The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Basvarken on July 28, 2012, 01:38:00 AM
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Saw this over at Jules'
Not bad!!
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/anyfour/G-3IIBlack.jpg)
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/anyfour/G-3IIHoneyburst.jpg)
Looks like Gibson finally managed to design new pickups (for) themselves. No TB+ in disguise (that would have been very inappropriate), no J-bass single single coils (like the RD reissue).
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A G3 reissue that won't sound anything like the original (the PU locations).
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That is not necessarily a bad thing IMHO.
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Moving them further from the bridge is a good thing IMHO. Call it an improvement over the original. A street price of $999 (if the poster at Jules' was told correctly) seems reasonable, a lot more so than some of their other reissues. Too bad they used the three-point, not that it's unexpected.
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Dave.....Did a 3 point bite you in the butt at some distant past occasion? ;)
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Gorgeous, but my hunch is that those pups are Seymour Duncans, not that there is anything bad about that.
A rerelease of the G-3, just like Kevin of Gibson said. Nice, all fat-bottomed girls have now returned and all are (even) better than the originals, this will most likely not be an exception even though I consider the orignal G-3 to be one of the most underrated basses of Gibson even with insiders. It's a bass you can both "ric" and "fender" with, yet it retains Gibson kalamazooomph. Even with the old pup location, the G-3 had more sublows than a Grabber and certainly no less than a Ripper.
This is set neck like the Grabber II I assume? If that is so then that factor coupled with the pup positions and the more massive bridge will probably make it less snappy than the original. Not to forget that is doesn't have a maple board either.
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BTW I think the 'Burst is freakin' cool!
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So do I. Order one, Mark, our usual arrangements apply, you provide the DNA and I the money.
In burst bitte. And send me an email how much it'll cost, I'll then transfer.
Image conscious as the Nasty Habits are and how fat-bottomed girls is not really how you see yourselves, your bandmates won't let you play it live though!!!
Dave could just never adjust a three point correctly, I think he needs strict instructions from you.
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Nice! Does Gibson make anything with a bolt on neck these days?
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So do I. Order one, Mark, our usual arrangements apply, you provide the DNA and I the money.
In burst bitte. And send me an email how much it'll cost, I'll then transfer.
Image conscious as the Nasty Habits are and how fat-bottomed girls is not really how you see yourselves, your bandmates won't let you play it live though!!!
Dave could just never adjust a three point correctly, I think he needs strict instructions from you.
I'm on it today Herr Moderator!
It's important to remember when adjusting a 3 point that you first need to bend over and reach for your ankles....
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There must be a subliminal message in that last instruction, but I'm afraid to find out which!!!!
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There must be a subliminal message in that last instruction, but I'm afraid to find out which!!!!
Nothing to be afraid of :gay:
If it feels good, do it!
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Nothing to be afraid of :gay:
If it feels good, do it!
Relax?
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Relax?
Yes, that and a little slick stuff........
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I saw these pics a while ago at the HOG. I don't like the look of the pickups, they look weird in a Fender sort of way. I think I'd spend my $ on a vintage G3.
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Dave.....Did a 3 point bite you in the butt at some distant past occasion? ;)
No, I just think it's a poor design and it's clunky and ugly to boot.
Nothing at all wrong with the tune-o-matic principle, this is just the wrong way to implement it.
No matter how many years Gibson has used it, it's not too late for them to correct their mistake! :P
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I think it gets a lot of undeserved hate - I let Lull do my set ups, they all work/play great, as apperances go I prefer it to most anything else - I like two points tho.
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The new pickups layout and visible pole pieces make it look a bit Strat-ish IMHO.
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If you have grown up like me thinking that Ritchie Blackmore was God you appreciate a Strat look! :mrgreen:
Actually reminds me more of what EBMM has on their Bongos etc and I've always loved that fat pole piece look, it is what I found most enticing when the Stingrays first came out. Never mind how the darn things always get in the way of my pick and chew up my beloved Heribas!
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No, I just think it's a poor design and it's clunky and ugly to boot.
Nothing at all wrong with the tune-o-matic principle, this is just the wrong way to implement it.
