I still believe ...

[uwe]

I have to agree with Uwe on this and admit that I am one of the guilty party. I have used (mainly) my Jazz bass for 30 years now. It wasn't until I became aware of Allen Woody that I even questioned why anyone played a Gibson bass. Even though I knew Jack Bruce and Andy Fraser were EB players I think I had read media comments to the effect that they only used them because they were little guys with  short fingers. I had tried Grabbers and Rippers in shops that were not setup at all and they felt awful. Then I got to borrow a mates Victory. 

That was it, I was convinced that Gibson might make great Les Pauls but they had no idea how to make a bass. And thats how it stayed for years.

Then I was introduced to Govt Mule and instantly I was blown away by the sound that the bassist was getting. It was deeper richer and mostly more organic sounding but with massive amounts of tone drenched power and I wasn't able to emulate it. With my Jazz which is modified quite a bit I can cover most  (or what I considered to be then) sounds reasonably well. Listening to Allen Woody on the Live at the Roseland Ballroom album opened up a whole new world of bass sounds that not only were interesting but it was like opening the door to a candy shop after hours for a kid.

I love the bottom end that Gibsons have that Fenders dont. I love the sound of the wood that Gibsons have that seems less apparent on a P or Jazz.

I have learned with much enthusiasm how damn good a Thunderbird with TB plus pups can sound through an Ampeg. Man, What a sound!

I Love the sound and feel of my Allen Woody sig bass and I still dont understand why Uwe switched out the Woody/Farmer designed pups for the TV Jones. Mind you, I haven't heard Uwe's AW bass either.

And finally the bassist who must be mentioned for having a Mudbucker installed in his Fender Jazz bass to get THAT sound is Mel Schacher.  He obviously felt the need to be taken as a serious bass player but still wanted real bottom end

But notice that Mel had the mudbucker quite a bit to the rear, he was hedging his bets!

[Rocker949]

I suppose some people might consider this indoctrination, but I have always had a preference for Gibson because my father was a guitarist who was convinced Gibson was the best.  As Uwe has stated, the bias against Gibson often doesn't exist with guitarists.  This was the way it was with my father and it's certainly that way with my best friend who is a guitarist totally devoted to Gibson.  My main bass through the years has been a 64 EB-O.  I'd gladly post pics if I had a camera that was working.  I'd say the EB-O is probably at the bottom of the totem poll when it comes to Gibsons, and it's true I would have preferred an EB-3 at least.  Be that as it may, it has reached the point that it's hard to imagine playing anything else but the EB-O now.  Once when I was a teenager, I had a gig in which for some reason I couldn't use the EB-O.  I ended up having to borrow a Fender at the last moment.  That was the most unpleasant gig I've ever played.  It was like trying to play a railroad track with strings.  Since that time, I've not been too fond of Fenders.  However, in 2006 I found myself in another situation in which I couldn't use my Gibson.  I had to make an emergency purchase and got a Fender jazz copy to play several gigs with.  Those gigs ended up being some of the most memorable gigs of my life.  At the last one, a drummer from another band even referred to my "Fender," and this was so bizarre to me having someone call my bass a Fender.  But that Fender copy did fine and by that time I was even used to the wide Fender necks; so that wasn't a problem, either.  Nevertheless, I still prefer Gibson.  My preference would probably be an LP or maybe even a T-Bird.  But neck and back problems make having one of those impractical.  I think the LP is probably the most beautiful bass on earth.  I am mystified when people say that people playing them are only bassists who want to be guitarists; that is such an uninformed statement to make.  Even though I'm not an LP owner, hearing such a statement applied to me personally would definitely not go over well. 

[Basvarken]

I have never had an affection for Fender P or J basses. They were never an option when I bought a bass guitar in the past. I chose Ibanez and Music Man basses. Of course I knew of Gibson basses, because of people like Andy Fraser and Pete Way. But I used to think their sound was created with their amps rather than basses...
I must admit I only "discovered" Gibson basses in the mid nineties when I saw Cry Of Love bass player Robert Kearns using a Gibson Triumph.
His sound -using two Ampeg SVT stacks- was so incredibly good, I decided there and then that I needed a Triumph too.

When I finally found my first Gibson Bass, the Les Paul Bass I started to search for more information on the Internet. So I stumbled upon the Dudepit. This was back in the days when Uwe only had a few (!)
A whole new world was opening. I found out I wasn't the only one who couldn't care less for a Fender P or J.

I don't consider myself a real Gibson fan. I'm more of a Gibson Lo-Z bass fan I guess.
But I do have a huge sympathy for a brand that released so many different models of which only two (and a half?) were really successful.


As for bass players / guitarists; they often think all Gibson basses are shortscale. And they all sound muddy. And they're all too heavy. And they're all neck divers. And the headstock snaps if you point at it (some if you look too intense).



I still don't understand why the Les Paul Bass isn't more popular. It is really the best sounding bass that I've ever heard. And it plays like butter.
Guess I'm headstrong about such things...

[thijs]

I still don't understand why the Les Paul Bass isn't more popular. It is really the best sounding bass that I've ever heard. And it plays like butter.

