![]() I sent the bass to the Gibson Custom shop to have the headstock restored back to its original condition. Next, the bass was sold at auction to a big KISS collector in Florida. Mark painted the headstock black to look more ”Twisted” for his band. Gene gave/sold this bass to Mark Mendoza of Twisted Sister…at that time the band was called the ”Dictators”. The bass was Gene’s main guitar in the early days with KISS and even used on the ALIVE! album. ”This is Gene’s personal stage played Gibson Grabber bass from the 1970’s. This owner presented the bass to Gene who, via a signed Certificate of Authenticity, ”confirmed” that this was the bass used on the cover of Alive! To get this part right, here is how it was presented in the 2012 eBay auction: The problem with this particular bass starts when one person who then owned it had the headstock restored some time between the 2007 auction and a later eBay auction in 2012. (Mark would certainly never have worn that makeup with The Dictators!!) Top photo courtesy photo courtsey Heritage Auctions. Top photo below is supposed to be from Mark’s first show with Twisted Sister on 78-12-10 in Piscataway, NJ so the bass was evidently used in Twisted Sister even though Mark moved on to a Music Man Stingray soon thereafter. Some time 1977-78 Mendoza had the headstock finished black and an arrow-like metal plate added and it was this look the bass had when it came up for auction in 2007. In 1975 the KISS/Gibson deal was in full swing, the band availed themselves of numerous free guitars – Paul has mentioned that that he hocked more than one because he needed money – and Gene probably received several basses that he never used on stage. As the photos below show Menodza played a black Gibson Grabber when he was a member of The Dictators and it’s not at all far-fetched to think that the instrument was given to him by Gene. The veracity of this particular part of the story isn’t really my concern. Note that this Letter of Authenticity doesn’t mention whether or not Gene had ever actually used the bass in question, it only says that Mendoza got it from Gene, but the Heritage Auction claimed that it had been ”owned and used by Simmons”. According to the auction this bass was given to Mendoza by Gene Simmons in 1975 and there is a Letter of Authenticity which confirms this dated (and notarized on ). In 2007 Heritage Auctions had a 1974 or (more likely) 1975 Gibson Grabber that was used by Mark Mendoza in the band The Dictators in the latter part of the 1970’s ( lot #22314). He is the God Of Thunder, after all.Unfortunately we need to go through this to highlight how little KISS – and Gene in particular – sometimes care about their own legacy and, equally importantly, how little they reliably remember these days. ![]() Perhaps most importantly of all, it’s a bass that’s tailor-made for conjuring this larger-than-life character’s earth-conquering tones. 'All in all, this first offering from G2 delivers on virtually every front, from the dazzling black diamond aesthetic through to playability and versatility. Gibson Gene Simmons G2 Thunderbird: The web says This is a premium instrument for players who are serious about making fun music. MusicRadar verdict: The G2 Thunderbird is a beast of a bass guitar for unleashing your inner rock animal, and there are hidden depths in those tones, too. It’s not cheap, but then it is a US-made Gibson, and it is one solid and seaworthy instrument. Or, just push your bass amp to the point of furry break up, hit the lights, and get on with the business of rocking out. You can have hours of fun jamming Kiss standards.Īlternatively, you can start messing around with those individual pickup controls, using them to dial in a blend of rhythm and lead pickups, and finding some nice off-menu surprises, like Motown thump, jazzy woodiness, or even – if you set the EQ just right on your bass amp and ablate those mids – there’s borderline slap on the menu, which could be just the thing for the faux disco of I Was Made For Lovin’ You. Of course, a bass bearing Gene Simmons’ name would be expected to deal in his trademark tones, and while this is not the Grabber or Charlie LoBue model that those of us weaned on Alive! era Kiss would first associate Simmons with, it has all those classic sounds on tap. Many players will tell you that ebony helps with this snappy attack. The sounds are familiar and although it’s not suited to all musical genres or playing styles, the 4003 remains a classic. This is an understated bass in a cool, classic way, and much of its history and mystique is still in place. And as with the G2, you need not be a fan to get on board with its charms. The Rush frontman and bass legend's signature Jazz is one of the finest of the type you can buy.
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