Travis 4,719 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.guitarworld.com/amp/news/gibson-announces-multi-year-partnership-with-gene-simmons-on-custom-line-of-g-guitars-and-basses Discuss... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Biz Prof 5,228 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 M/B was a great acquisition; a home run. And nowww....we're back to Henry J. product development strategies. 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Willie G. Moseley 3,581 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 At least right at the outset we know who made it. Didn't he refuse--at least at one point---refuse to identify who made the Punisher model? IIRC it was B.C. Rich 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Haynie 12,498 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Many times Gene has said he does not like asymmetrical body shapes for basses. The Spector that was seen around the time of Alive II was symmetrical. The Punisher was symmetrical as well. For a while in the 80s Gene played Pedulla basses. Seeing these pseudo Thunderbirds make me laugh a little. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
velorush 5,842 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Cool enough looking bass, but, what is the market? Does Gene's celebrity really hold sway? Just spitballing and trying to make sense of the strategy: you want to sell basses (guitars in general), so you hang your hat on a guy with a fairly limited set of chops who's at the end of his career (not knocking Gene. His set of skills were perfect for Kiss)? I recognize the history of Gibson and Gene (or at least I recall there was a relationship back when I was a fan, i.e., through Alive II). I just don't see Gene as someone who would sway my decision on which bass to purchase and I surely don't see him as swaying at all the decision of anyone, say, twenty years or more younger than me. I'd put all of these guys in the same, "mature" category: Geddy? Sheehan? Pino? Marcus? Victor? Bootsy? Steve Harris? Sure, I guess, but Gene? Maybe it's that they're all taken (in order): Fender, Yamaha, Fender, Fender/Sire, Fodera, Fender Why not grab a Thundercat (presently with Ibanez), Tal (Sadowsky, maybe), Michael League from Snarky Puppy, or why not some of the "influencers" like that Davie504 guy from YouTube? GENE? Not picking up what they're putting down, not to mention a new brand to boot. This feels too much like one of those spurious case study "solutions" some team came up with in nerd school - checks some theoretical boxes, presented, then sits down to applause while it would never work in the real world. 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kizanski 15,872 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 28 minutes ago, JGale said: WTF! More like "WTFC?" 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Haynie 12,498 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 (edited) Most of those basses will be sold to KISS collectors. Edited January 8 by Steve Haynie 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
specialk 4,129 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 2021. We had such high hopes for you. 2 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
slingblader 479 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Yeah, I noticed he played a T-bird for a few songs in the Dubai show. It just didn't look right, and it seemed like he was a bit uncomfortable. I'm so used to seeing him playing more symmetrical body shapes. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutchman 2,517 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Gene’s got 2 things on his mind... money... and more money!! Gibson must have tapped into one of those things!!! 2 1 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cynic 6,820 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 hours ago, Steve Haynie said: Many times Gene has said he does not like asymmetrical body shapes for basses. 1 1 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
killerteddybear 7,819 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 (edited) 2 hours ago, cynic said: I'm surprised he hasn't changed his name to $immons... Edited January 9 by killerteddybear 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travis 4,719 Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 1 hour ago, killerteddybear said: I'm surprised he hasn't changed his name to $immons... He’d have two vertical lines thru the S... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cmatthes 20,679 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 6 hours ago, killerteddybear said: I'm surprised he hasn't changed his name to $immons... Have you not seen the autograph he's been signing (and has trademarked) since the 1970s? 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scottcald 3,276 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 58 minutes ago, cmatthes said: Have you not seen the autograph he's been signing (and has trademarked) since the 1970s? Did you have to pay a royalty to post that photo? 1 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
79Sunburst 261 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 When I was a teen and our garage band was looking for a bassist a guy showed up and he was decent but not a great player but we weren't exactly Led Zeppelin either. After he left we had a meeting to decide if we wanted him in the band. One guy finally says " the guy is kinda goofy lookin' and besides he plays a Gibson Ripper, that's a deal breaker for me". 2 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Haynie 12,498 Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Those Gibson Ripper and Grabber basses were good. The Grabber pickup made that bass feel odd the whole time you played it, though. It was like you might want to move it around. Then again it sounded OK where it was. It was a simpler way of creating the same problem with a B.C. Rich switch section. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LefThanDed 392 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Distributed Exclusively by: 2 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Biz Prof 5,228 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 2 hours ago, LefThanDed said: Distributed Exclusively by: All jokes aside, that would almost make sense. That's the kind of joint that the late comedian Tim Wilson called a "Go to Hell Store". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cmatthes 20,679 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 On 1/9/2021 at 8:08 AM, Steve Haynie said: Those Gibson Ripper and Grabber basses were good. The Grabber pickup made that bass feel odd the whole time you played it, though. It was like you might want to move it around. Then again it sounded OK where it was. It was a simpler way of creating the same problem with a B.C. Rich switch section. I always dug the G-3. If one turned up in Ebony finish for a reasonable price and didn’t weigh 15lbs, I’d pull the trigger. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
killerteddybear 7,819 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 8 minutes ago, cmatthes said: I always dug the G-3. If one turned up in Ebony finish for a reasonable price and didn’t weigh 15lbs, I’d pull the trigger. I had a black G-3 stolen from me in Ottawa, Canada around 1980. So there's at least one out there... FWIW I replaced it with a Yamaha PBass (BB1200) and never looked back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommy p 2,293 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Hard pass. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beezerboy 113 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 bummer I did get a laugh though from that one picture.... hey Gene.... need to put a tongue hole in your mask 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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