The Return of Gibson's First Active Bass
The Gibson RD Artist Bass 2018 marks the reintroduction of Gibson's first active bass guitar. Originally released in the late '70s, the RD Artist Bass offers players a full 34" scale length along its all-maple construction for a punchy sound that never loses articulation or sustain. The dual humbucking pickups push their throaty tone through an active preamp that allows you to shape the instrument's bass, treble, and mid frequencies with precision. And Gibson gave their RD Artist Bass 2018 a full-contact Babicz bridge to elicit maximum stability and sustain from the instrument.
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Immediately recognizable body
Somewhere between Gibson's Thunderbird and Explorer designs lies the RD Artist Bass. This 4-string master of the low end boasts some of the most distinctive lines out there. The body of the 2018 version of this bass is carved from maple. While adding a bit of heft to the instrument, it's this dense weight that conjures maximum attack, articulation, and sustain from every note you play. This construction and material have made the RD Artist bass a go-to instrument for rockers, including Nirvana's Krist Novoselic.
The most versatile Gibson bass
The RD Artist Bass 2018 stays true to the original design by offering a powerful active preamp to sculpt your tone to perfection. On this incarnation of the famous 4-string, you'll find controls for bass and treble that allow you to boost or cut the frequencies to taste. The mid control has taken the design a step further. Not only can you boost or cut, but its parametric design lets you zero in on the exact mid frequencies you want to control. Whether tuning to the room or making drastic changes for different music styles, you'll find the Gibson RD Artist handles it effortlessly.
34"-scale neck
Much of the RD Artist Bass's tonal attitude comes from its full 34" scale length. Up until the release of the original RD Artist Bass, many of Gibson's designs offer the smoother tones of a short-scale neck. But this longer scale added more punch, definition, and attack to everything bassists played. It's these characteristics that make this one of the most anticipated basses here at Sweetwater. And the neck is carved from maple into a rounded profile that fills your hand perfectly for digging into those classic rock tones that the bass was made for.
Gibson RD Artist Bass 2018 Features:
- Reissue of Gibson's famed active 4-string
- Maple body and neck offer plenty of punch
- 34" scale offers a more pronounced attack
- 2 humbucking pickups push huge amounts of lows
- Active preamp with bass, treble, and parametric mid controls
- Super-stable Babicz full-contact bridge
