Midtown Bass on keymusic.com

Denis · September 19, 2012, 09:23:35 AM

That's a nice looking bass indeed!

Dave W · September 19, 2012, 02:46:21 PM

Quote from: Wilbur88 on September 19, 2012, 03:09:55 AM
Very keen to try one of these. Not that I need another hollowbody though.

It's not a hollowbody. In an earlier thread, the mojo hobo pointed out that Gibson's website page on the guitar version describes it as a chambered mahogany body with a maple top.

....the Midtown line's advanced chambered, solid-wood construction (rather than laminated top and back) to truly embody the optimum marriage of solidbody and archtop.

westen44 · September 19, 2012, 03:08:09 PM

Out of curiosity, I'd be interested in knowing how close it is to the original EB-2 sound.

Highlander · September 19, 2012, 03:30:30 PM

I'd be quite suprised if it was...

Aussie Mark · September 19, 2012, 05:25:13 PM

Quote from: westen44 on September 19, 2012, 03:08:09 PM
Out of curiosity, I'd be interested in knowing how close it is to the original EB-2 sound.

With TB-Plus pickups, nowhere near the sound of an EB-2. That's a good thing IMHO.

chromium · September 19, 2012, 07:16:24 PM

Wrapping a wet towel around one's head should get the sound in the EB-2 ballpark

(self-deprecating humor.. I do love my EB-2D)

Seriously, though, I wouldn't expect it to sound very close, being that its long scale with different pickups, no boom/suck switch filtering at play, and it sounds like the body construction is quite a bit different. Looks like it'd be a nice instrument in its own right, though.

westen44 · September 19, 2012, 09:27:37 PM

I can only paraphrase what he said, but I remember reading some remarks about the EB-2 from someone on the British board last year. He said although they weren't popular, he had a few and did like the sound. He said it was good for recording, at least for whatever kind of recording he did. It was good for a 3-piece blues rock band or maybe jazz trio. But you wouldn't want to use one in a band with two guitars; you'd have no chance of being clearly heard.

chromium · September 19, 2012, 10:16:14 PM

Quote from: westen44 on September 19, 2012, 09:27:37 PM
I can only paraphrase what he said, but I remember reading some remarks about the EB-2 from someone on the British board last year. He said although they weren't popular, he had a few and did like the sound. He said it was good for recording, at least for whatever kind of recording he did. It was good for a 3-piece blues rock band or maybe jazz trio. But you wouldn't want to use one in a band with two guitars; you'd have no chance of being clearly heard.

Some crafty EQ and overdrive goes a long way with the louder bands. EBs in general seem to mate really well with a tube head and some creamy overdrive to add more harmonics and cut thru (the bridge pickups help in that dept too, IME). They're a blast to play, but coaxing a clear and articulate sound out of them isn't always immediate, intuitive, or possible (it's easier at low volumes, as you mentioned)

That Midtown will likely be a lot simpler to dial in by comparison, and I think those TB pickups are killers - at least based on my brief encounter with an SG.

Daniel_J · September 20, 2012, 12:16:24 AM

I think both ebony and cherry finishes look really cool. But I don't like the sunburst one, I dunno, something about the teardrop patern that makes it look kinda weird, visually unbalanced.

What I find odd is the binding on the neck though. Has Gibson ever made a bass with neck binding? I can't think of any. Probably has something to do with the baked maple, and they have to hide the sides of the board because it might not look too good.

uwe · September 20, 2012, 02:07:26 AM

The slothead EB-3 had binding. Here they probably did it for a vintage look. It can prevent board shrinkage spikiness unless the shrinkage is so extreme that even the binding breaks, but that normally takes years and when it happens the frets don't stick out as badly anymore.

It will sound nothing like an EB-2, luckily. But it should be close to an EB-650, same scale, same pups (in essence), similar construction (this is chambered, the 650 was hollowbody, but crammed with the hugest sustain block imaginable taking almost all acousticness out of it), only the wood is partially different as the 650 was all maple. The Midtown sould be mellower. But I would imagine it to have a sound most people should really like here.

I believe this model has gained hugely through the long scale in versatility, vintage looks aside, Gibson did something different this time. Let's hope it is more succerssful than its hollow-body predecessors LP Signature, EB-650 and -750, none of them a bad bass, which were all commercial failures though the Signature at least gained some recognition on the vintage market.

Droombolus · September 20, 2012, 08:46:58 AM

Quote from: nofi on September 19, 2012, 07:13:56 AM
fenderish.

Oops ! I should have said Squierish ....... but that sounds even more cheap ......

drbassman · September 20, 2012, 08:51:18 AM

Whatever! I want a cherry one.

Dave W · September 20, 2012, 08:53:27 AM

The smaller body may help sales. The ES-33x series/EB-2 look in a more compact size might be more appealing.

drbassman · September 20, 2012, 08:54:58 AM

Quote from: Dave W on September 20, 2012, 08:53:27 AM
The smaller body may help sales. The ES-33x series/EB-2 look in a more compact size might be more appealing.

I'd like a smaller body too. The scale length might be a challenge for me, but I'd give it a spin anyway.

Dave W · September 20, 2012, 09:03:30 AM

Quote from: drbassman on September 20, 2012, 08:54:58 AM
I'd like a smaller body too. The scale length might be a challenge for me, but I'd give it a spin anyway.

Gibson's website listing for the guitar doesn't show the body dimensions but does say "...a trimmed-down and more player-friendly body size that still emulates the lines of the ES models..." We'll just have to wait to see how much smaller.