The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: PhilT on January 13, 2009, 03:08:36 PM
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Intriguing "collectors item" maybe?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Flying-V-Bass-not-Gibson-or-Fender_W0QQitemZ270329905902QQihZ017QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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The only flying V bass. Damn, Uwe better buy it, and quick.
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"...as Gibson had never produced such an instrument."
Except for the ones they did. But of course the real Gibson Flying V Basses weren't "stunningly beautiful" like this one. :rolleyes:
If this used a real Gibson neck, where's the logo?
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Don't be so tough on him. As hacked up Grabbers/Rippers/G-3s go (what was in that shape that provoked such mass cruelty I cry?), this is one of the better ones. Too bad he did away with the sliding pup though.
I can also forgive him about forgetting about the shortlived and generally rare early eighties short scale Flying V basses of Gibson which were in essence short scale Rippers (with the exception of Tetsu of the Faces/Rod Stewart, no one ever played those things and you'll be hard-pressed in even finding a pic of Tetsu playing one). And this is a long scale after all.
That said, I'm still not interested. The Grabber has lack of ooomph even in original state (and compensates that via blaring mids), with much of the body carved away, that less than bass frequency friendly V shape and the Grabber pup moved way back to the bridge, things can only have gotten worse. No wonder the seller states nowhere that the bass actually sounds good.
Uwe
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I thinks cool as any other Frankenstein project done here.
To make a Gibson project interesting it just needs to keep it's parts in the Gibson family which it does. No harm no foul.
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I didn't think I was being tough on him. As frankenbass projects go, I see nothing wrong with it except that it's a Flying V.
The self-made certificate of authenticity is unintentionally funny.
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I can also forgive him about forgetting about the shortlived and generally rare early eighties short scale Flying V basses of Gibson which were in essence short scale Rippers (with the exception of Tetsu of the Faces/Rod Stewart, no one ever played those things and you'll be hard-pressed in even finding a pic of Tetsu playing one).
I bought this new in 1980 or 81. I didn't play it either... well, at least not the Gibson. There WAS an Ibanez with a Fender neck that I carted around for awhile, though.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/GibsonVBass2.jpg)
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I bought this new in 1980 or 81. I didn't play it either... well, at least not the Gibson. There WAS an Ibanez with a Fender neck that I carted around for awhile, though.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/GibsonVBass2.jpg)
Let me guess: Because it was such a great sounding bass? ;D ;D ;D
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Great looking bass though.
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In a rare moment of impulse consumerism, I purchased the worst sounding bass in recorded (and live) history :sad:. Perhaps my judgement was clouded by hairspray fumes, but I figured, "Gibson wouldn't build a bad sounding bass - it must be the amp here in the store. It will sound awesome through the SVT". Sold my EB-3 to buy it, and ultimately traded it even up for a Kramer Pioneer P-Bass thingie. There was at least one other poor soul in my neck of the woods - he played a silverburst version in a Judas Priest tribute band.
I wouldn't equate it with the Ripper, though, Uwe - the V Bass had no varitone - that would have made a world of difference IMHO! :rolleyes:
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:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
My sentiments exactly. Yes, and the Ripper is for all its flaws the better bass allround, shrinking it and pulling the body long like a piece of gum did it no sound favors.
Have fun cutting through with a Gibson "V'-Bass in a Priest tribute band! Worst possible choice. Your frequencies will be all over, just not where they are needed/where there is room for them and not where Ian "Jazz Bass, Guild (or was it Hamer?) and now Spector" Hill puts'em. And you won't even sound like KK Downing either.
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Have fun cutting through with a Gibson "V'-Bass in a Priest tribute band! Worst possible choice. Your frequencies will be all over, just not where they are needed/where there is room for them and not where Ian "Jazz Bass, Guild (or was it Hamer?) and now Spector" Hill puts'em. And you won't even sound like KK Downing either.
