Gibson IV Bass

[neepheid]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

I bought the IV being discussed here from Hutton a little less than a year ago, and seeing as they seem to get very little air time I thought I would share a little video of it being played last month.



It performed excellently, a joy to play both from the ergonomics point of view and the sound (which was amplified by a Hartke HA3500 head and projected (on stage at least) by a Zoot 4x10.  It was the clear and cut through beautifully on stage.

Unappreciated, underrated, overlooked, unloved?  Not here



Sorry Hutton, I keep nicking your photo.  Looks good with the rugged wall behind it though.

[Denis]

I think the IVs are really nice looking basses when they are natural mahogany like yours. The last one I saw on eBay was in excellent condition and had a BIN for $350. Wish I'd bought it. THere have been others but when painted they look odd to me.

[uwe]

I agree. The Gibson IV will never win a beauty contest, but the natural fin is the best combo with the "Fender larvae" unremarkable shape. And of course they sound great, feel nice, have a high E and probably have the best ergonomics of any Gibson bass. And not every Joe plays one either.

[neepheid]

I dunno, when I first thought of getting an IV it was a white one I was erring towards.  If you're going to do the 80s thing, you might as well go all in

[Barklessdog]

I think the IVs are really nice looking basses when they are natural mahogany like yours. The last one I saw on eBay was in excellent condition and had a BIN for $350. Wish I'd bought it. THere have been others but when painted they look odd to me.

Agreed, nice looking basses that never go up in value, always a bargin.

[Denis]

The offset dot inlays appeal to me too.

[exiledarchangel]

Nothing screams "80s" more than a pointy headstock!

[Dave W]

It's rounded like a Flying V, not pointy.

The Q-80 was pointy. Now that screams 80s.

[exiledarchangel]

I was reffering to that headstock that look out of place in that bass.

[Dave W]

It does look out of place. Your eyes expect to see it with a more symmetrical body.

[uwe]

That is because the body was originally intended to be more Gibsonish, but Henry J intervened. The designer of the IV, Phil Jones, would have opted for an LP doublecut body which he tried to introduce later on once more with the LP line of the early nienties. Again without success, Henry wanted the singlecut LP as the more iconic Gibson shape. In the end, all that remained Gibsonish of the IV was the headstock. Since it was a rushed job, no one got around to rectifying the glaringly apparent mismatch between headstock and body shape.