My band is being filmed for a reality show in conjunction with our local news station / internet site.  
 
Some nice shots of the Bass in there, and if nothing else it's good for a laugh now and then  
 
http://videos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2010/01/the_scarlet_ending_tapes_a_cal.html

When I feel like having a good laugh, I usually look at a Gibson Bass.
 
P.S.  Just this weekend I traded a my much HATED Gibson Thunderbird for a Beloved Alembic Epic - my first Epic!

Actually Rami, I've come to consider 'Gibson bass' as big an oxymoron as 'government intelligence' and 'jumbo shrimp'.
 
Joey

I actually don't mind the ripper too much. It's nothing like my Essence but it has a cool tone.
 
But yes, the majority of Gibson Basses are garbage.

I regret selling my Ripper.
 
Of course, I think I've regretted getting rid of all the basses I've sold except maybe one.

Uh oh. . .  People are making fun of the basses I learned to play bass on.  I must retaliate!  Oh ya, well, my dad can whip your dad anytime!  You know, since my father came out of the closet last summer, it gives that come-back a whole new meaning.  Might be best to just walk away this time, or run, if they rode in on Harleys.
 
(Message edited by poor_nigel on January 20, 2010)

I bought a '76 Thunderbird solely because of this song:
 

 
John

I like Gibsons.  I have:
 
A '76 Bicentennial Thunderbird.
An EB-3.
A '74 Ripper.
A '77 RD Artist
An '81 Victory Artist
An '87 Custom Shop Thunderbird
 
Are they Alembics?  Hell, are they Fenders?  No.
But I like them just the same.  My Ripper, for example, is a beast - and I love it.
 
And too many have played Gibsons, and happily so to term them garbage, as govegan asserts.
 
To wit -  
 
John Entwistle - Gibson Thunderbird
Jack Bruce - Gibson EB-3
Leon Wilkeson - Gibson Thunderbird
Jack Bruce - Gibson Les Paul Signature
Peter Cetera - Gibson Ripper
Gene Simmons (yeah, I know, not a great player and an endorsement deal) - Ripper, Grabber, G-3
Nikki Sixx - Gibson Thunderbird
 
Gibson hasn't had as good a reputation as, say, Fender for any number of reasons.  They have a tendency not to fix problems (e.g., neck dive on Thunderbirds, weak pickups on Rippers, weight on RDs).  This being said, they are unique and appeal to a certain clientele, I think.  This isn't unlike our beloved Alembics, which certainly aren't everyone's cup of tea (though they might be ours!).
 
All this aside, I like my Gibsons, and play them with joy.  
 
Alan

My first good bass was a Ripper... I wish I still had it.  I recall a 5-way(?) switch on it that gave it tons of different tones.  It was with this bass that I discovered you had to change strings every now and again!!!  It was sounding like crap (and the rust on the strings was probably irritating the skin on my fingers) so I decided to put fresh strings on it... Voila!!!  I also had a Les Paul Recording Bass (actually it may have been a guitar... man, I'm getting old).

AJDover
 
I am not downplaying that many people such as Entwistle have played and enjoyed the Thunderbird... however every Gibson I have had the chance to play on has been sub par with the exception of the Ripper I mentioned.
 
No offense of course, I use garbage in the broadest sense of the term possible and probably should have included the word new before Gibson.

Don't forget Rick Danko of The Band, another Gibson bass player.
 
Bill, tgo

I also have a Gibson SG-Z which I like.  But the T-Bird is way over-rated.  It's the difficult upper register access and that HORRIBLE directional hum that makes it virtually unplayable.  They'd never let one of their guitars leave the factory with such a glaring flaw.  Shameful indeed.
 
Rami
 
(Message edited by rami on January 21, 2010)

Alan, I've never seen Jack Bruce play a Les Paul but he has been playing an EB-0 recently.  Or is it an EB-1?  I get those confused.  It's the violin shaped one.
 
Sam

Jack Casady, not Bruce. The Epiphone Jack Casady Signature is based on the Gibson Les Paul Signature

Jack Casady has played the Gibson Les Paul Signature as well as a standard-shape Les Paul Bass. Phil Lesh has played an SG-shaped Gibson, don't know the model.
I had a Gibson EB2 that played well but sounded like crap. I had a Gibson Grabber that wasn't too bad...  
Oh oh, the thread's been diverted!