eberle fully carved

gus01 · #1 03-23-2008, 07:46 PM

hey i was checking on the fully carved eberle from yankel's, the price is great but hows the bass, and how much set up will it need?

jimmyduded · #2 03-23-2008, 08:07 PM

from what ive read(i cant recall where) eberle basses are very good basses whos value has gone down the crapper because yankels has sold them so cheap, but none the less they said it was a great bass

LouisF · #3 03-23-2008, 11:59 PM

I bought one as a backup bass a few weeks ago - got it shipped out un-setup (if that's a word). The tag said it was made in 1995 - I change the endpind, tailpiece, put on spirochore weichs; could have probably changed out the post and bridge when I had it set up, but felt for what I needed that that, plus a little fingerboard planing - was enough.

The bass (IMO) is a much better instrument than most of the chinese or romanian carved or hybrid instruments you'll find and a great bargain for the money.

Louis

bfitz · #4 03-24-2008, 03:27 AM

I got one of the fully carved basses a few months back. Out of the box the action is really high and it needs a good set up. I think that it is a really good bass. I did have the chance to play one before I ordered mine and thought that it was okay, so I do think that there is probably a little bit of difference between basses, or it could be that I just like mine better because it's mine

. I have had the chance to play a lot of different basses over the past year or so and the only ones that I would consider getting rid of mine for are way out of my price range at this point. It also seems to be built well. I don't bang instruments around all of the time but I don't baby them either. I got the bass at the end of summer and it has went through winter in Ohio and no cracks or anything. This was my first carved bass so I really didn't know what to expect. I gets taken out of the house a couple times a week for rehearsals, lessons, shows, ....., and it holds up well and keeps sounding better. I say try as many basses as you can but for the price I don't think that you can do any better.

Slaps McGoo · #5 03-24-2008, 07:48 AM

Courtesy of your thread I started taking a look at these Eberles, and for the price, they seem to be very nice basses. I'm new to the instrument myself so I have a question of my own, which fits better in the Rockabilly forum, but the thread is here. Should I be going for a top carved Eberle, or a full laminate (plywood) eberle, for rockabilly mainly.

gus01 · #6 03-24-2008, 07:56 AM

i being only into db for a little over a year would probably say, it depends on what type of sound you want. the popular semi famous guys around here usually play plywood basses, but seem not to care to much about setup or sound, and would probably attach can holders to the instrument if possible.(which might be nice)

i'd say try it first.

Slaps McGoo · #7 03-24-2008, 08:06 AM

Yep, going to stop by a local luthier's today or tomorrow, fool around and see what they reccomend. A local player is also on full plywood, and it gives a great sound for the music. Awesome clicks, but a bit weak for lower end volume (I think).

toman · #8 03-24-2008, 02:42 PM

I don't know about the carved, but the plywoods are great. Probably the only laminate bass I'd buy, and an absolute steal for the price.

Slaps McGoo · #9 03-24-2008, 04:03 PM

The site will knock 100$ off the price if I get the bass sent, non set-up, which i would prefer. However, this means the soundpost is not set up either i think. Should I ask for at least this, or take it to the local luthier for that as well? I'd probably have a bass working great for about 1200-1300 then.

toman · #10 03-24-2008, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slaps McGoo

The site will knock 100$ off the price if I get the bass sent, non set-up, which i would prefer. However, this means the soundpost is not set up either i think. Should I ask for at least this, or take it to the local luthier for that as well? I'd probably have a bass working great for about 1200-1300 then.

Good as the basses are, don't think that just setting the post is going to get you a playable instrument. They need a fair bit of work as is, and some of the parts are really not so good and should be replaced. You're going to need a complete setup, and I'd suggest a new fingerboard, bridge and endpin, at the very least.

philip sirois · #11 03-24-2008, 04:30 PM

The fingerboards and bridges on these basses are perfectly fine for what they are. They put good bridges on from their shop, although adding adjusters is probably worthwhile. A new fingerboard seems like overkill to me. The cost wouldn't seem to be justified since the ones on there are of decent quality, and plenty thick . They do need planing however. The endpins aren't so great, although for a few bucks they will upgrade it for you.

