Me either. The look of a classic Les Paul bass seems like a good idea. The SG’s look so damn cool, but both of the guitars, I couldn’t stand playing, and I am sure by extension the basses are the same.
I am not a T-Bird man AT ALL. It is the Least Rock n Roll looking Rock n Roll bass ever made IMO.
LTD FTW!!!. I would WAY rather get a Les Paul look alike or SG look alike from ESP or LTD ANY F’ING Day of the week.
Exactly. I would definitely go ESP over Gibson.
I’ve had two Thunderbirds, two SG long scale basses and one short scale. The bridge is cr@p. I couldn’t get the short scale to intonate properly for anything. Ended up with a more than goofy string spacer solution that worked after far too many hours trying. But I do have to say that one of the long scale SG’s played like an absolute dream. Aaaand the neck dove like the Red October. Buy a hipshot bridge and wear big wide suede strap. Disappointment will be manageable. If you must.
My SG guitar…. I have to say is my favorite. Hands down. I could let every Fender guitar I own go happily because it plays and sounds better. But I also realize it’s a complete anomaly in that sense. If even 1 in 100 is magic, this is one of the few.
If you go to the local luthier here, he will talk your ear off about Gibson quality woes since they took a turn. It’s his favorite subject to hate.
For their 6-strings, there’s a lot for me to love… but every time I play one, I don’t. They absolutely have the right pickup choices and placement for me, and they look fantastic, but that upper horn on the Les Paul both punches me in the gut in a weird way and also gets in the way of playing, IMO. I should give SG’s another shot. They certainly sound great.
Scale length I think I prefer the Strats. The fret spacing on Gibsons (and my Cort PRS clone) gets pretty tight up in the high end. But my Cort is certainly playable and so were the PRS’s I tried.
I did a fun measurement for anyone concerned about a 35" scale vs 34" scale.
On my Schecter Stiletto Studio 5 the distance between the nut and the 1st fret is 48.8mm. It is 44mm between the 1st and 2nd frets.
On my Schecter Stiletto Extreme 4 the distance between the nut and the 1st fret is 46.8mm. It is 42.9mm between the 1st and 2nd frets.
At this point I basically stopped because while one could argue whether this is significant or negligible, it was already quickly becoming very close to more or less equal.
The Studio 5 is slightly longer than the Extreme 4, but its bridge is mounted closer to the edge of the body, too (about half an inch or so). I’m not a luthier or any kind of instrumentologist.
So, barring truss rod issues (which I can’t check right now, it needs a socket-type wrench), first pass, I think I made out like a bandit. I picked up the bass below for $50. It was sold as having a warped neck, but as far as I can see, it just needs some truss rod love (when I find the right socket). The seller complained of a buzzing noise on the A string, but all that it has is a loose slot in the nut. A little piece of electrical tape and wollah! Even with these ancient, corroded all to f^%$#k strings it sounds wonderful.
By serial number, it’s a US-made 1985 Peavey Patriot with a mahogany body and a 2-piece maple neck (no fingerboard as such, the neck is made of two maple halves split vertically down the middle. One half is tiger-striped, the other is not. Single ferrite-magnet pup in the not-quite-p-position. Older style Peavey neck, shallow like the new ones, but with a 1.65" nut.
The not so good:
Don’t know if the truss rod works (fingers crossed). It’s an almost 40-year old instrument, so there are some dings and scratches in the body (not teabag, I may do something about them, or just leave the gunk to keep in the funk). The electronics all work, but the pots are scratchy (likely not used for years and filthy). Needs lots of cleaning. The knobs are missing, and the pickguard isnt screwed on right so it’s a bit warped at the bottom.
The amazing:
The neck is AMAAAAAAAAZING. I mean, I love my Peavey MIlestone neck, but this is on totally another level. Did I mention I’m hoping the truss rod works? It’s a solid maple neck, with a glossy back. But it doesn’t catch the skin at all, I’m able to navigate it up and down no problems. The varnish is in excellent shape as well. There seems plenty of life left in the frets, though they do need some cleaning. Also, it’s a common problem in these basses for the pickguard to break at the output jack, but this one is perfect.
As I say, if the truss rod works, I made out like a bandit. But even if it doesn’t, I still made out like a schoolyard bully.
Next steps: truss rod, cleaning, fret-polishing, fix the pick guard, re-string with Rotosound Billy Sheehan strings and set up.
well I certainly hope with the name Patriot it was made in the US lol… but still, nice score especially for just $50. There’s a guy near me selling a 1970 Yamaha acoustic for $250 with a broken truss rod like the price is a favor 
Yep, $50 Canuckistanian kopecks too, so like about $5 'Murican 
Well, if it’s so great, then he should probably keep it and not deprive himself of such an heirloom.
What makes more of a difference to me is how the neck sits in relation to my body. Which makes no sense, but take all my basses except the b204.
When I am fretting on the first fret, my left arm is extended at a certain angle. They all feel the same.
Then take my B204, the way the neck sits on the body, my left arm doesn’t extend as far for all it’s 34" scale. When I first got it I was off 1 fret a lot. Really feels like a short scale
Speak of tge devil ( Jesse @Reasonably_Happy ) showed this to me not very long after I posted that
Check out this item on OfferUp. https://offerup.co/HKsSRI14pnb
That might be a bigger gripe to me the quality issues. I am not a super fan if their pick up covers either, but thats a visual preferance thing more or less.
I never played a lrs paul I enjoyed playing, ever, even thn I love the guitar, its history, many guitarists who have played them exclusively, etc, but for me, it was the most difficult, un comfortable and hardest model guitar I have ever deslt with.
SG’s on the other hand, I have had better luck. With those, changing the bridge from its original shite design to a hipshot I am sure makes it a much better instrument. I love the look, and just saying Angus Young and Toni Iommi, is enough to kerp the love alive.
I have not the chance to play an Epiphone Les Paul bass, and only a badly beaten up and set up EB-1
But still, even with changing the bridge on the Les Paul bass and EB basses, helping with playability, I am still going to pick ESP LTD LP1 (Les Paul shape) bass and Viper (SG / EB inspired shape) bass, hands down.
that’s like, the jazz bass of SG bodies. I like it. Wish it had a different headstock, the body is way more aggressive than it is, but I like it.
Nice find!
FYI - sockets are too thick, you can get the proper wrench on Amazon though for cheap.
There are a couple sizes though so try to Google the original manual.
The Music Nomad wrenches look nice for this but they get in their own way (at least on my Peavey).
Thank you @John_E . I just downloaded the manual. Peavey no longer seems to sell them. However, it’s the same tool for Peavey, Gibson and a few others. It’s a 5/16OD 10X32TP thin walled socket, so I ordered one from Scamazon. They’re about $10 a pop.
Apropos, how is your T-40 doing, and when will we get a sample?
It’s great, still fussing with the tone options which are insanely many.
Trying to find a classic rock tune of the era that is apropos to play.
I have been in Beatles land for a while now and it surely doesn’t belong there, lol.
FYI, @John_E , a short, narrow 5/16 stanley 1/4" drive socket fits in the truss hole. I will modify it to take a scrap #3 screwdriver shank sideways.
I have the black chrome stanley sockets.
Ah yes we have those at work and they are thin walled. Mine at home are cheap and chunky.
Funnily enough, while the 35" Stiletto is definitely longer than the 34" one, The Beast even at 34" still retains its size crown of my biggest bass XD