No matter how many years Gibson has used it, it's not too late for them to correct their mistake! :P
I dissent, not clunky, but "airy" yet stable and "sustainy", of timeless elegance. And you can also clean up underneath it, tell me one other bridge that satisfies our craving for cleanliness being next to Godliness. Just imagine the myriads of bacteria hidden away underneath other (base-mounted) bridges and eating away the wood undetectedly ... :-\
I loved it first time I saw it. Archaic, idiosyncratic. As American as tail fins on a Buick. The bison of bridges. It looked like no other bridge, you had to use large manly tools with it, not flimsy allen wrenches that fall to the floor and you never see them again. A right size screwdriver for a three point falls to the floor and you might have a hole in the floor, but you'll find that screwdriver. Moreover, it can be used for efficient self-defense if someone tries to take the three point (with bass attached) away from you.
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The way those pups look and are positioned apart, I can't believe that you can only have them on as pairs as on the original where they were single coils and you always had (at least) two working to cancel hum (making for a broader magnetic field too). These are probably stacked humbuckers and work by themselves. I liked that set-up on the BFG LP Bass already, there really should be more three pup basses out there, always had a soft spot for them. More is more. :mrgreen:
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I think it's more likely that you have a "hard spot" for them ;)
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...
I loved it first time I saw it. Archaic, idiosyncratic. As American as tail fins on a Buick. The bison of bridges. ...
Bisons were hunted to near-extinction. Can we hope the three-point meets the same fate? You wouldn't be allowed to own one, they would be preserved in a museum of curiosities, maybe one of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums.
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Saw this over at Jules'
Not bad!!
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/anyfour/G-3IIBlack.jpg)
(http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/anyfour/G-3IIHoneyburst.jpg)
Looks like Gibson finally managed to design new pickups (for) themselves. No TB+ in disguise (that would have been very inappropriate), no J-bass single single coils (like the RD reissue).
They were not JAZZ PICKUPS, jazz pickups are from Fender Jazz basses, when will you guys learn?
;)
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The original three pup set-up was - like all good things - a German invention, Bill Lawrence. He certainly got it right, there is hardly another Gibson long scale with as varied a sound. Make that varied usable sounds. In a year where the Stingray set out to conquer the world, the look of that three pup set-up just wasn't very alluring. Compared to the novelty effect of the sliding Grabber and the conservative Ripper, the G-3 always looked like a nerdish afterthought.
The new pups look a lot cooler.
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Those pups look kinda like Seymour Duncan '51 P Single coils.... Big Strat pickups.
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Either way its a nice looking bass.
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The original three pup set-up was - like all good things - a German invention, Bill Lawrence. He certainly got it right, there is hardly another Gibson long scale with as varied a sound. Make that varied usable sounds. In a year where the Stingray set out to conquer the world, the look of that three pup set-up just wasn't very alluring. Compared to the novelty effect of the sliding Grabber and the conservative Ripper, the G-3 always looked like a nerdish afterthought.
The new pups look a lot cooler.
The new pups look cooler ?????? What could be cooler than see through pink plastic?
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It's certainly possible that Gibson is having Seymour build theses pickups to spec. Although they may be similar, I doubt they are actual '51 P pickups. Only the Quarter Pounder version would have polepieces that big, and all versions have wider polepiece spacing than the string spacing of a G-3 with 3-point should have. We won't know until someone has one in hand.
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The new pups look cooler ?????? What could be cooler than see through pink plastic?
Unfortunately, both my G-3s already have the opaque black casing of the pups. Not that I thought the see-throug ones looked cool, "interesting" more like.
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The pickups on the new G3 remind me a lot of the Music Man Big Al
(http://magazine.dv247.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/music-man-big-al-bass-body.jpg)
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I don't mind the shape of those, but all those knobs and that bridge sure crap that thing up......
The body shape PG and pups are ok but the bridge and knobs......yech.
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If it played good and sounded like the original....I would want one....
The original sounded great! Not sure why they stopped producing them.
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(re Musicman Big Al)
I don't mind the shape of those, but all those knobs and that bridge sure crap that thing up......
The body shape PG and pups are ok but the bridge and knobs......yech.
That said, I love mine - I think it's the best bass Ernie Ball have ever made, hands down.
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Total props to them for coming up with something cool looking, I like the shape and the PG a lot I kinda feel like they stopped there tho........Not that I'd buy one but I think that Bongo's are cool in the same way.
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Total props to them for coming up with something cool looking, I like the shape and the PG a lot I kinda feel like they stopped there tho........Not that I'd buy one but I think that Bongo's are cool in the same way.
