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"New" Gibsons...


Cosmo Valdemar

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Hang on - so after the promising steps of upgrading the stock bridge, and adding coil taps to the pickups on the last few years' run of Thunderbirds, Gibson decided the best course of action was to...completely revert to the original spec?

And still not a B-string in sight. They're clearly determined that the best way to penetrate a modern market is to shut their eyes and pretends it's still the early '70s...

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16 minutes ago, mxm said:

The LPJ - oh yes !!!

I’d go for a TV Yellow left handed version... oh hang on.

The scratch plate does nothing for me though.

A bass for bassists who want to be recognised as guitarists 😁

Seriously though, I reckon that LPJ looks really nice.

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I noticed the LP Junior bass had a .105 E string like my Mustang PJ has. Gibson is using maple necks more nowdays. The LP Junior gtr also has a maple neck. The coil-tap is a good feature on this new bass. I hope the pickup is not a bassey EBO sound. -The pickup on my old 70's Ripper was a larger P-90 style with the best (crispest} treble of any Gibson or Epi bass I have owned . They ought to make that pickup. Epi should have made it for the Ripper they had...

Edited by grenadillabama
improve tone
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29 minutes ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

Hang on - so after the promising steps of upgrading the stock bridge, and adding coil taps to the pickups on the last few years' run of Thunderbirds, Gibson decided the best course of action was to...completely revert to the original spec?

And still not a B-string in sight. They're clearly determined that the best way to penetrate a modern market is to shut their eyes and pretends it's still the early '70s...

I think that’s a bit unfair. So the thunderbird may not be in 5 string version, but over the last 5/6 years they’ve brought out 2 different basses in 5 string format but most bass players seem to reject innovation and want replicas of the 50s and 60s basses. They have of course made a 5 in the Epiphone Thunderbird but it probably didn’t sell well so they have to make decisions. Make what sells! It’s what most of us have been complaining about with the last management of Gibson - mucking about with the classics sticking Robot tuners on and all sorts of other rubbish. 

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4 hours ago, Grahambythesea said:

I think that’s a bit unfair. So the thunderbird may not be in 5 string version, but over the last 5/6 years they’ve brought out 2 different basses in 5 string format but most bass players seem to reject innovation and want replicas of the 50s and 60s basses. They have of course made a 5 in the Epiphone Thunderbird but it probably didn’t sell well so they have to make decisions. Make what sells! It’s what most of us have been complaining about with the last management of Gibson - mucking about with the classics sticking Robot tuners on and all sorts of other rubbish. 

The Epiphone 5-string Thunderbird, was a Thunderbird in approximate body shape only. Nothing else - construction, woods, electronics had anything in common with the original 60s Gibson Thunderbird.

Gibson themselves made a 5-string Thunderbird in the 90s. It wasn't very good (although it was more of a traditional Thunderbird than the Epiphone).

What Gibson need to do is to make a 5-string Thunderbird that looks and sounds like an original 60s version but with a usable low B string. They have yet to do that.

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18 hours ago, Grahambythesea said:

I think that’s a bit unfair. So the thunderbird may not be in 5 string version, but over the last 5/6 years they’ve brought out 2 different basses in 5 string format but most bass players seem to reject innovation and want replicas of the 50s and 60s basses. They have of course made a 5 in the Epiphone Thunderbird but it probably didn’t sell well so they have to make decisions. Make what sells! It’s what most of us have been complaining about with the last management of Gibson - mucking about with the classics sticking Robot tuners on and all sorts of other rubbish. 

That's a fair point; I'm probably falling into the trap of conflating "what modern bass players want" with "what Gibson enthusiasts want", and they probably don't overlap as much as I'm presuming. That said, I'd be surprised if the 5s didn't sell - they're an increasingly common sight, even in the blues and classic rock idioms with which Gibson mostly seem to be associated - though I realise that it often needs a more nuanced redesign that simply widening the neck a bit and slapping on an extra string!

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23 minutes ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

That's a fair point; I'm probably falling into the trap of conflating "what modern bass players want" with "what Gibson enthusiasts want", and they probably don't overlap as much as I'm presuming. That said, I'd be surprised if the 5s didn't sell - they're an increasingly common sight, even in the blues and classic rock idioms with which Gibson mostly seem to be associated - though I realise that it often needs a more nuanced redesign that simply widening the neck a bit and slapping on an extra string!

And in this respect the Thunderbird is the bass that most lends itself to a 5-string version, since the design is already a long scale multi-laminate through neck.

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I'm loving the LPJ. I might have to buy one.

I can't say I've ever loved playing Gibson/Epiphone basses but have been hankering for a something with a 70s Gibson vibe for a while (Ripper/RD) Whilst also praying for a cheap short scale Thunderbird for ages..... Well this kind hits all the right spots for me. 

It's also sufficiently different to my Mustang (w/flats), Jazz, Ibanez SR and Harley Benton ss hollow body that I could justify it (to myself, of no one else).

I hope a few reviews come out before I drop money into it but I know I'm impatient.

 

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21 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Would be interesting to read some reviews once available as I've read modern Gibson's (last 5 years or so) are generally poor, and far inferior in sound and build quality than older Gibson's.

I bought a new EB4 in 2017, it was great once set up properly. Still is, but I am selling it as I am concentrating on six strings at the moment.

It is very light for a 34" scale, twin hum bucker with a set neck, and capable of a surprising range of tones, as both pick ups have coil taps as standard.

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2 hours ago, FinnDave said:

I bought a new EB4 in 2017, it was great once set up properly. Still is, but I am selling it as I am concentrating on six strings at the moment.

It is very light for a 34" scale, twin hum bucker with a set neck, and capable of a surprising range of tones, as both pick ups have coil taps as standard.

Have you owned/played an older Gibson, would be interested how you'd rate quality between them both?

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12 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Have you owned/played an older Gibson, would be interested how you'd rate quality between them both?

I had a Thunderbird for a while, but that was fairly recent, 2011 or 12, I think. The EB4 doesn't look as cool as a T bird (what does?) but it is a more useable bass. Never played any of the 'classic' EB series as I have never got along with short scale basses.

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