Basvarken

About the Riverboat Bass. Those are great bass guitars. Nothing like a Rick though! Sounds more like an Epiphone Thunderbird.

Guess I'm late to the party. The semi-acoustic bass that BaCH built was actually the second project I did with them. The first project was the Non Reverse Thunderbird (aka BaCHbird). I initiated that project about ten years ago. The original NR Tbirds were fetching top dollar over at Ebay and Gibson was not making any moves to reïntroduce them to the market. As a Gibson fan I desperately wanted to have a Non Reverse Thunderbird. So I asked BaCH if they could make one for me. They said they could do it, but I'd have to order a small batch of 25. Now, as much as I love to buy basses, I don't need 25 of them. Let alone 25 the same ;-) So I asked around on a few bassist discussion boards if there were any other Gibson enthousiasts who would like to join in on this project. I gave BaCH all the information; drawings, measurements, specifications, photographs. The works. I even suggested they made the bridge a little wider than the original to allow for proper intonation. And after several months the first prototype was ready. BaCH had f•cked it up. They gave it an Ibanez headstock! So I rejected it. It took another few weeks till they finally got it right. And the result was stunning. The first batch went to all the friends that had signed up. And soon enough BaCH made a second series. Slightly changing the specs (thinner body, narrower neck). I didn't make a penny with all this by the way! But my email box kept flooding with requests for a BaCHbird, which I forwarded to BaCH. So after a while, I decided to start selling them. And there came a third, fourth and fifth series. After a couple of years the market for the BaCHbird seemed to be saturated and the sales came to a halt. BaCH quit the production. This was long before Gibson sent them a cease and desist letter. And long before Gibson decided to make a reissue. Shortly after I started my collaboration with BaCH, I asked them to do a semi acoustic bass. The EB-2 or Rivoli. Just like with the BaCHbird I gave them pictures, measurements, photographs and specifications. And [i]again[/i] BaCH managed to f•ck up! They accidentally made it long scale! And they just couldn't get the bridge right. The hardware manufacturer in Korea that was going to make the bridge went bankrupt. And the entire project came to a grinding halt. The rejected long scale prototype (without bridge) was put in a corner and it stayed there for about two years. One day I asked them to send the rejected prototype to my address in The Netherlands anyway. I had just completed my first self built bass and I was rather confident about giving it a go to complete the long scale semi acoustic. I installed a Duesenberg two point bridge with separate tailpiece. And I was impressed with the build quality of the bass. So I asked BaCH to pick up the project. And this time I asked them to not only make the short scale version (like the initial plan), but also to make a long scale version (like the prototype). BaCH did make a small series of both the short scale and the long scale. But the bridge just never saw the light of day. So this bass never showed up on their own website. They couldn't sell an incomplete product. But I did sell quite a few via my own website. And I installed the bridge myself on all of them. On the ones that I sold, I installed a regular three point bridge. And for most of them I cut extra tall nylon bridge saddles. I did this because the angle of the body and neck on some of the semi acoustic basses was rather big. With standard saddles the bridge would have to be raised too high on the bridge posts. They didn't quit these because Gibson told them to. They quit because they couldn't get the bridge right. All the semi acoustic basses were sold to me (except for the one that Graham bought apparently) (by the way the center block was a normal feature on the EB-2 and Rivoli). Another project that I initiated with BaCH was the Fenderbird. After the John Entwistle hybrid Thunderbird/Fender P. But again BaCH managed to ruin the opportunity. They gave it the wrong colour; Ferarri Red instead of the Salmon Pink / Fiesta Red that I asked for. And more important; they gave it the wrong pickguard. I refused to buy these basses off them because I was pissed off they had ignored the specs I sent them for the third time in a row. As a result they got stuck with those bases for years. ;-) Eventually I did sell a few, because people kept asking for them. When the Chinabuckers hit the market I even sold a few upgraded ones. Another project was the Telecaster bass. I suggested to do a bass with Telecaster body. They made it short scale. Which was rather nice. They still have them. The BaCHbirds are all sold out. The semi acoustics are almost sold out, The Fenderbirds are sold out. It was fun while it lasted. BaCH did quit to make Gibson (guitar) models about two years ago. After they had received a cease and desist letter. But all my projects with them had stopped way before that happened.

The Gibson Bass Book is featured in the January 2017 edition of Bass Guitar Magazine!

Thank you guys! [quote name='blackparkas' timestamp='1481980549' post='3196731'] Is it possible to buy this in any of the Musicstores in London or is it just via the website? [/quote] No, I'm afraid not (yet). As for now it is only available via my www.thegibsonbassbook.com and via the Dutch online bookstore Bol.com.

The first 100 books are sold. To celebrate this I'll share some gratuitous bassporn with y'all Sixties Thunderbird II As featured on page 42-43 of The Gibson Bass Book

DRRRRRRRRUMROLL... The books have arrived. Looking good! Get your copy before Santa does [url="http://www.thegibsonbassbook.com"]www.thegibsonbassbook.com[/url]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1478959467' post='3172977'] He dislikes chrome hardware with a passion and welcomed me to the dark side when I said I'd never go chrome. [/quote] Yep. That's Uwe.

He calls himself a completist. Uwe strives to own every model that Gibson ever built. So when Gibson introduces a new model, he buys it. But Uwe does not collect for color differences in finish. It needs to be structurally different (different wood, different pickups, different shape, etc)

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1478760833' post='3171392'] Did you lean on Uwe for any of the content? [/quote] Absolutely! I was going to call the book The Uwe H collection. But he wouldn't have it. Uwe was a tremendous help throughout the entire project.

