Eberle/Musima

B. Graham · #1 09-11-2006, 06:06 AM

I've ready a little that's out here in Internet land, and that's very little.

Anyone know anything about '80's or '90's era Eberle instruments. Supposedly German. Similar to Kay's in some respects. Made at a factory called Musima (I think). Seem to have been also branded as Meisel.

There's a little info from a used instrument listing at Upton.com if you search "eberle bass" but that's it that I can find.

robgrow · #2 09-11-2006, 06:47 AM

See: http://bassesonline.com/eberlebass.html

If I'm not mistaken, the Wilhelm Eberle brand name was owned by a musical instrument importer in NYC. The owner passed away, and bassesonline is liquidating the existing inventory. As I recall, the Eberle basses were made by the now defunct Musima factory in the former East Germany. The guy behind bassesonline posts here sometimes; maybe he'll jump in.

I've played a couple of Eberle basses, and they're good quality instruments. Nothing fantastic, but good solid basses nonetheless.

I believe some basses sold under the Knilling name were also Musima made.

B. Graham · #3 09-11-2006, 07:30 AM

I bought one from Steve (Ideal Music). I was just wondering if any people who've played them had any comments. It seems like a decent bass, except for the end pin. Not really a "looker" but it sounds pretty good with the default strings on it.

Any more feedback on it's characteristics, things to watch for as it ages, would be great, or suggestions on any set-up particulars to get the most out of would be appreciated as well.

Thanks.

toman · #4 09-11-2006, 05:37 PM

I bought one new back in the mid ninetys, form a guy in my town who does incredible setup work. It was a great bass, especially with some upgraded parts and a great setup. I eventually sold it to buy my Shen, and have regretted it ever since. The $2800 Eberle plywood was better in every regard than the Shen, and the Shen was twice the price. Only downside to the Eberly was the horrid orange poly finish. Uhhhg.

If I could buy that bass back, I'd do it in a heartbeat and keep it forever.

Marcus Johnson · #5 09-11-2006, 05:53 PM

Wow... THAT I didn't expect, Toman... sounds like a thread all by itself.

B. Graham · #6 09-11-2006, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toman

Only downside to the Eberly was the horrid orange poly finish. Uhhhg.

That's the downside for me as well. Damn, this thing glows. I'm very much a dark brown/merlot kind of person.

This on is one of the NOS 1993's from Ideal.

The board and tail piece are nice. I spent a lot of time polishing the board. The bridge wasn't fit the best, but it's better than I'd do myself. The end pin looks to be from a really cheap cello.

Some parts are on the way, but not many. I bought this bass because of price alone, and a little reputation of Eberle I could find. Can't put to much in it, but I don't think it will take too much either.

Thanks.

toman · #7 09-11-2006, 08:19 PM

Yeah, the endpin on mine totally sucked too; I quickly replaced it with something better.

I think just about everything on the bass was replaced from what it came with; endpin, tailpiece, bridge, fingerboard, strings... I kept the cheapo machine because they worked well enough, and I switched back to the (I think) original metal tailpiece, because at least for my 90% arco playing, the heavier piece sounded better. Looked bad though... These are definately not basses for those concious of looks or image; I gaurantee everybody will make fun of your bass and assume you suck because of it.

B. Graham · #8 09-11-2006, 08:32 PM

Yeah. Well, then they're foolish.

Mine's got an ebony tail. End pin and tail piece cord are the first to go tomorrow. The Helicore Hybrid's are better than I thought they'd be, but Dominant's will go on it before too long.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

toman · #9 09-11-2006, 10:55 PM

I liked the Spiro Weichs on mine. Easy to play on and nice articulate tone. Some people say they're hard to bow, but that's not my experience...

nicklloyd · #10 09-11-2006, 11:47 PM

I bought an Eberle from Shank's in Pennsylvania about 10 years ago. Plays great, holds up to all kinds of weather and conditions, sounds quite nice with a Realist, and has paid for itself time and time again. Definitely a workhorse bass.

Get a good endpin installed... makes a world of difference.

TheSuzie · #11 09-12-2006, 12:12 AM

Onyx endpin from Lemur plus a cable type tailgut made a big difference on my bass, which may or may not be from the same factory. Do any of the Eberle bases have a V shaped neck?

