The Q-80 is an unloved ugly duckling in Gibson's history and no amount of Custom Shop stamps will change that. It was a creature of convenience, and a stop-gap at a time when Gibson had been grappling with survival and not designed any new basses for the longest period since the fifties (between 81 and 87, i.e. between the early eighties Victory and the late eighties Q-80, 20/20 & IV/V no new models were introduced save for the Explorer):
"Hey Wayne, make a new bass for us like you make those guitars!"
"With what?"
"We still have a lot of machines set up for the Victory shape and old Grabber pups, those have a nice "Gibson" embossed on them, why don't you take those? Spare maho too."
"How much time do I have?"
"A week, we don't want a rushed job."
"Who'll bang them together?"
"Guys from the Custom Shop are twiddling thumbs currently ...".
I do like the fin, whether the artist is well-known or not I have no idea, but he seems to be the determining factor in this auction.