Muzz Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Went to see TS at the Ashton Metro (much like the Electric Banana, don't look for it, it's not there any more, but it was a small venue) in 81, we went round to the stage door to see if we could meet the band...as I was turning the corner, Dee Snider came round the other way and we bundled into each other...he still had his stage gear on, he was about 7ft tall. He apologised for bumping into me... 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 An unpleasant individual. Surprised Gibson would choose to associste with him so publicly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 A much better demo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogo Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 I’m absolutely buzzing for this bass, I’m a big fan of Gene’s playing and singing, not always his talking lol. Never expected him to release a thunderbird though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 And that's the thing, he is actually very talented. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Venal Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 16 hours ago, Bassfinger said: An unpleasant individual. Surprised Gibson would choose to associste with him so publicly. I enjoyed this guys take on Gibsons current marketing, including the Gene Simmons tie in. Obviously just one person's opinion, but I do think there's something to the notion that Gibson, having been in hot water financially fairly recently, are still all about targeting the safe money, which is in the hands of boomers, hence working with someone like Simmons, who's reputation hasn't exactly aged well. Simmons is kind of an interesting figure in that sense - like I feel there's a generational divide where to some people, simmons is pure rock n roll nostalgia, and to others he's a bloated misogynist from a reality TV show. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Sounds better on that PMT video, but look at the state of that finish on the head: On a £2.5k bass? Honestly, I'd send it back for that. Oh and 'It's got Gene's logo on it; a skull and crossed basses'...ummmm, since when was that any identifier of Gene Simmons? You know, the bloke with the most identifiable face paint on the planet? Pffffft again... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 9 minutes ago, Muzz said: Sounds better on that PMT video, but look at the state of that finish on the head: On a £2.5k bass? Honestly, I'd send it back for that. Oh and 'It's got Gene's logo on it; a skull and crossed basses'...ummmm, since when was that any identifier of Gene Simmons? You know, the bloke with the most identifiable face paint on the planet? Pffffft again... I was just thinking exactly that.......the demon face mask would have been a loads better logo to whack on it 😁 I wonder if that is grain around the edge of the headstock rather than a poor finish? I think the white/ebony models usually have a fairly flat painted edge, but the burst ones you can normally see a bit of grain come through.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 (edited) Grain or not, given that it's painted over (especially in black), you'd think they might've sanded it properly first...again, we're talking a £2.5k instrument here...I wouldn't get away with that finish on the skirting boards in our house, with a tin of Dulux and a 1/2" brush... 😕 Edited April 22, 2022 by Muzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 (edited) 56 minutes ago, Muzz said: Sounds better on that PMT video, but look at the state of that finish on the head: On a £2.5k bass? Honestly, I'd send it back for that. Oh and 'It's got Gene's logo on it; a skull and crossed basses'...ummmm, since when was that any identifier of Gene Simmons? You know, the bloke with the most identifiable face paint on the planet? Pffffft again... That's the mahogany grain, I think. It's the random logo placement that bothers me. Edited April 22, 2022 by Cosmo Valdemar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 (edited) It looks like it wasn't properly sealed before they painted it. They managed to get the rest of the body and neck done alright, so there's no excuse for not getting the headstock done properly just because you're covering most of it with plastic. Is that globs of glue coming out from under the right side of the plastic cover? I'm with Muzz, that's not acceptable on a $2.5k instrument. Edited April 22, 2022 by Doctor J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 2 hours ago, Vin Venal said: I enjoyed this guys take on Gibsons current marketing, including the Gene Simmons tie in. Obviously just one person's opinion, but I do think there's something to the notion that Gibson, having been in hot water financially fairly recently, are still all about targeting the safe money, which is in the hands of boomers, hence working with someone like Simmons, who's reputation hasn't exactly aged well. Simmons is kind of an interesting figure in that sense - like I feel there's a generational divide where to some people, simmons is pure rock n roll nostalgia, and to others he's a bloated misogynist from a reality TV show. I think that video is spot on, they are selling fine now - but their future buyers in 10 years are headed elsewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Awful. I don't have anything against Kiss or Gene, but this seems to be a daft decision. Poor QC again as noticed above. Both of my Gibson guitars cost under £1k and for that price they are worth it. The current insane pricing is just bizarre. