Gibson.com: Gibson BFG Bass

The Bass You’ve Been Waiting For

When Gibson introduced its BFG Les Paul several years ago, it was an instantaneous hit with guitarists. This rough-and-tumble guitar was unapologetic about being loud, raw and affordable. Now we’re answering your many requests for a BFG bass with this new standout instrument, and it’s just as rebellious as the original BFG. With a maple top that still bears the rugged cutting marks it received in the rough mill, a trifecta of classic Les Paul Bass pickups and a Worn Ebony finish, this bass has a look and sound that is both contemporary and vintage.

Body

	Species Each BFG Bass is constructed of a two-piece maple top, fitted snugly atop a chambered body made of multiple pieces of mahogany. Top and body are bonded together with ultra-strong Franklin Titebond 50 glue. This wood combination yields a specific yet versatile tone that many bassists have come to demand.
	Grade This BFG’s maple top and mahogany body are both Grade C.
	Design The BFG Bass’s solid maple top retains its rugged carving marks — exactly as they appear when they emerge from the rough mill. In addition, the bass’s interior is treated to Gibson’s traditional 9-hole relief to give you enhanced tone and manageable weight.
	Average Weight The average weight of a BFG Bass body is 5.88 lbs.
	Tonal Characteristics The mahogany body of the BFG Bassprovides the perfect balance for the 34-inch scale length neck and also adds a bright crisp attack. And like a number of Gibsons, the BFG’s weight relief cavities give you a bass that is louder acoustically and features increased sustain and resonance.

Finish

	Color The BFG Bass comes in an attractive Worn Ebony finish that’s designed to emulate the natural wear patterns of a vintage guitar.
	Surface Texture The 30-sheen lacquer finish gives the BFG Bass a textured surface that celebrates the beauty and feel of raw wood.
	Process A smooth coat of satin nitrocellulose is applied over the entire guitar, ensuring less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument — producing a purer tone — and allowing the wood to breathe and age naturally and properly over the course of its life. In addition, the flattening agent used to reduce the shine on this guitar yields a faster neck.

Neck and Headstock

	Species The neck of the BFG Bass is constructed from a solid piece of Grade-C mahogany, the hands-down best choice for players who demand a strong but lightweight neck. Before becoming “putty” in the hands of Gibson’s skilled craftsmen, the mahogany is milled and cut to a highly desirable “quarter sawn” wood grain orientation and then kiln dried until it has reached optimum moisture levels.
	Truss Rod Gibson’s traditional truss rod, found in most all of our guitars, is highly responsive to the individual adjustments you’ll want to make to personalize and optimize string action and sustain.
	Grade C-grade
	Joint Angle 2.5°
	Headstock Angle The BFG Bass headstock is carefully angled at a tried-and-true 17 degrees, which increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain.
	Logo The Gibson logo — one of the most globally recognized logos of all time — is silkscreened in gold onto the BFG Bass’s headstock.
	Tonal Characteristics The angled, classical-style peg head, when matched with the BFG Bass’s larger tenon, offers enhanced sustain.
	Average Weight The average weight of the neck on a BFG Bass is 1.46 lbs.

Neck Fit

	Joint Gibson uses what is known as the Mortise & Tenon joint to bind neck to body so that the two pieces form one solid unit. This time-tested joint style has been used in all the great woodworking arts — from shipbuilding to cabinetry — and has been proven to yield a stronger neck and body than if the instrument was made from a single piece of wood.
	Adhesive The adhesive used to join neck and body on the BFG Bass is Franklin Titebond 50, one of the strongest glues on the market today.
	Tolerance When fitting the neck and body together, we take advantage of our precise measuring equipment so that all angles, pitches and alignments maintain a tolerance within .005 of an inch. Not only does this help to keep your bass in tune but it also maintains proper string alignment relative to the fingerboard.
	Joint Angle Tolerance 0.0° (+/- 15 seconds)

Fingerboard

	Species The BFG Bass is equipped with a Grade-C rosewood fingerboard, loved by bassists the world over for its comfortable playability and mellow tone.
	Radius The 12-inch radius of the BFG Bass fingerboard provides smooth note bending capabilities and eliminates “dead” or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with lesser radiuses.
	Frets The BFG Bass sports 20 frets.
	Inlays None
	Average Weight The average weight of the rosewood fingerboard on a BFG Bass is approximately .43 lbs.
	Tonal Characteristics Rosewood is a very popular fingerboard material, known worldwide for its warm tone.

