, but also love the beautiful gloss nitro on the standard. I'd have a hard time choosing which one to play!
Perfect is boring. I will take interestingly flawed anyday.
Gibbys definitely should get more respect. The T-Bird, the EB/SG, and the Grabber are all classics, imo.
Sorry for derailing the NBD. @ThinCrappyTone, more pics, please!
I agree, they aren't perfect. Nothing ever is, really. I'd love to combine the retro looks of the 2013 with the 24 frets neck and light weight of the 2017, but the 2017 is close enough.
If it didn't have the tone and playability I want, I'd move on to something else. Fortunately for me, they also do what I want them to.
What's there not to love? It's one heck of a bass for not all that much money. I'm personally not keen on its neck profile, but there's nothing inherently wrong with it.
Thanks! I really love the look of the fireburst as well.
Hands down my favorite basses. I have two SG basses. Looking for a 3rd but trying to hold out on either a supreme or a vintage Eb0 in good condition. I played one of the 15 models when they first came out. It was really sweet.
Have one strung with Labella's nylon white tapes and the other with Daddario half rounds.
Have one strung with Labella's nylon white tapes and the other with Daddario half rounds.
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Nothing wrong with the fireburst per se - although I'm not keen on bursts of any kind apart from possibly Honeyburst on old(er) Les Pauls - but that high-gloss on the Standard is to die for.
What I'm really interested in, though, is how these two play "head to head" and would certainly appreciate if you could give us - the endangered species known as Gibson-loving minority of TB - an update once you've had a chance to play both of them for a while and the impressions get settled.
Beautiful bass. I haven't played a Gibson bass in 40 years. Do they still have that super deep tone?
yes, there's still tons of thundering bass on-tap, but there's also quite a bit of bark and burpiness if you favor the bridge pup (on the SG). When I had mine, it was nice and growly with roundwounds, but if I favored the neck pup I could get that full fat bassy tone. Definitely not a 1-trick pony.
The recent ones - SG, EB 2013/2017, Midtown, Money Bass, newer Birds - are way more civil and polite than their 60s and early 70s cousins. Having said that, they do not lack bass or warmth, it's just that their sound has been engineered to address the areas in which the old ones were deemed to be deficient.
Put a set of thick flats on that SG that OP just got, plug it into a nice vintage valve amp and it will thump so well it will make its mud-slinging ancestors from half a century ago proud.
This may be my next bass 
Hi, sure thing.After playing the 2014 SG Special every day and then switching to the 2015 Standard for two days:
The Standard...
• Doesn't pick up electrical interference like the Special does. My jam space has crappy wiring, and the special is a bit like an antenna. Just picked up some conductive paint to remedy that. But the Standard doesn't have that issue.
• Has a jack that feels more solid and the cable locks-in tight
• Has more range in the tone control, and a more gradual taper to the volume knobs
• Is slightly heavier
• Is slightly better balanced
• Stays in tune better
• Feels and plays basically the same as the Special, but is setup with lower action than I have been able to achieve with the Special, probably due to the more adjustable bridge
• Has a tone and response that's a little more "modern" sounding to my ears. Perhaps a bit more even across the spectrum. Still an SG, but a little more midrange complexity. And plenty of brightness if you like. The Special maybe a little woodier. But please take any tone comments with a grain, if not a shaker, of salt. It is very hard to tell as they are wearing different strings of different ages, and are set up differently. At some point I will do an A/B with same strings.
The Special...
• Is lighter
• Has a smooth matte finish that feels great, and is less prone to friction than the high gloss Standard
In summary I would say that both of these instruments are awesome. They play and sound very similar to each other. But the 2015 Standard definitely feels like a subtle quality upgrade. Which makes sense, because it was literally 2x the cost new. Though I have to say I really love the feel of the satin matte nitro finish on the Special. And I love the look of them both equally. I really dig the matte satin Fireburst that is starting to relic naturally. And of course the high gloss finish with the grain showing and pearl inlays is pretty killer as well.
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Well, that was both fast and quite thorough given the length of time that you've had both of them at your disposal. Highly appreciated!
Decisions, decisions...
No problem! Good luck!Well, that was both fast and quite thorough given the length of time that you've had both of them at your disposal. Highly appreciated!
Decisions, decisions...
Agree with your comments on the 2015. While I cannot A B against my 2013, I can offer certain objective observations. 2015 bridge is much more substantial than 2013. 2015 jack is far tighter and it does not hum where the 2013 was much more prone to hum depending on environment. Fingerboard much thicker which leads me to subjective observations. The tone seems much better (although I let someone put GHS longscale flatwounds on the 2013 and keeping factory strings this time). Finish seems comporable based on my memory. Case design is much more secure (although I really like the look of the older brown fitted case).
When I first got it I was worried I made a mistake buying a bass I already sold but after tinkering a bit, I know I will never sell this one. Some of my perceptions a certainly clouded by the fact that the 2013 was my first and my novice technique was horrible versus my current technique that has improved to....not very good.