Keep in mind that the Big Al is not a new body shape, it's based on the Albert Lee Signature guitar which has been around since the early 90s.
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I had the same thought. And I've admittedly played with the idea :-[ of the Big Al (whose electronics are not only ambitious, but are supposed to make sense too), but I really have enough basses, don't I?
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I had the same thought. And I've admittedly played with the idea :-[ of the Big Al (whose electronics are not only ambitious, but are supposed to make sense too), but I really have enough basses, don't I?
I think so, perhaps you could Lend-Lease several?
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Victory basses as opposed to Liberty ships, huh?
V-Waffen!!!
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Victory basses as opposed to Liberty ships, huh?
V-Waffen!!!
Thunderbirds for victory!
Let us conquer the evil 7enderites with them and rule ze world!
BTW Sweetwater is on the G-3 case :)
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... but I really have enough basses, don't I?
Damn... there goes the keyboard... just drying out all the tea I coughed up in shock at the suggestion... next he'll be suggesting that collecting for fins is an admirable hobby... ;D
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I asked whether the pups were from SD and this is the answer I got:
"No. Jim DeCola designed them.
*Features large diameter Alnico V pole pieces for an expanded magnetic field. These magnets, combined with the coil windings and wiring, create an extended frequency response, fat and punchy tone , higher output plus low noise operation due to the switching scheme.
The vintage style three way switch scheme permits the following selections (all in humbucking configuration):
Neck & middle
Neck, middle, & bridge
Bridge & middle"
So just like the original they still work in pairs or more which means that they are true single coils after all. A Gibson with single coils, a rare breed.
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Designing them in house is a positive step. Maybe we'll see more of this.
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I didn't know that he was Gibson's Head Luthier by now.
http://www.zzounds.com/lp/luthier
Wasn't he with the Fender Custom Shop for a long time?
So now we know the secret of the Fenderisms on that new G-3! :mrgreen:
I did receive some more news on upcoming releases:
"Web launch of G-3 is Aug 21. Should be hitting stores within 2 weeks after that.
Other upcoming basses this year are T’Bird Non-reverse. Pelham Blue and VS.
Midtown Bass ala EB-2. Pelham Blue, VS, Cherry and Ebony. I really love this one.
And finally Frank Johns new invention........”The EB”..............2 dual coil Humbucking versions of Jim DeCola’s G-3 pickups plus a whole new body design from Gibson USA."
"The EB" returneth? Lock up your daughters!
Uwe
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The zzounds article has an interesting tidbit: apparently the new LP guitars (and maybe others) are using granadillo fretboards.
Jim DeCola was with FCS for a time, don't know how long, and has also built guitars under his own name.
"The EB" could be great or an abomination, but at least it promises to be something all new. Let's hope it's not yet another throwback to Tobias styling.
"Midtown Bass"? ??? What's up with that name? With "The EB" coming, I can see why they wouldn't want to reuse the EB-2 name, but can't they come up with something better than that?
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The zzounds article has an interesting tidbit: apparently the new LP guitars (and maybe others) are using granadillo fretboards.
Gee, could it be that their rosewood supply suffered an unexpected interruption?
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Today ze rosewood, tomorrow ze chrome.
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I didn't know that he was Gibson's Head Luthier by now.
http://www.zzounds.com/lp/luthier
Wasn't he with the Fender Custom Shop for a long time?
So now we know the secret of the Fenderisms on that new G-3! :mrgreen:
I did receive some more news on upcoming releases:
"Web launch of G-3 is Aug 21. Should be hitting stores within 2 weeks after that.
Other upcoming basses this year are T’Bird Non-reverse. Pelham Blue and VS.
Midtown Bass ala EB-2. Pelham Blue, VS, Cherry and Ebony. I really love this one.
And finally Frank Johns new invention........”The EB”..............2 dual coil Humbucking versions of Jim DeCola’s G-3 pickups plus a whole new body design from Gibson USA."
"The EB" returneth? Lock up your daughters!
Uwe
Upon further inquiry: The pups of "The EB" will be based on what is currently on the G-3 reissue, just two of them put together to create a humbucker. And the bass will not look like an RD, "more like a Musicman".
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A Musicman?? Ones again a Fender inspired shape, haven't we seen that before?
