Chuck Burge in his Kalamazoo workshop. The bass is a stripped-down 1969/70 Les Paul bass, being converted to a longscale.The Gibson Victory series was created by the then research and development team housed in the basement of the old Kalamazoo plant. The guitar itself was the work of artist/designer Charles (Chuck) Burge, whilst the electronics were created by another team member, Tim Shaw. I was lucky enough to catch up with Chuck, on my recent visit to Kalamazoo, and get some of the story on these often overlooked basses.
FlyGuitars The first basses you worked on for Gibson were the RD Artist and RD Standard; when exactly did you start at Gibson?
Chuck Burge I started in '76 - our first show was in the summer of '77. They started a new group in Gibson, it was called Research and Development, and I don't believe they ever actually had a research and development department, or team, or group before that. I kind of fell in the right place at the right time.
FlyGuitars Were you purely a designer, or were you actually involved in the building of instruments?
Chuck Burge I built all the show prototypes and show models, just eight-racks full of them, by hand though, in the model shop.
FlyGuitars One of the instruments you designed along with co-worker, Tim Shaw, was the Gibson Victory bass.
Chuck Burge Oh yeah, I think that's my primo accomplishment in designing basses so far.
The Gibson Victory and Fender Precision bass guitars.FlyGuitars Gibson as a company never broke through in the bass market in the way Fender did, what would you attribute that to?
Chuck Burge Fender! (Laughs). I'd say a Fender P bass [Fender Precision], that's why Gibson didn't break through. The Fender shape lends itself well to a bass in particular, because that strap button is sticking further out there, bass necks are longer and heavier, so if you put the strap button clear back where you have it on the older Gibsons, with a small symmetrical body like on a Les Paul or something, then it gets neck heavy in a hurry, so they have to make the body heavier, so it doesn't get neck heavy if it's hanging on the strap.
FlyGuitars And did this influence your design of the Victory for example?
Chuck Burge Oh yeah. Fender P bass would influence any design we ever did on a Gibson bass
FlyGuitars Tell me the whole story of the Victory.
Chuck Burge Tim Shaw is the bass player; plays a Fender P bass. There are so many people playing Fender P basses that one of the things that we decided was that the location of the strap buttons, scale length, pickup positions should be such, that if you blindfolded a guy playing a P bass, and you took his bass off and you hung a Victory bass on him, he would grab the same spot to get an A or... you know. That was one of the pre-requisites. It should be indistinguishable as to playability - where everything is, from a Fender P bass. Because they were doing it right, and everybody liked that... let's not stray off the deep end, there it is already, you know. We'll just make something that's better looking... Oddly enough, I think that one was originally not bolt-on (laughs). Then we went to bolt-on by the time it was done.
The original artwork for the Gibson Victory series.I actually did all the artwork as well, the Victory bass logo that went on the head... I did the original camera-ready art, ink on Mylar for those. And lots of other stuff like that. I didn't ask, most of the time I just did it. Ok that’s going to need some art.
The other thing I recall was that I found on the drawing board that I could stretch those parameters, so we'd have 2 1/2 inches more access in the cutaway, so I did that. Then I came up with the body design, and the pickguard design. Oddly enough with the pickguard design almost resembled the Yes logo
FlyGuitars Was that deliberate? Were Yes a big influence to you and Tim at the time?
I think we were messing around with the guys in the Yes group. I was building a guitar for Steve Howe at the time... I was running to the gigs in Chicago, and the Lakeshore towers and hanging out with them, and I think we were planning to build a Victory bass for Chris (Squire), and I was thinking when I was talking to him about how I can make some little changes in the pickguard, and actually turn it into the Yes logo to a large degree, I don't think that ever happened either.
FlyGuitars How many prototypes did you make for Victory series?
Chuck Burge One, two ... then I built an eight rack of them for the show
Chuck is also restoring this late sixties Gibson EB3 bass.FlyGuitars What would happen to the prototypes and the eight rack?
Chuck Burge They got stuck up the tubes. We had racks upstairs at Gibson, in a storage area, that were just like wooden shelving with case boxes.. guitar case boxes... solid. Which we called the tubes. And when we got done with it, we stuck it out of the way in one of those tubes. Last time I seen any of them, that's where they were
FlyGuitars They weren't destroyed immediately then?
