Gibson has long been identified with its guitars, but there have been many twists
and turns in the company’s bass department,
resulting in instruments that were innovative, if not
always commercially successful. First introduced
in 1973, the Les Paul Signature Bass is certainly
one of Gibson’s most and interesting and enduring
bass experiments, reincarnated in the ’90s as
the Epiphone Jack Casady Signature bass.
The Les Paul Signature bass was preceded in
1970 by the Les Paul Recording bass, later
known as the Les Paul Triumph bass. The original
Recording bass (profiled in December ’06)
was designed by Les Paul himself, and included
low-impedance electronics and a sophisticated
EQ filtering system. Perhaps all the
knobs and switches of the Les Paul Recording
basses were intimidating to some players, so
Gibson, still searching for a breakthough in
the bass market, launched the first
version Les Paul Signature bass in
1973, which evolved slightly into
this version by 1974. The 342"-
scale neck has a solid feel and
gives it a punchiness rarely
found in previous short scale
Les Paul basses. The body
style is a combination of
an EB-2’s hollow body,
with one traditional
rounded bout and a
sharper cutaway on the
treble side. Its simple yet elegant electronics were no doubt derived
from the innovations of previous models, but presented in a goof
proof fashion. Combined with the natural resonance of the classic
hollowbody design, this bass has the “round mound of sound” one
might expect from a Gibson, but it also speaks well in the midrange,
due in part to the single pickup’s placement.
This fretless axe, which belongs to Glenn Worf, a great Nashville
session bassist who has also played with Mark Knopfler for many
years, is in great shape and sounds really good unplugged. The
Tobacco Sunburst finish is beautiful and reminiscent of early-’60s
Harmony basses. The factory-made fretless rosewood fingerboard
is a rare occurrence, and was probably a special order. The cream
binding is exquisite and has aged beautifully, and the matching pickguard
is a nice touch. The bridge has more intonation adjustment
than previous Gibson bridges. The Les Paul style knobs are stylish
and practical, and the bass balances well.
Electronically, this bass was clearly a step forward for Gibson.
Conceptually, it has one basic sound with a few subtle variations. This
works really well and is a makes it easy to quickly dial up a particular
tone. The “Super Humbucking” low impedance pickup has a smooth,
even tone, and the 3-way switch allows for emphasis on fundamentals
(50hz), lower mids (200Hz), or articulation (500hz). This bass is
especially good for rootsy grooves where a subtle combination of
low-end “woomph” and punchy midrange works really well.
The Signature Bass was discontinued in 1977 due to a number of
factors, including a poorly-timed price increase. In the ’90s, the bass
was revived with a few tweaks, mostly in the pickup design, and
became the Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass. For once, a good
idea that was a little ahead of its time came back around and has been
successful in a new era. I love it when that happens. Maybe it just goes
to show that if you are true to yourself, and keep doing what you
believe in, maybe the world will catch up with you.