New Fat-Bottomed Arrival (making the dirty dozen full!)

[uwe]

But that actually is stock except for the part where they deepened the cutaway and sprayed some black over it afterwards. Sunburst fretless Rippers looked that way. The nirto fin on those is micro thin btw.

[ramone57]

Every few months some stern-faced fire, life, safety-inspector drops by and makes me aware of the illegal state I work in.  

must be a fender guy  

btw, the collection is breath taking!

[Basvarken]

Now all you need is a G4 to make your family of Big Bottomed Girls complete...

[godofthunder]

I didn't even yet say I liked it!!!   Not sure. It's lovingly made (perfect fret job unlike the Grabber II) and has lots of tasteful sound options (more of that later), but at the rehearsal yesterday it was just that, "very tasteful" and "well-behaved", and I missed the ballsy "take no prisoners"-raunch of the Grabber II.  Have to play it some more, but it might be one of those "gosh, this sounds nice (in the living room)" instruments as opposed to a rehearsal weapon of choice.

I have really come to love my Grabber and even my G3. I use the Grabber for the KISS tunes in the show and it really sounds fantastic, a go for the throat bass for sure! I have had numerous Rippers over the years but I could not come to terms with their docile sounding pickups. I bet a Seymour Duncan pickup booster pedal would be just the thing to beef that Ripper II up with out modding it. I use one to beef up my F****rs works like a charm.

[Freuds_Cat]

That is amazing to say the least. Congrats Uwe.

[sniper]

truely amazing Uwe. how long has it taken you to amass your collection in total, if i may ask? i know its totally priceless so i am not going to even ask. irreplaceable is an understatement, heaven forbid the thought. but i want to aknowledge the obvious and say it is a true labor of love.

[uwe]

I bought my first Gibson bass at the end of 1998/beginning of 1999, it was a 1997 modern day TBird which I still have (I've never sold a Gibson bass in my life). An SG-Z followed comparatively quickly, but the collectors bug only really bit me when in a whimsical mood around Christmas 2002 I ordered an RD Standard, a Victory Standard and a G-3. When they arrived, I liked them all   and from then on the disease spread further and further ...

By the time I joined the Dudepit (in the summer of 2003 I believe) I was already around a dozen Gibson basses or so and the current collection is (the BFG LP not yet named):

GIBSONS:

Gibson EB-1 1953
Gibson EB-2 Banjo Headstock 1959
Gibson EB-0 Double Cutaway Les Paul Junior Body 1959/60
Gibson EB-6 (ES-330/335 Hollowbody) 1961
Gibson EB-0F 1963
Gibson EB-6 (SG Body) 1964
Gibson Reverse Thunderbird II 1964
Gibson Reverse Thunderbird IV 1965
Gibson Non-Reverse Thunderbird II  1966
Gibson Non-Reverse Thunderbird IV 1967
Gibson EB-2D 1967
Gibson Melody Maker EB-0 1967
Gibson EB-2  1968
Gibson Les Paul Recording Bass 1969
Gibson EB-1 Reissue 1969
Gibson Slothead EB-0 1969/70
Gibson Slothead EB-3 1969/70
Gibson Slothead EB-0L (+ 2 TB Plus Pickups) 1969/70
Gibson SB-300 1970-72
Gibson SB-400 1970-72
Gibson EB-0 1970-72
Gibson EB-3L  1972
Gibson EB-4  1970-72
Gibson Singlecut Ripper Prototype 1972-73
Gibson Les Paul Signature 1973-75
Gibson SB-350 1973-75
Gibson SB-450 1973-75
Gibson Les Paul Triumph 1973-75
Gibson Ripper 1974
Gibson Grabber G-1 1974
Gibson L-9S Ripper Fretless 1976
Gibson Thunderbird IV  Bicentennial 1976
Gibson Grabber Fretless 1976
Gibson EB-3 1976
Gibson RD Standard 1977
Gibson G-3 Maple Fretboard 1978
Gibson RD Artist  1979
Gibson Ripper 1981
Gibson Flying V 1981
Gibson Victory Standard 1981
Gibson Victory Standard Fretless 1981
Gibson RD Artist ACB w/CMT 1981
Gibson G-3 Ebony Fretboard 1982
Gibson Victory Custom 1982
Gibson Victory Artist 1982
Gibson Explorer Korina Custom-Built 1982/83
Gibson Explorer Shadow  (Piezo) 1986
Gibson Explorer 1986
Gibson Thunderbird II Japan Limited Edition 1986
Gibson IV Bass 1987
Gibson V Bass 1987
Gibson V Bass w/Kahler Tremolo 1987
Gibson 20/20 1987
Gibson Wayne Charvel Prototype Bass IV String 1987
Gibson Wayne Charvel Prototype Bass V String 1987
Gibson Q-80 1987
Gibson Q-90 Shadow (Piezo) 1988
Gibson Q-90 Combo 1989
Gibson Thunderbird VI One-Off Korina Model built by Phil Jones 1990 (based on discarded 1981 prototype)
Gibson Explorer West Coast Custom Shop?, "early nineties"
Gibson EB-650 1991
Gibson Les Paul Doublecutaway Phil Jones Prototype Fretless 1991
Gibson EB-750 1992
Gibson LPB-1 (passive) 1992
Gibson LPB-1/5 Les Paul Special (5-String) 1993
Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Meshell Ndegeocello Prototype 1994
Gibson LPB-3/Standard 8-string Custom Shop T.M. Stevens signature model 1994
Gibson LPB-2/5 Les Paul Deluxe (5-String) 1995
Gibson LPB-2 Les Paul Deluxe Fretless 1996
Gibson SG Long Scale Bass (one-off item) 1997
Gibson Thunderbird IV 1997
Gibson Les Paul Smartwood Series (peroba top/curupay board) 1997
Gibson Leland Sklar Signature 1998
Gibson AB Super 400 Archtop 1999
Gibson Blackbird Nikki Sixx Signature 2000
Gibson SG-Z Cherry 2000
Gibson SG-Z Ebony with Mudbucker 2001
Gibson Les Paul EMG Splitcoil Custom Shop Bass 2001
Gibson Primavera Custom Shop Bass 2001
Gibson Les Paul Standard "Custom" Bass 2003
Gibson SG Reissue 2005
Gibson Thunderbird Studio 4-String 2005
Gibson Les Paul Doublecut 2005
Gibson Thunderbird Studio 5-String 2006
Gibson Thunderbird IV Gothic - Limited Edition 2006
Gibson "Guitar of the Week" SG Supreme Natural Satin Flametop 2007
Gibson "Guitar of the Week" Les Paul Money Bass 2007
Gibson "Guitar of the Week" Thunderbird IV Zebra Wood 2007
Gibson Les Paul Faded Limited Edition Flat Top Bass Guitar 2007
Gibson "Guitar of the Week" SG Supreme Fireburst Flametop 2007
Gibson "Guitar of the Week" Les Paul Money Natural Satin Flametop 2007
Gibson Thunderbird IV Nikki Sixx Signature Model 2008
Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Bass built by Dr Bassman from Gibson body/neck 2008
Gibson 2009 Limited Run Series Grabber II 2009
Gibson 2009 Limited Run Series Ripper II 2009


