OK I Don't Get Gibsons - Help me here

[Lozz196]

I used to have a Gibson Les Paul bass and it was great. Played it in a heavy/glam-metal band, really good for those rumbling Nikki Sixx/Motley Crue basslines. Plus, I actually used to get attention from the crowd, as seeing as a Les Paul is such an iconic guitar, they thought I was a guitarist!

[Joebethell]

Great Gibson tone BRMC (yes strictly speaking it's a rivoli but still) Dan Maines of clutch used one for a fair bit of the earlier stuff now plays ricks and Pbass. Stooges when they reunited Mike Watt rocked an EB3
I have a Birched EB0 which was converted to EB3 style with his superflux pickup and better bridge etc it's a beast.

[neepheid]

Why do you have to "get it"? I don't get why people get fizzy knickers about Fenders, but I don't let it hold me back.

[RhysP]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1473591497' post='3131392']
Why do you have to "get it"? I don't get why people get fizzy knickers about Fenders, but I don't let it hold me back.
[/quote]

This.
Plenty of other basses out there, why spend time worrying about the ones you don't get?

[LayDownThaFunk]

They just look [i]right[/i]. Guitarists have the Les Paul, we have the Thunderbird.

[Lightlyseared]

Matt Sweeney has played some toneful (and prominent) lines for Iggy Pop on an EB-3 this year.

[Roland Rock]

I think most of them look great, but so few have an extended top horn, which is a deal breaker for me - I can't bear that stretch to the lower frets

[spongebob]

I picked up an SG bass some months back, really nice bass. Bought it on the basis of the looks, TBH - Jack Bruce, Phil Lesh, Andy Fraser....

Can't believe they're about to start production on a (IMHO) new and hideous variant of the EB, and yet ceased production on what is one of their most iconic shapes.

No wonder they don't sell many basses!

[Delius]

They look nice.
They seem to only produce a single sound though. And I question the build quality.

[neepheid]

[quote name='christhammer666' timestamp='1473531156' post='3131063']
I like the thunderbird bass range but even then they have the flimsy 3 point bridge thing.You are defo not alone
[/quote]

Ahh, the three point bridge. Recalcitrant, awkward, inflexible, frustrating and doggedly determined not to die it may be, but flimsy is not a word I would use to describe it. I don't care for it either, and I'm a fan of the brand. If you want a Thunderbird with a different bridge, grab a 2015 model with the EB pickups and Babicz bridge. Or get a Hipshot Supertone/Babicz replacement and stick that on whichever Thunderbird you like. Given that there are direct replacements available, I hardly think it's fair to discount an entire manufacturer's output just because you don't like the stock bridge. Some people think the Fender BBOT is a POS but there are many replacement options out there so it's really (and quite rightly) a non issue, but that logic doesn't seem to carry across to Gibson.

[stingrayPete1977]

If I won the lottery I'd have a thunderbird, it would be mounted on the lounge wall next to a Ricky, neither would be played but they'd look awesome!

[Tullfan]

i have a beautiful '67 EB3, in walnut. i love its deep warmth and sounds like no other bass i have come across.
Now imagine how much that would have cost me if everyone 'got it'.
I for one would never have been able to afford it.
So i say, 'move along, nothing to see here' ,
' ......its not for you Jen!'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ImFrTq3hNg

[3below]

In my youth I had a 58 EB2, well made, serious quality but muddy. About 2 yrs ago I bought an SG bass from this parish. It has become my get to go bass with TI flats ( I have a lot of bass choice including several 'classics', Warwicks etc). The SG does Instant Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser when needed. It will also approach a DB tone. It has a thick compressed tone at low volume (think singer playing acoustic), Nothing else I own gives me 'thick, compressed, 'CD playback' bass tone at low volume. DI recording just needs mild compression. Neck like a baseball bat which suits me. Light weight and compact which suits the vertically challenged bass player (me). Now for the bad: Mild neck diver and the 3 point bridge is in need of some updating (now done on current versions and on mine). Bridge on mine was out of alignment by about 2mm - sorted with s/h supertone bridge but not really acceptable. The satin finish is 'pants', shows every mark and scuff. Once I gave it furniture wax it has become a thing of beauty. What is not to like, especially as SG basses crop up at bargain prices.

Edited September 11, 2016 by 3below

[mr zed]

I love the tone Pete Way gets from his Thunderbird - just sounds so right.

[TrevorR]

Fully paid up member of the "just leave me cold" club here too. Most I'm completely ambivalent about except the Grabber and Ripper, which I have an irrational dislike of, to almost anaphylactic proportions. No idea why.