B. Graham · #12 09-12-2006, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSuzie

Onyx endpin from Lemur plus a cable type tailgut made a big difference on my bass

I've got both coming today. If I can get it reamed for the new pin, I'll be good to go. It's sort of a haul to get to the guy with the luthier skills.

toman · #13 09-12-2006, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSuzie

Onyx endpin from Lemur plus a cable type tailgut made a big difference on my bass, which may or may not be from the same factory. Do any of the Eberle bases have a V shaped neck?

Mine didn't have a literal "V" neck, but in guitar terms, it would probably be considered that. Up at the nut it was quite narrow and rather deep compared to the rest, although it all had that same basic profile. Overall it was very slim and fast; felt good to play on. Pretty different from anything else I've played, that I can think of.

greene · #14 09-19-2006, 07:07 AM

We change the original tailpiece and replace it with the ebony.

Not much I can do about the finish although I have to tell you that some people like it and don't much like the darker, deeper beautiful Wilfer look ... I myself go for that darker look but you can't beat the Eberle price and it is undoubtedly a workhorse bass which is what I've heard from players time and time again.

I haven't had anyone complain about the endpins, but after reading this thread I'll look into replacing the original - at least for the carved models.

Nevertheless. nice to hear everyone likes the bass.

B. Graham · #15 09-19-2006, 09:58 AM

I'm enjoying it a lot! Except for the end pin, it's really solid.

It's louder and more articulate than I thought it would be. Not as bright either, which for me is a plus.

It would be fun to get one of these "in the white" and finish it differently, kind of like what Upton is doing now with their basses.

EJ_Dad · #16 09-19-2006, 05:00 PM

The end pin on the carved Eberle I purchased was fine. It was the hollow tube, I don't know what size, without any notches, with a screw on rubber stopper. I don't think it has ever slipped.

It was the same one my teacher had upgraded to on his own bass.

greene · #17 09-19-2006, 05:14 PM

Hmmmm which would make sense because otherwise I'm sure I would have heard from others if there were serious problems but truth be told I never did. Nevertheless, I'll have a look tomorrow when I'm at the shop. It may be that some coming from a particular period did something because of what materials were available which then changed. My memory of my dad dealing with the Czechs during the old times was that sometimes they had problems getting metals and those industries like musical instruments were the least likely to get a decent share of what the State had to spread around ... I'm sure it was the same in E Germany for Musima so that could explain how some endpins could have been smaller and thinner while some were a different design but I'm going to have a closer look tomorrow ....

toman · #18 09-19-2006, 06:02 PM

Anybody want to post some pics, so we can see if we're all talking about the same (or similar) basses? I sold mine before the digital camera age, so unfortunately I don't have any...

toman · #19 09-19-2006, 06:10 PM

Bassonline seems to have them in laminated, hybrid and carved models, starting and under 1k. If this is in fact the same bass, I highly reccomend people snap these up... No doubt you'll spend as much or more to set it up properly than it costs, but it should last forever and always be a good, dependable instrument. Heck, at that price I'd buy a couple, and then experiment with stripping that nasty finish off and putting a proper varnish on. Or at the least some simple oil or something... Anybody want to buy my bass so I can get a couple of these?

philip sirois · #20 09-19-2006, 06:31 PM

I bought a wilfer hybrid from basses online, and played the eberles as well. On the wilfer, the endpin wasn't great either, but the folks at ideal upgraded to a nice one for for $50 installed. I spent another couple hundred installing adjusters to the bridge, and a few minor adjustments. The fingerboard wasn't 100% but it was pretty good. Sometime I'll get it dressed properly but it was fine the way it came. All in all I did spend a little extra, but not too much. I'm extremely happy with the bass. I assume the eberles would need similar tweaking, but they still seems like a nice deal, and the price does give you some room for setup by a local luthier. I might scoop one before they're gone. The finish is a little intense, of course, but the ones I played (ply and hybrid) sounded pretty damn good for the money, and I'm sure you could get them to play nicely too. It would make a good refinishing project.
Good people to deal with.

phil