Although I've never seen him with one, the Hamer would be a logical choice, as KK and Tipton both used them at various points. When I see him without that "sunburst / maple / blocks" J-Bass, I feel a little sad. The first time I saw Priest (the opening act on a three band bill with REO Speedwagon and Starz), he had that bass and an Acoustic rig with one cab.
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The Gibson V basses are drop dead sexy; shame about the sound.
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Too bad Gibson never made a short scale Ripper or a long scale V. It would be interesting to check Uwe's theory on body shape by doing a direct comparison with the body shape as the only difference. Can't do that with another brand of long scale V b/c there are too many other differences.
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I think the might have been better served by using a single mudbucker at the neck, or maybe even the EB-3 config. the low end generated by the big pickup and its placement might have been tamed by the body's shortcomings, resulting in something more practical, soundwise. After all, Ripper pickups were not what one would consider high output units. Plus, look at all the bottom they got out of a skinny SG body as an EB-0.
Kinda like this red thing I used to have.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/PoserGuitars.jpg)
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High output pups help (a mudbucker is high output), a long (or even longer) scale helps, a massive neck(-thru) helps.
Of my five Flying Vs (Gibson, Kramer, Ibanez, Dean DOA and Dean Dimebag Razorback), the Razorback is the best-sounding one: 35" maho neck thru with basswood wings and active pups, assless Manowar chaps optional:
(http://www.deanguitars.com/dean_winter_07/basses/rbvlg.jpg)
It approximates the sound of an active TBird, kind of like a Gene Simmons Punisher sounds too which has similar components, i.e. maho neck-thru and active pups.
Uwe
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I think the might have been better served by using a single mudbucker at the neck, or maybe even the EB-3 config. the low end generated by the big pickup and its placement might have been tamed by the body's shortcomings, resulting in something more practical, soundwise. After all, Ripper pickups were not what one would consider high output units. Plus, look at all the bottom they got out of a skinny SG body as an EB-0.
Kinda like this red thing I used to have.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/PoserGuitars.jpg)
Hey Lowend do you still have that Ibanez Destroyer ? I bought mine new in '76 ! mine has been modded over the years but it still is a great bass (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/godofthunder59/100_1720.jpg)
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Hey Lowend do you still have that Ibanez Destroyer ? I bought mine new in '76 ! mine has been modded over the years but it still is a great bass
Ha! Great story there - No I don't... The Destroyer got traded even up for the EB-3 that I sold to buy the Gibson "Dying V" Bass. The good part of the story is that 15 years later I got the EB-3 back for exactly what I sold it for (not much). It's neck was always a little squirrely, but upon its return I found that it had some serious issues, like a tremendous bow. When I tried to correct it, the adjusting nut sheared off (somebody had epoxied it in place). It sat that way for another 13 years. Just recently, I found a local tech who had the neato Stewmac tool to hog out the wood around the truss rod so we could rethread the broken end. That was just over a month ago, and provided the neck remains stable, "Stinky" will be getting a refret very soon. Fingers crossed.
I never liked the sound of the Destroyer - I found myself comparing it to the Thunderbird, but it was clearly a different animal. That's actually the only pic I have of it.
BTW, is that Bart one of their T-Bird pups? How do you like it?
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High output pups help (a mudbucker is high output), a long (or even longer) scale helps, a massive neck(-thru) helps.
Of my five Flying Vs (Gibson, Kramer, Ibanez, Dean DOA and Dean Dimebag Razorback), the Razorback is the best-sounding one: 35" maho neck thru with basswood wings and active pups, assless Manowar chaps optional:
(http://www.deanguitars.com/dean_winter_07/basses/rbvlg.jpg)
It approximates the sound of an active TBird, kind of like a Gene Simmons Punisher sounds too which has similar components, i.e. maho neck-thru and active pups.
Uwe
One question: does that bass balance at all?
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/NewImagev1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/Large-Flying-V.jpg)
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/NewImagev1.jpg)
Wow. Two Model One - for two times the fun! ;D
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I can't see how the pickup's output would make a difference. You can always boost output after the fact.
Location could make a major difference.
