• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

What's going on with Gibson?

#23
Yes. Like that. That is a great looking and playing bass. Slap some EMGs or a MM style pickup in it so I can get P and Jazz tones, make a 5 string available and I would buy 2 of them immediately. I love the look and feel of LP basses but I find slapping nearly impossible on them. Just can't get a good tone for what I play.

Barkless Dog said:
Like this?

neckview.gif
Click to expand...
 
#24
My Gibson Les Paul Money bass is a great instrument. I absolutely love it. All the sound of a Thunderbird, without the neckdive.
Click to expand...

Told ya!

Plus a slightly beefier neck, fantastic upper fret access, lightweight, and it hangs better than my F'ers and G&Ls. Gibson DID do something different with this one by designing a new body and giving us the Tbird sound without the physical and emotional issues that bird flys with.

Granted the model name sucks worse than the design of the truss rod cover.

It might be a two-trick pony but it does those two tricks very well. And that's one more trick than a Pbass.:hiding:

To boot- due to attitudes like some of those above, we can get them for a steal.

I too would like to see an RD Artist as Guitar of the Week.
 
#30
Here

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed])

ESP D-TR-290 RU-Drive
Invalid Link Removed
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Toshiya's signature model from ESP. The bass was made in alternating combinations of white and black, much like the Beelze, along with multiple fret amounts. This model was originally referred to as the "RD Type." It now comes in a sunburst finish, like the original Gibson RD.[1]
Click to expand...
esp_esp-dtr290_5.jpg

Original Gibson. I imagine they don't sell it here in fear of a lawsuit?
family.gif
 
#31
First Act makes a clone but not nearly as close as the ESP

Invalid Link Removed

The bass was a blast to play: Modeled after a ’70s-era Gibson RD Artist body style, it’s got rock-star mojo to spare. The neck felt great, with Jazz-like width and beefy Precision-like profile. At first it felt like a long reach to the first frets, but I soon got used to the feel. The Delgada balanced well in my lap, as well.

The knobs look cool, but the tone knob kept detaching from the series/parallel push/pull pot, which might do better with a set-screw type knob. Otherwise, the bass was well-constructed and appointed with quality hardware. The creamy body finish was nice, if a little dull. The neck’s thick satin finish felt a little overdone, and there was a minor blemish near the neck joint. I found the neck’s headstock shape and binding especially sweet.

On its own, the bridge pickup had commendable clarity and bite, but the soloed neck pickup rang thin. The Delgada’s series/parallel switch is a little unusual; with the pickups run parallel, the neck volume pot becomes a master volume, and the bridge volume knob does nothing. Run parallel, the pickups responded with a lower output, but a greater sensitivity to high frequencies. The bass sounded beefiest with the pickups run parallel.

The Delgada can sound funky, for sure, especially with full-on pickstyle boogaloo or bubbling bridge-pickup fingerstyle. Ballsy rock tone is its strongest vocal character, though. In a jam session, everyone agreed that the bass sounded huge, and dug its authoritative grunt. Impressive in both look and sound, the Delgada is a great bass for proudly proclaiming your devotion to rock.
Click to expand...
 
#34
The ES-335 is still going strong as a Custom Shop model. The Les Paul Custom got the same treatment.
It is confusing to have two seperate web sites (for Gibson USA and Gibson Custom Shop), but they have always done unexplainable things over there.

The prices are really hard for me to justify, considering the marketplace. The instruments themselves are all really niche market items. They are making a lot of money on guitars and I doubt if they will ever be a strong presence in the bass marketplace. If you look at their history, the EB-0's, 2's, 3's, and 4's and the T-Birds were the closest things to successful models they ever made, and they were never really embraced by the community.

The closest they ever came to breaking into the higher end bass market was with the Tobias basses. Based on that debacle, I think they are lucky to be making money on guitars.
 
#37
If anyone is interested, musiciansfriend is blowing out the off-colors of the SG bass for $750, though they're not advertising it. I'm sure everyone is dying to get their hands on a satin coral pink SG bass, right?

Actually... i found a pic of the canary yellow one and it looks pretty awesome in a decidedly retro way. I just bought a custom cab and a Guild bass, however, so i certainly won't be snagging one of these anytime soon.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back