Mod Collection restock: NR 8-string in Octane Sparkle

[ilan]

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Electric-Bass/MOD-RAM021182/Octane-Sparkle

Weirdass Wednesday special. $4K will get you both a 3-point bridge AND a bar tailpiece. The "Octane Sparkle" looks like Pelham turquoise with glittery bits. The whole thing has a strong surf vibe.

[Ken]

Interesting way to anchor the other four strings.

[ilan]

Interesting way to anchor the other four strings.

They could have gone this way:

[Basvarken]

It will never intonate properly. No individual saddle per string.
And both strings have to go though the same anchor slot, which is a bad idea really.

[TBird1958]

Yet, I like it, be still my wallet!

[uwe]

It will never intonate properly. No individual saddle per string.
And both strings have to go though the same anchor slot, which is a bad idea really.

If you play it like Tom Petersson (i.e. as a sub-low rhythm guitar), you're never ever even gonna get near a higher fret where intonation might become an issue. And if truth be told, a lot of stock 8- and 12-strings don't have a second set of saddles for the octave strings though it's undoubtedly not optimal and could/should be done better. Alas!, not everyone is a Dutch luthier, that is a nearly impossible standard to attain.

I do like the look though. Something daring and original for once.

[ilan]

Did Gibson ever offer an 8-string bass?

[Dave W]

Well, that's different! I do like the color. Looks closer to turquoise than Pelham to my eyes.

At that price, one ought to expect better intonation.

[Basvarken]

Neck dive will be epic by the way. 8 bass regular bass tuners instead of 4 lightweight bass tuners and 4 smaller guitar size tuners.

[BTL]

I reached out to Gibson's Customer Service team to offer a better bridge option for future builds. If somebody has a better contact, I'll be happy to take it.

If you don't already know, Lowe Custom Guitars manufactures the only currently available 8-string bass bridge that offers intonation and height adjustment for each individual string.

https://reverb.com/item/67600748-lowe-custom-guitars-8-string-bass-guitar-bridge-chrome

[Basvarken]

They should have used your bridge Brad.
Get in touch with Jim DeCola, head luthier at Gibson.
He's at Facebook / Instagram.

[ilan]

Neck dive will be epic

Not many bass designs can handle an 8 tuner headstock without significant neck dive. Small Hofner-like tuners could help, and a body with an extended upper horn. Or the BC Rich trick with four of the tuners at the body end.

[Basvarken]

That is a matter of using the right tuners. There are plenty lightweight tuners on the market.

I have built several 12-string bass guitars. And none of them suffer neck dive.
I use Gotoh Res-o-lite bass tuners. And Gotoh Stealth tuners for the octaves.

Because I kept getting comments from people who were sure my twelve strings bass builds would be one big neck dive fest, I did a little slap-stick in one of my demo videos:

[Chris P.]

Did Gibson ever offer an 8-string bass?

Uwe has one. Great Story. Uwe?

[uwe]

Did Gibson ever offer an 8-string bass?

A custom-modified active Les Paul Standard Bass for TM Stevens - it found its way to an unknown German former köllectör.