Epis:

Epiphone Newport  1966
Epiphone Embassy 1966
Epiphone Scroll Bass 1976
Epiphone Genesis 1979
Epiphone Thunderbird Non-Reverse 5-String
Epiphone Jack Casady Signature
Epiphone Les Paul Special Prototype (neck-thru, quilted maple top) 1999
Epiphone Elitist EB-3 2003
Epiphone Explorer
Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat Signature 2005
Epiphone Gothic Extreme Bass 2005
Epiphone Thunderbird IV Arctic White Limited Edition 2006
Epiphone Ripper Limited Edition Prototype 2006
Epiphone Ripper Limited Edition 2006
Epiphone Nikki Sixx Signature Blackbird 2007
Epiphone Ltd Ed Silverburst Thunderbird IV (with Gibson TB-Plus pups) 2009
Epiphone T-Bird Pro V 2009


Other:

Kalamazoo KB 1 "Made by Gibson" 1967
Orville by Gibson Thunderbird IV 1991

[Denis]

Truly an awe-inspiring collection!

[uwe]

Thanks, but not to everyone, office building management says: "Fire loads!" 

[bassvirtuoso]

Wow that makes 95 (soon to be 96 in a week or so) Gibsons!

[uwe]

Yes, I sometimes muse that I'm very likely the only person on earth that collects Gibson basses through all eras. There are people with more vintage TBirds or EB-2s than me, but who is out there that collects anything from Gibson in the eighties and onwards?

And while Gibson never made it to an established bass brand and never will, the wealth of styles throughout the eras is astounding. Short of Jap ho and mass manufacturers I cannot think of any brand that even comes close as regards variety and different styles of basses. Yet at the same time that singular achievement of Gibson is totally unrecognized among either most bassists or even most Gibson diehards (which are almost all guitarists). I'm pretty sure that if you asked Gibson today how many different styles of basses they have developed over the years they wouldn't estimate anything higher than perhaps 20. They are not very good about their history at all.

Uwe

[TBird1958]

Honestly, you should collect for finishes too..................

[uwe]

That would settle my eviction for continuous ignorance of fire, life, safety-rules here!

[nofi]

how many non gibson basses do you own, specifically fenders.

[uwe]

Three Fenders (MIM J 60ies RI, Sting, 80ies P 60ies RI Fretless) and two EBMMs (HH Bongo and Piezo Stingray) as well as 40-50 other brand specimen, with my six Ibanez Iceman basses and my five Rics (4001, 4003, 4003S/5, 4003S/8 and 4005) probably the closest to "collecting" anything other than Gibson.