This is why Gibson sucks at making basses...

[Hevy T]

They kill off all the decent models and just keep the other ones. Granted the Thunderbirds are definitely far from junk and the SG styled ones have their place as well,

Gibson Grabber
Gibson Ripper
Gibson Q80
Gibson Victory
Gibson Money Bass
Gibson Tobias Growler
Gibson Tobias Killer B

Why did they let these beautiful instruments die??

It also gets to me that they took the Tobias Toby and made it into an entry level beginners bass! Granted I am considering getting one because I don't have a 5ver and don't really need one, but when you factor in the upgrades that would have to be done to make it stage worthy, is it really worth it?

 

[deff]

I'm going to go ahead and assume that this post is gonna get taken down, but hey.....Gibson Currently has 3 basses. Tbird SG, and the Jr. DC. People who like those style of basses, generally approve of the current models. Yes they have discontinued basses. I would like to see an RD again and a Grabber/Ripper/G3. I personally liked the EB model from a few years ago. It is likely that the basses didn't sell very well, because the current Zeitgeist believes that throwing up things like "Gibson Sucks at Making Basses". They don't. They don't sell probably that well and the company won't make things that don't bring a profit. Because, that's why companies make things. The Tobias probably didn't sell at the price point that was offered, because people said, "Gibson sucks at making Basses". So they lowered the quality to meet a more attractive price point.

Gibson has always made some great basses. Maybe a thread like. I wish Gibson would start making these basses again will change the prevailing opinion.

 

[sleddogn]

just buy them before they go away? ain't that hard, lol

 

[billiam5billion]

Every bass you mentioned is available on the used market. Also, how many Gibson basses do you own?

 

[Hevy T]

just buy them before they go away? ain't that hard, lol

Not easy to do in my neck of the woods

 

[Hevy T]

Every bass you mentioned is available on the used market. Also, how many Gibson basses do you own?

Just a Gibson EB 2017. I live in hicksville Canada and if it's not a Fender or an Ibanez you will likely not see it. I saw a Victory for sale in Calgary last year and should have bought it. But it had a really bad relic job done to it, so I didn't think it was worth 800

 

[billiam5billion]

Just a Gibson EB 2017. I live in hicksville Canada and if it's not a Fender or an Ibanez you will likely not see it. I saw a Victory for sale in Calgary last year and should have bought it. But it had a really bad relic job done to it, so I didn't think it was worth 800

Yeah I think that outside of the Tbird, they just couldn't compete with Fender on the low end market. Just look at the comparison in the pro model market. There's a bazillion Fender sig models, not so much historically on the Gibson side...

 

[HubbardsFate]

They also killed off the Valley Arts brand after buying it out years ago...stupid...

 

[JRA]

I'm going to go ahead and assume that this post is gonna get taken down, but hey.....

i've never played with any serious jazz guitarist who didn't play a gibson, preferentially. i just don't think gibson's heart has been in any of their bass instruments, ever. oh, hi mr. gibson, i was just leaving...

 

[deff]

i've never played with any serious jazz guitarist who didn't play a gibson, preferentially. i just don't think gibson's heart has been in any of their bass instruments, ever. oh, hi mr. gibson, i was just leaving...

I agree that they have long been something that Gibson feels that the "have" to offer. Also while you may be correct regarding jazz guitarists, realistically, Jazz boxes make up such a small percentage of sales. While that may be the case they can be priced high enough to make money on each. Basses less so.

 

[Pilgrim]

Gibson has always been more focused on guitars and other instruments than basses. They just don't seem to pay much attention to the models that build a following.

 

[ajkula66]

They also killed off the Valley Arts brand after buying it out years ago...stupid...

Valley Arts was dead long before Gibson bought it. The sale to Samick was the end of the brand as we knew it. This is coming from someone who owns a VA-designed Samick and has played a few more, along with having played several original Valley Arts guitars back in the day.

Now had you said that Henry J. killed Steinberger...I couldn't argue with that.

