Gibson Namm 2008?

[uwe]

Sure it will - in circles!!!

I still wish they would do an Explorer with maho or korina body and maple top, long scale with TB Plus or even active pups - something fancy in the style of JE's Spyder Alembics.

But a souped up RD or Ripper Reissue wouldn't go amiss either.

Uwe

[ReidH]

Gibson missed their chance doing a Jack Bruce Reissue EB-1.  That is a short scale solid body bass icon!  They could use the same pickup as the SG RI, 460 Schaller bridge and working tuners and they would have a great sounding bass.  And they could do a few carved maple top variations  and double pickup versions for "GOWs"

Reid

[Chris P.]

As I wrote at the Pit: An EB2 with the SG RI pick ups would be great. But it would be very expensive to, so no chance I suppose.

[Barklessdog]

What's the difference from the JC & EB-2 body?

The Jc is long scale & EB-2 short

[rockinrayduke]

What's the difference from the JC & EB-2 body?

The Jc is long scale & EB-2 short

The JC body horns are a combo of the EB-2 and LP guitar. Just fix the horns and you got a EB-2. Got a feeling it isn't that easy.

I would even buy an Epi version of the EB-2 or another Rivoli if they'd upgrade that mudbucker somehow.



"Epi version of the EB-2"......glad I caught that before you all did.

[Dave W]

Gibson missed their chance doing a Jack Bruce Reissue EB-1.  That is a short scale solid body bass icon!  They could use the same pickup as the SG RI, 460 Schaller bridge and working tuners and they would have a great sounding bass.  And they could do a few carved maple top variations  and double pickup versions for "GOWs"

Reid

You never know, it could happen. Jack's involvement would be doubtful, though, since he's a Warwick endorser.

There was a short-lived Epi EB-1 reissue a few years back. It had a strange looking matte finish. gweimer owned a fretless one for awhile and IIRC did some extensive mods to it. The only ones I saw in stores were set up so badly they were hardly playable.

[Basvarken]

I would even buy an Epi version of the EB-2 or another Rivoli if they'd upgrade that mudbucker somehow.

Maybe that Artec EBC4-CR pickup is an option? I remember Johnny Crab measured it at about 30 ohms!

[Dave W]

I didn't realize anyone had bought the Artec yet, but the inner construction looked the same, at least from the photos I saw on eBay. With that, and if they use #42 AWG wire to get that 30K, chances are it will sound very much like the originals.

[eb2]

Calling an EB1 a Jack Bruce bass is entirely perverse.  The guy did two gigs out of 50 years with the thing, and his is a cob job.  But if people can label a Guild bass a Sheryl Crow bass, God help us.

I wish they would do an EB3 reissue.  Or any guitar reissue correctly.  If they do a NR it will probably come with a Badass and a MM pup.  A real EB2 would be nice, but if it came with a 3 point, I will pass.

[the mojo hobo]

They SHOULD bring out a NR Bird but I'm not holding my breath.

If that happens I'm buying the first one I can get my hands on.

[the mojo hobo]

If they do a NR it will probably come with a Badass and a MM pup. 

I'd buy it anyway.

[uwe]

Looking at the new model introductions of recent years (and assuming that what we see on various Gibson forums is somewhat representative), I guess it is fair to say that the SG RI was a success (who'd have thought given that it is short scale and the SG-Z did so badly), the Doublecut/Money did alright and the Studio TBs flopped (which surprised me: I thought there was a market out there with people who wanted something better than an Epi and something less expensive than a reg TB IV and that the NU Metal brigade would eagerly jump on an available 5 string in TB shape).

So what is the recipe behind the SG RI success?

- People want a traditional look from Gibson and something that stays in the heritage, but sound need not be archaic, some versatility is appreciated. Not everyone has ten or more basses to choose from for various sounds.

- They don't want to pay a king's ransom for it, but they are prepared to pay a Gibson premium.

- They like something that is clearly identifiable as a Gibson at first sight and harks back to some - however vague - historical image.

If you look at the above criteria, they pretty much apply to the similarly successful TB IV too. So the lesson learnt should be that Gibson is most successful with traditionally looking instruments in one of their iconic shapes which are gently modernized to meet current player's demands.

Uwe

My above posting proved more prophetic than I would have ever liked it to be: Go to "basses" on the offiicial Gibson homepage and what do you not see?  Right, Money, TB Stdio IV and TB Studio V have all three been slashed from the model line ...  , they are down to classic TB IV and SG RI (Studio V is still pictured under "basses" by accident, but no longer listed).

And no mention of a GoW program for 2008 either. I thought as much ... the way they let the 2007 one fizzle out in week 48 without any announcement. All those SG Supremes, Moneys and Z-Birds they have flooded the market with via Ebay in recent weeks, you don't do that stuff if you want to attract buyers for a 2008 GoW program and its premium prices.

Of course, they might have slimmed down their product line to make room for new NAMM models, but I fear more that this is the start of another model hibernation period.  Well, we can all look forward to MAMM 2012 I guess ...

And my Studio IV and V are now rarities! 

Uwe

[Dave W]

Well, that could be bad news, or it could mean making room for a new model or two. We'll know by late this week.

I see that Music123 is showing a price drop on the Mon(k)ey, now $999. But it's not shown as a closeout...yet.

[ReidH]

I suspect if they are going to replicate or semi-replicate "vintage" basses, it will be the models that are valued more than a new bass will sell for.  SG-RI survives as it's tone is so much more versatile than an original EB-3.  Vintage TB prices justify building new semi-replicas.  EB-2-RI is unlikely as the price of the vintage models is not high enough.  An EB-1 RI is a possibility as the originals are selling for obscene money now.  And 1970's model basses are not selling for enough money to justify reissues.

Reid

[Barklessdog]

The EB-2 is just a 335 Guitar body right?

That would not be too hard to do. Just slap a SG bass neck on it with a TB pup, like the SG Bass.