The mother of all polls: Nicest Gibson design used for bass, visually speaking??

[Basvarken]

Nah, that would be too Fendery.

[uwe]

The eyesight of longstanding members here must be waning if the Gibson IV/V gets a vote! The blind choosing the lame. 

[exiledarchangel]

Where is the option "I don't care as long it has black hardware"?

[uwe]

Nah, that would be too Fendery.

And hard to tell a difference from a Victory then. BTW: There were actually prototype Victories in the mid-80ies that featured TB Plus pups which were first introduced to the masses with the IVs/Vs.

[mc2NY]

Actually THIS is among Gibson's best visual designs.  It certainly gets attention....poor castrated thing.

Yes,  it does have a Epiphone logo....but it is stamped as an "Official Gibson Prototype," so can sneak in as a Gibby.  And there were more than one of these prototypes, so apparently Gibson designers were seriously considering it!! At least the Devo fans at Gobson were.

The Gibson/Epi Semi Teardrop.....

[westen44]

I've always liked the look of Rippers very much.  I'd give it an honorable mention.  Here is the Ripper II.  Too bad they were pricey and, of course, a limited run, too.  Still, if the opportunity ever presented itself, I'd love to have one some day.  Very high up on the list for me. 


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

[uwe]

Those were nice. Not exactly a ballsy rock bass (suspiciously low output), but very nuanced with a lot of - usable - tonal shades. The countless varitone variations beat what the original Rippers offered.

[westen44]

The Ripper II does appear to be a step up; I agree.  For my purposes, though, I'm sure an original Ripper would do fine.  But neither is particularly easy to find. 

[uwe]

Nothing wrong with an original Ripper either. The Ripper II just sounds more "studio", it records well. And the orignal Ripper has more mids, the II is more cleaned up/mid-scooped in sound.

[westen44]

With six tone selections, I'm sure the Ripper II would be useful in a studio.  That isn't the main reason it would appeal to me--other factors prevail--but it would be something to consider.