1972 Gibson Les Paul Triumph bass

• Honduras mahogany body • two low-impedance humbucking pickups • 30 1/2 inch scale • laminated mahogany set neck • rosewood fretboard

The Gibson Les Paul Triumph was another fantastic instrument produced at Gibson's legendary Kalamazoo factory in Michigan, USA, back in the days when this was their only plant. It was announced in late 1971, but probably not shipped until early 1972; this one shipped in the second half of that year. (See Les Paul bass shipping figures).

This is a fairly typical early seventies Triumph. The two-point bridge is an early feature; sometime in 1973 they got the three-point bridge, but sales declined throughout the decade, never reaching the levels of 1972-73, so two-point bridge Triumphs are not particularly unusual.

With regards other hardware, very little has changed from its predecessor, the Les Paul bass. Still Les Paul low-impedance bass humbuckers and Schaller M4 tuning keys. One significant difference was that the Triumph could be switched between low and high impedance (the Hi Lo output switch), but the other controls are identical, despite being layed out a little differently. This was a useful improvement, as the aforementioned Les Paul bass required a low-impedance amplifier or low-to-high impedance transformer cord when used out of the studio. The Triumph was also smaller, lighter, and more comfortable to play. This one weighs in at 4.9 kg.

Although hardware is fairly similar, the level of ornamentation has increased since the Les Paul Bass. Block position marker inlays, body and neck binding and a split-diamond headstock inlay are all new high-end features, and the finish is now Natural Mahogany as opposed to the dark translucent Walnut of the Les Paul Bass.

The Triumph bass was initially only available in natural mahogany finish, although a very few may have been produced in the darker walnut brown of the earlier Les Paul Bass. The lacquer on this example has yellowed somewhat, giving an almost orange hue. From 1975 White was also available as a finish option, although these make up less than 10% of the total production.

Translucent natural Mahogany was the only finish option available in for the Triumph bass until 1975, when White (solid) also became available. Both colour Triumphs had a bound front and neck, with multiple ply black/white body binding - as shown in the close-up image (right). The neck binding is also black and white, though just two ply.

The three-piece mahogany neck is set (glued) to the mahogany body. Compare the reverse of this guitar to that of a 1969 Les Paul bass which has separate access points for the pickup selector switch and potentiometers. Even though practically the same functionally, the difference in control mounting meant less routing, and easier assembly. At a time of immense pressure on guitar pricing these simple changes were critical in keeping Gibson instruments as competitive as possible without reducing quality of materials and components.

The Triumph was fitted with 'Gibson'-embossed Alnico Les Paul low-impedance bass humbuckers, with chrome surrounds, just like it's predecessor, the Les Paul bass.It had no adjustable pole pieces, and three height/tilt adjustment screws.

These were rather special pickups with an interesting 'stacked' coil arrangement. In effect, the number of turns of wire in each pickup could be changed (by electrically isolating some) using the tone switch. Position 1 used all windings for a very fat Gibson humbucker sound, positions 2 and 3 progressively removed turns from the circuit, making a significantly thinner sounding pickup. The differences between these tone settings are clearly audible in the sound clips of this bass here.

The various controls and output jack, are all attached to a plastic control plate, in contrast to the body-mounted controls of the Les Paul bass. The controls are functionally identical with one exception: the Triumph can switch between low and high impedance, unlike the Les Paul Bass, which is strictly low impedance (unless a separate transformer is used)

Unfortunately this plate is not as hard-wearing as perhaps it should be, often suffering damage around the output jack. Take care with your cables! Tripping, standing on them etc have all damaged Triumphs before. The controls themselves seem quite complicated, but offer a fantastic array of sounds; although often in a live situation players stick to a certain few settings most appropriate to them; for studio use, it is certainly worth exploring less-familiar tones. Again, some of these tonal options are demonstrated in the sound clips of this Triumph here. More on the precise function of the Les Paul Triumph controls from the original 1971 brochure here.

The bridge pickup (low-z humbucker) and Gibson two-point bridge, with bridge cover removed. The earliest Triumphs were fitted with the Gibson tune-o-matic two point but by mid-1973 they were shipped with the newer (and less prone to tilting) three-point. Although both are good, easily intonatable bridges (when in good condition!) one of the shortfalls is clearly demonstrated here - the comparatively short distance between ball-end and bridge mean silk windings may extend over the saddles. This will have a negative impact on string vibration, and intonation accuracy and should certainly be avoided. Some people cut short the silk windings, but this may damage the string. A far better idea is to purchase strings with no silk at the ball end - I typically use Labella Deep Talkin' strings.

Note the two screw holes either side of the bridge - used for mounting the chrome two-point bridge

Les Paul low-impedance bass humbucker. Note the embossed Gibson logo. The three larger screws were responsible for adjusting pickup height and tilt accurately - to get the best response from the phase circuitry, a balanced signal from the two pickups was essential. As the Triumph owners manual explains: the pickup height in relation to the strings, has been carefully adjusted to produce maximum performance. Maintain the factory adjusted string setting for best results.

Natural Mahogany finish with set (glued neck). The neck is, of course, three-piece mahogany; the individual pieces can clearly be seen in this image. As the controls are front-mounted there is no back control cavity. The reverse side of this body is unbound.

At this stage, Gibson were using a six-digit serial number scheme, and were stamping 'MADE IN USA' just below it. But this was typical of the vast majority of Triumph basses, the bulk of which were produced between 1972 and 1974. As the decade progressed some Triumphs had the eight digit decal and stamped numbers, but these are far less common than the six digit number shown here.

Inlaid split diamond inlays were a new addition for the Triumph, but a well-known high-end Les Paul feature, best known from the Les Paul Custom. The headstock binding was also a special feature, making this headstock stand out from that of the Les Paul bass from which it descended, although it did share the truss-rod cover with model designation 'Les Paul bass'. Note also the blocky Gibson logo, without dotted i: typical of the earliest Triumph bass guitars. Tuning keys fitted to this Triumph are Schaller M4.

The three pieces of mahogany that make up the neck are clearly visible. Tuning keys are Schaller M4s, marked Gibson. Note the lack of volute; an early (but common) Triumph feature. later seventies basses very often have a volute where the neck joins the headstock.

Sound Clips:

Recorded with Rotosound RS88LD Tru-bass tapewound strings (65-115) directly into a mobilepre USB external soundcard

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