LeftyBassist.com

Got a call from my "guitar guy" today to tell me that he's done with the new finish on my SG. He was also kind enough to send me some photos of the bass with everything done and installed except for the strings and setup. I know it will drive some of you guys absolutely nuts that I had a brand new bass refinished and lightly relic'd but that's my thing. If you ever see my main band you would understand.

Anyway, I bought this bass new from Jimmy at Southpaw and was initially torn between the faded cherry finish and the heritage finish but then I got a bright idea! I decided to buy the faded finish - saving myself $600 - and spend the difference on a finish that would be more unique and that I would ultimately enjoy way more. The same guy who did this work refinished my franken-bass Thunderbird in the exact same finish - only more heavily relic'd - and I thought it would be cool to have two different Gibson basses that were the exact same - not so common - colour. Since it was being refin'd I took the opportunity to replace all the run of the mill hardware with a Hipshot Supertone bridge - so it can be intonated with ease - and Hipshot Ultralite tuners - including a Drop-D. A BIG, BIG thanks has to go out to our own Bill W here on the forum for helping me make sure I got the right parts for the job! According to the luthier it all went in place like a charm and he is super impressed.

So yeah, aside from the new hardware it was refinished in nitro and a "light relic" was applied. Not super beat down, but enough to keep me from crying the first time some Jagermeister is spilled all over it or the headstock is accidentally set on fire for a few seconds. Plus, I'm kinda old and beat down too. It just seems appropriate that my instruments match. These photos are just phone pics that the luthier sent me to hold me over until Friday when he drops it off. I'll post some more glamour shots then. Including some side by sides of the SG and the TB together. I'm super excited. Really. Like a teenage girl at a Bieber concert. That's me right now. Swooon!

BEHOLD!!!

Damn, that looks fantastic!

Shit. That is amazing.

Yup, gotta agree with the other guys. I like it

gorgeous!!

Look's great..... Good color choice.

Looks Ga-roovy Baby.... and the bridge looks stock and fits right in ..... when you get it, please take a picture of it next to the Thunderbird for us... that'll be nice!

Awesome!

Thanks guys! I'll post way more photos on the weekend for sure.


The one thing that always bugged me about the T-Bird refin was the fact that - because the new Hipshot hardware was an after thought on that one - the hardware was all shiny new and the rest of the bass was beat down. He gave everything a light tarnish this time so that it looks perfectly in place. Also, the Supertone bridge bolts right on with no mods so it really does belong there. Put that together with the fact that you can actually intonate, adjust individual string height and get way more contact with the body via the solid brass-ness of the thing and I can't even imagine why more people don't use them on Gibsons. I've never been a fan of the three point Gibson bass bridge. Just because you've been using the same thing for decades doesn't mean that it's good. (But that's just me. I'm a stickler for intonation, sustain and tone. You know, nothing really important. )

I'm also waiting to see if the combination of Ultralight tuners and the brass bridge do anything to offset the very mild amount of neck dive I had. It was really slight for me so I have a feeling it will put it just right.

Cheers again guys!

Can I have one too please.

Any player who thinks about visual aesthetics is my friend!

That looks fantastic!

Funny thing is I had thought about doing the same thing. Pelham Blue is my favorite Gibson color and I have always desired a EB-3 with a PB finish that had "greened", like this:



Looking forward to seeing it in your mitts Jayc!

sweeeeeettttt......

That is the PERFECT amount of relic IMO. Absolutely stunning results. Love your guy's work- who is he?

I'd like to know too.

The guy who did the work is Bryan Curry. His website is http://www.catfishguitars.com/ but there isn't much there but his contact info and a link to a bunch of before and after photos. But you'll see from the photos that he know's what he's doing. He works out of his farm house near Caledon just northwest of Toronto. He doesn't have a storefront or anything but I just call or email him when I have something for him and he picks it up when he's downtown. (He usually comes into the city once every week or two.) I'm pretty sure you can arrange to ship stuff to him as well. He seems to have just the right amount of business to keep him and his family fed which is probably why he doesn't care about his website or need a big increase in customer base. You can usually work out a deal directly with him of the - ahem - cash variety. He does do some work through some local shops but you can expect to pay a big premium - to the shop - just for them handing it off to him and the convenience of using their credit card machine (+HST of course). Hmm, hopefully none of you guys work for Revenue Canada....

Anyway, this is the second refin he's done for me and he also did a "left-a-fying" of an old late 60's Eko hollow body that I have. Truly amazing. I know a few other guys who've had work done by him as well and they are all very happy.

Cheers!

Dude, that is GLORIOUS.

I mean, really, REALLY cool.

DAMN!

Now I can add Bryan Curry to my list of things I love about Toronto! What's it costing these days to ship a whole guitar/ or a body back and forth across the border?

IMHO there is no cooler color on an SG body than Pelham Blue- it highlights the shape so perfectly! Thus far I've been able to resist the GAS on these new SG basses, but if Gibson had offered lefties in Pelham Blue I would have had no choice but to buy one IMMEDIATELY. Several years back during an initial phase of discovering how to buy stuff off Japan websites, I bought a limited edition right-handed Gibson Japan EB-3 in...wait for it.... Pelham Blue- because I dug that color so much I was willing to play it upside down. Not long after that I had the good fortune to acquire an actual vintage late 60's lefty EB-3, so I sold it- but man that was a pretty bass (see below).

A few years later I also bought this lefty Greco EB-3 from Japan, which certainly looks hot in black (see bottom)....but after seeing jayce's bass I'm thinking- should I consider having the Greco refinished in Pelham Blue.... or is that just too crazy?

Have it done Carmine - the world could stand to have one less lefthanded black bass in it!