The DC Jr is no longer in production.

morrow · December 12, 2022, 01:52:33 PM

It's still on the website but apparently those that have recently tried to order one have been told it's no longer in production.
I've been half expecting it for a while , but I'm sad to see it go.
They're great little basses.

Ken · December 12, 2022, 01:56:15 PM

That's too bad. People really seem to like them. Have you seen what the 2023 production run looks like? Still hoping for another left-handed Thunderbird run.

westen44 · December 12, 2022, 02:52:11 PM

I was also hoping that wouldn't happen. I had even been thinking about getting a second one. Now if you really want one you can buy a used one for as much or more than they were new. There's always that. $:-\$

slinkp · December 12, 2022, 03:19:32 PM

Rats. I like those, glad I got one when I did!

I had a wacky idea to have mine hot-rodded with a bridge pickup. That's the one thing I occasionally miss from playing my LPB-1... I am mostly a neck pickup guy, but maybe about 25% of the time it just works better for me to have that different midrange tone that two pickups give you.

I have a terrible completion rate on project ideas though. Forget I said anything

morrow · December 12, 2022, 04:36:37 PM

Mine became a favourite bass to play. I normally put flats on most basses , but I loved the factory strings and I've continued putting BriteWires on it. I have a couple of sets tucked away for future use.
I simply loved the light weight , even balance, great sound , and comfortable feel. It hit a lot of my buttons.

They're great little basses.

uwe · December 12, 2022, 05:20:47 PM

Sad to see it go, it had a nuanced sound and recorded well. But TBird and SG Bass just continue to be the mainstays of Gibson bass production - anything else no matter how good or different doesn't survive because the market reception and demand isn't there. If people want to play a Gibson bass, they want to play a TBird or an SG shape bass, the two most popular iconic bass forms of Gibson not relegated to a genres (like Flying V and Explorer which are forever identified with harder music) or burdened with a popular guitar image (like the Les Paul shape).

But OTOH Fender live with/from two bass models as well and Rickenbacker with/from just one. Does anybody buy EBMM Bongos anymore?

morrow · December 12, 2022, 05:30:56 PM

The Bongo is still produced , and has been going since 03.
I am a little miffed they discontinued the Big Al though.

uwe · December 12, 2022, 07:35:38 PM

I loved the look of that bass, but it had "niche product" written all over it from day one.

Dave W · December 12, 2022, 10:53:49 PM

I really disliked the one I tried, but just about everyone else seemed to like or love theirs. Sad to see it go, but it's Gibson. Can't expect it to stay. Hopefully they have something else in the pipeline.

uwe · December 13, 2022, 03:29:52 AM

You can't blame Gibson for fading out production of a model that doesn't sell in meaningful quantities over a period of what was it again, five years or so? That's not throwing things against the wall to see what sticks.

Gibson is a vintage brand and anybody buying a Gibson product doesn't primarily want the newest groundbreaking, hot shot model of a bass, but a piece of history. And that history is for better or worse defined by the TBird and the SG type basses which overshadow anything else, the two models covering qite a bit of differentiated ground between them, a long scale and a short scale, a neck-thru and a set neck. There might be a room for another model, but for some reason Les Paul shape basses (whether single or double cut, short or long scale) have never proved to be consistent sellers.

But is there really a short scale bass anywhere that sells better than the SG shape basses by Gibson and Epiphone? And likewise a bass with a "strange" (angular and non-symmetric) shape like the TBird that has sold better during the last 35 years?

Grog · December 13, 2022, 07:38:14 AM

It"s been a great bass for me & was a good platform to modify, (affordable). I still play it slightly more than my Hobbit. Sad to see it go.......

westen44 · December 13, 2022, 08:21:12 AM

He mentions the growl that the bass can get under the right conditions. I agree. That's one of the most appealing things to me about the DC Jr.

slinkp · December 13, 2022, 10:46:37 AM

Quote from: uwe on December 13, 2022, 03:29:52 AM
But is there really a short scale bass anywhere that sells better than the SG shape basses by Gibson and Epiphone?

If Reverb's best seller list of 2022 is at all representative, then yes, Mustangs sell very well.
https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2022/11/10/reverb-releases-list-of-best-selling-basses-of-2022/

The $800 USD mustang model tied for #3, pretty impressive.

No Gibsons or Epiphones made the top 20 at all. I guess we really are a cult of weirdos on this forum!

I don't know all these instruments and didn't bother to google them, but the other shorties I noticed on the list were mostly low budget models, some at the lowest entry level - not surprising, a $200 shortie is a good starter for a kid with small hands just starting out. For example the Squier Bronco and Ibanez Gio Mikro.

The Gretsch Junior Jet that tied for #3 isn't bottom of the barrel at $299 but it definitely qualifies as inexpensive.
I was surprised to see it that high up the list.

Also noticed the Hofner Ignition Pro Violin Bass ... all these decades later, the "Beatle bass" still has appeal I guess!

morrow · December 13, 2022, 01:27:25 PM

Those little Gretsch basses have quite the following. The Nordstrand Acinonyx has one too. As do the G&L Fallout these days.
There's more short scale offerings than ever before.
I'm a big Dano fan , I'm not quite sure just how that came about , but I'm ok with it,

Dave W · December 13, 2022, 11:23:26 PM

Quote from: slinkp on December 13, 2022, 10:46:37 AM
If Reverb's best seller list of 2022 is at all representative, then yes, Mustangs sell very well.
https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2022/11/10/reverb-releases-list-of-best-selling-basses-of-2022/

The $800 USD mustang model tied for #3, pretty impressive.

No Gibsons or Epiphones made the top 20 at all. I guess we really are a cult of weirdos on this forum!

I don't know all these instruments and didn't bother to google them, but the other shorties I noticed on the list were mostly low budget models, some at the lowest entry level - not surprising, a $200 shortie is a good starter for a kid with small hands just starting out. For example the Squier Bronco and Ibanez Gio Mikro.

The Gretsch Junior Jet that tied for #3 isn't bottom of the barrel at $299 but it definitely qualifies as inexpensive.
I was surprised to see it that high up the list.

Also noticed the Hofner Ignition Pro Violin Bass ... all these decades later, the "Beatle bass" still has appeal I guess!

Only three American made basses on that list. If there were a list of American made bass sales, the DC Junior might well appear.