The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: chromium on January 21, 2013, 01:04:58 PM
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Just noticed this today:
(http://oliviasvintageguitars.com/products/lg/1242760932IMG_7037.JPG)
(http://oliviasvintageguitars.com/products/lg/1242760944IMG_7048.JPG)
http://oliviasvintageguitars.com/bass/guitars/228/
Strange control and output jack arrangement! Think it's original?
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I see no reason to think it isn't.
I can't recall seeing another last year model, could that arrangement be original to a '79?
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DANG!! That is one beautiful bass.
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That's a similar fin to another LP that someone posted elsewhere, isn't it...
Very nice, again...
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Looks like faded Silverburst. Or was "moonburst" what they officially called it? I had a friend with the guitar version and that's what he always called it.
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Looks like faded Silverburst. Or was "moonburst" what they officially called it? I had a friend with the guitar version and that's what he always called it.
Yeah it looks like you can still see the grain thru the "silver"(?) sections. Isn't silverburst usually opaque? I wouldn't be surprised if they called this something else.
In any case, I like it! I seem to recall seing pics of a Triumph in this color before.
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I doubt very much this is original. The fin probably is (I've seen other Triumphs like that umnless they were all refinned), but the set-up is too much a break from the classic Triumph one, not something they would have really done for a last run where you don't want to invest that type of work. It's like someone has rethought the original set-up and adapted it to his own needs - probably after tearing the old contro plate and its guts out after stepping on the cable! He then decided to reconstruct it, but do it better, hence the output jacks at the side which might have fed the signal to two different amps or into a board and an amp.
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[Heavenforbid] ... But suppose this is a one-off to end the line and you find out at a later date...? [/Heavenforbid] :vader: :popcorn:
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Ken, what was your exact geographical address again?
(http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/4412-bilder/441208-v2.jpg)
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[I'm a bad, bad boy] Ich bin nur ein demütiger diener des Dunklen Lord [/I'm a bad, bad boy] ;D
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The last version of the Les Paul Recording guitar had a control plate quite a bit like this one. It doesn't make any sense to have separate jacks for high & low impedance and also have the switch. The switch might be for In & Out of Phase and just be mis-marked. Unless it was wired to be stereo......................... :vader:
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That's what I was thinking - looks more like the LoZ guitar control plate vs bass. Notice also complete lack of pickup mode (winding tap) selector switch. That's, like, the best feature of the bass (OK, tied with the passive bass and treble controls).
Look at the pics of the control cavity though - definitely looks like some work was done in there (to reinfoce screw holes too close to the edge ( or pup mods, or more wiring in the pup routes that we can't see) and also to make room for what looks like a volume pot).... and the switch does appear to be for Hi/Lo Z, the transformer is taped/insulated to it (LOL, not in a good way) - looks like it turns the appropriate jack on/off (which is an arrangement silly enough for me to believe Gibson came up with it; there is precident in the Lo Z series for that jack arrangement as well IIRC). The weird thing is that I can't tell where the pups connect to that mess. With the 8 (differently coloured) wires per you'd think you could spot that from across the room (read as - I do not even vouch for the pups in this girl being actual Gibson Bass Lo Z pups - I'd say that they might be the guitar version but those are noticeably smaller.... maybe the leads are permanently wired to one of the taps and only 2 of 8 are sent to the control cavity... or they kept the pup covers but there's something else underneath).
Basically, since this mod is so horribly expensive/difficult and ill advised, I am not sure Gibson didn't do this (the main thing is the pups; last run didn't bother with the taps maybe to save costs?... also the control plate - the engraved labeling is a pain/insanely costly to have done as a one-off) but even if so I find this specimen unremarkable except from the point of view of a rabid completist collector (notice I didn't spell that with a K) - a fine example of Gibson's downward spiral into their bottom in the 80s. It may be that this is a bit of both situation (Gibson folly and aftermarket mods).
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(http://www.icms.net/images/angelsanddevils.jpg)
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the Recording guitar used two output jacks on the '76 models according to 'The Modern Era of the Les Paul Legacy 1968-2009' (pg 52). they were to be used for stereo 'high and low' or each pickup individually.
to me what's a little different is the dotted 'i' and closed 'b' & 'o' on the headstock logo. could be it's yet another prototype or maybe an employee one off. I have no doubt it's real, though.
