I think I know why this is a "2nd"..

dlenaghan · #1 01-23-2013, 06:01 AM

Check out the tail piece. It's not supposed to stick way off like that, is it? All the videos and pics I see online have the rear of the tailpiece flush with the body of the bass.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EPIPHONE-ZEN...item41701cf929

It's a great price for the instrument, but if the scale is off by maybe a full half inch, with the saddle type, it seems intonation would perhaps be impossible..

What do you think?

**WoodyG3** · #2 01-23-2013, 06:57 AM

I think the picture is so dark and crappy I can't tell anything about the bridge.

4dog · #3 01-23-2013, 07:00 AM

Agreed^^^

dlenaghan · #4 01-23-2013, 07:12 AM

http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/...0,0,0&format=0

.. Maybe it's not so hugely off.

f64 · #5 01-23-2013, 07:32 AM

Actually I think the bridge piece belongs that way. The EP web page for the Zenith shows it overhanging the body. I agree, it looks odd and is a recipe for disaster having one of the sensors in there with it being overhung. The auction is for a refurbished piece (not saying what got refurbished) at a few hundred under what they are going for new.

1958Bassman · #6 01-23-2013, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlenaghan

Check out the tail piece. It's not supposed to stick way off like that, is it? All the videos and pics I see online have the rear of the tailpiece flush with the body of the bass.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EPIPHONE-ZEN...item41701cf929

It's a great price for the instrument, but if the scale is off by maybe a full half inch, with the saddle type, it seems intonation would perhaps be impossible..

What do you think?

If you want to zoom in/out, press CTRL and click on + and - on the keyboard. If you zoom in enough, you'll see the reflection of the tailpiece in the surface and there's no gap, indicating that it's resting directly on the top.

aquateen · #7 01-23-2013, 08:18 AM

that's the way they made 'em

**mjac28** · #8 01-23-2013, 08:26 AM

Is that a stereo jack?

throbgod13 · #9 01-23-2013, 08:32 AM

it's stamped "USED", not "Second" or "2"...

this means it was a display, or demonstration model..

dlenaghan · #10 01-23-2013, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1958Bassman

If you want to zoom in/out, press CTRL and click on + and - on the keyboard. If you zoom in enough, you'll see the reflection of the tailpiece in the surface and there's no gap, indicating that it's resting directly on the top.

Oh, I don't doubt it's properly anchored to the body. It just seemed from the photos to be set further back than other photos of the same instrument that I've seen, but, photos are photos and a few feet back makes a couple of degrees at a different angle make lines go waaay funky.

So indeed, perhaps it is the steal that it appears to be.

dlenaghan · #11 01-23-2013, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by throbgod13

it's stamped "USED", not "Second" or "2"...

this means it was a display, or demonstration model..

From the seller's description, the 'USED' stamp is used for any model that required refurbishing, whether it was somehow abused before it got to the sales floor or there was a flaw discovered somewhere along the way. I've generally heard these things referred to as 'seconds' because they're not marketed as being representative, new, of the model as intended by the manufacturer. I could of course be wrong about how these terms are used, being as I am in such experience only a customer and neither a vendor nor a manufacturer.

dlenaghan · #12 01-23-2013, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjac28

Is that a stereo jack?

Heck yes it is! Separate outputs for the magnetic neck pickup and bridge piezo (though apparently it's not 'properly' a piezo, but something similar.. but different) or sum them together as a mono output. Whoever designed this bass needs a big fat raise.

TN WOODMAN · #13 01-23-2013, 10:43 AM

I bought an Epiphone Dot guitar at a guitar show years ago stamped used on the back of the headstock. I never found any flaws to speak of and the top and back had beautifuly figured maple under a vintage sunburst. My thinking was that this was a select example perhaps used to promote to dealers or something. It also had Gotoh tuners and Duncan '59 neck pu and a Di Marzio PAF bridge pu.

I have no vested interest and can't get it myself, but Brian at Lowend has an amber fretted Zenith with case for the low price of only $425. Looks great on his site.

Wolftone · #14 03-02-2013, 01:20 PM

I bought that exact unit and the intonation is AOK...

Wolftone · #15 03-02-2013, 01:24 PM

They come out of a refurbishment plant in Alabama. There they are checked and repackaged. My ebay seller said he checked it over for obvious flaws and there are none. But there is a circuit design flaw on these that is like the Epi les paul Ultra II - the eq/volume controls for each pup do nothing! May not seem obvious but it makes the bass less versatile at the very least.