neepheid

Came into this thread expecting to see the solution is "don't buy a Gibson"

Of course they exist - you don't make any mention of budget or anything so for non Precision, single pickup, passive, available new basses: Epiphone Jack Casady G&L Kiloton (Tribute version also available) G&L CLF L-1000 You also don't mention scale, so shorties include Fender Mustang G&L Fallout (Tribute version also available) Guild Starfire I Gibson Les Paul JR DC which you already mentioned. There are bound to be countless others.

You know there's not a prize at the end of this, right?

I'm considering swapping out the pickup in my G&L Tribute LB-100 because the stock sound isn't exciting me, I want more. I was going to keep it in the family and put a G&L MFD split P in there but I've become aware of the DiMarzio Relentless pickup (https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/standard-bass/relentless-middle). I like the idea of the shaping like a ramp/rounding off corners and in theory it's the highly regarded Model P but with a bit more poke in the lows and mids so should have the requirement for a more exciting sound covered. Has anyone got any experience with this pickup that they'd like to share with me? I had a search but couldn't find anything beyond passing mentions of it.

Heh. I love the aesthetics of these small bodied, long necked beasties. The later "oversized" variants made a little sick in my mouth. I never found my Epiphone to be ergonomically challenging either.

The Les Paul Triumph is the bass partner of the Les Paul Recording guitar. The name "Recording" was only applied to the guitar. https://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/gibson/catalogues/1971_low_impedence_index.php

So the Gibson equivalent of this, yeah?

I'm intrigued but you're going to have to be more specific than that, as a 15+ year old Gibson Les Paul bass could be... Les Paul bass (original, short scale) Les Paul Triumph (short scale) Les Paul (small body, regular scale) Les Paul Double Cut/Money (regular scale) Les Paul Oversized (regular scale) I'm not going to count the Les Paul Signature (the one the Epiphone Jack Casady evolved from). You say 15 years ago so I think that predates the ES Les Paul (hollow body, short scale) and obviously predates the Les Paul Junior Tribute (short scale) Not at all like Gibson to be fuzzy and unfocused when it comes to nomenclature, eh? FWIW, I kind of miss my LP Double Cut, but not as much as I miss my 1978 G-3.

Argyle overload!

Yes, but how many sock players are there?

If you're asking, then no, it's not worth it

Call that creative? Not even trying

Out of all the companies in the world making basses, Gibson probably give the least number of Fs what you wish for Just join the queue - people want a single pickup Thunderbird, an EB-2 (or even for Epiphone to reissue a Rivoli), or for them to return to their wacky days of the 70s/80s without sending out abortive half arsed attempts at it (like the Grabber 3 70's Tribute, the Moogless RD they did, the "posh" Grabber 2 that missed the whole point of the Grabber (that it was a quality, but inexpensive instrument).

A fair point. But even that refinement of parameters which I outlined has curbed my bass wanderlust significantly.

I'd say no. Nothing's perfect. All I've managed to do in around 15 years of playing is narrow down my parameters to 4 string only (the time to learn and get used to 5 string has come and gone) No skinny necks No Jazz basses No short scales Prefer humbucker over single coil Prefer passive over active Not upset if there's no bridge pickup (never use the thing anyway) That allows me to separate out wheat from chaff, but still gives me plenty to go "ooh" at. I kind of hope that I don't find a "perfect" bass, I quite enjoy shopping around and trying new stuff out even within the parameters specified.

It's a combination of the wee body and the bridge being set relatively far in from the edge of the body to give that extra reach to the first fret.

I think it depends upon what it is. Some things like links, prices, availability of things will be woefully out of date or long gone but resurrecting a thread dealing with hard facts or principles I don't have an issue with. The resurrection of a long dormant wanted post with someone having the thing the person wanted leading to a deal is a beautiful thing. I've been known to utter a "holy thread resurrection, Batman" in the past, but I don't mean any malice in it - I am genuinely surprised at the elapsed time. I usually follow it up with a tempering of expectations for the thread resurrector where appropriate.

What's in a name? Unless it's your day job, try it out. If the X in the X and the Ys turns out to be a massive bell end then you can just leave, if X doesn't fire you first I'd say that being upfront at the outset is key. In my first originals band (not named X and the Ys, but a similar dynamic), the drummer and I were told straight at the beginning that we'd be sidemen to the singer and guitarist (responsible for words and music respectively). "If you want to write songs, go form another band" was pretty much what was said. I've probably shortened it and made it more pithy over time for amusement purposes but that was the jist of the conversation. Fair enough. I wasn't bothered - it was my first band, they took a chance on me and I was happy to take some direction.

So I took it to band rehearsal (originals band, so ska-ish with no guitars) last week and played the LB-100 in a band context. Well, let's start off with the positives - lovely ergonomics here. It was very comfortable to play, the neck is just how I like it - wide and deep enough, the satin finish on the back is great (I didn't even notice the slight roughness around fret 1 I noted on arrival in the heat of the moment of playing with others) and it feels well screwed together but not too heavy - just that nice heft that gives assurance, not shoulder ache. Band members noticed I had a new bass and commented positively on it, so it's clearly got the looks down. How does it sound? Eh. It's a P bass. Is my hair supposed to be blown back by the unremitting okayness of it all? It wasn't bad - it was certainly clear and I could hear myself no bother but it was like I was just "there", existing musically rather than pushing things forward. Maybe that's the point of a P bass. I don't get why people get so misty eyed about it, it was just so unremarkable to my ears. When I play a bass live, I want to feel like I've sparred for a few rounds with it, to puff my cheeks out and say "that was phat!" I'm not saying it's bad. It's just not the sound that I look for in a bass, or more accurately not enough of it. I've yet to try it out with the rock band so I'll reserve ultimate judgement until I hear it in both of the musical contexts I exist in but on the strength of that showing, I've pretty much made up my mind that a split MFD pickup will be the reason I bow out of this years gear abstinence thread. The way I see it is if you're going to go G&L, you might as well go all in.

Going in the right direction - I sold a bass this week. OR Creating a void that is dangerously vacant? With a trip to Glasgow a week on Monday? Dangerous...

He's not giving up... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59993244

Try contacting Guitar Guitar directly - I got my Tribute LB-100 delivered on Hogmanay. I can't imagine they only ordered one in especially for me. They maybe simply haven't got around to listing them yet.

G&L Tribute LB-100 if you want something similar to your P bass as a backup but just subtly different enough to justify itself in its own right?