LeftyBassist.com

"discontinued is such a harsh word. more like we stopped making them for an indefinite period of time"

Just wanted to pop in and say I got my SG Standard bass in last week! I've been too ridiculously busy to post pictures, but when I've got some more free time I will do just that! Real quick rundown of my thoughts so far:

PROS:

-sounds great, very thumpy with lots of personality. I've heard lots of complaints of muddiness but if you have even the most basic access to EQ you can make it sound great
-plays well, very fast with scandalously low action
-looks KILLER
-great fit and finish, just a small blemish in the finish on the side of the fretboard (on the bottom where I can't see or feel it)
-very light

CONS:

-it had some intonation issues when I got it, still dialing it in
-slightly dead note on the A sharp on the E string, not a big issue however
-WICKED neck dive, which will require a combination of solutions to get rid of
-pots wired in reverse which is slightly annoying

Congratulations on the SG! I was also impressed about the weight on my Thunderbird. I expected them to be heavy, but 8.5 lbs. is amazing. Also impressed about the lack of claimed muddiness. I have none. I like the sound. I guess it does indeed come down the amp and such that you play through.

Sorry to hear about the neck dive. Maybe a cotton or other non-slip strap?

FWIW, I was driving from DC to Raleigh and stopped into a Sam Ash in Richmond, Virginia on my way down. They had a lefty Gibson SG bass there in the natural cherry wood for $800. Not my cup of tea at all, but was a nice enough bass. The store did not even realize they had it.

Figured I would post in case this is of interest to someone.

P.S. Am I the only who obsessively calls every store in town when they travel for work to see if they have left handed basses in stock? Or do I just travel more then most here?

Weird about the neckdive on yours, mine's minimal, nowhere near "wicked". And a decent strap fixed the problem. Guess its different bass to bass.

I too have no issues with neck dive using a regular strap. Hope you get it dialed in to your liking!

In my very short lived SG experience I didn't have neck dive problems either.

move the strap button.

Me either.

I'll be posting my full review with photos tonight, but I just wanted to post a little update:

-As far as the neck dive goes, the bass is so light its basically a non-issue when I'm playing; I never feel like my fretting hand is being slowed down by the weight. It's only an issue if I let go of the neck for any reason; then it slides right down to an almost vertical position. I've heard this is a common complaint amongst SG bass owners, it's actually strange to me that none of you really had that issue.

-As far as the intonation goes, that's also an issue common to the SG bass. I got the E string intonated nearly perfectly, but the saddle is now so far back it's actually sitting on the windings at the end of the string. My bandmate is gonna be making a cylindrical hard wood dowel to put at the end of the bridge to extend the ends of the strings far back enough to keep the fully wound part of the strings on the saddles. I've seen plenty of pictures of SG basses with the same issue (it's so common a guy is selling metal versions of the dowel on ebay called the mod bar), it seems strange that Gibson wouldn't simply move the bridge back a half an inch or so to accomodate for correct intonation.

When I placed the order for the bass I knew from my research that it would be a bit of a fusspot and that I would probably have to put a little work into it to get it to my playing standards. I've only ever owned one bass that was perfect right out of the box (my Atkinson P, still my main squeeze), and I've certainly put lots more time and money getting some of my other basses up to snuff (cough cough Fender Jaguar). Overall I'm very happy with the SG!

Any updates on the ordering status for Gibson basses- still available or not?

I was actually planning on calling Jimmy at Southpaw tomorrow to get an update. His last entry on this subject (03/23) on his Facebook page stated the following:

Well the SNAFU has occurred in the midst. A perfect storm if you will. We are being inundated by requests for Fire Birds, T Birds, Midtown and SG Basses all of which are on temporary hold.
Yesterday we ordered (as the sku numbers are still active)
112 Firebird VS
6 Firebird CW
12 TBird VS
6 Midtown Bass VS
6 Midtown Bass Cherry
6 SG Standard gloss basses

In Stock are
... Les Paul Basses in Goldtop, Cherry and Ebony
SG Std Bass
SG Bass faded in cherry and brown

Just got off the phone with Jimmy at Southpaw. Here's the latest:

The lefty T-Bird has been discontinued, pending enough orders to justify another run. He already has his request in, as he has a huge request waiting list for them, since the first run sold out immediately. This confirms what we've known all along about Gibson: in their infinite wisdom they continue to prove themselves to be run by a bunch of dunderheads. I mean, you just did a run of possibly the most coveted bass in your catalog that completely sold out faster than any righty orders, and you discontinue it?! At any rate, with enough orders hopefully they will reissue them.

Jimmy has in stock right now a few SGs (faded brown, red), LPs (goldtop, black), and EB13s (natural and cream). The EB13s are only $995, so I'd suggest you pick one up now or have a good laugh at this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Gibson-EB- ... 2a2d0c57eb

That's too bad. Any idea how many were made in total?

Sam Ash LA got the EB13s in all the colors.

As someone who bought a T-bird and an SG Standard, I was disappointed with the fit/finish.

Felt sorta' low-end with the matte finish and the painted body, but natural neck and set-up was weak.

They were asking $999, $200 more than the lower-end finish SG.

Styling is what it is. Looks Mosrite to me.

Hell, in 30 years, maybe this is the next "Ripper" overlooked at it's time wonder. I bet no.

Let's get white in the next batch of T-birds