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 On 20/04/2022 at 16:26, skankdelvar said: Well, I suppose it depends on how one parses that sentence. There are two possible meanings: i) Gibson are planning an extended Gene Simmons tribute range. Or: ii) Gibson intend to release more tribute basses including the Geddy Lee EB0 and the Paul McCartney Flying V. I would LOVE to see a Paul McCartney signature Flying V! 😎💕 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 I'd say the finish 'issues' are probably a mixture of taking a still from a video, the lighting and the grain. As dubious as Gibson's QC has been in the past, I doubt it's a rough finish. I hope so anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 Stinks of blatant ker-ching from arschloch to breakfast-time. Much like pretty much everything associated with that fine ambassador for our instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 (edited) I'm not sure what this 'grain' is that means wood can't be finished smoothly? Is it a special wood grain that only Gibsons have? Can't be bothered/organised finishing a £2.5k bass properly? Ohhhh, we'll call it the grain...as I say, I'd never get away with that when painting the skirting boards in our house... It's not just the headstock, either: unless that's a particularly thin nitro (which I'm sure they'd have mentioned), that flat finish just isn't flat...and the end of the fretboard isn't great, either. A grained finish is great with a natural satin, or even black (I've a Dingwall which makes a feature of this), but that's supposed to be a gloss black finish. And in case it sounds picky (tho I do get picky at £2.5k), it's the Van Halen M&Ms thing - it's indicative of QC and finishing... Edited April 22, 2022 by Muzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldon Tyrell Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 37 minutes ago, Muzz said: I'm not sure what this 'grain' is that means wood can't be finished smoothly? Is it a special wood grain that only Gibsons have? Can't be bothered/organised finishing a £2.5k bass properly? Ohhhh, we'll call it the grain...as I say, I'd never get away with that when painting the skirting boards in our house... It's not just the headstock, either: unless that's a particularly thin nitro (which I'm sure they'd have mentioned), that flat finish just isn't flat...and the end of the fretboard isn't great, either. A grained finish is great with a natural satin, or even black (I've a Dingwall which makes a feature of this), but that's supposed to be a gloss black finish. And in case it sounds picky (tho I do get picky at £2.5k), it's the Van Halen M&Ms thing - it's indicative of QC and finishing... Good observation. Maybe write to Gibson so that they add it as another great feature of the bass. They will probably call it a "unique proto-relic finish" 🤪 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 I rather like that...although having seen the state of Gene's syrup these days, I rather think 'The Gene Simmons Darkly Unconvincing Top' might be more apt... 😀 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 5 hours ago, Muzz said: I'm not sure what this 'grain' is that means wood can't be finished smoothly? Is it a special wood grain that only Gibsons have? Can't be bothered/organised finishing a £2.5k bass properly? Ohhhh, we'll call it the grain...as I say, I'd never get away with that when painting the skirting boards in our house... It's not just the headstock, either: unless that's a particularly thin nitro (which I'm sure they'd have mentioned), that flat finish just isn't flat...and the end of the fretboard isn't great, either. A grained finish is great with a natural satin, or even black (I've a Dingwall which makes a feature of this), but that's supposed to be a gloss black finish. And in case it sounds picky (tho I do get picky at £2.5k), it's the Van Halen M&Ms thing - it's indicative of QC and finishing... My £105 Harley Benton has a better finish than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 The cost of production line basses really is getting out of hand. £2.5k for a Thunderbird with that kind of quality in the finish. Just grab a Nikki Six Epiphone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Kev said: The cost of production line basses really is getting out of hand. £2.5k for a Thunderbird with that kind of quality in the finish. Just grab a Nikki Six Epiphone. Not much in common apart from the colour... Edited April 23, 2022 by Cosmo Valdemar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Venal Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Trogly covered it - unlikely to get a more "in depth" look, cuz he takes them apart on his workbench, and photographs everything close up. The finish issues are apparent, but rather than being QC, it seems like that's just how Gibson does gloss finishes, especially on the headstock. They just blast it with thick paint, and let the woodgrain show through in places... Doesn't look like £2.5k worth of guitar to me, that's for sure. But I expect massively overpriced from Gibson. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 (edited) Being a set neck as opposed to through neck, isn’t it basically like an old studio model with banding? Edited April 23, 2022 by T-Bay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Venal Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 7 minutes ago, T-Bay said: Being a set neck as opposed to through neck, isn’t it basically like an old studio model with banding? Only 3 times the price... 😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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