Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
2013 & 2014 Gibson EB Enthusiasts
- Thread starter Chamber
- Start date
I was immediately drawn to the design of these basses when they were first announced, the body almost has this abstract art look to it while retaining a vintage quality, and they sound as good as they look. My main and only serious bass. Would love to get a second one at some point.
Here's mine with Seymour Duncan pickups!
Here's mine with Seymour Duncan pickups!
I played one in store when they came out. Didn’t buy it but wish I had. I’ve been on the lookout ever since. I’ll be buying one soon.
loved the tones i was getting.
loved the tones i was getting.
I owned a 2014 model for 6 years. I really liked the looks and the feel of it, expecially the body finish. I really liked the tone but mine had an excessive string pull from the pickups.
I read about other owners too who had this problem that made the higher part of the fretboard have some sort of "chorusy-effect" caused by said string pull.
I ended up changing the pickups to EMG TBHZ's with quite some satisfaction, even if it wasn't really as good sounding as it was good looking.
After I had elbow problems last year, considering how little I played it I dediced to sell it. I would have probably kept it if it had been good to go from the beginning but I spent more time time thinking about how to make it sound decent than actually playing it with satisfaction.
I read about other owners too who had this problem that made the higher part of the fretboard have some sort of "chorusy-effect" caused by said string pull.
I ended up changing the pickups to EMG TBHZ's with quite some satisfaction, even if it wasn't really as good sounding as it was good looking.
After I had elbow problems last year, considering how little I played it I dediced to sell it. I would have probably kept it if it had been good to go from the beginning but I spent more time time thinking about how to make it sound decent than actually playing it with satisfaction.
Nice!! Did those pickups drop right in or did you have to do some routing?
I'm not in a huge hurry to swap out my pickups, but if this is a standard shape of some sort that would be nice to know. (It just so happens, the guy who fixes my amps also makes T-bird pickups...)
Man, these look like so classic with the chrome pickups added!
And I agree, I love the body shape. The pickguard kind of puts it in Epiphone Embassy territory,
and the tbird pickups take it all the way there.
They dropped right in, in fact they are a little smaller than the original pickups. There is a mild gap now but it doesn't bother me.
The original pickups sound great so I was hesitant to swap them out, but I am very pleased with the results!
Last edited:
I've been having a second honeymoon with my EB-5 since I put the pickups in phase.
That got me thinking: what about that tiny capacitor they inserted between the coil taps & ground? I'm thinking I might like to try bypassing that. I'm not sure what their rationale was for inserting it, but I haven't been enjoying the tapped settings on the EB-5 nearly as much as I enjoy a good raw single coil on other axes.
If anyone has done that mod, I'd love to hear your impressions! Otherwise, I will likely do it soon and report back.
That got me thinking: what about that tiny capacitor they inserted between the coil taps & ground? I'm thinking I might like to try bypassing that. I'm not sure what their rationale was for inserting it, but I haven't been enjoying the tapped settings on the EB-5 nearly as much as I enjoy a good raw single coil on other axes.
If anyone has done that mod, I'd love to hear your impressions! Otherwise, I will likely do it soon and report back.
Okay, so I went ahead and bypassed the tiny capacitor on the coil taps. Note the bare copper jumper on the neck pickup pot on the left.
I went ahead and disconnected the tiny cap from ground for good measure, but you don't really have to do that. I plugged in and A/B'd before & after and couldn't hear any difference. (Be advised, the metal on these pots must be extra thick - takes forever for my soldering iron to heat them.)
(The red & white leads in on the middle pot were switched by me to get my pickups in phase. Must have been some error at the factory.)
Bypassing the cap seems to have had the desired effect. The single coil settings now sound more crisp. At least at home I still prefer running both coils most of the time - even after compensating for level. The single coil settings just sound more thin - usually not in a good way (but sometimes they seem less woof-y). Running one in series & the other one in single sounds better to my ears than before - no more of that involuntary treble dump.
We'll see how this plays out, onstage. If I enjoy using some of the single settings from time to time, I'll be glad I did the mod. (Aw what the heck, I'm already glad...)
I went ahead and disconnected the tiny cap from ground for good measure, but you don't really have to do that. I plugged in and A/B'd before & after and couldn't hear any difference. (Be advised, the metal on these pots must be extra thick - takes forever for my soldering iron to heat them.)
(The red & white leads in on the middle pot were switched by me to get my pickups in phase. Must have been some error at the factory.)
Bypassing the cap seems to have had the desired effect. The single coil settings now sound more crisp. At least at home I still prefer running both coils most of the time - even after compensating for level. The single coil settings just sound more thin - usually not in a good way (but sometimes they seem less woof-y). Running one in series & the other one in single sounds better to my ears than before - no more of that involuntary treble dump.
We'll see how this plays out, onstage. If I enjoy using some of the single settings from time to time, I'll be glad I did the mod. (Aw what the heck, I'm already glad...)
Yup, that's from pulling them too hard. It's happened to me too with very light strings.
I picked up a five string in Bullion Gold in a shop once, but didn't plug it in.
I honestly thought it was one of the best feeling basses I've ever put my hands on.
I honestly thought it was one of the best feeling basses I've ever put my hands on.
Here's mine. Sorry for the crappy pic, the only one I could find right now. I picked it up at a blow-out sale back in 2014 for the price of the case alone. I am still amazed at how they could sell a US built instrument, with a Babicz bridge and in a case no less, at that price point. Every time I pick it up, I still get a slightly fuzzy feeling. Seems the prices have gone up, too.
The barrel jack is the weak point. Mine had to be replaced almost immediately, but has worked fine for 6 years now (well, I've barely played it since 2017 or so). The mods are interesting, keep 'em coming!
I hated mine. Shipped with a broken nut, Gibson invalidated the entire warranty when I had it replaced it making it the last Gibson product I will ever purchase. It had neck dive, weird harmonic thing high on the neck unless pickups were lowered dramatically. I took it to a local luthier and had it modded with coils taps dual tone pots (I think), a side jack and whatnot and it got better. But I was so disgusted with Gibson as a company that I sold it. All that being said, it was a while ago in my bass journey and I may have handled things differently now. But neck dive is still an absolute no-go for me.
Wow - and I thought I "scored" when I got mine for $600 without a case!
I see they're asking well north of $1K on Reverb.com, now. (That's a little steep IMHO.)
Maybe these will go from being an obscure obtainable to a highly sought after collector's trophy - like that '62 Jazz I could have scooped up for peanuts if I'd had any sense when I started playing in 1989. Maybe I'll get to rock my EB-5 for another 20 years then sell it and retire on the proceeds. I'd like that.