And yes, i said F E N D E R ;D
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I had a guitarist once who would always call my Grabbers/Rippers/G-3s, "Musicmans" because he mistook them for the old EBMM 5 string version of a Stingray.
(http://jochendesmaele.webs.com/stingray5_01.jpg)
So it's all in the family.
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What in the Sam Hell would all those stupid knobs do?
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They are there to alienate girls like you from bass playing. :popcorn:
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will there be bisons roaming midtown?
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They are there to alienate girls like you from bass playing. :popcorn:
They've succeded.....
A one pick up bass with 5 knobs and a switch........... No thank you. :rolleyes:
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will there be bisons roaming midtown?
Brilliant pun, it took me a while to get it :-[, but here you are:
The usual instigators and catcallers aside here, I believe the 3 point is heaven-sent for any semi-acoustic with an arched top because it does not need a flat base.
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What in the Sam Hell would all those stupid knobs do?
If it's got 5 knobs, then it must have the optional piezo pickup as well as the humbucker. Standard SR5's only have 4 knobs - volume, bass, mid, treble.
The selector switch is for the pickups coils - both coils, series, parallel
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Gee, could it be that their rosewood supply smuggling suffered an unexpected interruption?
Fixed it for ya!
Upon further inquiry: The pups of "The EB" will be based on what is currently on the G-3 reissue, just two of them put together to create a humbucker. And the bass will not look like an RD, "more like a Musicman".
Ah, now I understand! The EB name doesn't hark back to the old Gibson EB series, it stands for Ernie Ball! :mrgreen: I'm sure Sterling Ball will be flattered.
Seriously, that sounds good. If it looks nice, and if they ditch the three-point, I might even want one.
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:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
" ... it stands for Ernie Ball ..."
Dave, is nothing sacred?!!!!!
It willl be the first new design since the Mon(k)ey and the ill-fated Continental V which henry committed to the bin for looking too Tobias-ish. And if you rule out slight modifications and variations of classic shapes. (The money is a single-cut LP) as well as minority models such as the Continental or the 20/20, then it is the first new shape since the Victory, or if that is just a Fender knock-off to you, then since the late seventies and the RDs that walked the earth then.
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If it looks nice, and if they ditch the three-point, I might even want one.
Heretic! ;D
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:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
" ... it stands for Ernie Ball ..."
Dave, is nothing sacred?!!!!!
It willl be the first new design since the Mon(k)ey and the ill-fated Continental V which henry committed to the bin for looking too Tobias-ish. And if you rule out slight modifications and variations of classic shapes. (The money is a single-cut LP) as well as minority models such as the Continental or the 20/20, then it is the first new shape since the Victory, or if that is just a Fender knock-off to you, then since the late seventies and the RDs that walked the earth then.
We shall see.
BTW, granadillo is not a true rosewood, despite what Jim DeCola said in that interview. I've seen cocobolo - which is a true rosewood - mis-described as granadillo on rare occasions, but what imported hardwood dealers sell as granadillo is not a rosewood (dalbergia) species. OTOH it's probably superior to Indian rosewood.
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Wonder if the Midtown Bas had anything to do with the Midtown Guitar?
(http://www.gear-vault.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/gibson-midtown.jpg)
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In a way: It is the bass version! :mrgreen:
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I meant as in thinline, flat top, smaller lower bout etc ;)
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Gibson being Gibson, I would expect the body to be exactly the same. It is supposed to be short scale. You know how they only vary body shapes for basses under duress!
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I wonder why they haven't gone with maple boards?
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Not very Gibsonish, is it? I love a nice snappy maple board as much as the next man, but it's not really Gibson tradition. They regularly did it for budget basses (Grabber and G-3) and the budget versions of their other models (maple board blond RDs and Rippers). And with the advent of the Victory in the early eighties, they stopped doing maple boards for basses altogether. At least I'm not aware of a maple board Victory ever being made though that would have been quite a snappy affair too!
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Also, even the hardest rock maple is not near as stiff as most traditional fingerboard woods. Combined with a maple neck, it's usually stiff enough, but maple necks aren't a Gibson tradition either.
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Other upcoming basses this year are T’Bird Non-reverse. Pelham Blue and VS.
If this is true I'm going to have to start selling stuff.
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IMHO the "Maple" years for Gibson were the best. Only Gibson bass I ever owned was a Ripper.