Why did they let these beautiful instruments die??

That's simply the way Gibson - under *all* the ownership structures over the past 60 years - goes about doing things. Let's not forget that Les Paul was discontinued for quite a while in the 1960s.

Do I agree with their modus operandi ? No.

Will that make a difference ? Absolutely not.

Plenty of nice used Gibby basses on the market. Some knowledge and patience is required, but rarely more than that. And they're still inexpensive IMO unless you are looking for an EB-750 or some other Gibson-branded unicorn.

My $0.02 only...

 

[Scott Lynch]

The criteria which determines a 'good' bass for Gibson as a company, and what a player determines to be a 'good' bass, is bound to be different, because the experience of selling an instrument, especially producing and selling them at scale, is not the same as playing one.

 

[sleddogn]

hickville where ever doesn't matter these days, i've owned around 10 gibby basses over the last 5 years, all purchased online and shipped to my door.....

 

[GIBrat51]

Why did they go away? In a word; Capitalism.
They went away for the same reason that a bunch of Rickenbacker basses have gone away. In spite of all the pissing and moaning about how nice they were; how wonderful they were; and how much people want them back? When they were being made, and sitting in stores? Nobody bought them. And, in a Capitalist system, companies don't last very long if they keep making things that nobody wants to buy. Neither you - nor anybody else - wanted to spend money buying those basses, so Gibson (and Rickenbacker) stopped spending money making those basses. Simple as that...

 

[two fingers]

They kill off all the decent models and just keep the other ones. Granted the Thunderbirds are definitely far from junk and the SG styled ones have their place as well,

Gibson Grabber
Gibson Ripper
Gibson Q80
Gibson Victory
Gibson Money Bass
Gibson Tobias Growler
Gibson Tobias Killer B

Why did they let these beautiful instruments die??

It also gets to me that they took the Tobias Toby and made it into an entry level beginners bass! Granted I am considering getting one because I don't have a 5ver and don't really need one, but when you factor in the upgrades that would have to be done to make it stage worthy, is it really worth it?

Sales. Period. If a bass doesn't sell, it's gone. Fender does it too. (Roscoe Beck Signature, late 90s early 2000s Precision Deluxe with bridge humbucker.... I could go on.)

 

[Hevy T]

hickville where ever doesn't matter these days, i've owned around 10 gibby basses over the last 5 years, all purchased online and shipped to my door.....

This is why I dont buy used Gibsons online, I just simply cant afford them

 

[gln1955]

Why did they go away? In a word; Capitalism.
They went away for the same reason that a bunch of Rickenbacker basses have gone away. In spite of all the pissing and moaning about how nice they were; how wonderful they were; and how much people want them back? When they were being made, and sitting in stores? Nobody bought them. And, in a Capitalist system, companies don't last very long if they keep making things that nobody wants to buy. Neither you - nor anybody else - wanted to spend money buying those basses, so Gibson (and Rickenbacker) stopped spending money making those basses. Simple as that...

Why are the basics of economics such a mystery to people?

No company is going to keep making something, no matter how cool it is or how much a few people like it, if they can't make money doing so.

 

[ajkula66]

This is why I dont buy used Gibsons online, I just simply cant afford them

You have to be on top of Reverb every day and eventually you'll find one for *way* less. As in around half of that, maybe a bit more. Patience pays off.

Also, once GC re-opens in full I suggest keeping an eye on their used section. I know some folks here managed to get stuff shipped to Canada, but don't know the details.

Good luck.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

The only Gibson basses I've ever remotely gotten along with were the RD (LOVE that Novoselic signature model, but the normal one's good, too. Not much on the Moog ones), the Money bass, and, to a lesser degree, the Midtown Signature. All discontinued, and all pretty quickly if I recall correctly. With different electronics, any of the SG-style basses can be pretty cool, but if you're going to be tinkering with it, I think there are WAY better options for your money. In short, I would tend to agree.