NBD - Gibson Les Paul Bass & Cherry Midtown

[drbassman]

I'm with Dave on this one.

[stiles72]

Yep - talked to AMS and this is going back.   Hopefully third time's a charm.  He said they only have two left, so I had him check to see if it's a return, or a brand new unit. Supposedly it's factory sealed - so we'll see.  Fingers crossed...

[stiles72]

Numero Tres has arrived...

I'm surprised how much variation there is among these Midtowns. This one is spot on for fit and finish, and the prettiest of the three since it has a lot more interesting grain pattern in the maple top. It was hard to photograph, but you can sort of make it out. The binding on the fingerboard is by far the best of the three also,  and the edges have all been nicely smoothed and it just feels "right". You can tell by looking that someone took their time and did it by hand. The black paint in the F holes is comparable to the first bass, not perfect, but very acceptable, and the nitro is very nicely done with zero orange peel.  Being a Gibson, it did have to have one flaw:  the neck pickup was literally flopping around under the cover enough to make a "thunk" sound. I removed the cover, added another piece of foam, and it's back in business.  The sound is very good, and it isn't as soft as the first one I received, but it also isn't as P-bass'ish sounding as the second one. This one resides somewhere in between.  Assuming the finish doesn't fall off this one, or something else weird happen - it's a keeper.

[TBird1958]

It looks great Clint!
Total classic in that color with the chrome hardware 

[Dave W]

Third time's a charm!

[drbassman]

That is a nice looker, congrats on your patience.  As for the pup, I've now put additional foam under the Midtown, LP Sig RI and my SG.  All of them were low in the cover and especially so on the e-string side.  I'd fire the pickup installer in Nashville!  Or do a foam redesign! 

[stiles72]

Makes you wonder why the pickup isn't just attached to the cover via a set of screws with slightly larger heads in the first place, especially since they are just cosmetic anyway.

When removing the pickup cover, have you noticed that it has "cut" into the finish on any of your basses?  I'm wondering if the first bass I received had the cover tightened down too far, and coupled with the screw holes themselves - is what caused the finish to start flaking off.

[drbassman]

Makes you wonder why the pickup isn't just attached to the cover via a set of screws with slightly larger heads in the first place, especially since they are just cosmetic anyway.

When removing the pickup cover, have you noticed that it has "cut" into the finish on any of your basses?  I'm wondering if the first bass I received had the cover tightened down too far, and coupled with the screw holes themselves - is what caused the finish to start flaking off.

It is easy to dent or chip a finish with edge of the big neck pup cover if you tighten it too much.  I would know!

[dadagoboi]

I'm wondering if the first bass I received had the cover tightened down too far, and coupled with the screw holes themselves - is what caused the finish to start flaking off.

Highly unlikely.  Poor prep is the culprit, probably not removing all dust before shooting paint.  Hope the third one is the charm!

[Denis]

Interesting. The bass in the middle photo has witch hat reflector knobs but the basses in the 1st and 3rd photos have the '80s style speed knobs.

[dadagoboi]

Interesting. The bass in the middle photo has witch hat reflector knobs but the basses in the 1st and 3rd photos have the '80s style speed knobs.

Reflector, period.  Witch hats look like fender amp knobs.  I think those reflectors are aftermarket, true reflectors... not like the crap Gibson currently uses.

Sorry for the rant...too much coffee this morning, breaking in the "new" (1985) espresso machine.

[stiles72]

All three pics are of the same bass (the final replacement).  I snapped the middle pic after I switched the stock speed knobs out for some Gibson reflectors.  I also turned  the bridge pickup around so the pole pieces were a little further away from the bridge to see if it would take some bite off it.

[uwe]

Numero Tres has arrived...

  Gibson certainly can't say you aren't faithful! Good luck with the cherry!

[stiles72]

Thought I would try these out - Iron Cross fingerboard inlay decals from Ebay. They are extremely thin, and undectable when playing. From a couple feet away,  you'd never know they weren't true inlays. Best part is I can take them off at any time and go back to the stock look without running the risk of permanently screwing up the fingerboard.

[uwe]

OMGRichthofen -  an RBB (Red Baron Bass) now, where have we been propelled to? 

It needs a beagle decal pickguard though ...