Paging Uwe...

[bassvirtuoso]

Initial Reactions:

When I pulled it out of it's case, it seemed much bigger than I though it was going to be. I guess my expectations where of a Les Paul guitar but with a bigger neck. It's a "bulky" bass guitar. The neck is slightly fatter than my Thunderbird, the body is the thickest of any bass I've ever owned. It's heavy, but mainly body heavy so the weight "felt" by hold it by the neck is somewhat misleading. With a nice padded Brooklyn Gear Comfort strap, it was very reasonable and never become unwieldy (although I only played it for about three songs back to back). I would put it in the 10 lb area, but that's just a guess since I don't own a scale.

The maple top has a somewhat 3D effect. The pictures on the internet make it look like "scales" from reptile, but it's not that pronounced, in fact you can barely feel the ridges. The finish is worn ebony and is applied throughout the body on everything except the rosewood board (which is quite dark itself). The wood knobs don't actually look all that bad on the body, but they do feel cheap. My band mates (all in their 40's +) liked the knobs, then again they're guitards too. The three pickups are set into the body without pickup rings, which on one hand looks weird actually gives your thumb someplace to rest while playing the bass. The fretwork and finish on this bass may perhaps be the best Gibson has produced in the last 10 years. Granted I've never owned a brand new Gibson, from the stories I read around here, the neck feels great with no fret sprout and the finish has no "orange peel".

The three pickups are black, almost glossy in a way finished like the crinkle control plates of the old G&L basses. The neck pickup is set at level with the actual bass top, the middle pickup is up from the top just a little, and the bridge pickup is raised much more as a bridge pickup should be. The controls are VOL VOL VOL TONE and the switch is actually a kill switch like on the Nikki Sixx basses and not a selector switch. The knobs are set up like typical Gibson guitars. Closest to the strings, top to bottom: Middle pup VOL, Bridge pup VOL. Farthest from the strings, top to bottom: Neck pup VOL, Tone.

The bass was set up very well out of the case, just needed a tune up. In fact, for my playing style, it was set up almost perfect. The strings are nice and have a good bright "twang" to them but not overly bright like new strings can be. The neck profile had scared me initially when I had picked up the bass, mainly because it was much fatter than my Thunderbird. It's the standard Les Paul Bass 1.625 at the nut, but while being semi-fat to the back, the neck is very playable to my smaller hands (which prefer Thunderbird necks to everything but '62 RI Jazz necks). It was very comfortable and I had no problems playing Sweet Child 'O Mine on it. The two-point seems to be easier to do set ups on compared to the three point, but then again, I didn't touch it so that's a guess.

The tone: WHOA! I loved playing this bass. I believe the maple top on it really gives that Gibson tone a nice foundation in snap and brightness that the Thunderbirds seem to lack a little. I used this bass in lieu of my Nikki Sixx Blackbird on all my Eb tuned songs, and was almost surprised on how much better it did the job immediately. It's there with the great growl of the Thunderbird, but with an added top end that was almost Fender-ish in presence. It was the best of both worlds for me. This was almost my first set-neck bass and I think that also made a difference when comparing it to my Thunderbird. After playing it at the end of the second set last night, my keyboard player (a drummer and bassist who is a High School Band teacher around here) immediately commented on it and gave it a rave review saying that he "dug it" and was "feeling it" better than my Nikki Sixx. He really was wow-ed by both the look and sound of the bass, he wanted one. I used mainly the bridge pup and middle pickups for most of the songs. I found the neck pickup to be too much for the songs I was playing last night. The greatest thing about this bass has to be the bridge pickup. It has a lot more "power" than the Thunderbird bridge pickups. I could actually use it solo if I wanted and it stayed in the mix without being over powered. When I play my Thunderbird I always have to have the neck pickup on full with the bridge either mixed in or full as well. With this bass, I could use the bridge and still have the "ooomph" there. The neck pickup also gave me a great tone and I enjoyed running middle and bridge pups at full bore. The combination of all three pickups was also nice, added some fatness to the already growly tone.

I'll be added some pics later of the bass, it was rainy today so I didn't get much sun.

PS: Someone PLEASE buy my Nikki Sixx Blackbird in the For Sale forum, I want to buy one of these right away. Otherwise Ze Reich might be getting a Blackbird in the mail...

