Gibson LPB-1 Les Paul Special Bass

1992 - Made in USA
20 frets
Thick, Solid Mahogany body that is hefty and makes this baby purr
Volume, Treble, Bass and Pan for the 2 humbuckers that
feed the highly sensitive Active Bartoloni electronics
All black mahogony body with ebony fret board and dot inlays
Solid neck construction and bolt on bridge
Gotoh tuners with a thick neck for my big meathooks
Came with the HS case with the pimpin purple fabric upholstery

Its great for classic rock and blues - the variety of sound you can get out of the bartolini's is amazing, the highs are a very sensitive and can cause buzzing. The heft and power of the body make the warmest and fullest sound I've ever heard, it even sounds great unplugged. I play through a Marshall 200w Solid State into a custom Peavey cab with an 18" Black Widow.

The setup and action blew when I got it, it had been played hard by a metal guy and he didn't really put much love into it - tweakin the tension and setup got things lovely again and now its sweet, smooth and low the way i like it. the pegs could be tighter and there are some hairline cracks at the neck/body connection, other wise its beautiful.

No doubt this guitar is a beast of burden, its seen rough days and still plays gorgeously. I replaced the buttons with straplocks, for extra jumping around.

Gibson responded to my model # request quickly if curtly - i hear they are good to work with.

1995 gibson les paul special bass with active bartolini pickups. 4 string model. flat black laminate. two volume controls with 3-band active eq. i think it has schaller tuners. for the price i paid used it gets the job done.

sound is variable because to me it only sounds good with solid state amps. tubes you can let the amp do all the eq work... its dark and deep, solid body design so you get rock punch, but maybe not enough treble (unless you crank the eq and make it sound ridiculous). the best amp for this acc. to me is the swr workingman series.

action and playability is good, never any real problems, this was heavily used... the electronics tend to wear out and you have to have stuff touched up internally, the jack gets loose from gyrating savagely while on stage...

the bass took a severe beating live, but the hardwood makes it like hitting a cricket board. always use a straplock with pricey guitars, or they'll fall and you'll break the precious solid set-in neck/body. always use a passive backup bass with your active, don't trust a battery or even the wiring for that matter. they should have an active disable for when this happens.

gibson is pretty hi-follutin to contact, but never had to since their products kick @$$!

been playing since '96, my other prizes are the reverend rumblefish basses, 4 and 5-string, they can do everything this bass can do passively. i just found a schecter devil tribal bass new for the same money that actually looks like this bass and sounds better - humbuckers, active and whatnot. this bass is great if you are solid state, otherwise buy a better sounding bass and use the amp eq.

1998 model, different than one below as has a maple top and active bartolini pick-ups and the tuners are gotoh tuners.
otherwise, ebony neck and mahogany body plus maple top.

compared to various fender p's and jazz's, modulus jazz, carvin, yamaha and peavey basses and this just killed them all. just a huge bass tone that is incredibly tight, defined and punchy in the mix. clearly stood out from all the other basses. kills for rock, hard rock, metal thick bass but with the active bartolinis can get a bright attack for funk slap also.

everything great. just note that it has a thick neck but a very flat fretboard

rock solid describes how its built and feels

Features and sound put it up there with basses costing from a grand to two grand.

The Bass is a 1992, made in the USA, 20 frets, 4 string, flat top with 2 volumes and 1 tone control. It has 2 humbucking p/u's with passive electronics. The body and neck are made of Mahogany, the neck is set with a wine finish. Body style is a Les Paul shape with a Schaller 4 string roller type bridge that is 3 way adjustable. It has a 34" scale with an Ebony fingerboard. Tuners say Gibson but are very Gotoh style. The bridge and tuner are Black. The nut is 1&11/16" wide and the neck is rather flat and a Gibson hardshell shaped case.

This Bass suits my style of playing which is Blues and Rock. I use no effects. At home I use a Hartke KickBack 12 and Live [mostly Open Jams at different Clubs] I use the house equipment at the Clubs I Jam at which is a Gallien-Krueger 400RB top with either an Ampeg cabinet with a 15",a Mesa Boogie cabinet with a 15" or a Custom Made 2-10 cabinet or an Eden WT 400 top with an Acme Low B 2 cabinet with 2-10's. The Bass is not noisy at all. It can sound Rich and full or Dark or warm or bright depending on were I pick the strings. Sometimes I pick around the 17th fret for a nice mellow tone and work my way back towards the bridge if I want to get a more aggesssive or Growling sound. I like the Growling sound if I pick at or near the bridge. I use the bridge p/u with a dash of the neck p/u to give it some bottom. I DO NOT use a pick at all, just finger style.

I picked up this Bass used from a Guitar Show. I set it up myself with 50-110 Round wound Nickel D'Aquisto RockBottom strings. I Readjusted the neck,action and p/u's so it plays like butter [very low action]and I put a very small piece of foam under the strings at the bridge as a mute. The Bass was in very good condition with a few dings and scuffs on the finish but nothing major

This Bass is definetly a Player and has taken all the punshment I can dish out. IMHO it will stand up with the Best of Them.

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I've been playing for over 35 years and have owned my share of Basses and Amps and IMHO, This Bass holds it's own with all the "High Tech Active" Basses out there. This one has become my Favorite Son. I really enjoy playing it. Going to these Open Jams you get to meet a lot of really GOOD PLAYER with "HIGH TECH",Active,Modern Basses and they always comment on how they like the sounds I get from it,and if the Bass is "active", plus every where I've been, I haven't seen another Les Paul Special Bass. In fact some people have asked me what model it is.