New Doublecut Junior Tribute Bass update

[Dave W]

I played two of them in the Netherlands, yesterday. Fresh in at the Gibson HQ. I like them very much. Of course I'll come back on it.

Local independent store has one in, I haven't gone over there to try it yet. I won't be buying any new Gibsons, though.

They are starting to pop up used here in the U.S. and the average price at big box stores (Sam Ash/GC) seems to be $699...quite tempting.

Interesting, I looked both of those up. Pretty hefty discount from new.

Replace the pickup cover, and it's nearly unbeatable.

That's a Thunderbird cover but the pickup in these isn't a Thunderbird pickup, it's a DeCola EB Bass neck pickup mounted upside down. I don't know if the dimensions are the same.

[ajkula66]

That's a Thunderbird cover but the pickup in these isn't a Thunderbird pickup, it's a DeCola EB Bass neck pickup mounted upside down. I don't know if the dimensions are the same.

Someone on TB installed a chrome cover on one of these. I believe that very bass is on Reverb now.

https://reverb.com/item/26765604-gibson-les-paul-junior-tribute-dc-bass-2019

[amptech]

That's a Thunderbird cover but the pickup in these isn't a Thunderbird pickup, it's a DeCola EB Bass neck pickup mounted upside down. I don't know if the dimensions are the same.

I have a DeCola EB pup with an open winding somewhere. I can check if it fits a T cover.

[Chris P.]

A short review:

The bass looks and feels good. Gloss finish, open pore body, but the neck is smooth cos of the maple. I tried two. One had a two piece mahogany body and another was three piece. Not a problem, but just somethin I noticed.

Weight is okay. Not as light as an SG and not really heavy. It feels more robust than a normal short scale or an SG. Mustangs can feel a bit toy-ish to us bassists. balance is good due to the ultralight tuners, with classic clover buttons. The headstock is nice with just a black bell shape TRC and 'Les Paul Model' and Gibson on it. The three point is back. At the showroom was an SG Bass with the Babicz and it is just to big and modern. The new pickguard gives it a '70s ish cool look. A bit less friendly and more rock.

I like the neck, narrow, rounded. C. Nice!

I think a part of the succes of the JCS is that Fender players feel at home easily. Long scale, middle pickup. An SG or Rivoli/EB2 and especially a Tbird can be too strange for a Fender player. I know several people buying a Bird and selling it soon afterwards because it just feels Different. The DC feels 'normal' and I think this will be a part of the succes of the DC too. It feels more Fender'-ish because of the middle pickup and weight and dimensions don't make it too small.

With The SG Bass I always had both pickups open. Playing at the neck makes it warm and round and at the bridge almost Fender-ish. This DC has more one sound but a good one! A bit as you expect from a middle puckup in that bass. Mid heavy - middle pickup and maple neck - a good growly rock tone. The notes are very even sounding weith the typical attack and decay of a set neck. Less attack, so smooth, even tones. Not as round as an SG bass. A little bit less 'character' maybe, but also easier in a band. It has enough warmth. The second bass I tried had the pickup higher and it was warmer. So you can experiment. So definately no Fender sound. Warmer, wider, but still enough power to push through a mix.

Than the push/pull, which is a coil tap. In normal down position it's the mid heavy rock sound I just wrote about. Up, you use the whole humbucker and it's much warmer. Warm, open, wide, but never muddy. Same character as the down position, but you get warmt, width and low added. I think it will sound cool with acoustic guitars. In a rock band you might push the button down for a bit more push.
Tone down make it all a bit duller. Normally I like to use a good tone control, but with the push/pull you got enough sounds.

Of course it plays like a short scale, but the bass feels massive enough not to be a toy. I don't thinks it sounds really short scale, until you reach higher notes and you get that full, big sound only a short can gove you at the D and G. Love that. So it has the advantages of a short without any disadvantages.


Gibson has a matte 2015 sunburst SG bass, which they lended to artists. It's a bit 'relic' after five hard years. I might buy that, cos they offered it to me for a good price and I love the matte burst on the SG Bass. But what if I had to chose between DC or SG?

For me it's a money issue too, so I think of buying the SG. I had a red one, sold it and miss it. The SG is more Gibson. I have enough basses to cover rock sounds, so I'll get the SG for the warm SG sound. Would I still be playing with a rock band regularly, I would def. buy the DC. A great little bass!

I repeat myself, but I think it's a Fender-playuer-friendly model, which can make it a winner.