There's a lot to say and talk about the brands... In fact, these forums run on that fuell...
However, the proof of the pudding is eating it. I own (and owned) several different brands. Sometimes my heart went over to Gibson for a while (Triumph, no EB3), hardly to Rick. But mostly to Fender. Those are rockers. My J' 72 is the nicest thing I ever, ever played. It's like a dream, light and fast, always in balance. My Friend. Not tiny on the D and G. It suits me and my band the most.

That's my believe... I believe...

[808]

I picked a Ripper as my first bass back when I started to learn the instrument - black, worn, love at first sight. Added an (equally well used) EB-3 a couple of years later. Maybe the Ripper corrupted me somehow, but ever since all the Fenders I played, and I do own a few myself by now, have sounded 'wrong' somehow. Not lifeless, not dull, but different enough to make me long for one of my Gibsons after a couple of minutes. I keep on trying to like the Jazz, because its design appeals to me, and because the fretless I have is a pretty cool bass in its own right, but its an uphill battle. One that Fender will probably never win.

[Bionic-Joe]

Man, I've owned some really Nice vintage slab board Fenders and you know what...They AIN"T a pimple on the ass of a 60's THUNDERBIRD!!!!!! They are Great basses, mind you but...Man...I swear my 65 reverse pelham blue Thunderbird sounds like a MEAN P bass on ACID!!!

[eb2]

I got Rave Up as a kid, and never looked back.  I remember going into a music shop that had a set of tape wounds in the bargain bin and the post-hippy guy had a youth flashback when I bought them.  He asked what I was putting them on, and I told him I liked EB-2s.  And he said "Those feed back."  I said they didn't.  He then said, "Well, they sound like shit."  I said they didn't.  I then told him "If I wanted to sound nasal or clanky, I would play a Fender.  But I like to sound fat."  And that was it.  I had a Fender then, but I liked that the Gibson sounded like a bass, or at least like what I wanted a bass to sound like.  Plus an EB2 could be bought for $150-200 with a case.  

And I have to give mention to John McVie, who had a mudbucker in his Jazz bass in the late 60s.

[Highlander]

Mel Schacher did go Gibson for a while, a Ripper, wasn't it, around the American Band era and to the end of the original line-up of GFR...

[thijs]

I keep on trying to like the Jazz, because its design appeals to me, and because the fretless I have is a pretty cool bass in its own right, but its an uphill battle. One that Fender will probably never win.

I think I know what you mean... had the same feeling with F's after '75... Since I once heard and tried the pré '75 basses, I knew the difference in Fenders ... you should try it.

Gibson's are for studio recording. To me, it is NO life rocker! (Aaajjh... stepping on toes...?)

[rahock]

I reckon I just wandered in to the wrong part of town, but here I am anyway. Got my first Gibson at the ripe old age of 14. It was a custom EBO with the pickup mounted back toward the bridge side and it sounded good and growly. I got an Epi  solid body a year or two after that and played them both . I always lusted for an EB2 because I thought they were the best looking bass ever, and all my local heroes had them. I got one and had it for about a week and it sounded like crap through both my amps, so I dumped it as quick as I could.

Bought a brand new Fender P the year I graduated high school in 1970 and I still have it.  Became somewhat of a Fender bigot, got rid of the Gibson and Epi and never looked back. Picked up a Fender 51 P RI a few years ago and it will probably be with me forever too. I bought and sold a Rick pretty quickly during the 70s. I've had an Earthwood ABG since 1972 and I got an Olympia ABG a few years ago and they will likely be with me forever also. Every now and then at a jam I'll pick up somebodys Gibson and play for while, but they just don't do it for me anymore. No Gibson trashing here, they just don't feel right to me anymore. The only Gibson that I would be interested  in would be the Thunderbird. I never spent much time with one but I liked the feel and the sound enough to spark a little something inside. The rest just don't call out to me. I don't care much for Hofners , Ricks or Alembics either.  I don't knock them , I just don't get the vibe from them like I do from something that says Fender on it. I may be a bit of a biggot, but I came by it naturally
Rick

[doombass]

My first bass was a Gibson Grabber (though I started out on a borrowed Ric). I bought it because it was cheap and different (I'd never heard of nor seen one before). A few years later I fell for that "A Fender Precision is the way to go"-talk and got a 1980 Fender Precision Special. When the Epiphone EB-0 entered the market I thought a shortscale would be nice and buying one made me look to the Gibson EB-3. When I got one I searched for some info and discovered Dudepit (even pre Uwe-days). It just escalated from then on discovering many different interesting models.

To me it seems like most bassplayers have the old notion (young players inherit these ideas also) that Gibson basses are blurry. I often recieve compliments when I play my Gibsons, even from bassplayers though I suppose most of them would hesitate to buy one anyway. Forums like these seem to influence people in a positive direction. I noticed that in our Swedish bass forum I see more positive responses speaking of the Gibson brand now than when the forum was new (it is only in its third year). It's all about education and exposion. Especially EB's are being more popular among young players.