My ongoing odyssey into the world of Gibson basses...

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Lindy Fralin Bassbucker, pretty much a repro 60's Tbird pup in a standard humbucking pickup cover

I'm strongly leaning this way. It's funny; a set of them costs the same as my whole bass! I found the link to RS Guitarworks. Do they or anyone else actually stock them? Lindy Fralin doesn't even have a mention them on his own website that I could find.

I'm a little trepidatious about the Rio Grande Pitbulls. I'd prefer a blade and and lower output than what's in there now. I play fingerstyle with an insanely heavy hand.  A single coil Precision p/u is hot enough already. Two of them modified into a humbucker sounds like too much of a good thing for me.

BTW, I'm not really crazy about top end to the point I'd want to split the coils, (though those pickup ring splitters ARE tempting.) I got my LP for that big, fat Gibson bottom, and no small amount of fandom of Eddie from the Supersuckers. My problem with the Epi p/u's is that they're just so dang honky and clangy, like a good pickup with a cold. What highs they do have are obnoxious; they have nice growl, just too much upper mids and not enough lows. My Trace compressor pedal can even it out to some extent, but I don't like having to use a pedal to make up for an instrument's natural shortcomings, and besides, you can hear that it's an effect and not the inherent tone of the bass.

[bassvirtuoso]

I'm not sure anyone else but RS Guitarworks has them. I almost want to say that Roy at RS had contacted Lindy and had them made especially for their two Explorer-birds. But then again, I'm not 100% on that.

[Deathshead]

I'm strongly leaning this way. It's funny; a set of them costs the same as my whole bass! I found the link to RS Guitarworks. Do they or anyone else actually stock them? Lindy Fralin doesn't even have a mention them on his own website that I could find.

I'm a little trepidatious about the Rio Grande Pitbulls. I'd prefer a blade and and lower output than what's in there now. I play fingerstyle with an insanely heavy hand.  A single coil Precision p/u is hot enough already. Two of them modified into a humbucker sounds like too much of a good thing for me.

BTW, I'm not really crazy about top end to the point I'd want to split the coils, (though those pickup ring splitters ARE tempting.) I got my LP for that big, fat Gibson bottom, and no small amount of fandom of Eddie from the Supersuckers. My problem with the Epi p/u's is that they're just so dang honky and clangy, like a good pickup with a cold. What highs they do have are obnoxious; they have nice growl, just too much upper mids and not enough lows. My Trace compressor pedal can even it out to some extent, but I don't like having to use a pedal to make up for an instrument's natural shortcomings, and besides, you can hear that it's an effect and not the inherent tone of the bass.

"BRASSY" is how i thought they sounded, harsh highs..

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Mmmmmm gloss black. Me likey.

[Deathshead]

hey PBG, do you find the back of the neck on your extremely sticky? I had to take that paint off asap, it radically changed the feel and the tone of the bass. Nothing smoother than this neck and the roto flats.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The paint on my Epi's neck is fine, but the one I tried at the asshole's store had that weird "tacky" quality to it that seems to grab your fretting hand. Most Ric's with Jetglo finish are the same way to me. The best one I ever played had its neck sanded clean. The only neck gripe I have with mine is that the cold dry winter air has shrunk the fretboard and the fret ends are very sharp. It's not an issue playing it, but I cut my hand several times setting the trussrod.

[Highlander]

Hmm... sounds like time for a bit of luthiering...

[Deathshead]

or just a few rigorous passes with 800grit sandpaper to round over the edges of the fb and frets.

[rockinrayduke]

Got my Fralin Bassbuckers from RS Guitarworks.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

After a few days of sitting in my house with my vaporizers running (both for ours and our cancer survivor cat's sinuses) the fretboard has "grown" to the point that you can barely even feel the rough edges at all and you couldn't cut yourself on the fret ends if you tried. Luthiery by Vicks!!!

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Just called RS and talked to Roy. What a great guy! I've got a set of their Fralin Bassbuckers and a new set of pot, caps, and knobs on the way. We talked tone and output, and you'd probably not be surprised to know that he said many of the same things that we have discussed here regarding Epi LP pickup tone. He said he had briefly owned a late 80's Gibson Les Paul Standard bass and that its US-made pickups weren't much better than what Epi put in their later copy of it. I'll have to ream the pot holes and get new knobs because all the Epi stuff is metric, but I have no problem swapping out the crap pots in there now.

He also cautioned against buying new Gibson pickups because they're overwound to the point of ridiculousness with 16-20k outputs being common! I may be heading to Nashville next month, and was going to see what I could find there, and I'm glad to not have to drop what I'm sure would be a small fortune for pickups if Gibson had any bass models in stock and then have them be worse sounding than what's in there now.

 It wasn't a sales pitch either. He made sure to let me know that their Bassbuckers do NOT sound like a Les Paul, but I think I can "make do" with vintage t-Bird toned pickups.

I'm psyched because I bought this bass for three reasons:

1. I just got a much better job, but will still contract at the TV station, but on my terms.

2. My old band may be getting back together.

3 .Between this forum and my love for the Supersuckers, I've been destined to have a kick ass Gibby-themed axe in my arsenal for years and just now realized it.

[Deathshead]

Nice!, those suckers better play themselves for $280 a set!!!

[Psycho Bass Guy]

That's right in the price range for anything comparable I found for a whole set new. IIRC, the Rio Grande Pitbulls are $268 EACH! ...not a lot of Gibson love in the aftermarket world.

[Deathshead]

Warmoth has the pitbulls $100 each, still a little pricey for me.

[bassvirtuoso]

Just called RS and talked to Roy. What a great guy!

It wasn't a sales pitch either.

That's Roy! He is great, I bought their Berry Oakley "Tractor" bass off them about two years ago and he's been nothing but amazing on the customer service end. Those guys really know what they're doing down there!