neepheid

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1396002786' post='2408817'] Surely the neck would be finished in a clear coat over the top of the colour? That's how all my basses are done. [/quote] There is a clear coat over the top of the colour on the body, but it's super thin over metallic so it isn't smooth to the touch, or at least not as smooth as I'd like a neck to be.

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1396004360' post='2408843'] Partly true. It is a 2014 model but doesn't feature the 120th anniversary bits because it was carried over from last years production due to delays. The serial indicates it is a 2014 model :-) [/quote] I really should know by now never to talk about Gibson in absolutes, those crazy, contradictory eejits To satisfy my curiosity would you be so kind as to tell me if the serial number is the usual coded one (YDDDY(N)NNN) which Gibson normally use, or is it the "special" 2014 scheme (14 + sequential number)?

It really depends upon what's on. I think I favour the smaller venues, putting on weird bands but that might be because I worked behind the bar for many years in a small (<300 cap) music venue. I have been an Iron Maiden fan for many years, and finally got to see them live at Download 2007. I can't really remember much about it, and that's not because of alcohol. The main thing I remember is one of my mates getting an unintentional kick in the face from a crowd surfer and had to be lifted out the front of the crowd to go to the first aid. So he got right up to the front, but for the wrong reasons I don't even remember which songs Maiden played. Why was I there? To be able to say I was there? Because frankly, that's about all I've taken away from the experience. Sorry if that seems cynical. Having said that, at Belladrum last year I saw MacFloyd perform the entirety of Dark Side of the Moon. Even though I was at the back (barely got in the tent), I had a pint of Black Isle Brewery Blonde in one hand and a nip of Tomatin in the other and was singing along like a bloody fool. Fantastic. Loved it. I guess it depends on the gig. I don't do well with big crowds anyway, I'm a country boy and I'm used to having room to spin around with my arms stretched out if the mood takes me. I also don't care for too much chatter around me at gigs - far be it from me to dictate to people what they do with their spare time but if you're not interested in the music, then WHY ARE YOU HERE?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1396001833' post='2408794'] I still like it, and I still think the un-cloured neck looks weird. [/quote] Be that as it may, you can trust me when I tell you that a neck finished the same as this body would [i]feel[/i] weird. The clear coat which is there is a lovely satin finish, glidey glide. When it comes to the neck, surely how it feels trumps how it looks? At least you won't object to how my Ripper is being done. Now if only it had 5 strings...

Also meant to say, the bass the OP is referring to is a 2013 model. Jack socket mounted on the (tort instead of 5ply black) pickguard and no 12th fret 120th Anniversary inlay.

[quote name='DorsetBlue' timestamp='1395999093' post='2408746'] Is that a 2013 model, as I thought the 2014 were smooth gloss? [/quote] That is a 2014 Bullion Gold model, they aren't filling the ash grain prior to applying the colour (It'd probably be £1200 instead of <£800 if they did). Gibson's definition of "gloss" and mine differ somewhat. The finish is my least favourite thing about this bass. It's just as well it sounds fantastic and is excellent ergonomically. As I alluded to in my Goldfinger picture, it's more like having gold poured over the bass. That's my story and I'm sticking to it It's also hard to photograph, at least it is with a phone camera: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/76091-gibson-porn/page__view__findpost__p__2374898

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1395952841' post='2408398'] I had to go and look on the Gibson website. Obviously a photo isn't the same as the real thing, but that colour looks pretty damn sexy to me... [/quote] Mine's nowhere near as smooth as that: It's more like this:

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1395945180' post='2408306'] Neepheid is quite right. I mean the back of the neck. I can understand why bolt-on neck instruments do it (even though I don't like the look of it), but to go to all the trouble to deliberately mask off the neck and have it not matching the edges of the body seems ludicrous to me. It wouldn't have to be sunburst - simply a continuation of the colour at the the point the neck joins the body would be suitably aesthetically pleasing. Nothing wrong with a gold neck on a gold bodied bass IMO: [/quote] You wouldn't want the Bullion Gold finish on the back of your neck, trust me. It's probably my least favourite thing about the whole bass.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1395916703' post='2407855'] Funnily enough I was introduced to a guy at a party as 'another bass player'. His first question was what bass do you play. I have an Ibanez. He said 'Ah. I play a fender', then he walked off. He's a strange guy by all accounts anyway so no loss. [/quote] Sounds a bit dickish to me.

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1395872426' post='2407573'] Wednesday night is Troll Night, apparently ... [/quote] Only Wednesdays?

