2018 Gibson basses. New basses, new topic :)

[Grog]

Chad had two Kalamazoo basses when I stopped in about a month ago. Last Saturday I stopped in again after having coffee next door, both were sold. Surprised me that he moved those so quickly.

I haven't stopped by Chad's for a few years. I'm trying not to buy any more guitars. (I've added two to the heard without even leaving the house!) I traded up my Les Paul Signature bass years ago at Chad's also. I bought my first one from Jim Harms. Chad had two of them in his shop, one with a neck repair if I recall correctly & the one I still have. He had three go through his store at the same time. My guess is that he's never had another one. He also ended up with another nice RD Artist bass just like mine shortly after I bought the one I still have......... He had a Les Paul Personal come & go, I never had a chance to check it out.

[gearHed289]

The RD will probably be the full 1 3/4" like the originals and just as heavy.

Wow, I've never played one and assumed they were thin like a T-bird. My Fenderbird is 1 3/4'' thick and very heavy. Makes for perfect balance though.

[Granny Gremlin]

Color me intrigued,    they may have a winner with this one.  Seems like a (somewhat at least) faithfull update of the Old RD Artist.   I look forward to hearing how it sounds.

I'm pleasantly surprised.  I'm not entirely sure it is 100% "Artist" (speaking as an owner of a '79 RD Artist), but it's no "Standard" either.  I guess it's more "Artist" than "Standard" and that's more than I expected.  Colour me intrigued (but because I have one of the originals, it won't be high on my shopping list)

Agreed - it's active with cut/boost bass and treble controls (with the addition of 'parametric' knob whihc must be a frequency sweep); not bad.  It would be unreasonable to expect the effects mode but I am surprised there's no bright mode (though I doubt that was popular - I certainly don't use it on my vintage one) cuz that woulda been easy. 

I saw a couple complaints on facebook about the rosewood fingerboards, but I think they look good. I never liked the "all blond" look of the natural ones with maple boards, so that's an improvement to me. And I like the way it contrasts against the black versus an ebony board. With all that maple, I think rosewood is a good choice. Still don't like those "Grover" tuners they've been using. They stick out too far.

Vintage ones were maple/natural and rosewood for all all other colours as you are aware so this is legit IMHO. ... also a bit biased cuz I hate laquered maple boards. 

The only thing I am not hot about is the pickups (big so even replacing them is a pain).  Not a fan of the bridge but that's easy to swap out for a 3 point.

[veebass]

Wow, I've never played one and assumed they were thin like a T-bird. My Fenderbird is 1 3/4'' thick and very heavy. Makes for perfect balance though.

Yes they balance pretty well.

[doombass]

Vintage ones were maple/natural and rosewood for all all other colours as you are aware so this is legit IMHO. ...

The vintage black and burst models had ebony fretboards just like the Rippers. That said I think rosewood is ok.

[Granny Gremlin]

The vintage black and burst models had ebony fretboards just like the Rippers. That said I think rosewood is ok.

Right... I guess I always conflate the two cause they're both dark hardwoods that are used unlaquerred (except in the case of Rics for some crazy reason).  Maple was always the other end of the spectrum, that I avoided.

I was so happy when I scored my ebony (fin, and board, now that I am corrected) RD Artist a decade ago.  Didn't come cheap, but I certainly couldn't afford one now (vintage or new).

[Highlander]

... also a bit biased cuz I hate laquered maple boards...

My all maple RD's neck is most certainly not lacquered...

[Granny Gremlin]

The ones I've seen were (as were all other maple boards I have ever seen.... with the sole exception of the maple board on the random free project bass I was recently gifted - feels completely free of finish - not even any oil... possibly stripped prior to being refretted, I dunno).

If not lacquered it goes grey.  Look at a pic of a well used 50s/early 60s maple board Tele. 

[doombass]

I was so happy when I scored my ebony (fin, and board, now that I am corrected) RD Artist a decade ago.  Didn't come cheap, but I certainly couldn't afford one now (vintage or new).

That's cool because I got hold of my ebony/ebony also about a decade ago at a really good price.

[Dave W]

Newer maple board Fenders with thin polyurethane or polyester finishes don't go gray like the old nitro finishes that just wear away. Unless you "relic" them trying to obtain a filthy look .

[Highlander]

Mind you, mine's bare wood and fretless...

[veebass]

My all maple Natural RD Artist has a lacquered maple board. The lacquer is certainly thinner than that on the rest of the bass, but it is lacquered. Similar to a 50s P Bass. I believe it to be original.
My RD Standard is an original black one and the board is ebony and it appears unlacquered.

[Highlander]

Mine was once... just not now...

[Rob]

Mine was once... just not now...

An instigator 

[Granny Gremlin]

Newer maple board Fenders with thin polyurethane or polyester finishes don't go gray like the old nitro finishes that just wear away. Unless you "relic" them trying to obtain a filthy look .

Any finish will wear away with enough finger vibratro (or just bending) and roundwounds - just a matter of (more) time with more modern finishes, but yeah, when I say laquerred I meant to include poly finishes in that.  The point is they don't leave maple fingerboards naked , or at least it is very uncommon to find.