PRODUCED: 1972 – 1979/80

ORIGIN: USA

TYPE: Single cutaway solid body, 4-string, passive

BODY: Bound 2-piece Honduras Mahogany, carved top

NECK: 3-piece mahogany, set neck, 24 medium frets

SCALE LENGTH: 775mm (30.5-inch)

FINGERBOARD: Bound Rosewood with pearl block inlays

HARDWARE: Chrome, adjustable 4-saddle bridge/tailpiece, bridge cover plate, pickup surrounds

PICKUPS: Pair of Gibson black covered low impedance humbucking units

CONTROLS: Volume, Bass, Treble, 3-way pickup selector switch, 3-way Tone Lever switch, Output Hi/Lo switch & Phase In/Out switch

FEATURES: Very sophisticated low impedance passive electronics for the time,

FINISHES: Natural Mahogany or White

COMMENTS: Following directly on from the Les Paul Professional Bass (Circa 1970-72) the Triumph was introduced as the bass equivalent of the Les Paul Recording model guitar with similar low impedance pickups but without being set at an angle.

The body is slightly larger than a standard Les Paul and features a heavily carved top and a read body scoop. The extra mass makes this a very heavy instrument indeed and the low impedance feature meant you could use much longer leads on stage.

However it needed a special lead provided by Gibson with a transformer built in at the amp end. Without this you were unable to function correctly hence the inclusion of the Hi/Lo Output switch so a standard lead could be used.

In spite of this slight complication the fact that the Triumph was so much more versatile on sound than other Gibson basses of the time made it a worthwhile venture. Earliest versions had the typical all-metal three-bolt adjustable bridge/tailpiece but a slimmer unit with nylon saddles superseded this.

In spite of its sound potential it proved too complicated for most players so was never a real commercial success. Gibson’s Les Paul Triumph bass is a pretty rare and exotic animal so well worth tracking down.