Author Topic: Alembic Essence in a Reality show! (Read 148 times)

govegan · « **on:** January 20, 2010, 09:40:51 AM »

My band is being filmed for a reality show in conjunction with our local news station / internet site.

Some nice shots of the Bass in there, and if nothing else it's good for a laugh now and then

http://videos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2010/01/the_scarlet_ending_tapes_a_cal.html

rami · « **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:27:04 PM »

When I feel like having a good laugh, I usually look at a Gibson Bass.

P.S. Just this weekend I traded a my much HATED Gibson Thunderbird for a Beloved Alembic Epic - my first Epic!

bigredbass · « **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:55:32 PM »

Actually Rami, I've come to consider 'Gibson bass' as big an oxymoron as 'government intelligence' and 'jumbo shrimp'.

Joey

govegan · « **Reply #3 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:38:38 PM »

I actually don't mind the ripper too much. It's nothing like my Essence but it has a cool tone.

But yes, the majority of Gibson Basses are garbage.

fmm · « **Reply #4 on:** January 20, 2010, 03:00:45 PM »

I regret selling my Ripper.

Of course, I think I've regretted getting rid of all the basses I've sold except maybe one.

poor_nigel · « **Reply #5 on:** January 20, 2010, 06:34:32 PM »

Uh oh. . . People are making fun of the basses I learned to play bass on. I must retaliate! Oh ya, well, my dad can whip your dad anytime! You know, since my father came out of the closet last summer, it gives that come-back a whole new meaning. Might be best to just walk away this time, or run, if they rode in on Harleys.

(Message edited by poor_nigel on January 20, 2010)

811952 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 20, 2010, 06:59:56 PM »

I bought a '76 Thunderbird solely because of this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL68VE-Qi7Y

John

ajdover · « **Reply #7 on:** January 20, 2010, 07:06:42 PM »

I like Gibsons. I have:

A '76 Bicentennial Thunderbird.
An EB-3.
A '74 Ripper.
A '77 RD Artist
An '81 Victory Artist
An '87 Custom Shop Thunderbird

Are they Alembics? Hell, are they Fenders? No.
But I like them just the same. My Ripper, for example, is a beast - and I love it.

And too many have played Gibsons, and happily so to term them garbage, as govegan asserts.

To wit -

John Entwistle - Gibson Thunderbird
Jack Bruce - Gibson EB-3
Leon Wilkeson - Gibson Thunderbird
Jack Bruce - Gibson Les Paul Signature
Peter Cetera - Gibson Ripper
Gene Simmons (yeah, I know, not a great player and an endorsement deal) - Ripper, Grabber, G-3
Nikki Sixx - Gibson Thunderbird

Gibson hasn't had as good a reputation as, say, Fender for any number of reasons. They have a tendency not to fix problems (e.g., neck dive on Thunderbirds, weak pickups on Rippers, weight on RDs). This being said, they are unique and appeal to a certain clientele, I think. This isn't unlike our beloved Alembics, which certainly aren't everyone's cup of tea (though they might be ours!).

All this aside, I like my Gibsons, and play them with joy.

Alan

mike1762 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2010, 03:15:40 AM »

My first good bass was a Ripper... I wish I still had it. I recall a 5-way(?) switch on it that gave it tons of different tones. It was with this bass that I discovered you had to change strings every now and again!!! It was sounding like crap (and the rust on the strings was probably irritating the skin on my fingers) so I decided to put fresh strings on it... Voila!!! I also had a Les Paul Recording Bass (actually it may have been a guitar... man, I'm getting old).

govegan · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2010, 04:34:25 AM »

AJDover

I am not downplaying that many people such as Entwistle have played and enjoyed the Thunderbird... however every Gibson I have had the chance to play on has been sub par with the exception of the Ripper I mentioned.

No offense of course, I use garbage in the broadest sense of the term possible and probably should have included the word new before Gibson.

lbpesq · « **Reply #10 on:** January 21, 2010, 07:09:25 AM »

Don't forget Rick Danko of The Band, another Gibson bass player.

Bill, tgo

rami · « **Reply #11 on:** January 21, 2010, 08:04:18 AM »

I also have a Gibson SG-Z which I like. But the T-Bird is way over-rated. It's the difficult upper register access and that HORRIBLE directional hum that makes it virtually unplayable. They'd never let one of their guitars leave the factory with such a glaring flaw. Shameful indeed.

Rami

(Message edited by rami on January 21, 2010)

bracheen · « **Reply #12 on:** January 21, 2010, 09:08:20 AM »

Alan, I've never seen Jack Bruce play a Les Paul but he has been playing an EB-0 recently. Or is it an EB-1? I get those confused. It's the violin shaped one.

Sam

adriaan · « **Reply #13 on:** January 21, 2010, 10:10:08 AM »

Jack Casady, not Bruce. The Epiphone Jack Casady Signature is based on the Gibson Les Paul Signature

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #14 on:** January 21, 2010, 10:43:28 AM »

Jack Casady has played the Gibson Les Paul Signature as well as a standard-shape Les Paul Bass. Phil Lesh has played an SG-shaped Gibson, don't know the model.
I had a Gibson EB2 that played well but sounded like crap. I had a Gibson Grabber that wasn't too bad...
Oh oh, the thread's been diverted!