Fretless 1977 maple RD Artist... a factory fretless...? Greedbay...

[Highlander]

This has taken me by surprise... silly money, imho... but if this is original...? BIN, not bid...
Vaguely remember this being discussed but never seen a photo, let alone one for sale...
An extra switch is present near the pots and an odd "mark" on the body is reflections of the keyboard below...
The add is avoiding the "factory" word and throwing fretless in the same sentence...
Looks quite minty...

Fretless RD Artist on Greedbay... UK seller

[Granny Gremlin]

A pic of the side of the fretboard might help - as is, that one pic looking down the neck makes the fretboard look thicker than Gibson used... but maybe they did that for the fretless, or shadows.

The fact of the matter is that the minitoggle is not factory so the price is insane on that basis.  That's more than a minty rare CMT burst.

[doombass]

Yes, I saw that one a few days ago. If you zoom and look at the fretboard where it sits on the body you can see there's a maple shim under the fretboard where it extends beyond the original length. I'd say that bass did'nt leave the Gibson factory that way.

[uwe]

A pic of the side of the fretboard might help - as is, that one pic looking down the neck makes the fretboard look thicker than Gibson used... but maybe they did that for the fretless, or shadows.

The fact of the matter is that the minitoggle is not factory so the price is insane on that basis.  That's more than a minty rare CMT burst.

I think it's very likely legit, fretless RDs from the factory weren't that rare to begin with. Even the earliest prototypes were fretless in part, possibly a nod to fusion bassist Ralphe Armstrong who endorsed the model.

I'd be forgiving about the mini toggle. It probably does what Gibson finally did from the 1979 RDs onwards via replacement of one of the larger toggles by two mini toggles enabling the player to use both the treble boost mode AND the compression/expansion mode simultaneously (the '77 & '78 models didn't have that option yet). So the mod is in line with where the bass' development was going anyway (I wouldn't even rule out that it was a custom request together with the fretless option). Though it escapes me why anyone would want to listen to that godawfully brittle-sounding combo of bright and expansion mode for more than a few seconds, it's THAT painful and artificial! 

[Ken]

I think it's very likely legit, fretless RDs from the factory weren't that rare to begin with.

I'd be forgiving about the mini toggle. It probably does what Gibson finally did from the 1979 RDs onwards via replacement of one of the larger toggles by two mini toggles enabling the player to use both the treble boost mode AND the compression/expansion mode simultaneously. So the mod is in line with where the bass' development was going anyway. Though it escapes me why anyone would want to listen to that godawfully brittle-sounding combo of bright and expansion mode for more than a few seconds, it's that painful! 

If you're looking to cut through a mix, I bet it does a pretty good job!

[uwe]

At the expense of decent bass frequencies!

[Granny Gremlin]

I think it's very likely legit, fretless RDs from the factory weren't that rare to begin with. Even the earliest prototypes were fretless in part, possibly a nod to fusion bassist Ralphe Armstrong who endorsed the model.

I'd be forgiving about the mini toggle. It probably does what Gibson finally did from the 1979 RDs onwards via replacement of one of the larger toggles by two mini toggles enabling the player to use both the treble boost mode AND the compression/expansion mode simultaneously (the '77 & '78 models didn't have that option yet). So the mod is in line with where the bass' development was going anyway (I wouldn't even rule out that it was a custom request together with the fretless option). Though it escapes me why anyone would want to listen to that godawfully brittle-sounding combo of bright and expansion mode for more than a few seconds, it's THAT painful and artificial! 

Yeah - like I said it could be factory fretless; just not enuf info to be sure.  Even if it is the price is insane.  And no I won't just forgive that minitoggle; nobody should.  If it is factory (fat chance says I) then still the price is stupid. Either way someone had to hack the Moog PCB to put it in there and that's a reliability issue, factory or no. Nevermind the permanent hole in the wood. 

There's just no way that should be more than 1.8k euro.  Like literally half the given ask.

[Highlander]

... If you zoom and look at the fretboard where it sits on the body you can see there's a maple shim under the fretboard where it extends beyond the original length. I'd say that bass didn't leave the Gibson factory that way...

Busted...

[uwe]

Zats a bingo!!!

I have a Ripper where the same thing was done!