1994 Les Paul Bass on eBay -- beware!

[Dave W]

GIBSON USA 1994 Vintage Les Paul Standard Carved Top Electric Bass

This is definitely NOT a Les Paul Standard Bass. That would be the LPB-3 which has a real carved top, an angled neck, chromed pickups and the Warwick or three-point bridge.

This is a Les Paul Special (LPB-1) which was an all-mahogany flat top with a street price new of about $650. It never came in anything like a copper finish. This bass is a refin with a "German carve" done sometime post-factory. It's not anything close to original.

[Iome]

And what an ugly carve.... how can you ruin a nice bass like this 

[Denis]

You should tell him that, Dave!

[4stringer77]

It's like a cross between a music man Bongo and an LP 

[gearHed289]

That one's been on and off eBay several times recently. Yeah, goofy carve. Way to turn a Gibson into a Daisy Rock!

[Basvarken]

It's not that bad if you ask me.
Even the color could be worse.

Obviously they decided to stay clear of the flush mount bridge and pot knobs. That's probably the reason why the contour ends so abruptly


The seller should've mentioned it though.

[Dave W]

Agreed, it's not that bad, it's just nowhere near as described. That's probably not intentional, either. However, if you buy it and think you're getting what's described, you've been taken.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

There's one at the local Guitar Satan with its original cherry finish and beat to shit. They're only asking $850 for it, too. It sounds awesome though.  It's the first Gibson LP Special Bass I've ever played that had TB+'s in it and they sound seriously great in it. All the ones I saw 'back in the day' had Bartolini pickups and sounded like crap.

[uwe]

I kinda like both shape (must be the "German carve"!) and color!

The Barts were period pieces, a mindless trendy effort to make Gibson basses sound ungibsonish. The TB Plus pups do the bass full justice and in the active version (as this one is, the four pot set-up ois the giveaway) make it sound outright brutal. While probably more a coincidence than a work of intention (I don't believe anybody designing the Bartolini TCT circuit had a pick up brute like the TB Plus in mind), I can't think of any other active bass that sounds less hifi (in a good way) than those active Specials.

[4stringer77]

That bevel might help with pick playing. Any of you flat top LP players have a problem with forearm rubbing when pick playing?
I ask because I was considering having a custom build made with the flat top LP shape.
Chris Stambaugh is about an hour north of me and he's done some amazing custom builds for people.
Set neck, neck through, bolt on, custom shapes, whatever you want basically. He's got a T-bird in the works for somebody now and I'm looking forward to seeing how that comes out.

[Dave W]

That bevel might help with pick playing. Any of you flat top LP players have a problem with forearm rubbing when pick playing?
I ask because I was considering having a custom build made with the flat top LP shape.
Chris Stambaugh is about an hour north of me and he's done some amazing custom builds for people.
Set neck, neck through, bolt on, custom shapes, whatever you want basically. He's got a T-bird in the works for somebody now and I'm looking forward to seeing how that comes out.

I don't have a LP but I prefer a flat top for either pick or fingerstyle. Depends on where you like to position your hand and how high you wear your bass.

[4stringer77]

I wear my bass at about belt buckle level. It shouldn't be a problem because I get around on my Guild B-301 just fine and that thing is a big old slab battleaxe. I sent an inquiry to Stambaugh to see if he'd be able to pull off a limed mahogany finish with an LP special body and a single thunderbird pickup. Well se what he says. I'll start a new thread if things get interesting.