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I meant as in thinline, flat top, smaller lower bout etc ;)
And Bigsby! ;D
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IMHO the "Maple" years for Gibson were the best. Only Gibson bass I ever owned was a Ripper.
My natural maple neck / alder body Ripper sounds better to me than the later one with a maple body. The later one is black though, and looks cool. It's also 2lbs heavier.
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IMHO the "Maple" years for Gibson were the best. Only Gibson bass I ever owned was a Ripper.
I have nothing against the maple years and long made peace with Rippers/Grabbers/G-3s as well as RDs and Victories. But maple/alder or all-maple are wood combinations other firms such as Fender and Ric have rubberstamped for themselves. Mahagony construction was in contrast very much Gibson's own thing and it is what Henry J wanted when he bought the company.
That said, as the recent reissues of maple basses such as the Novoselic RD, the Ripper II, Grabber II and the G-3 II show, maple basses are no longer a dirty word even for the new era Gibson USA company. That was different in the noughties and nineties.
I never subscribed to the opinion that the Norlin era was crap. And I notice in guitar mags a reappreciation for the guitar models from that era (Marauder, Sonex, L-6 etc) too. Not so long ago anything by Gibson that wasn't an LP or, to a lesser extent, an SG was dismissed, yet this month's issue of "Gitarre and Bass" drools about what an excellent guitar the L-6 was. 10 years ago you couldn't have gotten arrested with one, now all of the sudden it is pivotal for Santana's more adventurous work, circa Love, Devotion, Surrender.
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You said it. Norlin made its share of design and marketing mistakes but the guitars and basses weren't crap. They just strayed too far from tradition to suit their traditional fan base. Never mind that their traditional fan base at that time wasn't generating enough in sales.
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I always thought they had too much ADD...models would come and go...
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Yeah, but that is Gibson: Failure breeding creativity!
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between the Bi-centennial bird and the G-3, the public would have started playing Gibson basses if they were affordable and well made...But those models disappeared too soon.
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between the Bi-centennial bird and the G-3, the public would have started playing Gibson basses if they were affordable and well made...But those models disappeared too soon.
Wasn't the Bicentennial bird quite a bit more expensive than a Fender or Musicman back then?
IIRC the G3 was more competitively priced. Its problem was underpromotion and styling that didn't appeal to enough bassists.
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The Ripper/Grabber/G-3 fat-bottomed girl look aged quickly, I thought Grabbers already looked old-fashioned when Gene Simmons still played them. And the G-3 pups didn't exactly look confidence-inspiring around a time when Musicman introduced the largest bass pup ever with a battery.
The TBird never had mass appeal to bassists, too outlandish, not slap-inviting at a time when slapping began to become all the rage and with an inhibiting upper register (lack of) access. No bassist I knew wanted one in 1976, they wanted Jazz Basses, Stingrays or Alembics/Ibanez Musicians. Rics and TBirds were viewed as "hard rock bass guitars" a serious guy with chops (and a Stanley Clarke record at home) would not want to be seen with. I remember being at a shop and them actively talking me out of a 4001 and telling me to get some knock-off Alembic from Hoyer instead (and idiot I was I actually succumbed). Gibson basses were rare in shops and more often than not more expensive than any Fender, Stingray or Ric.
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I wanted a bi-centennial Bird but couldn't afford it and ended up with a Ripper instead ....... which I didn't like much in the long run :sad: and traded in on a Kramer B-350 .... A long chain of misses started off there. I blame the Amsterdam shop owner who had a bi-centennial hanging in his store for years and refused to give even the slightest discount ....... :mrgreen:
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I seem to remember a bi-centennial selling for approx. $900 back then...quite a bit more than a Fender.
I really liked the sound of the 76 bird.
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Hardly any Bicentennials made it to Germany back then, it was something you had to order for (and then wait for months on end). RDs were relatively - as far as Gibson basses can go - prevalent in the shops for a short window of time between 77 and 79. Someone must have had high hopes for them.
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Some RD's never made it out alive... :rolleyes:
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The TBird never had mass appeal to bassists, too outlandish, not slap-inviting at a time when slapping began to become all the rage and with an inhibiting upper register (lack of) access. No bassist I knew wanted one in 1976,
Hell, I bought one in 1976, so I guess there was one bass player that wanted one. :D I will admit it was on sale for half price ($400!) because it wasn't selling. I still have that one, the one in my avatar.
