Gibson Midtown upgrades

General discussion of all things left hand bass.
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crabby
Posts: 300
Joined: March 20th, 2008, 12:56 am

Gibson Midtown upgrades

Post by crabby »

So I am very lucky to have found a lefty Midtown bass prior to the leftys being discontinued. This was the second one I found as the first one I had ordered in 2013 was fraught with issues and had to be returned. The new one is just fantastic and has great fit and finish. After some research, I decided to upgrade the bridge to a Hipshot Supertone as it can be installed using the factory holes, no mods are needed and its completely reversible. The new bridge arrived yesterday and took only a few minutes to mount. Setup was a breeze and although, I'm not sure if I can hear a difference yet, it will be so nice to not have saddles falling out and the actual bridge falling off the body during string changes. The Supertone is a quality piece for sure and wasn't overly expensive. Plus it looks really cool! :)

I swapped the black 3 way switch tip for a genuine Gibson cream tip and replaced the speed knobs with the taller chrome tops which I think look a lot better and still look like they could be factory originals. I would like to replace the pots at some point with something with more taper as these have virtually none. But otherwise, this is one great sounding bass and totally different from anything else I have in my arsenal. She is strung up with DR Sunbeams and low action. Here are a few before and after shots of the bridge. my Ipad camera doesn't show how nice the color of the Cherry finish really looks in person.

Before:
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Bridge Removed:
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And all Done:
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Basshappi
Posts: 965
Joined: March 14th, 2008, 2:28 pm

Re: Gibson Midtown upgrades

Post by Basshappi »

Looks great.
I really like the reflector knobs and the cream switch, they just look right on that bass.
"Nothing is what is seems, but everything is exactly what it is." B. Banzai
crabby
Posts: 300
Joined: March 20th, 2008, 12:56 am

Re: Gibson Midtown upgrades

Post by crabby »

Thanks, funny how little things like that can improve the look.
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Matt R.
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Joined: March 14th, 2008, 1:45 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL
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Re: Gibson Midtown upgrades

Post by Matt R. »

Absolutely love it
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Lefty007
Posts: 770
Joined: March 12th, 2008, 5:13 pm

Re: Gibson Midtown upgrades

Post by Lefty007 »

Two thumbs up! Hipshot rules!
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