Chuck Burge Not immediately
FlyGuitars Were any of these prototypes available for staff to buy? Did people working there ever make an offer and buy these things?
Chuck Burge Prototypes? no... I could probably have just took them home. Nobody would have known the difference. I think probably when they closed the plant, and it became Heritage, some of that stuff was still up in storage, or it had been cut in half and tossed in a dumpster... or somebody grabbed it. Could be some of that stuff somebody said i'll hang on to that.
Dave Kiswiney was a Gibson endorsing artist in the early 1980s, and this advertisement from 1981 shows him with a Victory ArtistOne of the first Victory basses that went out of there was for Dave Kiswiney, of Ted Nugent (see Fly Guitars interview with dave Kiswiney here). I built him a white one - I specially sculpted the heel area, did a bunch of stuff for him. I put it in a flight case, put it on an aeroplane and it never got off. It was lost. He played it one time in Kalamazoo at Wing Stadium or something, then it went on the plane and never came back.
In fact I think that was when Ted came in and bought about 10 of those Howard Roberts Fusion guitars. Well I purposefully designed, not for Ted, but the way I liked it. When I designed the fusion I made the cutaway a lot like the old Byrdland, only instead of going all the way to a point, it rounded right at the end, so it wouldn't look like a Les Paul, and then it turns out one of the first people that was touring around and came in was Ted, of course he fell in love with the fusion, and then I met all the rest of the guys in the group, and I ended up building that custom bass for Kiswiney, and he played it the one time in Kalamazoo, and we put it on a plane and it disappeared.
Thanks to Chuck for the interview, this is the first of several pages dedicated to his work at Gibson.
More to follow.
Gibson Victory bass for sale
Vintage 1981 Gibson Victory Bass in original red finish
O'Fallon, Illinois, 622**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$1550
The body color is a vibrant red that is sure to catch the eye of any collector or player. This bass is part of the Vintage series, which adds to its appeal. Whether you're a seasoned player or a collector, this Gibson Victory Bass is a must-have... more
1981 Gibson Victory Bass Red
New York, 100**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$1595
A killer bass with a nice fat tone and superb playability
This baby is a RED BEAST!
Bass plays and sounds fantastic.
Some honest signs of age and wear throughout
Completely original
Comes with nice brown hardshell case
Guitar is exactly as pictured.
Buyer pays $125 shipping in the USA, $150 to Hawaii or Alaska, $400 International, $450 to Australia
Pay Pal Accepted
International Buyers ? Please Note: ... more
GIBSON VICTORY STANDARD BASS GUITAR
Saint Petersburg, Florida, 337**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$1750
... more
Gibson Victory Artist Bass 81'
Blackfoot, Idaho, 832**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$3800
Gibson Victory Artist Active 4- string Bass -1981
Fernandina Beach, Florida, 320**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
$3800
VINTAGE 1982 USA GIBSON VICTORY BASS GUITAR TUNER
Monza, 20***, ITALY
€50
Gibson used these on the Victory Standard and Victory Artist basses from 1981, and occasionally the Victory Custom later in 1982
Hard to find, very rare and no longer produced
Very good condition, see pictures
Price for one tuner, available 4 tuners
Private auction, non guarantee
European bidders please email me for postage costs
... more
Gibson Victory Bass gebraucht
Leimen, 69***, GERMANY
€750
Gibson Victory Standard Candy Apple Red Classic Bass Guitar USA 1981
Arnside, Cumbria, LA5***, UNITED KINGDOM
£1100
When I bought this some years ago, it was advertised as being manufactured in 1981 and with a special paintjob. The special paint job is a refinish, and I'm pretty sure they painted the back of the neck as I've never seen another like it. Looks quite nice but has some chips and knocks but overall, it's a very cool 43 year old bass. Plays great. sound great but I'll only be selling it to somebody that comes and plays it in person ... more
1981 Gibson Victory bass guitar
Brighton, UNITED KINGDOM
£2200
... more