Back to the G3 reissue, I love the honey burst one. If I hadn't just bought a SS Thunderbird a few months ago I might be tempted to get one.
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The new Fat Bottom Girl is on it's way to me from Sweetwater, should see it next week.
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I bought my first Bird in '76 a fresh out of the box Bi-cent. I sadly sold it while I was in Boston in '86.
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I bought my first Bird in '76 a fresh out of the box Bi-cent. I sadly sold it while I was in Boston in '86.
Tom Scholz didn't dig it, huh? :P
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That would have been a perfect setting for ole Scott, Boston bass players do have a reputation of being kinda hot.
You know, there is a bass in that picture too:
(http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq143/Roadsong66/Kimberleyinconcert.jpg)
(http://www.fofitalia.altervista.org/fileup/public_upload/images/800px-Bostonedit.JPG)
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSMGfGXcg09PF0Zh_Oa9Zt4toswi7RLG-wW4bebCwC_lCeLptJa_w)
If we can step down a minute marvelling about the wonders of nature and how good she can be: Frau Kimberly Dahme is actually a new country guitarist/singer/songwriter who was seen at a club gig by Tom Scholz and hired as a bassist for the current line up for her, uhum, backing vocal skills. This is her with her own stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW9ZFDaOfwE
And you know what, while her looks and the novelty aspect of a female bass player in an up to then all male band like Boston surely can't have harmed, her voice is so beautiful (and not the typically high girlie range of many other recent female country pop female singers) that I actually would like to believe it was foremost her voice that got her the job. I'll order her CD now.
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Tom Scholz didn't dig it, huh? :P
Ha ha ha. While I lived in Boston. I did meet Bostons bass player Fran Sheehan while living there ;)
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(http://www2.gibson.com/Images/Products/Electric-Guitars/Bass/Gibson-USA/Grabber-3-70s-Tribute-Bass-/BAG70SHCH1-Finish-Shot-jpg.aspx?KeepThis=true&)
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Bass/Gibson-USA/Grabber-3-70s-Tribute-Bass.aspx?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Gibson%20Guitar%20Corp.&utm_content=Product+eBlast+9-6-12
"Grabber 3 '70s Tribute Bass
Following a tradition of great bass guitars that included the popular EB series, as played by Jack Bruce and others, Gibson thoroughly redesigned its take on the low end in the 1970s to address the increased power, punch and fidelity required by the rock, funk and pop music of the day. The result was the Grabber, an electric bass with superb playability and unprecedented cutting power. The new Grabber 3 ’70s Tribute Bass from Gibson USA recaptures the best qualities of the original version, produced from 1973 to 1975, but increases the overall quality and versatility with a glued-in neck for improved resonance and sustain, and three newly designed Gibson single-coil bass pickups wired for hum-canceling performance in all positions. From tonewoods, to pickups, to playing feel, the Grabber 3 ’70s Tribute Bass is engineered to make the most of your low-end requirements and remains as relevant today as it was when first released nearly 40 years ago. What’s more, the Grabber 3 ’70s Tribute Bass looks great in either grain-textured Satin Ebony Black or Satin Honey Burst finish, both in hand-sprayed nitrocellulose lacquer.
The foundation of the Grabber 3 ’70s Tribute Bass’s eviscerating punch is found in a departure from traditional Gibson tonewoods. The thin body is crafted from solid maple (Grade A beneath the burst finish, Grade C beneath the opaque) and carved in a double-cutaway shape with contoured edges reminiscent of the classic SG but also totally original as well. A glued-in Grade-A maple neck with a satin natural finished back is carved in a slim, fast profile that measures .820” at the 1st fret and .920” at the 12th. It is topped with a baked maple fingerboard that offers a rich brown appearance, enhanced tonal clarity, and excellent durability with easy playing access right up to the 20th fret thanks to the deep body cutaways. The headstock follows the “arrowhead” shape of the original Grabber, reminiscent of Gibson’s earlier Flying V guitar, and features four chunky Grover™ tuners with Shamrock keys. A PLEK-cut Corian™ nut, as well as Plek dressed frets insures maximum playability. Finally, optimum sustain and precise intonation are ensured by Gibson’s meaty three-point adjustable bass bridge, a sturdy design that provides an ultra-solid anchor at the body end.
