Epiphone Newport looks like a winner.

[Iridescentone]

They don’t do any adjustments with the 55 point inspection.

Well they only promise to "inspect" the stuff they sell. lol

Which prompts the question; how bad does a guitar have to be for them to decide not to sell it? Evidently, a lot worse than what many of us would expect. At least they don't hesitate to handle refunds or exchanges. So there's that.

In the grand scheme of things, that's still light years ahead of trapesing around to shops hoping to find a guitar that you can "try before you buy". That buying strategy went out the window a long time ago.

 

[Gary Conn]

Has anyone tried to place the Hipshot Supertone 2 point bass bridge on the Newport?

My sockets are 1/4 inch to wide. Any ideas?

Can remove the sockets and fill before drilling new holes?

Thanks

 

[Pyrat]

Has anyone tried to place the Hipshot Supertone 2 point bass bridge on the Newport?

My sockets are 1/4 inch to wide. Any ideas?

Can remove the sockets and fill before drilling new holes?

Thanks

Pretty sure LowEndLobster has a video up w/ this and tuning machine swaps...and also that HipShot has the correct pieces to complete the modification. Hope this helps!!

 

[johnk_10]

i installed some hipshot mini clovers on mine. it only saved about a couple of ounces but IMO, it's gives it more of a vintage look. the total weight for mine is now 7lbs even.

 

[Switcharoo]

i installed some hipshot mini clovers on mine. it only saved about a couple of ounces but IMO, it's gives it more of a vintage look. the total weight for mine is now 7lbs even.

Would you care to share a picture of your mini-clovers? Still trying to decide which tuners to go for!

 

[johnk_10]

there a little longer than i'd like but i still dig 'em (and they're a drop-in replacement). -- sorry for crappy pics but it's dark in my house right now:

 

[Switcharoo]

Thankyou @johnk_10

 

[godofthunder59]

Good news from Epiphone/Gibson.

 

[Pyrat]

Good news from Epiphone/Gibson.

Thank you, Scott! Glad to see another fan of these FINE basses (I got a GREAT one) and really appreciate your inside work w/ Epiphone/Gibson to keep them in the loop for any QC issues...I REALLY want to get another...it is truly the best bass I have ever owned!!

 

[Protagonist]

Has anyone tried to place the Hipshot Supertone 2 point bass bridge on the Newport?

My sockets are 1/4 inch to wide. Any ideas?

Can remove the sockets and fill before drilling new holes?

Thanks

...and mine are about 3/16ths too narrow. Measure you bass's bridge spacing before buying the Hipshot bridge guys. The bridge it comes with appears to be slotted to make up for inadequate QC.

 

[Protagonist]

So I tried to adjust the stock bridge on my bass and broke a screw. The D saddle was taller than the E and I was going to try to swap two saddles. The nuts on the screws apparently don't come off.

So I took it to the Music-Go-Round I bought it from as they had had two of them when I bought it a couple of weeks ago. The second one was also out of spec for the Hipshot bridge (too wide this time) but they traded it out for me rather than fix the bridge while I waited.

I'm considering modifying the Hipshot 2 point I bought to match the bass. The bass I have now is slightly less out of spec, so I'd wouldn't need to slot the holes on the bridge much. Thoughts?

 

[LetItGrowTone]

Someone let us know someday whether or not a real Gibson mudbucker (or Novak reissue which is the same size) will fit in this Newport. It *will* fit in an Epiphone EB-0 but *will not* fit in a Gibson SG without a little routing, which I don't want to do...

Answer: A real mudbucker (or the Novak clone) DOES fit perfectly in this Newport without routing.

*
This Newport balances on a strap much better than the Gibson because of the upper horn, but it also balances much better on the knee: its bridge is set farther back (and the body is shorter) so the tuner end of the neck is not as far away. And although the body is shorter, the bottom contour (that sits on the knee) is farther forward by about 2 full inches, so more weight of the body is opposite the tuner end (like P versus J, but I digress).

So, this is my "Marshall Grant", with GHS P flats.

 

[Gary Conn]

Me too. I was watching an interview by Lobster of head of Serek said his Midwestern bass was inspired by coronet guitar and newport bass.

I have already started taking parts off my new newport and will transition it into a single pickup design.

Will show it off when done.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

Epipherek Newestern

 

[Naviiin]

Nice! I'd grab that in an instant if Epi did one up like it.

 

[Buchada Azeda]

-The Hipshot Supertone 2 piece bridge DOES fit, but you need to remove both pieces of the bridge and the screw holes are slightly visible.
-The Hipshot Supertone 2 piece bridge screws do NOT fit. Mine only came with the USA pair, and not the import pair like the 3 points (for use with the Jack Casady, EB-0, etc.) Luckily, I had also received the 3 point bridge for the JC project and sacrificed the import screws for the 2 point. I emailed Hipshot about including the import screws in the 2 point as well, and asked for a pair.

In my bass (July 2023 Newport), the threaded inserts do not line up with the Hipshot 2-point Supertone bridge, making it unfortunately not a drop-in solution.
The bridge I bought came with both American SAE and metric screws.

The metric screws fit the threaded inserts perfectly, but installing the bridge will require removing the inserts, plugging the holes, and reinstalling the inserts. Bummer!