The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Dave W on April 18, 2015, 09:11:34 PM
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Back in late 2013 I sold one of my guitars so I could afford to buy a SG Special Faded Bass. Hardly had a chance to play it, though, thanks to the multiple medical problems I've had since early 2014. Hardly played anything at all until early this year.
A couple of months ago I finally picked it up again and I noticed that the body had started to split at the center seam from the bridge down to the butt end, and that one of the halves was slightly warped. I brought it to Gibson's local authorized service shop who sent them photos to get authorization to repair it. Their rep had them ship it back to Nashville. After over a month, local repair tech calls Gibson to find out the status; he's told that the bass will be replaced. The Special Faded series is discontinued but supposedly they still had a few of them left. Then on March 28 he called me again -- Gibson is on the phone with him and they want to send me a new 2015 SG Standard Bass in cherry ($1679 street price) at no extra charge, and they want my approval. Umm...YES! But the delay had been so long and they had already changed their story, so frankly I wasn't going to believe it until I had it in hand.
It arrived here this past Thursday, and I'm happy to say it's the real deal. Local tech had adjusted the setup by the time I drove over there. Sounds great, looks great, no fit and finish issues, lighter and better balanced than the Faded, and the Babicz bridge is very nice up close.
Pics to follow.
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That is fantastic. It doesn't get much better than that.
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Congrats ! A real classy move by our troubled friends. I'd think it would have made more sense if they'd offered a Special as a replacement but, to quote a dutch saying: both the ways of God and Gibson are hard to fathom.
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Nice one...!
:popcorn:
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Nice to hear a positive story. Took a while, but sounds like a very nice resolution.
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Nice Dave! Enjoy your SG Bass :toast:
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Thanks, guys. Until the local guy brought out a deluxe case and opened it, I really wasn't sure it would actually be a Standard. A replacement Special would have been fine, of course, but if Gibson were totally out, it might have been more expensive for them to set up for a single replacement.
Sorry about the quick pics, it's way too overcast for natural light and the flash on my camera isn't good indoors.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/davepix/Basses/Dakota%20008_zpsi5xv9qm8.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/davepix/Basses/Dakota%20015_zpslnljcrxs.jpg)
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very nice.i think that bridge looks quite good on there.how does it sound?
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The Standard sounds clearer to me than the Special did, although it's hard to say for sure without a head-to-head comparison. No way to tell if the bridge has anything to do with that. Could be the weight difference or something else.
It's definitely glossier. ;D
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Nice score Dave!
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It's definitely glossier. ;D
That makes it shinier. As we all know, bright shiny objects are GOOD! :mrgreen:
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Better bass, better health, sounds like a win win situation! I've heard great things about the new SG bass with the Babicz bridge............ Congrats!!
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Indeed a happy ending. Congratulations Dave!
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Dave, someone - incongruous as it may seem - must like you up there!!!
(http://www.guideposts.org/sites/guideposts.org/files/content_editors/marquee/heaven_marquee.jpg)
A bass finally without a three point bridge was bestowed upon you!!! Back to the old EB-0F days, huh? Congrats - I don't have one like that!!!
Fret job should be better too, they are Plekking their new line of basses now. It sure made a dif on my 2015 TBird.
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Finally...proof that finish affects tone
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I just ordered one of them thar bridges for my eb4l. mmmm shiny.
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My health is better and stable for now, but there's no getting around the fact that I have ongoing serious medical issues. Someone up there does like me, though I doubt the bridge has anything to do with it. :)
Back to the bass: the fretwork and nut work is excellent. Another improvement is in the body sanding. With most mahogany Gibsons I've seen in the last 20 years, if you look at them with light reflecting off the glossy finish, you can see slight waves or ripples in the top. They haven't been sanded completely flat. Sometimes it's really glaringly obvious.I even noticed this recently on a Firebird Studio with a low gloss. But this bass looks great front and back, no waviness at all. Did Gibson make changes to eliminate this, or did I just luck out? Maybe taking longer on the finishing and fretwork accounts for some of the price increases.
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Finally...proof that finish affects tone
Make that: "Finish affects the cherished Administrator's mood!" :mrgreen:
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I saw a post at the MyLesPaul forum that Gibson was including a bench photo with each guitar that leaves the factory. Just a snapshot, really. So I looked in the case candy pack and sure enough, there's one there. Not sure what the purpose is.
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I saw a post at the MyLesPaul forum that Gibson was including a bench photo with each guitar that leaves the factory. Just a snapshot, really. So I looked in the case candy pack and sure enough, there's one there. Not sure what the purpose is.
Not that they couldn't do that too (and this is more about guitars than basses), but for now at least that's something you won't get with a Chibson.
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I love happy endings.