With a solid tonal foundation assured, the Grabber 3 ’70s Tribute Bass rams it all home through three pickups of an entirely new design from Gibson USA. The G3 Bass pickups are single-coil units made with genuine Alnico V magnets for optimum clarity and cutting power, and impressive fidelity throughout the instrument’s frequency range. A clever wiring scheme through the simple array of a three-way switch and master volume and tone controls assures that these units—with a reverse-wound, reverse-polarity middle pickup—offer hum-canceling performance in all positions. The “switch up” position gives you the neck and middle pickups for a rich, woody tone. The middle position taps all three pickups for a round, funky tone. And with the switch down, the bridge and middle pickups offer a punchy, snappy sound. All together, this simple yet clever array gives the Grabber 3 ’70s Tribute Bass unexpected versatility and makes it the perfect choice for any style of contemporary music. Each bass comes protected in a plush-lined bag with black exterior and includes owner’s manual and adjustment literature, along with Gibson’s Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 customer service."
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"optimum sustain and precise intonation are ensured by Gibson’s meaty three-point adjustable bass bridge, a sturdy design that provides an ultra-solid anchor at the body end." Oh that's rich! LMFAO
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Fedex says Wednesday 9/12 for delivery, so I'll try to post some pics soon after - I think that bass looks killer in the pic BTW and am very excited to see it/play it. We have a rehearsal Saturday, it'll get some lovin' ;)
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(http://www2.gibson.com/Images/Products/Electric-Guitars/Bass/Gibson-USA/Grabber-3-70s-Tribute-Bass-/BAG70SHCH1-Finish-Shot-jpg.aspx?KeepThis=true&)
Looks beautiful in this photo!
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"optimum sustain and precise intonation are ensured by Gibson’s meaty three-point adjustable bass bridge, a sturdy design that provides an ultra-solid anchor at the body end." Oh that's rich! LMFAO
Funny, but still not as silly as Leo Quan claiming the Badass was made of "special tone transfer material."
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Funny, but still not as silly as Leo Quan claiming the Badass was made of "special tone transfer material."
AKA: Unobtanium? ???
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Plek-dressed frets - first bass of Gibson that has that I believe. 'Twas about time too, they've been doing for years on all their guitars.
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AKA: Unobtanium? ???
They'd probably like you to think that. It's really zinc alloy, nothing that's specially made for them.
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It's finally light enough here on the West Coast for a first shot of Uwe's new G-3.
I will write this up, but so far I think this is one killer bass!
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd306/veronicasteed/1347550770.jpg)
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It's finally light enough here on the West Coast for a first shot of Uwe's new G-3.
I will write this up, but so far I think this is one killer bass!
Sweet!
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Semenly, no DNA residues (yet) either. Bring on the black light!!! :mrgreen:
Thanks for breaking it in, Mark. We await your considered report - as always.
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It's cool!
Makes some serious bass :)
This is the first song I played on it.........Gotta love them Brits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr8pgN195Zw
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Congrats Uwe (and Mark).
Looks like a great bass.
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Apologies of this has been covered on this thread, but after thinking it looked like a Rosewood board, I've just read that is is a 'baked Maple' board.
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It's cool!
Makes some serious bass :)
This is the first song I played on it.........Gotta love them Brits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr8pgN195Zw
I didn't know you had a taste for Priest! Sin after Sin was the first album I heard from them. I remember reading in the New Musical Express (in its punk heyday) a scathing review of their then single "Diamonds and Rust" ("straight arrangement steal of Nazareth's equally incongruous cover of Joni Mitchell's This flight tonight, so bad, it's ample retribution for all the horrible things Joan Baez has done to Bob Dylan songs, produced by Roger Glover, makes you even long for Deep Purple, whose musical crimes are largely, if not forgiven then at least thankfully forgotten") and an ad in Melody Maker according to which Sounds (the third UK music weekly of the time) had called the album "music heavy enough to stop a Chieftain tank dead in its tracks". I became curious and listend to the album in a department store via those telephone style headphones they still used back then. First track on Sin after Sin is of course this here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s-cBPn31ys
and I was immediately smitten by the intro riffing and nearly creamed in my pants by the chorus. It was at this point indeed the best hard rock I had heard since Deep Purple. A lifelong affliction ensued. My ring tone on my cell is to this day "Breaking the Law" which among clients and colleagues alike is always good for a laugh.
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Baba O'Riley on mine...