Gibson Fender Hybrid! The Gibder?

[SGNick]

Here goes my wild mind on a new adventure! This time it involves building a bass! Here cam issue number 1. Love the look of Gibson EB basses! Not sure I'd love the sound all that much, esspecially on the mudbucker alone, and I haven'T heard good clips of what the bridge sounds like. What I REALLY like is the JAzz bass tone Paul McCartney got on the white album.

Enter Warmoth!

What if it had the SG shape, but routed for jazz bass pickups?



They even had a picture of it on the website! It'd be sweet! Great look, and unique at the same time!

add to that the 34" scale "GIbson looking" headstock... I think I'd really have something there! I could probably contact pickguarding and send them a life size drawing of a pickguard and have them cut it out. I think it'd be cool!

So... what do you think? has it been done?

[BattleAngel]

you could go totally nuts and get a telecaster head stock! I bet your idea will work out great, give us updates as they become available!

[The Golden Boy]

Here's my theory, I've been around and around on this for 20 years with my EB-0.

If you want a "Fender-y" sounding bass, but with an EB look-

Don't use mahogany. It's just too dark, it doesn't have the same snap.

Use a real bridge. Something "Fender-y" like a Badass, or even a Fender 'bent piece of metal' bridge. Don't go with the Gibson 2 or 3 point bridges.

Long scale- short scales never sound as "full" as a full scale instrument.

Pickup placement- huge thing. Look at a P and J and Mustang or any of the basses based off the Fender Bass- the pickup is ALWAYS located in the same relative position from the 12th fret. That's the initial P, the revised P, the neck pickup on the Jazz, Mustang bass, G&L L- series... That's the "tone" pickup.

Here's my EB-0. I've messed with it- probably a dozen different pickups in different areas- around 6" of wood routed out of the body- it's probably dangerously close to the back. I've gotten to where the bass actually sounds pretty cool now- With the Duncan SCPB pickup alone, it's a bit too clacky, and not very full. Now it's wired "sort of" like a Jazz, where you can dial in some of the Mudbucker, for the big sounds, but not overpower the SCPB pickup. The bridge is an old G&L L-1000 bridge.




Here's that same bass around 1990 or so- note the P pickups:

[SGNick]

Good info there. not sure I agree 100 percent with some of the stuff you said. I love the sound of most short scales I've heard. most notably, McCartney gets a pretty big sound out of that Hofner, considering how low it is in the mix on most songs it's played on. I love it on the Let It Be Album, song like Don't Let Me Down you know. not saying a short scale Jazz bass would sound the same, I just feel it debunks the theory that short scale dosen't give a big sound. Jack Bruce may feel the same.

As for the wood choice, I was gonna go for Alder, cheaper! and more fenderish. the bridge, probably gonna be a fender style bridge, not picky.

Pickup placement would be like on the picture above, realtively in the exact same spot as on a jazz bass, hopefully to give a jazz bass-ish tone.

AFAIK, Warmoth only offers 34 scale inch basses anyways, which is what I was gonna get anyhow, as changing scale lengh (longer or shorter) would alter the tone anyhow.

[The Golden Boy]

Originally Posted by SGNick

not sure I agree 100 percent with some of the stuff you said. I love the sound of most short scales I've heard. most notably, McCartney gets a pretty big sound out of that Hofner, considering how low it is in the mix on most songs it's played on. I love it on the Let It Be Album, song like Don't Let Me Down you know. not saying a short scale Jazz bass would sound the same, I just feel it debunks the theory that short scale dosen't give a big sound. Jack Bruce may feel the same.

Not to argue with you, just letting you know where I'm coming from with this... I base my opinion on short scale sound on playing similarly constructed basses of different scale length.

For instance- take a Mustang- for all intents and purposes, a short scale Precision. It'll sound wonderful by itself, it'll sound fine in the mix- but then play a P or a J with the neck soloed and you can feel where the short scale lacks in depth- even without being plugged in.

As far as McCartney and Bruce- there's more to those tones than being short scale- The Hofner being hollow, and I don't like Bruce's tone.

[SGNick]

Why not argue? This is TGP!!!! Nah, I get it man, it makes sense, a hollow Hofner is on my list anyways!

[walterw]

be warned, a fender-style 34" maple neck on that little sg body will be very neck-heavy, dropping the headstock to the floor as soon as you let go of the neck.

[RickC]

The Ox's take on this



/rick

[SGNick]

Originally Posted by walterw

be warned, a fender-style 34" maple neck on that little sg body will be very neck-heavy, dropping the headstock to the floor as soon as you let go of the neck.

That's Ok, I already play an SG! hahahaha. I know what you mean. it was a thought I had as well. probably still worth pursuing, I think strategically placing the strap peg much lower on the body could help.

[The Golden Boy]

Originally Posted by SGNick

That's Ok, I already play an SG! hahahaha. I know what you mean. it was a thought I had as well. probably still worth pursuing, I think strategically placing the strap peg much lower on the body could help.

I drilled mine to the upper horn- it's made some difference.

[Chris Rice]

Do your strap like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3u59M_dQuA

[SGNick]

The upper horn was an option as well, as was the headstock thing, but I tihnk alot of pressure on the headstock would make me out of tune no? imagine a heavy bass, tuned while I was sitting, then getting up and essencially pulling up on the neck a tad... if it acts like my Gibson SG, it would go out of tune!

[The Golden Boy]

My Jazz has the strap button on the back of the headstock..

[Ukko]

Originally Posted by walterw

be warned, a fender-style 34" maple neck on that little sg body will be very neck-heavy, dropping the headstock to the floor as soon as you let go of the neck.

An SG body isn't that small, just thin. But the Warmoth SG body is 1 3/4" thick, compared to a Gibson SG body which is only about 1 1/4" or 1 5/16". It might neck dive depending on the strap button location, but the extra body thickness would counteract the extra weight of a maple neck.