[highwayman]

IMO the Les Paul bass just looks wrong compared to the guitar (which itself looks horrendous when fitted with a Floyd Rose bridge).
Merv Goldworthy of AOR royalty FM plays custom assembled five-string LP basses & obviously loves 'em.

[BassManGraham]

[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]
[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1473587332' post='3131332']
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?
[/quote]

I love Gibson Thunderbirds and own three. Best looking bass made IMHO. They have a wonderful thump & growl from the humbuckers. Love the slim thru neck. Repositioning of the strap button reduces neck dive.

Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash) was a huge early influence. I've seen him live many times with his ex Moot The Hoople White Thunderbird (rebuilt from 13 pieces after being totally destroyed) and his (Black Serial No 1) Hamer Explorer MARVELLOUS live sound. He has a rather unorthodox pick style which gets his trade mark sound.

Imagine my consternation, when Martin told me years later, that despite the Argus sleeve pic with a T'Bird he actually used a Ricky 4001 for recording that album!!! So your Good to Go Ez old boy!

Thunderbirds are superb rock basses but they don't seem too versatile to me (slapping is a no no) as much as I love T'birds my main gigging basses are Jazz or Jazz bass derived these days.

[dyerseve]

Steve Hodson of Oceansize and Kong fame uses a Gibson Grabber and acheives a very nice tone from it!

[thodrik]

[quote name='dyerseve' timestamp='1473683442' post='3132201']
Steve Hodson of Oceansize and Kong fame uses a Gibson Grabber and acheives a very nice tone from it!
[/quote]

I have seen a number of hardcore bands over the years who have been using Gibson Grabbers or Rippers. They always sound big and meaty. I would love to try one.

I have an 1974 EB3. Great tone, though I think it hasn't been designed that well. Three bolt bridge, set neck, pickup selector options ranging from 'front', 'back' 'mud' and 'super mud', tone pots that are essentially on/off switches, massive neck dive, incredibly heavy. Still, great tone!

[Gust0o]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1473591497' post='3131392']
Why do you have to "get it"? I don't get why people get fizzy knickers about Fenders, but I don't let it hold me back.
[/quote]

This^^^

I've had a few now - Grabber, EB2013, Les Paul, Thunderbird... and have had amazing sounds out of all of them. Very uncomplicated basses; very big tones; assembled on Friday afternoons... but that's Gibson

[Cosmo Valdemar]

[quote name='BassManGraham' timestamp='1473683166' post='3132199']





Imagine my consternation, when Martin told me years later, that despite the Argus sleeve pic with a T'Bird he actually used a Ricky 4001 for recording that album!!! So your Good to Go Ez old boy!


[/quote]

I hate to be 'that person' but Martin's memory is playing tricks on him. Argus is a Thunderbird. Pilgrimage is the Rick. Completely different sounds.
Argus is also full of palm-muting which he couldn't have done with his Rick.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Cosmo Valdemar

[ras52]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1473587653' post='3131340']
...they thought I was a guitarist!
[/quote]

...were they telling you to turn it down and making jokes about how you didn't know what key you were in?

Edited September 12, 2016 by ras52

[BassManGraham]

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1473689881' post='3132272']
I hate to be 'that person' but Martin's memory is playing tricks on him. Argus is a Thunderbird. Pilgrimage is the Rick. Completely different sounds.
Argus is also full of palm-muting which he couldn't have done with his Rick.
[/quote]

Memory can play tricks on us all, but I just double checked and according to Martin's autobiography No Easy Road (page 111 to be precise). It is all explained in some detail: essentially two months passed between recording Argus and album release during which time Martin made the transition for the Rickenbacker to a Thunderbird for gigging when the "live" inner gate fold sleeve shots were taken

Plus Ricky 4001s of the early 70s era (I had one: why did i ever sell it) used to have adjustable rubber mutes under the bridge cover to facilitate muting, so the palm muting effect would have been very possible.

I'd thought I'd lost my Anorak!

[Bassmonkey]

[attachment=227771:Gibsons.JPG]I'm with Neepheid. Love em. Started out with an RD Artist which I regret selling. Then bought an old Antoria LP copy - loved the look and sounds and plays great. Then 3 more LPs, plus my fave, an LP Triumph in white. Also had a TBird which I really didn't get on with (just too blooming long, I am a short ass) so swapped for an old EB3. The Rivoli is lovely too. Also have several other basses but none as cool as the Triumph in my opinion. Each to his own and all that....

Edited September 12, 2016 by Bassmonkey

[pintspiller]

I tried some Epiphones. Didn't like them. Still have to try a genuine Gibson bass.