Midtown bass now in too

[drbassman]

I think that's Heritage Cherry Pie 

Little Jack Horner, sat in a corner, eating a............. Oh never mind!   

[uwe]

I wanna have a cherry one too. Just like Ritchie's old ES before he became a Strat man.

No thread is spared!!!!

[TBird1958]

I wanna have a cherry one too. Just like Ritchie's old ES before he became a Strat man.

No thread is spared!!!!

He was a better player when he used a Gibson, just like Clapton 

[uwe]

That's not even true for Clapton! I think he became more sparse with the Strat, but also more distinctive.

Blackers can be seen here at 2.20 with his beloved ES and though it is undoubtedly him, I prefer him with a Strat sound, the Gibson sounds muffled.



Much as I am a Gibson bassist, I tend to prefer Strat or Strat type lead guitarists: Blackmore, Hendrix, Gallagher, Beck (today), Gilmour, Clapton, Van Halen, Knopfler, Roth, Vai, Morse, Satriani, Nile Rodgers ... I find that sound often more distinctively "lead-guitarish" in the hands of a skilled player but it is also true to say that in the hands of an unskilled player a Strat can sound a lot more awful than a Les Paul. For the avoidance of doubt: I'm not saying that players identified more with Gibsons are not great players too: eg Ronson, Santana, Zappa, Lifeson, Montrose, Page, Green, Powell, Schenker, Moore (Gary).

Undistorted, through a solid state amp, a Strat has an authority by itself that most Gibsons have a hard time matching - with the Firebird being perhaps the exception. I really like how that sounds undistorted too.

[drbassman]

Cool video.  I was waiting for the bass solo???

[nofi]

when i hear gar(r)y moore i think of this guy.

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=mooregarry

[drbassman]

when i hear gar(r)y moore i think of this guy.

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=mooregarry

Mee too!  Man, am I old!   

[Figas]

Weeeeeeeeell.. I do am enthraled about all this discussion, but does anyone have some more feedback on the midtown? Soundwise, for instance? I'm rather curious about how it compares to de Jack Cassady.

[drbassman]

I don't have a Jack Cassady, but I do have a Les Paul Signature hollow body bass and the Midtown is stronger and cleaner sounding than that bass.  I don't play the Sig much as the electronics on it are scratchy and need work and I haven't had time to deal with it!  I suspect the Midtown is enough different form the JC that you'd notice the difference.

[Dave W]

I haven't heard the Midtown yet, but comparing it to the Casady is apples to oranges, really. The Casady is traditional semi-hollow construction, the Midtown is a chambered solidbody. The Casady has that special circuit with the low impedance pickup and varitone, the Midtown has traditional passive Gibson electronics.

[copacetic]

Actually I would say the Casady and the Les Paul Sig are totally hollow and the EB-2, Guild SF's would be considered semi hollow as the have the wood block running through the center. This chambered idea is very intriguing and can't wait to hear one. I might have to trade one of my 2 Les Paul Sigs in and have some $ left for the G-3 and the TB NR!

[gweimer]

You might have had issues predicting 9/11, but man did you nail Petraeus and his mistresses to the ground!!! Life is all about priorities.

I would say it was Petraeus who did the nailing to the ground.   

The FBI was merely observing.   Voyeurs....

[Dave W]

Actually I would say the Casady and the Les Paul Sig are totally hollow and the EB-2, Guild SF's would be considered semi hollow as the have the wood block running through the center. This chambered idea is very intriguing and can't wait to hear one. I might have to trade one of my 2 Les Paul Sigs in and have some $ left for the G-3 and the TB NR!

The Casady and LP Signature both have blocks to minimize feedback. Not full height blocks like most other Gibson semihollows, but not totally hollow. Epi describes the Casady as semihollow.

[uwe]

True. It really is a good solution too, kills feedback but not all semi-acoustic character. The EB-650 and -750 sounded almost like sold-bodies for their huge sustain blocks.

If I understood correctly, the Midnight follows the Ric 4005, Alan Woody and short-lived Epi Zenith in its construction. None of these basses has an acoustic tone to speak of in their unplugged sound, they are just a little more sluggish in tone than a real solid boody would be. It's a looks thing. Not that the world was waiting for a hollow body bass from Gibson or any other brand. The mock semi-acoustic look is just for vintage vibe, not that there is anything wrong with that.

[Figas]

I haven't heard the Midtown yet, but comparing it to the Casady is apples to oranges, really. The Casady is traditional semi-hollow construction, the Midtown is a chambered solidbody. The Casady has that special circuit with the low impedance pickup and varitone, the Midtown has traditional passive Gibson electronics.

Yes, I do agree it might be a somewhat unfair comparison, but my point is not really about "who has the biggest balls". That's for talkbass threads.

It's more about how would it seat on a mix, or how it would sound in a practical situation. Since it has pretty much the same "controversial" electronics as the Tbird, and the JC is renowned for it's versatility, I believe it's fair to ask for what kind of bass are we really talking about here.