Nut

	Material The nut on the BFG Bass is made from Corian, which is mainly composed of acrylic polymer. It’s a very durable material, delivers enhanced sustain, and holds the tolerances of the precision cuts made by Gibson’s PLEK machine. It is installed into the top surface of the neck, butting up to the end of the fingerboard to ensure proper tone and sustain transfer.
	Width The width of the nut on the BFG Bass is approximately 1.600”.

Pickups

	Model The BFG Bass is equipped with a trio of classic Les Paul Bass pickups.
	Wire Material The wire used in these pickups is made from polysol copper, which is insulated to resist leaking any electrical charge. It is the same wire used in pickup manufacturing in the 1950s and 1960s.
	Coil Material The coil of each pickup is made from ABS plastic, which is hard and durable and can withstand a broad range of temperatures.
	Blade Material The blades inside each pickup are made from nickel.
	Blade Position From Nut In the rhythm pickup, the blades are positioned 24.38” from the nut, while the blades in the middle pickup are positioned 27.88”from the nut and the blades in the lead pickup are positioned 32.25” from the nut.
	Magnet Position From Nut The Alnico 2 magnet in the rhythm pickup is positioned 24.75” from the nut, while the magnet in the middle pickup is positioned 28.25” from the nut and the magnet in the lead pickup is positioned 31.88” from the nut.
	Tonal Characteristics In harmony with the natural resonance of the BFG Bass’s tonewood, these low-impedance pickups provide a wide range of sounds.

Electronics

	Volume Controls The BFG Bass features three volume controls, one for each pickup.
	Tone Controls The BFG Bass features one master tone control. The pot has an ohm reading of 500k and provides a very smooth transition between highs and lows.
	Kill Switch The BFG Bass features a kill switch made of stainless steel.
	Output Jack The BFG Bass features a 1⁄4” output jack made by Switchcraft. Its super heavy-duty construction holds your bass cable securely in place.

Hardware

	Tuning Keys The headstock of the BFG Bass is equipped with Grover Bass tuning keys. Plated in Black Chrome, these keys are designed to withstand a lifetime of tunings.
	Bridge In 1954, Gibson rocked the world when it debuted the tune-o-matic bridge, setting a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been bettered. Included on the BFG Bass, the tune-o-matic provides a firm seating for the strings, allowing the player to adjust and fine-tune the intonation and string height in a matter of minutes. It also yields a great union between the strings and body, which results in excellent tone and sustain.
	Tailpiece Every Tune-o-matic bridge is combined with a separate “stopbar” tailpiece, which is essentially a modified version of the earlier wraparound bridge that’s designed to further enhance the connection between the strings and the body.
	Strap Buttons The BFG Bass’s aluminum strap buttons are the same style and design that Gibson has used since the early 1950s.

Plastics

Truss Rod Cover
As with most Gibson bass guitars, the truss rod cover on the BFG Bass is made from vinyl plastic, and is shaped like an antique bell.

Strings

Gauge
The BFG Bass is fitted with genuine Gibson strings, sizes .45 - .105.

Accessories

	Hardshell Case Your BFG Bass 2009 comes protected in one of Gibson’s durable hardshell cases with the Gibson logo silk-screened across the front in white lettering.
	Certificate of Authenticity The BFG Bass comes with a 2009 Limited Run series Certificate of Authenticity.

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