pmjos Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 No matter how I try I cannot find the remotest, miniscule GAS molecule for anything Gibson. I know, they are iconic, I know they are a part of bass history. Help me here..............I just don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christhammer666 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I like the thunderbird bass range but even then they have the flimsy 3 point bridge thing.You are defo not alone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FelixGubbins Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I can't get any enthusiasm for Grabbers at all, don't have a big thing for Tbirds, but I do love the look of EB3/SG basses. I think it's a very personal thing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutton Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Neepheid, you're needed here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I like the look of Thunderbirds, but whenever I actually try one, it puts me off for another year or two. I'm a Fender man, through and through, like Blackpool written in a stick of rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmjos Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Guys its not about the look give me some Gibson lurve here................Where is THAT Gibson sound? What can't I do without a Gibson.........??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 [quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1473534039' post='3131086'] Guys its not about the look give me some Gibson lurve here................Where is THAT Gibson sound? What can't I do without a Gibson.........??? [/quote] You can't [i]not[/i] play the first 40 seconds of Alright Now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmjos Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 That's a point.......... perhaps some T Rex? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progben Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I have the same problem with the electric guitars. Was never able to get inspired by picking one up. Watching this thread with interest! What am I missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 [quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1473537078' post='3131119'] That's a point.......... perhaps some T Rex? [/quote] Well Steve Currie played a P bass, a slab if I remember and Herbie Flowers plays a Jazz. 2000 posts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 (edited) I liked the look of the EB basses from a year or two ago, though this year's model is a bit generic looking. They don't have much to do with the classic Jack Bruce/Andy Fraser/Felix Pappalardi sort of Gibson bass sound though. Edited September 10, 2016 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 [quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1473531040' post='3131061'] No matter how I try I cannot find the remotest, miniscule GAS molecule for anything Gibson. I know, they are iconic, I know they are a part of bass history. Help me here..............I just don't get it. [/quote] Neither do I. Never had the remotest interest in any of their basses. So you are not alone in this :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I gigged an original 84 Explorer for 17 years and still miss it. This lad could play a Gibbo, go to about 39 mins 30 secs and hang around for a couple of minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqcpx2K2SVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I've bought three Les Pauls (guitars not basses) and sold them on. You'd think I'd learn. There's something that says you have to have the holy trinity of Strat, Tele, LP but the last one just falls flat for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 I tried a Thunderbird at the last SE Bass Bash and rather liked it, but not enough to tempt me away from Precisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmjos Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 I'll tell you what it is. cannot believe that there is not somewhere in today's sounds for a classic Gibson. I just can't hear it. I can't find it, Everyone says its looks cool, or loved it in that day but are they now just history? Who uses a Gibson today? I know Brian Leiser from FLC uses a LP but its dark stuff very dub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZilchWoolham Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Sometime in the future I'd like to own an old EB3, but I can't really see myself using it for a whole lot. In fact, it would mostly be because of the Cornick connection. I've tried one of the newer SG basses but it didn't feel particularly great to me, and of course they don't have the interesting 5-way (I think) chicken switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 (edited) I quite like /the look/ of a thunderbird specifically but I'm not blessed with arms like an orang utan(more like a trex) so it's a non starter I don't really feel the burn of them either Edited September 10, 2016 by Geek99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I've owned/played quite a few. Thunderbirds are my main basses. A long time ago I owned a 70s Grabber G3, which was okay. I'd really like a 20/20 or a Ripper. That said, pretty much everything else leaves me a bit cold. The 2017 EB is horrific and yhat seems to be it at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 I had a Thunderbird I bought on a whim. Didnt like the narrow nut width so I moved it on and went back to my trusty Fender Precision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) I'm sure there's been a few threads on this topic, and bottom line is if you don't get it - you don't get it (as for any brand with a distinctive identity) Most people associate a "Gibson sound" with the typically warm, rather thuddy sound that their mahogany bodied, usually short-scale basses fitted with humbuckers made during the 1960's tended to produce. Since then they've used a range of other tonewoods, pickups, and circuitry - the Grabbers, Rippers and Explorers can sound very "Fendery" and the RD Arists can do about any tone there is. IMHO from the early '60's to the early '80's Gibson pushed the boundaries of bass design in terms of styling and ideas far more than (for instance) Fender and Rickenbacker ever tried to. I'd agree that they've been rather uninspiring since then though I own far too many basses, but Gibsons have always been the core ('58 EB-2, '65 Thunderbird IV, '69 EB-2D, '78 RD Artist, '81 RD Artist CMT) - for me it's because I like the warm, harmonic-rich tone of the earlier basses, I'm a big fan of semi- acoustics, and the playing ergonomics of the reverse-bodied basses suit me. As said above, they look good too. Edited September 11, 2016 by Shaggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu_g Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Im not adverse to a Gibson i had a 1976 EB3 and a Gibson victory bass much as i wanted to love the EB3 the neck dive on mine made it uncomfortable to play i did buy a 2014 SG bass nice enough bass, but like others have said it doesnt have that sound ie Andy Fraser Jack Bruce so sold it on i liked the victory though it had that Gibson sound deep and plummy im yet to try a gibson thunderbird or Rd artist, both basses i think i would probably like and also they always seem well priced compared to vintage fenders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Gigged a couple of LP Triumphs through the '90s followed by 2008 SG re-issue. Loved 'em all to bits but they all went because their user-unfriendliness was starting to cause me physical problems: the LPs were as heavy as the proverbial millstone, and the SG had poor strap balance and positioning. Much as I love Gibsons, Leo's the man who got it right and if I had bigger hands I'd be playing nothing but Fenders or their clones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirky Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 [quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1473541448' post='3131151'] Who uses a Gibson today? [/quote] Mike Watt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) Martin Turner has played T'birds for donkey's years, his tone on Argus et al is pretty marvellous. I think The Ox used one on Who's Next too, maybe even Quadrophenia, although that might be a Fenderbird. Didn't Stuart Zender have a dalliance with a Triumph? Edited September 11, 2016 by ezbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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