“It’s part of the soundtrack of the 20th century. You could even argue that Leo inventing the Precision Bass had more of a cultural impact than anything else Fender did Terry Foster It would be hard for someone to argue against that. It spanned virtually every genre of modern music. You could even argue that Leo inventing the Precision Bass had more of a cultural impact than anything else Fender did. Leo invented that scale length and virtually every design that followed was derived from the Precision Bass. The Tutmarcs were little short-scale things that didn’t play very well, and it’s unlikely that Leo Fender or anyone at the company ever saw one. “There are some examples that existed before the P-Bass, but they’re culturally irrelevant. “Fender weren’t the first to build an electric bass,” concedes Terry. They both thought they were purchasing Epiphone’s upright bass business only, but when John went over there, he reported back to Ted, ‘They think we’re buying everything – the whole company!’ We still have some of those original memos.”Īlthough the Precision Bass was not the first fretted horizontal electric solidbody bass model on the market, having been preceded by Paul Tutmarc’s pre-war era instruments, its design was a convincing move away from upright basses and marked a watershed in music history. “The craziest story is that when Gibson purchased Epiphone, Ted McCarty sent John Huis, his plant manager guy, to New York to evaluate what Epiphone had and oversee the transaction. The whole Epiphone thing started because Gibson were pursuing upright basses. He did want to counter that with the EB-1 early on, but he was still convinced upright basses were where it’s at. “It’s funny, I was just talking to my Epiphone cohorts here about how Ted was still after Epiphone’s upright basses in the late 50s, even when the Precision Bass was pretty standard across the music industry. That’s why Gibson later pursued the EB-2 and the EB-0. They were keenly aware of Fender, but Ted McCarty didn’t realise exactly what kind of a competition they were in. “The reason they chose the violin shape with the leg extension was because of Les Paul’s influence – the bassist in his trio played an upright bass. A 3-point adjustable bridge provides a full range of adjustment for action and intonation, while Hipshot® Ultralite® tuning machines hold down the strings at the other end and deliver accurate and stable tuning while keeping headstock weight low to improve balance.“The EB-1 was Gibson’s first foray into electric bass and it was initiated by Fender’s Precision Bass,” confirms Mat Koehler, former proprietor of Santa Monica’s Holy Grail Guitars and now head of Product Development at Gibson. The Non-Reverse Thunderbird is equipped with a Graph Tech® nut. The three-ply white pickguard features the iconic Thunderbird graphic. A master tone control rounds out the simple yet highly effective control layout. Equipped with a Non-Reverse mahogany body and mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard and 20 medium jumbo frets, each of the two Thunderbird pickups has a volume control, allowing you to use them separately, or to blend them in any amount you prefer. Now you have the opportunity to make one of these relatively rare 'birds your own with the release of the new Gibson USA Non-Reverse Thunderbird. The Non-Reverse Thunderbird's distinctive styling and huge, thunderous tone make it a standout on stage and in the studio. Ever since it was first released back in 1965, the Non-Reverse Thunderbird has been THE choice for forward-looking bassists who want to make their own path and steadfastly refuse to follow the crowd.
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