[uwe]

Now I'm getting worried you're liking it too much. ! - )

Expropriation of German property in the US has an unhealthy tradition, you did it without reason whenever we started a little world war ...

I'm happy you dig it, anybody whose ever played an LP with a maple top will immediately note the raucuous attack of these beasts. A real rocker's bass and the BFG has the look to go with it plus that extra neck pup. Too bad these morons of Gibson marketing don't even mention it, much less picture it on their site.

Uwe

[TBird1958]

Send Henry J. a note asking if he remembers even producing it 

And ask he where my RD re-issue is too!

[bassvirtuoso]

Now I'm getting worried you're liking it too much. ! - )

Expropriation of German property in the US has an unhealthy tradition, you did whenever we started a little world war ...

I'm happy you dig it, any body whose ever played an LP with a maple top will immediately note the raucuous attack of these beasts. A real rocker's bass and the BFG has the look to go with it plus that extra neck pup. Too bad these morons of Gibson marketing don't even mention it, much less picture it on their site.

Uwe

It was more enjoyable than I first thought it was going to be after pulling it out of the case. It has grown on me though, and yes it is down right nasty attack!

Don't worry, I won't be keeping it, I'll probably snap some good pics and get it ready to ship to Ze Motherland soon. Thanks for the opportunity Uwe!

[uwe]

Play it some more so that you're sure it will be the suitable mistress opposed to your current wife, the Nikki Sixx Bird! It's weird that the maple wings of the Sixx don't provide a similar attack to the LP maple top - the Sixx has actually more, not less maple mass. Seems to confirm what some luthiers say that on a neck-thru the neck wood is more determinative than on a bolt-on or set neck. None of my Birds with non-maho wings can compete with the attack of a maple-topped LP.

It can't be just the neck-thru construction, but must be the combo of neck-thru and maho. A Ric 4001/4003 is living proof that a maple neck-thru can snap and bite like hell. 

[bassvirtuoso]

I have another show this coming weekend so I'll give "the mistress" another go round. I really feel that the BFG/Thunderbird combo is a TKO pairing made in heaven.

[bassvirtuoso]

Ok, here are the promised pictures!

First, I said QA work was finally coming around at Gibson, well I lied a little. Check out the fit of the Maple Top here:


and the dent they left on there:


Also, the control plates are see-through to some degree:



Here are the rest:







And check out the Rosewood board, nice and tight:

[Basvarken]

Wow,! The more pics I see, the more I like it.

[uwe]

Yeah, it really has brutish charm, I wish I was 20 years younger, where is the eyeliner? Love that dinosaur skin and those three pups nailed into the body are outright mean-looking. RRRRRock'NNNNNuclear'RRRRRoll ...

Youth is fleeting (and generally bestowed upon those who do not cherish it), but, man, immaturity can last forever!!!

Uwe

PS: Shouldn't lovers of the old sixties TBird bridge be in immediate erotic ecstasy about that bridge? Just close your eyes and think its nickel or chrome. 

[Basvarken]

The only thing I would change is the wooden knobs.

[ramone57]

great looking bass, congrats Uwe! 

The only thing I would change is the wooden knobs.

I'd put chicken heads on it

[exiledarchangel]

I'd put real lizard skulls on it, if I could find the right size.

[uwe]

Too late, I have the skull knobs already on my desk! I think they're pretty and will no doubt benefit the sound too ...

[godofthunder]

 I'm diggi'n it ! I am resisting the temptation to buy one though  A hard lesson I have learned is that if it isn't Tbird-ish it usually just sits, I am tempted though...................................the bridge is Tbird-ish.

[Barklessdog]

The tone: WHOA! I loved playing this bass. I believe the maple top on it really gives that Gibson tone a nice foundation in snap and brightness that the Thunderbirds seem to lack a little. I used this bass in lieu of my Nikki Sixx Blackbird on all my Eb tuned songs, and was almost surprised on how much better it did the job immediately. It's there with the great growl of the Thunderbird, but with an added top end that was almost Fender-ish in presence. It was the best of both worlds for me.

I dont even play my thunderbird anymore, the LP sound is superior to me, possibly Gibson's best next to the RD & Mudbucker.

Wow,! The more pics I see, the more I like it.

Agreed Chrome would be wrong on this. Would look great with the hammered cymbals