Ibanez is making a Les Paul bass

[Psycho Bass Guy]

http://www.ibanez.com/usa/news/f_products/2016/vintage/artcore-bass.php

If their discontinued budget basses that had the same pickups are any indication, it WILL be nice.

[ilan]

I like that finish a lot.

[Granny Gremlin]

Wow, yeah.  Short and long scale models (for some reason with diff bridges; the long looking like a low rent Badbird I), as well as a full hollowbody with a floater. .. no wait they both say 30", the one just has the stop bar further towards the butt.

Ibanez has a history of getting it right when Gibson doesn't.

[luve2fli]

Great looking bass. I can't for the life of me, however, understand why many manufacturers who build hollow and semi-hollow basses don't make them in a long-scale version.

[nofi]

maybe they can't get beyond the eb2 mindset. i don't understand it either.

[Granny Gremlin]

Hush now; it's better for me this way (though I coulda swore that I recall being distinctly frustrated by most modern hollowbodies that caught my eye being long scale; coulda swore that the original Artcores 10 years ago were but I can find no evidence of that now).

[dadagoboi]

Longscale...of course now discontinued.  Washburn Stu Hamm:



Before I messed with it:



Back on topic: Ibanez knows what they're doing, from a bridge that will actually intonate and not pull out to the right gauge strings.  Unfortunately the relic job is unconvincing, looks like cheap furniture antiquing .

[slinkp]

Yeah i wish there was a clean shiny version, or at least the relicing was more subtle.

[Granny Gremlin]

They have clean shiny in solid colours, just not this trans tobacco burst.  This cherry burst is a'ight:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ibanez-AFB200SRD-Artcore-Bass-Sunset-Red-SNS13101280-/172023552822?hash=item280d671b36:g:W4IAAOSwyQtVr8l0

And they also have this "violin burst" which may be closer to what you are looking for:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ibanez-AGB200-Artcore-Series-Bass-Guitar-violin-burst-finish-NEW-/121944860001?hash=item1c647ae561:g:34wAAOSwQgpXAbhE

[Pilgrim]

I really like that, although I agree the finish looks like 1980's fake rustic furniture.  Short scale, nice color, I could easily get to know one of those.

Gibson doesn't seem to have these kinds of inspirations,  and certainly not at that kind of price point.

[Alanko]

I like that the knobs get their own mention.

[Dave W]

The clean shiny versions seem to be discontinued. These rustic models are the only current ones on the website.

A short scale 5 string? Thumbs down.

But I have to give Ibanez credit. At least they're making basses in Gibson style, which is more than you can say for Gibson.

[Granny Gremlin]

LOL, I didn't even notice the fifth string; was so fixated on the scale length and bridge.

Dealers and distributors will still have a tonne of the shiny clean ones for a while yet.  One local chain has at least 2 of them last time I swung by, and we're a relative backwater when it comes to the instrument distribution network.

[ilan]

I can't for the life of me, however, understand why many manufacturers who build hollow and semi-hollow basses don't make them in a long-scale version.

Most hollowbodies and semi-hollow have the bridge further up the body, with a separate tailpiece and some string afterlength between them. So with a long scale neck, the overall length of the bass is longer than a Fender-style solidbody, and when the bass is worn on a strap, the lower frets feel more distant (they actually are). Also with many hollowbody designs the upper horn is not long enough to locate the strap button over the 12th fret to balance the bass and avoid neck dive. I have a long scale hollowbody (Gretsch 6070) and it's uncomfortable to play standing up, it feels like a super-long scale, and neck dive is an added bonus.

With a 30" scale hollowbody the nut is where your left hand expects it to be on a 34" solid-body. So switching is easy. It's easier than switching between a solid-body short scale (e.g. Mustang) and long scale.

[Chris P.]

Ibanez had those Artcore basses for a long time. A more Gibson-ish hollow one and a Gretsch-ish one. Now they make 'm 'reliced'.

I saw those basses in real life and they are very affordable. The more expensive relics look fake but those cheaper ones look realy cool. In my opinion it looks more like they were made from old wooden crates or whisky barrels, tha a 'normal' relic.