Questions about a recently acquired Gibson G3

[Gunsmoke86]

Hey Talkbass, I recently purchased a Gibson G3. This is my first ever Gibson, as I’m traditionally a Fender guy. I love the way the Gibson feels. The neck plays like butter, but the tone is leaving a bit to be desired.

The 3 Bill Lawrence pickups sound cool, but are lacking in the low end department. I tried cranking the bass on my amp, which with my P-bass would cause a tectonic shift (Fender Bassman 500 into an Ampeg fridge). However, doing so with the G3 barely gets me to an acceptable level of low end.

Would an EQ pedal do the trick? Is there some kind of easy mod I could do? Some sort of capacitor maybe? I’m not sure if the previous owner tinkered with the electronics. I don’t want to change the electronics, or go active. They have very unique characteristics that I like. I just want more low end from what is already there. Any input would be appreciated.

Lastly, a few pics for the “pics or it never happened” crowd. Lol.

 

[godofthunder59]

I use DOD bi-fet pre amp pedal for low out put basses, it will give you extra lows as well. I have had several G3s over the years and the have more treble and mids than lows.

 

[EmuBass]

Pickup height?

 

[Gunsmoke86]

Pickup height?

I played with the PU height a bit, but wasn’t noticing any drastic change.

 

[godofthunder59]

I played with the PU height a bit, but wasn’t noticing any drastic change.

Even set low pickups on a G3 are really close to the strings.

 

[Bill Staudt]

The G3 is a bright sounding bass, but what your describing doesn't sound normal. Have you looked under the pickguard to see if everything looks ok?
Gibson G3 bass guitar wiring images >> FlyGuitars

 

[Gunsmoke86]

The G3 is a bright sounding bass, but what your describing doesn't sound normal. Have you looked under the pickguard to see if everything looks ok?
Gibson G3 bass guitar wiring images >> FlyGuitars

I have not. That link you included had some great information! Thanks

 

[Gunsmoke86]

Even set low pickups on a G3 are really close to the strings.

You ain’t kidding!

 

[cataract]

I’ve played a couple of these over the years w/ the stock configuration / pickups and they certainly weren’t lacking in the low end. As mentioned above, might be the new pickups or simply the way they’ve been wired.
Looks like a fun bass- congrats! Hope you get to the bottom of this (haha)

 

[DJ Bebop]

 

[micguy]

The low end of a pickup is set by it's location on the body - there's really nothing you can do to a standard magnetic pickup in its construction to mess that up, aside from a fault somewhere, or a transformer (Lace Alumitones have a transformer in the contruction that reduces their low end). If the neck pickup by itself doesn't have enough bass, something is wrong - probably in the wiring. I'd suggest you measure the DC resistance at the output jack with the volume and tone maxxed, and the neck pickup solo'd - if you're getting (guessing here) somewhere between 5K and 15K, you're probably good. Outside of that, something might be busted in the wiring.

 

[Ripper75]

I think thats just the tone of the G3, I used to have one and it worked really well for a gnarly punk rock band I was in, but I could see it lacking in lows. I played mine with a 3x15" Kustom cab which maybe helped. I see the Ampeg in the picture, you might have more luck with diff amp/cab. I feel like I've played some solid state amps that seem to have more low end but maybe I'm crazy. I personally love the mid-range tone of the G3 and would be curious to hear it through a GK 800RB with a 2x15" cab. What type strings are you playing?

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

View attachment 3675835 View attachment 3675818 Hey Talkbass, I recently purchased a Gibson G3. This is my first ever Gibson, as I’m traditionally a Fender guy. I love the way the Gibson feels. The neck plays like butter, but the tone is leaving a bit to be desired.

The 3 Bill Lawrence pickups sound cool, but are lacking in the low end department. I tried cranking the bass on my amp, which with my P-bass would cause a tectonic shift (Fender Bassman 500 into an Ampeg fridge). However, doing so with the G3 barely gets me to an acceptable level of low end.

Would an EQ pedal do the trick? Is there some kind of easy mod I could do? Some sort of capacitor maybe? I’m not sure if the previous owner tinkered with the electronics. I don’t want to change the electronics, or go active. They have very unique characteristics that I like. I just want more low end from what is already there. Any input would be appreciated.

Lastly, a few pics for the “pics or it never happened” crowd. Lol. View attachment 3675818

Love this bass, did they ever do a rosewood or ebony neck?

 

[bradd]

I'd suggest you measure the DC resistance at the output jack with the volume and tone maxxed, and the neck pickup solo'd

There is no neck only option. Neck/middle, all 3, middle/bridge.

For what it's worth I ended up selling my G3 due to lack of low end.

 

[micguy]

There is no neck only option. Neck/middle, all 3, middle/bridge.

For what it's worth I ended up selling my G3 due to lack of low end.

Every bass should have a neck only option (at least that's my opinion). If I owned the thing, I'd definitely wire it that way, and then...it wouldn't lack low end.

 

[bradd]

Every bass should have a neck only option (at least that's my opinion). If I owned the thing, I'd definitely wire it that way, and then...it wouldn't lack low end.

I do agree. The G3 has 3 single coils, the middle rwrp. The idea was to avoid sc buzz in every setting.

It could be that someone got under the hood and wired something out of phase.

 

[sikamikanico]

definitely check the wiring; neck only mode should work; maybe try OMG-type wiring: the neck pickup in series with the other two, but a large cap in parallel with the neck pickup only?

Some other ideas:

• Different strings
  
• Lower the middle pickup only
• Cut mids and treble

 

[Gunsmoke86]

Thanks for all the input! After thinking about it for a bit I decided to experiment with different pickup heights.

I have the neck pickup set as high as I could get it without causing any sort of interference. The middle pickup set at a mid height and the bridge pickup set low. By doing this I definitely go a significant boost in lows.

I’m definitely gonna have to get an EQ pedal of some sort. How I EQ my amp for my P-Bass won’t work for the G3.

 

[Gunsmoke86]

Does anyone happen to know the string spacing on a G3. The bridge on this bass is absolute trash IMO. I’m partial to the Hipshot B-style bridge. I want to maintain the string-through capability. Should I open a new thread on this?

 

[bradd]

They're tighter than a 19mm Fender spacing.