New Les Paul standard bass on the way.,

Deathshead · January 23, 2010, 11:00:26 AM

Off of fenders again for a while, they just get so BORING after a while. I decided to pull the trigger and pick this up.. this will make it my 4th lp std...

I have owned a 96' Gibson les paul bass a few years back, got it dirt cheap and ended up swapping it out for a banjo (hah actually a rick 4001.). well that gibson was one that got away, lol

Anyways, later on a reluctantly decided what the hell, and I picked up the epiphone version.

Compared to the Gibson its modeled from the epi is a really great underrated bass! Both the Gibson and the epi standards seem to be the forgotten and mysterious stepchild basses in the lineup..they were never really promoted other than a fold out poster..

Having owned the "real thing" I think these epis are damm good,the epiphone version is modeled after the early 90's lpb with flowerpot and 3-point. With the popularity of the cassady bass and others I would of thought these would of been alot more popular when they were made.

The fit and finish on these are very very good, fretwork, etc are nice, the feel is dead nuts about the same as the gibson and they sound good too to my ears these sound as fat , but are a bit clearer in the mix,.. Possibly due to the maple neck?

Cant wait for it to arrive, planning on a few mods,
hipshot ultra lights with clover heads for a more traditional look,
an early Thunderbird style tail piece,
a set of rio grand pitbulls
and back of the neck sanded...

I know a lot of your guys are purists... But if you have the "real deal" and can find one of these give em a shot you'll be pleasantly surprised!
very balanced, comfortable, and very versatile tone-wise. these can do a fatter p-bass, and a nice growl as well.

Anyone else out there whos into these?

The Gibson and Epiphone Les Paul Standard bass, the basses that never got any love...

uwe · January 23, 2010, 11:43:23 AM

I think there is very little division in opinion here that the nineties LP basses are fine instruments and we've often discussed why they didn't do better (mind you: they were produced for more than 10 consecutive years in various shapes and forms, that is pretty good for a Gibson bass model, only the modern SG-EBs from the sixties as they morphed into the seventies models and the modern TBird have had longer consecutive runs). My guess is: Most bassists don't want to look like they are playing a guitar and the LP shape is an iconic guitar shape.

And we actually have very few purists here (and everyone has desecration sins, some members even saw their TBirds, but I'm not naming and shaming ...) and no Gibson vs. Epi conceit at all.

My only doubt is about sanding the neck because a lot of the LP Standard's ballsiness comes from just that neck. You probably like Jimmy Page, right? Grandmaster of ruining a phat LP guitar sound via slimming down the neck beyond recognition!

Your upcoming black LP looks lovely btw.

Uwe

OldManC · January 23, 2010, 11:52:32 AM

Quote from: uwe on January 23, 2010, 11:43:23 AMYou probably like Jimmy Page, right? Grandmaster of ruining a phat LP guitar sound via slimming down the neck beyond recognition!

Or could it be because he was using a Tele on those recordings.

I have wanted to try an Epi LP for a long time now. One of these days I suppose I'll take the plunge. Ase Uwe mentioned, I don't think you'll find any Gibson vs Epi bashing here. Each model was made for its price point and intended end user. Some of the recent Epi basses are wonderful basses, for the money or not. We're happy to have them here.

uwe · January 23, 2010, 12:08:48 PM

Quote from: OldManC on January 23, 2010, 11:52:32 AM
Or could it be because he was using a Tele on those recordings.

I have wanted to try an Epi LP for a long time now. One of these days I suppose I'll take the plunge. Ase Uwe mentioned, I don't think you'll find any Gibson vs Epi bashing here. Each model was made for its price point and intended end user. Some of the recent Epi basses are wonderful basses, for the money or not. We're happy to have them here.

Herr Carlston, will you immediately crawl back under that Kiss Army rock you came from?

Ich weiß that he used the Tele on Whole Lotta Love (and als played it in the early days of Zep live) - and a Fender 12 string on the SWTH studio version, not the doubleneck monster -, but his LP sound was tinny even live and that is (also) thanks to the extremely slimmed down necks. Even his Custom Shop Signature model sounds tinny, he took things to an extreme.

Deathshead · January 23, 2010, 12:11:23 PM

I would never sand the neck to change its profile in any way, i like its shape!

Ooops, my bad then, sanding away the fin is a matter of taste, I know many people who don't like finned necks. Go ahead then, son! Uwe

just to take the finish down to bare wood, like the zack wylde guitar, one of my fenders came to me like this, finish sanded off the back of the neck, it looks grimey and nasty but nothing else feels like it!

its like running your hands over silk.

the problem is with a solid color painted guitar like this, you dont know what nastyness could rear its head, plus the scarf joint and any possibilty of moisture getting in there would concern me.

i guess i could just take down the gloss.

