Gibson Bass Guitars

(Originally written by Rigoletto/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Gibson EB3 made in the USA in 1973 Neck and bridge pickups, each with volume and tone controls plus 4-way varitone selector with presets. Typical Gibson neck which I find very pleasant. Same finish as an SG guitar, good manufacturing quality and sturdiness... UTILIZATION The neck is great and the access to the upper frets is perfect. The guitar is made of massive mahogany so its heavy... Super sound for blues and rock. I currently use it with a 35-watt Hartke and it already sounds great. SOUNDS This bass guitar is quite versatile and it offers many sound possibilities. But it's not ideal for slapping... It was born to rock! OVERALL OPINION I've been using it for a short time only but I'm very happy with it and it makes a great collector's instrument... and also a good investment: it's better to have one than a savings account ;-) Much cheaper than a Fender Collector's and more rare. It's truly a great bass.

Color: Heritage Cherry Body Wood: Mahogany Neck: Mahogany Scale Length: 30-1/2" Machine Heads: Shamrock Fingerboard: Rosewood No. of Frets: 20 Pickups: Neck: Vintage-style TB Plus bass humbucker; Bridge: Bass mini-humbucker Controls: Two volume, one tone Pickup Switching: Bridge: Combo Hardware: Chrome; black top hat knobs w/silver inserts Case: Hardshell UTILIZATION This bass is a reissue of the EB-3 that Gibson put out in the late 60s. I don't know why they decided to change the model name, but it does make sense to call it an SG bass, since the body shape is the same as the SG guitar, and that's what everyone called the bass anyways. The fit and finish of this instrument are great, and it plays very well. The strings get this fun sponginess that most basses don't get - I like to play this in a guitar stack with loads of distortion, and play sludgey doom riffs with it, because it just reminds me of a great big baritone guitar, not really a bass. SOUNDS The pickups are quite interesting. A mini humbucker in the bridge, and a big giant neck humbucker - this is an odd combo, indeed. The bridge gets a bright, almost Les Paul-like cut. And the neck pickup is woofy and muddy as all get-out, but in a really fun way! This is a doom band, stoner rock bass dream. It almost begs for fuzz. It does a great Cream tone as well, or Grand Funk Railroad. OVERALL OPINION The pickup combination of this bass combined with the short scale make this a very fun bass to riff out on. This bass wants to be played like a guitar - with a pick, with a fuzz box, through a loud amp. It can certainly do other things very well, but it is such a hoot to just imagine it as a bigger guitar. This is areal winning axe!

The Gibson Grabber G3 is an electric bass guitar that is in the same line as the original G1 Grabber. It first came out in the mid 1970's and is no longer being made, needless to say. The bass has three single coil pick ups, which is pretty rare for a bass. I don't know where these basses were made, nor what they were made from... UTILIZATION The playability of the Gibson Grabber G3 is great as it's a smooth ride with this bass. It's easy to navigate up and down the neck, and especially easy for higher note access. It just has volume and tone control knobs which apply to all of the pick ups in unison. It's very easy to get a nice and well rounded sound with this bass guitar, as it's a nice change to your standard pick up configuration. SOUNDS The sound of the Gibson Grabber G3 is extremely punchy and aggressive. It's not your standard well rounded Gibson bass, but it's got a sound of it's own that's definitely not far off from the original G1 Grabber. The sound of the three single coil pick ups makes the bass awesome for playing higher parts on the bass as it just seems to come in cleaner than your average bass will. Don't get me wrong, this thing still has a lot of rumble on the low end as well... OVERALL OPINION The Gibson Grabber G3 is definitely a nice alternative to the G1 Grabber if you can't get one, and should also be a bit less expensive although not by much. I definitely consider the G3 in the same league as the G1 and if you're looking for a punchy little bass guitar, the Grabber is definitely going to do you good. I don't know how hard or easy it would be to buy a Grabber G3, but it's a great change of pace bass for any bassist to have.

The Gibson Grabber is a bass guitar made in the USA and has a single pick up with a tone and volume control knob for the one pick up. It has a 1/4 inch input and has a unique body design that I've never seen on any other guitar. UTILIZATION The neck of the Gibson Grabber is fluid feeling and is overall pretty easy to play. The neck if pretty round and there is good room to play and feel comfortable. It is easy to play all around the neck, and while I'm not sure what the neck is made out of, I believe it is made of the same material that the rest of guitar is made our of. The guitar is pretty light for a bass guitar and the shape is unique and quite cool looking. SOUNDS The sound of the Gibson Grabber is really thick and gritty sounding for a bass guitar. Gibson doesn't make a ton of bass guitars, but the Gibson Grabber is a great sounding model that has a sound of its own. If you are looking for a bass guitar that is gritty and interesting sounding, this is definitely a great choice to try out. It is awesome sounding when you throw a bit of overdrive on your tone as well, or simply cranking your bass amp. I've gotten great results with the Gibson Grabber, both for recording and live gigging. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Gibson Grabber for about two years and it is definitely one of the more interesting sounding basses that I have used. It has a certain thickness to the sound that is hard to describe, but once you pick up and play it, you'll definitely understand what I'm talking about. Getting one of these used isn't as expensive as you might think and is definitely a great choice for both intermediate players and professionals. It is great to have the Gibson Grabber around because of the unique tone and look it has and when you are looking for that gritty bass sound, theres nothing better.

Found this Bass (via net) at a mega gibson music store in central Washington. Paid $888 USD new, which I later found out was a great deal. The growl, this bass is the real deal. The gothic look is pretty sweet too. It's a T-Bird, what more is there to say. It's a T-Bird, so the headstock heavy feel takes a little to get used to. The finish is pretty cheap too, but I hear they meant it to be, so it gets the 'road-worn' look fast. This bass is build tough. It's meant to be a road warrior bass. There are no volume or tone controls, so it's balls to wall all the time. This is an amazing bass for the money (if you can get it for under $1,000 USD). It's wicked tone and gothic look is amazing. The bass is tough and means business. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com