here it is the new EB Bass!

bassballs · October 10, 2012, 05:07:29 AM

Just released today

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Bass/Gibson-USA/EB-Bass.aspx

uwe · October 10, 2012, 05:18:07 AM

LOL, even I need to think of a defense for this one! A challenging job. "Derived from the SG shape", good they said that, sure had me fooled. Mosrite returns!

This bass must be excellent. This ugly it better be, it looks horrible enough to be a prop from 300.

Nature in her wisdom always compensates. I will rely on that. And recover from the shock.

the mojo hobo · October 10, 2012, 05:59:28 AM

I like it. With Gibson's recent offerings almost all having a Pelham Blue option it leaves me wondering what this would look like in blue with a white pickguard. It is only the top half of the body that is not SG based. I want to try one.

godofthunder · October 10, 2012, 06:07:52 AM

Looks like something Eastwood would put out.

planetgaffnet · October 10, 2012, 06:17:12 AM

It does beg the question of why this is on their website when the rumours were it wasn't due until next year, when the NR Thunderbird is due imminently and there's still no mention of it.

On the subject of the bass itself, it's pretty fugly...hardly a head turner. The sharp squareness of the headstock juxtapositioned against the curves of the body just doesn't sit right with me (I suppose this bears out why I was more a Grabber fan than a Ripper). Of the four, the blackie looks the nicest...would be nice to see it with a black 3-ply plate. Ho hum. What do I know? Does anyone from Gibson actually read this forum?
P

Denis · October 10, 2012, 07:05:21 AM

Appearance aside, they probably sound good with the Musicman style pickups. I bet they are strong!

uwe · October 10, 2012, 07:59:08 AM

You can't please everybody. Not pleasing anyone is at least stringent. It appeals to the fatalist in me.

It looks like a bass from a cartoon - (endearingly?) ugly. If you were ever searching for an argument against genetic engineering this is it: Creation does not want Mosrite, Ibanez ATK, Fender P, SG shape (lower half), Burns, MM Sabre and a Gibson headstock mating criss-cross among each other!

I think I like/find the natural one best/least ugly. The sunburst one cries "Olé, Fenderrrista!" too much, the white one looks cheap and the black one reminds me of the EBMM guitars Steve Morse plays, the bass already looks disconcertingly small as is, black makes it look even smaller. The natural one looks like the boutique luthier version of a budget bass ("I want my first Korean budget bass rebuilt, but with valuable materials, dear Mr Luthier!!!) , I like the oxymoronic aspect of that.

Couldn't they at least have added a 21st fret for a high E? I like high Es for fooling around.

Flash thought: I looks like something Epi Japan could have come up with in the early seventies.

bassballs · October 10, 2012, 08:15:35 AM

Me to like the natural best, looking forward to a review of the sound, if it is modern sounding, read, can you get a decent modern slap sound out of it, and the difference between humbucker and singlecoil mode.

uwe · October 10, 2012, 08:33:04 AM

Finally someone admits to slapping here, errrm, thumbs up you brave minority!

Big_Stu · October 10, 2012, 08:52:53 AM

It's an EB-MosriteMan!
I hope they've reduced the price accordingly since they appear to be built by that Chinese site that does "genuine" Rickenbackers with Mudbuckers for $400?

uwe · October 10, 2012, 09:01:00 AM

Quote from: godofthunder on October 10, 2012, 06:07:52 AM
Looks like something Eastwood would put out.

Why, is there an empty chair around someone is talking to and can Obama be blamed for how it turned out?

sniper · October 10, 2012, 09:06:03 AM

fugly!

bassballs · October 10, 2012, 09:08:49 AM

Quote from: uwe on October 10, 2012, 08:33:04 AM
Finally someone admits to slapping here, errrm, thumbs up you brave minority!

Just went back to my youth, seeing the music man like pickups, used to play Funk in the 80th (even used tape on the thump

). Now it is all old Hippie Rock on my SG With Flats and Tube overdrive

but I would love to, one day to be on a stage and play funk fusion on a Gibson

Dave W · October 10, 2012, 09:53:03 AM

I don't understand why you think it has anything to do with a Mosrite, which is a reversed Strat shape with a so-called German carve. This bass is non-reverse and doesn't have a carved top. Also, it probably sounds good, which puts it head and shoulders above any bass Semie Moseley ever put out.

The pickups are apparently twin-coil versions of the new G-3 pickups, and the electronics are passive. So I don't expect it to sound like a MusicMan.

To me, it's the headstock that looks out of place, the rest is okay. It needs a headstock to go with the asymmetrical body shape. It's not as if Gibson hasn't done that before. At least they put a decent bridge on it.

uwe · October 10, 2012, 10:14:43 AM

Mosrite is for me a synonym for looking a bit like a toy.

Don't worry, Dave, I will get to like it eventually, just give me some time to adjust and erase my bias!