Slaps McGoo · #12 03-24-2008, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toman

and I'd suggest a new fingerboard, bridge and endpin, at the very least.

No, that's not what I was saying at all, just asking if I should have the post set before or after shipping, mind you it probably wouldn't matter much. I plan, if I get this bass, to take it to a local luthier for fingerboard/bridge adjustment, but a whole new fingerboard? They come with Ebony already, mind you i'm unsure of the exact quality of said ebony.

Bass · #13 03-24-2008, 04:36 PM

Get the soundpost set AFTER shipping. By the way, I think Simon from The Peacocks (Switzerland Rockabilly) plays a bass similar to the Eberle laminate.

Jake deVilliers · #14 03-24-2008, 04:41 PM

Not sure about the Eberle basses, but the hybrid Roma's shipped to me had their soundposts in place, held in place by string pressure. I would imagine that the Eberle's ship the same way.

The Roma's needed extensive set-up work but make a great sound. The fingerboards and end-pins are fine, the bridges , not so much.

LouisF · #15 03-24-2008, 04:42 PM

Mine came with the post up, bridge on, held in place by basic strings. I agree that the fingerboard and bridge are good enough (with planing and adjustment) on these basses for most purposes. The tailpiece and endpin need to be changed (I put in a Thomastik tailpiece and - just for the heck of it - one of "Johnny Atomic's" endpins from the classifieds here). Those two changes (plus planing and adjustment) seems to make it a VERY playable bass that gets richer in tone each day.

Louis

toman · #16 03-24-2008, 05:26 PM

On the one I had, the stock endpin was horrible; totally useless. The bridge it came with was mucho cheezy, and my luthier said he'd kill me if I made him try to work the fingerboard, as the grain was all over the place. Also, it was really splotchy in color, which doesn't bother me much, but I know most people want a black fingerboard.

I don't see any point in having the bass shipped with the post up; by the time you get done with the setup and putting decent strings on, it'll most likely need to be re-set anyway. Setting a soundpost is not a big deal, and if a baggage monkey body slams the bass in shipping, having the post down is probably less likely to incur serious damage to the top or back, I'd think...

LouisF · #17 03-24-2008, 06:09 PM

Hmmm -- I wonder if there's a significant difference in the quality on the bridges, fingerboards etc between laminate and carved on these?

toman · #18 03-24-2008, 06:16 PM

Perhaps; also, I bought mine somewhere around 12+ years ago, so there could be big differences in what parts are included now. I assume the basses are the same though, but like I said, mine was a laminate.

shadygrove · #19 03-24-2008, 10:51 PM

Seems this post started with carved eberle and has morphed into the plywood which is what i own and am commenting on...

I don't play rockabilly, but from what i've read on this forum and rockabillybass.com think i'd choose the Eberle laminate over the carved top for slap bass with a pickup. I bought an Eberle plywood in January and it is great for the old-time, bluegrass and celtic I play and seems sturdy though i'd replace the end pin if i planned on dancing around with it a lot. Mine was built in '92 and the fingerboard is a nice piece of thick ebony.

I agree with the previous posts that it's probably a better deal to save the money on setup if you are going to take it to a luthier for setup anyway. Mine was playable with Ideal's "basic setup" and the adjustable bridge they added for a reasonable price then I lowered the action at the nut a little more by very carefully filing down the nut slots on the E and A strings and i'm very happy with the way it plays.

BTW I got mine off of ebay for a little less than the bassesonline.com website price and there is one on ebay now you can make a "best offer" on, but be sure to check on the shipping first as to washington state it was a bit higher than the range given on ebay and it wound up being about the same as the "buy it now" price before I added the bridge.
Also ask about choice of strings. I got mine with helicores, which are good if you ever want to play with a bow, (yes, i know, but then why get a plywood?

) but i'd think you'd want something different for slapping.