I recall a study that was online some years ago, funded by Gibson. IIRC it showed body vibration patterns of a V (or maybe an Explorer) and a conventional shape and they were noticeably different.
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I think a good V bass is possible. The Ibanez came close. The ebay thing is ap-cray.
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Ya notice how Uwe gently skirts the assless chaps issue often............. ;)
On topic I used an Ibanez V as a second to my Rick 4001 for about 3 months back in '78.....Looked cool but that neck was just too big for smallish girly hands.
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The Destroyer with the mudbucker and the Bart Tbird pup sounds just amazing one of my best sounding bases
Hey Lowend do you still have that Ibanez Destroyer ? I bought mine new in '76 ! mine has been modded over the years but it still is a great bass (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/godofthunder59/100_1720.jpg)
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... assless Manowar chaps optional
Assless chaps was DLR - Manowar was more of a loincloth and animal hides band
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Assless chaps was DLR - Manowar was more of a loincloth and animal hides band
My eyes!.......... :o
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One question: does that bass balance at all?
Indeed it does. Perfectly. Like a TBird, it is lighter than it looks too. Flying Vs generally don't balance bad at all, because most of the body mass is way back.
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I can't see how the pickup's output would make a difference. You can always boost output after the fact.
Location could make a major difference.
I recall a study that was online some years ago, funded by Gibson. IIRC it showed body vibration patterns of a V (or maybe an Explorer) and a conventional shape and they were noticeably different.
A loud pup can't be the saving grace for a bass that sounds inherently crap, but I remember how Bruce/Captaincolor was always quite satisfied with his Gibson "V" which had been EMG'ized by a pre-owner. The Ripper pups are a docile affair, yet the Ripper lends them some authority via sheer size, but on the Flying V shape they just sound meek.
Uwe
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"Skirting the assless chaps issue", my, Mark is the Head Mistress of innuendo and elegant puns!
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Assless chaps was DLR - Manowar was more of a loincloth and animal hides band
I stand corrected - sort of...
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/Manowar.jpg)
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Hmm... the ensemble in the picture looks like they have the collective IQ of a goldfish.
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Why don't more people take them serious? ;D ;D
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Nothing is new it just gets recycled with a twist
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/Fenderbird/Musicians/07505884f8e375f9.jpg)
Errrm, not sure John, whether the Kings of True Metal would approve that androgynous look or view themselves as such ... ??? Uwe
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Give Joey de Maio a haircut and put him in a double breasted two piece suit and he'd be the perfect fit for The Sopranos II. They do speak Italian at Manowar, you know:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF0cG2Sj6mY
I'm still undecided whether that is very corny, very brave or just a credible version. Probably all three.
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i do kinda dig the Vrabber though
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"Skirting the assless chaps issue", my, Mark is the Head Mistress of innuendo and elegant puns!
I'm elegant.........like a train wreck.
I didn't think you'd noticed Herr Moderator, apologies......... :-[
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This just might be the best sounding "Gibson" Flying V then. When I bought it, it had been converted to active EMGs. Really sounds pretty good.
(http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq127/captcolour/Basses/GibsonV.jpg)
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oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh, thats nice. 8)
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That is cool, are they chrome EMG'S?
looks awesome.
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Manowar look so lame but I always find them annoyingly easy to listen to ???
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That is cool, are they chrome EMG'S?
looks awesome.
Yep. Must take it out and give it a spin. Hasn't been out in awhile.
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This just might be the best sounding "Gibson" Flying V then. When I bought it, it had been converted to active EMGs. Really sounds pretty good.
(http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/qq127/captcolour/Basses/GibsonV.jpg)
Bruce, you live! I never saw a pic of this, that fin came with a black pickguard and the white one is a replacement of the pre-owner to accomodate the EMGs, oui?
Uwe
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Yes I do live. Lurk here from time to time, but don't post much.
Yep, the white guard is a replacement to accommodate the EMGs and the extra knob. They had to route the bass a little to add room for the fourth knob and the battery. If I ever get around to it, I'd prefer the mod on a black guard.