In the meanwhile the PDF is off to the printer. I decided to take the leap of faith and place the order. I'm expecting the books in week 47. The website is up and running. You can already sign up (and pay) for your copy of the book. [url="http://www.thegibsonbassbook.com"]www.thegibsonbassbook.com[/url] At tuesday december 13 I'm releasing the book officially for a select audience. The nice folks of Gibson Europe have invited me to use their showroom on the 10th floor of the A'dam tower in Amsterdam. (with a magnificent view over Amsterdam). None other than Rinus Gerritsen (of Golden Earring. He recorded the hit Radar Love with a Gibson EB-3) will be there to receive the first official copy of the book.

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1477499099' post='3162632'] You may want to look at how much it would be to self-publish via Blurb, like I did with my 4 Slade live photobooks. Print on demand means you don't have any outlay and boxes of them lying unsold around the house for years. Blurb do all of the customer service (including the inevitable 'lost copies' that can send you spiralling into loss) and you set your own profit figure. They are signed for on delivery, so that sorts that out. They can also put them on amazon.com for you. [/quote] Thanx for the tip. I will look into that too.

[quote name='James Nada' timestamp='1473098924' post='3126932'] If it's possible to resize you might get more competitive pricing at the more common 210 x 297 mm size? [/quote] Yeah I know. But I really don't want to redo 180 pages... I like the book to be a little bigger. A4 (210x297) is just too standard.

page size: 225 x 300 mm

The price is based on 500 book printed. Although I am not sure how on earth I am going to sell 500 copies ;-) Printing costs are still quite high. Even with my vast network of good offset printers that I've gathered over the past 20 years as a professional graphic designer... I do appreciate the input guys!

I'm afraid 15-20 BPS is not going to be realistic for me. Price will be 25 BPS... I've been thinking about 500 copies. But maybe I should settle for 250 first. And maybe do a second run if it does well. That's the reason I'm asking you guys who would want one. So I can decide. Not going to offer them as eBook yet. I would really like to see it as a coffee table book. Guess I'm old school :-)

Some of you may know that I've been working on a book about Gibson basses for quite a few years. Well, the book is finished! And I can have it printed. The only question is, how many am I going to have printed? So I need your help. How many of you would be interested in buying the book? The book consists of 180 pages. Printed in full colour on 115 grams matt MC. With 300 grams soft cover. Over 400 pictures of more than 80 different Gibson models (and more than 70 Epiphones). Each bass has it's own short description with little facts. It is not a scientific / encyclopedic piece of work, but rather the work of an aficionado. But it is the only book in the world about Gibson basses! 8) [b]The price will be € 30,-[/b] (± 25 Pound Sterling) Shipping cost depends on where you live (EU and US € 11,50) The idea is to have the book available within two months from now. I would like to know who would be interested in buying the book. This is not a sign in list (I may do that later). Here's a few examples from spreads in the book:

Thanx mate. I think he stole them from Bono

While the first video already reached over 13.000 views (!), we made a new one for another song off the album. Again featuring the Gibson 20/20 bass [media]http://youtu.be/yJ4wEKX5Yp4[/media]

My band Definition Of Madmen has put a second video online to promote our new album Evil Lullabies. The bass in the video is a Gibson 20/20. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ4wEKX5Yp4[/media]

Today we finalised the mastering for our debut album. I hope we can send it off to the factory in a few days. October 5th is the official release date. We made a video for one of the songs on the album. [media]http://youtu.be/OhM2AlEsEbE[/media] The bass in the video is a Gibson 20/20. Designed by Ned Steinberger (yes that guy who designed the headless guitars and basses) It is an active bass, long scale, maple body, maple bolt on neck, ebony fretboard. I used the 20/20 on about half of the songs on the album, including the song in the video.

I have a soundcloud acount too. https://soundcloud.com/basvarken Recently uploaded four songs from my band Definition Of Madmen. Enjoy!

My band Definition Of MadMen has a new CD/EP. Four songs. Two of them are originals. I used the trusted combination of the Ampeg V4B plus my Gibson Les Paul Bass. But I dialed in a bit more grit on the Basscreamer. http://www.definitionofmadmen.com/uploads/1/3/3/7/13376708/dont_fake_it.mp3 http://www.definitionofmadmen.com/uploads/1/3/3/7/13376708/your_time_is_coming.mp3

I have owned a Guild M85 II bass, which is essentially the same bass, but with a Les Paul body shape (instead of the offset SG shape). It is short scale, all mahogany with a set neck. They are rare as hen's teeth. Earlier models had two Hägstrom pickups. Decennia later these Hägstrom pickup would be copied under the name DarkStar. They were very popular among connaisseurs. This model in the auction however, has the less desirable Guild humbuckers. It is a nice bass for pop music. But I found it too meek for (heavy) rock music.

Why wait for Gibson? BaCH does a pretty good job on waving the None Reverse Thunderbird flag. Admitted, this one below has been refinned Pelham Blue. Plus it got a new pickguard and CTS pots... Send me a PM if you need more info

Lead vocal - Kelly Holland Guitar - Audley Freed Bass- Robert Kearns Drums - Jason Patterson oh wait... that actually [b]was[/b] a band.