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[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1395786969' post='2406425'] It does look nice, and it makes a change to see a 5-string Gibson. Pity they couldn't be bothered to match the neck finish to the body though. [/quote] I heard they made this especially for you. I also heard they also nearly called it the Gibson BRX, but someone in Sales vetoed it. Bet you feel bad for griping about the neck finish now, don't you?

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1395850001' post='2407137'] Just out of interest, do you think this bass would be better with a matching sunburst headstock, or do you mean it should have a 'burst finish on the [i]back[/i] of the neck as well ? [/quote] BRX means matching finish on the back of the neck. Which I think would look pretty preposterous on my Bullion Gold EB and would definitely not welcome, but never mind. [quote] These do indeed look like nice basses, but to my own tastes, they don't look right with Music Man - style pickups with the big exposed pole pieces, If they sound like MM pickups that would be wrong, too, but I doubt that they do . It would be much more apt for this bass to have traditional Gibson-style humbuckers with chrome covers. That is the classic Gibson look. Overall though, I expect these would be very useful basses at a very reasonable price for a decent quality American-made bass. [/quote] Given the variety of Gibson's bass output since the first Gibson Electric Bass (renamed EB-1), I'd struggle to define a "classic Gibson look" if I'm honest. The only common theme running through all of them is the logo and the fact that none of them sell in numbers that give Fender any sleepless nights

Well, it's a start towards airlines being prevented from acting like total dicks in response to anything that isn't bag shaped.

Keep this coming folks, a nice list of basses for me to avoid - I need room for my sausage fingers to blunder their way around the strings.

Never. When the dials on my Red Sub claim to be flat, the sound is so mid heavy it sounds awful. I always, ALWAYS use the Contour control to scoop them out to a degree, the Contour is usually around half way round just to sound "normal" to me. Then I have the graphic EQ putting selected mids back in for flavour. And the Starcaster always needs a bit extra high end help, bless its old school thumpy cotton socks Short answer: no, I never play with "flat" EQ.

[quote name='ToneStyler UK' timestamp='1395761630' post='2405925'] Yes, we've been making ToneStylers for years with D-flat shafts for set-screws and with "fine" 24-spline shafts for USA push-on knobs, which are very successful, but they do not fit "coarse" 18-spline knobs. It's true what you say: that players will change their knobs, but we think that we might be losing a number of sales to Epiphone and other owners who are not prepared to "spoil" their instrument by changing its original 18-spline knobs. We're trying to estimate what that number is, to determine whether to make the pots with coarse shafts or not, and, if so, in what proportions. [/quote] Ahh, I get what you're up to now (now that I've actually taken the time to look on your site instead of making assumptions), you're selling single pot replacements, not entire gubbins replacements. Of course that makes sense that people would want the original knob. D'oh! Carry on! I don't have much to offer beyond your rough generalisation (which is on the whole pretty sound from what I gather).

Here's what my BB450 sounds like recorded direct via USB into Audacity with no tricks, attached to a ham fisted buffoon trying to play I Got You (I Feel Good) http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/mp3/BB450%20soundclips/

It's only vague, "if it comes up for a song" type GAS, but if any of these were to come up at the right price... Yamaha SBV-J2 Greco mad 3 pickup Les Paul bass:

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1395742006' post='2405608'] Don't want to make it too easy for you! [/quote] Shame, because given your current basses my mind instantly went to a Gibson G-3 as well. I'm out

[quote name='theyellowcar' timestamp='1395647765' post='2404574'] Welcome to the club. You will never leave. [/quote] I signed in as a guest a couple of times. Both times I got stared/glared at as soon as I went in the door, bought a beer, played the club puggie a few times, didn't win anything, then left when the stares from the local yokels started to burn uncomfortable holes in my body.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1395741391' post='2405597'] Caveats: I don't do Ricks, Gibsons or Stingrays or clones thereof... [/quote] Well, that's most of the "high quality" suggestions out the window - you are a tough bugger to please

In the aftermath of band breakups, I've found a few months off beneficial - no matter how amicable it is it takes time to brush it off and dust yourself down. I've not rushed back into the first thing that comes up just so I can play - if something's not right, be it the music or the people then I've passed on it. I took some lessons in the downtime and it really opened up my eyes (or at least gave names to things I already did but didn't know why).

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1395651998' post='2404614'] Does the world need another Jazz bass clone maker? [/quote] Doesn't need it, but probably wants it. World at large shows no signs of getting tired of them.