[Basvarken]

Someone on TB installed a chrome cover on one of these. I believe that very bass is on Reverb now.

https://reverb.com/item/26765604-gibson-les-paul-junior-tribute-dc-bass-2019

I don't think I like the mixed hardware.
The tuners look yellowish, so I think they're nickel plated.
The pickup cover looks like artificially aged nickel.
And the bridge is chrome with the typical blue hue.

[slinkp]

I finally got to play one of these in a Guitar Center yesterday (14th st in Manhattan, NY).  It was priced at $999 US.
I spent about 20 minutes with it.

Impressions:
Balance was good sitting down. There wasn't a strap handy so I didn't try standing up.

It felt fairly comfy to play. The neck is not skinny, I thought it was pretty round, definitely feels more "classic gibson" than "modern" or "fender".
I play some pretty thick necks, but I might have actually liked this one better with a slightly thinner neck. For whatever reason,  I thought it was a bit chunky when combined with the small, lightweight body and short scale.  If you want a shorty that definitely doesn't feel like a toy though, this might be good.

The sound was fine and I'm sure I could work with it. I'm not familiar with the amp it was plugged into (some modern Ampeg model I've never tried before).  I think I'd need to play it through my own amp to really judge it properly.
I liked it in both push-pull positions, though the thinner (pulled) setting was maybe a little too bland for my taste. I liked the default setting better, more bark in the mids.
Would have sounded better through a growlier amp, I thought.
Tons of substantial low end. Treble is there too if you boost it on the amp.
I would like to hear it in a (rock) band context.

Last time I played a Gibson short scale, it was an EB-0. I found that on the doublecut, I missed the contoured edges of the EB which I always found very comfy. This has quite sharp edges, and to me that just feels less friendly.

The biggest problem was that it badly needed a setup. I could see there was a bit too much relief in the neck and the bridge was set quite high, with plenty of room to lower it, so the action was much higher than it needed to be. The intonation wasn't quite right either.

Overall it's a pretty nice instrument. It did not send me "MUST TAKE THIS HOME NOW" signals, but I could definitely play one and enjoy it.
I'm slightly disappointed though, I had been really wanting to try one of these since they came out, and I had daydreamed that it would be perfect for me.
I think I had thought it would feel like the EB but with a sound that suits me better. It definitely has a sound that suits me better, but somehow didn't blow me away, and definitely doesn't feel as comfy. I'm sure it's perfect for somebody though.

[patman]

Why don't they offer a case?

Every time I use a gig bag, some part of the guitar gets destroyed...usually a pot gets sheared off.

The available bag is pretty sad, and not up to gigging. Otherwise it looks like a bass I could love.

[westen44]

Why don't they offer a case?

Every time I use a gig bag, some part of the guitar gets destroyed...usually a pot gets sheared off.

The available bag is pretty sad, and not up to gigging. Otherwise it looks like a bass I could love.

The same question could be asked for a lot of basses now.  The days are long gone, for the most part, when you would get a case included even for a cheap bass.  Unless it's a bass that I really don't much care about at all, I've got to find a way to get a case (usually not a gig bag) one way or another. 

[patman]

I would be happy to pay an extra $100 for a case option, instead of gig bag

[westen44]

I would be happy to pay an extra $100 for a case option, instead of gig bag

Oh, definitely.  It would be well worth it. 

[Dave W]

It's too bad that they don't have a form-fitting case available at all.

[ajkula66]

It's too bad that they don't have a form-fitting case available at all.

My understanding is that these fit in most generic Les Paul cases...

[Ken]

I bet the old Incase Tour Bags would be great soft cases for these. I used one for my Carvin LB20, but not much else fits in it. Should be excellent for short/medium scales. If anyone in the NYC area is interested in one, I'd definitely be willing to part with mine. It's in great condition.

[Chris P.]

About the bass. I like it. I think it's a Gibson bass which Fender bassists can like. Like the JCS. The JCS is long scale, middle pickup and a modern P kinda neck. It's easy to change from P to JCS.

The same with the DC. Middle pickup, familiar neck, and it feels different than a SG Bass. I think this bass can be populair in bass world. I know quite some guys who bought a Tbird and sold it again cos they couldn't get used to it. It's easy to get used to a DC. So a winner, imho. The Gibson style, look and sound in away every bassist feels familiar.

I'm used to Gibson so I tried the DC and came home with an SG, but that's because I love the strangeness of Gibson basses. I can imagine a Fender style player hating the SG and loving the DC.

[Dave W]

My understanding is that these fit in most generic Les Paul cases...

The neck is longer, by roughly 2 1/2 inches. Do generic LP cases have that much extra room at the headstock end?