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the Recording guitar used two output jacks on the '76 models according to 'The Modern Era of the Les Paul Legacy 1968-2009' (pg 52). they were to be used for stereo 'high and low' or each pickup individually.
to me what's a little different is the dotted 'i' and closed 'b' & 'o' on the headstock logo. could be it's yet another prototype or maybe an employee one off. I have no doubt it's real, though.
That info about the two output jacks tells me it's probably original.
I do know a collector who has a silverburst, not sure if it's '76 or later, I'll drop him a line and get his opinion.
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[FlyonthewallofZeKollecshun] Mein Gott im Himmel kann ich vermisse es...! [/FlyonthewallofZeKollecshun]
(Honest Boss, I was only jesting... :o ;D)
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I'm not sayings its fake or anything, but those 3's and 7's dont look anything like serial on my 79 ripper. The 3's are rounder (like an 8) and the 7's dont have the hanging edge at the start of the number...the 9's dont look the same either. Did they use different stamps in the custom shop?
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I'm not sayings its fake or anything, but those 3's and 7's dont look anything like serial on my 79 ripper. The 3's are rounder (like an 8) and the 7's dont have the hanging edge at the start of the number...the 9's dont look the same either. Did they use different stamps in the custom shop?
AFAIK there was no custom shop that long ago. It doesn't look like the font on several other '79 Gibsons that I could see well enough in gBase listings. I don't have an explanation, but we don't have a big enough sample to say it's the only one of its kind either. At any rate, they're up front about saying it's unusual.
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It's an interesting piece for sure. How much is it supposed to cost?
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The site lists at $6k
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Even the site readily admits it has a lot of wear, though. That's a factor that would weigh heavily against it at that price, strictly IMO, of course. I'd use the money for other treasures.
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I mentioned earlier in this thread that I knew a collector who had one, so I emailed him for his opinion.
His reply: "Hello Dave... THAT IS MY BASS Olivia's has about 300 of my pieces for sale."
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6.000 bucks is steep for a hobbit with a runaway pickguard.
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Regardless, knowing the owner, I have no doubt it's legitimate. He never would have bought it otherwise.
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Bu thow would he know. Sure it helps to see it in person, but still - just too many questions y'know.
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He's the man who broke the bank of Uwe Hornung...
Well bugger me... err, figuratively speaking, that is...
Uwe... I suppose you want those waypoints to my house now don't you... :o
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Bu thow would he know. Sure it helps to see it in person, but still - just too many questions y'know.
I have sold him a bass and helped him in the purchase of a few others. He's very careful, he doesn't buy anything without verifying.
He's the man who broke the bank of Uwe Hornung...
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I'm not sure what you mean by that, but his collection is mostly guitars and not confined to Gibsons. He's been collecting a lot longer than Uwe. And he'll have plenty left even after the ones at Olivia's are sold.
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It's tongue firmly planted in cheek and nothing more - just a reference to the noble art of collecting which I have suffered also within my own lifestyle... I have become more aware of collectors since being here than I ever was before... they have my respect, I can assure you...
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I got it alright, Ken is taunting me to buy it! :mrgreen: And I might for 2.000, but not for 6.000.
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A guitar from the same time frame popped up on eBay.......
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1976-Gibson-Les-Paul-Recording-Model-GIE0697-/330863350128?pt=Guitar&hash=item4d08fe1170
It's still different, but there are similarities. ???
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And the asking price is identical.
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I got it alright, Ken is taunting me to buy it!
Au contraire mon ami... excuse the Franglais... now you know that this model exists maybe you can patiently wait until the right price arrives to match the model...
The one thing I would ask of Olivias' is to pop a pup and see how they wired the sucker in so you can get a better understanding of the potential sound of this Hobbit-Extraordinaire...
What is the fun in collecting if you have them all...? ;)
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Does it have a maple top like the last version of the Les Paul Recording guitar? It could be the only Hobbit in existance with a maple top! Not only collecting for fins, but for tops also!
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Stop it now... this is above and beyond a joke... :vader: :toast: :popcorn:
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From what I remember the control layout is legit, I think they "simplified" it at the end of the run, Same for the silverburst legit. I am basing this at my time at the House Of Guitars much of which was spent with a beer in hand, suffering from a hangover or a bit of both.
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There will be another sometime ...
I'm running out of room and life expectancy with all these new Gibbies coming out! :mrgreen:
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I 'eard there was trouble at t' mill but ah didn't expect so many new Gibsons...
[Woosh] Nobody expects the Continental...! [/Woosh]