Highlander · January 23, 2010, 12:52:34 PM

... or down to the wood and Tru-oil...

Welcome to the herd...

and Uwe, don't be so hard on my Bro...

Deathshead · January 23, 2010, 01:07:40 PM

that was exactly what i was thinking, down to wood and wax or tru oil.

Highlander · January 23, 2010, 01:33:04 PM

Only one thing... and it comes down to something I posted on your other thread, the "feel" or "fact..." you can get a Tru-oil fin that looks like it's polished nitro, but that will not always give you that "feel..." worth the experiment, though... that is how we learn what "works..."

btw, that is a very nice looking ride... enjoy...

Psycho Bass Guy · January 23, 2010, 02:18:03 PM

I think what killed the LP bass in the 90's was that most of the ones dealers were buying were the shitty-sounding Bartolini-equipped active models with Ibanez-wannabe necks. My local Gibson dealer (we had those then) had five, three 4's and two 5-string's, and he was very small shop. Oddly, all of them sold almost immediately except for two which stayed there for years, even though they weren't any worse than the first three. I played dozens of those elsewhere, too, and they ALL sucked. I didn't even know Gibson was making a LP bass with passive pickups and a decent sound at that time until I discovered the Supersuckers. Eddie Spaghetti has kickass tone that's even better live and he gets it from a green LP bass.

Deathshead · January 23, 2010, 05:24:57 PM

not to mention the fact that they were always a GAZILLION dollars just because of the Gibson name,
or Overlooked completely cause of the epiphone name.....

Dave W · January 23, 2010, 06:10:42 PM

Quote from: Deathshead on January 23, 2010, 05:24:57 PM
not to mention the fact that they were always a GAZILLION dollars just because of the Gibson name,
or Overlooked completely cause of the epiphone name.....

I don't think so. Take a 60s Gibson and convert the price to 90s dollars and you'll find the 90s Gibson basses were noticeably less expensive. This is also true of most major brands.

Gibson just didn't promote basses. Very few stores stocked them. Ergo, poor sales.

Epis weren't overlooked, on the whole Epi basses sold very well. The LP models didn't, but that's just the market, which is mostly younger players on limited budgets. Seems obvious that a lot of them didn't want a bass that looks like a LP guitar.

Psycho Bass Guy · January 23, 2010, 06:25:20 PM

Here's what a GOOD sounding Les Paul bass sounds like:

They also do an awesome cover of Thin Lizzy's "Cowboy Song," but all the clips I found of it had no low end. They closed with it when I saw them in 2000 at the Tabernacle in Hotlanta opening for Nashville Pussy and Motorhead. Eddie had the best live bass tone I've EVER heard at any concert out of his green LP bass, an old SVT head and Hiwatt 200 slave driving two SVT 8x10's. I was in the front row, so it wasn't the PA I was hearing.

I have since played a Les Paul standard bass like Eddie's, and they are indeed great instruments. I don't claim to be a Gibson expert by any stretch, but I swear that the necks on the Bart equipped LP basses were way thinner and flatter and the bridge without the tailpiece just felt cheap (and I'm no fan of tailpieces.) They were priced at 2.5 to 3k as I recall, and for that money 20 years ago, you could get a new Rickenbacker, Ken Smith, or Musicman that ate them alive, not to mention the plethora of decent Japanese "budget" basses like the Ibanez ATK or SR actives, as well as the odd good Fender. I really don't think it was looks as much as it was the ones that got the most exposure were not good instruments.

Dave W · January 23, 2010, 06:37:57 PM

The street price on the Special was $650 around 93-94. List was $1000. Same price as the LP Studio guitar at the time. Most expensive Standard I ever saw was at Knut-Koupee in Minneapolis for about $1600, which was about 1/3 off list. It wasn't one of the super-duper AAAA tops, no doubt those ran a bit more. I never saw a flat-top Deluxe in a store, they were priced in between.

I never saw more than one at a time in any store so I never had the chance to compare necks on the Standard and Special.

Psycho Bass Guy · January 23, 2010, 06:49:35 PM

Keep in mind, this was in pre-internet, pre-MF/GC, semi-rural East Tennessee and "retail plus" pricing was the norm. There were never-sold 80's Korean made Samick's priced at $1K+ at one of the music stores I worked at about ten years ago.

Dave W · January 23, 2010, 06:55:23 PM

In the early days of the FDP there was a member from Lawton OK who worked at a guitar store, he insisted that buying at less than list price was every bit as bad as stealing money from the store owner. He didn't understand the S in MSRP. Wonder if that store is still in business.